Best Walmart Car Seats for Every Age and Stage 2024

Walmart is the place to go when you want a good price on quality products—and car seats are no exception. This includes convertible car seats, rotating car seats and stroller car seat combos. Walmart has them all, plus all the baby essentials you need, so it's a great one-stop-shop.

So which Walmart car seat will you choose?

What to look for in the best Walmart car seat

"Parents need to make sure that the car seat they are getting has passed safety standards. Check the labels on the side of the car seat first," says Amador, who suggests following up with verifications online. The websites for Transport Canada or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S. are great places to start.

Head straight to Walmart after that.

Next, Amador says to consider four factors before buying your next car seat at Walmart: budget, needs, wants and lifestyle. She suggests deciding what your spending limit is before shopping. But remember, higher-priced options often come with extra safety features.

Parents should also think about the stage their child is in and buy the appropriate seat. For instance, while Amador says that an infant car seat will have a shorter use time compared to a convertible car seat, she doesn't recommend putting newborns in convertible car seats because it's difficult to fit them with the wider straps and big chest clips, even with the infant insert.

"Keep in mind the type of vehicle the car seat will be installed in. If it's a sedan, then the car seat must fit the narrow space between the front seats and the back seat. If it's for a growing family, the car seats might need to fit three across," says Amador.

Regarding wants, Amador says that this is where the extra safety features come into play, such as the anti-rebound bar, side impact pods, lock-off installation, rigid LATCH and extended rear-facing or forward-facing limits. You can often find these in higher-end Walmart car seats.

Finally, keep in mind your lifestyle. For instance, are you frequent flyers? "If parents plan to travel by air with their toddler, they need to look for a car seat that is FAA-approved [or]. This means that the car seat has been tested and meets the safety standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration and is lightweight to haul around airports, car rentals, and hotels."

The best Walmart car seats 2024

• Best overall: Graco TrioGrow SnugLock 3-in-1 Car Seat
• Best budget: Baby Trend Trooper 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat 
• Best luxury: Graco 4Ever DLX 4-in-1 Convertible Car Seat
• Best for big families: Diono Radian 3R All-in-One Convertible Car Seat
• Best swivel: Evenflo Revolve360 Rotational All-In-One Car Seat
• Best infant seat: Graco SnugRide 35 LX Infant Car Seat
• Best booster: Evenflo Chase Plus 2-in-1 Booster Car Seat
• Best car seat stroller combo: Evenflo Omni Plus Modular Travel System

Best overall

Graco TrioGrow SnugLock 3-in-1 Car Seat

This convertible car seat from Walmart has everything you need and more: it installs quickly and easily, goes from an infant seat to a high-back booster and has been rigorously safety tested. Plus, it's got cup holders. It has a 4.5-star rating and comes at a great price.

Walmart verified purchaser, Bella, wrote, "My daughter loves this car seat! I love that it works for up to 100 pounds. It was super easy to install, it's not super bulky so it fits really well in my car and still leaves plenty of room in the back seat, and I didn't break the bank buying it."

She continued, "More than anything though, I love that there's no rethreading when adjusting the car seat as your child grows. Makes life SO easy! I will be buying these convertible car seats for the rest of my kids!"

Pros

• Thorough safety testing
• Easy to install using a seatbelt or LATCH system
• Can be used for kids up to 100 pounds
• 10 easy-to-adjust headrest positions
• Two cup holders

Cons

• Some users find the straps hard to adjust

Best budget

Baby Trend Trooper 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat

This affordable seat is sleek-looking and offers all the basics. It converts from a rear-facing infant and toddler seat to a forward-facing toddler seat and has five shoulder-height positions. Its seat is well-cushioned for a comfy ride and the cup holder is a great bonus for toddlers.

This Walmart car seat is lightweight at only 12 pounds and it's narrow, so it's possible to fit three across the backseat of your car.

Pros

• Narrow
• Lightweight
• Affordable
• Comfortable cushions
• Cup holder included

Cons

• Users complain that the straps often get twisted

Best Luxury

Graco 4Ever DLX 4-in-1 Convertible Car Seat

Graco promises at least 10 years of use with this car seat. It goes from a rear-facing infant seat (up to 40 pounds) to a forward-facing seat (up to 65 pounds) to a high back booster (up to 100 pounds) and finally a backless booster (up to 120 pounds). It has a 10-position headrest and six recline positions.

The InRight LATCH system makes installation easy (or easier than most) and it has been tested and built to protect little ones during frontal, side, rear and rollover crashes with a steel-reinforced frame. The car seat cover is also machine washable and can be removed in under a minute, without uninstalling the car seat.

Pros

• Offers up to a decade of use
• 10-position headrest and six recline positions
• Easy to install
• Washable seat cover
• Harness storage keeps straps out of the way when placing baby in the seat

Cons

• The rear-facing position can be difficult to get just right

Best for big families

Diono Radian 3R All-in-One Convertible Car Seat

Have a bunch of kids? You can fit three of these Walmart car seats across most vehicles. The Diono Radian can also be used from birth through the tween years and, even better, you can keep your child rear-facing until they weigh 50 pounds — a feature that's hard to find.

