The 4 Best Office Chairs of 2023

Best Overall Office Chair

Steelcase Leap

Adjustable Lumbar Support: Yes | Adjustable Seat Pan: Yes

The Steelcase Leap earns top marks in all of our testing metrics, cinching its place as the best overall office chair. Comfort makes up 50% of each product's score, and this chair is far and away the most comfortable. It offers a tremendous amount of back support that will let you go the distance when grinding out full days at your desk. All of our testers report that this was the chair of choice when you expect to be seated for eight to ten hours. While adjustability is a separate metric, the ability to fine-tune your chair can go a long way in terms of how well a chair will perform for you. The Leap is adjustable in almost every way and should conform to most body types and sizes. This chair is easy to assemble and after months of use, shows almost no wear.

The most notable downside to all this luxury is the steep price. The Leap is offered in several different configurations, some of which are less adjustable and thus cost slightly less. As one would expect, this tradeoff for affordability over features affects performance. Given the quality construction, you can expect this purchase to last a long, long time, and we believe the Leap is one of the best performing office chairs available on the market.

Read more: Steelcase Leap review

A Modern, Highly Adjustable Chair

Herman Miller Sayl

Adjustable Lumbar Support: Option Available | Adjustable Seat Pan: Option Available

The Herman Miller Sayl is a stylish-looking chair that offers premium quality at a reasonable price point. The modern design enhances the look of any office space while also being comfortable enough to sit for larger chunks of the day. The fully decked-out version of this chair is quite adjustable, but if you don't need that adjustability, you can opt for less expensive versions that lack the ability to be customized. With a quick assembly and sturdy parts, you won't be needing to replace this office chair any time soon.

We found the ultra-modern aesthetic to be somewhat polarizing. Some of our testers absolutely loved it, while others had lukewarm feelings. The same could be said about comfort, as this chair received more mixed results from our testers than other models we tested. However, the Herman Miller Sayl is definitely one of our favorites at its price point, and we strongly recommend it if you are a fan of its unique, stylish appearance.

Read more: Herman Miller Sayl review

Best Bang for the Buck

DXRacer Racing Series

Adjustable Lumbar Support: Yes | Adjustable Seat Pan: No

The DXRacer Racing Series is an all-around great office chair that retails for a fraction of the price of some of the higher-end chairs in this review. It gives you the feeling of being a Formula One driver whenever you are working at your computer. This high-backed chair offers plenty of support and is surprisingly comfortable; the majority of our judges said they could easily sit in it for eight to ten hours. The backrest and armrest are both very adjustable, with the overall construction of the chair feeling quite durable and well-built. It also isn't too much of a pain to assemble.

The DXRacer stands out from every other chair we tested regarding looks — and not necessarily in a good way. This chair is available in a wide variety of colors; some are quite exuberant and others more subdued, but it tends to stand out no matter what color scheme you pick. It's a great chair, and we highly recommend it for budget-conscious shoppers, but it is likely to stand out quite a bit in any office visually.

Read more: DXRacer Racing Series review

Best for Value Oriented Shoppers

Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh

Adjustable Lumbar Support: Yes | Adjustable Seat Pan: No

If you are shopping for a new seat and don't want to spend a ton of cash, then the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh could be the chair for you. While it can't match the top products for comfort or adjustability, it does quite well, especially considering it costs substantially less than our higher-performing options. This chair was rated very favorably, with most of our testers finding it more than suitable to sit in for a full workday.

Unfortunately, the seat isn't very adjustable and the adjustable armrests have a more restricted range of motion in comparison to some of the competition. The armrests can't drop as low, pivot, or adjust their depth as you can with other models. The default position of the armrests also feels a tad on the wide side. This is quite unfortunate, as these flaws are somewhat significant, although it's hard to find a better office chair for less money.

