UPPAbaby vs Graco: Top Products Brand Comparison

For many families, deciding what make and model of stroller to buy is a real dilemma. And making the wrong choice of stroller can prove to be a costly mistake.

So, to help you see the wood for the trees, we’ve put together this comparison between two of the most popular stroller brands competing for your business: UPPAbaby vs. Graco.

Within this overview of both brands, including a brief insight into some of their best-selling strollers, we’ve encompassed helpful links to other articles on our site where you can find detailed reviews of many of the strollers we’ve mentioned.

UPPAbaby: Safe, savvy, and high-quality

UPPAbaby is relative newcomers to the stroller marketplace. The company was founded in Boston in 2006 by Bob and Lauren Monahan. Bob had worked as a product developer and inventor for a number of blue-chip companies, including Ford, Reebok, The First Years, and Safety 1^st.

Furthermore, Bob’s designs have all the features that are demanded by modern families, including comfort for child and parent, practicality, and safety. The materials UPPAbaby use for their strollers are environmentally safe, and they promote good health too. The company has operations on both U.S. coasts to enable faster shipping, and they also have a facility where returned service parts are recycled.

UPPAbaby produces two umbrella strollers, the G-Lite, and the G-Luxe. They also make the Vista, a convertible stroller with reversible seat and matching bassinet. Then there’s the UPPAbaby Cruz, a stylish stroller with a reversible seat. If you have two small children, you may want to check out the G-Link, UPPAbaby’s first double stroller.

The G-Lite

The G-Lite is the smallest of UPPAbaby’s strollers, weighing a feather-light 8.8 pounds. And despite its light weight, the G-Lite can carry a child up to 50 pounds in weight, making it the perfect choice to take with you for standard, everyday chores, and errands.

Highlights of the G-Lite include hand-level folding triggers, so you don’t need to worry about your footwear when you want to fold the stroller! There’s also a vast, extendable sun canopy, providing 50+ UV protection for your child.

Similar models to the G-Lite such as the Maclaren Volo are fitted with sling-style seats. However, the G-Lite has a plushy, soft seat pad that’s machine washable. The seat cover is also treated with StainDefend to keep it looking clean and tidy.

Tall, ergonomic handlebars and an elevated rear frame reduce the risk of toe stubs while you’re walking and make pushing a pleasure, not a chore.

The G-Luxe

Launched in 2018, the G-Luxe is one of the best-selling umbrella strollers on the market today and is widely regarded as just about the best stroller in its class.

Unlike many strollers of this type, the G-Luxe has a seat that reclines to an angle of 120 degrees. It’s also super-lightweight at just 11 pounds. For such a lightweight stroller, it’s amazing that the G-Luxe will carry a child of up to 50 pounds. Furthermore, other features that draw praise from happy purchasers include the stroller’s compact, stand-alone fold, and its huge SPF 50 sun canopy.

You can take the UPPAbaby Cruz on vacation without worrying about space constraints. That’s because this stroller is small enough to be placed in most airplane overhead lockers, and it will also fit comfortably in your car trunk without hogging too much space.

The G-Link

The G-Link is UPPAbaby’s very first double umbrella stroller. This stroller is pretty much the same as the G-Luxe but doubled and with a whole gamut of extra, useful features for both parent and child.

The G-Link is absolutely a luxury umbrella stroller that has so many extras it far outdoes most of its competitors.

The seat can take a child up to 50 pounds, but the stroller only weighs 24.5 pounds. That’s really impressive when compared to the Inglesina Twin Swift, for example. Additionally, you can use the G-Link for newborns, as the seats recline flat, and it includes appropriate infant-friendly features.

For example, UPPAbaby includes a head support pillow, a cushioned seat-top barrier for head protection, and a snap-on mesh boot at the bottom of the seat to prevent your child from slipping out of the stroller.

Even on hot sunny days, your child will be protected and kept cool by the massive SPF 50 canopy.

Pushing the G-Link is a pleasure. Steering is easy thanks to the stroller’s light frame and wheels. The braking system is simple and easy to operate via a single, linked brake for convenient, safe, one-step stopping. You even get a cup holder to carry your coffee for you!

The G-Link has a carry handle and is designed to have an easy free-standing fold. Umbrella strollers typically aren’t great when it comes to storage space, but the G-Link has generous, underseat storage baskets and deep pockets provide some additional space on the rear of the canopies that will hold your keys, cell phone, and snacks.

The Cruz

The Cruz is a top-end, reversing seat stroller, giving you all the features you’d expect from a full-sized stroller in a more compact size.

Firstly, the Cruz’s seat reclines to 180 degrees and is very roomy. Secondly, to protect your child from the elements and unwanted visitors, UPPABaby includes a rain shield and bug shield. In addition, the massive, extendable, UPF 50+ canopy is adjustable and has a peek-a-boo window. The seat can also face front or rear, depending on your preference and your child’s needs.

The leather-covered handlebar is height-adjustable to accommodate parents of different heights. There’s also a bumper bar with a leather or neoprene cover.

There are a few drawbacks to the Cruz in that it doesn’t come with a bassinet. Also, you can’t use a Vista seat or a rumble seat with this stroller. That said, you do get a stroller board for an older sibling and a snack tray too.

The Vista

This new version of the popular Vista stroller was launched in 2018.

