As working from home becomes the new normal, ask yourself other than standing, walking and sleeping on a bed, what’s the next most common thing you do? It’ll be sitting on a chair! Choosing the best office chair under $200 for working from home is what we’ll focus on in this article, ensuring the chair you choose meets your needs without breaking the bank.
With a focus on maximizing comfort but as well as incorporating ergonomics to ensure you have proper posture, many of the chairs reviewed in this article have these aspects in mind.
Common ergonomic features that are a must for any work from home chair include the following:
- Height Adjustment: adjusting the height of your chair has many ergonomic benefits. They include ensuring your eyes are aligned with your screens, your wrists are on the perfect angle relative to your desk, and your feet are properly positioned on the floor
- Swivel (Spin/Chair Movement): Having the ability to move your chair around is not only convenient, but ensuring you are not in the same position for extended periods of time is one of the most important, if not the most important, things you should do to practice good posture
- Tilt Lock: By customizing the angle of your backrest, you can ensure the backrest meets the needs of your own back. Everybody requires something different.
- Lumbar Support: The lumbar refers to the lower part of your spine. As a result of how we sit, a lot of stress is placed upon the lumbar. To compensate for this, many ergonomic chairs are designed to cushion and support the lumbar. This is something you need to take into consideration when purchasing a work from home chair.
For further reading on ergonomic chair features, I highly recommend checking out Spine-health’s article on choosing the right ergonomic office chair.
All the chairs in this article have been curated and contain all the following features listed above! Take a look at the various chairs, you’re bound to find one that fits your needs, especially if your focus is keeping your budget under $200!
- Best Office Chair under $200 for Work from Home: Hbada Ergonomic Home Office Chair
- Best Low-Cost Budget Chair: Furmax Mid Back Office Chair
- Best Well-Rounded, Middle of the Pack Chair: Flash Furniture Mid-Back Ergonomic Chair
- Best Professional-Focused Chair: Orren Ellis Enosburg Executive Chair
- Best Mobility-Focused Chair: Vinsetto Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair
- Best Budget with Extra Padding Chair: Furmax Leather Office Desk and Gaming Chair
- Best Gaming Chair: Homall Gaming Chair
What is the Best Office Chair under $200 for Working from Home?
Best Office Chair Overall
Hbada Ergonomic Home Office Chair
The Hbada Ergonomic Home Office Chair is the best chair under $200 for working from home. It contains all the necessary ergonomic components of a chair like headset, lumbar support, swivel base but with the additional quality built to ensure its longevity.
In addition, its double-layer breathable backrest combined with the lumbar support ensures you’ll have the best back support whether you’re in important executive calls or gaming away. The headrest also provides additional support if you have neck pain problems.
The one key feature to point out is the addition of the footrest. Other chairs in this article don’t have this unique feature but it is an added feature if a footrest is of importance. It is however more expensive than the model without the footrest.
With a price tag very close to $200, this is the best chair you can get for working from home that meets any budget.
Key Features:
- Adjustable headrest up or down, left or right
- Double-layer ergonomic backrest
- Other ergonomic features: swivel base, lumbar support, tilt lock features, height adjustable
- Footrest when retracted
- Also functions as a gaming chair
Pros:
- Has every important ergonomic feature you need
- Resists oil and water
- Footrest when retracted
Cons:
- Cushion quality is not the best
- Armrest not adjustable
Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P7MQ9D5
Best Low-Cost Budget Chair
Furmax Mid Back Office Chair
If price is the determining factor for your decision but you want to ensure ergonomic features are part of your chair, then the Furmax Mid Back Office Chair is the best budget work from home chair out there.
For a price tag well below $100, you’ll get the most critical ergonomic features such as lumbar support, adjustable height and tilt-lock features.
The back support is breathable due to its mesh cloth.
For the affordable price tag, you’ll have to sacrifice on the rather cheap quality build on the chair. The plastic material used for the arm rests and swivel has a cheap feel to it. As long as you are not aggressive with the chair, it can last you a very, very long time.
Key Features:
- Very affordable
- Soft cushion
- Standard ergonomic features: swivel base, lumbar support, height adjustable, tilt-lock feature
Pros:
- Extremely affordable with various ergonomic features
- Breathable on your back
Cons:
- Cheap material build
Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B7K7N3P
Best Well-Rounded, Middle of the Pack Chair
Flash Furniture Mid-Back Ergonomic Office Chair
If the Furmax Mid Back Office Chair quality is too cheap but you are looking for a chair that’s one step up, then the Flash Furniture Mid-Back Office Chair is the perfect alternative with improved quality across the board.
With a rather unassuming build, the higher price tag comes with notable better-quality materials. The seat padding is of higher quality as well as the armrest padding as well. The plastic used for the armrests and swivel are also notably better quality.
This is the average Joe of average Joe for work from home chairs!