Read more: Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh review

Compare Products

Compare select up to 5 products to compare

	Score	Product	Price
	86	Steelcase Leap	$1,128
	75	Herman Miller Sayl	$905
	75	Herman Miller Embody	$1,990
	74	Steelcase Think	$972
	74	Herman Miller Aeron	$1,695
	72	DXRacer Racing Series	$329
	72	Steelcase Gesture	$1,330
	70	Hon Ignition 2.0 Task	$493
	70	Humanscale Diffrient Smart Office Chair	$1,570
	67	X-Chair X2 K-Sport Mgmt	$1,070
	60	Steelcase Series 1	$498
	59	Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh	$175
	50	SPACE Seating 5700E Air Grid Back Professional Manager's Chair	$250
	48	Amazon Basics Classic Puresoft	$90
	32	Amazon Basics Padded Swivel	$104
	31	Furmax Office Mesh	$55

Why You Should Trust Us?

Our team has tested tens of office chairs since 2019 using our rigorous side-by-side testing approach. We evaluated each model's comfort through extended use and a targeted comfort questionnaire that covers the individual components of the chair. Adjustability specifically focuses on options, range, and user-friendliness. Our team understood and utilized each adjustment to judge its efficacy. To gauge durability, we scoured the internet for reviews highlighting a durability issue and identified trends with the product. We contrasted this information with our experience using each product. Lastly, to assess the ease of assembly, we graded the instructions, timed ourselves, and noted any difficult steps to devise a total score.

The performance of each office chair is categorized into four weighted metrics:

• Comfort (50% of total score weighting)

• Adjustability (35% weighting)

• Durability (10% weighting)

• Ease of Assembly (5% weighting)

The group we chose consisted of folks who are no strangers to sitting for long periods at work. This gives them some strong opinions about what constitutes a good office chair — and, more often than not, a passionate fury towards any chair they felt didn't pass muster. The lead tester for this review, Austin Palmer, spends copious amounts of time sitting for his work at GearLab. Furthermore, he is an avid PC gamer who spends even more time sitting in office chairs in his free time. Hayley Thomas writes and sells art for a living, both of which are often curated from, you guessed it, an office chair. Living an active lifestyle outside of work, from climbing to yoga to biking, her posture is a big priority. In addition to Austin and Hayley's input, we also had a panel of professionals who spend more than eight hours a day sitting at their desks. Our testers spent ample time in each chair, supplying us with live updates on comfort.

Analysis and Test Results

We've spent years testing some of these products side-by-side, dividing our testing process up into metrics: comfort, adjustability, durability, and ease of assembly, and we discuss our full results. To determine the best chairs, we consulted a panel of judges with varying body types and heights and had them try out each chair for an extended period. We then had them fill out a survey about each chair to get their thoughts on comfort and adjustability. We used our impressions from building each chair for the assembly metric. When assessing durability, we researched existing customer reviews as well as examined how well the chairs actually held up to our testing process.

Value

During your hunt for the top office chair, you likely noticed an enormous range in pricing. Budget chairs can retail for a hundred bucks or less, but your back may end up paying the price in return. Top-of-the-line models can retail for several hundred or even a thousand dollars and then some, but tend to offer much more support and adjustability to improve your sitting experience. Our favorite overall chair is the Steelcase Leap, which comes at a very high price, depending on which options you select. While we can't deny the expensive price tag, the investment is well worth it to avoid any sitting-related health issues, and it's durable enough that it should last for many years. The Steelcase Think is another good value for the price. While it is certainly not the least expensive option, it is about half the price of the most expensive models in our test suite.

If the hefty price tag of our top performers scares you, consider the DXRacer Racing Series chair. It retails for significantly less and is almost just as comfortable. It's great for most people who are going to be sitting for long periods. We do realize that the racecar-like seat design of the DXRacer Racing Series won't be everyone's cup of tea when it comes to appearance, but it's still an exceptional value. If you are shopping on a super tight budget, the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh is a basic, budget-friendly chair. Its comfort level is decent and offers a solid set of adjustments, but it doesn't feel as well built as the top products. The same can be said about the HON Ignition 2.0 Task. For those who are truly on a budget, we've added the Amazon Basics Padded Swivel and Furmax Office Mesh; while they do not offer the higher-tiered performance of our premium options, this is to be expected, and they will be more than adequate for shorter workdays.

