Whether you’re working from home or commuting – or both – you deserve the best office chair. We spend a lot of time at work (maybe even too much), so it’s better for us to feel as comfortable as possible.
But the best office chairs are about more than just comfort. They can help prevent deformities and injuries by providing the right support, maintaining proper posture, and adapting to your body.
According to OSHA (Opens in a new tab), “A good chair provides much-needed support to the back, legs, hips, and arms, while reducing exposure to awkward positions, contact pressure, and strain.”
To compile our list of the best office chairs, we spent hundreds of hours sitting on all the chairs on this page to see how they stand up to the rigors of office life. In addition to comfort, we evaluate chairs for their design, adjustability and value to determine what is best for you.
Of course, a good chair is only part of the equation for a safe and productive home office. For that, you’ll also want to check out our guides to the best standing desks and the best table lamps to make sure your workspace is comfortable and well lit.
The Branch Ergonomic Chair is sleeker than most other office chairs, but there’s nothing too flashy about it, and maybe that’s a good thing. Once I sat down in this $300 office chair, I practically forgot about it as I sat in it while working from home. But isn’t that what any good office chair needs?
The Branch Ergonomic Chair has seven points of adjustment (height and width of the armrests, as well as how far forward they are, seat height, backrest angle, lumbar support, and seat-back position). It’s not as much as more expensive models like the Herman Miller Aeron, but more than enough for a $300 chair like the Branch. Also important: all these adjustment points are easy to change. There is nothing worse than trying to find the right chair.
My only real criticism of the Branch chair – if you can call it that – is that the upholstered seat isn’t as comfortable as the mesh seat on more expensive chairs, and it doesn’t breathe as well. But overall, this chair is worth the money.
One of the things I love about the Flash Furniture Mid-Back office chair is that it stands out in a sea of ​​black and gray office chairs with its bold blue and white color scheme (it’s also available in grey, yellow, red, orange, white) and yes, black).
Prices for this chair vary depending on the color and style you choose – you can choose from a medium back, high back, and drawing chair – but with prices ranging from $120 to $210, this is a very affordable style for those on a budget. .
However, like most cheap office chairs, the Flash Furniture doesn’t adjust very well – you can raise and lower the seat and adjust the tilt tension, but that’s about it. However, I was comfortable sitting for long periods of time. And when I’m going to go home today, the armrests of the chair fold down to make it easier for me to put it under the table. If you are looking for an inexpensive office chair that looks good, this is definitely a model to consider.
The Herman Miller Aeron chair may be a symbol of internet excess, but for good reason: it’s too comfortable. I can adjust everything about this top-notch chair, including more exotic things like the tension in eight areas of the fabric (including the all-important lumbar support) and the tilt and angle of the armrests. It also supports two modes of operation, one for leaning forward and the other for reclining and reclining.
The mesh bottom and back of the Aeron also allows for good airflow, which is welcome on warm days when my A/C isn’t working properly. However, this comes with some compromises as I don’t think the Aeron offers as much support as the Steelcase Leap which has a more durable fabric on the bottom and back.
If you’re having a hard time deciding which one is best for you, check out our Herman Miller Embody vs. Aeron comparison.
All of this comes at a price, which is perhaps not surprising since the Aeron starts at $1,000. My advice: look for office furniture sales as the companies clear buildings of unwanted items. You’ll have to buy the Aeron for around $400 or less.
If you’re struggling with back pain, you need a chair that’s right for you. While many chairs can be customized to suit your needs, the Steelcase Leap takes a different approach: it moves as you use it. As you adjust the posture, the back arches, the lumbar support moves, and the entire chair reclines; you can set them with three controls that allow you to configure the chair according to your spine, lumbar region and posture. This makes this chair an excellent choice for those with chronic back or spinal problems, as adjusting these controls can make the chair more comfortable.
While the Leap looks more like a traditional office chair than a Herman Miller Aeron, I prefer the Leap backrest, which feels a bit more solid. Leap also offers more color options than Aeron, so you can really personalize your home office.
The Steelcase Leap doesn’t come cheap, however: at around $1,000, it’s one of the most expensive chairs we’ve ever seen. If you use it frequently and want something that you can customize to suit your mood, this might be a smart investment. As for the Herman Miller Aeron, it’s best to look for an office furniture sale to see if you can get it at a discount.
The Hon Exposure is like the Honda Civic of office chairs: it’s reliable, affordable, and gets the job done, but it’s not the fanciest seat. It costs about $200 and comes in three versions: a mesh back with a fabric seat, an all-leather version, and a mesh back with a leather seat. Unfortunately, the only color option is black. If you’re looking for a little more appeal in the same price range, check out the Flash Furniture chair, which is available in a variety of colors.
I found the Hon Exposure very comfortable and I liked that it has quite a bit of adjustment – the height of the armrests and chair can be changed and the lumbar support can be moved in and out to provide more or less support for the lower back. However, it is more or less supportive than the Branch Ergonomic Chair is a little stronger, the latter also has more style and more points of adjustment. To be fair, the Branch chair costs about $90 more.
When I sit in the X-Chair X2 and turn on its extra heated and massage cushion, I’m going back to the days of walking to the mall and relaxing in the Brookstone massage chair.
Nostalgia aside, the X2 chair is a very stylish and very comfortable office chair. The back and bottom are fully mesh for breathability, and the chair has multiple adjustment points to allow you to sit in the correct position. One downside is that it took me a long time to fix everything.