Additionally, this well-made, luxury convertible stroller is now available as a double, side-by-side stroller. The Vista is designed with a full-size rear or front facing toddler seat that has a multi-position recline. The Vista is also compatible with the MESA infant car seat and comes with a direct attachment, so you don’t need to buy a separate adapter. Another huge plus point for the Vista is the feature-rich bassinet that’s included.

The Vista’s enormous storage basket makes grocery shopping feasible with this stroller. The telescopic, height-adjustable handlebar makes pushing a pleasure. The tires are solid rubber, so you don’t need to worry about punctures, and the ride is smooth even over bumpy terrain. The stroller is surprisingly light at just 27.5 pounds.

Graco: Innovation and comfort for your child and you

Until the mid-1950s, Graco had manufactured car and machine components at its factory in Philadelphia. When the engineer, David Saint was inspired by a colleague’s wife who soothed her fractious baby by sitting with him on her backyard glider swing, Graco’s first baby swing was born.

The company moved on to produce a wide range of car seats, cribs, swings, and strollers. Despite their budget price, Graco’s modern patterns and colors and their outstanding contemporary designs have made them a firm favorite in the stroller marketplace. Graco strollers have a solid reputation for making durable, affordable strollers that look great too.

Graco’s collection of strollers is continually enhanced and upgraded, including their impressive range of fitness three-wheelers.

The Modes

The Modes is Graco’s version of the convertible, lightweight travel system stroller. The sensibly-priced Modes has to be one of the most versatile reversing seat strollers on the market, offering you a total of ten different seating options from newborn right through to 50 pounds.

The toddler seat is removable, and the stroller is compatible with any of the Graco Click Connect car seats so that you can customize it for a newborn. The seat can also be converted to a bassinet with a fully flat recline, and there’s a supportive pillow insert to stabilize the passenger.

The Modes’ seat can be reversed so that you can opt to have your child facing you. The seat also reclines in four positions, and there’s an adjustable footrest that provides your toddler with superb comfort while riding and napping. Although the Modes’ sun canopy isn’t huge, it does provide adequate coverage.

Some pleasing features include a snack tray and cup holder for your child and deep cup holders and a covered cubby for you. There’s a decent sized, underseat storage basket too.

As for the push, the Modes is smooth and easy to maneuver with two-step brakes over the rear wheels.

The FastAction Fold Jogger

The FastAction Fold Jogger is an extremely popular jogging or all-terrain stroller, principally because of its versatility and functionality.

The FastAction Fold has all the usual features you’d expect from a regular stroller with the durability and all-terrain performance of a jogger. For instance, the tires are air-filled, giving a smooth ride and an easy push over the most uneven sidewalk or bumpy trail. If you have to drive to reach your favorite jogging spot, no problem; the FastAction Fold accepts all Graco Click Connect car seats, so you can move your newborn seamlessly from stroller to car and back again.

The FastAction Fold’s seat is well-padded and features multi-recline positions. There’s a five-point safety harness that converts to a three-point lap belt to allow more freedom of movement as your baby grows. This robust stroller can accommodate children up to 50 pounds.

The FastAction Fold is a big, bulky stroller that weighs 30 pounds, but it is very maneuverable and easy to push. The handlebar height suits most parents, and there’s a large, underseat storage basket for your essentials and some shopping too.

Finally, the FastAction Fold’s canopy has a neat peek-a-boo window made from mesh for great visibility and increased airflow for your child.

The Ready2Grow

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The Graco Ready2Grow stroller is an upgrade to their popular RoomFor2 sit-and-stand stroller. For example, this stroller gives you the option to attach two Graco SnugRide Classic Connect car seats, making this the ideal stroller if you have twins.

Unlike many double strollers, the Ready2Gorw’s bench and main seat have two sun canopies that can be adjusted to different angles to keep your children shaded from the sun on hot days, which is perfect if one child wants to nap while the other prefers to sit up and enjoy the view.

The Ready-2-Grow is surprisingly easy to maneuver and steer thanks to its inbuilt suspension system, locking front wheels, and large tires. Stopping in a pinch is straightforward thanks to the Ready-2-Grow’s one-step braking system.

You can use the Ready-2-Grow from birth right through to toddlerhood, and it has no fewer than 12 seating options!

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You can remove the rear seat for more interaction, and the multi-position reclining front seat lays flat. The front seat, bench, and standing platform will take a child up to 50 pounds, while the rear seat will carry a child of 40 pounds. Each seat has a three or five-point safety harness.

If you like to take your coffee or water with you on your strolls, no problem; the Ready-2-Grow provides a parent tray and pivoting cup holder. Your child also has a pivoting, removable snack tray and a cup holder too.

Lastly, the stroller is easy to fold using just one hand and is self-standing with an auto-frame latch to prevent it from collapsing.

Wrapping it up

Both UPPAbaby and Graco manufacture high-quality strollers across a broad range of styles from the lightest weight umbrella stroller through to heavier, regular strollers, joggers, all-terrain strollers, and double strollers.

Of the two brands, Graco is perhaps slightly cheaper than UPPAbaby, but that doesn’t mean they’ve compromised on quality, functionality or style. Whichever of these brands you go for, you will get excellent value for money and a stroller that’s built to last you as your family grows.

 

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