IKEA Antilop High Chair Review The £20 Chair That Outperforms Everything Twice Its Price
A full review of the IKEA Antilop — the world’s bestselling high chair and the one that genuinely baffles the competition on value. We look at what the £20 gets you, what it doesn’t, the best upgrades, and whether the limitations are actually deal-breakers.
The IKEA Antilop is one of the best purchases in the entire category of baby products — not just among high chairs. At £20 (chair and tray included), it is the world’s bestselling high chair for a reason: it does the essential job correctly, cleans in seconds under a tap, takes up minimal space, removes with one click from its legs for travel or storage, and survives everything a weaning baby can throw at it. Its ergonomics are not as considered as the Stokke Tripp Trapp, and it does not recline or fold as neatly as the Joie Mimzy — but for most families who simply need a safe, clean, practical feeding station, the Antilop is the honest answer regardless of budget.
① Full Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | £20 (chair + tray included) |
| Age range | 6 months to approximately 3 years / 15kg |
| Material | Polypropylene plastic seat, steel tube legs |
| Tray | Included — dishwasher safe |
| Harness | 5-point (lap belt + shoulder straps) |
| Footrest | No — not adjustable, no built-in footrest |
| Recline | No — upright only |
| Height adjust | No — fixed height |
| Seat detaches | Yes — clicks on/off legs for portability |
| Folds flat | No (but legs store separately) |
| Weight | ~3.6kg |
| Colours | White, pink, black (in-store availability varies) |
② Design — Why So Simple Is So Good
The Antilop’s design philosophy is radical reduction. Seat, tray, harness, four legs. No padding, no recline, no height adjustment, no moving parts beyond the tray clip and harness buckle. Every element that typically breaks, wears out, mildews, or becomes difficult to clean on a high chair has been removed. What remains is a polypropylene shell that is fundamentally indestructible under normal domestic use, a dishwasher-safe tray with a single-lever release, and a 5-point harness that clips securely and releases cleanly.
The seat shell is ergonomically basic but functional. The scoop shape positions the child upright with the hips slightly flexed — an adequate posture for feeding, though lacking the adjustable footrest that promotes optimal trunk stability in more expensive chairs. For young babies in the 6–12 month range, a rolled muslin or small cushion behind the lower back makes the seat more comfortable. From around 12 months, when the child has more independent trunk control, the shape works well without modification.
The click-off leg design means the seat can be removed from the legs in under 10 seconds. This makes the Antilop genuinely portable — take just the seat to a restaurant (it sits on a standard adult chair and converts it to a child-safe seat), pack it in the car boot for visits to family homes without high chairs, or store it when it grows out of use without needing a large footprint in the garage.
③ Cleaning — Its Strongest Card
The Antilop is the easiest high chair to clean of any model we have reviewed. The smooth polypropylene shell has no crevices, no padding seams, no fabric panels, no recline mechanisms and no hinges where food can lodge. A cloth wipe removes 95% of debris. The tray goes in the dishwasher. The harness clips off and can be hand-washed. The entire chair can be hosed down in a garden or put in a shower.
In practice, cleaning the Antilop after a messy meal takes approximately 30 seconds — wipe the seat, wipe the tray, click back together. Compare this to the Stokke Tripp Trapp (cushion removal, wiping around the baby set harness, wood cleaning), the Joie Mimzy (wipe-clean seat plus dishwasher tray, more crevices in the reclining mechanism), or almost any padded high chair with fabric insert panels. The cleaning time difference over three years of daily use is substantial.
④ The Best Antilop Upgrades
The Antilop’s two most-discussed limitations — no footrest and basic ergonomics — are both addressable with inexpensive third-party additions that the IKEA parent community has refined into established recommendations.
⑤ Genuine Limitations
No footrest. The most significant ergonomic gap. Feet hanging unsupported reduces trunk stability and can cause discomfort during longer meals. The third-party footrest upgrades above address this adequately, but the base chair does not include one. This is the primary reason the Ergonomics score is 6.8 rather than higher.
Fixed height. The Antilop sits at one height only — appropriate for a standard adult dining table. If your dining table is non-standard in height (particularly low or particularly high), check the Antilop’s dimensions against your table before purchasing. At the correct table height, the child sits at a natural eating position. At the wrong table height, it does not adjust.
No recline. Not suitable for very young babies who cannot yet sit independently. The standard guidance is upright sitting ability as a prerequisite for the Antilop — approximately 6 months with good head and trunk control. For parents wanting to start weaning slightly earlier or for babies with delayed trunk development, a reclining chair (Joie Mimzy, Philips Avent, others) is more appropriate.
Limited age range for intensive daily use. The Antilop’s seat size accommodates most children to approximately 3 years and 15kg. It does not grow with the child the way the Stokke Tripp Trapp does. For families wanting a single chair from weaning to school age — a growing chair is the appropriate purchase. For families who want the best value for the weaning years specifically — the Antilop covers the period completely.
⑥ vs Joie Mimzy and Stokke Tripp Trapp
Our full comparison of the Stokke Tripp Trapp and Joie Mimzy covers both chairs in depth. In the three-way context with the Antilop: the Antilop wins on cleaning ease, portability and price, with no competition. The Joie Mimzy wins on features (recline, foldability, adjustable footrest included) at a budget price. The Stokke Tripp Trapp wins on longevity, ergonomics and adult-furniture quality.
Many families who own a Stokke or Joie also own an Antilop specifically for travel, restaurant use, grandparents’ homes, or as a garden chair. At £20, buying the Antilop as a second chair alongside a primary chair is a common and sensible approach.
Buy it. At £20, the limitations are outweighed before you even sit down to consider them. Add a footrest and you have an excellent weaning chair.
The Antilop’s 8.6 score would be higher if not for the footrest omission — a gap that affects ergonomics meaningfully in the early weaning months. Add a £25 third-party footrest and the total cost is £45 for a chair that cleans better, stores more compactly, and travels more easily than anything at £100–£200.
The only families for whom the Antilop is not the right choice are those specifically wanting a chair that grows to adulthood (Stokke Tripp Trapp), parents of very young babies needing a recline (Joie Mimzy or similar), and families who cannot access IKEA. For everyone else — the Antilop is the honest recommendation from a site that has no financial reason to recommend the cheap option.
