Stokke YOYO3 vs Babyzen YOYO2: Is the Upgrade Worth It?

The verdict: the Stokke YOYO3 is the one to buy for almost everyone, because it fixes the two things owners actually complained about on the YOYO2 -- the tiny basket and the firm ride -- without adding weight or asking a real premium. The Babyzen YOYO2 still makes sense if you find one at a genuine discount and the small basket was never going to bother you. On Amazon US, though, the YOYO2 is increasingly hard to find new as it is quietly phased out, while the YOYO3 is the current model that has replaced it.

One thing is worth understanding before you spend anything: these are the same stroller, one generation apart. Stokke bought Babyzen, kept the frame that made the YOYO2 the compact-travel benchmark, and refined it. Same 5.1kg frame, same one-hand fold to overhead-bin size, same 22kg child limit. We rate the YOYO2 as the reference point in our best lightweight strollers guide, and this comparison is really one question: does the YOYO3 change that pick? For a new buyer, it does.

The split comes down to a handful of real upgrades. The YOYO3 doubles the under-seat basket, adds four-wheel suspension, raises the seat, and improves the canopy. The YOYO2 gives all of that back in exchange for one thing only: a lower price, and only when you can still find one discounted.

Read on if you already own a YOYO2 and are wondering whether to upgrade, or you have spotted a YOYO2 on sale and want to know exactly what you would be giving up.

What we looked at

Research draws from parent communities -- r/BeyondTheBump, r/UKParenting, and Mumsnet threads on travel and compact strollers -- alongside the Stokke and Babyzen product specs and the consensus from professional reviewers who have covered both generations. Because the YOYO2 has been the category benchmark for years, there is a deep well of owner feedback on exactly what it does well and where it falls short, which makes it unusually easy to judge whether the YOYO3's changes land where they matter. Availability and pricing move around, especially on the outgoing YOYO2, so check the current listing before you buy.

The Stokke YOYO3

The YOYO3 is not a reinvention. It is the YOYO2 with its two most-complained-about weaknesses fixed, and that is exactly what makes it easy to recommend.

Start with what did not change, because it is most of the appeal. The frame still weighs 5.1kg, it still folds one-handed to roughly overhead-bin size, and it still carries a child up to 48.5 lb (22kg). If you have ever watched a parent collapse a YOYO one-handed at an airline gate and sling it over a shoulder, that is the trick the YOYO3 keeps intact. None of the upgrades cost you weight or fold size, which is the part that usually gets sacrificed when a travel stroller adds features.

Now the changes. The basket is the big one. The YOYO2's under-seat storage was small, and it was the single most common owner complaint for years. The YOYO3's basket is rated to 10kg, double the YOYO2's 5kg, and that is the difference between a stroller that grudgingly holds a changing bag and one that swallows the day's gear plus a food shop. If you only remember one thing that separates these two, it is this.

The ride is the second real upgrade. The YOYO3 adds Soft Drive four-wheel suspension with larger front shock absorbers, where the YOYO2 made do with a firmer setup. On the dropped kerbs, cobbles, and broken pavement that fill actual city life, the YOYO3 is more composed. It is still a small-wheeled compact stroller, not an all-terrain rig, but within its class the suspension is a genuine step up rather than a marketing line.

The smaller changes add up. The seat is around two inches taller, so it accommodates a bigger toddler for longer. The canopy is an extendable UPF 50+ design with a ventilation panel at the top for hot days, where the YOYO2's coverage was more modest. There is a new head cushion, and the wheels now carry reflectors for evening visibility. None of these alone would sell the stroller, but together they make the YOYO3 feel like the more finished version of a design that was already very good.

Where it wins: double the basket capacity, four-wheel suspension, taller seat, better and more breathable canopy, and it is the current model rather than the outgoing one. Where it loses: it costs a little more than a discounted YOYO2, it still uses the frame-plus-colour-pack purchase, and newborn use still needs the separate 0+ pack.

The Babyzen YOYO2

The YOYO2 is the stroller that defined the compact-travel category, and it is worth being clear that it is still excellent. For years it was the answer to "what folds small enough for a plane but is still a real stroller," and nothing about the YOYO3's arrival makes the YOYO2 suddenly bad. It makes it the previous generation.

At 13.45 lb (6.1kg) it is essentially the same weight as the YOYO3, it folds to the same overhead-bin dimensions, and it carries the same 48.5 lb (22kg) child limit. As a piece of travel kit it does the core job just as well as its successor. The modular system is identical in spirit too: a frame plus a 6+ colour pack, with a separate 0+ newborn pack for birth, nine colours, and the same broad accessory range. In fact the accessories cross over -- Stokke and Babyzen YOYO accessories fit both generations, with the one exception of the YOYO2 handlebar replacement part.

So what are you giving up by choosing the older model? The basket and the ride, and nothing else that matters. The YOYO2's small basket is the compromise you are accepting, and its firmer ride is the second. If neither of those was ever going to trouble you -- you travel light, you push mostly on smooth surfaces -- then a discounted YOYO2 gives you 90% of the YOYO3 for less money.

The catch is availability. As the YOYO3 takes over, the YOYO2 is being run down, and on Amazon US it is increasingly hard to find new. In the UK it is more commonly still around, which is where a genuine YOYO2 bargain is most likely to turn up. If you cannot find one at a real discount, the reason to buy it largely disappears -- at full price, the YOYO3 is the obvious pick. Always check the current listing before you commit, because availability on the outgoing model shifts week to week.

