The 11 Best Task Chairs of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall

Branch Task Chair

View On Branchfurniture.com

Get the ergonomic support you need with the Branch Task Chair. We recommend this as the best task chair for most people, since it offers a range of adjustable components to provide you with maximum comfort and support. Breathable nylon mesh provides a comfortable backrest, while a firm lumbar cushion helps you maintain proper posture, even during extended sitting sessions. 

You can customize your seating experience with five points of adjustment, including height, tilt, tilt tension, armrest height and lumbar support height. Keep in mind that the chair’s adjustments and ergonomics are designed for users that range in height from 5’4” to 6’3”. This may mean that individuals shorter or taller than this range may not be able to benefit fully from some aspects of the chair’s design. 

The Branch Task Chair can be returned within 30 days if it doesn’t meet your expectations. It’s also backed by a five-year warranty for parts and components. While the warranty period is shorter than what you’ll find on a high-end task chair (like the 12-year warranty for the Herman Miller Aeron Chair), it protects your investment against defects in workmanship or materials. Keeping in mind the under-$300 price point, the warranty coverage adds to the value of this popular task chair. 

The chair’s high-density foam cushion, mesh backrest, and frame are only available in a standard black finish that blends into most office environments. If you’re looking for a chair with a splash of color, you won’t find it with this option. Even still, the Branch Task Chair is worth considering for its premium ergonomics at an affordable price.

Price at time of publish: $279

_{Dimensions: 26 x 24 x 43 inches | Material: Nylon mesh | Weight Capacity: 275 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best Budget

Flash Furniture Kelista Mid-Back Task Chair with Flip-Up Arms

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For a comfortable and ergonomic task chair that won’t break the bank, we recommend the Flash Furniture Kelista Mid-Back Task Chair. This option costs less than $150 but gives you a mid-back seat height with lumbar support and a waterfall seat cushion for comfort during extended sitting sessions.

This budget task chair includes a pneumatic seat height adjustment, along with a tilt tension adjustment and a tilt lock. The padded armrests fold up and out of the way if you’re looking for the easy access offered by an armless task chair. The lumbar support is one the biggest value adds for this budget task chair, but its height and the amount of support are not adjustable. All in all, this task chair doesn't offer as many points of adjustment as you’ll find with other task chairs on our list, but it comes in various color combinations for an affordable price. It’s an especially good buy if you need to order several task chairs for a small office. 

Price at time of publish: $121

_{Dimensions: 25.5 x 24.5 x 41.25 inches | Material: Heavy duty nylon | Weight Capacity: Not listed | Adjustable: Yes}

Best Splurge

Herman Miller Classic Aeron Chair

4.2

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It’s hard to put a price on comfort but if we did, it would be the cost of the high-end Herman Miller Aeron Chair. This customizable task chair is engineered with ergonomics and comfort in mind. It’s available in three different seat widths to accommodate a range of body types, and it offers eight zones of tension adjustment within the back and seat of the chair. 

Since individual preferences for a task chair vary, Herman Miller makes it possible to pick the features that suit your situation. There are a total of seven selections to make when buying this task chair, including the width of the seat, level of back support, and adjustability of the seat tilt and arms. You can also pick the finish and color options that match your home office or fit your preferences. The small size chair is recommended for users up to 300 pounds, while the medium and large chairs support up to 350 pounds. All three chairs benefit from a breathable mesh back and seat that allows air to circulate. 

At about $1,800, this task chair is the most expensive on our list, but it’s backed by a 12-year warranty that includes all moving mechanisms, ensuring that your investment will last for years to come.

Price at time of publish: $1,805

_{Dimensions: 27 x 16.75 x 41 inches | Material: Elastomeric-polyester blend | Weight Capacity: 300 pounds (small); 350 pounds (medium, large) | Adjustable: Yes}

Best Mesh

Alera Elusion Mesh Mid-Back Swivel/Tilt Chair

4.2

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It’s no coincidence that many task chairs have a mesh back. The breathable weave promotes airflow, preventing a stuffy or sweaty feeling if you spend an extended period of time sitting in your chair. The Alera Elusion Series Mesh Swivel Chair is a task chair designed to adjust to multiple users, with a mid-height mesh back and contoured seat cushion for maximum comfort. 

To ensure that you stay comfortable all day, this task chair from the Alera Elusion Series offers adjustments for the height of the back, arms, and seat, along with a tilt tension adjustment and lock. You’ll appreciate that the arms are cushioned with soft polyurethane pads, but it’s worth noting that the arms are not width-adjustable. This, plus the fact that the seat width is fixed at 19.6 inches, means that this chair may not accommodate all body types as well as some more adjustable task chairs. This chair also doesn’t have integrated lumbar support, so it’s not the best option if you need extra support for your lower back. 

