We consulted various experts, including pediatricians, occupational and physical therapists, and product designers.

We spent several hours researching high chair safety online, using the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s database to see which chairs had been recalled recently and why.

We also surveyed over three-dozen parents from across the country to determine which high chair features were most important, as well as to learn about chairs that people loved and hated.

Erica Pearson, this guide’s original author, is a former newspaper reporter with more than 15 years of experience interviewing experts in countless fields, including health, parenting, and safety. She’s also a mom of two. Jenni Gritters updated this guide in 2023 and again in 2024. She’s also a mom of two, and she has a decade of experience writing about parenting, purchasing, and psychology.

High chairs are among the few baby-gear items that are pretty much a necessity. Most babies begin eating solid food at around 5 or 6 months, and they start using a high chair at the same time. Some families put the high chair away before a child turns 2, while others continue to use the chair through toddlerhood and sometimes beyond (if it’s a booster or a convertible model). In all cases, a high chair will help keep the child—and the child’s food—in place and contained.

Our research and interviews led us to conclude that a great high chair has several attributes:

Safe and stable: A high chair should not feel wobbly at all. Some chairs have three-point safety harnesses, which buckle just around the legs and at the waist; others have five-point harnesses, which include shoulder straps. The safety harness type doesn’t necessarily make a chair safe or unsafe, said Heather Felton, a pediatrician and injury-prevention expert. She added, however, that “all of the straps that come with a high chair should be used.”

Simple to clean: Ease of cleaning is the thing that causes most people to love or hate a high chair. Tiny diners love smearing hands full of sticky puree everywhere they can reach. And, more often than not, toddlers are notorious for overturning entire bowls of Cheerios and milk. A high chair has the potential to drive a parent crazy if it has too many crevices where crumbs can collect, spaces under the seat where liquids can pool undetected, or a seat cover that can’t be easily thrown in the washing machine after a diaper leak.

Compact and manageable: Those who have limited space will likely appreciate a high chair with a smaller footprint. A chair that’s easy to fold or disassemble for long-term storage may also be a plus, as is a chair that’s easy to pack into the car or even into a suitcase for travel.

Designed to make meals easier and more pleasant: A great chair should also be reasonably simple to use. Due to their design, some chairs are easy to trip over, even if they’re not huge. The seat should be comfortable enough to keep a baby happy through mealtime. And, ideally, the chair should not be a total eyesore.

Also, in a comfy chair, a child will be able to sit with their hips, knees, and ankles at a 90-degree angle. Over the past few years, the occupational therapist who runs Feeding Littles (the popular baby-led-weaning education company) has recommended that everyone buy a high chair with a footrest. But the experts we spoke with were split on the issue. Carrie Pagliano, PT, told us kids move so much that they’re unlikely to use a footrest. Occupational therapist Julie Barnes said that when kids have their feet resting flat on a solid surface, this “provides the best postural support, which is the basis for stability of the neck and jaw during eating.”

In short, you can buy a high chair without a footrest, and everyone will get by just fine. But a footrest may help your child to use their energy for eating (a novel motor action for infants), rather than for maintaining their posture. (Many parents wrap an exercise band around our top pick, as a hack to give kids a place to rest their feet.)

We carefully considered about 30 popular models during our first round of testing, 12 during our second round (in 2023), and five more in 2024. We eliminated the chairs with many negative customer reviews that specifically described how difficult they were to clean. This process left us with a lineup of 13 high chairs to test the first time around, eight in 2023, and four in 2024.

Jenni and Erica tested the high chairs with their infants and toddlers. They timed the assembly of each of the 24 high chairs, noting any particular difficulties or frustrations. They measured each chair’s footprint, and they considered how easy a chair was to fold, roll, or lift out of the way between meals.

Then they used each chair with their children (who, over the years of testing, ranged in age from 7 months to 4 years old). Jenni and Erica focused on how difficult it was to get their kids in and out of the chairs, and they noted any cleaning challenges.

The IKEA Antilop has a smooth, rounded plastic seat and tray. It’s easier to clean, simpler to use, and less expensive than every other high chair we tested.

