I Tested the Best Office Chairs That Marry Comfort and Style With Ergonomic Design

The phenomenon of working remotely has dramatically changed the market for premium office chairs­­, if not the whole notion of calling them office chairs at all. When it evolved into a moveable idea, having the best office chairs for a home office—ones that gel with lifestyle and well-being—naturally became a more appealing investment. 

During the pandemic, we prioritized comfort. We traded suits, denim, and oxfords for stretch fabrics and supportive walking shoes. That hasn't gone away totally, especially if you still work remotely (who hasn't donned a button-up on top and a pair of sweats on bottom?).

Now's the time to invest in the best office chair for your needs. It may be a tad pricier than your last swiveling bargain, but comfort, quality, ergonomics, and generous warranties come at a premium. And when you consider how much of your life you spend sitting in a chair, it makes the sticker shock much easier to accept. You’ll be working in it for the next decade and beyond. 

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We found that the Humanscale Freedom office chair was the best overall because it has a counterbalance design that allows it to continually adjust as you lean back—and it comes in a variety of luxe fabrics. Read on for more of the best office chairs available now that we recently tested and reviewed.

Best Office Chairs at a Glance

• Best Office Chair Overall: Humanscale Freedom
• Best Gaming Office Chair: Herman Miller Vantum Gaming Chair
• Best Budget Office Chair: Branch Verve
• Best Cushioned Office Chair: Bodybilt Aircelli
• Best Mesh Back Office Chair: Steelcase Karman High Back
• Best Colorful Office Chair: Haworth Breck
• Best Office Chair for Meetings: Humanscale World LM
• Best Under-the-Radar Office Chair: Allsteel Acuity Task
• Best Designed Seat Office Chair: Herman Miller Embody

Best Office Chairs of 2025

Best Office Chair Overall: Humanscale Freedom

The Humanscale Freedom chair, designed by legendary American industrial designer Niels Diffrient, is the gold standard of self-adjusting chairs, and a concept ahead of its time when it was created in 1999.

At the heart of the design is a counterbalance mechanism that reclines without needing tension adjustment—adapting to your position and weight as you lean back. The seat, back, height, and headrest are all independently adjustable so you can get it exactly right for your body. The arms adjust vertically and are synchronous; meaning they adjust to the same height on either side.

The fabric version of the chair is excellent and relatively affordable, while the Corvara leather (pictured here in saddle tan) is truly a grail chair that could be as much of a centerpiece for a home office as an Eames chair is for a living room. Maybe this is why Tim Cook, President Obama, Bill Maher, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, and NASA staff are among the notable users of this chair.

There’s a five-year warranty on the fabric, pads and cushions, and 15 years on all other components. Ships fully assembled.

Best Gaming Office Chair: Herman Miller Vantum

Made in collaboration with Logitech G, this is the first performance chair that Herman Miller has ever made especially for gamers. Starting at under a thousand bucks, it comes in seven duo-tone colors to pair with whatever color scheme you’re working with for work or play. With its attractive external frame design, it’s the first gaming chair I’ve tested that would actually look great in an office and not just in a gaming den. 

Rubberized (and color matching) dials adjust the lumbar, recline, and height, and the forward-leaning alignment makes it perfect for keeping your reflexes sharp while gaming. The adjustable headrest and “thoracic support pad” will keep your spine in an ergonomic position, while the cooling mesh back will ensure that on those marathon gaming sessions, only your game can make you sweat.

Best Budget Office Chair: Branch Verve

The Verve chair from Branch Furniture is a great combination of quality materials, fair price, and visual design that's elevated beyond the utilitarian purpose of holding a body upright in front of a computer. You can find high-design office chairs elsewhere, but not at this price.

We love the arm design visually, though the internal adjustment mechanism (vertical only) of the arms can be a little finicky. The wide seat cushion is comfy, and the knit mesh back is breathable with an adjustable lumbar support integrated into the frame. Overall, the Verve is an incredible value for how premium it looks and feels, and it comes in some very cool colors like coral and mint.

