Doona X vs Doona+: What Changed and Which to Buy?

The verdict: for most families, the original Doona is still the smart buy, because it does the same one-piece car-seat-to-stroller trick as the new Doona X, it is a current certified seat, and it costs a good deal less. Buy the Doona X if you specifically want the near-flat stroller recline for longer walks and naps, the no-rethread harness, or the smoother suspension ride, and the higher price is comfortable.

A word up front, because this is a car seat and the internet is very good at making car-seat choices frightening: both the Doona and the Doona X are current, certified, crash-tested infant seats that are sold legally today. This is a features-and-budget decision, not a safety one. We come back to the safety question directly further down, because it is the thing most people quietly worry about.

Read on if you are trying to work out whether the Doona X is worth the jump from the original, or whether the money is better kept for the many other things a new baby needs.

What actually changed

The Doona X is not a reinvention of the idea. It is the same clever object -- an infant car seat that unfolds into a stroller in seconds, without lifting the baby out -- with the refinements owners spent years asking for. Five changes actually matter.

Recline is the headline change. The original Doona has a single fixed seat angle in stroller mode; the Doona X adds three recline positions, including a near-flat one. On a five-minute errand this is irrelevant. On a long walk with a sleeping newborn, it is the single upgrade you will feel the most. One thing that applies to both models: the recline works in stroller mode only, never while the seat is installed in the car. That is a safety rule the design enforces, not a limitation of the X.

The harness is the second real change. The original uses a traditional rethread harness, so to change the strap height as your baby grows you feed the straps through and reinstall them. The Doona X uses a no-rethread, 5-position harness that adjusts in one motion. Anyone who has rethreaded a car-seat harness on a wriggling baby understands why this made the upgrade list.

Then three smaller improvements that add up: a 2-position adjustable handlebar with a little more reach for taller parents, dual shock-absorbing suspension for a smoother push over kerbs and broken pavement, and an extended zip-off canopy with a longer, more supportive newborn insert.

Storage is the quiet fifth upgrade. The original Doona's under-seat space is famously tight, and it is one of the most common owner gripes. The Doona X answers it with redesigned storage and an optional Pack and Go basket that doubles as a backpack, so you are not forced to choose between the changing bag and the shopping. On paper it is a footnote; in a week of school runs and supermarket trips it is one of the things you notice most.

Put together, the changes share a theme: none of them alters what the Doona does, and all of them make the hours you spend pushing it more pleasant. The taller handle spares your back, the suspension takes the jolt out of a cracked pavement, and the recline turns a fussy walk into a nap. These are the details you feel on day forty, not day one, which is exactly why they are easy to underrate in a shop and easy to appreciate at home.

What did not change is the whole reason anyone buys a Doona in the first place: the seamless conversion, the from-birth fit, and the cabin-friendly footprint that makes airports and restaurants bearable. Both are the same trick. The X is simply the more comfortable version of it.

Head-to-Head

Is the Doona X safer than the original Doona?

This is the question most parents actually type, so here is the honest answer: neither one is the unsafe option. Both the Doona and the Doona X are current infant car seats that meet the safety requirements in force where they are sold, and both are crash-tested. Doona describes the X as built to the latest side-impact regulation; the original remains a certified, legally sold seat. If you are choosing between the two, choose on the features and the price, not out of a worry that the cheaper one is a compromise on your baby's safety, because it is not.

The part worth repeating, because it matters more than any spec sheet: with any infant seat, the biggest real-world safety factor is a correct install and a snug harness, every single time. A perfectly chosen seat fitted loosely is worse than a simpler seat fitted properly. For anything specific to your child, your car, or a medical consideration, a certified car-seat technician or your pediatrician is the right person to ask, not a buying guide.

The price gap is the real story

This is usually where the decision lands. The Doona X is the pricier seat by a clear margin, and the original Doona sits a full tier below it. In the US the original is the one you will find on Amazon, while the X launched in mid-2026 as a direct purchase from Doona. In the UK both are on Amazon, and the gap between them is wide enough to notice at a glance.

Here is the honest framing. The Doona X's upgrades are genuine, but none of them is essential. A recline, a nicer harness, and a smoother ride are quality-of-life improvements, not the line between a good seat and a bad one. If your budget is comfortable and the recline in particular appeals, the X earns its premium. If you are spending carefully, and a Doona is already a premium purchase for a product your baby outgrows in a little over a year, the original does the defining job for meaningfully less.