Although this model is lightweight, it’s also sturdy, and its neutral, white-and-silver design and clean lines look presentable in just about any decor. This high chair stacks easily with the tray removed (great for parents with twins or closely spaced kids, or for use at day care), and it’s simple to take apart for storage or travel. Although the Antilop chair has none of the extra features that many high chair designers consider to be standard—such as different height settings or a reclining seat back—we still preferred it over nearly every other chair.

It’s the easiest to clean. The Antilop high chair is just one piece of plastic, with no hard-to-reach areas where liquids can pool, and there are no crannies, cracks, or seams where grime can hide. There’s also no fabric (unless you spring for the optional support cushion). This chair’s tray fits in the dishwasher, and the safety straps are relatively easy to remove and toss in the washing machine. We love that you can bring the entire chair outside and spray it down with a hose.

The attached tray is easy to use, but it is designed to stay in place most of the time. We’ve found that this makes starting mealtimes simpler and easier, and it reduces clutter around the kitchen and dining room. And the tray’s 1-centimeter raised edge prevents many (but definitely not all) spills from ending up on the floor. When you do need to remove the tray, though, it can be a pain.

The 7.9-pound chair is lightweight, sturdy, and simple. And when the tray is removed, the high chair is easily stackable. It is very easy to assemble—we clocked two minutes. All you have to do is slide the chair’s legs into place and click on the tray. The Antilop chair has a smaller-than-most, 22-by-24-inch footprint and a three-point safety harness, so there are no shoulder straps to get messy. (We’ve found that the three-point harness is tight enough across a kid’s hips to keep them from being able to climb out, despite the lack of shoulder straps.) This chair doesn’t have wheels, but it doesn’t need them because it’s light enough to easily pick up and move around. (Many of the other chairs we tested weighed 25 pounds or more—we could easily see why the designers added wheels.)

The Antilop chair has a plain but attractive look. Though the chair is about as basic as can be, you can modify it in two important ways. First, the optional support pillow gives babies who are first learning to eat solids a little boost up to the tray (though the cushion quickly becomes unnecessary for many). Second, the high chair can also work without the tray, if you prefer to push it close to the table so your baby or toddler can eat there with the rest of the family; note, however, that the tray is not as easy to take off and put back on as using our upgrade pick, the Stokke Tripp Trapp. (To make cleanup even simpler, you can add a silicone placemat from Etsy that fits perfectly inside the tray. Or consider adding handmade, wipeable cushion covers in cute fabrics.)

Jenni has been using the Antilop since her son was born, four years ago. It’s a bit scratched up, but it remains entirely functional. She has taken it on road trips, moved it into four rental homes, and is now using it with her second child. For the price, this chair’s durability is something to behold.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The most common complaints about the Antilop chair tend to be about the tray. When parents remove the tray for the first time, many will be left wondering whether it’s actually intended to come off. This is a common question posted to online forums, and there are YouTube videos showing how to do it: Using one hand, you push down on the center of the seat, and then you yank the outer edge of the tray upward, with force (this is harder than you might think).

Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy enough to remove the tray and then snap it back in after washing it by hand or running it through the dishwasher. (It also loosens up over time.) It is dangerous, however, to try and remove the tray when a baby is in the chair, and IKEA warns against this behavior, with stickers on the tray itself. Jenni removes the tray to wash it every evening (and has done so for the past four years).

The tray does not adjust to move closer to or farther from the baby’s tummy, so more food may fall onto the seat than if you were using a chair with an adjustable tray. (IKEA’s optional back cushion helps with this problem, and it can bring smaller babies closer to the tray and allow them to sit up straight.) The seat puts no padding under a baby’s bottom, but it was comfortable enough for our littlest testers. This model also does not include a footrest, but you can add an aftermarket footrest or strap an exercise band across the legs, to give your child some extra support.

Parents of older babies and toddlers will also find that the Antilop chair requires some cooperation, especially with a heavier toddler (you’ll have to lift them way up and slide them in, similar to using a typical wooden high chair in a restaurant). IKEA does not provide a specific age or weight limit for its chair, but Jenni used it with her son until he was 4 years old.