Key Features:
- Well-padded armrests
- Great seat cushion and backrest mesh material
- Standard ergonomic features: swivel base, lumbar support, height adjustable, tilt-lock feature
Pros:
- Great quality build
- Great armrests
Cons:
- Rather plain looking chair if style is a concern
- Other than quality, there is nothing special about it
Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B7K7N3P
Best Professional-Focused Chair
Orren Ellis Enosburg Executive Chair
Looking to keep it strictly professional? The Enosburg Executive Chair meets the needs of any working professional, and looks even better in an executive-like work from home office.
Best known for its padding, the seat has additional padding to ensure your bottom is as comfortable as it can be. For the armrests and back, similar quality and care was also put into its padding.
Key Features:
- Extra seat padding and comfortable armrests
- Improved tilt-lock feature
- Standard ergonomic features: Swivel Base, Lumbar support, height adjustable
Pros:
- Superior padding throughout, especially on the seat itself
- Tilt lock feature is superior to similar chairs in the similar price range
Cons:
- Not breathable due to the padding material
- Armrest not adjustable
- Aesthetic is not attractive to many
Product Page: https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/orren-ellis-enosburg-executive-chair-w005485683.html
Best Mobility-Focused Chair
Vinsetto Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair
The Vinsetto Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair is well known for its swivel. Due to its construction, it’s the most mobile when being moved around when compared to other competitors in a similar price range. If moving your chair around is a top priority, this may be the chair for you.
In addition, the armrests are also adjustable for those who rest their arms on the armrests. Finally, padding has many positive reviews.
In terms of the backrest, while it is breathable, its height is rather low so your experience leaning back on this chair may not be the best compared to other chairs on this article.
Key Features:
- Superior swivel
- Adjustable armrests
- Standard ergonomic features: Lumbar support, height adjustable
Pros:
- Swivel is superior if mobility is your concern
- Surprisingly comfy seat padding
Cons:
- Backseat height is rather low
Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092Q2XYW4
Best Budget with Extra Padding Chair
Furmax Leather Office Desk and Gaming Chair
If you’re on a budget but are willing to pay extra for superior padding with a gaming-like design, then the Furmax Leather Office Desk and Gaming Chair is the perfect match.
This chair comes with additional padding on your seat, the back, and on the armrests. Its design allows you to choose from a more professional discrete black color or blue/red/white gaming-focused design.
The one downside would be the build quality – the increased cost compared to the budget-friendly Furmax Mid Back Office Chair was purely directed toward the improvements of the padding.
Key Features:
- Extra padding throughout
- Can choose from several color schemes
- Standard ergonomic features: swivel base, lumbar support, height adjustable, tilt-lock feature
Pros:
- Extra comfort from padding
- Various color options
Cons:
- Everything else not involving the padding is low quality
Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXXM5EK
Best Gaming Chair
Homall Gaming Chair
Most gaming chairs are well above $200, if you’re looking for a gaming chair that’s affordable, then the Homall Gaming Chair will meet all your needs, at a very reasonable price.
With a slick, gaming chair design, the Homall Gaming Chair also includes superior lower back and head/ neck pain ergonomics with the inclusion of pillow-like support on the chair. This is a feature found on many gaming chairs.
The chair also comes in many colors. Better yet, choosing every color does not result in drastic changes in pricing. With other gaming chairs, choosing popular colors generally results in a massive increase in price.
Key Features:
- Many color schemes for the same price
- Gaming chair features including extra support at the lower back and head
- Standard ergonomic features: swivel base, lumbar support, height adjustable, tilt-lock feature
Pros:
- Sleek, gaming design at an affordable price
- Superior lower back and head ergonomics from the inclusion of built-in pillows
- Relatively high allowing you to lean back comfortably
- Very affordable for a gaming-focused chair
Cons:
- Armrests are small and poor quality
Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRZ02TL
Conclusion
The best office chair under $200 for working from home is the Hbada Ergonomic Home Office Chair due to its inclusion of the headrest, footrest and overall great quality build. No matter what chair you decide to purchase from this article, rest assured knowing each chair comes with the ergonomic features that are most important for anybody.
You’ll see the buzzword “ergonomic” being thrown everywhere as you do your research, most chairs on this article already have ergonomic features, however the real key features you should be focusing on is it matches your own personal needs as well as your body shape. Slate has a perfect article on this line of thinking: we still haven’t found a perfect office chair as there is no perfect office one-fits-all chair! Every human is unique – your chair preference should match your needs, not what the general consensus agrees to.
Whether you need a professional office chair, epic gaming chair, or something in between, the best advice to maintain a proper posture is to frequently get up and move around.
The chair is only one of many other items you need to have the perfect work from home setup. Take a look at a curated list of work from home essentials. to fully flesh out your new home office. Looking for a keyboard and mouse? Check out my keyboard article for great ideas. I also have a curated article on the most important item of them all, a laptop, as well!