The Best Office Chairs
Our mission was to find an office chair that’s customizable enough to offer support with multiple posture adjustments throughout the day. One week of sitting, swirling, and slouching later, we found the three chairs that could effortlessly accommodate sitters of all heights, shapes, and sizes.
How We Chose the Best Office Chairs
Popularity
We noticed right away that office chairs vary widely in price: Either they’re under $100 with limited adjustment options (just the arms and height) or they range from $500 to $1,200 but come with nearly unlimited customizations. We wanted to uncover which features were worth paying for and how the more expensive models stacked up against a true budget option. So, we sought office chairs that consistently topped “best of” lists from sources like Smart Furniture and Business Insider, plus any best-sellers on Amazon and popular models from prominent office furniture companies like Herman Miller and Knoll. That left us with 11 unanimously well-loved office chairs to put to the test.
Supportive comfort
We naturally move and change our sitting position throughout the day, and your chair should, too. Chairs that confine us to one rigid or slouchy position lead to fatigue and frustration. The best office chair will shift and customize to fit both your physical shape and your changing postures.
We wanted to find chairs that could work for anyone, no matter their height or size. So, we assembled a team of testers to spend a full workday in each chair, taking note of what we loved or hated about each of them. Specifically, we compared how supported we felt in a variety of different postures: as we leaned on one arm to chat with a desk mate, perched forward to take notes, or tilted back to read through our email. The best conformed to our bodies, moving forward with us to support our lower back. The worst — often the cheaper models — were too rigid or dug into our spines when we reclined.
Adjustability
On a truly ergonomic chair, you can adjust nearly everything. And one worth its price tag will make it easy to utilize those adjustments. Our testers compared how each chair conformed to their preferred height, seat depth, and tilt, as well as armrest position and lumbar support — essential features if your job requires you to be sitting for extended periods of time.
In these metrics, a few chairs excelled — both Steelcase models come with an adjustable strap, for instance, that allows you to slide your lumbar support to cater to your height. Models like the Herman Millar Sayl, by comparison, worked against us with a rough plastic design that dug into our backs. We also liked chairs that combined multiple functions into one lever or offered wide ranges of movement for features like armrests.
In the end, all of our chairs might be a good fit for someone, but we found three favorites that can work for nearly everyone, thanks to their many adjustments and accessible designs.
Why we chose it
Adjustable back
The Steelcase Gesture was best at accommodating us when we rested back, leaned to the side, and perched forward. Our testers were instantly comfortable (even before toggling the many adjustments). That’s thanks to its flexible “3D LiveBack”: a curved, flexible back that moves with you. The slits in the plastic bend and tilt with your lower back, and a sliding lumbar support strap supports that one spot in your spine that always rests just off the chair. The Gesture also has a satisfying sturdiness that demonstrates its well-built construction — no flimsy plastic or creaking hinges here.
Easy to customize
Steelcase claims to have “deconstructed the chair” and returned “to the essence of the sitting experience.” We’re not sure about all that, but the Gesture is definitely more customizable than any other chair we tested. The armrests are meant to mimic natural arm movement, so they can shift and rotate in any direction. All other adjustments are on the right side of the chair, so you won’t be blindly tapping around for the seat tilt only to accidentally plunge the seat down instead. To adjust seat depth on other chairs, you have to lift a lever while also lifting part of your body and sliding back and forth. On the Gesture, adjusting seat depth is handled with a simple dial — no half-thigh-lifting or scooting necessary.
Attractive design
Testers were immediately drawn to the chair’s square frame and sleek profile, and we liked that you can choose from an endless range of custom colors and materials. We chose the espresso-colored leather — testers thought that it would fit perfectly in a mahogany-rich library. But if you want something more suited for a station on the USS Enterprise, you also have the option of orange fabric with a platinum metallic frame.
Points to consider
Price
While the Gesture was hands-down our favorite chair, it was also one of the priciest, starting at around $900 and going all the way up to $1,300 depending on your choice of custom colors and materials. While a good office chair is an investment, the Gesture might be overkill if you’re looking for something a little simpler.