13 Best Office Chairs (2023): Budget, Luxe, cushions, casters and mats

Not every chair is a winner. Here are a few others we love enough to recommend but aren’t as good as our top picks above.

Knoll Newson office chair for $1,350.: This minimalist chair looks best in graphite and petal colors; it’s a bit dull in black and umber. It’s nice that I didn’t have to fiddle a lot with any of the levers or knobs – it’s comfortable out of the box and decently adjustable if you need to make some adjustments – and especially nice when you recline. (The red knob adjusts the tension on the backrest, but you have to turn it five turns, and sometimes I found it difficult to turn.) The Newson gave me no trouble in the nearly two months I spent in it. . I’m just not a big fan of how the elastomeric mesh backrest distorts depending on how you sit. He seems lumpy. This chair also doesn’t allow me to sit as straight as I would like, but maybe you don’t mind giving in a little. Ultimately, it’s the price that takes it out of our top recommendations. But you get a 12 year warranty.

Complete Alani chair for $379.: Alani, from the manufacturer of our favorite writing desk, is available in several color combinations to fit perfectly into any home office. The base has a beautiful contoured cushion and a mesh back to keep you cool, as well as lumbar support for good posture. You can adjust the height, seat depth, armrests and tilt tension, and lock the tilt. WIRED columnist Simon Hill found it comfortable for long days up to 4pm and worked for both his 6ft 1in and 5ft daughter. It’s a solid alternative to the Branch ergonomic chair (our top pick) and often drops to around $303 during sales.

Ikea Markus chair for $289.: Markus is a great office chair. It’s not the most convenient, but it’s far from the worst either. The mesh design keeps you cool, while the high back allows you to recline completely. It’s quite thin and doesn’t stand out in a small home office or bedroom. It was awkward to assemble (laughs Ikea) and you may need someone to support the back of the chair while you attach the seat properly. Unfortunately, if you often sit with at least one leg or cross-legged, the width between your arms will cause you discomfort.

X-Chair $1,900 X-Tech executive chair.: Functionally X-Tech is similar to X-Chair above. In this version, the M-Foam Cooling Gel Seat is really great to sit on, although it doesn’t dissipate heat as well as the full mesh X-Chairs. Most impressive is the Brisa Soft Touch material, which is ridiculously soft. I recommend that you use the standard armrests instead of the FS 360 armrests which move too much. But what confuses me the most is the price. Why is he worth so much?

Mavix M7 chair for $778: If it looks oddly similar to the X-Chair (see above), it’s because both are from the same company. I had some build issues, but customer support was able to exchange the model effortlessly. The M7 has similar adjustable armrests and seat angles, but you get lockable wheels. The mesh back and wide seat keep you cool and comfortable during a sweaty workout. League of Legendsand the lumbar support makes me feel like I’m in good hands. If you’re short, please contact support when ordering – Mavix offers shorter toppers to keep your feet on the ground.

$795 Herman Miller Vantum Gaming Chair: At first I really liked this chair. I loved how I could keep myself super upright which made me feel more involved in what I was doing. The mesh back also dissipates heat well. However, the overall build quality feels cheap and doesn’t scream Herman Miller (nor does the asking price, which has since dropped $200). The headrest is terrible too – I almost broke it trying to move it up and down. As I continued to sit, my biggest disappointment was the back support. You can feel the lumbar support on the lower back, and not in a good way, almost digs in. At least my back didn’t hurt.

Hon Ignition 2.0 office chair for $399.: This chair is easy to set up and looks great, but I had a lot of back pain, which is why I originally put it in our “Avoid” section. I thought it might be due to the long hours of work, so I switched back to the Knoll Newson work chair and my pain quickly began to subside. After a while I tried again. After a few hours, the pain returned, and the transition to another chair dissipated it. The color confused me because this chair has positive reviews online. I then gave up my seat to a friend who is about 5ft 4in and she had no problem. It seems that this is the answer. Perhaps the ignition doesn’t work for my 6ft 4in height and is a better fit for me. smaller people.

Pipersong meditation chair for $349.: Do you find it difficult to sit in a traditional chair? If your legs need to be bent and turned out to be comfortable, you should check out this chair. It has a 360-degree rotating footrest that can take almost any sitting position you want. I can go from kneeling to cross-legged, to one leg up, one leg down. You can also sit regularly with a footstool behind you and your feet flat on the floor. This is the only chair I have found. developed for strange sitting habits. There are no armrests, which I didn’t mind because they are what allow you to sit in many of these positions. The actual chair and chair back may be larger and taller respectively. I had to use a pillow to keep my back comfortable.