8 of the best budget highchairs 2023 for under £60

❚ MadeForMums reviews are independent and based on expertise and testing. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, but this never influences our product choices.

Budget not your main consideration? Try our other highchair guides:

Head to our full highchair reviews section if you're just browsing or seeking a specific brand.

Best highchairs for under £60 at a glance

Best basic budget buy: IKEA Antilop highchair, £15
Best for adjustable tray: Graco Snack N Stow, £45
Best for features: Joie Mimzy, £59
Best for an easy assemble: Red Kite Feed Me Compact, £35
Best for sustainable materials: East Coast Cafe Wooden, £59.99
Best for style: John Lewis ANYDAY highchair, £35
Best for range of designs: My Babiie Compact, £40
Best for portability: Chicco Pocket Snack Portable, £17.99

What to look for when buying a budget highchair

There are a few important factors to consider when buying a budget highchair. You're not going to get all the features that you can expect from a more expensive purchase so you need to decide which are the most important to you:

How did we choose our 8 of the Best?

Our 8 of the Best lists are compiled by qualified and experienced parenting journalists. They rely on a number of sources, including our independent reviews, testing undertaken during the MadeForMums Awards, and feedback from our home testing panel and Top Testers Club. Each year thousands of products are put through their paces by hundreds of parents across the country on behalf of MadeForMums, to ensure we’re bringing you honest and true reviews and recommendations.

When testing, we looked at a range of highchairs under £60 and looked at their performance, considering age suitability, size, portability, ease of cleaning.

Our list is not an ordered ranking from 1-10, instead it is a carefully selected group of tried-and-tested products, each of which we believe is best for a different situation or requirement. We don’t just tell you what is best, we help you discover what is best for your family.

Best budget highchairs tested by our reviewers and parents…

1. IKEA Antilop highchair, £15

– Best basic budget buy

Ikea’s exceptionally cheap, easy to clean and functional highchair continues to be a popular choice for those on a tighter budget. This is certainly a no-frills highchair – it's a fixed height, isn't padded and can't be folded. However, you can easily remove the legs to store it away or transport it.

The seat and detachable tray are made from plastic, making it easy for you to wipe down with a cloth and some anti-bac spray. The 3-point lap safety straps are also detachable, meaning you can pop them in a washing machine to clean. MadeForMums reviewer, Sarah, mum of a 14 month old, found: “The highchair is very compact and easy to clean, which is great because Evie absolutely insists on feeding herself, and most of her cereal/yoghurt/casserole ends up on the chair rather than in her mouth.”

Ikea’s trademark simple, modern design will look good in any kitchen, plus its light weight means it's easy to move it around the kitchen and your home. With its purse-friendly price tag of £15, this is the most affordable option in our highchair round-up and one that’s garnered an excellent reputation.

Younger babies may benefit from the addition of an inflatable supporting cushion, available from Ikea for an extra £4 plus £4 for the cover, as the seat itself is quite spacious.

Pros: Affordable, easy to clean, removeable legs, lightweight
Cons: Doesn’t fold, only 3-point not 5-point harness, not height adjustable, no recline, may need to buy a supporting cushion for smaller babies

Read our full MadeForMums review of the Ikea Antilop

Available from: Ikea and Amazon

2. Graco Snack N Stow highchair, £45

– Best for adjustable tray

One of the best features of this simple and compact highchair is its large, removable tray that you can slide off and which makes the whole highchair easier to clean. The tray can also be adjusted into 3 positions although you can't adjust the height of the seat. We also love the comfy foodrest, which has two positions.

This highchair folds easily and into a very slim 15cm depth. Our parent testers found the Snack N Stow reassuringly robust and sturdy with no wobble, despite its light weight and price.

The waterproof seat cover is easy to keep clean and the chair quick to assemble from the box and comes in a few bright designs.

Pros: Lightweight, easy to move around, foldable with different functions, easy to assemble
Cons: Cannot adjust the height, no recline, straps sewn on

Available from: Boots, Halfords, Amazon

3. Joie Mimzy Snacker highchair, £60

– Best for features

The most expensive in our list but the Mimzy deserves its place as it's full of features that you'd expect from a more costly highchair.

Tested by our MFM reviewer, Fay, with her 8-month-old son, the Mimzy's one-handed fold proved to be one of the key features. "One of the highlights of this highchair is how easy it is to fold. You simply pull a cord located on the seat and the whole thing folds down on itself. There's no risk of your child accessing it because they sit on the cord. Also, it takes a strong tug to get it to fold, which no young child would be able to do."

Our reviewer also found it easy to assemble. "The pieces click in easily and you don’t have to faff about putting the straps or cover on as it comes ready-to-go.”

There are plenty more features: the tray is removable and can be adjusted to 3 depths, adjusting as your child grows. There are also 3 seat positions, with a deep recline for when your baby or toddler has eaten and is feeling sleepy, plus the harness straps are adjustable plus there's a storage basket underneath.

