The 5 Best High Chairs

Our Picks of High Chairs

Best Overall High Chair for Baby

Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair

Use Range	6mo-12y+ Max weight: 250 lbs
Harness	3 and 5-point
Dimensions	21.5"L x 17.5"W x 35"H
Footprint (sqft)	2.6
Weight (lbs)	18.3 lbs

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. The Stokke Tripp Trapp also deserves an honorable mention in this category. Similar to the Abiie, it is a wooden chair that will grow with your child and can last a lifetime. It comes at a premium price and it can be a bit tricky to get baby into, but it is lighter than the Abiie and a beloved product with a loyal following of users.

The Abiie 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.

Read more: Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair review

Best Easy to Move High Chair

Peg Perego Siesta

Use Range	Recliner: Birth to 19.8 lbs Upright: 6mo to 45 lbs
Harness	5-point
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.

Read more: Peg Perego Siesta review

Best Budget High Chair

Skip Hop EON 4-In-1 Multi-Stage High Chair

Use Range	6 mo - 33 lbs/3 yrs, 80 lbs for chair
Harness	5-point
Dimensions	26.4" L x 27.4" D x 36" H
Footprint (sqft)	4.9
Weight (lbs)	11.9 lbs

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.

Read more: Skip Hop Eon 4-in-1 Multi-Stage High Chair review

Best Chair on the Tightest Budget

Ikea Antilop

Use Range	Up to 33 lbs/3yrs (minimum age not listed)
Harness	3-point
Dimensions	35 3/8" H x 24 3/8" D x 22" W
Footprint (sqft)	3.6
Weight (lbs)	7.9 lbs

The Ikea Antilop is one of the most affordable chairs on the market. Leave it to Ikea to create a highchair for $20 that isn't terrible. Seriously, it's even somewhat aesthetic. One tester commented, “It's perfect for storing at my parents' house. They have a highchair to use when babysitting, and I didn't have to spend a ton of money on something that wasn't going to be used all the time.” We like this chair's simplicity; it was super easy to assemble during testing, with IKEA's standard picture instructions and well-labeled parts. Minimal parts meant that it was very easy to clean and didn't have a lot of joints for food to get caught in. We also liked that the legs feel sturdy, but it still has a smaller footprint than some contenders. The chair is also the lightest in the group, making it easy to move around. And love that the leg holes are nice and large with plenty of room for precious chunky thighs.

There are a few downsides to this chair. The first is the removal of the tray. The chair is designed without any clips or levers to get the tray on or off. You simply set the tray in its spot and then snap it into place. To get it off, requires pulling hard on one corner. It feels like you're going to break the whole thing. And if you misread the instructions and don't realize that you need to pull from the corner, it won't come off. One user mentioned, “My elderly grandmother couldn't use this chair because she lacks hand strength and can't pull hard enough to get the tray off.” This is, in our opinion, a fairly significant design flaw, especially if you are planning to use this highchair for grandparents. Alternatively, the Munchkin Float has an easy-to-remove tray that stows on the back legs when not in use. In addition, the tray must be on before the baby goes in the chair and shouldn't be removed until after the baby is out. Also, the seat has a more upright position than most chairs, meaning that the seat is not appropriate for bottle feeding or smaller/younger babies with less head, neck, and trunk control. The three-point harness provides less security than a five-point harness, making this chair more suitable for older babies and toddlers. Overall, we still feel this chair deserved an award due to its value/price ratio. It's a decent chair at a more-than-decent price.

Read more: Ikea Antilop review

Best Folding Highchair

Munchkin Float

Use Range	6mo-36mo, up to 33 lbs
Harness	5-point
Dimensions	25.2" x 21.25" x 33.8"
Footprint (sqft)	3.8
Weight (lbs)	11 lbs

The Munchkin Float was assembled before you could bat an eye. We didn't even need to reference the assembly instructions. Designed with small spaces in mind, this high chair is made of thick, durable plastic and has smooth, wooden legs. These features give the chair a clean, minimal feel and look without a higher price tag. Coming in at under $200, the Float looks more expensive than it is. And it has the added benefit of a small footprint, so you won't be tripping over it. This chair's most compelling feature is that it folds up, which is handy for a product used at designated times. Press two large buttons on the sides of the chair, and the legs easily fold in for easy storage. The tray also slides on and off easily, and the five-point harness buckles at the waist with one large button. “I have a small kitchen,” said one of our testers, “so I love that when I'm not using it, I can fold it and prop it against the wall.” The footrest also has the ability to flip over, giving it the ability to adjust to a higher setting for smaller babies. And the tray itself attaches to the back of the chair for easier storage when folded.

When testing this chair, we sometimes wished the seat also adjusted to move into a more streamlined position when folded. One user commented, “I wanted to fold the chair and slide it into the space between the wall and trashcan, but the seat was too bulky to do that.” In addition, the shoulder straps of the five-point harness are not attached to the chair itself, which can be a bit annoying and potentially mean less support/restraint. The leg divider on the seat also does not extend all the way down, which means that there is potential for a chunky thigh to get caught or a smaller baby to slide around, and the tray itself is not dishwasher safe, which might be a drawback for some. These drawbacks, however, are fairly common in chairs in this price range. Overall, this chair felt durable, high quality, and was easy to keep clean and store when not in use.

Read more: Munchkin Float review

How We Tested

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.

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?

There are some useful and budget-friendly options with features parents desire, like folding for storage in our testing lineup. The Skip Hop Eon 4-in-1 is less expensive and has everything you need, complete with quality materials that feel more expensive. The Munchkin Float is an option with a midrange price and functionality, but a functional, minimalist addition to any home. For the tightest budgets, we like the Ikea Antilop. This is a $20 highchair that performs well for the price, and is really all you need for a functional high chair. The Abiie Beyond Wooden is a stylish wood option that offers impressive quality and usability, and grows with your child. We think this high chair is a good long-term value despite the higher price, as it is less expensive than similar wood chairs, and it can last for literally years, becoming an adult chair for those up to 250 lbs.

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 a serious deal-breaker. Here are some ease-of-use features and quirks to consider:

• 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.

• 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 with Infant Insert, 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.

• 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. The Ikea Antilop also has a machine-washable cushion that can be purchased separately for a very affordable price, but without it, the chair is a basic seat with an almost 90-degree angle back to seat meet-up. Finally, the Peg Perego Siesta and Munchkin 360 come with their own washable cushions.

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. Surprisingly, some of the more affordable options are actually easier to clean, due to having fewer parts and pieces where food can get caught. The Munchkin Float and Ikea Antilop were notable in this way, with few places for gunk to hide and easy-to-wipe surfaces. 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.

• 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.

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.

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.

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 Abiie Beyond earned some of the highest quality scores, while the Stokke Tripp Trapp, Keekaroo Height Right, and Peg Perego Siesta followed right behind.

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. While not the smallest in use at 3.8 sqft, the Munchkin Float folds when not in use, making it easier to get out of the way. 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.

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.

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. The Munchkin Float folded nicely and very easily with an attached tray space, but the seat stayed stationary. 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, but as previously mentioned, we did have issues with its stability when in use.

Important Terms

The highchairs 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.

• 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 and Munchkin Float both had 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?

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.