How to buy an office chair you will still like in a year

You can spend very little and be miserable, or spend a lot and still be miserable, if the chair does not match your body and desk height. Start with fit, then price.

The fit checks

• Seat height. Feet should rest flat on the floor (or on a footrest) with your thighs roughly level. If the chair cannot go low enough for your desk, you will shrug your shoulders to type.
• Seat depth. You should be able to sit back and still have about two to three fingers of space between the front of the seat and the back of your knee. A seat that is too deep cuts into the leg and tempts you to perch forward, which abandons the backrest.
• Lumbar support. The curve should meet the small of your back, not the middle of the shoulder blades. Adjustable lumbar is helpful; a fixed curve that hits the right place can also be fine.
• Armrests. They should drop low enough to slide under the desk, and rise to support your elbows without lifting your shoulders. If you cannot get the armrests out of the way, you will sit at an angle all day.

Mesh, foam, and what “all-day” really means

Mesh backs stay cooler in a warm room. Foam or padded backs can feel more planted if you lean hard while you think. Neither material automatically lasts longer. What lasts is a mechanism that still reclines smoothly, a cylinder that still holds height, and padding that has not collapsed. A chair that feels great for twenty minutes in a showroom can feel different at hour six, which is why a return policy is part of the product.

When a used chair is the better buy

A well-known office chair from a workplace liquidation or a reputable used dealer can outperform a new budget chair, especially if the mechanism is serviceable and the foam has not collapsed. Inspect the tilt, the height lever, the armrests, and the seat edge. If those are worn out, you are buying someone else's problem. Factor in whether replacement parts are still sold.

A new budget chair still makes sense if you need something quickly, if you cannot inspect used furniture, or if you want a clean warranty and an easy return. Just do not assume a low price is “good enough for now” if you already know you work long days — that is how people buy twice.

Red flags

• No listed seat depth or height range.
• Armrests that are fixed and too high for a standard desk.
• A return window so short you cannot really work in the chair, or a restocking fee that makes a return painful.
• Reviews that mention sinking height or cracked plastic in the first year, especially on the tilt mechanism.

A shortlist to compare

Once the chair and screen height are right, a standing desk becomes optional rather than a cure-all. If you are still deciding, read how to buy a budget standing desk.