It does not fold or adjust in any way. This high chair stands at a fixed height that allows you to pull it up to a dining table (the tray sits at the 29-inch mark). However, it’s too low for eating at a breakfast bar or taller counter.

To get this chair for $20, you have to take a trip to IKEA. You can also buy it through IKEA’s website, but shipping fees vary. Many IKEA products (here are some of our favorites) are now also available through Amazon, but often at an absurdly inflated price. The chair has no warranty.

The solid-beech Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair is the only high chair we tested that’s truly comfortable and easy to use—both for infants and for preschoolers who are ready to climb into a chair by themselves.

It’s also the only high chair we tested that has been part of an exhibition at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, thanks to its iconic 1972 design, by Norwegian designer Peter Opsvik. The aesthetics are clearly a draw, and they’re inseparable from this chair’s value. Unlike the IKEA Antilop and the vast majority of other high chairs, the Tripp Trapp is a piece of furniture you might keep forever: With its five configurations, it can grow from a first high chair for a 6-month-old to a toddler seat to a chair appropriate for most teens and even adults.

Among all of the high chairs we tested, the Tripp Trapp works for the widest range of ages. It was extremely comfortable for Erica’s 7-month-old, and it was even better for her preschooler, who could climb into it herself. The safety gliders (which attach to the legs) allow bigger kids to push away from the table without tipping and to get down on their own. Overall, this high chair seemed the sturdiest of the two-dozen models we tested, and it’s even designed to hold teenagers or adults up to 242 pounds.

It’s reasonably easy to clean. The simple-to-secure Baby Set attachment can go right in the dishwasher for cleanup (you can choose to purchase it separately or as a bundle from the get-go, which we recommend if you’re buying this seat for a baby under 2). You need a screwdriver to remove the safety harness, and the screw is tough to reach without taking the chair’s seat out, so it takes some effort to keep that grime-free. However, during our testing, the safety straps and buckle did scrub free of all stickiness and stains.

It can be used at the family table. Opsvik’s intent with the high chair (which he designed for his 2-year-old son) was to bring little ones right up to the table, so they could eat with the rest of the family. “On a Tripp Trapp chair, smaller children sit on a higher seat than the taller ones, and these reduced height differences have improved the interaction between children and grown-ups around the same table,” he wrote in an email. “Mealtimes have become more relaxed, and children find it easier to concentrate on the activities taking place around the table when the physical environment has been adapted to their size and needs.” Erica’s little tester loved being at the table with her parents and her big sister. Without a tray, though, all of the mess ends up on the tabletop, but a placemat can help with that.

In 2023, Jenni tested the new, less-expensive Stokke Steps, a plastic seat that mimics the Tripp Trapp’s design, and she found that her toddler liked its family-table friendliness as well. He loved the chair’s design so much that he declared it his “special seat” and refused to eat on anything else.

It has great resale value. The resale potential for used Tripp Trapp chairs is strong, and that may help justify the investment. For example, in New York City, they often sell on Craigslist for more than $150.

It comes in 10 colors (brights and neutrals). It also comes in lighter “natural” and darker “walnut” wood finishes (all of the chairs are made of beech).

When you register this chair, it has a seven-year warranty.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The add-ons are expensive. This chair can be purchased as a preschooler, kid, or adult chair for $240. But if you’re looking for a high chair for a baby, you’ll want the version including the high chair set, which consists of a plastic seat and back that attach to the chair’s wooden slats.

Parents who want their baby to eat apart from the table can buy an optional Stokke plastic tray; it’s lightweight, dishwasher-safe, and easy to attach to the Baby Set. There are also optional fabric cushions for the chair’s seat. (You can purchase this set as a bundle with the chair and the high chair set.)

Stokke also has a newborn seat attachment, which you can buy for an additional $150. The Stokke newborn seat, which we haven’t tested, can be used from birth up to a maximum weight of 19.8 pounds (most kids will probably want to sit up well before then).

