// WIRED US/UK — MOBILE & WEB
15 Best Office Chairs of 2026— We Tested 70 to Pick Them
There Are Three things you don't skimp on if you want a happy life: a good mattress, a good pair of shoes, and the best office chair you can find. Each is the key to a world without unnecessary pain. Finding the right ergonomic chair can be the difference between a satisfying and focused home office life and a day filled with cricks and cramps.
The best desk chairs utilize materials that can dissipate body heat, so you don't conduct Zoom meetings with a sweaty back. They're adjustable enough to tailor the chair to your body's unique shape, and offer enough lumbar support to avoid back problems even after long hours at the grind. But the chair options out there can be bewildering. Luckily, the WIRED Reviews team has spent more than seven years sorting them out. Editor Julian Chokkattu has tested more than 60 chairs, at his last tally, and many have been tested by multiple people with different heights and body types.
WIRED's favorite office chair for most people is the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro ($499) for its balance between value, features, comfort, and adjustability. That chair, and its lower-budget Ergonomic Chair ($359) cousin, have been tested and attested to by multiple WIRED reviewers. But we offer chairs for every budget, from the preternaturally comfortable Steelcase Gesture ($1,510) to a $150 chair from Staples that leaves cheap Amazon brands in the dust.
We all have different body types and needs, which is why we've put together a broad collection of our favorites—and why we enlist people of all sizes to keep testing our top picks for comfort and durability. Hopefully, we have a home office chair for you here.
For more home office buying guides, check out our Best Standing Desks, Best Laptop Stands, Best Home Office Gear, Best Mechanical Keyboards, and Best Webcams guides.
Updated June 2026: We've added the Vari Align, Uplift Intuition, and Uplift Clarksville, plus retested the Razer Iskur V2 NewGen. We also updated links and pricing throughout, and removed discontinued items.
I often hear gasps when I tell people how much they should probably spend on an office chair. Most people just aren't ready to fork over more than $1,000. That's one of the reasons why Branch's Ergonomic Chair Pro is our best office chair recommendation for most people. At $499, it's not egregiously expensive, has a decent warranty period, and checks off a lot of boxes in build quality, comfort, and ergonomics.
A good chair often means one that offers a variety of adjustments, and Branch's Ergonomic Chair Pro goes above and beyond. The arms of the armrest can move in and out to fit wider or narrower bodies and can be locked into place. The armrests can move up and down, forward and back, and angle in or out. The seat depth can be pulled in if you’re short or pushed out if you’re tall. You can lock the recline in a few positions (I like it upright), but better yet, the Pro offeremovablers a seat tilt, which allows for a more active sitting position when you want to get work done. The high-density foam cushion is decently soft, and I like how the mesh backrest contours my back. You can align the lumbar support and have it push in a little deeper, which I found more comfortable.
I found this Branch seat a bit short (I'm 6'4"), but you can add the Tall Cylinder when purchasing to solve this. There's a headrest add-on, though I don't think it's necessary, and the fabric, vegan leather, or leather options let you personalize the design to suit your office.
I don't have many complaints with the Pro, except that I didn't find the recline tension knob to do much. It's otherwise well-built, with a powder-coated aluminum base and casters that roll easily on my hardwood floors. I initially received two left armrests in the box, but Branch says I received an early pre-production model and that this shouldn't be an issue anymore. —Julian Chokkattu