After months of testing and countless hours seated, our endurance sitter has identified the best office chairs for every budget. The Slouch Task One takes the top spot for its comfort and adjustability, while the Habitat Beck offers the best value at under £100. For those seeking premium all-day support, the Herman Miller Aeron remains a classic choice, but it comes with a hefty price tag.
Why You Should Trust Our Testing
I’m a hard-working writer who spends long days—and often nights—sitting at a desk. I’m prone to spending even more time at my desk after working hours, playing video games and working on personal projects. Basically, I’m a world-class endurance sitter, and I demand a lot from my office chair. I’m also an experienced reviewer, covering consumer technology, PC hardware, ergonomic office accessories and a wide range of home and garden products, so I’ve got a strong idea of what works and what you need to consider before buying.
Each chair was used for at least five hours daily for up to a fortnight. I assembled each model where required, noting any issues with the process, the supplied instructions and the fixtures and fittings. I then spent up to two weeks using each as my everyday office chair across two testing periods, sitting in blocks of up to five hours, two or three times a day. I also roped in my wife, a freelance illustrator who also spends long days at her desk, to get a second opinion. We rotated the chairs between us, occasionally bickering over who got the most comfortable option. I also put each chair’s adjustments through their paces, checked for safety issues and noted any mechanisms that didn’t feel built to last.
The Best Office Chairs for Every Need
Best Overall: Slouch Task One
The Slouch Task One, priced at £294 with arms, offers everything you’d want from an office chair. It comes semi-assembled, but the base, gas lift and back all needed to be put together and bolted into place—a quick 20-minute job with very clear instructions and helpful videos. Once assembled, it feels solid, with none of the cheap plastics or creaky fittings found on budget chairs. It looks good, too, in a choice of black or light grey frames with seats in beige, charcoal, pink, light grey, off-white and blue.
Slouch has got the seat spot on, with enough padding to keep your posterior from encountering any hard surfaces, and a moulded shape that holds up well under pressure. The mesh backrest keeps the spine upright while allowing for a degree of tilt, with a four-stage lock and synchronised mechanism to keep you balanced. Just about everything is adjustable, from the seat height and depth to the tension of the backrest, the height and position of the arms and the placement of the lumbar support. The gas lift has a smooth action, and Slouch offers the chair with a choice of casters for soft and hard floors (with an additional cost of £19 for the hard floor option). It’s a shame you have to pay £39 extra for a forward seat-tilt mechanism, and some may hanker for more padding on the armrests, but it remains a bargain compared with most other chairs.
Best Budget: Habitat Beck
Habitat’s Beck chair, at £98 from Argos, does a good job of fitting into your average home-office setup. It’s compact and attractive, with a white frame, a pink mesh backrest and a sunny light orange seat. Clear instructions make it easy to assemble—I had it ready within 15 minutes—and it feels solid once done. There are, sadly, no adjustments for the back or armrests, but the seat height can rise from 44cm to 52cm, and it tilts backwards and forwards as you move.
It’s less than £100, but the Beck looks and feels like a more expensive chair. The seat has better cushioning than you’ll find on other budget options, and it’s neither too soft nor too firm. You may want more support from below for all-day working, but it’s fine for a few hours here and there. The tilt mechanism is also more responsive than on some cheap models, though the fixed back means you don’t get the same flexibility as on the Slouch, Herman Miller and Ikea chairs. The backrest feels slanted backwards, suggesting a relaxed posture rather than the more ergonomic vertical stance. It’s a shame the back isn’t adjustable, and neither is the seat depth or the height of the armrests, so you’re stuck with what you’ve got. If it were my own money, I’d really try to find the extra to get the Slouch.
Best for All-Day Comfort: Herman Miller Aeron
The Aeron, from £1,065.75 at Herman Miller or £1,399 at John Lewis, is a high-end office design classic, and you only need to sit on one for an hour or two to understand why. Counterintuitively, the mesh seat is gentler on the glutes than any conventional padded effort, sloping down and curving off to support your thighs at just the right angle without digging in behind the knee. You can’t even feel the hard plastic edge at the front, which is where so many copycats fall down. It looks and feels like the seating equivalent of an executive saloon car, mixing tough plastics with the occasional bit of chrome.
