Are office chairs better than gaming chairs?

Are you wondering whether you should buy an office chair or a gaming chair? Our goal is to make sure you make the right choice by comparing every aspect of both options.

If you’re revamping your home office or upgrading your gaming setup, the chair you place in the center will make or break it. You shouldn’t take lightly the decision of whether to choose a gaming chair over an office chair.

Whether you are working from home or hunkering down for long gaming sessions, you’ll be spending a lot of time seated, and picking the right chair not only feels better but also can prevent back and neck problems in the future. 

Hence, it can be difficult to determine whether even the best gaming chair on the market will ensure you’re sitting correctly. Since office chairs are designed to be used for long periods of time at a desk, they should be designed with this in mind.

Prior to finding the perfect place for your rear to rest, you need to consider a few differences between the two. 

Also Read: Should you get a headrest for your office chair?

Ergonomics

A gaming chair’s ergonomics is one of the most important factors in the debate between gaming chairs and office chairs. You can adjust ergonomics so that you can find the perfect angles and heights for your frame or activity by adjusting your setup. 

A gaming chair’s design is centered around this aspect of personalization. Lower back pain is often relieved by detachable and height-adjustable lumbar and headrest support pillows. The Andaseat T-Pro Series 2(opens in new tab) In this regard, it excels.

At the budget end of the price spectrum, very few office chairs include lumbar support pillows. According to a study published in 2013, It is well worth investing in a lower lumbar cushion as it promotes better posture and comfort. 

An office chair with similar lumbar support will cost much more than a gaming chair. In addition, the quality of the materials and support will also be significantly improved. 

The limited reclining capability of an office chair still comes in handy even if it’s a cheaper model because sitting at a slight recline helps maintain a healthy posture. A gaming chair, on the other hand, usually has a lock that can be rotated up to 180°, which allows for greater mobility. You’ll be able to find the perfect position for you more easily if you have more recline options, though this is not recommended for desk work.

A gaming chair’s armrest is one of its main ergonomic draws. It is true that winged racing backs and raised seat edges are usually just aesthetic features, but armrest movements can really enhance your experience. You can adjust the swivel and rotation of the rest even in cheap gaming chairs, which have armrests that can move up, down, backward, and forwards.

Generally, office chairs only offer up and down adjustments, so you’re stuck with the width. If you’re too small or too large for the armrests, you won’t have any support when typing. Gaming chairs are often less expensive than office chairs with this level of customization.

However, office chairs do have one trick up their sleeves. The flat or waterfall design of a gaming chair promotes a healthier sitting position than its sometimes raised lip. Gaming chairs often feature lowered backs and raised fronts to mimic the lip of racing car seats. Therefore, it’s difficult to maintain a 90° angle with your knees.

The waterfall seat (a lower lip at the front of the cushion) often found in office chairs supports the thigh muscles all the way down the chair and provides a comfortable position for maintaining proper leg alignment. Despite fewer gaming chairs with raised lips being produced, it’s still something to keep an eye on.

Final verdict

Even budget gaming chairs offer excellent adjustment controls, making them fully customizable. You can customize pretty much any aspect of your experience with these chairs, whereas office chairs are much more restricted, particularly in terms of lumbar support. However, some gaming chairs still feature raised lip edges on the seat, making them less ergonomic than office chairs with flat cushions.

Comfort

Due to their built-to-last nature, gaming chairs employ materials that are often more comfortable for users. In the starting price category, you’re most likely to find memory foam seat cushions that come with padding all the way up the back and on the armrests. To keep their costs down, office chairs usually use thinner materials, so you’ll have to take frequent breaks throughout your session unless you buy a particularly expensive chair. 

Moreover, gaming chairs are usually built bigger than office chairs – just look at something like the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition for example. These chairs do fit a wider range of body sizes and shapes, with even smaller people being able to sit comfortably in the larger models.

However, if you have a smaller space or would prefer your desk to blend into the background, this may not be an attractive feature for you. For the best ergonomics, however, it is always recommended to choose a chair with the right dimensions. 

Despite their less comfortable padding and size, cheaper office chairs are often made from cooler materials. Mesh designs are far more common at the entry level starting price here, offering a more regulated temperature experience and better airflow.

Alternatives such as faux leather gaming chairs are available at a lower price point (though more breathable materials are available on more premium models such as the SecretLab Titan Evo 2022). (opens in new tab)). In comparison to more premium materials often found in office chairs that cost more, cheaper leather can warm up quickly. 

Final verdict

Compared to an office chair, entry level gaming chairs offer better value for money due to their memory foam cushions and wider design. The majority of budget models come with thick padding across the entire chair since these seats are designed for long-term use. Some cheaper office chairs could, however, regulate temperatures better due to their mesh design. 

Also Read: What Are The Benefits Of Having Armrests On Office Chairs?

Aesthetics

Whether or not gaming chairs meet the aesthetic demands of today’s chair buyers is one of the biggest questions in the debate between gaming chairs and office chairs. More and more of us are looking for a comfortable working-from-home chair, and even some gamers can’t bring themselves to install a large, colorful hunk of furniture at home. 

