The Best High Chair for Baby Led Weaning (under $100)

If you’re just getting started on your baby-led weaning journey, you may be wondering which high chair would be the best for your baby. And if you’re on a budget, you might be wondering, “What is the best high chair for baby-led weaning under $100?”

The Ingenuity Trio high chair is under $100 and is a good option for baby-led weaning as it is supportive enough for younger children, whilst being easy to clean with a dishwashable tray. Although food may get caught in the nooks and crannies of the chair but the Ingenuity is a good starter chair for baby-led weaning.

There are absolutely other options so read on to find out my top 5 recommendations for a high chair for baby-led weaning, under $100.

There are a number of things to look out for when buying a high chair, especially if you are doing baby-led weaning.

• Adjustable
• Tray
• Support
• Ease of Cleaning

What to Look for in a High Chair

Adjustable and Ergonomic

One of the most important factors when looking at high chairs for your little one is that you need to make sure that it is adjustable. Your baby will grow and change and you want a high chair that will grow with your baby.

Also, it is so important that your little one is well-supported. In order for your baby to be able to use their hands effectively to feed themselves, they need to have a stable base of support. This will enable them to focus on their hands and feeding as opposed to trying to keep themselves upright.

So, an adjustable footrest would be invaluable. That way you can make sure that your little one is seated comfortably, with hips, knees, and ankles at 90 degrees.

Removable Tray

When we started on our baby-led weaning journey with our daughter, one of the criteria for her high chair was a removable tray. We wanted her to be able to sit right up at the table with the rest of the family.

We didn’t always remove her tray but it was lovely to have that option.

Also, having a removable tray will make cleaning the high chair a whole lot easier.

Support

What do I mean by support? Well, is your baby positioned well in their high chair or are they slumped over their tray or slouched in the high chair?

A chair with a 3 point harness will secure your baby between their legs and at their shoulders. This is better than securing just at the hips as it will prevent your baby from slumping over their tray.

A 5 point safety harness is even better. It will give your child maximum support and safety as your baby is secured at the shoulders, hips and in between the legs.

A note about harnesses and support

When you first start baby-led weaning, your little one is practicing many skills, one of them being postural control. As your baby grows and develops, their muscles will also get stronger and they will be able to stay upright in their chairs for much longer.

Watch your little one for signs of fatigue. If they start in a lovely sitting position and over time slump in their chair or hunch over their tray, it’s time to have a break.

Ease of Cleaning

We know that baby-led weaning is not the cleanest method of weaning so chances are, you’re going to need to clean that high chair regularly. So, look for a high chair that is simple in design without too many crevices and nooks and crannies for food to get trapped in.

Also, a removable tray that can be popped into the dishwasher is an added bonus.

Okay, so that is the criteria that we’re going to be stacking these high chairs up against.

Having said all that, here are the best high chairs for baby-led weaning that are under $100.

The best high chairs for baby-led weaning, under $100.

Graco TableFit High Chair

The Graco Tablefit High Chair is a really good option for a number of reasons. There are some cons, of course, but it is versatile, comfortable, supportive, and adjustable.

Here are some of the features that make the Graco TableFit a good option for baby-led weaning:

Adjustable – The TableFit is adjustable in a number of ways. The footrest is adjustable to 3 different heights. Whilst I would prefer a chair that offers a more freely moving footrest, having one that offers 3 heights is still a good option.

The seat reclines to 3 positions. This isn’t a huge benefit in baby-led weaning and having your baby in the reclined position whilst eating is definitely not recommended. But it may be useful to let your baby sit back and rest whilst you potter in the kitchen.

The back support is also easily adjusted so that you can always ensure that it is at just the right height for maximum support and comfort for your little one.

And lastly, the entire chair is height adjustable which means that you can use it at tables of various heights which might be helpful.

Safety Harness – The Tablefit comes with a 5 point safety harness, ensuring that your baby is well supported in the chair.

Removable Tray – There are a few benefits of having a removable tray. Firstly, you can easily pop the tray into the dishwasher for cleaning. Secondly, the entire tray can be removed which means that your little one can sit close to the table to enjoy meals with the whole family.

And now the not-so-good. My main concern with the Graco is that it has a lot of fabric and cushion support. It can be wiped down and it is all machine washable but it is going to get grubby over time.

All in all, though, it is a good option for baby-led weaning and would be especially helpful during the first stages of baby-led weaning when your baby’s postural control is still developing and they get tired easily. The support offered by this chair would be really helpful at this early stage.

Ingenuity Trio 3-in-1 High Chair

The Ingenuity Trio is very popular in the baby-led weaning community and gets a lot of good reviews. It’s versatile, grows with your child, and has a good price point. There is one major downfall in my eyes and that is that there is no footrest. It may still be worth considering though.