At about 15 pounds, the Tripp Trapp is heavier to move around than its plastic-and-steel or plastic-and-wood counterparts. It also has a longer assembly time (36 minutes) than many other chairs we tested, but we found it was easier to put together and adjust than similar all-wood competitors.

If you’re looking for a high chair that can be packed in a suitcase or even slipped into a diaper bag, the Phil&teds Lobster Clip-On Highchair is the best choice. It weighs about 4 pounds, is smaller than a MacBook Air, and attaches more easily to more tables than other chairs of this type.

It’s extremely portable. This clip-on highchair is easy to bring around the world (as Wirecutter editor Lauren Sullivan has done with her three children) or down the street to your favorite family restaurant. It folds conveniently compactly, but because it clamps right to the table and has no footprint of its own, it also fits in small spaces that standalone highchairs cannot.

It’s compatible with more tables than other models we tested. The Lobster chair works just like any other clip-on chair: The arms slot onto a table, and then you use a tension rod to screw the clamps into place. This chair stands out because it fits on tables that are between 0.8 and 3.75 inches thick—a broader range than for other, similar seats.

It has a washable cover. The chair comes assembled, but you’ll need an Allen wrench to remove several of the parts, if you want to zip off the fabric cover for cleaning (you slide it over a few panels to fully remove it). The padded shoulder straps can also be removed for cleaning. Though the Phil&teds site recommends hand-washing, a company rep told us machine-washing is also okay. We machine-washed the cloth seat and the straps multiple times without incident.

Unlike other clip-on chairs we tried, this one has a slide-on, dishwasher-safe tray. This is a good idea in theory (less mess!), but it’s less useful in practice at a restaurant. Jenni’s daughter kept pushing the tray away from her, and it didn’t stay solidly attached to the chair.

Phil&teds products have a one-year warranty.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The Lobster is a bit more shallow than other clip-on chairs. At 10 months old, Jenni’s daughter was chunky, and her stomach was almost pressed against the table. Although the company says the Lobster chair can fit kids up to 37 pounds, we doubt that a bigger child would fit into the smaller frame.

We don’t recommend it for everyday use. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns against everyday use of chairs that clip to a tabletop, since this type of chair involves so many variables: The table must be stable and heavy enough to hold the weight of the baby and the chair; the caregiver needs to lock it on properly; and the baby may be able to kick and push, if they can reach the table with their legs. Be sure to test the table’s stability before you clip your baby on.

If you’re looking for an affordable and compact high chair to take to grandma’s: The Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat has been one of our favorite options for years. However, as of July 2024, the company has discontinued making the Healthy Care seat. They declined to share the reasons for this decision, and we found no evidence of recalls or safety concerns in our own research. You may be able to find this chair in retail stores through the end of the year, according to company representatives. You are also likely to find this chair second-hand.

The compact, 4-pound Healthy Care seat buckles to an adult chair, and it’s a versatile spare to keep at the grandparents’ house. It can work as either a high chair with a tray or as a booster pulled up to the table. It isn’t as comfy to sit in or as simple to clean as our top pick (it has buttons and seams that can collect grime or allow spills to reach the adult chair underneath). Compared with other chairs of its type, however, this one is easier to clean and less expensive.

If you want the ergonomics of the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair at a lower price point: The Mockingbird High Chair is a great option to consider. It’s made with hardwood and sturdy plastic. And, like the Tripp Trapp, it’s highly adjustable: The chair’s footrest can be adjusted to four different baby footrest heights, its seat has three widths, and the chair can also be converted into a toddler chair (which is ideal for a growing kiddo). Note, however, that the toddler footrest is not adjustable. This chair can hold 150 pounds, and it comes with the additions that the Stokke Tripp Trapp doesn’t, so it’s less expensive overall. The Mockingbird chair is also the narrowest of any model we tested, by nearly 2 inches. This chair was easy to clean, but it was tough to build, so you’ll want to follow the company’s emailed instructions closely.

