Best Lightweight Strollers 2023

The best lightweight strollers make errands, appointments, travel and day trips that much easier for active parents with young children. While there will always be a place in our garage for our beloved full-size strollers, a lighter model is ideal for grabbing and heading out the door in a hurry. Besides, many of the best lightweight strollers are less expensive than full-size strollers, and yet, easier to handle, store and fold, especially if your family travels a lot, lives in an urban area or needs something simple to stash in the trunk for outings. I’ve pulled together some of the best lightweight strollers for all occasions, selecting the Joolz Aer as the best overall for everyday use. I also like the similarly priced Bugaboo Butterfly if you live in a city.

Adding one of the best lightweight strollers to your baby gear arsenal can make errands and travel ... [+] that much easier with little ones.

When picking a lightweight stroller, its weight might be your main concern, so I prioritized selecting the absolute lightest strollers for this story, with many of my choices weighing less than 15 pounds—and one coming in at just 7 pounds. "Customers who are looking for a lightweight stroller usually want to see options that are simple and easy to work with. A good lightweight stroller should have a smooth push, and you'll want it to have an easy fold and unfold," explains baby gear expert Rikki Wechsler of PishPosh Baby.

Keep in mind that some of these strollers do not accommodate newborns and are more typically used around 6 months old or with young toddlers unless they allow for a car seat or bassinet attachment. Take a look at the best lightweight strollers below, and if you’re looking for something else, peruse our guides on the best umbrella strollers, the best car seat stroller combo systems, the best double strollers and the best jogging strollers.

Amazon

Weight: 13 pounds | Car seat compatible: Yes, with add-ons | One-handed fold: Yes | Weight limit: 50 pounds | Best for: Parents who want a luxury stroller but don't want the added weight of extra bells and whistles.

Wechsler recommends the Joolz Aer stroller. It's almost a cross between a luxury stroller and a more traditional lightweight umbrella stroller. It's compact yet the seat is still roomy for your child. "The seat is very spacious and comfortable," says Wechsler. "It has a wider seat than most other strollers." The seat also reclines for naps, and the stroller folds easily and fits in most overhead bins. At 13 pounds, it's one of the lightest stroller on our list, too. Yet, a four-wheel suspension system makes it easy to maneuver. It also has a one-touch brake and UPF 50+ water repellent canopy. It comes with a carry strap and travel pouch. The stroller features storage under the seat, but you’ll have to pay extra for accessories like a cupholder, footrest and organizer. You can also add on a bassinet for newborns or a ride-along board for older siblings.

Nordstrom

Weight: 13.6 pounds | Car seat compatible: Yes | One-handed fold: Yes | Weight limit: 50 pounds | Best for: People who are always carrying too many things

You can certainly buy less expensive lightweight strollers than the Nuna Trvl, but this is the best choice if you want to splurge a bit. Plus, it delivers solid value and is only $50 more than our top pick on this list. At only 13.6 pounds, it's one of the lightest strollers, and it folds itself with just the touch of a button, which impressed another of our parenting writers in this review of the Nuna Trvl. It fits in most overhead bins, and it comes with a carrying case, making it a solid pick if you travel a lot. In fact, Forbes Vetted chose it as the best travel stroller overall.

The stroller can hold children up to 50 pounds and is compatible with Nuna Pipa car seats without an adapter, so it can work from birth through toddlerhood (not something every lightweight stroller can do). The one-touch break and multi-position seat recline are ideal, and it also has a child handlebar, which I really appreciate for better security for younger kids.

Bugaboo

Weight: 16 pounds | Car seat compatible: Yes | One-handed fold: Yes | Weight limit: 50 pounds | Best for: Parents looking for a lightweight stroller with a sturdy push and smooth ride.

One of the most important features of a good city stroller is a solid suspension system for navigating uneven sidewalks, as well as an easy fold and more narrow frame for maneuvering tight spots. The Bugaboo Butterfly offers all this and more with its four-wheel suspension, one-handed fold and lightweight design. "It does have a very sturdy push even though it's lightweight," Weschler explains.

It also fits in most overhead bins, which is a nice perk if you plan to do a lot of traveling. The Bugaboo Butterfly is car seat compatible with a number of brands and an adapter; it holds kids up to 50 pounds. Older kids will also like the extended footrest while parents will appreciate the adjustable handlebar when sharing strolling duties.

Babyzen

Weight: 14 pounds | Car seat compatible: Yes | One-handed fold: Yes | Weight limit: 48 pounds | Best for: Families who travel a lot—and lightly.

When you’re planning on traveling, a lightweight stroller that has a compact and easy fold is essential. The BabyZen YoYo2 weighs only 14 pounds, and it fits in most airplane overhead bins, eliminating waiting for that gate check. Wechsler points out that this stroller is a popular choice for travel, because it's extra compact especially when folded. The stroller easily folds with one hand, so you can get it into the trunk or onto public transportation quickly. The padded shoulder strap is a perk too.

The BabyZen YoYo2 is compatible with a variety of car seats, or you also have the option to attach a bassinet, so you can also use it when traveling with a newborn. Big kids in tow? Add a standing board so they can hitch a ride too.

Amazon

Weight: 7 pounds | Car seat compatible: No | One-handed fold: No | Weight limit: 40 pounds | Best for: Short errands with a toddler or as your backup or secondary option stashed at the grandparents’ house.

At just 7 pounds, the Cosco Umbrella Stroller is by far the lightest stroller on our list, and it's quite compact when folded. But keep in mind that this stroller has limited features and adjustability, not to mention a simple three-point harness. It's strictly for older toddlers who can be trusted to sit in their seat for short rides. The handlebars don't adjust either, there's no recline and no storage basket. That said, it holds kids up to 40 pounds, includes a canopy and is super simple to use, lightweight and costs less than $30.