In terms of aesthetics, standard gaming chairs won’t appeal to everyone, but if you’re looking for a chair for streaming then the tall headrest and branded cushions are a must. Pink gaming chairs are even available at great prices(opens in new tab) right now. An office chair is, however, more suitable for a home office, where a variety of tastes can be satisfied. 

It is common for office chairs to have simple black, gray, or white color designs and a minimal structure that prioritizes function over form. So they can be used in a much wider range of environments, and even in RGB-clad gaming setups.

Final verdict

While many love the racer back style of the quintessential gaming chair, office chairs cater to a much broader range of tastes. A subtler design allows you to place your office chair anywhere in your home and have it blend neatly with your surroundings, whereas gaming chairs can take up a lot of room.

Price

The difference between gaming chairs and office chairs comes down to price and value. Compared to entry-level gaming seats, office chairs are significantly cheaper. An office chair can be found for $40 to $50, while gaming chairs start at around $100. 

In the entry level gaming range, you are getting better value for money than in office chairs. In the $100-$150 range, you can expect memory foam cushions, adjustable support, a larger frame, and sturdier materials. By spending a little more, you’ll get much more value for your money. 

The arena flattens out once things surpass $250, however. You can get a higher quality experience by investing in more premium office chairs, but it will cost you more. 

Final verdict

Compared to office chairs, gaming chairs aren’t quite as clearly the winner when it comes to price. Standard office varieties are much cheaper if you’re looking to spend as little as possible, but if you’re willing to spend $100 to $150, mid-range items offer much better value. 

Things are slightly more even between $150 and $250, and the top end of the price scale may even offer better value. 

Raised Front Lip

Gaming chairs are designed to make you feel like you’re sitting in a cockpit, and that includes having the ability to sit up straight. One of the most common features found on gaming chairs is a raised front lip. This feature allows the chair to fit better into smaller spaces and gives gamers more leg room.

However, some people don’t realize how important this feature actually is. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan showed that the increased height of the front edge of the seat improves blood flow to the brain and reduces fatigue during long periods of sitting.

Another design choice borrowed from actual vehicle seats, this one serves as much purpose ergonomi­cally as the raised sides do and keep the driver in place.

In an actual car, a raised front lip helps prop up the driver’s legs slightly so it’s easier to reach the gas pedal. It also helps keep the drivers in the seat. But what makes for a good design in one situation can mean the opposite in another.

With an office chair, the lack of footrests makes it difficult to stand up without hitting your head on something. And while a raised front lip might help prevent someone from falling out of a car, it doesn’t necessarily keep them in the seat.

More Adjustable Armrests

Ergonomic office chairs are no longer just for big companies. In fact, many small businesses now realize that having comfortable seating options can help keep employees happy and productive. For instance, a recent study found that workers who sit less than six hours per day had lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who sat for eight or more hours each day.

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend thousands on a high-end chair. But it does mean that you don’t want to skimp on the armrests.

Also Read: How do you fix an Office chair that keeps sinking?

Lumbar Support

Racing style gaming chairs have become popular over the last few years. They offer many benefits such as being able to play games while sitting up straight, having no armrests, and having a large monitor attached to the desk.

However, there is one major downside to these types of chairs – lack of lumbar support. Most racing style gaming chairs do not come with lumbar supports; however, I did find one model that does offer a nice level of comfort.

The Eurotech Vera Gaming Chair offers a fully adjustable lumbar support system. This allows you to customize exactly how much pressure you want to feel on your lower back. The lumbar support attaches to the seat pan via a metal bracket that slides into the base of the chair.

There are three different positions where you can choose from: none, low, and high. You simply slide the bracket down to the desired position and tighten the screws to lock it in place. Once locked in place, the lumbar support won’t move unless you loosen the screws.

This feature is great for those times when you’re playing a game like World Of Warcraft and are constantly bending over to pick something up off the ground. The lumbar supports allow you to sit comfortably while doing so.

Should you buy a gaming chair or an office chair?

When choosing between a gaming chair and an office chair, you’ll need to consider where your chair will be placed, how much you’d like to spend, and whether you want a particular aesthetic. 

A gaming chair will provide better ergonomic support for longer sessions, with a higher back, more adjustment options, and lumbar cushions at the bottom of the price range. The price of a premium office chair can be much higher, however, if budget is not an option. 

In most cases, cheaper office chairs, or those priced similarly to gaming chairs, won’t provide the same level of comfort over time. 

The aesthetics and size of a gaming chair might not suit a smaller space or a more professional setting. It is much easier to blend an office chair into your space than a gaming chair, which has bright colors and bold angles. 

With a gaming chair, you’ll get better value for your money if you’re buying for a gaming setup. Buying a gaming chair with a more muted color scheme like the Noblechairs Hero is a good option if you’re buying for a home office and don’t like the aesthetics of a gaming chair.

Also Read: How to remove office chair seat from base?

FAQS

Also Read: How to remove office chair seat from base?

References

1 2 3