The best gaming chairs of 2024 — tested and rated

If you enjoy gaming at your desk on PC or console instead of on the couch, then upgrading to one of the best gaming chairs is a worthwhile investment as doing so will help keep you comfortable even during long play sessions.

Unlike the best office chairs which are meant to blend in, gaming chairs often stand out thanks to their unique designs and materials. Likewise, while many ergonomic chairs such as the Herman Miller Aeron aren’t available with a headrest, every one of the best gaming chairs does and many even come with a headrest pillow for added comfort. 

We’ve tested and reviewed over a dozen of the best gaming chairs from top brands like Secretlab, Razer and AndaSeat to help you find the perfect one for your body type, battlestation and even your play style.

The quick list

Below you'll find everything you need to know about the best gaming chairs at a glance. Whether you're looking for a chair with a mesh back to keep you cool or extra padding for more comfort, there's something here for every budget.

The best gaming chairs you can buy today

The best gaming chair overall

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The Secretlab Titan Evo series remains one of the best options for those looking for a premium gaming chair. It starts as low as $549 for the small or regular sizes but opting for the extra large size bumps up the price slightly. The same goes for when you choose the softweave fabric version at checkout while the NAPA leather finish can push the Secretlab Titan Evo up to around $1,000 in total. As this is a gaming chair you can customize to your liking, it’s better to buy one directly from Secretlab if you plan on going this route.

The Secretlab Titan Evo is immediately recognizable and this sleek and attractive chair forgoes the blatant branding you’ll find with cheaper options. There’s just a “T” on the backrest with the Secretlab logo on the headrest pillow. Speaking of the headrest pillow, it's unbelievably soft, made of memory foam and attaches with a magnet so that you can adjust it on the fly. The Secretlab Titan Evo also features a 4-way adjustable lumbar support and swappable armrest cushions. The chair allows you to recline up to 165 degrees and the L-ADAPT Lumbar Support System can be adjusted using knobs on either side of the chair. Likewise the 4D armrests can be turned in or out and with Secretlab’s CloudSwap tech, you can easily pop off their foam cushions and replace them down the line.

We found assembling the Secretlab Titan Evo to be a quick and easy affair as the company includes a bracket on the side of the seat that slides onto the seat pan and holds everything in place while you screw it all together. The unboxing experience also had a premium feel to it and the included instructions were clear and straightforward. The Secretlab Titan Evo is one of the best gaming chairs you can buy today even with its higher asking price.

Read our full Secretlab Titan Evo review.

The best gaming chair on a budget

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The Boulies Ninja Pro is a great budget option for those that want a good-looking gaming chair that’s also comfortable. Just like the Secretlab Titan Evo, this chair is primarily available on the Boulies website but it comes in at just $399. While the Boulies Ninja Pro  only comes in black PU leather, there are four accent colors to pick from which include black, teal, red and white.

The Boulies Ninja Pro is a visually appealing chair that leans into the gamer aesthetic. However, it isn’t too flashy nor does it come across as loud. The chair’s branding is also quite minimal and while it has “Ninja Pro” stitched into the upper right side of the back of the chair, the company’s name only appears on the headrest and lumbar support pillows. The Boulies Ninja Pro has a very comfortable seat cushion that didn’t require any breaking in in our testing. We also liked how the headrest and lumbar pillows strap on effortlessly and just how quiet its 4D armrests were to use and adjust. The one thing this chair does lack though is an adjustable lumbar support. 

We found that the Boulies Ninja Pro required a bit more effort to assemble than other gaming chairs in this price range. The armrests don’t come preinstalled and there’s no slide-in bracket to make connecting the back of the chair to the seat easier. The included instructions had all of the necessary info to put this chair together but we were somewhat surprised by the low-resolution and pixelated photos that accompanied them. The Boulies Ninja Pro may be on the cheaper side but it's very comfortable to use, nice to look at and its solid build quality means that it will likely stand up to years of use.

Read our full Boulies Ninja Pro review.

The best gaming chair for value

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The DXRacer Craft is a sturdy, comfortable gaming chair that costs only slightly more than the Boulies Ninja Pro. The chair is available from the company’s website for $449 for the standard version with the extra large version comes in at $499. The DXRacer Craft is only available in black gray if you choose the woven fabric variant while there are loads of different color combinations including black, black and red, black and white and gray as well as different designs if you opt for the EPU leatherette version. From your favorite eSports team to games like Dead by Daylight and Final Fantasy 16, you can easily pick out a chair to match your taste in gaming.

The DXRacer Craft is a bit heavy on the company branding with the DXRacer logo stitched into the upper section of the front of the chair, in the headrest and along the back of the chair. Likewise, the word “Craft” is featured in large, bold letters on the font of the seat pan and on little tags along the side and back of the chair. Still, the DXRacer Craft has a memory foam headrest, 4D armrests and an adjustable lumbar support system.

We found the unboxing experience to be pretty standard with the DXRacer Craft but the actual assembly was quite easy. Most of the pieces are more or less ready to connect to the next piece with little extra work required. The chair also has a bracket that slides in and holds the seat pan and backrest together during assembly. The DXRacer Craft may be on the more basic side when it comes to gaming chairs but it’s priced accordingly and there are plenty of customization options to tailor it to your liking.

Read our full DXRacer Craft review.

