Twelve high chairs sold in Australia, assessed on specification and ranked by Bench Score. We scored each on longevity and adjustability, cleanability, build and materials, footprint and value, working from the manufacturer’s published figures and the lowest listed Australian retail price as at 30 July 2026. Nothing here has been hand-tested. This is a paper assessment of what each chair claims to do and what it costs to get there.
The order of merit
| Product | Bench Score | Price | Key spec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bugaboo Giraffe High Chair | 8.5 | $379 | Supports up to 100kg |
| Kaylula Ava Forever High Chair Beech | 8.2 | $329 | European beechwood, rated to 45kg |
| Maxi Cosi Minla Highchair | 8.0 | $319 | 9 height and 5 recline positions |
| Cybex Lemo2 3-in-1 High Chair | 8.0 | $499 | Chair, baby set and tray included |
| Maxi Cosi Moa High Chair | 7.9 | $189 | 8-in-1, 6 months to 5 years |
| UPPAbaby Ciro High Chair | 7.6 | $299 | Seam-free seat, dishwasher-safe tray |
| Mamas & Papas Eno High Chair | 7.5 | $599 | One-handed foot-pedal fold |
| Phil & Teds Lobster High Chair | 7.4 | $149.99 | Clamps to tables 20 to 95mm |
| Hannie Portable High Chair | 7.3 | $249 | High chair to booster, 6 months to 5 years |
| Mothers Choice Willow 4 in 1 High Chair | 7.3 | $169 | Claimed 14 years, 60kg |
| Mamas & Papas Juice High Chair | 7.1 | $269.99 | Converts to junior chair |
| Baby Studio Super Slim Flat Fold High Chair | 6.3 | $129 | One-hand super slim flat fold |
Prices are as at 30 July 2026, lowest listed Australian retail. The top eight are covered in detail below.
1. Bugaboo Giraffe High Chair
$379. Bench Score 8.5. Best overall.
The Giraffe wins this group test on two numbers. It is built from FSC-certified European beechwood, and Bugaboo rates the chair to 100kg, which is an adult. Nothing else in the field claims that. Adjustment is tool-free and Bugaboo puts it at one second, so the seat and footrest move as your child grows without a hunt for the Allen key.
The catch is the way it is sold. At $379 the spec sheet describes it as suitable from 36 months and beyond. To use it as a high chair from around six months you need the baby set, $109 on its own and covering 6 to 36 months up to 15kg, plus a tray. The complete bundle is $469. That is the honest price of entry, and why value scores 7.5 against 9.5 for build. Footprint is the other soft spot at 7.5, because this is a fixed frame with no fold. The pricing maths gets a longer treatment in our Bugaboo Giraffe review.
For. The longest claimed service life and the best build spec in the field, with tool-free adjustment that will still work in ten years. Against. The advertised $379 is not the usable price for a baby, and it does not fold.
Bench Score 8.5. Longevity and adjustability 9.5, cleanability 8.0, build and materials 9.5, footprint 7.5, value 7.5.
2. Kaylula Ava Forever High Chair Beech
$329. Bench Score 8.2. Best value.
The Ava Forever is the cheapest full-longevity timber chair here, and the one to buy if you want the Giraffe’s argument without the Giraffe’s accessory bill. It is European beechwood, rated to 45kg, with interchangeable seat and footplates and multiple height positions so the child stays ergonomically seated from first solids through to homework at a desk.
What makes the 9.0 value score stack up is what comes in the box. The push-button timber tray with two-position adjustability, the click-on washable food tray, the safety bar and the 5-point harness are all included at $329. The Bugaboo asks $379 and then charges again for the baby set and tray. On the manufacturer’s figures the Kaylula undercuts it by $50 with everything already attached.
It gives up ground on build, 8.0 against the Giraffe’s 9.5, and its 6.5 for footprint is the weakest of the top five. The stability legs front and back that reduce the tipping hazard also make it a wide chair in a narrow kitchen.
For. Full timber-chair longevity with the tray and harness included, and the best value score in the field. Against. A big footprint that does not fold away, and a 45kg rating rather than the Bugaboo’s 100kg.
Bench Score 8.2. Longevity and adjustability 9.0, cleanability 8.0, build and materials 8.0, footprint 6.5, value 9.0.
3. Maxi Cosi Minla Highchair
$319. Bench Score 8.0.
No chair here covers more configurations per dollar. The Minla is a 6-in-1 with 9 height positions, 5 recline positions, 4 tray positions and a two-height adjustable footrest, moving through infant high chair, feeding booster, dining booster, dining high chair and big-kid stool. If you actually use adjustment ranges, this is the most flexible seat in the group.
