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Oct 14, 2024

The Best Office Chairs for Gaming and Working

The best office chairs let us work in comfort without finding our backs stiff and necks sore the next day. They put ergonomics first, offering support where you need it and more adjustments than your

The best office chairs let us work in comfort without finding our backs stiff and necks sore the next day. They put ergonomics first, offering support where you need it and more adjustments than your average gaming chair. Office chairs come in many different styles, so just because a chair is designed for work doesn't mean it won't fit right in with your gaming PC.

If you're a PC user or gamer that spends long hours at their desk, a proper office chair is an investment in your health, the quality of your work day, and, by extension, your quality of life. If this describes you, you owe it to yourself to investigate whether one of these office chairs is right for you.

An office chair is a big investment, so picking the most comfortable one for you and your body size shouldn’t be taken lightly. Ergonomics should be your number one priority when choosing an office chair. After all, why would you want to spend potentially over $1,000 on something that isn't comfortable? Here are our favorite office chairs in 2024, from affordable work-from-home chairs to premium performance seating and everything in between.

Additional contributions by Georgie Peru, Danielle Abraham, and Dave Johnson.

Ditching the usual mesh material, the Branch Verve instead boasts a 3D knit design that’s not only breathable but incredibly comfortable too. Both are important things to consider when buying an office chair. It’s also available in a range of colors.

The back boasts an adjustable lumbar rest so you can get the best ergonomics out of your office chair. There are six points of adjustment to explore, including tilt, seat height, seat depth, armrest, lumbar, and tilt tension. Branch claims the chair is suitable for 8+ hours of continuous use, though we would always recommend taking a break to stand up or walk around every hour or so.

Despite not having a separate headrest, the Branch Verve is very comfortable. You can sit on it for extended periods should you have to, adjusting every aspect of the chair to suit your needs.

Most inexpensive office chairs — the generic models you run across in office supply stores — are pretty sad affairs that aren’t comfortable and offer the bare minimum of adjustability. That’s why it’s great to encounter a chair like the Autonomous ErgoChair Core, which costs under $350, yet offers premium features like adjustable lumbar support, height, seat pan, and armrests. Those details help make the chair feel great, plus it looks like a classier, much pricier seat as well.

You may also find our best budget gaming chairs list useful as you shop!

The Autonomous ErgoChair Core offers up every essential you look for in an office chair. The mesh backrest is comfortable, distributes weight evenly, and adds breathability, while a thickly padded foam seat has a high-quality polyester shell that holds up well over time. In addition, the chair has a balancing mechanism (which Autonomous emphasizes is Italian-designed), letting you switch from upright to an 18-degree recline in a single action. It also has the obligatory height and tilt controls under the seat. Since this is a budget chair, you can even add a headrest and footrest for a bit more than the base price, substantially amping up the Autonomous ErgoChair Core's comfort factor

At under $200, it’s hard not to love the FlexiSpot OC3B. This adjustable mesh office chair is not only ergonomic and comfortable, but it’s available in different colors and styles, too. For those with back issues or concerns, the passive lumbar support is a really useful feature, especially within this price range. The mesh design is breathable, so you can comfortably sit for long periods at a time without getting hot and sweaty.

The seat height is adjustable, as well as the backrest and arms, depending on your shape and size. If you need to take a rest and don’t want to leave the office, you can adjust the recline between 90 and 130 degrees, taking a break when you need it. With support for up to 300 pounds, this chair is suitable for a wide range of users.

If you want to ditch the fancy features and aren’t fussed by a more simplistic design, the FlexiSpot OC3B is a great office chair if you’re on a budget.

The Humanscale Freedom isn’t quite your typical office chair. It offers an almost magical ergonomic design to help you stay comfortable in whatever position you decide to sit. The back section can move vertically, upgrading over simple, sliding lumbar supports. The wide headrest pulls off the same trick to cradle your head. And that’s just a few of the helpful dial-in adjustabilities of the chair.

With the Freedom’s design, you can easily recline to relax, as it uses your body weight to automatically adjust recline support. The armrests are even attached to the back of the chair, so they’ll recline with you and still be handy when you’re kicking back. You also get a big 21-inch wide seat covered in foam for a soft palace to settle down. That seat’s height can go from 16.1 to 20.3 inches, while its robust frame holds up to 300-pounds, making it suitable for users of many shapes and sizes. Just be prepared to shell out a good chunk of change, as an office chair with this many features doesn’t come cheap.

Once you’ve taken a deep breath and come to terms with the price of the Razer Fujin Pro, you can start to appreciate its excellent build, healthy array of adjustments, and extreme levels of comfort. If you work during the day and game by night, this office gaming chair really is worth the investment. Heck, even if you don’t game, this chair is so comfortable, you won’t regret it.

The Razer Fujin Pro is a premium mesh gaming chair that we absolutely loved testing. Featuring a robust aluminum frame, the Fujin Pro is equipped with adjustable lumbar support, a contoured seat, an articulating headrest, and 4D adjustable armrests. It offers height adjustability and can tilt up to 136 degrees. Despite its high-strength mesh webbing construction, which ensures breathability and responsiveness, some may find it less soft compared to foam chairs.

In terms of performance, the Fujin Pro stands out for its exceptional support and adaptability, catering to your needs, whether you're gaming or working office hours. The lumbar support system is notably effective, allowing users to maintain various seating positions comfortably. The 4D armrests are designed to be large, soft, and supportive, enhancing the overall user experience.

Integrated among the breathable mesh is an adjustable lumbar support. The gas cylinder lets you adjust the height of the chair, as well as the seat’s forward and backward motions. If you like a little give when you sit back in your chair, you’ll appreciate Razer’s adjustable resistance. But, if you prefer to lock into place, you can do this too.