Comfort

In our initial round of testing, we rated the comfort of each office chair. This is our most significant testing metric. In particular, we had our panel of judges rate the comfort of each chair's seat, backrest, and armrest. We also rated overall impressions and how happy we would be to sit in each chair for a full workday. Our panel of judges was composed of men and women with a wide range of heights who tried out each chair side-by-side for a few months.

Earning one of the highest marks out of the entire group, the Steelcase Leap is our judges' favorite when it comes to comfort. The bulk of our judges all rated this chair exceptionally well — the most comfortable to date — with only a single person scoring other chairs higher. This lone dissenting voice is also our tallest judge (6'3"), so you may want to consider this if you're a taller (or shorter) individual deciding if the Steelcase Leap is a good fit for you.

Our judges unanimously agreed that this is one of the most comfortable when it comes to the backrest, and our tallest judge was again the only person to question the comfort of the seat and armrest. However, they all stated that they would be more than happy to use the Steelcase Leap for a full workday or longer. There are five runner-ups in the comfort department: the Herman Miller Embody, Steelcase Think, DXRacer Racing Series, Herman Miller Aeron, X-Chair X2, and the Humanscale Diffrient. Our judges were quite happy with these chairs overall. While there were usually one or two judges who strongly disliked some aspects, none received unanimous approval.

All of our judges agreed that the Herman Miller Embody has comfortable armrests, though one particular judge found the seat and backrest to be rather uncomfortable. Consequently, that judge could only sit in the chair for a few hours at the most. The rest of our panel rated this chair very highly when it came to seat and back comfort and were more than happy to use it for a very full day.

The DXRacer Racing Series didn't have a single judge that rated it far below average when it came to its seat, backrest, or armrests. However, a few judges rated it average in these categories, which cumulatively brought its performance down. Everyone said they would be happy to sit in this chair for at least four to six hours, with most being fine with eight to twelve and then some.

The Steelcase Think performed admirably, but its cousin, the Leap, beat it by a smidge. Most judges enjoyed the Think when it came to comfort, but it did not prove comfortable for all body types. Some of our shortest evaluators actively disliked it. You might want to steer clear of this chair if you are not on the taller side.

The reception on the Humanscale Diffrient was a bit mixed. A pair of judges detested the chair and could only sit in it for an hour or two, while the rest of the panel rated it quite highly — though still lower than the top chairs overall.

The Herman Miller Aeron received positive comments from the bulk of our testers, with only two judges who rated it as below average, primarily due to its backrest. This chair encourages the user to sit in it correctly — no slouching, slumping, crossing your legs, etc. Some judges were fine with this, while others thoroughly disliked the lack of freedom. The armrests, however, received positive marks across the board, and all of our judges could sit in this chair for a full workday without too much of an issue.

The X-Chair X2 impressed most judges, especially after they found their baseline adjustment settings. The majority of judges found the seat, backrest, and headrest to be quite comfortable. Our lighter-weight testers found the lumbar support to be a bit prominent for their body type and preference. A problem with some mesh chairs is when your body rests on the frame underneath. Judges agreed that the X2 minimized this issue.

The Herman Miller Sayl, Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh, and Steelcase Gesture, all followed in our comfort rankings. For the most part, the performance of these chairs was a bit more consistent and less polarizing. None of the judges particularly disliked any of these chairs, and they primarily received average to above-average evaluations across the board.

The backrest and support on the Herman Miller Sayl, Steelcase Gesture, or the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh are overall quite similar. Our judges scored the armrest of the Herman Miller Sayl the highest, followed by the Steelcase Gesture and the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh. Our testers did agree that they could sit in the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh or the Steelcase Gesture for upwards of eight hours, but a few judges reported that they only really wanted to sit in the Herman Miller Sayl for five to six hours.

Finishing out at the back of the group, the SPACE 5700E AirGrid receives relatively lackluster marks for comfort. The SPACE 5700E received so-so scores in most areas and our testing indicates that comfort decreases around the five to six hour mark.

