Best Infant Car Seats of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

While all child car seats have to meet federal safety requirements, our ratings are designed to highlight the car seats that offer a greater margin of safety.

A rear-facing-only infant car seat is a safe option for transporting your baby home from the hospital and for the first 6 months to a year, or once your child reaches the weight or height limits for their infant car seat, whichever comes first. But if your child has reached their first birthday and is still fitting in their rear-facing infant seat, it’s best to switch them to a rear-facing convertible or all-in-one car seat. 

Based on our statistical analysis from years of crash testing, CR’s certified passenger safety technicians recommend this switch, as our independent results show that a 12-month-old child dummy is far more likely to hit their head on the back of the front seat while in a rear-facing infant seat than they would be if they were riding in a rear-facing convertible or all-in-one seat.

CR’s infant car seat ratings include 12 load-leg infant seats, meaning a “leg” extends from the seat’s base to the floor of the vehicle. Four of the six top-rated infant seats in our ratings have a load leg base. Load legs make the seat more stable, help integrate the car seat into the vehicle during a crash, and reduce the amount of impact a baby would experience from crash forces. 

Although the load leg takes an additional step during installation, setup is fairly quick and easy in most vehicle seating positions. But it’s important to note that some car manufacturers may not allow their use in the center rear seating position, especially if there’s a large “hump” in the floor for the driveline.

Load-leg seats are becoming increasingly common in the U.S., but our tests reveal that not all designs are created equal. Generally, having a car seat with a load leg offers an advantage in the event of a crash. But depending on the car seat’s overall design, our tests show that there may still be cases where the baby’s head can come into contact with the back of a front seat, increasing the risk of injury.

That impact against the simulated front seatback in our tests takes away points from the seat’s crash protection score. And some load-leg seats are easier to use than others, which can also affect the car seat’s fit-to-vehicle and ease-of-use scores. 

Child seats have come a long way over the years, but proper installation is key. Here, Consumer Reports’ car seat and automotive safety expert Jennifer Stockburger shows what to do to keep little ones safe in a car.