Best Cushioned Office Chair: Bodybilt Aircelli 

The Aircelli is a substantial office chair with a thick, plush, contoured cushion ideal for long hours in the saddle. Meanwhile the mesh high back will stay cool along the way. The lumbar support will also keep you cool because instead of it being one solid cushion, it’s a convex honeycomb of molded rubber. All the important adjustments are present, such as height, recline, and 5-directional armrests. It’s made in the USA, it feels extremely solid (it weighs 55 pounds), and can be found for just over $1k—a bargain relative to other chairs of comparable quality.

Best Mesh Back Office Chair: Steelcase Karman High Back 

The original Steelcase Karman impressed us with its “user agnostic” flexible fit and the easy self-explanatory adjustability of the armrest height and width, the chair height, and the recline. The high back version is even better, because the high back shares the same flexibility so you can lean back and move from side to side and it follows the movement of your head and neck, while the headrest cushion easily slides up and down, too. 

 Headrests are great, but usually they require your head to be in only one position and only adjust by height. With the Karman, you have height adjustment plus whatever position you want your head to be in. Combining cooling mesh and Karman flexibility with the high back makes this a top pick after months of testing.

Best Colorful Office Chair: Haworth Breck

While we love the Haworth Breck for its range of color choices, it’s also in the running for Best Value office chair. It has an adjustable lumbar support, adjustable seat height and depth, fully adjustable arms (height, front to back, and side to side), and a weight-activated recline with three different backstop settings (i.e. how far you can recline). 

It’s as light to carry as it is on the wallet, so if you’re a student swapping dorm rooms or apartments regularly, this is an easy chair to maneuver with. The Breck’s bottom line is that you get all the ergonomic comforts of a premium office chair at an affordable price.

Best Office Chair for Meetings: Humanscale World LM 

Like all Humanscale chairs, the LM is entirely self-adjusting by design. This makes it perfect for a meeting room where people of different shapes and sizes will be using it. But the LM is also affordable, so populating a conference room with them won’t break the bank. "The World LM Chair's design eliminates the need for traditional mechanisms by using the laws of physics and the sitter’s body weight to offer a perfect recline,” says Sergio Silva, vice president of design and innovation at Humanscale. This ensures that everyone will have the same experience with the chair in terms of recline and comfort.

Best Under-the-Radar Office Chair: Allsteel Acuity Task

Allsteel’s flagship chair is extremely comfortable, made of premium materials, and has an understated elegance that will dress up your home office. It combines the breathability and comfort of a mesh back with a more traditional cushioned seat, which can be more comfortable if the rigid frame of a mesh seat creates pressure points on your hips or behind your knees.

The recline of the mesh back is very smooth, and once dialed in for your body weight, it automatically adjusts when you’re sitting upright or leaning back. The rear metal buttresses are sleek, bold, and architectural. The way the controls for height, recline, and seat depth are integrated into the seat is very elegant, with no extraneous floating levers. The standard base is a bit plasticky compared with others on the list, but every other aspect of the chair is C-suite level finish.

Best Designed Seat Office Chair: Herman Miller Embody

Herman Miller makes some of the world's finest office chairs, including the iconic Aeron, which you probably know by looks if not by name. Embody was designed with physicians and Ph.D.s in biomechanics, vision, physical therapy, and ergonomics.

According to Herman Miller, research proves Embody increases blood circulation and can therefore improve oxygen flow and lower your heart rate. The pixelated support suspended from a central spine lets you move freely and change positions, while the narrow back helps your posture by allowing room for your shoulders and arms to rest in a more natural position.

It doesn’t immediately feel super-soft when you first sit in it, as it uses a multi-layered seat that's breathable like mesh but more supportive. Once you get used to that, this is one extremely comfortable chair for long periods without creating any pressure points. The suite of adjustments includes seat depth, height and recline, and arms that adjust both horizontally and vertically for optimal comfort.

Why You Should Trust Me

As a lifelong writer I have spent a lopsided ratio of my time alive seated in an office chair. I learned the value of investing in a good one early on, so in some ways I’ve been testing office chairs for decades. But for the past two years, I’ve been testing them for this review. Ample time to see how they hold up in terms of both durability and comfort. This is the slow food version of an office chair roundup for good reason—it takes time to get to know one, and I’ve taken that time here. 

Related: The Best Home Office Gear Upgrades