If you like the Stokke brand, but you want a slightly less expensive option: The Stokke Steps chair is worth considering. This chair is similar to the Tripp Trapp chair, but it’s made with plastic, which is (arguably) easier to clean. Like the Tripp Trapp chair, the Steps chair requires multiple add-ons for use with an infant or a baby. But it has a long life and holds up to 187 pounds, and the resale value for any Stokke product is quite good.

If you’re looking for a more stylish and versatile chair: You might like Lalo’s The Chair, which, with added attachments, converts to a booster seat as well as a play chair. This chair’s plastic material is easy to clean (though we didn’t like having to wash the optional-use cloth cover), and its bucket shape kept Jenni’s daughter upright. It’s also lightweight, and it has a reversible footrest and removable tray. But the ribbon-like harness straps are tough to clean, the footrest is adjustable to only two positions, and the tray is difficult to remove. The company also makes an attractive and useful set of dishes.

If you want a clip-on chair, and you don’t mind a slightly larger size: The Inglesina Fast Table Chair is more padded than either the Lobster chair or the Chicco Caddy, and it accommodates slightly larger children. The machine-washable cover unzips, and it’s easier to remove than the covers of its competitors. But this chair is a bit bigger and heavier than the Lobster chair. So the Inglesina chair is tough to pack in a suitcase, and it has a ramp-like effect that pushed Jenni’s daughter toward the table. Its clamp system is just as secure as the Lobster’s, though.

With several ergonomic seating configurations and the ability to hold up to 220 pounds, the Bugaboo Giraffe offers a similar set-up to that of the Stokke Tripp Trapp, Lalo’s The Chair, and the Mockingbird High Chair. It has an easily adjustable footrest and seat, both of which slide up and down with the push of two buttons. It also has an easy-to-remove tray—though reviewers have noted that the white tray stains easily. As with the Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Stokke Steps chairs, with the Giraffe chair you can add an infant attachment (for $110), to bring your 0-to-6-month-old baby close to you while your family sits at the table. And for another $110, you can get the rocker frame, to use the high chair’s infant attachment as a rocker on the floor. We haven’t yet tested these additions, but we plan to this year.

The Chicco Caddy Portable Hook-On Chair uses the same clamp system as the Lobster chair, but the Chicco material is tougher to clean. (It buttons on, rather than unzipping; Jenni has used this chair for years, and she finds herself just leaving it dirty or hand-wiping it with a soapy cloth, versus taking the time to clean it, because disassembling it is annoying.) The Caddy’s clamp system is also harder to use than the Lobster chair’s, and the Caddy chair sometimes felt wobbly because it wasn’t clamped tightly enough. The Caddy is also bigger than the Lobster, and it won’t fit well in a suitcase, although it’s just fine for a road trip.

The Ergobaby Evolve is a high-quality chair made with thick pieces of wood, small pieces of plastic, and no metal. We liked the decently sized tray, which was easy to remove. It has a similar construction and look to both the Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Mockingbird chairs. And, like those chairs, the Evolve chair turns into a toddler seat. (It can also turn into a kitchen step stool, for an extra $50, if you bundle it with the high chair, or about $80 if purchased separately.) But turning the Evolve into a toddler chair requires quite a bit of deconstruction, and it holds only 100 pounds, less than the comparable chairs we recommend hold.

The Evenflo Eat & Grow 4-in-1 Convertible High Chair has a huge footprint, and it’s covered in fabric that’s machine-washable but a pain to remove. The tray is washable but tough to unsnap. And the materials feel cheap. This model converts to a toddler chair and a kid chair (as well as a table!), but we still prefer the IKEA Antilop.

The Graco EveryStep Slim 6-in-1 Highchair looks like a throne. But why, oh, why is it made with white pleather? We like that it’s adaptable, with possible configurations for infants, toddlers, and beyond. The tray comes off and is easy to throw into the dishwasher. And it rolls nicely (which is important, since it’s big and heavy). But the materials are hard to clean, and this chair is really huge. (We previously tested the Graco Blossom 4-in-1 Seating system, which was also tough to clean.)

