In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician
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As your baby begins eating purees and then solid foods, it might be easier to feed them using a baby high chair. While not 100% necessary, it is a great way of providing a safe and clean environment for little ones to learn all about eating. Designating a special location for meals and snacks can encourage healthy eating habits and hand-eye coordination required for self-feeding. With seemingly endless high chair designs to choose from, how can a new parent determine the best option?
Our review puts the top 10 high chairs through a myriad of hands-on, side-by-side testing over months with real babies. Since 2012, we've tested more than 30 high chairs, portable high chairs, and table booster seats. We did a deep dive into the baby high chair market before purchasing the most promising contenders. We evaluated the performance of each high chair, such as ease of use, ease of cleaning, and quality, by feeding meal after messy meal, and cleaning up the after-math.
Our favorite all-time high chair for baby is the Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair. This lovely addition to any kitchen combines the durability of wood with cushioned comfort to create a product that can adapt to every life stage up to 250 lb adults.
If your budget is smaller, or you don't want something taking up space after your little one graduates to a table chair, the Skip Hop Eon 4-in-1 Multi-Stage High Chair is a great choice. This basic baby high chair gets the job done for a reasonable price and can work for children up to 80 lbs.
Complicated buckling system, heavy, doesn't fold for storage
Large footprint when open, stiff tray, fabric not machine washable
Lower quality, stiffer parts, pickable foam
Bottom Line
Functional high chair with long term potential as adult chair and step stool with useful features for feeding baby
A well-built, easy to clean, foldable high chair that both you and your baby will enjoy
High quality option for kids over three who don't need the infant insert or buckling
Not many bells and whistles, with the exception of the rotating feature, but it is a beautiful product that will work well and look amazing in your home
After jumping over the hurdle of assembly, you won't be disappointed by the functionality and ability to blend right into the kitchen table
Great product for the price that checks (most) of the boxes, made with high-quality materials, that will grow with your child
A fine product if you are short on space or need to fold up the chair in between mealtimes, but it is not necessarily worth the price
An easy-to-clean, versatile seating system that can accommodate children of various ages and stages
An inexpensive chair that folds for storing out of the way and offers the features you need for basic feeding of babies and toddlers
Cute high chair with long-term potential as a booster or toddler chair that includes a divided tray insert and a 5-point harness
The Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair is a fantastic wood chair that can grow with your child shifting from a high chair to a booster to a step stool and adult chair. One parent tester said, “I can't wait to use this chair for years to come, creating memories in the kitchen.” This product works for adults up to 250 lbs and is high quality enough to last as long as needed. We like the easy-to-remove and clean tray, and we love the waterproof and stain-resistant cushion you can rinse clean. The seat is comfortable and looks nice enough to display at your table or island. The best part is the smaller footprint with measured dimensions of 21.5"L x 17.5"W x 35"H in our tests.
This chair is heavier than plastic competitors, with a measured weight of 18.3 lbs in our tests. While not prohibitively heavy, moving it when your little one is in the chair is harder. If you want one that moves more easily with wheels, the Peg Perego Siesta performed well in our tests for portability despite weighing more at 23 lbs in our tests. Also, the Abiie takes longer to assemble, but luckily, this is a one-time concern, and the adjustments after assembly are quick and tool-free. Our tester remarked, “I didn't care for the assembly process, but the quality of the parts made up for the time it took.” Overall, we think this high-quality chair has a fair price for what you get and believe it is one you will enjoy and want to use for years.
Recliner: Birth to 19.8 lbs
Upright: 6mo to 45 lbs
Dimensions
29.2"L x 23.5"W x 41.2"H
Footprint (sqft)
4.8
Weight (lbs)
23 lbs
The Peg Perego Siesta is a high-quality chair with years of potential service. This chair is well-designed with practical features like adjustable recline, height, and footrest. This option creates a good place for infants to recline with a bottle, is great for a self-feeding hungry toddler, and almost everything in between. Our tester reported, “I love that it reclines for bottle feeding, providing a safe place to learn to drink independently with a parent nearby.” The Prima Classe fabric comes in multiple colors and has a supple, leathery feel that is easy to clean. The chair has wheels for easier moving around the kitchen, and it features a Stop & Go Brake system that is safe and simple to use. This chair has a compact fold, perfect for small homes or parents who prefer to keep gear stowed away.
