Best baby or child car seats 2024: our expert picks for safety and comfort

Discover what you need to know to get the best child car seat with our expert buying advice and Best Buy recommendations.

Each child car seat we review is crash-tested and as well as giving a safety rating, we check to see how easy each is to fit and how comfortable it will be for your little one. 

Compare more than 200 of our baby and child car seat reviews to see which ones you can rely on to protect your child in the event of an accident.

Best baby and newborn car seats

Every year, we rigorously assess child car seats – from crash test safety to ease of installation – to help you find the model that will keep your child safe and comfortable. 

Only logged-in members can see our full list of the best child car seats in the tables below. Join Which? to get instant access to our Best Buys and expert reviews.

Best extended rear-facing car seats

Best car seats for older children

Best multi-group car seats

Find out what goes into our stringent car seat tests by reading out guide to how we test baby and child car seats

Why you can trust our car seat reviews

We buy every single car seat we test and refuse to accept any free samples or payment in return for testing specific car seats, so you can be sure that our reviews are 100% unbiased.

Our in-depth crash tests are derived from tests by Euro NCAP, the organisation that carries out crash testing on cars to show how well they protect occupants in severe accidents. The tests go beyond the minimum legal UK regulations. We also consider the ease of installation of the car seat and how comfortable it will be for your child to sit in.

Support your growing family: Our expert advice can help you make the right choices, from improving your home to planning your finances

What are car seat groups and how do they relate to i-Size?

Child car seats are bought in two ways: either according to your child's car seat weight group or according to the child's height. So for young babies, Group 0+ is from 0-13kg and an i-Size baby car seat is from 40-85cm – that's from birth to about 12-15 months old.

i-Size is part of R129, a regulation for child car seats introduced in 2013, while car seats based on weight relate to the older (but still legal R44 regulation). i-Size/R129 seats are based on a child's height instead of weight. The seats don't replace the weight-based seats at the moment, they just give you an alternative.

Read our guide to car seat height and weight groups to find out more.

360-degree or swivel car seats

Some child car seats have a swivel base to help you put your child into the seat, as you can turn it towards the car's door. Others have a swivel base to make it easier to switch between rearward-facing and forward-facing. The degree of swivel also varies – some can turn 360 degrees, while others turn 180 degrees.

To get more advice on buying the right, read our guide on 360-degree car seats that swivel.

Download our car seat shopping checklist

Save and print our free checklist and take it with you when you visit a store to ensure you're getting asked the right questions or read on for the topics car seat retailers should be asking about below.

Your child's age, height and weight

Make a note of your child's height in centimetres and their weight, recording it in imperial and metric units – people often use pounds and ounces, but car seats are approved for weight groups in kilograms (kg).

The number of children you already have

If you're going to have more than one child in your car, make sure multiple seats will safely fit across the rear seat. Most vehicles can fit two child car seats but, if you've got three children and a small car, you could have issues.

Whether your car has Isofix points

Isofix are metal bar connectors built into the chassis of your car and are often hidden behind the seat padding. They're designed to make installing car seats quick and easy, and all new vehicles feature the system.

Take a look at our guide to Isofix car seats to read common Q&As about isofix connectors and why they're so important.

The height of front-seat passengers

If you've got a car seat with a base that uses a support leg or an extended rear-facing model, check that you can still use the front passenger seat, especially if you have a partner who's particularly tall.

Airbags

You should never put a rearward-facing baby seat in front of an active passenger airbag. Make sure the child restraint doesn't rest against the door where side airbags are fitted or against the airbag panel. You can turn off passenger airbags in some cars.

Headrests

The car's headrest shouldn't shouldn't touch the car seat and the car seat should sit flush against the back of the vehicle seat. You may need to remove it entirely so it's out of the way.

Length of seatbelt stem

New cars have buckles quite close to the seat, but older cars often have the buckle on a longer stem. 'Buckle crunch' happens when the length of the stem means the seatbelt buckle bends around the shell of the car seat when fastened. This results in a weak connection and puts pressure on the buckle – it could break or come undone in an accident. 

Seatbelt length

Some seatbelts aren't long enough to go around a rearward-facing infant carrier. You can avoid this by using an Isofix base and clicking it into the Isofix points (if your car has them).

Underfloor storage compartments

You shouldn't use a base or car seat that has a support leg in a vehicle that has an underfloor storage space in the passenger footwell. The lid of the storage compartment isn't strong enough to withstand the forces the support leg will put on it in a crash. 

Top tether anchor points

Some car seats offer tether strap options as an alternative to a support leg. They should only be fixed to a tether anchor point designed to withstand the force of a child car seat pulling away from it in a crash.