The Graco DuoDiner LX Highchair is a modular chair that doesn’t try to turn into a youth seat at all; it works only as a regular high chair, a space-saver chair buckled to an adult chair, or a booster. That means there’s no hidden seat at the bottom to collect sticky liquid. On the other hand, the chair’s seat itself is much heavier and even more like a car seat than those of the other modular chairs. So this one is more difficult to take off and bring to the sink.

The Ingenuity Trio 3-in-1 High Chair was the least expensive modular chair Erica tested. But it also felt a little cheaper: The tray was tough to lock in, and the wheels had it sliding around the floor, even when they were locked. With misplaced footrests, it also didn’t transition well into a toddler chair. That said, it was the easiest modular chair to clean.

The best thing about the Joovy Nook is that its tray opens and swings out to one side, so the caregiver doesn’t need to take it off and then put it back on when seating a baby in the chair. The Nook also folds flat with one hand and leans nicely against the wall. The worst thing about the Nook is that removing the seat cushion for deep cleaning is extremely difficult.

The all-wood Keekaroo Height Right High Chair’s system for adjusting the seat and footrest is similar to that for the Stokke Tripp Trapp. So this model can be used throughout childhood and as an adult chair. It will likely work just fine for kids ages 3 and up, but it doesn’t seem ideal for the youngest eaters. The wooden tray was very heavy and clunky to slide in and out. And the combination of the seat height, tray placement, and three-point harness allowed Erica’s 7-month-old to lunge forward in the chair (the Stokke chair and the other wooden chair we tested, the now-discontinued Svan Signet Complete, both have a five-point harness).

The Phil&teds Poppy High Chair looks like something out of The Jetsons. But underneath its Aerocore seat cover, there are many hidden gaps, crannies, and slots in the plastic seat frame; in our tests they collected spilled juice and were a big pain to clean. The Amazon listing suggests that the Aerocore seat cover can go in the dishwasher, but the instruction manual advises scrubbing with soap and water instead. And indeed it wasn’t a good idea to put the cover in the dishwasher—it warped when we did so.

The Skip Hop Eon 4-in-1 has a deep bucket seat, which affected Jenni’s daughter’s posture. She wasn’t comfortable in the seat, and she tended to fuss and slouch rather than eat. With a silicone material that we could wipe down quickly and a tray cover that easily snapped off for the dishwasher, this seat was not a problem to clean. And it can convert to a shorter seat for a toddler. But it has a large footprint, and the footrest was too low for an infant and too high for a toddler. For a fraction of the price, the IKEA Antilop is a similar but far better option.

The Uppababy Ciro is an attractive, well-designed chair that’s easy to clean. We like that it has a short build time of less than 2 minutes, and a tray that pops on and off easily. But it maxes out at just 33 pounds, and doesn’t have an infant attachment or convert into a child chair. Jenni’s 60th percentile, 2-year-old daughter was almost too large for the chair.

Before testing, we ruled out a few other popular chairs, including Peg Perego’s Prima Pappa Diner and Siesta, because their seat covers were not machine-washable.

Falling is the most common high chair accident that lands children in the emergency room—usually because caregivers don’t fasten the safety straps that come with the chair, or they leave them too loose, explained Heather Felton, a pediatrician and injury-prevention expert in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Injuries from high chairs are fairly common in general. About 24 children are treated in the ER every day in the US, or about one per hour,” Felton wrote in an email. “Most falls happen when a child is climbing or standing on the chair. The most common types of injuries are to the head and neck, with closed head injuries, including concussions, being the most common.”

It’s important to follow the specific safety instructions that come with each chair. For example, it’s not safe to try to remove the IKEA Antilop chair’s tray while a baby is in the seat. The Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair’s manual explains that this high chair is not for use on rough surfaces and uneven floors—such as areas with rugs or tiles—because the chair needs to be able to slide backward. With both the Tripp Trapp and any booster, including the Fisher-Price Healthy Care, in which a child is buckled to an adult chair, you need to watch for frames underneath the table that a child could push their legs against, causing themself to tilt backward.

This article was edited by Rachel Hurn and Kalee Thompson.