Need an ergonomic chair for your home office? Here are 6 affordable & comfortable options
I would love to own the Hermann Miller Aeron chair. It’s a work of art designed by brilliant designers at the forefront of ergonomic research. And it’s so elegant that it’s in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art.
But I have other bills to pay. So, when I bought an office chair, I did a lot of research. I was looking for the best desk chairs on Amazon, the ones with the ergonomics of the Aeron — or as close as I could reasonably get — without the nearly $2,000 price tag. I found my chair — and a few other tempting options.
Here are the best desk chairs on Amazon for your home office if you can’t afford the Herman Miller Aeron chair.
These chairs are super adjustable, offer lumbar support, and let you move while you sit.
The Alera High Back Chair is a perfect combination of comfort & affordability
I have bought The Alera Elusion ($243) chair twice. (I moved. Sold one. Bought another.) This is, in my opinion, one of the best desk chairs on Amazon at this — or many much higher — price tag.
It is an excellent, completely adjustable office chair. I have worked — my employer owned several — in the Herman Miller Aeron chair and this one is a pretty good dupe, when it comes to ergonomics.
And it’s not bad looking, either. The memory foam seat is supremely comfortable. I prefer it to the somewhat hard mesh seat of the Aeron.
I am sitting in this chair — the high-back version — with the Lorell mesh headrest ($37) installed — and it allows me to work long hours without neck, hand, or back pain.
It also comes in a mid-back version ($214) if leaning back is not your thing.
Granted the Alera requires assembly. But consider what you are getting paid per hour to do it!
The Gabrylly Mesh Chair with so many adjustments
This mesh chair ($269) is seriously tempting – and a contender for being one of the best desk chairs on Amazon.
If I didn’t want a soft memory foam seat to sit in, I might be driving thing chair instead of the one I’m in.
Almost everything adjusts, the arms flip up so you can push it into a desk or work without them, and the headrest is included even at this astonishing price.
You can’t move the seat back and forth, which might mean you can’t sit exactly the way you want to. But reviewers seem to love it.
It’s a big step up from some of the gaming chairs that are being currently offered to WFH people and is a solid choice for a price that doesn’t hurt too much.
“I’ve worked in plenty of high-end, work chairs,” according to one reviewer. “This one is solid, supportive, adjustable, and comfortable.”
This X-Chair X-Project Chair That’s Surprisingly Affordable
You have probably seen the flashy ads for the X-Chair, right? I am always tempted to go into debt for that thing. But I like my affordable desk chair so I resist. This is the X-Chair X-Basic ($500) version and it’s pretty dang close to perfect and so much cheaper than the slick X-Chair Executive chair I covet.
With a lumbar support that adjusts to your back every time you move, a molded foam seat for a soft landing, and flexible mesh to keep you cool as you work, this is a high-end ergonomic desk chair at an astonishingly almost low-end-chair price.
Most things here are adjustable — even the arms — so it’s easy to dial in a fit that’s perfect for you.
The FelixKing desk chair with flip-up arms
I wish the arms on my Alera chair flipped up and out of the way like this FelixKing office chair ($119) does.
I also love the punch of color this chair would bring to my space.
It’s not adjustable enough for the long hours I work at a computer. So I don’t consider it a serious contender for the best desk chairs on Amazon. But if your need for ergonomics isn’t serious and your budget is tight, it’s a great option.
The height and lumbar support adjust, the seat is soft, and the S-shaped back tilts back and offers great back support. It would fit neatly into — and look pretty in — a small home office.
It comes in six colors and that price is hard to beat.
This ergonomic mesh chair from Staples
This Hyken Technical Mesh Task Chair ($260) is the ergonomic chair you will most likely encounter if you shop for your home office gear at Staples. It’s a decent chair.
The mesh seat and back are breathable. It has a high back, nice wheels, and lots of adjustments.
I bought this chair after I moved and sold my Aleron. I did not find it to be comfortable enough for the long hours I work. I sold it within the year to buy the Aleron again.
It does come with a headrest, though, making it slightly cheaper than my rig.
The Herman Miller Aeron chair fully loaded as an open-box special
Here it is! The Cadillac of ergonomic desk chairs: The Herman Miller Aeron, fully loaded. And this open box special — bringing the price down to $749 — puts it in striking distance of the budget shopper and in my list of the best desk chairs on Amazon.
It has all the adjustments: It’s sized. (This is a size B/Medium.) The lumbar support adjusts. It has forward and rear tilt. The seat height, posture shape, tilt tension, seat angle, and arms all adjust nearly infinitely.
You can make this thing fit your body and the way you work from now till you never sit in a desk chair again. It’s an investment. And it’s a deal. So tempting, right?
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