Some parents find the wheels tricky to maneuver as the back wheels swivel and the front wheels don't. However, rolling it backward and steering with the rear wheels instead of the front makes this easier. Our tester stated, “It took some trial and error to sort out how to use the wheels, but once I did, it wasn't a problem.” It was also larger in our tests with measured dimensions of 29.2"L x 23.5"W x 41.2"H, it takes up some real estate. This chair is also challenging to clean. While the fabric is easy to wipe and the tray is dishwasher-safe (we recommend hand washing), there are so many nooks and crannies for gunk to hide that are nearly impossible to reach. If you want a wood high chair, the Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair is a lovely chair that can grow with your little one. Despite these minor issues, we were impressed with the quality and flexibility of the Siesta and believed it could keep many families happy.
The snack tray on the Siesta offers plenty of space and room for a cup. The lip around the edge of the tray helps prevent small spills from making it onto the floor.
The Skip Hop Eon 4-in-1 Multi-Stage High Chair is a wallet-friendly, straightforward chair that allows for baby feeding from six months all the way up to 80 lbs when converted to a chair. Our mom tester said, “It's kind of cool that it converts to a chair and provides seating for longer than the typical baby high chair.” The tray removal is one of the smoothest and has two options so that a user can remove the tray with one hand or two. The Eon does not have a cushion, but the chair is curved and easy to clean, and the harness is easy to use. The chair itself has wooden components and an aesthetically pleasing look that appears more expensive than it is. In our tests, it weighed only 11.9 lbs, making it easy to move.
The chair was one of the more complicated to assemble, but this could be because it is a convertible chair. It has a wider footprint, measuring 26.4" L x 27.4" D x 36" H in our tests. This makes it one of the widest in the group, and it could become a potential tripping hazard given the lower weight. However, it was not the widest we tested. Our tester said, “The larger-than-average base made the chair itself feel very sturdy, and I was less worried about accidentally knocking it over.” However, it might not be suitable for tiny spaces since it doesn't fold. Depending on your space, the Peg Perego Siesta is smaller and folds compactly. Also, the seat is larger, and the footrest doesn't adjust, so it may not be the best if you have a petite baby — at least not until they are a bit older. Lastly, there are small grooves where the tray slides on and off that will be prone to catching food. We think The Skip Hop is a cost-effective solution that has the potential to last through many stages of childhood, with only a few minor drawbacks. If money is a concern, but you still want an aesthetically pleasing chair to grow with your child, the Eon 4-in-1 will meet your needs without much frustration.
There are many reasons to love the Stokke Tripp Trapp, including the lighter weight of 15.6 lbs in our tests with a measured 22"L x 18"W x 32.5"H smaller footprint. It has a simple design that is easy to clean and pulls right up to the table so your little ones can eat with the rest of the family. Our original tester said, “I love the minimalist and functional style of this high chair; it brings class to the kitchen.” Durable construction and height adjustments for the seat and footrest create a chair children can use through their first ten years of life. The Stokke Tripp Trapp Bundle caters to 6 mo+ infants and includes a removable 5-point harness, Tripp Trapp Baby Set, and Mini Baby Cushion. Additional custom accessories include the Stokke Tray, the Tripp Trapp Cushion, and the Tripp Trapp Junior Cushion. We love the versatility of this innovative seat and European Beech Wood, which is free of harmful chemicals like bisphenol and phthalates.
Because this is a solid, durable chair, it comes at a premium price; it is one of the most expensive chairs in this review. With a high price, purchasing the baby insert, tray, and other accessories separately is somewhat frustrating. Our tester said, “While the quality is there, I find it hard to justify the price for most families looking for a straightforward high chair.” If you are looking for wood on a budget, the Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair is less expensive but better quality than most. However, if your budget allows, we love that the Tripp Trapp is a high-quality chair that can grow with your child longer than the average chair and will complement almost any kitchen decor.
The Munchkin 360 Cloud is one of the more beautiful chairs you can find for feeding babies. Seriously, the 'Cloud' name is appropriate. One tester's older brother commented, “It is my favorite because it is 'sparkly'.” We like this chair's look; it was super easy to assemble during testing, with useful instructions and well-labeled parts. In our experience, the cushion is easy to remove and throw in the wash, and the plastic seat is comfortable for the baby and easy to wipe down. We like that it has a reusable dishwasher-safe food tray with dividers for food and a cup, limiting the need for dish use and potentially decreasing your clean-up time. In addition, the legs are wooden and very stable — even a five-year-old can bounce from the footrest, and the chair doesn't rock a bit. The unique feature of this chair is that it spins 360 degrees around, so if you live in a space where you'd like to rotate baby but not necessarily have to move the entire chair, this is a great option.
