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The 9 best standing desks you can buy: Options for all price ranges
Working from home hasn’t slowed down at all, and in some cases, it’s become permanent. Even if you’ve been working from home since the pandemic began, it’s never too late to complete your home office with one of the best standing desks.
You may not get as much exercise as commuting and walking around the office, but it easily beats sitting still at a desk all day. Your legs will thank you for the change of pace, but how do you choose the right model? Here are our favorite standing desks for working from home.
Why get a standing desk?
You may be wondering why you even need a standing desk if you’ve been working at a normal one your whole career. Well, sitting has been called the new smoking — which is frightening, to say the least. It makes your back stiff, reduces blood flow, and compresses your organs. None of those side effects sound like a ringing endorsement for keeping your sitting desk.
Now, you could go about buying a premium chair and a whole host of other office comforts, but the solution is much easier. Standing helps you stretch your legs, encourages blood flow, and you’ll probably register quite a few more steps on your Fitbit. We’re not saying you should throw out your office chair or move to a standing-room-only setup.
It’s also important to note that using a standing desk alone won’t necessarily help. Just like sitting all day is terrible, standing still all day is also bad for you. The healthiest option is to keep active. This means you should sit, stand, and move around throughout your workday. A good balance of the three will be the healthiest alternative. In short, a standing desk gives you the option to either sit or stand. The adjustable height can also aid in improving your posture.
Standing desks tend to fall into two basic camps — actual desks and conversion kits. Proper standing desks will fully replace your current setup, and they can often support a few hundred pounds. If you love your current desk, the other way to go is with a conversion kit. It sits on top of your current setup, but adjusts much the same way. You can keep all of your drawers and your extra real estate while simply raising your keyboard and monitors.
We’ll mostly cover true standing desks in this list, but some convertible options will also be included.
The best standing desks
Desks we’ve tried:
The best of the rest:
Editor’s note: We’ll add new standing desks to this list as we review them and new options launch.
Desks we’ve tried
Here at Android Authority, most of us work from home, and most of us also do so from a desk. You can imagine many of us have been using standing desks for a while, and you would be right. Here are some of our favorites.
Ikea Skarsta
The Swedish furniture giant is a great place to start your search for a standing desk, and it pops up frequently on our list. This first option, the Skarsta, is a simple, minimalistic desk that our own C. Scott Brown took for a spin. You can read his in-depth thoughts below.
The Skarsta is a 63-inch by 31-inch hybrid-style desk that you can adjust for seated or standing work. However, the desk is entirely manual, so you’ll have to get your workout in while you crank the desktop up or down. It comes disassembled, given that it’s an Ikea product, but you can also pay extra to have it assembled for you. The desktop is made of dense particle board, and the legs and supports are all durable metal.
If you’re looking for a feature-rich desk, the Skarsta is not the one for you. It offers a desktop that raises and lowers, but that’s about it. You won’t find any cable management, and there are no desks or shelves to speak of. However, the materials are solid, and the desk is easy to raise and lower as you go about your day.
Fully Jarvis
The Fully Jarvis might be a better fit if a manual crank isn’t your speed. It’s fully motorized, and it stores four height settings for even faster adjustments. Our own Eric Zeman reviewed the Fully Jarvis — assembly process and all — and you can read about his experience below:
See also: Fully Jarvis review: A motorized bruiser
We reviewed a simple version of the Fully Jarvis, but you can customize the desk to your heart’s content over on the Fully website. You can add everything from a cable management tray to a drawer or a file cabinet. Unfortunately, there’s no option for a lowered keyboard tray, but the desk itself offers plenty of space.
You can adjust the Jarvis by up to 25in, which is perfect for either standing or sitting. It’s lightning-fast, too, lifting and lowering at 1.5in per second. The Jarvis comes in various sizes ranging from 30in by 24in to 78in by 30in.
