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If you want to revamp your home office, but not break the bank, then getting your hands on one of the best budget office chairs is a pretty smart idea.
When you've spent as much time testing the best office chairs as I have — five years and over 5,000 hours — it's pretty hard to be surprised by anything when it comes to them. However, I have still found myself impressed by affordable office chairs that offer surprisingly good features, all for less than $500.
Anthony Spadafora has been working from home exclusively for the past eight years (four full-time with Tom's Guide) during which, he's tested work from home accessories, standing desks and of course, office chairs. In fact, he has reviewed more than a dozen office chairs from full mesh chairs to task chairs to ergonomic chairs. Anthony can tell you how comfortable a particular chair is to sit in for long hours at a time, how adjustable it is, what extra features it has, whether or not it's a good choice for back pain as well as what goes into putting it together.
The best budget office chairs you can buy today
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The best budget office chair overall
The Branch Ergonomic Chair is a comfortable chair with a firm lumbar support that makes it easy to sit up right for long periods. Starting at just $359, it strikes the right balance between being affordable without cutting essential features.
During testing, I was very impressed by how well the comfort of its foam seat and the breathability of its mesh backrest worked together. I used the Branch Ergonomic Chair for more than a month, and felt very comfortable the entire time. I was slightly disappointed that it didn’t come with a headrest, but Branch does sell one as an optional add-on for $50 if you want one. It comes with a great deal of colors and customization, too.
With this chair, you have plenty of adjustment points to lock in the perfect fit. You also get 3D armrests and a sturdy aluminum base. When our U.S. Editor-in-Chief Mike Prospero reviewed the Branch Ergonomic Chair, he found its seat to be a bit firm, though it is contoured, which helps to encourage better posture and circulation. At the same time, it isn’t ideal for larger users since it has a weight limit of 275 pounds.
At $359- $389, the Branch Ergonomic Chair is an affordable investment in your health and well-being. It’s my pick for the best budget office chair overall since it provides plenty of features and the right amount of comfort for the price. It even has a seven-year warranty, which is one of the longest warranties on this list.
If you want more adjustment points and additional customization options, however, check out the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro.
For most people, though, the original Branch Ergonomic Chair will be a big yet affordable upgrade over their current office chair.
- Read our full Branch Ergonomic Chair review
The best budget office chair under $150
The Hbada Office Task Chair is a very affordable budget office chair that can be yours for just over $100. If you’re putting together a home office on a shoestring budget and didn’t set aside the cash for a more feature-rich chair, it will get the job done in a pinch. Just keep in mind that you are getting what you pay for with this chair.
Despite its bargain price, the Hbada Office Task Chair features a foam seat and a breathable mesh backrest. There’s also a raised plastic portion in its backrest that can give you some lumbar support. In terms of adjustability, this chair is very limited, and all you can really do is raise or lower its height, which has a range of 17.7 inches to 21.2 inches.
The most interesting thing about the Hbada Office Task Chair (besides its price) is the fact that its armrests flip up. This makes it easy to get them out of your way when you need to or when you’re pushing your chair underneath your desk. There is one other adjustment knob underneath its seat that allows you to rock back and forth in the chair, but doesn’t allow you to recline like on other, more full-featured budget options.
Available in black, white, or grey, you do have several colors to choose from with the Hbada Office Chair, but that’s about it in terms of customization. There are also no upgrades or add-ons to improve this chair further. It has a three-year warranty, which is decent, but pretty short when compared to the seven-year warranty offered by the Branch Ergonomic Chair.
Still, though, at just over $100 and sometimes even cheaper when on sale, the Hbada Office Task Chair could work as a starter chair on a very limited budget. Plus, it's available via Amazon, so with Prime delivery, you can get your new office chair just one day after you order it.
- Read our full Hbada Office Task Chair review
The best budget office chair for comfort
The Boulies OP300 is an ergonomic chair with plenty of adjustability that’s also quite comfortable too if you opt for the padded mesh version. However, if airflow is more important than padding, you can also get this chair with a mesh backrest. Either way though, you get a seat made of high-density BioCurve sponge that distributes your weight evenly across your hips and lower back.
Designed to keep you comfortable and supported through an 8-hour workday, I found the OP300 to be the perfect budget chair for my workspace and workflow. One of the things that I really liked about this chair is the discreet design that makes it look just as good in an office setting as it does at home. However, I do wish there were more color options, but you can’t go wrong with a sleek all-black look.
The OP300 is highly adjustable with four levers to help you tailor its fit to your body. You can move the seat forward or backwards, recline back up to 113°, or lock it in place if you want to focus. The included headrest can be raised or lowered, and its armrests can be rotated forward or backward. You may think this means it's complex to build, but not so — during testing, the Boulies OP300 took just 20 minutes to set up.
I used this chair as my daily driver for a month, and I'm pleased to report that I didn’t feel any discomfort or fatigue, even after a full workday.