The footrest doesn't adjust, so smaller babies will have dangling legs. Our tester noted, “The lack of adjustability feels like a design flaw in a product that should work for babies of multiple sizes and heights.” The Abiie Beyond Wooden has an adjustable footrest, making it a potential alternative if you like this concept. Furthermore, the five-point harness only connects to the chair at the bottom, not at the shoulders, making it a bit clumsy and annoying to put on. Lastly, the chair does have a wider footprint. Although this fact contributes to its sturdiness, it also makes it less ideal for smaller living spaces. However, despite these minor issues, we think the Munchkin has a fair price for what you get, and if you are looking for something functional, well-built, and beautiful, we are all on board.
The SimpleSwitch can be used with children up to 37 lbs.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
How We Test High Chairs
We spent countless hours researching and testing these chairs in-house and in real life to help you find the perfect chair for your family. The high chairs were used with little ones of various ages and sizes to determine which work well and which lack overall functionality or features parents may want. We started our search with more than 50 high chairs and narrowed it down to the most popular options for testing. Each chair was subjected to more than 14 individual tests across various metrics. We considered ease of use, difficulty of cleaning, quality, and more to help you find the right chair for your goals and budget.
Why Trust GearLab
This high chair review and testing is led by our founder, Dr. Juliet Spurrier, a board-certified pediatrician. Dr. Spurrier uses her background and education combined with her experience as a mother of two to select products with ease of use and safety in mind. She is instrumental in testing development and final product selection. Wendy Schmitz, the Senior Review Editor, uses her science education to help guide her in the testing and review process to make thoughtful testing procedures and analysis of test results. Wendy is a mother of two and has worked on most BabyGearLab reviews as a tester and analyst since 2014. Katie Brown rounds out the team. As a mother of one, she uses her eclectic and diverse life experience to test various products with GearLab.
The chair can be adjusted to make a perfect ergonomical fit for different size children.
We like the simplicity of the design and ease of use of the SimpleSwitch.
Analysis and Test Results
Mealtimes with your baby take up a large part of the day, so finding the perfect chair (or portable high chair) is important. We tested each chair across several metrics to find the best options.
What's the Best Value?
Some of the high chairs in this review have high price tags that make them unreachable for those with tighter budgets. Luckily, there are some useful and budget-friendly options with features parents desire, like options for growing with your child and folding for storage. The Skip Hop Eon 4-in-1 is less expensive and has everything you need, complete with quality materials that make it seem more expensive. The Abiie Beyond Wooden is another stylish wood option that is one step up in quality and useability but also grows with your child. We think this high chair is a good value despite the higher price as it is less expensive than similar wood chairs, and it can last for a longer time, becoming an adult chair for those up to 250 lbs. Lastly, the Munchkin 360 is an option that is midrange in price and functionality but a beautiful addition to any home with space.
Compared to others, the Abiie Beyond is one of the easiest high chairs to use.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
High Chair Ease of Use
Considering how frequently you'll use a high chair throughout the day, it must be easy to operate. Also, quirks that could lead to potential injury or leave marks are serious deal-breakers. Here are some ease-of-use features and quirks to consider:
The seatback of the Slim Snacker can tilt slightly back for feeding younger babies who maybe can't sit upright on their own.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Recline: Some chairs recline, but there is one recline feature we like the best. The Peg Perego Siesta's entire seat tilts back to the footrest. Other chairs offer recline functionality, but only the chair's back moves. This style can cause the baby's bottom to slide forward and make it feel like they can slide out of the seat. If your baby is unlikely to fall asleep in their chair, reclining may not be a big deal for you.
Recline Safety
Always ensure that the baby's fingers are out of the way of potential pinch points when adjusting the seat back! Some recline features create pinch points, and your baby can get hurt when adjusting.
The Abiie has a lot of adjustments for height working as a high chair, booster, and adult chair.
The City Bistro is height adjustable, but the options are not the most useful
Height Adjustability: Determine where you think you'll feed your baby. Most stand-alone chairs should work if you sit at your table and want your baby nearby. You may want a taller chair if you think you'll be standing while feeding your little one. In our tests, we like the more elevated options with adjustable heights. Alternatively, chairs like the Abiie Beyond High Chair, Keekaroo Height Right, and Stokke Tripp Trapp are great options for the table because they can easily push up to most tables of the right height, even counter height. Whatever your preference, check the chair's dimensions to ensure it will work in your space and your lifestyle. The Baby Jogger City Bistro was another option with adjustable height. However, we found that it didn't go quite low enough to slide under a dining table, nor quite high enough to allow for feeding without bending over a bit.
