People use "pram", "pushchair", "stroller" and "buggy" loosely, and shops use them differently. This guide sets out how the words are usually used in the UK, then shows what the specs we hold for the buggies we handle say about each kind. It is not medical advice: for how your own baby should sleep and sit, ask your midwife or health visitor.
The words, in plain terms
- Pram: traditionally a bed-style carrycot on a frame, with the baby lying flat and facing you. Used for the early months.
- Pushchair: a seat on a frame, usually forward-facing, for a baby who can sit or a toddler. In the UK it is the common word for the whole category.
- Stroller: the same idea as a pushchair, often used for the lighter, more compact ones. "Buggy" is used the same way.
- Travel system or combination pushchair: a frame that takes a carrycot, a seat and often a car seat, so one purchase covers pram and pushchair.
Today most models you will see are the last kind, which is why the choice is less "pram or pushchair" and more "which set-up, and what do you need it to do?"
What our catalogue shows
We hold specs for 42 models, grouped into three types. The figures below come straight from that data.
| Type | Models | Weight (kg) | Carrycot | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Full-size pushchair | 26 | 10.2 to 15.3 (25 recorded) | 18 included, 8 optional | | Compact pushchair | 8 | 6.5 to 11 | 1 included, 5 optional, 2 none | | Travel pushchair | 8 | 6 to 7.6 | 5 optional, 1 uses a newborn insert, 2 none |
- Full-size: all 26 are listed as suitable from birth, 18 come with a carrycot in the box and 13 have a seat that lies flat. These are the closest to a traditional pram. They are also the biggest: folded, the full-size models measure roughly 116 to 281 litres (length x width x height), against 63 to 168 for compact and 41 to 96 for travel, so check the boot.
- Compact: 8 models, 7 with a lie-flat seat and all listed from birth. A middle ground for a smaller boot or flat.
- Travel: 8 models, 7 of them cabin-friendly, and all light. Seven are listed from birth, with one (the Bugaboo Butterfly) from 6 months. Most need a carrycot or insert bought separately if you want a lie-flat bed early on.
"Listed from birth" is the maker's claim, and it often depends on set-up. See when can a baby go in a pushchair for how lie-flat seats, carrycots and inserts differ, and always check the maker's manual.
Which should you choose?
- Newborn, lots of walking, one buggy for everything: a full-size model with a carrycot included, so you can use it from day one and move to the seat later.
- Small boot, flat or lots of public transport: a compact model. Check the folded size on its page in our buggies section.
- Second buggy, holidays or flights: a travel model, once the baby is old enough for its seat. Our cabin-approved strollers guide and best travel strollers cover these.
- Not sure how a model folds? See the fold guides.
Buying used? Our second-hand pram checklist covers what to look for, and our safety page sets out the checks we run on every buggy.
When you are done with it
Whichever you had, selling it means the next family gets to use it. Rebuggy gives you an instant price, a free box and free FedEx collection (DPD for the biggest prams), and pays within 48 hours of it passing our check. Get your price, or compare the options in where to sell a pram.