The best strollers to buy 2024

Whether it's your first baby or your last, buying one of the best strollers for your child can be a seriously daunting task. While the sole purpose of a stroller is to get from point A to point B with relative ease and safety, there are so many brands, styles, and types of strollers that it can be difficult to choose the best for your needs. 

Your choice of stroller will come down to a few factors: where you plan to take the stroller, how you plan to use it, and how much you can spend. If you have a newborn, you'll probably want to invest in a travel system, that allows you to clip your car seat onto your stroller. If you have a baby over six months, you might be looking for a running stroller to allow you to clock up miles with your baby in tow. Finally, if you're always on the move, you'll probably want a lightweight stroller that's easy to carry.

But which is the best for you and your baby? Below, we've hand-picked some of the best strollers on the market. We put all of the strollers below through several different tests, looking at how well they navigated busy city streets and woodland paths alike.

The quick list

The best stroller overall

The Bugaboo Fox 5 is a top-of-the-line, all-terrain stroller, that Bugaboo says is its most comfortable and maneuverable stroller yet. It looks beautiful, and it’s one of the lightest all-terrain strollers on the market, plus, you can fold it up using just one hand — handy! It’s highly adjustable and sturdy and will last you from newborn to approximately age four. If you’re looking for an all-terrain stroller that’s still light enough to lift into the boot of your car, the Bugaboo Fox 5 is a solid option. 

Bugaboo has thought of all the little details here — the bassinet on the Fox 5 is approved for overnight sleeping when used with the compatible bassinet stand (although you’ll need to purchase this separately), and comes with a hard base and mattress. It has panels that allow air to flow around your baby and handy pouches for extra storage. 

The Fox 5 handled extremely well on concrete sidewalks in the city, but and added extra for good traction off-road was the lockable front wheels. Along with the suspension, the locked wheels helped keep the pushchair steady on bumpy, rocky terrain. 

Like most of the all-terrain strollers on the market, this isn’t the smallest stroller to cart around, however, you can easily unclip the back wheels to reduce the size of the frame even more for long-distance journeys. For such a large all-terrain stroller, the Fox 5 is one of the lightest on the market. The chassis itself only weighs 26 pounds, making it easy to lift in and out of the boot.

My main gripe from a performance perspective was that without the chassis or seat attached, the Fox 5 was a little tricky to stand up when folded. There is a knack to it, but I wish it had a clip like the iCandy 7 that allows it to stand freely. Of course, this isn’t an issue most of the time, but if you’re short on space at home and want to fold your stroller in the hallway, it is a little annoying. 

Read my full Bugaboo Fox 5 review 

Best single-to-double stroller

The iCandy Peach 7 is a top-of-the-line, all-terrain stroller, that has been designed to grow with your family. It can easily be converted from a single to a double or twin pushchair, and is suitable from birth, until around age four. Plus, it looks beautiful and has an excellent one-handed fold and handy carry strap to make carting the pushchair around that little bit more enjoyable. 

The iCandy Peach 7 is the updated version of the iCandy Peach 6 — in fact, the Peach line has been around for years and is one of the brand’s most popular strollers, due to the fact it handles just about everything you chuck at it, including a second baby. The Peach 6 and the Peach 7 are pretty similar, but iCandy made a few tweaks to make the newer pushchair more useful — they added a built-in buggy board, for example, which is handy when your tot decides they no longer want to walk. 

iCandy has thought of everything when it comes to the design of the Peach 7. I really appreciated the luxurious fabrics used — the pushchair looks and feels beautiful, and super-sturdy when pushing it around. iCandy made the suspension slightly softer on the Peach 7 than it was on the Peach 6, and it felt nice to push, both when going up and down kerbs and through a woodland path. 

The Peach 7 has an easy-to-use, one-handed fold, that is actually one-handed, compared to some of the other strollers on test. That said, you cannot fold the pushchair with either the bassinet or seat attached, and you’ll need two hands to detach this first. A huge game changer, and a design feature I loved when testing some of the best strollers on the market, was the built-in handle, which makes carrying the chassis of the stroller far easier. It’s unlikely you’ll ever have to carry the stroller long distances, but this did make carrying the Peach 7 with a bag of shopping or a car seat a lot easier.