There is one case where the maths shifts toward the X: a second baby. A Doona holds its value well, and if you plan to use the seat again in a couple of years, the extra outlay spreads across two children and the newer model's comfort features earn more of their keep. If this is your one and only trip through the newborn stage, that argument fades, and the original's lower price is the stronger one.

What neither model fixes

It is worth being clear-eyed about what a Doona is not, because choosing the X over the original changes none of it. Neither is a full stroller. The suspension, even on the X, is modest; the basket is small next to a proper travel system; and the seat sits low to the ground. Both are heavier than a bare infant carrier, because you are carrying the folded stroller wheels with you the whole time, and that weight is the price of the conversion trick. Both also top out around 35 lb and roughly a year of use as an infant seat, after which you move on to a convertible car seat and, if you want one, a separate stroller. None of this is a reason to skip a Doona. It is a reason to buy it for the right stretch of your baby's life, and to understand that the X does not extend that stretch. It makes the months you have with it more comfortable, not longer.

Who should buy the Doona X

Buy the X if a near-flat recline for naps on longer walks genuinely appeals, because that is the upgrade you will use most. Buy it if the rethread harness on other seats has ever tested your patience, if you are a taller parent who will appreciate the extra handle height, or if your budget is comfortable and you simply want the newest, most refined version. If you are buying in the UK, it is on Amazon there now, which makes it an easy choice to act on.

Who should stick with the original Doona

Stick with the original if your use is mostly short car-to-errand hops, where the recline rarely comes into play and the seamless conversion is the whole point. Stick with it if value matters and you would rather put the difference toward the car-seat base, a carrier, or the hundred other things the first year demands. And if you are buying in the US and want it on Amazon today rather than ordering direct, the original is the one waiting for you. If your real question is whether an all-in-one Doona suits you at all versus a car seat that clips into a full-size pushchair, our Doona vs UPPAbaby Mesa Max comparison and our best travel systems guide walk through that choice.

Should US buyers wait for the Doona X to reach Amazon?

If you are in the US, the Doona X is currently a direct purchase from doona.com rather than an Amazon listing, and it carries a higher price than the original. Waiting for it to appear on Amazon is a gamble on timing that nobody can call for you: premium baby gear often takes months to arrive there, and a baby's due date does not move to suit a checkout page. Our honest take is simple. If you specifically want the X, buy it direct rather than delay the seat your newborn needs. If the recline and the harness are not decisive for you, the original Doona is on Amazon today and does the defining job for less. The one thing we would not do is leave yourself without a safe, installed seat because you are holding out for a particular colour or a lower shipping cost. The seat has to be ready before the baby is.

Where to buy each right now

Honest availability, because it differs by country. In the US, the original Doona is on Amazon and the Doona X is a direct purchase from doona.com, not yet listed on Amazon. In the UK, both the Doona X and the original Doona+ are on Amazon, with the original sitting well below the X on price. Whichever you choose, check the current listing before you buy, since colours and configurations come and go.

What to Avoid

Paying the full direct price for the Doona X when the recline is not decisive for you. The upgrades are real, but if your days are mostly short car-to-door hops rather than long walks, you may rarely use the recline that justifies the premium. Price the original first, and treat the X as the upgrade you choose on purpose rather than by default.

Delaying the seat while you wait for the Doona X to reach US Amazon. If you are in the US and set on the X, order it direct rather than leave yourself without an installed seat as the due date approaches. Guessing when a listing might appear is not worth the risk of going home from the hospital without a car seat ready.

Assuming the cheaper original is the less safe choice. It is not. Both are current, crash-tested, certified seats, and the difference between them is comfort and convenience, not protection. Do not let the lower price talk you into believing you are trading away safety, because you are not.

Buying either one expecting a full-size stroller. Neither the X nor the original replaces a proper pushchair for all-day use, rough ground, or an older toddler. Both are brilliant for the newborn months and for travel, and both are outgrown as infant seats within roughly a year, so plan for what comes after rather than expecting a Doona to be your only stroller.

What We'd Buy Today

For most families: the original Doona. It does the one thing that makes a Doona a Doona, the seamless car-seat-to-stroller conversion, it is a current certified seat, and it costs a clear tier less than the X. That saved money goes a long way in a first year.

Get the Doona on Amazon ->

If the near-flat recline and the no-rethread harness genuinely appeal and the budget is comfortable: the Doona X is the nicer object to live with, and in the UK it is on Amazon now.

Both are the same small miracle at an airport gate or a restaurant door: a car seat that becomes a stroller before your coffee gets cold. Pick the original to spend smart, the X to spend on comfort, and get on with the far more interesting business of the baby.