Best Booster Car Seats for 2023, Tested — Car and Driver

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The experts at Good Housekeeping have released their latest findings on child car seats. Here are their picks for the best booster seats for growing kids.

This article was updated in January 2023.

We here at Car and Driver are car experts, and our readers trust us for insight and advice—about automobiles. Child car seats, however? Not so much. While they are an essential automobile accessory if you're a parent of young kids, not many of us at Car and Driver are anymore. (Or yet.) We just didn't feel comfortable picking the "best" child car booster seats and sharing uninformed opinions with our readers.

Instead, we turned to the expertise of our colleagues at the renowned Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI). Good Housekeeping has been testing and evaluating products for the home and parents for more than a century, and their testing and evaluation processes are the industry standard.

The GHI recently updated its car seat rankings for 2023, and here are its choices for the best car booster seats for kids.

While they may have outgrown their baby or toddler car seats, you can't just turn your kid loose in the back seat just yet. It's time for a booster. Booster seats help keep kids safe by readjusting their seatbelt placement to the proper spot rather than across their bellies and necks, which could cause harm in an accident. Booster seats come in various styles, colors, and sizes so you can easily find one that fits your lifestyle and vehicle.

This roundup of the best booster seats for your car is based on lab-tested picks, category expertise, and real-life consumer feedback. Good Housekeeping testers and editors road-tested a dozen booster car seats to evaluate safety, ease of use, and proper fit. The Institute also considered ease of installation, angle and harness adjustments, cleaning ease, dimensions, and fit to find the best booster seats. Testers then used these boosters in a variety of vehicles.

Here are Good Housekeeping's picks for the Best Booster Car Seat. Car and Driver has paraphrased their findings to reflect our purposes here.

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A particular favorite among GHI testers, the Monterey XT is also well-liked by Amazon reviewers. When used as a highback booster, it offers height and width adjustments as well as two recline positions, for a more custom fit than other boosters. The back can also be removed completely, to accommodate bigger kids.

This booster safely accommodates kids up to 63 inches tall and 120 pounds. It has a wider, more comfortable seat than most of the competition. It comes in a range of colors with removable covers for machine washing (though GH testers noted they wished the removal was easier). Aluminum-reinforced side-impact protection provides extra security.

Easily making the transition from a harnessed car seat to a highback booster, the Maestro Sport Harness booster can suit your child from toddlerhood to big kid status. As a five-point harness car seat, it holds kids up to 50 pounds; as a booster it accommodates kids up to 110 pounds and 57 inches tall. The seat padding is machine washable. It also features dual cup holders to keep drinks and snacks within reach.

GHI experts found this seat to be lightweight, easy to install and remove, and, at its low price point, a great value. Shoulder guides and multiple harness slots make it easier for your child to get a secure fit. The headrest, however, is not adjustable.

One of the most popular car seats on the market because of its versatility and longevity, this convertible car seat starts as a rear-facing car seat for kids up to 40 pounds, transitions to a forward-facing car seat for toddlers, then to a highback booster for children, and finally to a backless booster that's suitable for bigger kids. It might be the last car seat you'll ever need to buy.

Experts loved its 10-position headrest, six-position recline, and no-rethread harness. It also comes with two cup holders and machine-washable seat pads that can be removed in minutes without uninstalling the seat.

In its highback form, the KidFit 2-in-1 offers 10 height positions, adjusting along the waist rather than the neck to offer more protection down the side and along the head. The back also removes completely for bigger kids to add an additional 10 pounds to the weight range. The two dishwasher-safe cupholders are foldable to keep the width of this seat manageable, while still offering a place to stash snacks and drinks.

Good Housekeeping's testers loved the contoured seat and their kids found the double-foam padding comfortable. Parent testers also appreciated that the seat and armrest covers are removable for machine washing.

The compact Alta sports a sleek look and high-quality construction without compromising functionality. It has seven (!) headrest positions and comes in four colors to suit any vehicle cabin. Plus, removable seat fabric and cupholders make it easier to clean.

Testers noted the specialized foam featured on the sides of the seat provides additional side impact protection.

This option from Graco can grow with your child from a 22-pound toddler to a self-sufficient passenger with no car seat required. Transitioning easily from a forward-facing harness to a backless booster, it has an eight-position adjustable headrest, washable seat pads, and two removable cup holders.

GHI appreciated that the headrest and harness can be adjusted together at the same time. With the open-loop belt guides that you can easily thread the seatbelt through, buckling up is a cinch for most kids.