Given its lower cost of just $369 (though it’s often discounted by almost $100), there are a few compromises. The biggest of which is that the OP300 has a fixed instead of an adjustable lumbar support. While not uncomfortable, if an adjustable backrest is what you’re after, you might want to look into the Boulies EP460 instead. You should also keep in mind that it comes with just a two-year warranty — the shortest warranty on this list.
Still, for the price, you’re getting an ergonomic chair with plenty of support and adjustability that’s also comfortable. Not bad for a budget office chair.
- Read our full Boulies OP300 review
The best budget office chair for ergonomics
The Uplift Pursuit is an ergonomic office chair with a unique design and plenty of adjustment points that’s a fantastic choice for those who have a bad back or want to improve their posture. It’s on the higher end of our budget chair range at $499, but it packs in some useful features you typically only see on much more expensive office chairs.
Available in black or white, the Uplift Pursuit combines a breathable mesh backrest and headrest with a foam seat. The seat also features a waterfall edge to reduce pressure on your thighs while providing better circulation in your legs and feet — a surprising feature at its price point. The Uplift Pursuit also has an adjustable lumbar support mechanism that can be moved towards or away from your back in addition to up or down.
After testing it for six months, I was very impressed by how it helped me sit upright while remaining comfortable to sit in for long hours. Another surprising feature of this chair is that it has a small storage compartment underneath its seat to hold your keys, wallet, or even your phone. While it does have loads of adjustment points throughout, the armrests adjust in an unconventional way and need to be pulled up or pushed down. The Uplift Pursuit also isn’t ideal for larger or taller people since it has a narrow 18.5-inch seat and a max weight limit of just 250 pounds.
If you’re looking for an ergonomic chair and don’t want to spend closer to $1,000, the Uplift Pursuit is a fantastic option. It provides you with plenty of support and adjustability with a more modern look. The Uplift Pursuit also includes a few features, like its seat with a waterfall edge and lumbar support with adjustable depth, that you often don’t find on even more expensive chairs. Plus, it even comes with a 15-year warranty, so if any issues do crop up, you're covered.
- Read our full Uplift Pursuit review
The best budget office chair for home office
The Vari Task Chair is an easy recommendation for any home office thanks to its comfort, adjustability, and overall look. It also offers plenty of support thanks to its contoured frame that follows the natural curvature of your spine. The Vari Task Chair is somewhat more expensive than some of the other chairs in this guide at $400, but it’s a well-built chair that offers plenty of useful features for the price.
Designed with ergonomics in mind, the Vari Task Chair provides a range of adjustments to help you find your ideal fit. It also has a higher 300-pound weight limit, making it suitable for a wider range of users. A standout feature is its active lumbar support, which moves with you as you shift in your chair throughout the day.
Available in black or light gray, the Vari Task Chair has an airy mesh back and a comfortable foam seat. A version with a headrest is also available for slightly more, but after reviewing this also, I don’t think you necessarily need a headrest unless you really want one thanks to this chair’s ergonomic design.
The Vari Task Chair’s active lumbar support and its supportive build make it a top pick for upgrading your home office without going over budget. Plus, it comes with a five-year warranty, so if you run into any issues, you should be covered.
If you’re looking for a supportive and comfortable chair that will blend in well with the rest of your home office decor, the Vari Task Chair is a great option.
- Read our full Vari Task Chair review
The best budget office chair for mesh
The Branch Aire Chair sits at the top of the price threshold for this guide at $499, but it delivers a surprising number of premium features you don't typically see in a mid-range or even a budget office chair. What you get is an extremely lightweight, all-mesh chair that looks just as good as it feels. With its sleek and minimal design, the Aire Chair is a worthy upgrade for any home office, providing a premium look and feel without a designer price tag.
Despite costing half the price, the Aire Chair immediately brought to mind the high-end Steelcase Karman with its unique zoned mesh and weight-activated mechanism. This is the chair’s standout feature, as it’s designed to intuitively respond to your body’s micro-movements as you shift positions throughout the day. This provides excellent all-around support, helping to relieve pressure and keep you comfortable for long hours. After using it for five months, I found it to be a great option for getting work done comfortably.
Beyond its core design, the Aire Chair is packed with thoughtful features. Unlike many competitors, Branch includes an optional headrest in the box, saving you from an extra purchase. It also comes with 3D adjustable armrests that have waterfall-style pads for enhanced comfort. Additionally, I was impressed by how easy and fast it was to assemble, as I was able to put together the entire chair in around 10 minutes.
The Branch Aire Chair is definitely a worthwhile investment, especially if you want a full-mesh chair over something with a foam seat. My only minor gripes are the lack of a dedicated lumbar support mechanism and a limited recline angle of just 15 degrees.
