Best Small Spaces High Chair: Fisher-Price SpaceSaver High Chair

For some reason, high chair makers must think all parents live in palatial kitchens with acres of space—what else explains large high chairs that look have the same wingspan of moon landers?

If that isn’t your kitchen, we have high chair solutions that make the best of small spaces. We hand-tested 13 solutions to find the best high chair for small spaces—the winner is the Fisher-Price SpaceSaver High Chair. Here’s why:

What We Liked

• Full features, half the space. The SpaceSaver’s chair works much like a full-size high chair: two seat recline positions, five-position height adjustment, nice chair pad, etc. What’s missing? The large base—and that’s a good thing. This high chair just straps on a regular kitchen chair, saving you the large footprint of a regular high chair.

• Dishwasher-safe. You can pop the entire thing (tray, tray insert, seat and seat back) in the dishwasher.

• Pad and harness are machine washable. 

• Assembly is easy. In our tests, we could assemble this chair in under 5 minutes.

What Needs Work

• Doesn’t easily store away. Once you strap the SpaceSaver to a chair, you can’t slide that chair under a kitchen table. So this isn’t a solution if you prefer a high chair to slip out of sight when unused.

• Nooks can be hard to clean. This high chair has various nooks and seams in the plastic that are food magnets. And that was no fun to clean. On the plus side, you can throw the whole thing in a dishwasher.

Best Folding High Chair: Cosco Simple Fold High Chair

When it comes to baby gear, sometimes simple is best. Case in point: the Cosco Simple Fold High Chair. Many fancy high chairs today try to do too many things: a thousand adjustments, spinning toys on the tray and then they morph into something else. This high chair takes a different tact. It’s just a high chair. To feed your baby. At a price that won’t require a second mortgage on your home. A quick overview:

What We Liked

• Affordable. With many high chairs topping $100 and even $200, it’s nice to find something that works in a reasonable price.

• Quick fold. When folded, this high chair is just 8″ wide—making it easy to store away in a closet.

• No frills. This chair is great for a grandparent or caregiver’s home.

What Needs Work

• No tray insert. This makes clean up easier, since you can pop the tray insert into a dishwasher. If this is important, Cosco does make a deluxe version of this chair with that feature for a few extra bucks.

• No seat recline or height adjustments. While this high chair works with standard kitchen tables, it doesn’t adjust in height to work with kitchen countertops or other non-standard tables.

• 3 point harness. We prefer a five-point harness to make sure a baby doesn’t wiggle out of the chair while feeding. A three-point harness is ok, but requires extra parent vigilance during use.

Best Portable High Chair: Inglesina Fast Table Chair

When it comes to traveling with a baby, meal time can be a challenge—does the Airbnb have a high chair? What if the high chair at the restaurant is unbelievably grimy? The answer: the Inglesina Fast Table Chair, a good solution for babies that are over six months of age or can sit up unassisted—this hook-on chair clips to any table up to 3″ thick. Our testers loved how easy it is to use and clean. Here’s an overview:

What We Liked

• Quick install. A twist-tight knob makes installation quick, according to our parent testers. When time to leave, it quickly collapses and packs away in an included carry bag.

• Light weight. At just 4 lbs, the Fast Table chair is easy to pack in a bag or stroller basket.

• Includes tray/easy to clean. We tested other hook-on chairs that didn’t come with a tray—we think the Fast Table’s included tray is worth the upgrade.

What’s Needs Work

• Gap between chair and table. Yes, there is a small gap between the chair and a table—and, of course, this is where baby’s food will end up. Unfortunately, this is a problem with most hook-on chairs.

• 3 point harness. We prefer five-point harnesses—these are harder for a squirmy baby to escape from. Extra care must be taken to make sure older babies don’t try to Houdini themselves out of the Fast Table Chair harness.

• Must disassemble to wash cover. The Fast Table Chair’s cover can be machine washed on gentle—but you must dissemble the chair to do this.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing baby gear, including high chairs, since 1994. We do hands-on testing—we buy the products with our own money and evaluate with an eye toward safety, ease of use and affordability.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Baby Bargains is your independent and unbiased source for expert baby gear reviews.