In my experience, if you want a baby or toddler to actually eat their food, they need to be in a good high chair. When I’m traveling or visiting family, there isn’t always an ideal spot to set baby up to eat. Before I had a better option, it wasn’t unheard of for me to pack our full-size high chair in the car for trips to grandma’s house. But getting a high chair for travel made things much simpler. The best portable high chairs put little ones in a good ergonomic position and boost them up so they can see their food. My top pick, the Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat attaches to a chair to elevate toddlers, and it’s easy to wipe clean.
We consulted a registered dietitian and product safety expert to find the best portable high chairs.
Illustration: Forbes / Photos: Retailers
For younger babies, the Phil&Teds Lobster Clip On Portable High Chair is suitable from 6 months, and it has a five-point harness to help keep baby secure. To help guide these recommendations, I conducted extensive product research, and interviewed a registered dietitian and a product safety expert. Our team also tested some of these chairs in our homes. Ahead, find our picks for the best portable high chairs.
Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat
Attachment type: Chair straps | Weight maximum: 70 pounds | Age minimum: 15 months | Foldable: Yes
A simple option that attaches to most chairs, the Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat stands out because of its minimalist, space-saving design. The booster seat has a back rest and a three-point harness. The material wipes clean, and the cushion detaches to help you clean up messes. When you’re ready to move the chair to a new location, the straps can be tucked into the bottom of the seat and the back rest folds down. Our tester was impressed by how easy it is to set up this seat, compared to other portable high chairs she’s used.
It adds 3 inches of height to the chair for your child, making it easier for your them to reach their food and see what’s going on at the table. Registered dietitian and cofounder of Feeding Littles Megan McNamee describes this, along with the similar Oxo Tot Nest as “great booster seats because they elevate the child from the regular height of the chair so that they can be higher to the table.” While the Perch is suitable from 15 months and can be used until your child reaches 70 pounds, the Nest is suitable from 9 months. It’s not quite as compact, but it’s a better option for a baby or younger toddler.
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Nuby Easy Go Booster Seat
Attachment type: Chair straps | Weight maximum: 35 pounds | Age minimum: 9 months | Foldable: Yes
When you just need a portable high chair to use every so often, it makes sense to look for something rather inexpensive. The Nuby Easy Go Booster Seat is a solid option that’s lightweight and attaches to most chairs with an adjustable strap. It has a three-point harness, though the back isn’t quite as supportive as the hard back on our top pick.
This is a nice travel option thanks to its foldable design, carrying strap and storage pocket. Due to the fabric covering and stitching, this seat isn’t quite as easy to clean as our top pick, but the fabric is water resistant. You can wipe most messes clean if you get to them quickly. The seat padding is made of high-density foam, helping the chair be both lightweight and comfortable.
Inglesina Fast Table Chair
Attachment type: Hooks onto table | Weight maximum: 37 pounds | Age minimum: Babies who can sit upright without help (typically around 6 to 9 months) | Foldable: Yes
The Inglesina Fast Table Chair is an incredibly popular hook-on high chair option that’s also recommended by McNamee. Parents like it because it brings their baby or toddler right up to the table, it folds flat for travel or storage and it’s made of high-quality materials. The chair has a three-point harness to safely seat babies and toddlers up to 37 pounds. It comes with a carry bag and only weighs about 4 pounds, making it easy to travel with. The fabric may be more prone to messes than wipe-clean options, but can be completely removed and hand washed in cold water.
Travel high chairs that clamp to tables have some important safety caveats. It fastens to a table or counter by twisting the clamping mechanism closed, but note that this may take some time if the clamp started at the completely open position. It works with tables between 0.8 and 3.5 inches thick, and the hook doesn’t fit over the apron or lip of some tabletops. It’s also important to connect this kind of seat to a table or counter that can support your child’s weight. Pedestal tables in particular should be avoided, because of the risk of tipping over.
Phil&Teds Lobster Clip On Portable High Chair
Attachment type: Clamps to table | Weight maximum: 37 pounds | Age minimum: 6 months | Foldable: Yes
If your number one priority when shopping for a portable high chair is finding something that can fold really small for travel, check out the Phil&Teds Lobster Clip-On Portable High Chair. Unlike the Inglesina chair, it comes with a tray, which is ideal if you’re traveling and want to make sure your baby always has a clean surface to eat on. A travel bag also makes it simple to take it on the go.
One thing I really like about this chair is that it has a five-point harness, which helps keep babies and toddlers secure, especially if you have a kid who likes to try to escape. Most other portable high chairs only have a three-point harness. When spills and messes happen, hand wash the fabric in warm water. The chair is suitable for tables or countertops between 0.8 and 3.75 inches thick. Regrettably, this chair doesn’t have a foot rest, so it’s not the most ergonomic option to use at every meal, but it’s great when you need something simple and compact while traveling.
Attachment type: Hooks onto table | Weight maximum: 37 pounds | Age minimum: Babies who can sit upright without help (typically around 6 to 9 months) | Foldable: Yes
Newer to the market, the Lalo The Hook-On Chair has received tons of praise so far. “I like that it has a tray that covers the eating surface of the countertop or table that you hook it onto, and I love that it has a footrest,” says McNamee. The adjustable footrest helps little ones feel supported and get in a good ergonomic position to eat. Our tester also appreciated that the clamping mechanism has arrows to help guide which way to turn it when you’re installing the chair.
Cleaning this chair is easier than many other similar options because the fabric is machine washable. It’s also another good pick for travel—it folds flat and comes with a travel carry bag. Suitable for tables and countertops between 0.8 and 2.95 inches thick, it doesn’t have quite as wide of a range as other hook-on chairs on our list, but it still fits most countertops and tables without an apron. Like many others, the chair has a three-point harness.
Ingenuity Baby Base 2-In-1 Booster Feeding And Floor Seat
Attachment type: Chair straps | Weight maximum: 33 pounds | Age minimum: 6 months | Foldable: No, but parts nest for storage
One of my favorite things about the Ingenuity Baby Base 2-in-1 Booster Feeding and Floor Seat is that you can strap it to a chair or use it on the floor. If you’re traveling in a hotel room or other space that doesn’t have a suitable chair or counter to attach a portable high chair to, your child can still eat safely and comfortably in this seat on the floor.
This chair doesn’t fold as small as most of the hook-on options, but you can store the tray and seat back within the seat to make it more compact for storage and travel. Because there isn’t any fabric on the seat, it’s easy to clean and wipe down, and the tray is dishwasher safe. The seat secures baby with a three-point harness.
How We Chose The Best Portable High Chairs
To identify the best portable high chairs, we combined research with expert advice and personal experience.
We researched portable high chairs from respected brands and sought out chairs that are ergonomically designed to help kids have a good experience at meal time.
We considered the experience and advice of a registered dietitian. She shared features to look for when shopping for a portable high chair and recommended certain models.
We have experience with many of the high chairs on this list as well as some that we purposely left off the list. Our team recently tested the Lalo The Hook-On Chair and the Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat.
We included a wide variety of options to accommodate families looking for different types of portable high chairs and to meet different needs.
Especially when it comes to chairs that we don’t have personal experience with, we pored over online reviews, paying particular attention to negative reviews. We only included high chairs with an overall rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars.
What To Look For In The Best Portable High Chairs
Type
Consider where and how you plan on using the high chair. Most portable high chairs can either attach to a countertop or can be secured to a chair. Make sure you have a safe space to install the chair according to its attachment type at every location you plan on using it.
Space And Travel Capability
Many people use portable high chairs for travel—if you plan on doing this, look for something that can fold up rather small and that comes with a bag or carrying case. Whether you’ll be traveling with it or not, the amount of space the chair takes up is important to consider, too. “Space is a big consideration because high chairs can be really bulky, and if you live in an apartment or a small area, sometimes people want a much more compact ergonomic option,” says McNamee.
Chair boosters and hook-on chairs both take up relatively little space, but hook-on chairs tend to be the most compact, especially when folded and put away. However, they can involve significantly more setup time and take-down time.
Child Placement And Ergonomics
Getting a child in a good ergonomic position can increase their success when eating. “We want the table at chest height or below on a baby or toddler so that they can adequately see their food,” says McNamee. She says when kids are high enough to see everyone eating at the table, it helps them learn how to eat so they can model what they see.
Ideally, the chair has a good amount of back support and a foot rest that their feet can actually reach. Not all portable high chairs have foot rests, and even if they do, the placement might be too low for your baby or toddler to reach. This is one area were seats that attach to a chair may have an advantage: The seat of the adult chair can often serve as your child’s footrest.
Safety
Because portable high chairs aren’t standalone chairs the way full-size high chairs are, it’s imperative that they’re sturdy and secure. “This is just an obvious one, but anytime you’re hooking a high chair onto something, make sure that you’re very, very confident in the sturdiness of it,” says McNamee, who also cautions against using a hook-on high chair in any situation where you don’t know how sturdy the table is.
Lisa Trofe, the executive director of the Baby Safety Alliance recommends checking the stability before each meal. It’s also important to follow the manufacturer’s use guidelines. For example, the makers of most hook-on style travel high chairs say to never use these chairs on single pedestal tables, glass table tops or over table cloths.
Another component of safety is your child’s fit within the chair. “You don’t want your baby eating solids in any reclined position ever,” says McNamee. To ensure they fit in the chair properly, check the manual for height and weight recommendations. “Portable high chairs are safe when they match a child’s size and are used exactly as directed,” says Trofe.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
At Forbes Vetted, the baby and kids gear team spends countless hours researching and testing baby gear, including family travel. Combined, we have decades of experience raising kids and reporting on parenting topics.
Our coverage includes the best travel cribs, the best high chairs, the best travel strollers and more.
The author of this article, Alicia Betz, is the baby and kids gear writer at Forbes Vetted. She’s also a mom to three, including two toddlers who are just leaving the high chair stage. She frequently tests and reviews the top baby and toddler gear.
The editor of this article, Margaret Badore, is the baby and kids gear editor at Forbes Vetted. She has over 18 years of experience as an editor and journalist and is a mom to three. She has experience traveling with and using portable high chairs, including a few of the ones on our list.
For this article, we interviewed registered dietitian and cofounder of Feeding Littles, Megan McNamee. She provided insight on when it makes sense to use a portable high chair and what to look for in a the best high chairs for travel. She also discussed some of the best portable high chairs she has experience with. We also interviewed Lisa Trofe, executive director of the Baby Safety Alliance, about portable high chair safety.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s The Best Portable High Chair?
Our pick for the best portable high chair is the Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat because it’s sleek and portable, easy to clean and elevates toddlers so they can see their food and the table. For younger babies, the Oxo Tot Nest is a similar option that’s a bit more secure.
What Age Is The Lalo Hook On High Chair For?
The Lalo The Hook-On Chair, our pick for the best hook-on high chair, is for babies who can sit up without help, which typically happens around 6 to 9 months old. They can continue to safely use the chair until they’re 37 pounds.
Are Portable High Chairs Worth It?
Portable high chairs are worth it if you travel somewhat frequently, have limited space in your home or regularly want to take a chair to a relative or friend’s house. They can be particularly useful at vacation rentals. Although many restaurants have high chairs on hand, some parents prefer to use a chair they know is safe for their child.