FlexiSpot EC1
Another standing desk we’ve reviewed is the FlexiSpot. It’s a slightly more budget-friendly option, and it measures 48in by 30in. We turned to Kris Carlon for our review.
Like Jarvis and Skarsta, the FlexiSpot requires a good bit of assembly before you can get to work. Luckily, Kris found it easy to put together, and the build quality is solid. It also matches the Jarvis in speed, adjusting at 1.5in per second. It’s a smooth operator, though, so you won’t have to worry about spilling your coffee when you lift it.
Select versions of the FlexiSpot standing desk can save preset heights, but the most basic model offers simple up and down options. It’s fully motorized either way so that you can leave your manual crank behind.
FlexiSpot M7B
We’ve highlighted plenty of true standing desks so far, but what if you love the desk you already have? You can skip the complete overhaul with the FlexiSpot M7B, which is essentially a conversion kit that sits atop your desk. The M7B is a manual desk, and it’s nearly silent to operate.
See also: FlexiSpot M7B review: A great standing desk converter
Unfortunately, the keyboard tray is on the small side, but it’s removable, great for added flexibility. FlexiSpot’s standing desk converter is a breeze to assemble, so you can probably get yourself up and running in about five minutes.
The desktop measures 28in wide and 16in deep, but you can also get bigger versions and different colors. It has one of the lower weight limits on our list, only ready for up to 33 pounds.
The best of the rest
Of course, there are other great standing desks in the market. We’ve listed our favorite ones in the market, below. Check them out if you weren’t convinced by any of the ones we’ve reviewed.
Uplift V2
Standing desks are meant to be as unique as you are, and the V2 from Uplift is a perfect way to tune your setup. It’s not cheap, and you’ll have to buy straight from Uplift itself, but you can customize every aspect. The V2 comes in just about any size, from 42in by 30in to 80in by 30in.
If you keep a lot on your desk, the Uplift V2 is ready to lift it. The motorized beast can handle up to 355 pounds at a time, plenty more than you can probably even fit on your desk. You can also customize the appearance of your V2 with four frame colors and dozens of desktop materials, including a full-size whiteboard.
ApexDesk Lumi
The ApexDesk Lumi is one of the best standing desks for those who care about looks. It has a glass top and a clean look that will be pleasant to the eye regardless of its location. It also features an integrated USB port for charging, and the height-adjusting touch surface is built right into the surface. If you’re into storage spaces, this desk also has a drawer! It’s also one of the more affordable options on this list, so you can’t go wrong with this one.
Ikea Bekant
We’re back to Ikea for the Bekant standing desk, and the manual crank is nowhere to be seen. It looks nearly identical to the Skarsta with the minimalistic design, but the Bekant is fully electric. You can make your adjustments with a simple two-button panel for heights between 22 and 48in.
Also read: Say goodbye to wrist pain with the best ergonomic mice
It’s available in a variety of colors and finishes, and of course, you’ll have to assemble the desk yourself. The Bekant also has a cable management sleeve so you can keep your workplace tidy. Unfortunately, there are still no extra trays or drawers to speak of, so you’ll likely have to grab a filing cabinet or something similar.
Autonomous SmartDesk Corner
Autonomous makes some of the best standing desks, but the SmartDesk Corner is by far their most enticing offering. This is a superb option for fans of L-shaped desks. It has strong motors and a weight capacity of 400lbs. The height adjuster features memory presets. The design is also super clean and minimalistic. This desk won’t come cheap, though.
Autonomous SmartDesk Core Duo
The Autonomous SmartDesk Core Duo is an excellent option for professional couples and office workers, as it comes with two standing desks in one. It comes with a couple of 53in by 29in workspaces, each with its own programmable keypads, cable trays, and motors, which can lift up to 290lbs.
Other benefits are the power outlets and ports in the central power beam. There’s also a very generous 7-year warranty backing the product, just in case anything goes wrong.
Do you need more help setting up your home office? We have a complete guide where we tell you about all the best tools available. Check it out below.