The LX Turbobooster is a portable booster seat that's easy to move between vehicles. It's also great for older kids who aren't quite ready to transition to sitting unaided in the car. The machine-washable seat pad makes it easier to clean, and the cupholder is great. Better still, this booster has a hidden storage compartment.

Several GHI testers noted how this seat made it easier for their kids to buckle themselves in. At $40, it's also more affordable than highback models while offering the height and seatbelt guidance bigger kids need.

Definitely on the higher end of the price range, this booster seat includes a variety of great features that make it worth the money. Made with a magnesium seat frame and a winged headrest, it has belt guides, a multi-position recline, an adjustable headrest, and the option to transition to a backless booster. Plus, it comes in a range of fabric and color options. The cup holder and seat cover are removable for easy cleaning.

Lab experts at the Institute were pleased to find the unique-looking Oobr constructed of durable, high-quality materials. They also liked that it received n extremely high safety rating from IIHS.

With ceilings of 120 pounds and 63 inches tall, both noticeably higher than the upper limits of most booster car seats, this is the best booster seat for bigger kids who are in the final stages of requiring one. It readily transitions from a forward-facing harness to a highback booster. Good Housekeeping testers loved the nine-position headrest and multiple cup and snack holder; they also found it easy to install. With two layers of side-impact protection, SafeCell Technology helps absorb the energy from a crash.

The "athleisure fabric" upholstery that covers the seat is removable, and there are many colors and styles to choose from. However, this model is a bit more expensive than other options.

The Good Housekeeping Institute's engineering and parenting pros tested a dozen booster seats over the past year using a combination of in-Lab and at-home tests with both expert and consumer reviewers. They perform tests to evaluate car seats based on their ease of installation, perceived kid comfort, ease of getting kids in and out of the car, advanced features, harness adjustments, height and weight limits, stability, and more. Good Housekeeping works with real parents to test booster seats in a variety of vehicle sizes and types.

Booster seats do a great job of providing a safe way for bigger kids to ride around in the car before they're ready to sit directly in the seat. Depending on your state's car seat laws, children may be required to use a safety seat until they're large enough to sit in the car with the seat belt secured at the right areas of their body. Unlike other car seats, booster seats help by ensuring that the seatbelt is positioned correctly on your kid to provide safety without injuring them.

A child is likely ready to sit in the back seat without a booster seat once they are tall enough (usually 57 inches), old enough (at least 8 years old), and the seatbelt is positioned correctly on their body. The shoulder strap should go across the center of their shoulder and chest (NEVER over their neck or face), and the lap belt should go over their upper legs or hips. If they don't meet these requirements, a booster seat will be necessary.

Check your local regulations to ensure your child meets height, weight, and age requirements before transitioning them out of a booster.

Highback booster seats offer shoulder and head support similar to a car seat. Rather than a harness, they use your vehicle's seatbelt to clip your child in. The booster appropriately guides the seatbelt across your child's chest and over their legs at the top of the thighs. When your child is big enough that they no longer need the shoulder guide, they may be ready for a backless booster seat. Many booster seats transition from highback to backless, which usually means they have a larger height or weight range and can be used for longer.

You can also purchase a convertible car seat, an all-in-one that adapts to be the only car seat you ever need to buy your child. Convertible seats can be used as an infant back-facing car seat, then a forward-facing car seat, and finally a booster seat.

With a combined 206 years of automotive publishing experience, Hearst Autos—Car and Driver, Road & Track, and Autoweek—knows cars better than just about anyone. The Gear Team is committed to delivering honest evaluations, hands-on tests, and product reviews driven by decades of knowledge and experience. We get our hands on almost every product, tool, and piece of gear we feature; we evaluate gear on its own merits, and tell you the truth.

If we can't get our hands on the gear, we rely on the combined wisdom of our writers and editors, as well as auto experts we trust. We'll never say anything is "the best" if we wouldn't recommend it to our friends or buy it ourselves, and we won't claim we've tested something if we haven't. Learn more about our product testing here.

Jon Langston is an avid motorcyclist and gear collector whose work has appeared in Men's Journal, Cycle World, The Drive, Rider, Iron & Air, Motorcyclist, and more.

Rachel Rothman (she/her) is the chief technologist and executive technical director at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she oversees testing methodology, implementation and reporting for all GH Labs. She also manages GH's growing research division and the analysis of applicants for the GH Seal and all other testing emblems. During her 15 years at Good Housekeeping, Rachel has had the opportunity to evaluate thousands of products, including toys and cars for GH's annual awards programs and countless innovative breakthroughs in consumer tech and home improvement.

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