It cleans well for the money at 8.5. The seat pad zips off into the washing machine and the snack tray goes in the dishwasher. The rest is a wipe-down. Add the slim compact fold and an 8.0 footprint score, the best of any full-size chair in the top four, and the case for a small Australian kitchen writes itself.
Build is where it lands, at 7.0. This is a plastic-heavy frame and does not pretend otherwise. You are trading the beechwood chairs’ decade for a spec sheet that does more now.
For. The widest adjustment range in the test and a machine-washable pad, in a fold that fits a unit kitchen. Against. Build quality trails both timber chairs, and it will not follow your child into their teens.
Bench Score 8.0. Longevity and adjustability 8.5, cleanability 8.5, build and materials 7.0, footprint 8.0, value 8.0.
4. Cybex Lemo2 3-in-1 High Chair
$499. Bench Score 8.0.
The Lemo2 shares the Minla’s overall score by a different route. Cybex sells it as a seat for birth to 99 years, and the 3-in-1 set at $499 includes the chair, the baby set and the tray, so unlike the Bugaboo the usable price is the advertised price. Seat and footrest adjust with one hand and no tools, which matters more than it sounds when you are holding a toddler in the other arm.
It scores 9.0 for longevity on that claim and 8.5 for build. Where it loses is cleaning and money. There are no published dishwasher-safe parts, which drops cleanability to 7.5 against the UPPAbaby’s 9.0, and $499 is $170 more than the Kaylula for a similar life story. The wider Lemo range is a trap worth naming too: the newborn bundle is $929, the ultimate bundle $1,149, the training tower $149 and the comfort inlay $89. It is easy to talk yourself from $499 to four figures.
For. Everything you need for a six-month-old is in the $499 box, and the one-handed adjustment is genuinely useful. Against. No published dishwasher-safe parts, and an accessory range that will keep asking for money for a chair that never folds.
Bench Score 8.0. Longevity and adjustability 9.0, cleanability 7.5, build and materials 8.5, footprint 7.0, value 7.5.
5. Maxi Cosi Moa High Chair
$189. Bench Score 7.9. Best under $200.
The Moa has the strongest feature list under $200 by a clear margin. It is an 8-in-1 covering roughly 6 months to 5 years to a 20kg limit, converting between high chair, low stool, booster seat, toddler stool and desk with seat. The cleaning spec is unusually complete at this price: a water-repellent machine-washable inlay, a dishwasher-safe tray insert, a washable harness and wipe-clean surfaces. At 8.5 for footprint it is also easy to move and store, on anti-slip rubber feet.
Build is the compromise, and the 6.0 score says so plainly. This is a lightweight frame built to a price, and a 20kg ceiling means it runs out of chair well before the timber options. Set against $189, that is a reasonable bargain rather than a flaw. If you want a chair that lasts to high school, spend more. If you want the most function under $200, this is it.
For. The best sub-$200 spec sheet in Australia, with a washable inlay and a dishwasher-safe tray insert. Against. Visibly built to the price, and a 20kg limit that ends the relationship early.
Bench Score 7.9. Longevity and adjustability 8.0, cleanability 8.5, build and materials 6.0, footprint 8.5, value 8.5.
6. UPPAbaby Ciro High Chair
$299. Bench Score 7.6. Easiest to clean.
Nothing here cleans better on paper. The Ciro has a seam-free seat with no crumb traps and a food-resistant harness that comes out completely for a deep clean. The tray is dishwasher safe. That earns the highest cleanability score in the test at 9.0. The frame is FSC-certified timber and build scores 8.5. Details are good throughout: the tray sits higher and extends over the dining table so the child eats with you, and the two-position rotating footrest flips as their legs grow.
The problem is the calendar. UPPAbaby publishes a window of 4 months to 3 years, or up to 15kg, and that is the shortest service life of any full-size chair here. It drags longevity to 6.0 and value to 7.0. You are paying $299 for under three years of use, then buying something else.
For. The cleaning spec of the field, on an FSC-certified timber frame. Against. A 15kg ceiling and a three-year window, which is poor value against the Kaylula at $30 more.
Bench Score 7.6. Longevity and adjustability 6.0, cleanability 9.0, build and materials 8.5, footprint 8.0, value 7.0.
7. Mamas & Papas Eno High Chair
$599. Bench Score 7.5.
Judged on features alone the Eno is a good chair. The smooth single-surface seat has no gaps for crumbs and the 5-point harness uses wipe-clean silicone straps. The one-handed fold works off a foot pedal, so the legs close while your hands are full. Five seat heights, a two-position tray, an adjustable footrest and anti-tip wheels round it out, and cleanability scores 9.0, level with the UPPAbaby.
