Highchairs, from £12 up

The lowest price here is the IKEA ANTILOP at £12. That's the figure in our title, read on IKEA's UK page on 3 November 2026. It buys the chair and the safety belt. The tray costs extra.

We rank these five by regular price, lowest first, from each maker's UK page. This is a desk comparison from those pages, the NHS, RoSPA and recall lists. We haven't tested any of them, and the prices don't all buy the same things.

What each price covers

That last column changes the sums. The NHS says to always use a securely fitted safety harness in a highchair, so we'd count the harness on the three dearest chairs in the bill. The Nomi is the sharpest case. Its £239 looks lower than the £262 Tripp Trapp, but that buys no Baby Set, so compare the two with the set added.

What the NHS and RoSPA say

The NHS says your baby needs to sit upright, so they can swallow properly, and not to leave babies unattended on raised surfaces. RoSPA says table-mounted high chairs are not recommended. All five here stand on the floor.

The NHS safety page says: "Use a 5-point harness to secure your baby in a highchair or pram every time you put them in." IKEA says "safety belt included" on both its chairs and gives no number of points. Mumsnet and BabyGearLab describe the ANTILOP's as a three-point harness. Weigh that before you pick it, and ask IKEA about the SANDKATT's.

Children's highchairs sit under BS EN 14988:2017+A1:2020 (BSI, status Current, Under Review, checked 3 November 2026). BSI's overview says it covers freestanding chairs for children up to 3 who can sit unaided. We've read that overview only. So we make no claim that a model meets it.

That "sit unaided" line is also what IKEA gives as its starting point, on both chairs. Cybex and the Tripp Trapp's page say 6 months with their Baby Sets. The Nomi's page says children able to sit up unaided, with the set fitted. If your baby isn't sitting steadily yet, speak to your doctor or health visitor.

The two IKEA chairs

The ANTILOP is plain and easy to clean. IKEA's care line says wipe with a mild soapy solution and dry with a cloth. Our IKEA Antilop review covers the harness and what the tray costs.

The SANDKATT is £40 against £12 for the ANTILOP, and you get a soft cover and a raised-edge tray for that. The cover is machine washable at 40C. One more job on a messy day. Its zip has no tab, for child safety, so IKEA tells you to open it with a paper clip, and to take the clip away afterwards.

The chairs that take an adult

You pay for the years after highchair age. The Iris takes up to 120kg once the Baby Set is off, the Nomi 110kg and the Tripp Trapp 136kg, by their makers' figures.

The Iris is the simplest buy of the three, at £209.95 with set and tray included. The frame weighs 5.84 kg, and its Baby Set and tray can't be bought on their own, says Cybex. So this set is the way to get them.

The Nomi weighs 4.68 kg against 6.5 kg for the Tripp Trapp. Stokke says the Nomi's seat and footplate adjust without tools. Its frame has a wooden stem with a plastic seat and footplate, by Stokke's materials list. Would we pay that much for a chair? Only if you'd keep it for years.

What's fine to skip

An expensive chair, if you don't want to keep one past age 3. BSI's overview and both IKEA pages stop at 3 years, and a chair from IKEA does that job. A cushion is optional too. A second-hand chair is another good route: check it for cracks, wobble and a missing harness, and look up the model for recalls first. On a used ANTILOP, read the supplier number and date under the seat, as the recall below explains.

Sleep

A highchair is for meals, not naps. If your baby nods off at the table, move them. The NHS says every sleep should be on the back, on a firm, flat mattress, in a clear cot, in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months.

Recalls and next steps

We found no current recall for any of these five models on 3 November 2026. Older stock is another matter. ANTILOP chairs from supplier 17389, made June 2007 to November 2009, were recalled in 2012 because the buckle could open unexpectedly. Those notices are about older stock, but check the label on a second-hand one. A 2019 Safety Gate alert did cover Stokke's separate Newborn Set cradle, which isn't part of the Tripp Trapp listing here. Each chair has its own check in our highchair catalog.

If you're choosing a chair because food is coming, our explainer on starting solids covers what the NHS says.