A new addition to our fleet, the HON Ignition 2.0 Task earns above-average marks for comfort — and at a fair price. It features a high-density foam seat, but it can be prone to flattening over time. It also features armrests with light padding.

Adjustability

For our next round of testing, we compared the different adjustment levels of each office chair and how easy they were to use. We looked at the various adjustments for each chair's seat, armrests, and backrest, such as lumbar support, reclining lever, tilt limiters, and the inclusion of a headrest. We also scored each chair on the ease of use and capabilities of the reclining tension knob and if you could adjust the chair to support you in a proper ergonomic position.

The Steelcase Leap and the Herman Miller Sayl tied for the top spot out of all the chairs. When it comes to your back, the Steelcase Leap has a bit more adjustability than the Herman Miller Sayl, allowing you to adjust both the position and how firm the lumbar support is, while the Sayl only lets you adjust its position. However, out of the two, it is much easier to adjust the lumbar support on the Sayl.

Neither of these chairs has a headrest or the ability to lock in a reclined position, but you can set how far back you recline using the tilt limiters. The Herman Miller Sayl gives you three stop points to choose from, while the Steelcase Leap gives you five. These both have fully adjustable armrests that allow you to move them up and down, in and out, forward and back, or swivel. Additionally, these chairs allow you to move the seat pan forward and back. It's also easy to adjust the tension knob to set the proper amount of reclining resistance. We found it fairly easy to adjust both of these chairs to achieve a proper ergonomic position.

The Herman Miller Embody, Steelcase Gesture, X-Chair X2 and HON Ignition 2.0 Task follow, as they feature exceptional adjustability with only a few flaws. The main flaw we found with the Embody is the inability to adjust the lumbar support height. You can engage or disengage it and adjust its curvature, but a handful of our testers felt that it would have been better at a different height. It does have a headrest with four stopping points that you can set as tilt limiters for when you recline.

The armrests on the Herman Miller Embody lack forward/back or swivel capabilities. The only possibility is to move them up and down or in and out. It does have a fully adjustable seat, but it takes a bit more work to get into a proper ergonomic stance, depending on your desk. The Steelcase Gesture, on the other hand, has some of the most adjustable armrests that we have seen so far. A unique swinging mechanism allows for fully adjustable armrests that have a wider range of motion than most.

We like that the seat pan depth is adjustable on this chair, and you have the option to get adjustable lumbar support. We tested a model that lacked this, relying on the integrated support for our lower back, and we thought it was more than adequate. However, you do have the option of upgrading to the model with adjustable back support if you think it would be beneficial to your lumbar. The Steelcase Gesture also has a relatively high backrest and four different tilt limiters you can engage when you recline.

The X-Chair X2 is almost entirely adjustable. So adjustable that the average user will greatly benefit from watching a video or two to help dial in their baseline settings. Aside from standard features like seat height and tension control, it has four-way adjustable armrests (not a full swivel), seat pan depth, free lockout, and adjustable lumbar support. The sleek levers are conveniently placed for easy access while sitting down. This chair is also very customizable. You can purchase a wider seat, heating pads, and even a lumbar massage.

The Steelcase Think, Herman Miller Aeron, and DXRacer Racing Series followed. These chairs both have adjustable lumbar support, but we found the DXRacer Racing Series to be more comfortable and provide more back support than the Steelcase Leap — on par with the Herman Miller Embody or Sayl. The DXRacer Racing Series also has a reclining lever, allowing you to lock it in a reclined position — similar to a living room recliner chair. It has a tilt limiter to lock the seat upright when not using this feature, and the seat extends high enough to act as a headrest.

The Steelcase Think has four tilt limiter selections, but we didn't like the setpoints as much as the Steelcase Leap. It also lacks a headrest. Unlike the DXRacer Racing Series, the armrests are fully moveable, which can't adjust the width. The Steelcase Leap can adjust the seat pan in or out, while the DXRacer Racing Series cannot.