During testing, the only downside I found from a performance perspective, and I’m being really picky here, is that the brake wasn’t sandal-proof — you push down on the brake to lock the wheels and have to click up on it from below to unlock the wheels. This means if you’re wearing sandals, or you’re wearing box-fresh white sneakers on a muddy day, your foot or shoe is likely to get mucky. 

Read my full iCandy Peach 7 review

Best affordable all-terrain stroller

The Nuna Mixx Next is the brand’s updated all-terrain stroller, designed to handle the curbs and narrow sidewalks of the city, as well as longer walks around the park on the weekend. It’s got some stand-out features that make it a great choice for new parents, or anyone shopping for a single stroller — the secure snap that keeps the stroller folded together is fantastic, and makes leaving the stroller folded in the boot or hallway easier. 

During testing, I loved how easy it was to fold and unfold this pushchair — in fact, it was one of my favorites on test, despite not being the lightest stroller to lift in and out of the car. Compared to the original Nuna Mixx stroller, with the Nuna Mixx Next, released in 2020, Nuna has added something called a MagneTech Secure Snap — this is a magnetic buckle that automatically locks the pushchair in place when folded, allowing you to lift it easily into the car, or stand it on it’s side in your hallway without it unfolding and falling. It’s genius and something I wish other brands would adopt. 

I was impressed with the maneuverability of the Nuna Mixx Next, which handled tight turns well. It wasn’t quite as smooth on uneven ground as the Bugaboo Fox 5 was, but I never had any issue with the wheels getting stuck on muddy woodland walks, or being unable to handle sand on the beach. The stroller didn’t feel particularly wide, especially due to its all-terrain tires, and I didn’t struggle to get it through smaller spaces. 

The only downside I found when testing the stroller was that the footrest plastic wasn’t particularly sturdy, especially compared to some of the others in the test. I found that wasn’t anywhere obvious for a toddler to rest their legs, especially when lying flat in the stroller, and I wondered how comfortable they’d be during longer naps without a sturdy footrest.

Read my full Nuna MIXX Next review 

Best jogging stroller

The Thule Urban Glide 2 is the best stroller for parents who want to stay active after their baby arrives. Not only does it offer plenty of features for everyday use, but it also comes with the fixings of regular full-size strollers, like a giant canopy and covered storage. The Urban Glide 2 is also compatible with a variety of car seats as long as you purchase the $60 adapter.

Since this is a stroller meant for sustained movement, the front wheel is lockable, so you don't have to worry about the stroller going off the path. It's also able to handle different surfaces, from paved roads to dirt trails. 

You don't even have to be a runner to choose the Thule Urban Glide 2; it's lightweight and versatile enough to use as a first-time stroller for any parent, and its hand-activated brake and tight turn radius make it a good choice for parents who want to get moving. 

You can use the Thule Urban Glide 2 from birth, with the bassinet attachment, however, it's not recommended to run with your baby until he/she is 6 months old. During testing, we were impressed with how easy it was to steer the Thule Urban Glide 2, however, it's definitely the widest stroller on test, and if you live in an apartment, or a house with narrow doorways, it might not be right for you.  

Best city stroller

The Baby Jogger City Mini 2 is one of the best strollers for both new and veteran parents. It's one of the lightest strollers available and offers a quick and convenient folding mechanism. Its three-wheel design makes it maneuverable around corners and sharp turns, and its peekaboo windows let you see how your baby is doing. The City Mini 2 is also compatible with a variety of car seats, including the Baby Jogger City Go and third-party car seats like the Britax B-Safe and the Chicco KeyFit 30. 

The only drawback is that the storage bag is a bit small compared with other strollers, and it's hard to access when it's filled up with stuff. But if you don't mind carrying an extra bag on you, or you don't plan on using the stroller as a grocery cart, the Baby Jogger City Mini 2 is a surefire choice for getting baby from point A to point B without much fuss.

Best travel stroller

The Ergobaby Metro+ Deluxe stroller is designed to be comfortable, yet compact when on the move. Unlike other lightweight strollers, you don’t need to buy any extra equipment if you want to use the stroller from birth — the Metro+ Deluxe has a built-in newborn nest, allowing you to lie the stroller flat. It’s plush, comfortable, and small enough to fit in the overhead locker on a plane, making it perfect for travel. 

