A side-by-side comparison based on expert reviews and community consensus. We analyzed the sources to figure out which one actually belongs in your cart.
Carter's wins on pure practicality — four pairs for under $25 means you always have a clean option, and the soft cotton-blend is gentle enough for sensitive skin during a full school day of sitting and playing. But Old Navy's PowerSoft fabric is genuinely in a different league for active kids; it moves with them instead of bunching or restricting, and the tall sizing option is a lifesaver for fast-growing kids who can never find a long enough inseam. The honest answer for most parents is buy both: Carter's for the school week rotation, Old Navy for activity days.
Carter's dominates children's basics for good reason — soft cotton-blend fabric, easy pull-on waistb
Old Navy's PowerSoft fabric is the kids' activewear sweet spot — soft, lightly compressive, and buil
Carter's cotton-blend is soft and breathable — perfect for a kid sitting at a desk or playing at recess. But it doesn't move with the body the way a performance fabric does. Old Navy's PowerSoft is lightly compressive and ultra-smooth, meaning it stretches through a cartwheel and snaps back without twisting or riding up. If your kid is doing anything athletic, the fabric difference is immediately noticeable.
Carter's 4-pack at $18-$25 works out to roughly $4.50-$6.25 per legging — that's hard to beat for building a rotation. Old Navy's single pairs at $15-$25 cost more per item, though frequent sales can close the gap significantly. The real question is what you're optimizing for: volume and variety for the school week, or one or two high-performance pairs for activity days.
Carter's sizing runs slightly small and doesn't offer length variations — you get standard sizing and that's it. Old Navy offers plus and tall sizes online, which is genuinely rare in kids' activewear. For parents of tall kids who are constantly dealing with leggings that hit mid-calf by month two, the tall option isn't a nice-to-have, it's the entire reason to buy Old Navy.
Carter's is everywhere — Target, Amazon, Kohl's, Carter's stores — and you can have them in hand the same day. Old Navy's tall and long sizes, which are often the reason parents choose the brand in the first place, are only available online. That means planning ahead and waiting for shipping, which is a real inconvenience when your kid just had a growth spurt and needs leggings for tomorrow.
Carter's wins on pure practicality — four pairs for under $25 means you always have a clean option, and the soft cotton-blend is gentle enough for sensitive skin during a full school day of sitting and playing. But Old Navy's PowerSoft fabric is genuinely in a different league for active kids; it moves with them instead of bunching or restricting, and the tall sizing option is a lifesaver for fast-growing kids who can never find a long enough inseam. The honest answer for most parents is buy both: Carter's for the school week rotation, Old Navy for activity days.
