The back pain, the long hours of sitting– even when you’re working from home, having a wonky desk chair can make those long working hours feel heavy, painful, and sore.
Having a comfortable office chair might not be something you think about every day, but it can truly be the difference between chronic pain-filled days and seamless, simple, and flowing hours sitting, standing, stretching at your desk, being your most creative self!
Today, we’ve ranked the best office chairs for 2023 so you can sit upright and comfy when you’re living the dream.
The best office chairs for long hours and working creatively in your home office: less back pain, more creativity, please! ✨
1. Most Stylish: Laura SOHO II
Price: $395
What we love
- Design: Stitched ribbing for added durability and comfort, so you’re not sliding around uncomfortably on slipper leathery material.
- Aesthetic + color options: 7 different color options to choose from, including bright colors, deep colors, and neutrals. I love the Purple and the Coral Pink option. I also love the overall aesthetic and look of the chair– it’s much more sleek and modern compared to some of the other options.
- Fast assembly: Only takes 8 minutes to assemble– if you’re afraid of user manuals like me, this is a relief!
- Warranty: 2 years covers your chair, which gives you more than enough time to make sure it works for you and opportunities for exchanges if you feel your chair starts breaking.
What we’d change
- Spring tensioner knob: Some users have found it hard to adjust the spring tensioner, especially after a certain point.
- Recline lock + overall features: Could benefit from having more positions for reclining as well as more cushioning and back support like some other options we have. While this chair excels in a beautiful design, it lacks some features that might make it difficult for you to sit for long.
- Beware of Furniture nicks: Aluminum base may cause nicks on other furniture due to its hardness and some sharper edges, so be careful when you’re moving this around.
Explore the Laura SOHO II Ribbed Chair →
2. Most Customizable: Herman Miller Aeron Chair
Price: $1,805
What we love
- Ergonomic: Breathable fabric, adjustable arms, and a shaped back for posture alignment and comfort make this a truly comfortable chair.
- Eco-friendly: 91% recyclable and has received the Cradle to Cradle V3 Silver Level certification for environmental and social performance! Though this chair is made of some polyfoam, it’s certainly better than other options on the market!
- Size + color options + adjustable: armrests, seat height, and tilt adjustability, plus, this chair offers 3 different sizes– A, B, and C– which are designed to fit different body heights, plus 3 color options of carbon, mineral, and graphic (all black/gray/white shades).
- Made in the USA + long warranty: Products made in the USA have more trustworthiness when it comes to manufacturing standards and quality, and their warranty is a long 12 years!
- Fully assembled: Save the time of piecing things together yourself– this baby is ready for sitting as soon as it comes to your door!
- Free shipping and price match: Don’t pay for anything other than the chair– and know you’re getting the right price!
What we’d change
- Cost: $1,805 is a lot for a chair (this is definitely the most high-end chair on our list!) and could be out of reach for some shoppers looking for a more budget-friendly option.
- Aesthetics: While it’s certainly not the clunkiest chair we’ve seen, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as some of our other options, it’s certainly not the sleekest out there, and will take some serious dressing up to fit into a well-designed space.
Explore the Herman Miller Aeron Chair →
3. Most Quality: Steelcase Gesture Office Chair
Price: $1,424
What we love
- Lumbar support: Even without an adjustable lumbar feature, this high-end office chair uses what’s called their LiveBack™️ technology to mimic the S-shaped alignment of your back for more comfort.
- 2 color options: graphite and licorice, both are black/grey color.
- Highly adjustable arms: for when you want to move your armrests out of the way, so you’re not stuck in one position.
What we’d change
- Price: For the cost of it, I don’t see many features that differ from more budget-friendly options out there.
- No lumbar adjustability and limited posture options: While some office chairs give you the option to adjust lumbar support, this one doesn’t. While the chair encourages an “ideal” upright posture, it might not give you the flexibility to adjust as you need if you change positions frequently.
- Heavyweight: Many say that this chair weighs a lot, making it difficult to move or reposition. In fact, when I looked at “Frequently Bought Together,” I noticed lots of people purchased replacement wheels, which makes me feel like the current wheels aren’t up to par.
Explore the Steelcase Gesture Office Chair →
4. Most Budget Friendly: Younmall Ergonomic Office Chair
Price: $139.99
What we love
- Adjustable headrest: This chair is designed with optimal lumbar support, anti-collapse cushioning, and an adjustable headrest. For those who like to move around when they’re working, it’s perfect!
- Flip-up arms: Honestly, adjustable arms never seemed like a huge deal until I tried moving my office chair closer to the desk and got blocked by its arms. Adjustable arms are a big deal, and this chair has it.
- Adjustable headrest: so you can shift and change the way your head and neck are supported.
- Adjustable backrest tilt: You can recline that’s the perfect comfort level for your working experience, which isn’t something all chairs have!
What we’d change
- Assembly needed: While some other chairs ship totally in-tact, this chair requires a little bit of assembly. And while many say the process is simple, the instructions can be a little confusing.
- Non-eco-friendly materials: Unlike some other chairs, this one doesn’t have any sustainability certifications or features, and doesn’t show that it’s made in the USA.
