Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
The AKRacing Core EX has just about every adjustability option that you need to find a comfortable fit. Read More
The Homall Gaming Chair is comfortable, with many of the adjustability options present in some of the higher-priced gaming chairs. Read More
With its heavy-duty frame and plush lumbar and neck support pillows, the SecretLab Omega Gaming Chair has a lot to offer. Read More
The Vertagear SL5800 is a comfortable gaming chair with numerous adjustability options and better lumbar support than the SecretLab Titan EVO. Read More
The Razer Iskur 2022 is a well-built gaming and office chair with a wide array of adjustability options and comfortable, integrated lumbar support. Read More
Many of us spend a good portion of our lives in front of a computer monitor. The best gaming chairs should provide long-term comfort and support to make both work and gameplay more enjoyable.
We’ve spent years researching and testing the best gaming chairs on the market for a variety of factors, including comfort, customization, ease of assembly, and adjustability to find out which can support you for hours at a time. We’re confident the AKRacing Core EX Gaming Chair (available at Amazon for $392.59) is the top choice thanks to its adjustability and long-term comfort.
If you want a premium experience, we recommend the SecretLab Omega 2020 (available at SecretLab), and if you're looking for a more budget-friendly gaming chair, we recommend the Homall PC Gaming Chair (available at Amazon). There are also several other great chairs on our list, so you can find the perfect option for any setup and budget.
The AKRacing Core EX is a comfortable, high-quality chair.
The Homall Gaming Chair is a comfortable, affordable chair with a deep recline.
With its heavy-duty steel frame and memory foam pillows, the SecretLab Omega Gaming Chair has a lot to offer.
Comfortable and supportive lumbar
Outstanding adjustability
Quick and easy assembly
Lumbar support not adjustable
Adjustable, comfortable lumbar support
Full range of adjustability options
High quality materials
Limited comfort range
Assembly and operation can be clunky
Fully adjustable
Made of high-quality materials
None that we could find
Promotes proper posture
Large recline range
Its posture-forward design can be fatiguing
Affordable
Adjustable
Uncomfortable during initial setup
Crumbs can fall below seat cushion
Whether we were gaming or working, we made sure to try out all of the different features of each chair.
Jean Levasseur is a product tester for Reviewed, writer, woodworker, and avid gamer. Almost every full-time job he’s had has involved sitting for most of the day in front of a computer, so between that, his writing, and gaming, he has spent a lot of hours butt-in-chair.
Testing the above chairs, Levasseur primarily played COD: Warzone, Spellbreak, and Baldur’s Gate 3, which he’s been waiting for for a VERY long time.
Testing gaming chairs is a long process, but pretty straightforward. First is assembly and setup. Our testers unbox everything, set a timer, and put the chair together.
Once assembled, the chairs were maneuvered to the testing area. From there, our tester sits in each chair until they find a relatively comfortable starting position for the real trial: sitting and playing video games.
Whether gaming or working, we try out all of the different features of each chair. That includes reclining, leaning forward, tilting, and moving up and down. We try to sit in each chair for a minimum of three hours over the course of a day, though a few are sometimes too uncomfortable to make it that long.
We make notes about comfort and adjustability, and how the tester’s body feels overall after an extended period of time. From there, we put each chair through a few basic wear tests. The first of these was a scratch test, which included dragging a fork over the fabric of each chair a few times, not trying to puncture, but with some pressure.
Then crumbs and yogurt were spilled on various parts of the chair, let sit, and cleaned it up. We tracked any damage to the chair, how easy the fabric was to get clean, and whether there were any noticeable stains left behind.
There are so many different styles of office/computer chairs that it can be difficult to know what you’re even looking for. When it comes to gaming chairs, here are a few key features that you should look for:
First and most important is ergonomics. Gamers often put in long sessions and need a chair that can keep their backs free from aches and stiffness over multiple hours.
Most computer chairs on the market have at least some level of lumbar support. A gaming chair should take that to the next level. Whether it’s a memory foam pillow or a fully-adjustable lumbar support system, your back should feel completely taken care of.
But the best gaming chairs in 2023 should also provide ergonomic support all the way up to the head and neck. When getting up after spending hours in Call of Duty, players shouldn’t hear any creaking or complaints from their bones.
The second necessary feature of gaming chairs is adjustability. Depending on the game and the input (controller or keyboard and mouse), each person is going to sit in a different position and needs a chair with the flexibility to accommodate that.
Adjustable ergonomics are the gold standard, but many gaming chairs offer a wide range of height, tilt, and recline options. Some of our favorite chairs even had fully adjustable armrests. The most comfortable gaming chairs recline and tilt as separate functions rather than one or the other. The more the chair could be tuned to a user’s body, the longer their sessions can go.
The last feature that we felt defines gaming chairs is aesthetics. A gaming chair should ideally look the part. No simple leather rectangles stacked on rectangles.
Gaming chairs should make you look and feel like you’re sitting in a race car or spaceship. If someone doesn’t walk into your office and say “wow, that’s a cool chair,” is it really a gaming chair?
Our final piece of advice is that the best way to test a gaming chair is to go to a store and try one, even if you can’t find the exact model you want already assembled in a store. They feel very different on your body than a traditional office chair does, and it’s not a form that works for everyone. So make sure that the style is for you before committing hundreds of dollars.
Jean Levasseur
Contributor
Jean Levasseur became a professional writer over a decade-long career in marketing, public relations, and technical writing. After leaving that career to stay home to care for his twin boys, Jean has continued to write in a variety of freelance roles, as well as teaching academic writing at a local university. When he's not reviewing tools or chasing toddlers around the house, he's also an avid fiction writer and a growing woodworker.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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