This seat also folds up, making it great for travel and it's FAA approved for use in airplanes. It features memory foam for comfort, an automotive-grade steel reinforced frame and a removable, washable cover.

And when you've got three kids snacking in the back of your car, washable covers are important.

Pros

• Can fit three across in most vehicles
• Accommodates babies from five pounds up to kids who are 120 pounds
• Folds for travel
• FAA approved
• Memory foam seat

Cons

• At almost 26 pounds, this car seat is heavier than most
• Depending on the size of your car, this one may be a bit too large to fit three across (though two fit easily in most rear seats like the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek we tested recently)

Best swivel

Evenflo Revolve360 Rotational All-In-One Car Seat

The hardest part of using a car seat is actually getting your child into said car seat. Swiveling car seats make it so much easier because you can turn the seat towards the car door to slide your little one in and out. This one boasts a title as the only car seat in America that rotates in every mode of use —many swivelling seats only rotate in rear-facing mode.

This easy seat also accommodates babies from four pounds through kids 120 pounds. It's easy to adjust and you can even reposition the seat with baby in it. This Walmart swivel car seat has been temperature, side-impact and rollover tested.

Pros

• Swivels from both rear-facing and forward-facing positions
• Accommodates babies from four pounds through 120 pounds
• Safety tested for temperature, side-impact and rollover
• Seat can be repositioned with baby in it

Cons

• Pricier than other options on the market, but worth the investment

Best infant seat

Graco SnugRide 35 LX Infant Car Seat

While a convertible car seat from Walmart will see your baby from birth through their big kids years, there's still something to be said for a dedicated infant seat. The main bonus is that you can remove the whole seat from the car rather than wake your sleeping baby. And if you invest in a compatible stroller or buy a car seat adapter for your stroller, you can pop that car seat right onto the stroller frame creating a super convenient car-seat-stroller combo.

The Graco Snugride has been a parent favorite for 25 years thanks to top safety ratings, ease of installation and overall design. It offers protection from frontal, side, rear and rollover crashes and at just over seven pounds, it's about two pounds lighter than most infant car seats. And two pounds is a lot when you're also lugging a diaper bag.

Pros

• Compatible with Graco strollers, adapters available for a range of other strollers
• Four recline positions
• Easy to adjust headrest and harness
• Quiet canopy that can be adjusted without waking baby
• Lightweight
• Safety tested

Cons

• Only accommodates babies up to 35 pounds

Best booster

Evenflo Chase Plus 2-in-1 Booster Car Seat

Most booster seats are pretty basic and can be used only by kids who are four and up. Because of its harness, this one takes toddlers from 22 pounds up to kids as big as 120 pounds. The harness can be used for kids up to 40 pounds and then your vehicle's seat belt can be threaded through the backrest to keep your big kid safe.

It comes with two cup holders, and a supportive padded backrest. When you adjust the headrest, the seat belt positioning automatically adjusts as well. It's a great option for grandparents who may have a bunch of grandkids of different ages and sizes.

Pros

• Affordable
• Versatile, accommodates kids from 40 pounds to 120 pounds
• Harness for younger kids
• A very sturdy, supportive booster seat
• Easy to adjust

Cons

• Cup holders are fairly shallow so snacks and drinks sometimes fall out
• Not ideal for infants

Best car seat stroller combo

Evenflo Omni Plus Modular Travel System

A stroller is one of the most important purchases you'll make as a new parent — it's only second to the car seat. So buying a car seat stroller combo like this one just makes sense. Not only is the Evenflo Omni Plus Modular Travel System incredibly well-priced, the included Evenflo LiteMax infant seat has great safety ratings and has been praised for its easy-to-use lock off, which locks your vehicle's seatbelt so the car seat stays securely installed.

The car seat can be used on the stroller frame or you can use the included seat, which transitions from a bassinet to a toddler seat. A decent-sized stroller basket means that you can carry your diaper bag right beneath your bundle of joy.

Pros

• Affordable
• Can be used from birth through toddler years
• Infant car seat has great safety ratings
• Stroller basket
• Stroller frame folds up easily

Cons

• Some users wish the basket was bigger

FAQs

Why is a Walmart car seat such a good choice?

"Parents and caregivers who are on a budget should look at car seats at Walmart first. They have a good assortment of car seats for any stage, from infant car seats to boosters and toddler car seats," says certified car seat technician, Juliana Amador.

When is Walmart's car seat trade-in event?

We don't have details yet on when the next Walmart car seat trade-in event will happen, but we're anxiously waiting for the great opportunity to recycle your expired car seats and receive a Walmart gift card in return.

What is the Walmart car seat trade-in event, anyway?

In short, Walmart invites shoppers to bring in old car seats in return for Walmart gift cards. The car seats are recycled and shoppers get a little money towards their next Walmart car seat purchase. Win-win!

Sources: Juliana Amador, Certified Car Seat Technician