Maxi-Cosi Jay feeding booster seat review: portable, simple and practical

Price on writing: £55 £44 | Buy now from Amazon

How we tested the Maxi-Cosi Jay

Helina tested the Maxi-Cosi Jay feeding booster seat with her 15-month-old twins, alternating the seat between them during everyday use. She first started using the Maxi-Cosi Jay when her twins were around eight months old and continues to use it from time to time now.

During testing, the seat was used attached to dining chairs at mealtimes, as a floor seat for snacks and activities around the house, and regularly packed into the car for visits to family and friends. This gave Helina and her partner a good sense of how practical, portable and easy to clean it was over a longer period of use, as well as how comfortable and secure it felt day to day.

Once testing was complete, Helina scored the Maxi-Cosi Jay across several key areas including performance, ease of use, portability, comfort and ease of cleaning. The seat received an overall score of 93/100, which equates to five stars.

The Maxi-Cosi Jay can be used on a chair or on the floor

How did the Maxi-Cosi Jay arrive and was it easy to assemble?

The Maxi-Cosi Jay arrives mostly assembled, so there’s very little setup needed before first use. Helina found the process straightforward overall, particularly when attaching the seat securely to different dining chairs around the house. She also found the setup instructions easy to follow, which helped when adjusting the straps and fitting it correctly.

Because the Jay is designed to move easily between chairs and locations, the setup feels intentionally simple rather than overly technical.

How easy is the Maxi-Cosi Jay to use day to day?

Overall, it’s a very straightforward seat to use day to day. Helina and her partner found it especially useful to have one child safely seated while tending to the other. She describes the setup as “very easy,” explaining that there’s “just a simple strap across to secure the child.”

Attaching the Maxi-Cosi Jay to a dining chair is also simple:

• Place the booster seat onto the dining chair

• Wrap one adjustable strap around the backrest of the chair and tighten it securely

• Fasten the second strap underneath the chair seat to help prevent movement or lifting

Once fitted, the feeding booster seat feels secure and stable on most standard dining chairs, while still being compact enough to move easily between rooms or take out and about.

Children are secured in the Maxi-Cosi Jay with a three-point harness

Which safety features does the Maxi-Cosi Jay come with?

The Maxi-Cosi Jay includes a few key safety features designed to keep your child secure in different setups.

In floor seat mode, the base has rubber grips to help prevent slipping, making it stable on flat indoor surfaces. It should always be used directly on the floor in this mode and never on raised surfaces such as tables or worktops.

When used on a dining chair, safety is provided through a secure strap system alongside a built-in three-point harness with a clip buckle fastening, helping to keep your child properly positioned during meals. Correct fitting is important to ensure the seat remains stable.

For best results, Maxi-Cosi recommends using the Jay on chairs that are at least 34cm wide with a backrest height of at least 21cm. It is not compatible with dining armchairs, as the straps cannot be properly secured around both the seat and backrest.

Is the Maxi-Cosi Jay adjustable?

Yes - one of the Maxi-Cosi Jay’s strengths is that it can adapt as your child grows. It’s designed for children from around six months up to three years old (approximately 9–15kg), so several parts of the seat can be adjusted over time.

The tray has two adjustable positions and can also be removed completely when needed, which helps create more room for older toddlers or makes it easier to get children in and out of the seat. There’s also an adjustable seat height to help the booster fit comfortably against different dining tables and chairs.

Helina says, “The straps in the seat itself can be tightened but we would sometimes put a bit of cushioning around [the twins] if needed.”

For younger babies, the seat includes a soft padded inlay for extra comfort and support, which Helina really liked. This can be removed later to create a roomier seating area as children get bigger. The built-in three-point harness is adjustable too, helping keep children secure at different stages.

How portable is the Maxi-Cosi Jay?