However, the zoned mesh provides enough support for most people. If you want a stylish, premium-feeling all-mesh chair for a fraction of the cost, the Branch Aire is easy to recommend. Best of all, it comes with a five-year warranty.
- Read our full Branch Aire Chair review
The best budget office chair for style
The Haworth Breck is as stylish as it is comfortable thanks to the fact that it’s available in loads of unique colors and features a soft seat cushion. It has a lot of more premium features than most other budget chairs despite costing significantly less than Haworth’s other office chairs.
The standout feature of the Haworth Breck, though, would have to be its weight-activated mechanism that responds to how you sit in it. It’s an easy chair to lean back in after getting some work done while still feeling very supported due to its unique backrest. Instead of going with mesh, Haworth used plastic for its backrest, but with small holes throughout to provide plenty of airflow.
Another interesting feature is the Breck’s adjustable seat depth. This is great for taller users, and it really allows you to find a fit that works for you. This chair also has adjustable lumbar support and is even more lightweight than the Branch Aire Chair at just 30 pounds. My only gripe with the Breck is that its armrests can feel a bit wobbly at times, but the other features Haworth has incorporated into this chair more than make up for this.
At $419, the Haworth Breck is on the more expensive side for a budget office chair, but you’re getting a lot of premium features like adjustable seat depth and lumbar support that you won’t find elsewhere. At the same time, its flexible plastic backrest gives you the airflow of mesh without the worry that it might tear.
If you’re after a comfortable chair on a budget in both plain or bright colors that really stand out, the Haworth Breck is an easy recommendation. It even comes with a 12-year warranty, meaning you should be covered, should any issues arise.
- Read our full Haworth Breck review.
Also tested
The seven chairs above aren't the only models we've had hands on. There are plenty of other models we have tested and are testing that, while decent, simply weren't up to snuff for our definition of "best." That said, you may have different needs than the average home office worker, so we're including a brief explanation of where each model shines — as well as the gripes we had for them.
How we test the best budget office chairs
As lovers of quality home office equipment, we test our gear the most authentic way anyone can: by incorporating it into our actual workday. After all, we’re writers, and we’re bound to a desk just as much as anyone else.
We spend multiple weeks sitting in each chair we test, rooting around for hotspots and tiny nitpicks that might make a given chair more trouble than it’s worth. We’ve spent over 5,000 hours testing office chairs alone, and we pay enough attention to our setups that we know when something is off-kilter (or, alternatively, working exceptionally well). The hallmark of a successful chair for us is its ability to remain unremarkable even as we’re sniffing around.
On top of our own testing, we regularly seek the input of our friends and family to ensure we’re representing a wide range of sizes. As much as you can trust our authority on its own, we know the value in pooling together as many experiences as possible while collecting our final thoughts on a product. All of that work is dedicated to cutting through hype and ensuring we’re recommending the best products for everyone, not just ourselves. For more information on our testing process, check out our how we test page for Tom’s Guide.
How to choose the best budget office chair for you
When you’re picking an office chair, you’re picking a piece of furniture that’s made to mold to your body and keep you supported for the bulk of your workdays. In other words, there’s a lot more to consider than looks.
Adjustability
Even the perfect chair for you will require some fine-tuning once you get it into your house. If you’re worried about back pain, arm discomfort, or poor posture, it’s best to look for a chair that accommodates those needs with purpose-built design features. For instance, dedicated lumbar support will go a long way to help keep your spine aligned while you work. You can also find plenty of chairs that can adjust their seat height, seat angle, recline angle and resistance, and armrest positioning in all directions. If any of those fit details seem extra important to you, it’s best not to avoid them in your search.
Material
Regardless of the seat you pick, it’s inevitable that you’ll encounter a hot day during which you’ll struggle with temperature regulation. As such, we recommend keeping an eye on the materials used with each chair, as they can have a huge impact on airflow. The majority of the chairs we recommend here have a mesh lining for the backrest, which should stop your back from getting sweaty while you lean back and knock out some tasks.
Lumbar Support
There’s nothing worse than a chair that twists your spine into an unnatural curve. Lumbar support, which is essentially extra support for your lower back, keeps your spine in line even when you’re slouching forward in your seat. A lack of lumbar support can keep your lower back from feeling stable, which can cause unnecessary shifting. Some chairs even offer adjustable lumbar support, which allows you to find the perfect angle for your backrest to compliment your position in the seat itself.
More home office picks
You'll need more than one of the best office chairs to fully outfit your work-from-home space. You'll also want to check out our guide to the best standing desks, as well as the best desk lamps to ensure that you can work comfortably without straining your eyes or your back.
You'll also want to invest in one of the best webcams, best microphones, and best ring lights if you want to look and sound your best on video calls with co-workers.
And, to make sure your computer setup is as productive as possible, we have recommendations for the best Wi-Fi routers, best monitors, best keyboard, and best mouse.
Budget office chair deals
