The 4 Best Baby Carriers of 2025

This is not a comprehensive list of everything we’ve tested for previous iterations of this guide, Models that are discontinued have been removed.

Celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Sienna Miller have made the Artipoppe Zeitgeist internet famous, but we were thoroughly underwhelmed by it. The price ranges from $370 to close to $3,800 depending on the fabric and print (the carrier comes in more than 30 styles). One of our testers found she couldn’t get her baby’s weight to sit properly and wearing the carrier hurt her back; I found the head support for naps pretty flimsy. The company recommends spot cleaning “minor” stains and then either handwashing or machine washing on the gentle cycle.

The BabyBjörn Baby Carrier Mini, which seemed comfortably nugget-like for the child, lacks a waistband, which means all of the baby’s weight is carried in the wearer’s shoulders, fairly close to the neck since the design crosses behind the back. While the manufacturer says it can be used until a baby is 24 pounds, by the time our baby reached 2 months old, both my husband and I found this too painful to wear.

The BabyBjörn Baby Carrier Harmony was uncomfortably complicated; there are just too many sections to secure with buckles (though one upside is that the newborn set-up doesn’t require an insert, just zipping the carrier to its tiniest sizing). One of our testers said that wearing it was “just like going to war.”

We tested the Beco 8 in 2017, but liked the Beco Gemini more. We thought petite adults might find the lumbar pad unusable, because shortening the belt past the pad was impossible.

While two of our testers found Bumpsuit Armadillo Baby Carrier plush and comfortable to wear, I found the head support for a sleeping baby totally lacking; the pretty shell-shape design did bupkis for support when flipped up.

The Líllébaby Elevate Air 6-in-1 Baby Carrier lacks the great head support of our top pick while adding a heftier price tag and vegan leather accents that seem impractical for cleaning.

We tried the Nuna Cudl Clik and found it absolutely baffling to put on, even after reading the directions. Its design is different from any other carrier — with an inside and outside section that left me feeling locked inside the carrier and unable to get out. While one tester liked its design, she ultimately found the carrier uncomfortable. This carrier does have an integrated newborn booster via zipper, if avoiding a newborn insert is your be-all. We skipped testing the Nuna Cudl 4-in-1 to test the Nuna Cudl Clik instead, since our research showed the Clik has an easier-to-adjust waistband and a removable pouch on the waist.

We tried Tactical Baby Gear’s Baby Carrier, which is marketed towards men and geared towards smaller babies, with a weight limit of 33 pounds. We found it uncomfortable as it cut into a male tester’s body. Others found it overly heavy and complicated compared to the Ergobaby Embrace Mesh Newborn Carrier, which also costs less.

We were disappointed with Wildbird’s Aerial Carrier, though it looks beautiful and comes in a wide selection of colors and prints. Not only did the fabric make a strange crunching sound, as if it had a baby’s crinkle toy inside, but to put it on, you either step into or pull it down over your head; it can’t be looped over the arms and then locked like all the other carriers we tested.

We opted not to test quite a few carriers after researching and talking to experts.

We skipped testing the BabyBjörn Free (with mesh) because of the way babies’ legs seemed to fall out of the safe M position in promotional photos. We also skipped the BabyBjörn Carrier One and Carrier One Air because many reviews said they were so complicated to figure out; in April 2025, the company said they are retiring these models.

We also didn’t test a few options from Tula: the Lite Baby Carrier (no padding in straps) and the Free-to-Grow Baby Carrier after carefully discussing them with babywearing experts. (We tested the Free-to-Grow in 2017.) We didn’t test the Tula Standard Carrier this round but did test it in 2017, when we preferred other models for the price.

We skipped the Ergobaby Away Baby Carrier because a baby has to be at least four months old to use it and it only holds kids up to 35 pounds, rather than the more standard 45 pounds like the rest of the full-size carriers we tested. We also skipped the Ergobaby Aerloom Baby Carrier, as that also maxes out at 35 pounds and the reviews on the fabric breathability and suitability as a newborn carrier are quite mixed. We didn’t test the Ergobaby Omni Dream as it’s nearly identical to the Omni Breeze.

I used our former runner-up, the Ergobaby 360 Cool Air Mesh, with my older child, who is now four. We did not retest it because a company spokesperson told us that it is being phased out, along with Omni Classic in cotton.

We opted not to test Happy! Carriers (the Original Baby Carrier and Revolution) for availability reasons.

The Infantino Carry On is an inexpensive carrier that offers many of the same features as those three times the price, namely an adjustable seat width and panel height and no need for an infant insert. But when we tested it in 2017 we found it uncomfortable, with thin shoulder and waist padding that offered little support. We concluded we wouldn’t want to carry a baby over 15 pounds in it. We skipped testing the Infantino 4-in-1 Flip Convertible Carrier after reading reviews about the straps rubbing on older kids.

The Líllébaby Essentials All Seasons is a previous budget pick in this guide; in this round of testing, we opted to test some of the company’s updated designs as this version is being phased out.

We chose not to test the Líllébaby CarryOn Airflow because it’s specific to toddlers (the weight minimum is 25 pounds). For the same reason, we skipped the Líllébaby SeatMe hipseat which needs an insert for newborns and is really designed for a larger baby without the insert.

We decided not to test the Sakura Bloom Scout Baby Carrier despite the company’s ring sling being a pick in our guide to baby wraps and slings, because of the small back strap, impractical-seeming leather details, and high price.

We dismissed the Cybex Yema because of its hefty price tag and less-than-robust customer reviews.