Explore the Younmall Ergonomic Office Desk Chair →
5. Most Ergonomic: Branch Ergonomic Chair
Price: $329
What we love
- Firm lumbar support and contoured upper backrest: Encourages healthy posture with a firm seat feel and a “firm and adjustable” lumbar support.
- 5 color options to choose from: You have the options of Black, Light Blue, Pebble, Graphite, and Sand to choose from, so you can match your look to the rest of your room.
- Breathable + comfortable material: Breathable backrest and a high-density cushion, both of which are meant to support your comfort for long periods of sitting (7-8+ hours).
- Affordable and great warranty: At 7 years, it’s a trustworthy purchase for those just-in-case moments. Plus, this is one of the less expensive chairs of the bunch, making it a budget-friendly option for those looking to save some cash.
What we’d change
- Firm lumbar support isn’t great for slouchers: On their scale of lumbar support from Light (reminds you) to Firm (adjusts you), this is almost at the Firm side, which means you already have to have good posture in order to thrive in this chair. If you’re a sloucher, you’ll likely not get the true support you need compared to a chair that is Medium or Light support.
- Headrest sold separately: For a chair in this price range, you’d think a headrest would be included in the purchase!
- would be beneficial if the headrest were included instead of requiring an additional purchase.
- No Mention of Eco-Friendliness: The chair does not appear to have any sustainability certifications or eco-friendly features, which might be a consideration for some buyers.
Explore the Branch Furniture Ergonomic Chair →
6. Best for Flexible Workers: Otaman Desk Kneeling Chair
Price: $395.70
What we love
- Ergonomic + unique design: The unique kneeling chair design promotes good posture, aligning the spine naturally and alleviating back pain in a really unique way! While the pressure is usually going to our lower back, the pressure in these chairs is going to our legs (along with plush knee pillows) which saves our spines in the long run!
- Lightweight and portable: The chair’s portability makes it versatile for use in multiple locations, home office to the living room and even the patio when you want to work outside!
- High-quality materials: Regular office chairs can be made of so many sketchy materials, but this baby is made from plywood and coated with safe acrylic paint, making it durable, eco-friendly, and not to mention super sleek and modern in a well-dressed room. To boot, the chair comes with cushions to make sure you’re not sitting on hardwood!
What we’d change
- Price point: This chair is on the expensive side for a few pieces of wood! But the reality is, when you’re shopping at Etsy, you’re getting more hand-crafted items, and for the most part, I’m happy paying the extra cost and supporting local artisans.
- Not much flexibility: While other chairs might let you adjust your seat and positioning, there’s really only one way you sit on this, so if you don’t like it, you’ll have to find something else to sit on until you’re ready to get back on this. Not to mention, if you spend long hours of sitting, you might feel pressure on your knees like you would your back.
Explore the Otaman Desk Kneeling Chair →
7. Best for Movement: Vilno Rocking Kneeling Office Chair
Price: $249.95
What we love
- Ergonomic design and rocking feature: This isn’t just meticulously designed to alleviate back and neck pain, but it also rocks! There have been a lot of desk innovations allowing movement, from having a bouncy ball to balance boards, but this one is an even more unique one!
- Space-saving: With a more compact design compared to regular office chairs, you may love the chair for its ability to fit into smaller workspaces without compromising on comfort, especially when you’re in a tight apartment or home
- Easy assembly: Reviewers, including a 65-year-old lady(!), mentioned the ease of putting this chair together, which is a huge plus for those who aren’t handy with tools (like me).
What we’d change
- Price: At $249.95, this chair may be a bit on the expensive side for some customers, especially when compared to some cheaper chair alternatives they could find on Amazon (but they likely won’t be constructed with the quality and care of this one).
- Weight distribution: For some people, kneeling chairs might take some time to get used to, especially in terms of weight distribution on the knees and shins depending on their weight.
Explore the Vilno Rocking Kneeling Office Chair →
What’s important to us in this review
Product pages
Navigating through a sea of product pages can feel overwhelming, so we waded through the waters for you, grabbing the most important features of each product and sorting out whether it’s a “yes, please” or a red flag.
Reviews
There’s nothing quite like a third-party review, so we take them to heart! We went through customer reviews to see what they loved and didn’t love about their purchases to see what chairs provided the best response and why.
Materials
Sure, a comfortable office chair is great, but what happens after it’s set up in your home? Are there toxins and chemicals seeping off it? What about when it’s no longer of use? We take materials into consideration, from mesh office chairs to chairs made fully of wood, so you know what you’re buying and whether you’re cool with it coming into your home.
Pricing
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t round up at least a few best budget picks, so you can purchase a comfortable seat that doesn’t break the bank. Of course, we all know that cheap office chairs on Amazon might not be hand-crafted the way that an Etsy one would, but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do, and we respect that.
❤
I hope this brought you that much closer to finding the most comfortable and supportive office chair for you! As creatives, I think we all deserve to be and stay comfortable for long hours as we’re casting spells and creating magic in our little home offices and studios.
For those long hours of working, those Sunday morning dreamings, those midnight hits of inspiration, I think we all need a chair like one of the ones above– that keeps you comfortable for hours upon hours on end.
Happy sitting, leaning, and rocking. ✨
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The 6 best office chairs for long hours and working creatively (2023)
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