10 Best Infant Car Seats In 2018

As one of the top rated infant car seats on the market, the Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat and Base from Chicco makes installing and using their seat extremely easy with its spring-loaded leveling system and one-pull latch tightening system to ensure a tight and secure fit in your vehicle.

With a seat lined with an EPS energy-absorbing foam to improve impact protection, the KeyFit 30 is an optimal choice for children from birth to up to 30 lbs. and even has an infant insert for smaller babies that weigh 4 to 11 pounds.

With a 5-point harness, and conforming to regulations set by FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) 213 which sets the standard for child restraint systems, your child’s safety it paramount of the car seat’s features.

With its ergonomically designed handle, removing the KeyFit 30 from the based is easy to do with just one hand.

Why we love it – With its compatibility with numerous products in the Chicco line, ease of install and removal from the based, the KeyFit 30 is one of our choices for the best infant car seat.

With its ultra-lightweight design, carrying around your little one puts less stress on your grip or arm as you transport them from the car to their stroller and any place along the way.

With their Click Connect system, Graco offer parents a no-fuss system that can work with a multitude of different stroller options. With EPS, energy absorbing foam that can be very effective in managing impact energy as well as a convenient LATCH-equipped stay-in car base that can help you with a hassle-free installation can help ease concerns of safety when riding around in the vehicle.

To aid in a more comfortable ride, the SnugRide offers a removable head support for newborns that can offer soft, cushioned support for your baby’s head. A rotating canopy offers protection from the sun and provides your little one with shade to help them travel comfortably.

Why we love it – Graco is one of the most well-known brand makers of infant child seats. With its Click Connect system, the SnugRide is not only an affordable option but a dependable one as well.

The Extend2Fit, a convertible car seat from Graco, offers a different car seat experience when compared to traditional infant car seats. The biggest difference between the two would be that with a cart seat such as the Extend2Fit, it can be both rear and forward-facing in the vehicle.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ride rear-facing up to 2 years of age while the Extend2Fit has accommodations for seating a child rear-facing that weighs between 4 and 50 pounds.

To help provide more leg room for your little one as they sit rear-facing in the vehicle, the Extend2Fit has a 3-position extension panel that can be adjusted to provide up to 5 inches of additional leg room so that they not only ride safely but also comfortably.

With an innovative harness storage system that holds the buckle out of the way, putting your baby in or taking them out of the car seat is a much simpler process. Graco also offers a simply safe adjust harness system that makes it easy for you to adjust the height of the harness and the headrest in one motion, removing the need to rethread the harness straps

Why we love it – The Graco Extend2Fit is one of the top rated car seats for infants on the market. With its ability to be both a rear-facing and front-facing seat, along with the features that add to the comfort and safety for your little one, it’s easy to see why.

The Embrace LX from Evenflo is an example of a good, economical option for those parents where cost is a concern when it comes to purchasing an infant car seat.

Despite its lower price point, the Embrace does not lack in providing your little one with ample safety and comfort features each and every time they take a ride in your vehicle.

An adjustable 3 position harness system that is rated from 4 to 35 pounds and nationally recognized by advocates for the safety of low birth weight babies ensures that the Embrace can have a long life of being used and securely protect your child.

With its lightweight design that is 25% lighter than other comparable options on the market, even though the Embrace is a vehicle specific car seat and doesn’t attach to a stroller, the lighter weight will help you keep your little one close without your arm getting tired.

Why we love it– The Embrace LV from Evenflo is a good option is cost is an issue for you. With its lighter weight and national recognition for its safety options, the Embrace LX is a great option for your little one.

While the B-Safe 35 from Britax USA is at the higher end of the pricing spectrum, the features it offers you and your baby more than make up for the price of the car seat.

With Britax’s exclusive SafeCell Impact Protection and by adding an extra layer of side impact protection, Britax has earned their number 1 rating in safety technology by far. Boasting a steel frame, the SafeCell Impact Protection adds strength as well as featuring a base that compresses to absorb energy during a collision.

The B-Safe 35’s contoured shell takes up very little space in the vehicle, minimizes side to side movement to maximize protection. The plush foam padding in the seat itself, as well as offering premium fabrics help keep your little one comfortable and cozy each and every time that they go for a ride.

Why we love it – The B-Safe 35 Elite from Britax USA is the safest option on our list. With its exclusive safety features that help keep your little one protected while wrapping them in comfort, any parent who purchases this car seat from Britax will not be disappointed.