The Herman Miller Aeron's armrests can swivel, move up and down, and backward and forwards but can't adjust in width. They offer a larger range of adjustments than the DXRacer Racing Series but aren't quite as adjustable as the Think. The lumbar support on the Aeron is adjustable in terms of support, but you can't change its position. This isn't a huge issue since the lumbar support is quite tall, but a few judges weren't fond of this. It also doesn't have a seat depth adjustment, but overall it's fairly easy to get into an ergonomic position.

The Humanscale Diffrient and the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh rank next in articulating features, both earning an above-average score. The Humanscale got off to a rough start in this metric and lost points from our judges because it lacks any sort of adjustable back support or tilt limiters to stop you from reclining all the way back.

You can move the backrest up or down on the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh to match the lumbar support to your spine, but it doesn't have reclining tilt limiters in the traditional sense. You can use the reclining lever to set the angle of the backrest relative to the seat and lock it in place, as well as lock or unlock the reclining pivot in the base, which gives you free rein to recline the chair with the seat and backrest locked together.

However, the Humanscale Diffrient has far more armrest and seat adjustability than the Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh. Both can be easily used to set up a proper ergonomic sitting position, though the armrests on the Modway can make it a little funky, depending on your desk.

The armrests on the Steelcase Think are completely adjustable. The seat pan depth is also adjustable — a bit of a unique feature for a budget-friendly chair — but we were far from captivated with the lumbar support or the recline/tilt functions on this chair. The Steelcase Think has a brace that you can move up and down to change the lumbar support's height, but many of our judges wished you could also alter the general aggressiveness of the support. This chair has an integrated reclining resistance and tilt limiting functions that restrict the amount of control you have overall to four preset settings. Despite that, most people could get this chair adjusted into a good position for their desk without too much fuss.

Next follows the SPACE 5700E, which earns an even lower score.

The SPACE 5700E only has the slightest amount of adjustable lumbar support and only has rudimentary armrest adjustability. Its seat is fixed in place, and the fit overall seems geared towards a larger person, making it difficult for smaller folks to adjust it to a comfortable or ergonomic position given the lack of adjustability.

Durability

We evaluated each chair's design and construction for our next round of tests and scored their durability. We used our overall impression of the construction during the testing period to determine scores. Additionally, when finalizing the score, we also took into account any damage sustained throughout our tests.

A large group of chairs tied for the top spot. The Steelcase Leap, Steelcase Think, Steelcase Gesture, Herman Miller Embody, Herman Miller Aeron,X-Chair X2 DXRacer Racing Series, and the Humanscale Diffrient all earned our top marks when it came to durability and well-built construction. We didn't find any common issues with these chairs. During our testing process, none of these chairs sustained any major issues.

Ease of Assembly

Our final metric focused on the effort required to go from unboxing each chair to sitting in it. We also looked at both the actual assembly process and the quality of the included documentation to determine scores. Since this process is something most people will only have to go through once, we placed relatively little weight on this metric.

We found the Steelcase Leap, Steelcase Think, Herman Miller Sayl, Steelcase Gesture, Herman Miller Aeron, and Humanscale Diffrient were all supremely easy to set up. They each tied for the top spot. These chairs essentially came fully assembled or took us less than five minutes of work to get them ready to go.

The SPACE 5700E and Amazon Basics PureSoft Classic took approximately 30 minutes to assemble completely. This chair came with clear and easy-to-follow instructions.

The Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh takes about the same effort to assemble as the other chairs, but the directions were far more difficult for us to understand. The Herman Miller Embody was about average, taking us a little over 45 minutes to assemble. Getting the screws into their threaded inserts was a solid struggle, as the threads appeared to be damaged or suffering from manufacturing defects.

Conclusion

An ergonomic chair doesn't seem like much, but it can make all the difference between having a productive work environment or a day plagued with stiffness and backaches. We hope this review has been a helpful side-by-side comparison of the top office chairs currently available and has given you the tools you need to find the perfect chair that matches your sitting needs and budget.