The best gaming chair for back pain

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The Razer Iskur V2 is a premium gaming chair that’s been completely redesigned to fix one of the biggest complaints with the original Iskur: its backrest. The chair costs $649 and can be configured in either black PU leather or dark gray fabric. The leather version of the Razer Iskur V2 actually comes in two variants though: an all-black version and one with green trim and a green Razer logo on the headrest. 

The Razer Iskur V2 is an attractive and stylish gaming chair regardless of which version you pick. It has a detachable headrest pillow which is contoured to provide optimal cervical ergonomics and also sports 4D armrests. However, the star of the show is the Razer Iskur V2’s new 6D lumbar support that can be adjusted using knobs on either side of the chair. If you like to sit closer to your desk, you can have the backrest pushed forward and the same goes if you like to sit farther away with the backrest pushed back. It also swivels in any direction so that your back is fully supported no matter which way you’re leaning in the chair.

We found that just like the Secretlab Titan Evo, the Razer Iskur V2 was extremely straight-forward to put together and it was also easy to unbox. The detailed instructions were helpful and simple to follow but we were also really impressed with the handy tool that Razer includes to make removing and reapplying screws feel effortless. The chair includes a bracket on the side of the seat that allowed us to easily slide the backrest into its seat pan during assembly too. The Razer Iskur V2 is a top-notch gaming chair that won’t disappoint, especially if you have back problems or just want some extra lumbar support.

Read our full Razer Iskur V2 review. 

The best gaming chair for big and tall

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The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 is a very comfortable gaming chair with a more subtle look to it. The chair costs $499 if you choose the large version or $549 if you go with the extra large option. The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 is available in either PVC leather or linen fabric. The leather version has the seven color options which include black, orange, brown, maroon, white, pink, and blue while the linen fabric edition comes in either black or gray.

The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 looks like a typical gaming chair due its design but fortunately, most of the company’s branding is on the back of the chair as opposed to on the front. However, AndaSeat is written on the headrest pillow and the company’s logo is visible at the top of the backrest. As for adjustability, the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 has a 4-way lumbar support adjustment system that’s similar though not quite as advanced as the one found in the Razer Iskur V2. There are also 4D armrests and a metal lever beneath them lets you fine tune the height and other aspects of this gaming chair.

We found the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 to be very easy to assemble, though the unboxing experience wasn’t particularly interesting. The chair came well-protected and AndaSeat includes a thick, detailed manual with clear and concise instructions as well as plenty of pictures. Like other higher-end gaming chairs, this one also has a bracket on the right side that makes it easier to slide the back of the chair into the seat pan during assembly. The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 is an unassuming but aesthetically pleasing gaming chair that’s both roomy and cozy.

Read our full AndaSeat Kaiser 3 review.

The best gaming chair for your home office

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The Razer Fujin Pro is somewhat of an outlier on this list as it’s an all-mesh gaming chair that would look equally as good in the office as it would next to a gaming PC. It’s actually priced higher than the Razer Iskur V2 at $1049 but there aren’t any add-ons or upgrades to worry about. If you’re on a tighter budget though, you could pick up the standard Razer Fujin though it lacks the aluminum alloy frame and mesh headrest found on the pro model. The chair is only available in black but it has a very sleek and professional look to it unlike most gaming chairs.

The Razer Fujin Pro looks more like an office chair than a gaming chair and at first glance, you might mistake it for the X-Chair X2 or other all-mesh office chairs. The chair’s headrest, backrest and seat pan are all made from mesh which could be beneficial for those who tend to get hot while gaming. There’s barely any branding to be seen except for its name which is stitched into a small area on the front of the chair and the Razer logo on the top of the backrest. The Razer Fujin Pro does have built-in lumbar support and we were impressed by how it shifts forward and backward based on the weight you’re applying to it. There are also 4D armrests with very comfortable padding.

We found that the Razer Fujin Pro was very easy to put together thanks to its straightforward assembly process and clear instructions. All of the parts came well-protected and wrapped in padding too. Attaching the seat pan to the backrest was the hardest part but if you have someone to help, everything will go a whole lot smoother. The Razer Fujin Pro is the perfect office/gaming chair hybrid that really gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to comfort and looks.

Read our full Razer Fujin Pro review.

How to choose the best gaming chair for you

There are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when choosing the best gaming chair for you. Price an important consideration, as cheap chairs may retail for less than $200, while premium models can soar past $1,000. The sweet spot tends to be somewhere between $300 and $700. Just pretend that you’re picking out a fancy office chair, and the same general pricing should apply.

You should also be sure that the chair you have in mind supports your height and weight requirements. If you’re too short, your feet won’t touch the ground; if you’re too tall or too heavy, the chair might scrunch up your legs, or buckle over time.

Finally, it’s worth considering what kind of lumbar support a chair offers, and how prone you are to lower back pain. A simple pillow might cut it if you sit properly by default; if your posture needs some work, you may want a more rigid back support system. A good chair should last for at least two to three years, so you’ll want something that can stand up to hours and hours of everyday use.

How we test the best gaming chairs

Every writer weighs in on their experience and then a single editor analyzes and evaluates all of the quantitative specs, as well as each writer’s qualitative observations.

When testing gaming chairs, writers evaluate how easy they are to set up, how many adjustment options are available, and how easy it is to customize the chair's settings. Then, of course, they sit in the chair for a long time while both working and gaming, to see how well the comfort holds up over time. Since comfort is highly subjective, writers also try to compare how many features a gaming chair offers versus other competitors in the same price range.

For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.