The 4D armrests offer up, down, left, right, forward, and backward movements. You can switch between three angles, much like you can with the lumbar support and headrest. With Herman Miller-style comfort and ergonomics, this is the gaming chair of all gaming chairs.

You may know the iconic Herman Miller Aeron chair, but the Embody is actually the model that Herman Miller stakes its reputation on for high-end, premium office seating. That’s apparent in everything from the unique and eye-catching design of its backrest, the premium build quality, and the ergonomic pedigree it brings to the table. Herman Miller describes the chair as being decades in the making was was designed with input from a team of more than 20 physicians, PhDs, and other experts in the field.

The chair is built to an incredible standard. It's trimmed in fabric but makes good use of steel throughout its design. It features just enough cushioning to be comfortable without being bulking in any one place. You can adjust everything from the lumbar to the seat depth. Its armrests are also fantastic, extending on a contour, and can be adjusted for width and depth so they can be positioned any way that you need in the moment.

The Embody’s signature feature is the backrest, which is designed to mimic the human spine. It's lined with flexible ribs that allow it to shift and align with your back, even when changing position or leaning to one side. These ribs are known to start creaking over time, so this is a chair best avoided if you demand silence from your seat. You'll need to take time to adjust it for your back, and that process isn't as straightforward as most ergo chairs. The Embody doesn't just support your back, it's also made to hold your spine in a proper position to support your neck.

As such, it doesn't feature a headrest. At this price, I really would have liked to have seen one, but Herman Miller isn't wrong in its conclusion that you don't really need one when the chair is configured properly. Still, it would be nice because when it's time to kick back at the end of a long day, feet up and head back is an appealing option.

Mesh might not scream "quality" like leather or other sturdy materials used for a chair seeing rigorous use in an office environment, but the Secretlab NeueChair makes effective use of it. With its abrasive-resistant three-layer mesh made from polyester fibers and DuPont, the seat and backrest hold up to long hours of use while remaining comfortable and breathable. That mesh seat rests on a sturdy aluminum alloy base with quiet caster wheels, which all support the decent 240-pound max load.

Comfort is at the core of the Secretlab NeueChair. You'll find adjustable lumbar support helps you keep the natural curvature of your spine while you sit. Padded armrests switch positions, letting you relax your shoulders while you work. If you want, there's even an optional headrest add-on for full support when you lean back. And you can lean back far with a 45-degree tilt. Adjusting the height and angle of the chair is also simple, and that’s thanks to controls built right into the armrests rather than underneath the seat.

Steelcase is a formidable name in high-end office seating, and the Gesture is one of its most popular models. And that's for good reason. It's easily the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in, even against other Steelcase chairs and big competitors like Herman Miller. It offers a fantastic lumbar support (spring for the adjustable lumbar option... it's worth it) with a proprietary LiveBack structure so it flexes to match your movements. Its headrest is also the best in Steelcase's entire catalog.

As you would expect from a performance office chair, it's highly adjustable. Apart from the lumbar, you can also adjust the seat depth; seat height; tilt tension; the angle, height, and depth of the headrest; and the tilt limiter which ranges from a full upright position to a deep recline for when you want to relax with several steps in between. Once I had it dialed in for my body, I genuinely wanted to sit more than I probably should have. It is truly that good.

It also comes with the best armrest I've ever encountered on an office chair. The arm supports use pivoting arms not unlike an arm you might use for your gaming monitor. They can be positioned anywhere you like, from tight around your body to support your elbows while using your phone to low and wide so they're out of the way. They also offer the usual range of tilt, width, and depth adjusts on the armrests theselves. It's next level and completely worthy of all the praise it has received.

If you order it directly from the Steelcase site, you can choose the upholstery (fabric or leather), color, frame color scheme, whether to include lumbar support, and even if the wheels should be optimized for carpet or hard floor. With a 12-year warranty, a long track record of excellent support, and an eager secondary market ready to buy the chair if you swap out in the future, the Gesture is a chair you can buy with confidence.

See our favorite, tested ergonomic chairs we recommend in 2024:

First and foremost, if you want the best office chair that offers maximum comfort over long periods of time, you should consider the ergonomics. Simply put, if it’s not comfortable, it doesn’t offer good ergonomics. If you get the chance to test out an office chair before you buy it, do so. If you don’t have this luxury, you can read our recommendations and reviews of our favorite office chairs.

Adjustability is another factor. Can you adjust the chair’s height range? Can you adjust the armrests, lumbar support, or head support? These things matter since not every office chair is designed to a one-size-fits-all standard.

Make note of the chair’s maximum height, width, and weight capacities and choose one that caters to you. If none of them are equipped for your body, you may want to look at other options like the big and tall gaming chairs.

A decent office chair can easily set you back anywhere between $200 to $1,000+. It depends on the brand of chair, features, materials, etc. If you’re looking for an office chair that comes with lumbar support, different levels of adjustability, and high-quality materials, obviously expect to pay more. An important thing to note is that more expensive chairs often come with better warranties – we're talking sometimes a decade or longer. So while the upfront cost can be steep, it's an investment that could save you from having to buy less-good chairs every few years.

While the answer depends on what you value most in a chair, many gamers find that the comfort and ergonomic benefits of office chairs outweigh the flashier appearances of gaming chairs. If you spend many hours at your PC, and especially if you use your rig for your job as well as leisure, an office chair is usually the better buy.

Not sure which chair is right for you yet? See our Gaming Chair vs Office Chair breakdown if so. You may also like to browse our roundup of the best gaming desks.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.