Best office chair for gaming in 2024

Two of the best office chairs, from Neue and Steelcase
(Image credit: Neue, Steelcase)

The best office chair for gaming lets you lead a double life. During the day, unsuspecting office worker. At night, sort-of-okay Hunt: Showdown player. Yes, this could be you with any one of the chairs we've included in this guide. We apply the same rigorous testing to all our chair recommendations, be them office beasts or gaming thrones, but if you care more about the gaming side of things, check out our guide to the best gaming chairs.

The best office chair for gaming right now is the NeueChair, and it actually shares one big thing with our favourite for gaming. It's made by a subsidiary of the company behind Secretlab. The NeueChair might look boring by comparison, but it's so darned comfortable and adjustable, we like it just as much as the Titan Evo.

A good office chair for gaming could cost you hundreds of dollars with one or two exceptions. Simply put, good furniture is expensive; fancy upholstery and lumbar support are going to cost you. These chairs are all sturdy, well-built products that should last you years. So, think about what's most important to you and set a budget. You deserve more than that chair you stole from the family room twenty years ago. Your body will thank you.

One other thing: it's always good to think about desk-based ergonomics and how to best support your spine and the rest of your body. You may want to invest in a standing desk to get off your butt and stretch your legs every couple of hours, or just get up and take a break more often. A quality chair is important, but it isn't the be-all and end-all to a healthy office life.

Best office chairs for gaming

PC Gamer's got your back Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

1. NeueChair

The best office chair

Specifications

Seat type: Task chair
Recline: 85–130 degrees
Weight capacity: 240lbs
Weight: 64lbs
Available colors: Silver, Obsidian

Reasons to buy

+
Ridiculously sturdy and well made
+
Comfortable and supportive
+
Highly adjustable

Reasons to avoid

-
Limited armrest adjustment
-
Mesh can be tricky to clean

If you're the sort of person who prioritizes functionality over flash, the NeueChair is an excellent option. This isn't to say it's not stylish—quite the opposite; the NeueChair comes in a sleek, muted obsidian or flashy chrome/silver, both with bold, sweet curved supports on the back and an attractive black mesh. 

But, more importantly, the NeueChair is built to last, with a heavy, sturdy industrial construction. Even the chair's weight in the packaging indicates a solid piece of carefully constructed industrial art: it's heavy and substantial.

Assembling it is a breeze, as it comes in two discrete pieces and is simply a matter of inserting the casters and then pushing the two parts together. Almost every aspect of the seat is adjustable, from the armrests to the lumbar support system that lets you change the height depth of the backrest. 

It's one of the best office chairs I've ever had the pleasure to sit in, and if you can afford the admittedly steep price tag, well worth the investment.

2. Steelcase Gesture

The best office chair for ultimate comfort

Specifications

Seat type: Task chair
Material: Breathable fabric
Recline: 116 degrees
Seat height: 16–21 inch
Weight capacity: 400lbs
Weight: 78lbs

Reasons to buy

+
Most comfortable chair
+
Stylish color options  

Reasons to avoid

-
No lumbar adjustment
-
Takes some getting used to

The Steelcase Leap is one of the most iconic modern chairs, with a price to match its performance, but we prefer the newer Steelcase Gesture for several reasons. Foremost of which is, holy smokes, it feels good to sit in. 

If your eyes are still watering at the cost, know this: much as we enjoyed the other chairs singled out here, none of them came close to the pure comfort of the Gesture. 

Imagine your butt and back being perfectly cupped by the giant ever-loving hand of the deity of your choice. That's what the Gesture is like. Or, as it became known amongst us testing it: 'the dream chair.' 

Anyone that spends a significant amount of time in a chair should seriously consider splurging on this one. The steep price buys you a lifetime warranty and your butt the most comfortable embrace it'll ever experience.

Best gaming keyboard | Best VR headset | Best mechanical keyboard| Best wireless gaming mouse | Best wireless gaming keyboard 

3. Office Star ProGrid

The best affordable office chair

Specifications

Seat type: Task chair
Material: Mesh back, fabric seat
Seat height: 17–20.5 inch
Weight capacity: 250lbs
Weight: 41lbs
Available colors: Black

Reasons to buy

+
Lots of adjustments
+
Very comfortable 

Reasons to avoid

-
Takes a while to setup perfectly
-
Very basic design

Office Star's line of chairs doesn't look noteworthy initially, but the customer reviews are consistently good. We like the ProGrid Back Managers Chair a lot because it offers the kind of tweakability usually only found on much more expensive models. 

Using its daunting array of levers, you can adjust the chair's height and tilt, plus slide the seat pan forwards or backward. The backrest can also be shifted up or down, and the armrests raised or lowered and slid back and forth until you find the perfect position. 

It may take a while, but once you tune it to your liking, the chair becomes incredibly comfortable. With so much customization, the ProGrid is a strong choice and very hard to beat at this price.

4. Office Master OM5

The best office chair with a self-adjusting mechanism

Specifications

Seat type: Task chair
Material: Polyflex back, fabric seat
Seat height: 14.7–25 inch
Weight capacity: 300lbs
Weight: 64lbs

Reasons to buy

+
Automatic adjustments
+
Highly customizable colors

Reasons to avoid

-
Takes a little getting used to
-
Limited armrest adjustability

On the face of it, the Office Master OM5 sounds like the snake oil of seating. The marketing materials describe it as "a self-weighing chair that intuitively responds to a wide range of body weights and sizes without the need for manual tension."