Then you look at the price. $599 buys a chair that runs from weaning to toddler, and that is the hardest number here to defend. Value scores 5.5, the lowest figure in the group. The Kaylula costs $270 less and claims a decade more use. Buy the Eno only if the foot-pedal fold solves a specific storage problem in your house.
For. Excellent cleaning and the best one-handed fold in the test. Against. $599 for a chair that stops at the toddler stage, which is the weakest value case in the field.
Bench Score 7.5. Longevity and adjustability 7.5, cleanability 9.0, build and materials 7.5, footprint 8.0, value 5.5.
8. Phil & Teds Lobster High Chair
$149.99. Bench Score 7.4. Best for travel.
The Lobster is not really competing with the chairs above it. It is an aluminium-framed clamp-on that grips tables from 20 to 95mm, covering more restaurant and holiday-house tables than most portable seats, and it packs into its own carry bag. The tray is dishwasher safe and the harness is a 4-point over-shoulder design.
Footprint scores 9.5, the highest number on this page, because when you are done it goes in a cupboard or the boot. Its single-stage design caps longevity at 5.5. It does one job and it is the best in the field at that job. It makes more sense alongside a full-size chair than instead of one.
For. The travel and second-chair answer, with a wide clamp range and a dishwasher-safe tray. Against. One stage with no adjustment path, and a 4-point harness rather than 5.
Bench Score 7.4. Longevity and adjustability 5.5, cleanability 8.0, build and materials 7.5, footprint 9.5, value 7.5.
How we scored
Every chair was assessed against the same five published criteria, each marked out of 10. The Bench Score is the overall figure from our scoring sheet.
Longevity and adjustability. How long the published age and weight ratings cover, and how much the seat, footrest and tray move across that span. A 100kg rating with tool-free adjustment scores where a 15kg, three-year window does not.
Cleanability. Published dishwasher-safe and machine-washable parts, seam-free surfaces, and whether the harness comes out for a deep clean. Claims only count if the maker publishes them.
Build and materials. Certified timber, frame construction and the depth of the published materials specification. A chair that describes its materials in detail scores above one that says BPA-free and stops.
Footprint. Whether it folds, how it stores, and what it costs in floor space.
Value. Price against the field for what you receive in the box, including whether the tray, harness and baby set are extras.
Assessed on specification, 30 July 2026. Nothing in this group test has been physically tested. Scores reflect published manufacturer specifications and lowest listed Australian retail prices on that date.
Buyer’s notes
Work out the real price before you compare. The most expensive habit in this category is assuming the advertised figure is the usable one. The Bugaboo Giraffe is $379, but as a high chair for a six-month-old it is $469 with the baby set and tray. The Cybex Lemo2 3-in-1 at $499 includes both. The Kaylula Ava Forever at $329 includes the timber tray, the food tray, the safety bar and the harness. Line up what is in each box before you line up the prices.
Divide the price by the years. This is one of the few baby purchases where the maths is honest. The Mamas & Papas Eno is $599 and finishes at the toddler stage. The UPPAbaby Ciro is $299 for a window that closes at three years. The Mothers Choice Willow is $169 against a claimed 14 years. The Kaylula is $329 and rated to 45kg. Cost per year separates the chairs worth stretching for from the ones that only look cheap, and it also tells you when a cheap chair is the right answer: for one child in a rented flat, the $189 Maxi Cosi Moa spends your money where it will be used.
Australian kitchens are small, and three of the top four do not fold. The Bugaboo, the Kaylula and the Cybex are fixed-footprint furniture that will stand in your kitchen for years, which is the point of them and also the thing people underestimate. If your dining area is tight, the Minla is the only chair in the top five with a slim compact fold. The Baby Studio Super Slim Flat Fold at $129 has the best storage spec in the field, on a 6.3 Bench Score built from a 6-months-to-3-years life and wipe-clean-only surfaces.
Buy where you can get a part. Harness straps break and tray clips go missing, usually in year two. A chair supported by an Australian business is one you can get a replacement footplate for without an international freight quote. Babyhood, which distributes Kaylula, is Australian with local parts and service, and that is worth weighing on something you intend to keep for a decade.
Disclosure: Babyhood, which distributes the Kaylula range, is a client of Xpand Digital, the publisher of The Baby Bench. Bench Scores are set from published specifications before any commercial relationship is considered, and the category leader in this test is not a Babyhood product.
Evidence record
Sources checked
Product specifications, claims and Australian pricing were checked against the following sources for this assessment. Prices and availability can change after publication.
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