Offering a dual-stage cushioning system, the Primo Viaggio from Peg Perego helps to ensure that your child will have the support that they need. For babies that are 4 pounds and up, the first stage offers support for your baby’s neck and bottom. The second stage supports your growing baby correctly by helping to keep their head positioned properly and both are made from a breathable fabric.

The Primo Viaggio’s base makes it easy for you to ensure that the base is securely locked in place making it more stable in the process. With Peg Perego’s Right Tight System, you can easily lock the base in place using either the LATCH system or the vehicle’s seat belt. With a color-coded belt path system, routing the seat belt to secure the base is made much easier.

With compatibility with all of Peg Perego strollers, without the use of any adapters, makes transportation from vehicle, to home or even on strolls in the park a breeze for you and your baby.

Why we love it – While the Primo Viaggio doesn’t offer anything that makes it stand out from the crowd at first glance, the dual cushioning system, Side Impact Protection, and travel system compatibility make this a top rated car seat in our opinion and one you would be very happy to own.

The B-Safe 35, the base model for the B-Safe 35 Elite. While the B-Safe 35 still offers some of the best safety options on the market, there are differences between the two models that may make deciding on which one to purchase something to consider.

Unlike the Elite version, the base model B-Safe 35 has only 1 layer of side impact protection foam insulation. While this doesn’t make the cart seat any less safe, for you or some other moms, having that second layer may ease some safety concerns.

Missing are also the quick-adjust headrest and the no-rethread harness. With a more standard fabric that the Elite model and a non-removable cover, the B-Safe may not be as comfortable or easy to clean, but still holds its own as a quality option for your little one.

This doesn’t mean that the two models from Britax USA don’t share some common features. The SafeCenter LATCH Installation system, which makes installation easy and secure is featured on the B-Safe 35 model, as well as their SafeCell Impact Absorbing base and Impact Stabilizing steel frame.

Why we love it – While it can be seen as a lesser version of the Elite option offered by Britax USA, the B-Safe 35 is a quality infant car seat that will allow your child to ride comfortably and safely each time they are in your vehicle.

Awarded a 5-star rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Mesa from UPPAbaby is an infant car seat that puts your child’s safety above all else. As the first to pass the NHTSA’s proposed standard for side impact protection, the Mesa has the credibility to make it a smart choice for your little one.

With UPPAbaby’s SmartSecure system, which promises a 10-second accurate installation which uses a tightness indicator and self-retracting LATCH connectors to help ensure a quick and accurate installation that is also easy. An indicator window that changes from red to green will offer confirmation that the base has been installed correctly as well.

With an adjustable headrest that is reinforced with EPP foam to provide additional protection for your little one. With its integrated design, it will help keep your baby’s head stationary during a side impact collision. This reinforcement helped the MESA receive 4x better test scores than other infant car seats on the market.

Why we love it – With its documented record of safety and ability to be used in UPPAbaby’s performance travel system, the MESA is a great choice for any parent looking for overall quality and value in an infant car seat.

As one of the more well-known names in child safety, the Onboard 35 by Safety 1^st offers you and your child a suitable option for an infant car seat that has a very reputable backing in the industry. While it is an older model, the features provided by this car seat in no way make it a poor choice for your child’s safety.

Much like other car seats, the Onboard 35 meets or exceeds all federal crash-testing requirements. With its energy absorbing foam and side-impact protection that can help to protect your child if there is ever an incident of a side- impact accident. With its LATCH connectors, installing the base into your vehicle is an easy task.

Why we love it – The Onboard 35 Air from Safety 1^st is a great choice for any parent. With the backing of a well-established company in the child safety market, the Onboard 35 is a good option when choosing a car seat for a newborn in your life.

With an added boost to provide your little one with extra warmth and comfort when needed, the EZ Flec Loc Infant Car Seat by Baby Trend everything you would want to see in a relatively reasonably priced car seat for your little one.

With a push button, 4-position adjustable height base, an included level indicator and EZ Flec Loc latch to ensure a proper installation, installing this car seat into your vehicle is in no way the hassle that other car seats may become.

A 5-point safety harness, with no rethread and easy push button release designed for use with one hand along with EPS energy absorbing foam for a stronger side-impact head protection system will leave you at ease, knowing your child is safe and secure in the EZ Flec Loc.

Why we love it – From the outset, the EZ Flec Loc Infant Car Seat by Baby Trend is a basic infant car seat at a reasonable price and you’d be right. By offering a quality product that not only protects your little one from harm but also wraps them in comfort, Baby Trend puts a very capable product on the market for you.