The Stokke Tripp Trapp can easily be pushed up to the table to dine together.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Comfort Features: Some chairs don't have padding but may provide an ergonomic sitting position. The chairs without fabric cushions are generally easier to keep clean. The Abiie Beyond has a waterproof and stain-resistant cushion you can remove and spray down easily.
Many snack trays, like the one from the Keekaroo shown here, are dishwasher safe, but we recommend using warm soapy water to clean them by hand instead.
Credit: Jessica Stevenson
High Chair Ease of Cleaning
Babies are messy. Toddlers are messier. While comfort for your baby is essential, comfort can result in creating more areas for food to collect.
A few options, like the Keekaroo Height Right, have unique design features that eliminate the majority of crevices and provide ergonomic support. To our delight, chairs like the Peg Perego Siesta combine comfort with easy cleanability. Chairs should be easy to clean, especially as you'll use them often. Here are a few things to consider when looking for a chair that is a breeze to clean:
Chair cushions: If it has a padded cushion, ensure that you can wipe the cover clean to avoid the need for regular removal for washing. Chairs with removable, machine-washable seat cushions are even better to ensure a deep clean of food and other things. We recommend avoiding fabrics that attract stains or absorb liquids as they require more frequent deep cleaning and may never look clean after a short time of messy use.
Luckily, those sneaky food-collecting creases in the Peg Perego seat cushion were super easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Credit: Jessica Stevenson
Base: Larger bases will catch food and require frequent cleaning. Smaller bases or regular legs mean quicker chair clean-up.
Buckles: Buckles act like magnets for food collection. By necessity, buckles have nooks and crannies built into their designs. This is where food will collect or might even be intentionally crammed by playful eaters. Cleaning buckles is easier when they don't require cotton swabs to be fully cleaned.
There is much to love about skipping the need for dishes if you use the Infantino tray insert that acts as a dish and cup holder.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Some chairs have food trays with a snack tray “cover.” For convenience, these tray covers are often top-rack dishwasher safe. However, we recommend washing plastic by hand to to avoid potential chemical leaching and heat-related damage over time. We love the food tray on the Infantino 4-in-1 Convertible High Chair as it has dividers for different food types and a cup holder, which could mean making fewer dirty dishes to clean later. The most straightforward chairs to clean include the Keekaroo Height Right with Infant Insert and the Abiie Beyond Wooden.
The Stokke is expensive but a great value when you consider the longevity of use.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
High Chair Quality
Quality can be an essential metric for a high chair, given that your little one could be using it multiple times a day suspended above the floor.
The product quality can impact safety, and you'll want a chair that keeps your baby safe and secure during use.
Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair is very well made and does not scream baby furniture.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Try When You Buy
Even if you purchase your chair online, we recommend testing it in person when you get it: shake it, push it across the floor, adjust the height and recline, remove the seat cushion, and play with the tray. If you can look at it in the store, we suggest bringing your baby with you. Put them in and take them out. Does it pinch, or will it be more challenging when your baby is bigger? This in-person experience can give you information on chair stability and the quality of the materials and construction. Buying from a retailer like Amazon allows you to return the chair if it doesn't meet your expectations or needs.
The Munchkin 360 Cloud is a nice quality choice that feels durable.
Credit: Katie Brown
The highest-quality options in this review are all-wood chairs that can be used for a much longer lifetime as your child moves through growth stages, such as a high chair, booster, and adult chair or stool. The Stokke Tripp Trapp Bundle earned some of the highest quality scores, while the Peg Perego Siesta, Keekaroo Height Right, and Abiie Beyond followed right behind.
The Skip Hop Eon is a simple, versatile chair with a reasonable price tag but a wider footprint.
Credit: Katie Brown
Footprint and Portability
The footprint and portability of a high chair refer to the size and how easy it is to move in your house. It is not about whether a chair is good for travel. While only a few products have wheels in this review, we think they aren't necessarily easier to move. The smallest footprint in the group is 2.6 sqft for the Abiie Beyond. The Stokke Tripp Trapp is almost as small, taking up 2.8 sqft. The Baby Jogger City Bistro is also worth mentioning in this category, as its main selling point is its portability. It folds up exceptionally small and easily, making it great for small spaces where you must put your chair away between mealtimes. Folded out, it takes up only 3.2 sqft, although we did find that the design did make it feel a bit more tipsy than some of the wider-spaced options. The largest footprint of all the chairs we tested is the Infantino 4-in-1 Convertible High Chair, taking up 5.3 sqft of floor space.