Portability is a big bonus when it comes to travelling with the Maxi-Cosi Jay. Thanks to its compact, lightweight design, it’s easy to move around wherever you need to go. Helina says, “We’ve travelled with it a lot, mainly visiting friends and family so always kept in the car and very handy when needed.”

Because it attaches directly onto existing dining chairs, it works particularly well for meals away from home, whether that’s at relatives’ houses, cafés or restaurants. It’s also slim enough to store easily in the car between uses without taking up too much space.

What are the standout features of the Maxi-Cosi Jay?

For Helina, the standout features of the Maxi-Cosi Jay are its comfort and how easy it is to live with day to day. She particularly likes the padded seat, saying it makes a noticeable difference during meals and longer sit-downs, and also appreciates that the straps can be neatly tucked away when the seat isn’t in use, helping it look less cluttered.

Another key strength is how portable and adaptable it is. However, the main limitation is that it’s a fairly simple, no-frills feeding booster compared to more feature-heavy highchairs.

The Maxi-Cosi Jay Plus is a 3-in-1 that comes with a removable accessories tray

What’s the difference between the Maxi-Cosi Jay and the Jay Plus?

The Maxi-Cosi Jay and Jay Plus are very similar in design, but the main difference comes down to how much versatility and play functionality you want. The standard Maxi-Cosi Jay is a 2-in-1 feeding booster seat and floor seat, designed for mealtimes at the table and simple use around the home. It focuses on the essentials: a secure booster setup, adjustable fit, and an easy-to-clean design without any added extras.

The Maxi-Cosi Jay Plus, on the other hand, is a 3-in-1 version. It includes everything the Jay offers but adds an activity tray, which can be used for playtime, snacks and keeping children entertained between meals. This makes it a slightly more interactive option if you want something that goes beyond just feeding.

There are also some differences in colour options between the two models, with the Jay Plus typically available in a slightly wider range of finishes.

Is the Maxi-Cosi Jay simple to clean?

Yes! This seat has smooth surfaces with very few awkward gaps or crevices, which makes wiping away food and spills fairly quick after mealtimes.

One of the biggest advantages is the removable padded inlay, which can be taken out separately for a more thorough clean when needed. The tray is also easy to wipe down thanks to its smooth finish, although Maxi-Cosi advises against putting it in the dishwasher because of the tray’s metal adjustment mechanism.

The Maxi-Cosi Jay is available in Elegance Beige or Elegance Graphite, both of which are easy to clean and don’t show too many marks or scuffs.

Is the Maxi-Cosi Jay good value for money?

Yes, after using it for at least six months, Helina and her partner feel the Maxi-Cosi Jay offers strong value for money, especially given how much they rely on it. She says, “when you think how many times it has been used, it really is good value for money.”

At around £55 for the standard Maxi-Cosi Jay (2-in-1), it sits in an accessible price range for a long-lasting booster seat. The Jay Plus version is only slightly more expensive at around £60, with the extra £5 adding an activity tray for play and snack time, which may be worth considering if you want a bit more versatility.

Compared with larger, more feature-heavy highchairs such as the Maxi-Cosi Minla Plus Evolutionary Highchair (around £153), which offers multiple recline positions, a five-point harness and long-term use up to later childhood, the Jay is much more stripped back. It doesn’t aim to replace a full highchair - instead, it focuses on portability, simplicity and ease of use.

About the author

Tammy Jacks has over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, holding key roles such as Managing Editor and Health & Beauty Editor for Woman & Home magazine in South Africa, and Assistant Editor for Living and Loving - a parenting title focused on children’s health and development.

She has contributed to a wide range of lifestyle publications (including magazines, journals and newspapers) and has edited books for fitness influencers and health professionals. As a researcher and writer, Tammy specialises in children’s development, wellbeing and safety. Over the years, she has reviewed countless toys and developmental aids, as well as essential baby products for everyday family life, from baby monitors and sleep aids to feeding equipment like highchairs and nursery must-haves, alongside baby travel gear such as baby carriers, child bike seats and lightweight strollers.