Essentially: don't worry about all those levers and knobs on the other chairs; this one will magically work out what your butt and back need, no problem. Our skepticism didn't last long, though, because sitting is believing when it comes to the OM5.

There are plenty of manual adjustments possible, but all of the magic happens around your back and hip. As you lean back and apply pressure, the seat pan shifts forwards while the backrest reclines in response, articulating smoothly thanks to wheels on runners that function much like the ones in desk draw sliders. 

It takes a little getting used to but transitioning from upright work mode to relaxing while playing or watching swiftly becomes a cinch. If you want comfort and can't be bothered with levers and adjustments, the OM5 is one of our favorites. It gives you high-end quality and comfort at a mid-range price.

The best office chair with a gamer aesthetic

Specifications

Seat type: Task chair
Material: Multi-layer fabric
Seat height: 17–22 inch
Weight capacity: 300 lbs
Weight: 51 lbs

Reasons to buy

+
Stimulates blood and oxygen flow
+
Unrivaled back support
+
12-year/24hr use warranty

Reasons to avoid

-
Limited armrest movement
-
Seriously pricey versus traditional gaming chairs

Perhaps you've heard of the Herman Miller Embody. It has been a stalwart of our best office chair lists for years. Now it occupies a place in the hearts of both gamers and office workers because the famed chair manufacturer has partnered up with Logitech to create something tailor-made to our gaming rumps.

Sitting comfortably?

(Image credit: Secretlab)

Best chair for gaming: the top gaming chairs around
Best gaming desk: the ultimate PC podiums
Best PC controller: sit back, relax, and get your game on

It's not so much the changes that make the Embody stand out as one of the best gaming chairs going. It's what's been kept the same. It's mostly the same, very sought after office chair with a few gamer tweaks to the materials in the seat. And the new moody styling, of course. That means you could just as easily pick up the regular Herman Miller Embody here and not miss out on much.

Overall, it's incredibly comfortable over prolonged use, supports an active and healthy posture, and easily fits your frame.

The warranty is also a standout feature. At 12 years, including labor, and rated to 24-hour use over that time, it's a chair that is guaranteed to last you over a decade. So while the initial price tag may seem steep, and that it is, the reality is you're sure to get your money's worth in the long run. And your back will be thankful for it, too.

Read our full Logitech G x Herman Miller Embody gaming chair review

The best office chairs FAQ

How do we test chairs?

Between articles about the effects of sitting down on your body and our experimentation with standing desks, you might think PC Gamer has fallen out of love with the humble chair. Dear reader, that could not be further from the truth. As gamers and office workers, we spend a significant chunk of each day sitting on our money makers in front of screens. Given that most of us don't plan to change that anytime soon, it only makes sense to do so in a great chair. So that's what I set out to find.

We wanted to find chairs that maximized comfort, support, and value. We spoke with Melissa Afterman, MS CPE, a Senior Principal Ergonomist with VSI Risk Management & Ergonomics, Inc., specializing in workstation setups. 

"Chairs are still okay," she told me. "Yes, we know that sitting too long is bad for you. The reality is that standing too long is just as bad for you, so the answer is movement. Taking breaks, getting up at least every hour and moving, or changing your position from standing to sitting every hour so that you're not standing too long either."

"If you're typing and working at the computer, you want more upright support so that you can maintain neutral spine posture and let the chair hold you up," she said. "But when you switch to a gaming mode, you may want to recline a little bit to relax your lower back while still having good support in that position. So a locking backrest and/or some tension control is important."

Another feature to look for, though it tends to be found on more expensive models, is a seat pan slider. This enables you to slide the positioning of your butt forwards or backward relative to the backrest. 

How much should I spend on an office chair?

The answer can really depend on a few key factors, namely your budget, but generally we're in the camp of spending bigger on a better chair that'll more than likely end up keeping you comfortable for much, much longer than a cheap one. Cheap chairs really feel cheap, and they're very rarely as well considered in their ergonomics or design as those more expensive models.

That said, there's no reason why you can't find a good mid-range chair that doesn't break the bank. It's a reason why you won't find any super cheap chairs on this list, however. We're yet to find any that we feel suitable for long-term or regular use.

Can a good chair help with posture?

The best office chairs look out for you and your back. When it comes to chair design, lumbar support is vital. The first thing you should look for in a new gaming chair is whether it has any built-in support to help your body maintain an ideal posture. Some even come with lumbar support pillows that work just as well. Multi-adjustable arm-rests, upholstery, and general style are also important; note these features aren't cheap.

Does every chair fit every body type?

Different chair models accommodate different heights and weights, so make sure to check your fit before adding to cart. Look at the width and depth of the seat, too. Some chairs claim that you should sit cross-legged, but that depends on your size and your legs' length.

Dave James
Managing Editor, Hardware

Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000!). He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later. When he dropped it out of the window. He first started writing for Official PlayStation Magazine and Xbox World many decades ago, then moved onto PC Format full-time, then PC Gamer, TechRadar, and T3 among others. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck.