A car seat is the first significant purchase to make before bringing your baby home from the hospital. But like everything else for your baby, the offerings are expansive and countless. The most crucial factors to consider when buying a car seat are, first, whether the seat will hold up in a crash and, second, how accommodating the seat is for your specific needs.
After looking at a number of sites as well as safety ratings from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, we rounded up a list of the best car seats to consider, based on safety ratings and ease of use. Based on our analysis, we think the best car seat for babies is the Chicco KeyFit 30 because of its easy installation, compatibility with a number of strollers, good crash-test ratings and affordable price.
Still, there are other factors to consider, such as if you have a car or plan to use public transportation. Here are the best car seats for parents (and babies) of all types.
The Chicco KeyFit 30 is often voted the best car seat by reviewers for its overall versatility and safety offerings. It performs as well as pricier car seat models in crash tests, and it's easy to install insofar as you elect to use the Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system. It's also compatible with a variety of third-party strollers, including our top pick for the best strollers, the Baby Jogger City Mini 2; our top pick for versatility, the Uppababy Vista; and our favorite jogging stroller, the Thule Urban Glide 2.
The Chicco KeyFit 30 ranked highly in front-impact crash testing conducted by the NHTSA, as well as in third-party crash tests conducted by The Wirecutter and BabyGear Lab. The Chicco is not the lightest car seat, but you can breezily cart it from the car to the house and back again with the included base.
It's not too much of a chore to clean either, as the Chicco may be spot-cleaned with mild soap and water. If you elect for the removable fabric, you can throw that into the wash with the rest of your delicates.
There are other models of the KeyFit 30 to consider, though they increase in price. The KeyFit 30 Magic features a reversible newborn positioner, while the Zip offers a removable zipper footmuff, canopy and seat cover for popping into the wash. The KeyFit 30 Zip Air has all the features of the first two, plus a breathable backrest. All KeyFit 30s have similar crash test ratings since they're all built on the same car-seat base.
If absolute safety is what you're after, the Cybex Aton 2 could be the best car seat for you. This baby car seat has a steel load leg, which is effectively a metal post that helps the brace the rear of the car seat against the floor of the car. While it can help provide an additional layer of safety in case of an emergency, the NHTSA does not factor it into its overall crash test results. There's no actual data to back up Cybex's marketing claim that the reinforced bar makes its car seat safer than the rest.
Regardless, the load leg is a feature that's unique to the Cybex, and it can help provide peace of mind for cautious parents. You will have to make some lifestyle adjustments around it, though, as you can't seat any passengers next to the car seat when the bar is installed. And the load leg doesn't hold up well in the middle, so it's either the left side or the right side for the Cybex Aton 2.
If the steel load leg is enough to catch your eye, be prepared for a little frustration. The Aton 2 features a finicky carrier handle, though it is comfortable to hold since it lacks sharp corners. It's challenging to snap in and take out of its car seat base, and hard to install using the seatbelt method, so it's not fit for the occasional taxi ride.
If you're constantly removing the car seat from you're vehicle, or you're shuffling in and out of taxis or rideshare vehicles, the Doona Car Seat and Stroller might be the best car seat for you and your baby.
With the touch of a button, the seat's wheels fold down and extend out to stroller length, which makes getting in and out of the car a more effortless endeavor than you would have with a full-size stroller with car seat attachment. However, the Doona car seat is a bit hefty, weighing at 16.8 pounds, nearly twice as heavy as our top pick, but that's because you're opting for a two-in-one type of product.
On the upside, you'll likely be pushing this car seat around more often than carrying it because of its double-use functionality. And it's sized properly for planes, so you can roll it down the aisle and then strap in your baby for the long ride to wherever.
Inside an Uber or Lyft, the Doona utilizes the shoulder strap of the vehicle belt to stay secure. If you do have a car, there's a LATCH base to anchor the Doona sturdily inside. Don't worry about it not being a traditional car seat: the Doona also scored well in the NHTSA's crash and usability tests.
The only major downside of the Doona, besides its relative heft, is that it's quite pricey. Then again, you're paying for the convenience of a car seat that converts to a stroller for everyday urban adventures.
Like other Uppababy products, the Mesa baby car seat is impressive even though it is a bit pricey. This particular car seat offers a variety of installation options, making it a reliable choice for either suburban families with a minivan or urban dwellers who rely on public transportation.
The Mesa is one of the most convenient car seats to install with or without the base, and even includes color-coded pathways to help you remember where to thread the belt and how to connect it. Once it's all strapped in, the Mesa feels secure and stable.
The Mesa received a five-star rating from the NHTSA for its ease of installment and includes a headrest with side-impact protection (though there is no data-driven proof that the headrest offers more impact protection).
Its LATCH anchors are conveniently retractable for when they're not in use, and the included harness height adjusters come in handy for a baby's growing body. The seat features thicker, higher-quality fabric than previous models, and the fabric is fire-resistant. The Mesa is also a slick-looking car seat, especially when paired with either the Uppababy Cruz or Vista strollers.
One of the best car seats for those concerned about safety, the Britax B-Safe 35 performed on a par with the Chicco KeyFit 30 in the NHTSA's crash and efficiency ratings, as well as in Wirecutter's independent crash tests. Its shell is retrofitted with an energy-absorbing steel base and features side impact protection with Britax's SafeCell system, as well as impact-resistant foam in the carrier itself.
The Britax is reasonably straightforward to install in your car and latch into its base, and there's even a belt lock-off to ensure that the seat stays fixed. The B-Safe 35 also offers a higher height and weight limit, so there is room to grow. However, some customer reviews have complained that the seat's interior can be a bit narrow for taller babies.
While we don't suggest you buy a convertible car seat for your baby in the first year, you might decide you want to buy something now anyway, so that you don't have to worry about it a year and a half down the line. The Britax Emblem is worth a try for parents with few specific needs, who don't mind shuffling baby in-and-out inside something slightly larger than the norm.
The Emblem is an attractive car seat with ample padding for the baby to rest against. It's as easy to install as the B-Safe 35, featuring LATCH connectors and built-in lock-offs to keep the seat securely in place. It doesn't secure quickly using the seatbelt method, so it's not a prime choice for parents moving in and out of vehicles.
The Emblem can handle rear-facing babies up to 40 pounds and forward-facing toddlers up to 65 pounds, allowing for a bit of growing room between birth and when it's time to upgrade to a toddler-specific car seat.
It flips around, so your infant is rear-seated on the ride home from the hospital, and can be flipped to face forward when they reach the initial weight limit. The Emblem also performed well in crash tests, offering an extra bit of protection in the head area compared to similar models in its class.