Adjustable – The Ingenuity chair can be used in 3 ways –  as a regular high chair, a booster seat on a dining room chair and as a toddler chair. That means that it grows and changes according to your child’s needs. It is not adjustable in that you can’t adjust the footrest (there isn’t one) but you can do a lot with the chair.

Safety Harness – The Ingenuity has a 5 point safety harness for additional support.

Support – So, we’ve said that it doesn’t have a height-adjustable footrest but it does have a footrest that your child will use when they are a bit older and can actually reach it.

Also, the chair is well-molded to offer more support and the safety harness will also help with support. So, whilst your little one may not reach the footrest when they first start baby-led weaning, there is probably enough inherent support to still be a good option as a high chair.

There are a couple of downsides to this particular high chair.

Ease of Cleaning – Whilst the Ingenuity has a wipeable and machine washable seat cover, there are a lot of nooks and crannies for food to fall into and get stuck. This makes the high chair tricky to clean and may put some moms off.

Tray – The tray is also not removable but it is height adjustable so there is some flexibility. This may not be a deal-breaker, though. Your little one would still be able to sit at the table with you but would need the tray so they wouldn’t be right up close to the table.

Primo Cozy

You can pick up a Primo Cozy for $99.99 from Amazon. So, it is right within our budget. What makes it such a great high chair is that it is very small, compact, and lightweight but it meets all of the criteria that we spoke about.

It has a fold-down tray that can also be removed for easy washing (just pop it in the dishwasher). It has no fabric so can be easily wiped down and cleaned.

Adjustable – The Primo Cozy has a height-adjustable footrest so that it grows with your baby. Also, the high chair comes apart so that you can use it as a toddler chair as your little one grows.

Safety harness – The Primo Cozy has a 3 point safety harness to keep your little one safe. The harness, along with the adjustable footrests, will give your baby good support when they are starting out on their baby-led weaning journey.

Ease of Cleaning – This high chair has a removable tray that you can pop into the dishwasher. As there is no fabric and has a simple design, you can easily clean it and get rid of the food mess.

Support – The only downside of this high chair is that it isn’t super supportive. The footrest and safety harness will help to make it more supportive. However, it means that younger babies, just getting started on their baby-led weaning journey may tire more quickly in this chair.

They will quickly develop more strength and endurance so this will not be a huge problem for very long. If you choose the Primo Cozy for your 6-month-old, just be sure to watch for signs of getting tired and make sure that you don’t keep them in the chair for too long.

The Primo Cozy also folds away for easy storage.

For the budget and features, the Primo Cozy is a great option for baby-led weaning.

Infans High Chair

This chair is from a less known brand but it has amazing reviews on Amazon. I do feel a bit mixed about some of the features but there is a lot that is also really useful.

Why I think it may work for you:

Adjustable –  The footrest is height adjustable. It only adjusts to 3 different heights but that is better than nothing. The entire chair can also be height adjusted meaning that you can use it at just about any height table.

Safety Harness – The Infans chair also has a five-point safety harness which will provide ample support for your little one.

Ease of Cleaning – Although it does have a cover, it is made from PU leather which means that you can just wipe it down. The tray is also detachable so you can pop it in the dishwasher. The one thing that may let this high chair down as a baby-led weaning chair is that there are some nooks and crannies that food can get lost in, making cleaning a bit of a hassle.

Support – This Infans chair has a softcover as well as that 5 point safety harness. This is going to make it really supportive, especially if you are using it for a little one who is just starting out with baby-led weaning.

The Infans is suitable for children from 6 months to 5 years so it will give you a lot of use, for only $99.

Antilop IKEA High Chair

The IKEA Antilop Chair is only $19 and whilst it is a very basic high chair, there are some benefits which is why I’m adding it to the ring.

Let’s first look at the pros. For starters, at only $19, the Antilop is easy on the wallet.

Safety Harness – There is a 3 point safety harness to provide a bit more support, not to mention safely securing your little one into the high chair.

Ease of Cleaning –  The Antilop has a removable tray that can easily be wiped down and go into the dishwasher. As there is no fabric and with the fairly basic design, cleaning is not a problem at all.

Onto the cons…

Support – it is not a particularly supportive high chair and would probably be better suited to an older baby who is confident in their postural skills and more proficient with their hands.

Adjustable – There is also no foot support. Having said that, there is a footrest available from Amazon for $35. This would significantly increase the postural support provided and if you do have an IKEA Antilop chair, I would really recommend this.

And finally, if space is an issue, this chair may be problematic as it does not fold up for storage. Whilst it doesn’t take up a huge amount of floor space, it can get in the way at times.

If you’re on a budget, I would still consider the Antilop an option for baby-led weaning. Many of our friends had the Antilop and my babies did just fine in this high chair, even without the footrest.

So, let’s compare these chairs:

So, there you have it.

Finding the right high chair is really going to depend on your and your family. All of these high chairs are good high chairs for baby-led weaning, especially under the $100 mark.