The Best Convertible Car Seats for Growing Families

Before we begin this post about Safe in the Seat’s recommended convertible car seats, don’t forget this important reminder: all car seats are safe when they’re installed and used correctly. Yes, even the ones that are on the list of seats we do NOT recommend! Just because you don’t see a car seat below or it’s not one we recommend, it doesn’t mean that it’s not safe; it just means that we like other seats better. If you’re in the market for a new car seat for your little one, read on so you can make the best purchase for your family.


Children are often in convertible car seats from the time they graduate from their infant car seat until 6-7 years of age! This is why considering their body type and growth is critical to purchasing a car seat that fits them now as a new toddler and for many years ahead. In addition, the recommendation is to rear face as long as possible so considering their height and weight growth trajectory is really important!

Your child’s size is one of the most important factors when it comes to choosing a car seat. But vehicle fit is equally important. This is why we can’t just tell you a car seat that we recommend without a lot of information. There are a few things you should consider. For vehicles with a smaller back seat and/or tall front passengers, you will want a car seat that is compact in rear-facing mode. Our top compact convertible car seats can be found here. If you will need to fit 3 people with comfort in your back seat now or in the foreseeable future (like if you are planning on having more kids), you will want a narrow car seat, ideally 17.5″ or less.

There are a lot of convenience features that are available on car seats now which are often a driver of the higher price points. The newest convenience feature is swiveling car seats. Some of them only swivel in rear-facing mode, while some of them can swivel in all modes of use. While there are a few swivel car seats that we do not recommend, we do have most of them in the convertible buying kit.

If you move seats around to different vehicles often, you would want to choose a seat that has an ease of installation feature if possible. Some car seats have easy seat belt installations, and some have been designed for easy lower anchor installation. In our list below, we have noted if the car seat has ease of installation features with a symbol of either a seat belt or lower anchors.

Learn more about how we tested convertible car seats here.

1. Chicco Fit4: Best Convertible Car Seat

2. Britax Advocate: Easiest Installation

3. Graco Extend2Fit: Easiest to Maintain

4. Maxi-Cosi Pria: Most Comfortable