Pros: Easy to fold, removable adjustable tray, recline positions
Cons: Tricky to clean, food can land in storage basket

Read our full MadeForMums review of the Joie Mimzy highchair

Available from: John Lewis, Argos and Boots

4. Red Kite Feed Me Compact highchair, £35

– Best for an easy assemble

The Red Kite Feed Me Compact highchair is a good value slim-folding option. Our parent testers found it particularly easy to assemble - it comes out of the box ready to be slotted together without the use of a screwdriver. However, look out for the small A and B markings on the legs to ensure you attach the legs the right way round.

Cheaper than the Graco Snack N Stow, it doesn't have a removable tray and it's not so easy to clean. It comes in a variety of designs.

Pros: Good value, lightweight, fun seat designs, easy to assemble
Cons: Fixed tray, not height adjustable, no recline

Available from: Amazon, Matalan, Halfords

5. East Coast Cafe Wooden highchair, £59.99

– Best for sustainable materials

East Coast Nursery Cafe Wooden Highchair

Offering a more environmentally-friendly option, The East Coast Cafe Highchair is manufactured from rubberwood, which is sourced from mature rubber trees that are no longer producing latex sap.

The simple shape of the Cafe has been created to fit a standard table height, so that it can be pulled close to the table and your little one can join in at the table with family meals.

There's no tray so it does need to be used with a table, and as it's not height adjustable, so you need to check it fits with your furniture. Easy to clean with no padded nooks and cranies, you may want to buy a padded insert cushion for addtional comfort.

It also doesn't fold but does stack if you have more than one.

Pros: Can be pulled close to the table, easy to clean, made from sustainable source
Cons: Doesn't fold, not height adjustable, no recline

Available from: Amazon, Uberkids and Olivers Babycare

6. John Lewis ANYDAY highchair, £35

– Best for style

Part of its basic Anyday range, John Lewis’ own-brand highchair is easy to assemble, folds easily and neatly and feels sturdy.

This is a no-frills purchase - there's no flexibility here but it's one of the cheapest on the market and comes with the reassurance of the JL brand. On the downside, the tray isn't removable and some parent testers found that the tray was set a little too far away from the padded seat, giving a gap for food to drop into.

Pros: Lightweight, easy to assemble and sturdy
Cons: Fixed tray, not height adjustable, no recline

Available from: John Lewis

7. My Babiie Compact highchair, £40

– Best for range of designs

My Babiie Boho Rainbow Compact Highchair

My Babiie is a good value brand that prides itself with its bold and varied designs. Its Compact highchair comes in 7 different designs from the orange-infused boho rainbows (pictured) to pink unicorns and Dani Dyer's grey and white elephants with red hearts.

Well padded with a sturdy footrest, the Compact is relatively lightweight and folds easily, although our parent testers found that it wasn't as neat a fold as some others.

Pros: Designs to suit different interiors, easy fold
Cons: Fixed tray, not height adjustable, no recline

Available from: My Babiie, Amazon and Argos

8. Chicco Pocket Snack Portable booster seat, £24.99

– Best for portability

An alternative to a large free-standing highchair, the Pocket Snack Portable is a booster seat that straps to a chair to raise and secure your child. It's ultra-lightweight and easy to carry, and its compact size means it can be stored in the basket of most strollers, so it's useful for travel and taking out and about. However, it isn't safe to use unattached on the floor or a table, as you child could topple it.

Our MFM reviewer, Katherine, mum of a 10 month old, found it very easy to set up on a chair. "I attached the booster seat to a ‘big-person chair’ in a couple of minutes without using the instructions. The straps are adjustable so you don’t need to worry about the size of the chair, unless of course your chairs are enormous."

There are 3 different height settings and the removable tray can also be used in 3 positions, providing lots of flexibility.

Pros: Lightweight, portable, 3 different height positions, removable and adjustable tray
Cons: Only 3-point not 5-point harness

Read the full MFM review of the Chicco Pocket Snack Portable

Available from: Amazon and John Lewis

When can you start to use a highchair?

With many highchairs your baby needs to be 6 months with good head and neck control in order to sit safely in the chair (it's important to note that with budget highchairs, you can’t use budget highchairs before 6 months). At this young age it’s important to make sure the safety harness fits well, your baby can sit in a supported position and there is enough padding to keep your baby comfortable.

How to use a highchair safely

Safety is key when choosing a highchair. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) has clear safety guidelines for buying and using a highchair:

Look for the British Standard EN 14988:2017 +A1:2020 safety standard mark
Choose a highchair that has a crotch bar or strap, to prevent your baby slipping out
Look for a highchair that has a removable or adjustable tray, so it’s easy to get your baby in and out
When using your highchair, position it far enough away from any solid surfaces that your child could kick or push against it to destabilise the chair

Remember, it’s hugely important to make sure your baby is always strapped in safely and securely and to never leave your baby unattended in their highchair. Always have them in your sights.