The Forbes Vetted baby gear editor Rose Gordon Sala told me she purchased one to stash at her parents’ house, so they didn't have to lug their full-size stroller on every visit and another when she lived in Brooklyn. "I wanted something extra lightweight to carry onto buses or up the subway stairs with a toddler under my other arm," she says. "I also loved that I didn't have to worry about it being stolen while parked outside of a store or baby class." The wheels have held up surprisingly well, she adds.

Amazon

Weight: 13 pounds | Car seat compatible: No | One-handed fold: No | Weight limit: 50 pounds | Best for: Parents of toddlers or babies older than 6-months in need of an inexpensive but full-featured basic stroller

If you’re looking for an inexpensive lightweight stroller but want more features than you’ll find with the Cosco Umbrella Stroller, the Summer Infant 3Dlite Convenience Stroller is an ideal umbrella stroller with loads of positive ratings (a 4.6 out of 5 and more than 13,100 reviews on Amazon). It weighs just 13 pounds, roughly the same as higher-end travel strollers, and it features all the necessary basics: a reclining seat, storage basket, an adjustable canopy and footrest. It offers padded handlebars and a foot brake. It also has a 50-pound weight limit, which is 10 pounds more than our other value pick, and a five-point harness.

The stroller has four-wheel suspension, making it easy to maneuver. It's not compatible with any car seats, so this pick, as with most umbrella strollers, is best for older kids. Sala says she purchased this one to have on hand as a spare set of lightweight wheels for errands with her toddlers. "It's lasted nearly a decade, including a few gate checks, with zero issues," she says. "It's pretty basic as strollers go and the canopy is short, but we still use it on road trips and day trips now that my youngest has outgrown her full-size baby stroller."

Amazon

Weight: 17 pounds | Car seat compatible: Yes | One-handed fold: No | Weight limit: 35 pounds | Best for: Newborn parents who travel by car a lot

The Doona stroller took the baby world by storm when it came out in 2015. It's unique and convenient, because the legs fold right under the seat while in the car. There's no need to attach the car seat to a separate stroller or transfer your baby out of their car seat: genius. When installed in the car, the seat is rear facing, and the handlebar of the stroller serves as an anti-rebound bar. It comes with a LATCH-friendly infant car seat base or you can opt to install the car seat baseless.

The biggest downside of the Doona is that it's only for babies really. Once they outgrow the weight limit (35 pounds) or the height limit (32 inches) of the infant car seat, you’ll need to purchase both a new stroller and a new car seat. The push bar is also a bit low to the ground, which can be frustrating to taller parents.

Amazon

Weight: 20 pounds | Car seat compatible: Yes | One-handed fold: No | Weight limit: 33 pounds per seat | Best for: People with young twins or young kids close in age

As a mom of twins myself, I know how important a quality double stroller is, and I also know how the weight of a stroller plus two kids, plus extra gear can add up quickly. The Mountain Buggy Nano Duo weighs only 20 pounds, which is an excellent weight for a double stroller, and less than many full-size single strollers. It includes reclining seats, adjustable leg rests and under-seat storage. The seats recline independently of each other, so you can keep each child comfortable without one needing to compromise (another key for twins!). The weight limit is 33 pounds per seat, which is a bit lower than most single strollers, so keep this in mind as your kids get older.

It's also compatible with infant car seats when you add adapters, and you can use two car seats at a time or just one, making it one of the best lightweight strollers to use with twins from birth. It comes with a carrying strap, too, so it's easier to transport when folded.

To choose the best lightweight strollers, I first narrowed down the contenders to the absolute lightest strollers. For everyday single strollers, I only considered options that weighed less than 20 pounds and ideally under 15 pounds.

Of course, you also need a sturdy stroller with key functionality. Other features I considered included the overall size, ease of the fold and suspension for smoother strolling. I favored strollers that were easy to maneuver with good suspension systems, so that a lightweight stroller wouldn't always mean a bumpier ride. I also chose strollers that fold easily and into smaller dimensions.

To help inform my research, I also spoke to baby gear expert Rikki Wechsler among others and relied on my experience pushing and examining strollers as mom to three children and a baby gear tester and writer. I’m currently testing about a dozen full-size strollers for an upcoming story, so I’m steeped in stroller research and functionality at the moment.

This article is regularly reviewed and updated. It was most recently updated in May 2023.

The lightest baby stroller we found in our research is the 7-pound Cosco Umbrella Stroller, beloved for its no-frills, inexpensive vibe.

One of the best strollers to take on a plane is the Babyzen YoYo2, because it folds easily and fits in most overhead bins. "We highly recommend the Babyzen YoYo for plane travel, since it's so compact with a tiny fold-up size and will fit in the standard overhead compartment," explains Wechsler. "However, we do generally recommend that customers contact the airline before to check the dimensions."

If you’re shopping for the best travel stroller, however, there are plenty to consider that also fit in the overhead bin or are lightweight enough with an easy fold to make them ideal to tote to the airport or on a road trip, including the Nuna Trvl.

The Bugaboo Butterfly and Nuna TRVL strollers both fold with the touch of a button, making them the easiest strollers to fold.

Strollers that are compatible with car seats or bassinet attachments are best for newborns. The Doona is an ideal stroller for newborns, because it's a car seat and stroller in one, so there's no need to haul both items around. The Nuna TRVL, the Joolz Aer, the Bugaboo Butterfly and the Babyzen YoYo2 strollers on this list are also great options because they accept bassinet attachments and/or car seats.