Unlike other compact, lightweight strollers, the handlebar on the Metro+ Deluxe is adjustable. The five-point harness and seat have a good amount of padding to keep your baby comfortable. The leatherette handlebar and belly bar felt premium and well-made, and while the under-seat basket isn’t huge, it’s big enough to stow the nappy bag and some shopping.

We tested the Ergobaby Metro+ Deluxe on several different terrains and found it comes into its own in the city. The stroller is extremely lightweight and easy to nip around the supermarket and narrow sidewalks. We could easily steer the stroller one-handed, and it was easy to lift onto the bus or train.

We also used the stroller on muddier trails and sandy paths, and while it didn’t handle anywhere near as well as the Bugaboo Fox 5 or iCandy Peach 7 (which admittedly are all-terrain strollers that are pretty much triple the price), it did a lot better than we expected.

Read our full Ergobaby Metro+ Deluxe review here.

How to choose the best stroller for you

If you're taking your kid along for errands and your daily walkabout, you're probably fine with a run-of-the-mill, full-size stroller. If you're an athletic parent, running around tracks and traversing trails, you probably want something a little more robust, with room to grow. And if you're a frequent traveler, taking the baby with you to visit family and friends, or going on adventures, you probably want a stroller that's foldable and lightweight. 

For the most part, as you’re looking for a stroller, you’re choosing between three distinct categories: 

Full-size stroller: These are the most common types of strollers and they come with the most features. They offer plenty of storage, comfortable seats for your little one, large canopies and easy-to-maneuver wheels. They're also compatible with car seats, though they usually require an adapter of some sort. In many instances, full-size strollers are too large for newborns unless there's a bassinet attachment. Depending on the type of material the stroller is made of and the accessories you include in the package, a full-size stroller can cost anywhere from $100 to $1,000. 

Jogging stroller: Jogging strollers tend to be outfitted with air-filled tires and shock absorbers to be just as comfortable for your baby as the pair of runners you have on. They can be a bit cumbersome and are more substantial than a full-size stroller, but they're the right choice if you're planning to be an active parent. They tend to cost a bit more since they’re made with rugged material and require a bit more hardware.

Travel stroller: The term "travel stroller" carries a double meaning here. There's the "travel system," which typically includes various accessories and offers a bit of variability for your child's growing body — kind of like what the Uppababy Vista provides. The "travel stroller" we refer to here, however, is like the ones made to collapse for the plane, train or trunk. You should look for something that's light to carry and collapses enough that it can join you on the flight, so it's with you when you disembark. Don't expect all the features of a full-size stroller, however, such as an accessory tray or tons of storage space. Travel strollers cost a bit less than a full-size stroller but are on a par with how much you’d pay for a durable, TSA-approved suitcase. 

Other stroller types: There are strollers specifically for newborns and for carting around multiple kids, and there are wagon strollers if you're the stylish type with a fashionable tyke. These are niche strollers and aren't on this list. But you'll find that models like the Uppababy Vista, our pick for most expandable, also work for families with twins and triplets. We also included one specific umbrella stroller, the Kolcraft Cloud Plus, because it’s an attractive package for the price.

How we test the best strollers

When it comes to testing the best strollers on the market, we're here to help you work out which is right for you and your baby by doing a lot of the hard work for you. For all of the strollers on test, we looked at how easily they folded up and down, by practicing multiple times, in multiple situations. We also looked at how well they lifted in and out of the car, and whether you had to remove the seat to fold the stroller up. 

We also looked at how well they coped with different terrains — you're going to be pushing the stroller for the next few years at least, and you probably don't want to spend thousands of dollars buying a stroller for every occasion. To do this, we took the strollers out on different surfaces, from muddy woodland trails to sand, as well as testing how well they went up and down curbs, and how they coped with turns in smaller spaces. 

Finally, we also looked at how easy each of the strollers on test was to build, any stand-out design features, like a built-in buggy board or a peep window to keep an eye on your tot as they snooze, and whether they could stand freely. Some of the more expensive options on this list came with extras like a rain cover, but if they didn't we tried to make this clear, so you can consider that when looking at your budget.