Primo PopUp vs Graco: which compact high chair to buy

Our verdict, if you don’t read another word: in the Primo PopUp vs Graco choice, buy the Primo if the high chair has to be put away between meals, and buy the Graco if it stays out but has to be small. We own both. The Primo is our 5 out of 5 and folds to about 4 inches thick. The Graco is our 4.5, the smaller chair standing up, with the easier tray to clean.

One note on scope. We cover high chairs as gear. When a baby is ready to sit and eat is a question for the AAP and your pediatrician, and how to fit the harness and use the chair safely is a question for the manual that ships with it and the CPSC, rather than a blog.

The quick verdict

These are both compact high chairs, and they’re compact in opposite ways. That’s the whole decision.

There are two different small-space problems. One is a chair with nowhere to go between meals: it has to live behind a door, in a cupboard or in a narrow gap. The other is a chair that takes up too much floor while it’s in use, in a kitchen where every inch counts at the table.

The Primo solves the first. It folds to about 4 inches thick. The Graco solves the second. It’s small standing up, but it doesn’t fold flat. Work out which problem you have, and the choice mostly makes itself.

Buy the Primo if the chair needs to disappear, if you hate assembling things, or if it’s going somewhere other than your own kitchen. Buy the Graco if the chair will stay out, if cleaning is what you most want to be easy, or if you like the idea of later stages.

Four differences that decide it

The first is the fold. The Primo folds with one button to about 4 inches thick in around 10 seconds, and it’s very nearly flat when folded. The Graco folds, but not flat, and it won’t slide into the gap beside a fridge. On this one, it isn’t close.

The second is the size standing up. The Graco measures 27.5 by 21.5 inches and 33.75 inches high. The Primo is 28 by 24 inches and 38 inches high. The Graco takes up less floor and stands lower, which is why we describe it as very small standing up.

The third is cleaning. The Graco’s tray has a clear top insert that lifts straight off, so only the dirty part goes to the sink. Its seat is a crevice-free design, and the fabric cover and the harness straps come off for washing without a fight. The Primo is easy too: a wipeable leatherette seat cover that lifts off, and a tray that goes on the top rack of the dishwasher. The Graco just has the better design for the part you clean after every meal. Our full routine is in how to clean a baby high chair.

The fourth is set-up and lifespan. The Primo arrives fully assembled, which made it the easiest high chair we’ve ever set up. The Graco went together quickly, but it does need putting together. On lifespan, the Graco is sold as four stages up to 60 lb, from high chair to big kid chair, and the Primo is made for 6 to 36 months, up to 35 lb. We are not convinced we’ll keep the Graco through all four stages, so we wouldn’t buy it on that claim alone.

Side by side

Our ratings are a judgment about living with each chair, not a total worked out from this table.

Primo PopUp: the one that folds away

5 / 5our rating

A compact chair built around its fold, on an alloy steel frame with stable legs and a wide base. It weighs 10 lb and arrives fully assembled. The seat is padded leatherette with a 3-point harness, the seat cover lifts off to wipe down, and the tray goes on the top rack of the dishwasher. It’s BPA, phthalate and lead free. We’ve had it about six months.

The full review is our Primo PopUp review.

Graco: the one that stays small

4.5 / 5our rating

A small, free-standing high chair that weighs 10.5 lb and has a 3-point harness. Its tray has a clear top insert that lifts off and is dishwasher safe and BPA-free, and its seat is a wipeable, crevice-free design with fabric and straps that come off for washing. It’s sold as four stages, high chair, toddler feeding seat, youth stool and big kid chair, up to 60 lb. We’ve used the high chair stage.

The full review is our Graco high chair review.

Ratings compared

Every product on this page, ranked by our overall rating. These are considered verdicts after living with them, not the average of any table above.

#	Product	Our rating
1	Primo PopUp Folding High Chair	5 / 5
2	Graco High Chair	4.5 / 5

Which one fits your home

If the chair has to be put away between meals, buy the Primo. A 4 inch fold is the difference between a chair that lives behind a door and one that’s always in the way.

If the chair stays out and the kitchen is tight, buy the Graco. It takes up less floor and stands lower while your baby is eating.

If you’re kitting out a holiday rental, a grandparent’s house or a second home, buy the Primo. There’s nothing to assemble, and it folds away when nobody needs it.

If cleaning is the part of owning a high chair you dread, buy the Graco. Its lift-off tray insert and washable straps make the after-meal clean-up the easiest of any chair we own.

If you want one chair to last past three years, the Graco is the only one of these two sold for that, though we’d treat the later stages as a bonus rather than a reason to buy.

If you want a 5-point harness, neither. Both are 3-point. The fold-flat chair we own with a 5-point harness is the Ingenuity Sun Valley, which we compare with the Primo in Primo PopUp vs Ingenuity Sun Valley.

The bottom line

The Primo PopUp is our 5 out of 5 and the better folding chair: about 4 inches thick when folded, ready out of the box and solid on its wide base. The Graco is our 4.5 and the better small chair: it takes up less room standing up and has the easiest tray to clean. Neither replaces a full-size chair for everyday meals at home, and our pick for that is in the best high chair. How the Graco compares with a full-size chair is in Baby Trend vs Graco. For all the compact chairs we own, ranked by the space problem they solve, see the best high chairs for small spaces, and for everything else worth checking before you buy, our high chair buying guide.