The 11 Best Car Seats, According to Experts and Parents

Graco SnugFit 35 Infant Car Seat ($170)

This is the most registered infant car seat on Babylist in 2024. As Reardanz explains, "users love the easy installation and great value of this infant car seat. This seat also has an Anti-Rebound Bar which offers an additional layer of rear-facing safety by limiting rotation in the event of a crash." Slightly wider than the Clek Liing at 17.5 inches, it's still narrow. It can also be used with a variety of strollers using adaptors.

Britax® Grow with You ClickTight Harness-2-Booster Car Seat ($210)

This car seat converts from a 5-point harness car seat and into a belt-positioning booster. It will grow with your child from the toddler to big-kid stage.

Nuna AACE Booster Seat ($250)

This booster seat from Nuna can convert from a high back to backless booster with ease, earning it the top spot for booster seats from Consumer Reports. The seat also comes in two sleek colors, Caviar and Granite, with a machine-washable fabric, making it an aesthetically pleasing and easy to clean.

Pico™ Portable Car Seat ($390)

I travel frequently with my kids and the Pico Portable Car Seat is the best option I've tried. Recommended for ages two years and older, it's compact, it weighs 8 lbs, and it passes all U.S. safety standards for motor and vehicles. This forward-facing seat can also go in the overhead compartment on flights, which is a non-negotiable for me as in my experience, airlines repeatedly lose car seats when you check them.

This car seat installs quickly which is invaluable because after a long day of travel. The last thing you want to do is to spend 20 minutes fiddling around with the car seat while your kids are having a meltdown.

Britax One4Life Slim All-in-One Car Seat ($400)

If you're looking for an all-in-one for a smaller car or hoping to fit multiple backseat passengers, the Britax One for Life Slim is your best bet. The 17.5-inch design can help make it easier to fit three passengers in the backseats. Since it can be used for 10 years and is easy to install thanks to Britax's secure ClickTight installation, it is a convenient choice for families who will be moving between cars or for secondary caregivers like grandparents.

Clek Liing Infant Car Seat, Railroad - Flame Retardant Free ($480, originally $530)

This car seat got top ratings from Consumer Reports when it comes to infant safety. While donning a pretty hefty price tag, the Clek Liing earned a 5/5 for ease of use and a "best" rating when it comes to crash protection. And while some car seats come with confusing systems, Liing's Rigid-LATCH is designed with simplicity in mind so that you can strap in your little one without having to worry about it being done incorrectly.

In testing out this car seat with my infant, I found it very easy to use. I loved that it is a compact car seat which allows for a few more precious inches of legroom for the front seat passenger. It's also only 16.9 inches wide, which allows for 3 passengers to fit comfortably in the back seat. My favorite feature is the convenient one-handed quick release which makes it easy to remove from a car seat base. It can also be used seamlessly with many top stroller brands with adapters.

Doona Car Seat and Stroller ($550)

A hybrid car seat and stroller, the Doona does it all. As someone who has traveled with an infant with various car seat and stroller set-ups, I can attest that the ease that Doona provides as an all-in-one is miraculous. "We're seeing a lot of Babylist registry interest in the Doona," says Reardanz. "Parents love it for the convenience especially when traveling, as it transforms from a car seat to a stroller and vice versa without you needing to take the baby out." One of our editors echoed this sentiment in her review of the Doona.

Editor Quote: "I consider the Doona Car Seat and Stroller a true must have for fellow parents of infants who don't have their own car. The ease is simply unparalleled — there's no stroller system to lug around, just the Doona." — Mirel Zaman, director of Health & Fitness

Nuna RAVA™ Convertible Car Seat ($550)

Scoring high marks from Consumer Reports, the Nuna Rava is a popular choice among parents looking for a convertible car seat. In testing this car seat with my three year old son, I found it straightforward and easy to install. Once installed, the harness adjusts with one hand rather than a rethread harness which requires you to manually rethread the straps and harness.

My son found it very comfortable and easy to climb into. It allows children up to 50 lbs to stay rear facing and provides an additional two inches of legroom in that position. It's also very easy to clean since the seat cover, harness pads, and infant insert are all machine washable.

Baby Jogger City Turn Convertible and Rotating Car Seat ($550)

Rotating car seats are a newer trend picking up steam. "Parents love them for their convenience," says Reardanz. "They swivel so getting the baby or toddler in and out of the seat is easier." The City Turn is the top rated rotating convertible car seat on Consumer Reports list.

Your back will thank you since it will reduce the bending and twisting that goes along with putting a child in their car seat. The rotation feature is limited to rear-facing but the seat allows for extended rear-facing use up to 50 lbs. In my experience, the rotation feature is most helpful until a child can climb into the car seat which for my son was around two and a half years old while he was still rear-facing. Once forward facing, the weight limit is 65 lbs, making it a car seat that will serve a child for many years.

Nuna EXEC™ All-In-One Car Seat ($750)

This luxury all-in-one car seat is usable from 5 to 120 lbs. Not only is it ultra comfortable with extended leg room while rear-facing and extra support while forward-facing, it has 8 reclining positions and breathable, high-quality knit fabric. What's more, the washable covers make for an easy cleanup. If you're a parent suffering decision fatigue and want the one-and-done solution for a car seat, this one's for you.

Babyark Convertible Car Seat - Classic ($790)

The seat comes highly recommended by Jennifer Saxton, founder and CEO of Totsquat, who says it's a "total gamechanger in the industry." She continues: "the dad who created this company is an aeronautical engineer who had created life-saving seats for helicopters and armored vehicles. He just genuinely wanted to reimagine what a safe car seat looks like and make it super easy to install for tired parents."

It features two proprietary energy-absorption technologies that significantly reduce frontal and side crash forces in the event of an impact: SafeCoil™ and BioArk™. Bonus: it never expires.

Genevieve Farrell Roston is an award-winning filmmaker and the director of fitness and wellness video at PS. She oversees both the Class Fitsugar and Dance Fitsugar series, which make fitness fun and accessible for a community of more than six million subscribers and which have a library of videos that has received nearly one billion views.

Rebecca Brown is a former PS editor and contributor.

Alexis Jones is the senior health and fitness editor at PS. Her passions and areas of expertise include women's health and fitness, mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women's Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.