The best booster seats

01 — Most families

Graco TurboBooster 2.0

Graco

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The default booster: highback to start, backless later, open belt guides that position the belt where it needs to be, and a price that makes a second one for the other car easy.

A booster has one job — hold the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt in the right place on a body too small for it. Judged on that, the TurboBooster 2.0 is hard to beat for the money. It covers 40-100 lb and 43-57 in from age four, converts from highback to backless as the child grows, and the open-loop belt guides make it easy to see at a glance whether the shoulder belt is sitting across the middle of the shoulder rather than on the neck. The highback mode weighs 9 lb and the backless 5 lb, so it moves between cars and into a grandparent's easily. It expires ten years from manufacture. What it lacks is side-impact structure relative to the Britax and Chicco, and the padding is thin on long drives. Do not skip the highback stage just because backless is easier: the highback provides the head support and belt routing a younger child still needs.

Verified as currently sold and checked against NHTSA's recall record on 2026-09-26; no recall named this model. Recalls apply to specific manufacture-date ranges, so check the date stamp on your own unit. We do not print a star rating for this seat: NHTSA publishes an Ease-of-Use rating and IIHS publishes booster belt-fit ratings, and we would rather send you to the source than reprint a figure we could not read first-hand. Specifications come from the manufacturer or retailer listing.

02 — Comfort on long drives

Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus

Chicco

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The booster a child will not complain about on a four-hour drive, with double-layer head protection and a quick-release LATCH that stops it flying around empty.

Booster comfort is a safety feature in disguise: a child who is comfortable stays seated properly, and a child who is not slouches, tucks the shoulder belt behind their arm, or argues about the whole thing. The KidFit ClearTex Plus has the best padding in this group, plus DuoGuard double-layer side protection around the head. The range is 40-100 lb in highback mode and 40-110 lb backless, for children at least four years old and 44-57 in. The quick-release LATCH is worth more than it sounds — it holds the empty booster to the seat so it is not loose in the cabin, while still detaching in a second. Costs more than the Graco, and 44 in is a higher entry height than some, so check your child clears it.

Verified as currently sold and checked against NHTSA's recall record on 2026-09-26; no recall named this model. Recalls apply to specific manufacture-date ranges, so check the date stamp on your own unit. We do not print a star rating for this seat: NHTSA publishes an Ease-of-Use rating and IIHS publishes booster belt-fit ratings, and we would rather send you to the source than reprint a figure we could not read first-hand. Specifications come from the manufacturer or retailer listing.

03 — Tall and older children

Britax Highpoint

Britax

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Goes to 120 lb and 63 in, which is the booster to buy if your child will still need one after most boosters have run out.

Plenty of children reach a booster's weight or height limit before the vehicle belt actually fits them, and the AAP's marker for that is roughly 4 ft 9 in and age eight to twelve. The Highpoint pushes the ceiling out to 40-120 lb and 38-63 in, converting to a backless booster from 48-120 lb, so it covers the awkward late stage where a child is too big for a standard booster and still too small for the belt alone. It also has three layers of side-impact material. It is large, it costs more, and if your child is average-sized they may outgrow the need before they outgrow a cheaper booster — in which case the extra range is money spent on headroom you never use. For a tall eight-year-old, it is exactly the right seat.

Verified as currently sold and checked against NHTSA's recall record on 2026-09-26; no recall named this model. Recalls apply to specific manufacture-date ranges, so check the date stamp on your own unit. We do not print a star rating for this seat: NHTSA publishes an Ease-of-Use rating and IIHS publishes booster belt-fit ratings, and we would rather send you to the source than reprint a figure we could not read first-hand. Specifications come from the manufacturer or retailer listing.

04 — Broad-shouldered children

Diono Monterey 5iST FixSafe

Diono

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Expandable side wings and a 40-120 lb range, for the child who has outgrown a booster in width rather than height.

Boosters are usually outgrown in one of three directions and the one nobody designs for is width — a broad or solidly built child can be squeezed by the side wings long before they hit the weight or height limit. The Monterey's sides expand, which is the specific fix, and the range runs 40-120 lb and 38-63 in so it also covers the late stage. It is a well-built, fairly heavy booster and costs above the Graco. If your child is comfortable in a standard booster, this is not the one to buy; if they keep complaining that the sides dig in, it is the obvious answer.

Verified as currently sold and checked against NHTSA's recall record on 2026-09-26; no recall named this model. Recalls apply to specific manufacture-date ranges, so check the date stamp on your own unit. We do not print a star rating for this seat: NHTSA publishes an Ease-of-Use rating and IIHS publishes booster belt-fit ratings, and we would rather send you to the source than reprint a figure we could not read first-hand. Specifications come from the manufacturer or retailer listing.

05 — Not ready for a booster yet

Chicco MyFit Air ClearTex

Chicco

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A forward-facing harness that becomes a booster, for the child who is heavy enough for a booster but not yet mature enough to sit in one properly.

Weight is not the only thing that decides booster readiness — a booster only works if the child sits upright and leaves the belt alone for the whole journey, and plenty of four- and five-year-olds who meet the weight limit cannot do that yet. A harness-to-booster keeps them in a five-point harness until they can. The MyFit runs a forward-facing harness from 26.5-65 lb and then a belt-positioning booster from 40-100 lb, so the switch happens when the child is ready rather than when the seat runs out. It is bulky and it does not rear-face at all, so it is a second or third seat rather than a first. If you are staring at a booster wondering whether your child will actually stay put in it, buy this instead.

Verified as currently sold and checked against NHTSA's recall record on 2026-09-26; no recall named this model. Recalls apply to specific manufacture-date ranges, so check the date stamp on your own unit. We do not print a star rating for this seat: NHTSA publishes an Ease-of-Use rating and IIHS publishes booster belt-fit ratings, and we would rather send you to the source than reprint a figure we could not read first-hand. Specifications come from the manufacturer or retailer listing.