I also like the look of the X2: it’s not as flashy as one of the best gaming chairs, but it’s also not as subdued as one of the thousands of general office chairs you can find on Amazon. It’s also solid: frame and base pieces made of chrome plated metal.
At around $900, the X2 isn’t cheap, about what you’d pay for a Herman Miller Aeron. However, this is a chair that can definitely make you feel comfortable, especially if you buy a massage cushion.
If you don’t want to do all of your stimulus testing in a chair, but still want a comfortable seat, Furmax might be a good choice. Thickly padded seat and mesh back with lumbar support so your back won’t sweat while still maintaining the necessary rigidity. According to online buyers, the seat height can be adjusted from 19 to 24 inches.
The Furmax is supported by five casters so you can roll it around your home office. You can adjust the tilt and overall height of this chair, but unfortunately the armrests are fixed. Again, you can’t have everything for this price. However, the chair is available in a variety of colors, with the traditional black as well as grey, purple, red and white.
There are many cheap office chairs out there, but which one is the best under $100? I tested the Furmax against the BestOffice chair, another of the best mesh lumbar chairs on Amazon. Furmax tops the list for comfort.
The Odinlake Ergo Plus 743 is a good balance for those who want a relatively affordable mesh office chair that is fully customizable. At around $699, the Ergo Plus 743 is about $200 less than similar chairs like the X-Chair X2, but still offers nearly the same features.
We are big fans of the Ergo Plus 743′s sturdy metal base and sturdy frame and love that we can adjust not only the armrests, but also the seat, lumbar support and headrest. Our biggest issue was that the material of the seat hooked our pants more than other chairs as we moved into the seat. Other than that, a great chair for the price.
Sitting for hours on end is unhealthy, even if you have the best office chair in the world. Several studies have shown that sitting too long can have negative effects on your body, such as higher rates of heart disease, obesity, and cancer.
For this reason, many experts recommend that you get up frequently. For example, the Mayo Clinic recommends that you get up every 30 minutes (opens in a new tab) or invest in one of the best standing desks, as well as one of the best under-table treadmills. Either way, stand up and stretch your muscles. One strategy is to set a timer; some of the best smartwatches like the Apple Watch also automatically remind you to move if you’re sedentary. If you sit all day, be sure to check out our guide to the best workouts.
Office chairs can cost anywhere from under $100 to $2,000. Ultimately, you should buy the office chair that best suits your budget. There are two main differences between budget office chairs and more expensive models. First, the materials: Cheap chairs are usually made from cheap materials and may not be as design oriented. More expensive chairs will be sleeker, made from better materials, and may even give you more customization options.
The second difference between inexpensive and expensive office chairs is adjustability. Cheaper chairs cannot be adjusted like more expensive chairs. For example, a $100 or so office chair might only let you adjust the height. As prices rise, office chairs will have more items that can be adjusted, such as armrests, lumbar support, seat position, and more.
But if you see a chair you like that’s a little out of your price range, it’s worth digging around a bit to see if you can find a used model for less. Many companies have been forced to close or downsize their offices due to the pandemic, resulting in a large amount of office equipment being sold for pennies.
ComfortComfort is easy to understand: a comfortable chair should not only be soft, but also strong enough. It should also wick away moisture so you don’t sweat on warm days. Seats and backs made from mesh tend to work best in this regard.
Seats should be wide enough for larger people to sit comfortably without feeling crammed into a high chair.
The armrests should be shaped so that the elbows and forearms can rest comfortably on them, and should be made of fabric or a softer material that won’t shake your elbows when you run into it.
Another important feature is lumbar support. This office chair will help you keep your lower back arched so you don’t (and shouldn’t) feel stressed from sitting for long periods of time. Like the rest of the office chair, it needs to be adjustable so you can move it up and down, and increase or decrease the amount of push it pushes out.
The material of your office chair can also have a big impact on your comfort. In most cases, office chairs are covered with some kind of fabric with padding underneath. However, some have mesh backs or seats that promote air circulation to keep you cool throughout the day. And if you want to make a statement, there is nothing better than a leather chair.
But the material goes beyond the seat itself. More expensive chairs usually have more metal parts in the base and elsewhere, while less expensive chairs have more plastic parts.
Adjustability Adjustability is another important factor. The best office chair should allow you to adjust just about everything, including:
This is important because all people are different; Purchasing a chair that allows you to adjust all of these options allows you to customize it to your unique body type. Generally speaking, the more expensive the chair, the more things can be adjusted. Chairs under $100 usually only allow you to change the height.
There’s no better way – really no other way – to check an office chair, unless you’re sitting in it. To evaluate each office chair, we started our day by sitting in each chair for several weeks. We noticed not only how comfortable this chair is, but also how easy it is to adjust its various functions.
Since no two people are the same, we had a 6ft man testing the chairs and other office colleagues trying them out to see if there was any difference in overall comfort.
We also pay attention to the design of the chair, how it looks and how much you can customize it; some chairs can be configured with different materials, colors and wheels so you can really make it your own.
Finally, we looked at the overall cost of the chair and how it compares to other products in the same price range.
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Anthony Spadafora is the editor of Tom’s Guide to Security and Networking, where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware groups to password managers and the best ways to reach your entire home or business with Wi-Fi. Before joining the team, he wrote for ITProPortal while living in Korea and then for TechRadar Pro when he returned to the US. Anthony lives in Houston, Texas, and when he’s not writing, Anthony fixes PCs and game consoles, runs cables, and upgrades his smart home.