Will the car seat be used in other cars?

You need to know whether the cars you most commonly use (such as those of grandparents and childminders) have Isofix mounts or whether you'll need a seat that you can fit using the seatbelt.

How do I know when my child is too big for their car seat? 

It's always best to keep your child in their seat until they've reached the maximum height or weight capacity – don't try to move them before this.

Look out for other signs such as the position of your baby's head and the location of their shoulders in relation to the top of the car seat harness.

Find out how you can tell when it's time to change car seats to make sure you're fully clued up.

Toddler car seats and the benefits of extended rear-facing car seats

Toddler car seats typically start from around 12-15 months depending on whether you choose an R44 or R129/i-Size seat and are the next stage on from an infant carrier car seat. We think that at this age, it's far safer to choose a car seat that keeps your baby in a rear-facing position – preferably until they're at least four years old.

This is because their bodies may not be strong enough to withstand the forces they wouldd experience in a front-on crash if they're facing forward. 

Extended rear-facing car seats that let you keep your child rear-facing until the age of four/18kg/105cm are common, and crash tests show that they're much safer.

What age should children start forward-facing?

We recommend parents keep their child rear-facing until they're at least four years old (100-105cm or around 18kg).

Find out more about rear-facing baby car seats and extended rear-facing toddler car seats or see our toddler car seat reviews.

How much should I spend on a car seat?

You can spend as little as £20 up to hundreds of pounds. Our advice would be to get the best for your budget.

We crash test each car seat we review,and it's very rare we see a cheap car seat that provides enough protection to become a Best Buy.

Where to buy a baby or child car seat

Argos, Asda, Halfords, and John Lewis are the some of the most searched-for baby and child car seat retailers at the time of writing. 

We've included links to these retailers because of their stock availability, best-value price or delivery options. Each seller also has a customer score of 70% or more in our best baby and child shop survey as rated by more than 7,000 parents.

• Argos sells car seats for infants, toddlers and children from birth to 12 years old, including brands such as Graco, Joie Baby and Maxi-Cosi. Prices start around £30 for child car seats, with baby car seats starting from £55. Argos offers same-day in-store collection at selected Sainsbury's stores for free, offers free returns to any Argos store within 30 days of purchase and you can also collect Nectar points with each purchase.
• George at Asda stocks a good range of popular baby and child car seats for all groups, ages and seating positions. Prices start from £35 for both child and infant seats. George at Asda offers free online returns within 100 days of buying, free next-day click-and-collect at UK stores, and they've introduced a clothes recycling scheme that can get you a 10% off voucher for select online products.   
• Halfords has a wide variety of own-brand and branded baby and child car seats. Prices for baby car seats range from £69 to £250. High-backed boosters start at £29, while booster seats start at £15. Halfords also sells car seat bundles, which include additional accessories, such as sunshades and baby mirrors. Next day delivery is free for all orders over £20 and you can return an unwanted items within 28 days. 
• John Lewis offers more than 100 different car seats and accessories from popular brands such as Cybex, Joie Baby, Maxi-Cosi and Silver Cross. With most choices costing between £50 and £200, you'll qualify for free standard UK mainland delivery. You can also return any unused items to the store within 35 days. 

If possible, try to buy your car seat from a retailer with a fitting service and trained fitters. You may need to phone up in advance to make an appointment. The store should also be able to take the seat out to your car after you've bought it and fit it properly there. 

Our guide on how to fit a baby or child car seat has more details if you're struggling to fit a car seat.

The best baby or child car seat brands

In February 2024, we surveyed 3,030 parents who have a child aged up to five years. The data below is based on 2,735 people who owned a car seat.

In the table below, logged-in Which? members can view and compare which car seat brands have the most Best Buys or Don't Buys. If you're not a member join Which? to reveal the brand results.

Dangers of second-hand car seats

Second-hand car seats will have wear and tear that could affect the safety protection. The harness, for example, could have been cleaned with harsh chemicals that can make the fabric deteriorate or the seat could have been involved in a crash and weakened. These are things you can't tell just by looking at the seat.  

Older seats may not comply with the latest safety regulations or have gone through updated safety tests, or might be missing the instruction booklet that tells you how to install and adjust the seat safely.

What should you do with your old car seat?

Once your child no longer needs the car seat, you may struggle to know what to do with it. Some people choose to hold on to it for a second child, others may give to a family member and some might throw it away.

Find out whether you can fix a broken car seat, advice on buying or selling second-hand car seats and how to recycle an old car seat by reading our guide on what to do with an old car seat.