Best High Chairs UK 2026

Decide whether you are buying temporary feeding equipment or a chair you expect to keep at the table for years.

High chairs split into two broad groups. Some are purpose-built feeding seats designed for the first few years, with trays, wipe-clean surfaces and folding frames. Others are adjustable dining chairs that use a baby set for the high-chair stage and then continue as a child or adult seat long after the harness and tray have gone.

That difference matters more than a long accessory list. A Tripp Trapp or CYBEX Lemo takes more planning because the chair, baby set, tray and newborn accessories form a system. IKEA ANTILOP does almost the opposite: it gives you a simple bucket seat, harness and removable tray at very low cost, but no integrated footrest or later chair stage.

Silver Cross Gourmet sits between those approaches. It is a conventional folding high chair with seven heights and five recline positions, including a fully reclined newborn cradle mode. That newborn setting extends when the chair can be present at the table, but feeding still begins only when the baby can sit safely upright.

Stokke Tripp Trapp + Baby Set²

The strongest long-term choice if you want an adjustable wooden chair at the dining table rather than a folding high chair that is packed away after toddlerhood.

Tripp Trapp makes most sense when you stop thinking of it as a conventional high chair. It is an adjustable dining chair designed to change with the child, with the current Baby Set² creating the supported high-chair stage once they can sit unaided.

That long lifespan is its main advantage, but it also explains why the buying decision is more complicated than with an all-in-one high chair. The chair, Baby Set², tray, cushion and Newborn Set are separate components unless bought as a bundle. This means that the real cost depends on how you intend to use it. Its value is strongest if you want a chair that stays at the dining table for years rather than something used only through weaning.

The adjustable seat and footplate are what make Tripp Trapp different

Both the seat and footplate can be repositioned as the child grows, allowing the chair to maintain proper support rather than leaving smaller children with their legs hanging below a fixed seat. Later, the same adjustment lets the chair move beyond the high-chair stage without needing to be replaced.

That is the feature that gives Tripp Trapp its longevity. Plenty of high chairs handle feeding perfectly well for less money, but far fewer are designed to remain useful once the harness and baby supports have been removed. The premium is easier to justify if that later use is genuinely part of the plan.

The Baby Set² is part of the high-chair setup, not an incidental accessory

Stokke lists the Baby Set² for children who can sit unaided, approximately six months to three years. It attaches to the chair to provide the higher back and side support needed during that stage, turning the underlying Tripp Trapp into the feeding setup most parents will recognise as a high chair.

That distinction matters when comparing prices. The bare chair is not directly equivalent to a complete high chair for a six-month-old, so compare the cost of the configuration you actually need rather than the chair alone. The optional tray adds another decision: use Tripp Trapp pulled directly up to the dining table, or create a more self-contained feeding space.

The Newborn Set extends the system, but not the feeding stage

The optional Newborn Set brings a newborn up to table height in a reclined supported seat before they are ready for the Baby Set. Its appeal is practical rather than developmental: it lets the baby join family mealtimes without being left at floor level while the rest of the household sits at the table.

It does not bring forward the point at which solid food should begin, and it is not a sleep product. The Newborn Set therefore adds another useful stage to the Tripp Trapp system, but only if that specific use is valuable enough to justify another accessory.

IKEA ANTILOP Highchair

A very low-cost high chair with a wipe-clean plastic seat and removable legs, strongest when simplicity matters more than adjustment or long-term conversion.

ANTILOP succeeds by doing very little. It is essentially a moulded plastic seat, safety belt, tray and four detachable legs, with no recline, height adjustment or padded insert adding cost or complexity. IKEA lists it for children who can sit unaided up to three years or 15kg.

That simplicity is the reason to buy it. It is easy to clean, cheap to replace and straightforward to dismantle, but it offers far less adjustment than the more expensive chairs here. ANTILOP makes most sense if you want a basic feeding seat and are happy to give up features such as integrated foot support and adjustable seating.

Cleaning is where the simple design pays off

There are very few places for food to hide. The plastic seat and tray wipe down easily, with no padded seams, fabric covers or complicated joints around the main eating area. During the messiest stages of weaning, that can be more useful day to day than a longer feature list.

The tray is removable, so the chair can also be brought closer to the dining table where the dimensions allow. What you do not get is a tray that adjusts towards the child, so the seating position is much less configurable than on more sophisticated high chairs.

The lack of a footrest is its biggest compromise

ANTILOP has no built-in foot support, leaving the child’s feet unsupported unless you add an aftermarket footrest. That is the clearest functional gap versus chairs such as Tripp Trapp and Lemo, where foot support forms part of the core seating system.

Whether that matters depends on what you expect from the chair. If you want the seating position to adapt as the child grows, ANTILOP is deliberately limited. If you simply want a stable, inexpensive high chair that is easy to keep clean, the compromise is much easier to accept.

The detachable legs help occasionally, rather than every day

The four legs pull out of the seat, making ANTILOP easier to fit into a car or store away for longer periods than its assembled size might suggest. That makes it particularly practical as a second chair for grandparents or occasional travel.

It is less convincing if you need to put the chair away after every meal. Removing four legs is not the same as folding a frame in one movement, so a chair such as the Silver Cross Gourmet is better suited to spaces where daily storage is part of the routine.