Where it wins: lower price when discounted, the proven long-term track record, and the same class-leading weight and fold as the YOYO3. Where it loses: small basket, firmer ride, shorter seat, and increasingly hard to buy new in the US.

Head-to-Head

What owners say

Across r/BeyondTheBump and r/UKParenting, the owner consensus lines up cleanly with the spec sheet, which is not always the case. YOYO2 owners are loyal to the weight and the fold and almost universally name the basket as their one real frustration -- which is precisely the thing the YOYO3 targets. Early YOYO3 feedback centres on the bigger basket and the smoother ride as the reasons parents chose it over a cheaper YOYO2, and nobody reports the upgrades costing them the compact fold they bought a YOYO for. The recurring regret stories in both communities are not about picking the wrong YOYO -- they are from parents who bought a cheap travel stroller instead of either of these and replaced it inside a year. Would the extra basket capacity change your daily routine? For most parents carrying a changing bag plus the day's odds and ends, that is the honest deciding question.

Is the upgrade worth it?

There are three ways this lands, and it is worth naming which one is you.

If you are buying new and do not already own a YOYO, get the YOYO3. It is the current model, still in production, and it costs little more than the outgoing YOYO2 while fixing that model's two genuine weaknesses. There is no good reason to hunt down last year's stroller at close to the same money, and every reason to take the version with the bigger basket and the better ride.

If you already own a YOYO2 and it is working for you, do not upgrade for the sake of it. The frame, the weight, and the fold are the same. Upgrade only if the small basket or the firmer ride has become a daily irritation -- those are the two things you would actually gain, and if neither bothers you, your money is better kept. One consolation if you do decide to switch: your existing YOYO accessories, the board, bag, cup holder, and footmuff, carry straight over to the YOYO3, so you are paying for the stroller and not the whole kit a second time.

If you have found a YOYO2 at a real discount, it is a smart buy, with eyes open. You are trading basket size and ride comfort for a lower price, and getting the same class-leading travel credentials. That is a fair trade if the discount is genuine and the compromises do not touch your routine.

Which one to buy

These scenarios make the decision concrete:

You are buying your first compact travel stroller and want the best one. The YOYO3. Bigger basket, smoother ride, taller seat, same featherweight fold, and it is the current model rather than last year's. For most parents this is the straightforward answer.

You carry a lot underneath every day. The YOYO3, without hesitation. The basket is the single biggest practical difference between these two, and doubling its capacity is exactly the upgrade a busy parent feels most.

You want the lowest price and you travel light. A discounted YOYO2. If the basket was never going to be a problem and you mostly push on smooth surfaces, the older model gives you the same weight and fold for less -- provided you can find one on genuine offer.

You already own a YOYO2. Keep it, unless the basket or the ride has become a real daily frustration. The upgrade is worthwhile only for those two specific gains; everything else you already have.

The honest case against each

The honest case against the YOYO3: it is not a dramatic leap, and if you already own a YOYO2 that suits you, the upgrade can feel hard to justify. It still uses the frame-plus-colour-pack purchase, so the headline frame price is not the whole cost, and newborn use still needs the separate 0+ pack. If you want a genuinely different stroller rather than a better version of the same one, our best travel systems guide covers full-size options that pair a stroller with a car seat.

The honest case against the YOYO2: it is the outgoing generation, its basket is genuinely small, and its ride is firmer than the YOYO3's on rough ground. On Amazon US it is increasingly hard to buy new at all. At full price it makes little sense next to the YOYO3; its case rests entirely on finding a real discount, which is getting harder as stock runs down.

What to Avoid

Paying full price for a YOYO2 when the YOYO3 exists. The only reason to choose the older model is a genuine discount. At or near full price, the YOYO3 gives you a bigger basket, better suspension, and current availability for a small premium. If the YOYO2 is not meaningfully cheaper, there is no case for it.

Buying the frame and assuming that is the whole stroller. Both generations are sold as a frame plus a colour pack. The frame alone is not usable -- you need the 6+ pack for six months and up, or the 0+ pack for newborns. On Amazon UK especially, the frame is often listed on its own. Always confirm you are buying a complete setup before comparing prices.

Upgrading a perfectly good YOYO2 out of fear of missing out. If your YOYO2 works for your life, the YOYO3 is not a reason to spend again. You would gain a bigger basket and a smoother ride and nothing else. Spend that money only if those two things are actually a daily problem for you.

Treating either as a full-time everyday stroller for rough terrain. Both are compact travel strollers with small wheels. They are superb for travel, transit, and smooth city surfaces, but neither is built for gravel, heavy off-road use, or all-day rural walks. If that is your daily reality, a full-size stroller should be your main buy, with a YOYO as the travel second.

What We'd Buy Today

For almost everyone: the Stokke YOYO3. It keeps everything that made the YOYO2 the compact-travel benchmark -- the 5.1kg frame, the one-hand fold, the overhead-bin trick -- and fixes the two things owners actually complained about, the small basket and the firm ride, for a price that barely moves. It is the current model, it is the one still in production, and it is the one we would put in the car boot tomorrow.

Get the Stokke YOYO3 on Amazon ->

If you spot a genuine YOYO2 bargain and you travel light: the Babyzen YOYO2 is still a brilliant travel stroller, and at a real discount you lose very little.

Get the Babyzen YOYO2 on Amazon ->

Same stroller, one generation apart. Buy the YOYO3 at full price, grab the YOYO2 only if it is genuinely cheaper, and either way you are getting the little stroller that folds into an overhead bin and makes travelling with a baby feel possible again.