It’s not difficult to find a satisfactory booster seat. But a booster that’s well engineered, with thoughtful features, can help provide a safer fit, a comfier ride, and a more pleasant overall experience for you and your kids.
Over the past four years, we’ve evaluated more than 50 booster seats, consulted top safety experts, scoured user reviews, and quizzed friends and fellow Wirecutter staffers. We’ve tried scores of seats with our own kids, enlisted multiple families to put our top contenders to the test in the real world, and carefully considered the feedback of opinionated 4- to 9-year-olds. After all that, we recommend the Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus high-back booster because it’s easy to use and versatile, and it looks and feels great. We also recommend other high-back and backless boosters that will fit a range of budgets and circumstances.
Wondering whether your child is ready for a booster? As the name implies, a booster’s primary function is to raise a child up so that the car’s seat belt can be positioned properly. These seats are for school-age kids who are generally at least around 40 pounds and 40 inches tall, and who are ready—both physically and developmentally—to graduate from a five-point harness seat.
Our pick
The Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus is easy to use and nice to look at. And it’s a hit with caregivers and kids alike.
This attractive, high-back booster seat offers a terrific blend of safety features, creature comforts, and convenience. The Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus weighs about 10 pounds and is easy to install and remove, thanks to a cleverly designed LATCH system. (LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children; this system allows you to install a car seat by attaching a pair of metal hooks or clips that are built into the seat to a set of anchors that are built into the car.) The LATCH system on the KidFit ClearTex Plus, which Chicco calls SuperCinch, can be tightened and released with one hand, and it actually delivers on its name. The KidFit ClearTex Plus features environmentally conscious Greenguard Gold–certified fabric, two collapsible cup holders, and the best seat belt threader of any of the high-back boosters we tested. The seat’s relatively narrow footprint may allow for three across in the back row, depending on the vehicle. The top portion of the seat can be disconnected, converting it from a high-back to a backless booster.
Weight of seat: 10 pounds
Width of seat base (at widest point): 17 inches
Passenger weight and height limits for high-back mode: 40 to 100 pounds; 38 to 57 inches
Passenger weight and height limits for backless mode: 40 to 110 pounds; 38 to 57 inches
Runner-up
The Graco TurboBooster LX lacks some of the conveniences (and pizzazz) of our top pick, but it’s a really good booster at a reasonable price.
The Graco TurboBooster LX is less expensive than our top pick, with many of the same key features. Like the Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus, the TurboBooster LX has two cup holders (one slides into the seat) and can be converted from high-back to backless. Our main gripe is that it has hook-style LATCH connectors, the least user-friendly type of LATCH. (The hooks can be difficult to get on and off the car’s anchors—a nuisance if you’re planning to move the seat regularly.) This seat weighs just slightly less than our top pick. And, like our top pick, this model has a relatively narrow footprint (it may be possible to fit three seats across, depending on the vehicle).
Weight of seat: 9.8 pounds
Width of seat base (at widest point): 17 inches
Passenger weight and height limits for high-back mode: 40 to 100 pounds; 43 to 57 inches
Passenger weight and height limits for backless mode: 40 to 100 pounds; 43 to 57 inches
Also great
In a sea of competition, the Chicco GoFit Plus stood out as the best backless-only booster with LATCH that we tested.
The Chicco GoFit Plus is everything you need in a backless booster. In general, we recommend high-back boosters over backless ones for daily use because of the additional head and neck protection they offer. And many models—including our top and runner-up picks—convert from high-back to backless for carpooling, traveling, or when a kid has outgrown the high-back limits. But backless boosters cost less, and having one (or several) on hand can be convenient. The GoFit Plus has the same SuperCinch LATCH mechanism as the Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus, making it very easy to install, tighten, and release with one hand. (However, we wish there were a place to store the connectors when not in use; if you’re carrying the seat around, they flap.) It also has expandable cup holders and a built-in handle on one end. This seat is relatively slender—making it possible to fit three across, depending on the vehicle. The GoFit Plus weighs just 6 pounds, so it’s not the lightest booster out there, but it is about average for backless boosters with LATCH.
Weight of seat: 6 pounds
Width of seat base (at widest point): 17 inches
Passenger weight and height limits: 40 to 110 pounds; 38 to 57 inches
