High chairs
Stokke Tripp Trapp vs IKEA Antilop: is the expensive one worth it?
The two ends of the high chair market, and a genuine answer rather than a foregone conclusion.
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The short answer
Buy the Tripp Trapp if you will use it for more than one child, or if you want a chair that is still useful in ten years. Buy the Antilop if you want the easiest chair in the world to clean and would rather spend the difference on almost anything else. Both are genuinely good, and the Antilop is not a compromise on safety or stability — it is a compromise on adjustability and lifespan. Worth knowing before you order: the Antilop is sold by IKEA only, so we earn nothing if you buy it. We still recommend it.
Quick picks
Our ranking, with the reasoning underneath. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Stokke Tripp Trapp Buy it once. With the baby set it is a high chair, and the same frame is still a chair your teenager sits in. | High chairs, overall | 8.8 | Check price on Amazon #ad Affiliate link · We show no price until we can verify it live |
| 2 |  IKEA Antilop A single piece of molded plastic on four legs that you can hose off outside. It is the value benchmark every other chair gets measured against. | High chairs, budget | 8.4 | Check it at IKEA Reference link only — we do not earn a commission at IKEA. |
Scores are our own research scores on the rubric published at how we choose. They are not star ratings from customers, and we do not show a price we cannot verify live.
Side by side
| What matters | Stokke Tripp Trapp | IKEA Antilop |
|---|---|---|
| Price tier | Premium, and the baby set and harness cost extra. | Budget. Roughly a tenth of the total. |
| Lifespan | Adjusts from baby to adult. Decades. | Outgrown in toddlerhood. |
| Cleaning | Wooden, wipe down. Good, not trivial. | One piece of plastic. You can hose it off outside. |
| Adjustability | Seat and footplate both adjust as the child grows. | None at all. |
| Footrest | Yes, adjustable. A real advantage. | No, not as standard. |
| Tray | No tray by design. The child eats at the table. | Sold separately. |
| Storage and travel | A piece of furniture. Stays put. | Legs unclip. Stores flat, travels in a car. |
| Resale | Holds value well. | Effectively none, at that price. |
| Where you buy it | Widely available, including Amazon. | IKEA only. We earn no commission on it. |
The cost comparison people do not do
Spread over one child for eighteen months, the Antilop wins on cost so heavily that it is not worth discussing. Spread over two or three children and then a decade of use as an ordinary chair, the Tripp Trapp's cost per year drops to something unremarkable, and it has resale value at the end.
So the question is not "which is better value" in the abstract. It is how many children you expect to put in it and whether you actually want a wooden chair in your dining room afterwards. Both answers are legitimate.
What the Antilop genuinely gets right
There is a reason a twenty-five dollar chair keeps appearing near the top of round-ups next to chairs costing ten times as much, and it is not irony. It has no seams, no fabric, no crevices and no upholstery. Food cannot hide anywhere. The legs unclip in seconds, so it stores flat and goes in a car. It is stable and it is light.
What it lacks: adjustability, a footrest as standard, recline, and any life past toddlerhood. If those do not matter to you, you are not compromising by buying it.
What the Tripp Trapp genuinely gets right
The adjustable footplate is the underrated part. A baby with their feet braced is more stable and better positioned for eating, and the Tripp Trapp adjusts that position as they grow rather than being right for three months.
The second thing is the absence of a tray. It sounds like a missing feature; in practice it means the child is pulled up to the family table from their first meal, eating what everyone else is eating. Whether you value that is a parenting preference, not a specification.
Buy neither if
You have no floor space. Neither is the right answer for a small apartment kitchen, where a hook-on table chair uses no floor at all — see best high chairs for small spaces. Or if you want one chair that converts into a booster and a stool later, in which case a convertible is the category you want: best convertible high chairs.
Worth saying plainly
The Tripp Trapp needs the separate harness for a young baby, and the baby set is not optional at that age. The Antilop's supplied crotch strap is not a full harness, so many parents add one. Either way, per AAP guidance: harness every time, never rely on a tray as a restraint, keep the chair clear of surfaces a child can push off, and never leave a baby unattended. Check CPSC recalls for either model, especially if buying second-hand.
What we would buy
Now that the decision is made, these are the products we would actually put in the basket, and why.
Photo for illustration, not a photograph of our own unit.
Stokke Tripp Trapp
Stokke
Buy it once. With the baby set it is a high chair, and the same frame is still a chair your teenager sits in.
- Safety
- 9
- Cleaning
- 7
- Footprint
- 9
- Longevity
- 10
- Value
- 7
- Type:
- Wooden, adjustable, grows with the child
- Footprint:
- Small, pulls up to the table
- Tray:
- None by default, the child eats at the table
- Price tier:
- Premium
What works
- Genuinely lasts into adulthood, which changes the cost calculation
- Seat and footplate adjust, so posture stays right as the child grows
- No tray means the child eats with the family from the first meal
What to know first
- The baby set and harness are separate purchases
- Wood needs wiping, not hosing
- Highest up-front price here
#ad Affiliate link · We show no price until we can verify it live
Photo for illustration, not a photograph of our own unit.
IKEA Antilop
IKEA
A single piece of molded plastic on four legs that you can hose off outside. It is the value benchmark every other chair gets measured against.
- Safety
- 8
- Cleaning
- 10
- Footprint
- 9
- Longevity
- 5
- Value
- 10
- Type:
- Molded plastic, fixed height
- Footprint:
- Small, legs detach for storage
- Tray:
- Sold separately
- Price tier:
- Budget
What works
- Nothing to trap food, which makes it the easiest chair in the world to clean
- Costs a fraction of everything else here
- Legs unclip, so it travels and stores flat
What to know first
- No recline, no height adjustment and no footrest as standard
- Outgrown in toddlerhood
- Sold by IKEA only, so we earn nothing if you buy it. We still recommend it
Reference link only — we do not earn a commission at IKEA.
Common questions
Is the Stokke Tripp Trapp worth the price?
For more than one child, or if you want a chair that lasts into adulthood, yes on cost per year. For a single child for eighteen months, no.
Do you need the baby set with a Tripp Trapp?
For a baby just starting solids, yes, plus the harness. They are separate purchases and should be in your budget from the start.
Does the IKEA Antilop have a harness?
It comes with a crotch strap rather than a full harness, and plenty of parents add an aftermarket harness. Given AAP guidance on using a harness every time, that is a sensible addition.
Is the Antilop tray worth buying?
If you want mess contained on a surface you can lift off and wash, yes. If you would rather the child eat at the table, skip it.
Can you buy the IKEA Antilop on Amazon?
It is an IKEA product and IKEA is where to buy it. We earn nothing from that link, which has no bearing on the recommendation.