Some things to keep in mind:
Footprint Size
The footprint is the floor space the chair occupies. If your kitchen is small, you'll want to pick a chair with a smaller footprint or one that folds.
The front wheels on the Infantino make it easier to move into the best position for feeding and for storage, but it only works well on smooth surfaces as the wheels are too small for carpet or other flooring.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Wheels
Moving your chair around via wheels may or may not be a priority, but wheels didn't always make moving something easier in our testing. Also, the brakes on the wheels weren't always effective or user-friendly. Wheels can potentially lead to unsupervised and unsafe “rides” around the house from older children, or the chair can shift when you put your baby in if you forget the brakes. Our favorite wheels are on the Peg Perego Siesta, which has an automatic brake lock with an easy press-to-set and release design. This method is more straightforward than flipping the tiny levers on competing wheels.
Foldability
You may need or want to store your chair out of the way. If you think this is a requirement, you'll need one that folds. The Peg Perego Siesta folds relatively flat, as does the Graco Slim Snacker. As mentioned above, the Baby Jogger City Bistro folds not only flat but in half and keeps the tray with it, making it easy to store. For the price point, however, we still preferred the Peg Perego Siesta and found that it folded just as flat, although with a taller profile.
Important Terms
The high chairs we tested work for a range from infancy to a 250 lbs adult! They are all considered full-size, meaning they are meant to stay in your home in one location. Let's review key terms you'll see when reading about high chairs to get a feel for the features and functions you might want in a high chair.
The simple 3-point restraint system that buckles around baby's waist.
Credit: Jessica Stevenson
Harness/Restraint System: This includes the belts, buckles, and straps that retain a baby safely in the chair. Some chairs have a 5-point harness, two shoulder straps, and two waist straps that buckle into a crotch strap. Others have only a 3-point harness with waist straps that buckle into the crotch strap. Still, a minority of options have only side straps that meet in the middle, like an old-school seatbelt. Whatever your preference, a harness should be easy to adjust to get a secure fit. The Munchkin 360 was the one chair we tested with a restraint system we didn't love. Although functional and safe, the straps did not attach to the chair at the shoulder, meaning that you had to dig them out of the seat, untangle them, and then loop them over the baby's shoulders. It wasn't our favorite, but it's also not necessarily a dealbreaker if this sort of thing doesn't bother you.
Crotch Restraint/Safety Post: The safety post goes between the baby's legs to prevent slipping under the tray or out of the chair. Some chairs have a stationary crotch restraint, and others have a crotch post attached to the tray or seat bottom. We prefer products with a fixed center post as it is a little less likely that the baby will slip out. If the post is connected to the tray, it likely won't fit in the dishwasher, and you can't put the tray flat on the counter, something you'll want to do when prepping a meal. The Baby Jogger City Bistro was one option with a tray attached to the crotch post. We didn't love this because it meant there was some potential for the baby to slip out when the tray was off.
Adjustments: Many chairs have adjustable features. Chairs with recline and height-adjustable features offer more comfort for the baby or parent.
Portability: Full-size high chairs are not portable chairs or boosters suitable for travel. For this review, 'portability' refers to moving around your house.
Additional Considerations
Easiest to get baby in and out - Do pudgy legs get stuck going in or out? Is it difficult to locate the harness once your baby is in the chair? Does the baby slide around when you remove the tray? Do the brakes work?
Harnessing baby - Is the harness easy to operate? Can you adjust it with your baby in the seat? Does it have a three or five-point harness? Can it quickly unbuckle? What about with gunk stuck in the buckle?
Baby's comfort and positioning - Is the seat comfortable, or do you need to reposition your child regularly? Does the tray squish body parts or allow food to fall into the chair or on the floor? Is there enough legroom, and where is the footrest located?
Ease of use throughout your baby's growth - Will the chair work for an infant and an older toddler?
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Conclusion
A baby high chair is typically considered must-have baby gear for most parents. While you can skip this purchase with a laid-back lifestyle, it's hard to deny that a high chair can make life easier by creating a dedicated space for your little one to eat, especially if you regularly sit down as a family for meals. Because high chairs are traditionally used for 2-3 years and potentially through multiple children, it's a decision we think you should thoughtfully consider. No matter your specific dining needs or goals, there is a practical, functional (and potentially stylish) high chair for you in this roundup of top products.
—Juliet Spurrier, MD, Wendy Schmitz, & Katie Brown