Silver Cross Gourmet Highchair

A conventional folding high chair with seven heights, five reclines and a removable tray, including a fully reclined newborn cradle mode before feeding begins.

Gourmet is the conventional high-chair choice here, but with considerably more adjustment than a basic standalone seat. It offers seven height settings, five recline positions, a three-position footrest and a removable tray with a dishwasher-safe divider, then folds to 26cm deep when it needs to be put away.

That breadth of adjustment is its main strength. It suits homes where the chair needs to work at different table heights and disappear between meals, rather than becoming a permanent piece of dining furniture. The trade-off is a larger, more mechanical frame than the wooden chair systems, particularly when it is open.

Seven height positions make it genuinely adaptable around the home

The seat can move through seven heights, giving Gourmet useful flexibility between dining tables, kitchen counters and feeding away from a table. Later, the tray can be removed so the chair sits closer to the family table.

That versatility is more meaningful than it may sound on paper if the same chair moves between rooms or eating positions during the day. Against Tripp Trapp or Lemo, however, Gourmet is less about long-term furniture use and more about giving you plenty of adjustment during the high-chair years.

The fold is one of Gourmet’s strongest practical advantages

Silver Cross says the chair can be folded at any height, with the tray stored upright or attached to the rear legs. At 26cm deep when folded, it is far easier to move out of the way than a fixed wooden chair that remains beside the table permanently.

That makes Gourmet particularly well suited to kitchens and dining areas where floor space has to be reclaimed between meals. If the chair can stay in position all day, the folding mechanism matters less and longer-term adjustability becomes a more important point of comparison.

Newborn cradle mode extends its usefulness before weaning

Gourmet can also be fully reclined at its lowest height for newborn cradle mode, allowing a baby to stay raised closer to the family before they are ready for the upright high-chair stage. That gives the chair a useful role earlier than many conventional high chairs.

It does not bring feeding forward. Once solids begin, the appropriate upright configuration and normal developmental signs for readiness still apply. The cradle mode is therefore an additional seating stage rather than an extension of the high-chair feeding stage.

CYBEX Lemo 4-in-1

A complete modular package with bouncer, baby set and tray, followed by an adjustable chair intended to remain usable long after the high-chair stage.

Lemo 4-in-1 takes the modular-chair idea and packages most of the useful stages together from the outset. The current set includes the Lemo chair, Baby Set, tray, Gold Bouncer Nest, newborn inlay, head hugger, adapters and leg extensions, covering newborn seating through to the standalone chair stage.

That makes the initial price easier to understand than a system where several essential components are added separately. It is still only good value if you expect to use those stages, though. The 4-in-1 proposition is strongest for families who want the newborn bouncer and later high-chair setup rather than simply the underlying Lemo chair.

The bundle removes most of the accessory decisions

Because the bouncer, Baby Set and tray are already included, you are buying something much closer to the complete multi-stage system from the start. That makes it easier to compare the real cost with other premium chairs if newborn-height seating is part of what you want.

The reverse is also true. A comprehensive bundle can leave you paying for accessories that never become useful. If the bouncer stage is unlikely to matter, the full 4-in-1 package loses some of its advantage over a simpler Lemo configuration or a more conventional high chair.

Tool-free adjustment is what gives Lemo its long-term value

The seat and footrest can be repositioned in height and depth without tools, making it relatively easy to adapt the chair as the child grows. That adjustment is what carries Lemo beyond the Baby Set stage and turns it into a long-term dining chair rather than equipment that becomes redundant after toddlerhood.

The 120kg maximum belongs to the standalone chair configuration, not to every stage of the system. The bouncer and Baby Set each have their own limits, so Lemo is better understood as a chair that changes configuration over time rather than a single high-chair setup with one continuous weight range.

The bouncer adds a useful newborn stage, not an earlier feeding stage

The Gold Bouncer Nest attaches to the Lemo frame using the included adapters, bringing a newborn up closer to table height in a supported reclined position. For families who like having the baby alongside them during meals, that is one of the more convincing reasons to choose the 4-in-1 package.

It remains separate from feeding use. The bouncer does not change when a baby is ready for solids, and once feeding begins the Baby Set and appropriate upright seating position become the relevant configuration.

Full comparison

These chairs differ most in how long the frame remains relevant and how much of the feeding setup is included from the start.

How to choose the right high chair

The most important questions are where the chair will live, how easy it is to clean and whether you want it to remain furniture after the high-chair stage.

A footrest matters more as meals get longer

Once a child is sitting for longer family meals, stable foot support can make the seating position feel more settled than leaving both legs unsupported. Adjustable wooden chairs are strongest here because the support can move as the child grows.

A fixed high chair can still work well, but check where the feet actually land at the stage you expect to use it. “Footrest included” does not necessarily mean it will align well for every child.

Harness use follows the product instructions, not convenience

Use the restraint system required for the child’s stage and do not rely on the tray to keep a child in the seat. The exact harness setup changes across modular and conventional high chairs, so the manual for the precise model is the reference point.

No high chair should be treated as a place to leave a child unattended. The stable frame and harness reduce foreseeable movement risk; they do not replace adult supervision during meals.

Frequently asked questions