It comes already built, and it’s incredibly adjustable—it’s the only chair where I needed to refer to the instructions to figure out all the controls. However, once you spend an hour or so tweaking all the heights, depths and angles, it fits the body like a glove, effortlessly tilting forwards and backwards in perfect synchronisation as you move. If you absolutely have to spend long days and nights beavering away to hit a deadline, this is the chair to do it in. Make sure you buy it in the right size, with smaller and larger A and C options as well as the standard B fit. It’s a shame it’s big and heavy, so best for an established office space; you don’t want to lug this big galoot around. Really, though, the only reason not to buy it is the price—it’s arguably worth it even so, but it is a serious investment.
Best for Reclining: Boulies Master
The Boulies Master, from £289.99 at Boulies or £309.99 at Amazon, takes its cues from gaming chairs, although its materials and sports-car flourishes are relatively restrained. Fittingly, there’s a certain level of challenge in putting it together, with most components needing to be attached to the basic frame and a surprising number of bolts to screw in. The effort is worth it: the cushioning is a little firmer than you’ll find on most office chairs, but there’s plenty of it, and I didn’t find the chair wearing by the end of a hard day. You can quickly adjust the seat height, the back-tilt tension and the position of the lumbar support, while a little lever near the backrest on the right allows you to recline unnervingly close to horizontal, which might be ideal for catching 40 winks if it doesn’t bring back bad memories of the dentist. The arms have a soft surface and are moulded for comfort, and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t get hot in it during work hours or long periods gaming. It’s a shame the seat-height and tilt-tension levers feel slightly flimsy, the recline control makes a loud noise when engaged or disengaged, and there’s no way to adjust the seat depth.
Best for Adjustable Style: Steelcase Gesture
Steelcase’s Gesture, at £1,089 from Steelcase and Amazon, is a looker, more compact and elegant than most office chairs, but without any compromise on the ergonomics. There’s only minimal assembly before you can get seated, and it feels like it’s been thoughtfully designed and expertly engineered. The plastics and materials feel premium, and every mechanism works smoothly. It’s available as a chair or in a taller stool version, and in many different fabrics and colours, with or without a headrest. It’s not just the looks that impress: it’s comfortable, too. The seat and rear cushion are on the firm side, but provide excellent support over long periods without putting excessive pressure on your body. It’s also highly adjustable, with intuitive controls that make it easy to find the right position. You can slide the seat backwards and forwards or set the maximum tilt with a quick turn of a knob or flick of a lever, while the armrests are just as easy to raise, lower or change angle. The tilt mechanism feels smooth, making it easy to lean back and pause for thought. It’s a shame the firm cushions won’t be for everyone—both my wife and I found it comfortable, but your mileage may vary—and I’m also unsure how well the Gesture would suit larger builds, as its seat feels narrower and less forgiving than those on the Slouch or Boulies chairs.
What to Consider Before Buying an Office Chair
Comfort, above all else, means more than how a chair feels when you first sit down; it’s about how it supports your body and your posture over longer periods. The seat and backrest should cushion your weight and relieve pressure on your back, sides and buttocks, while offering enough adjustment to help you maintain a good working position. Ideally, your feet should sit flat on the floor close to the desk, with your thighs roughly horizontal and your back straight as much as possible. Your arms should rest parallel to your desk, with your hands at the appropriate height, supported by the armrests if your chair has them.
With the success of the Herman Miller Aeron helping to popularise mesh office chairs, there are more chairs at every price point featuring mesh backs, and even budget chairs featuring mesh seats. Mesh backrests and seats allow more air to circulate around your body, which can help you stay cool in summer while still providing ample support. However, plenty fall short when it comes to support, with some even sagging after just a few months. Foam seats can also be very comfortable, while newer materials and designs do a better job of staying cool and allowing airflow underneath and behind you. But thin or overly soft cushions can fail to provide enough padding, making the hard surfaces beneath all too noticeable.
The more adjustments available—from seat depth, seat height, arm height and so on—the easier it is to achieve the support you need. Look for adjustable lumbar support, too, which can help keep your lower back comfortable and supported throughout the day. A tilt can also be helpful, especially if you spend long hours at your desk. It allows you to push back or lean forward in your seat, with the chair continuing to support your lower back. The best office chairs offer synchronised tilt, where the seat and backrest tilt independently but move in unison to provide support as you move backwards and forwards. Just remember: there’s no substitute for getting out of your chair and stretching, preferably for five or so minutes every hour.
All office chairs have to meet relevant fire-safety requirements—the charities we’ve spoken to won’t even accept our used chairs without the certifying sticker or label attached. It’s also worth checking for rough edges or sharp points that might poke you as you move around, and mechanisms that might trap a finger as you lean forward or back. Perhaps the most important safety feature, though, is not to skimp on a chair you’ll spend hours in every day. You’re likely to regret it in the long run.