The five-spoke base includes casters for easy mobility. The chair itself weighs about 50 pounds and supports up to 275 pounds. For about $300, it makes a good choice as a task chair for office or home use. 

Price at time of publish: $625

_{Dimensions: 26 x 24.4 x 16.1 inches | Material: Polyurethane | Weight Capacity: 275 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best Adjustable

Vari Task Chair with Headrest

4.4

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If adjustability ranks high on your list of must-have factors for a task chair, consider the Branch Ergonomic Chair. This option accommodates a wide range of users with its multiple points of adjustment and offers firm lumbar support along with a contoured mesh backrest that supports your upper back while allowing for airflow. It also fits a wider range of bodies than the brand’s task chair, adjusting to fit users ranging from 5’2” to 6’2”. 

To keep you comfortable while seated for 8 hours (or more), this task chair gives you control over the following eight factors: seat depth and height, armrest height, width, and depth, tilt and tilt tension, and lumbar cushion. If you ever lean back in your chair to watch a video on your phone or stare at the ceiling, the backrest and seat pan are synchronized, so they’ll tilt in unison for a more comfortable and supportive recline. About the only thing missing is a headrest, which can be purchased separately. 

This adjustable task chair looks as good as it feels, too. It comes in more colors than many other task chairs on our list, and it has an anodized steel base with nylon casters that are suitable for multiple surfaces.

Price at time of publish: $329

_{Dimensions: 25 x 24 x 42 inches | Material: Nylon mesh | Weight Capacity: 275 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best Ergonomic

Vari Task Chair with Headrest

4.4

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Choosing an ergonomic task chair is important for the sake of comfort and maintaining your body position during extended periods of sitting. Lalitha recommends choosing a chair designed with ergonomic principles in mind, meaning that “it should support the natural curves of the spine and promote good posture.” She suggests that shoppers look for chairs with contoured backrests, adjustable lumbar support, and a seat pan that promotes even weight distribution.

The Vari Task Chair meets all of these criteria and excels because of its comfortable features and easy-to-assemble design. The contoured backrest is mesh for better breathability, while the cushioned seat provides plenty of pressure relief and comfort for long sitting sessions. You can adjust the seat height, backrest height and angle, and armrest height to suit different body sizes and types, which reduces strain and promotes proper posture. It’s rated to support up to 300 pounds. 

The chair extends support all the way up the neck with an included, removable headrest. However, individuals who are taller than 6’0” sometimes find the headrest to be awkwardly placed. Since the position and angle isn’t adjustable like it is on the Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair, some of our testers had to remove the headrest from the chair altogether. Even still, the Vari Task Chair is a solid, ergonomic option for less than $400. 

Price at time of publish: $395

_{Dimensions: 25.5 x 25.5 x 44.63 inches | Material: Mesh | Weight Capacity: 300 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best for Long Hours

Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair

5

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If you’re shopping for a task chair that you plan to spend long hours sitting in, you should choose a chair that can be adjusted to fit your body and has features to enhance its comfort. We like the Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair for its thick and cushy seat, tall mesh backrest with adjustable lumbar support, and useful headrest that adjusts up and down, plus forward and backward. 

While most task chairs offer you only two positions for the backrest—a full recline or an upright position—the Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair gives you the opportunity to adjust the backrest from 90 to 125 degrees so you can find the amount of incline that is best for you. The lumbar support is also outstanding, offering two-way adjustability. Move the lumbar cushion up or down, or adjust it in or out, providing more or less support for your lower back. If you already have excellent, upright posture, you’ll find that more support from the lumbar cushion reinforces your good posture. If you’re working to improve your posture, light support will initially feel more comfortable. 

The rollerblade-style wheels are designed to make it easier to move across various surfaces, and users find them to be more mobile than conventional caster wheels. However, they can be prone to shifting more, so if you sit stationary for long periods of time, the mobility of the wheels may not be to your advantage. 

Price at time of publish: $330

_{Dimensions: 26 x 23.6 x 42 inches | Material: Mesh | Weight Capacity: 330 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best Leather

Haworth Fern Office Chair

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The Haworth Fern Office Chair combines aesthetics and comfort into a supportive, stylish package. We recommend this as the best leather task chair because it’s upholstered in a top-grain, semi-aniline leather that has a polished, professional look. You can opt for classic black or a light gray finish. 

A leather task chair is easy to clean, requiring a quick wipe-up in the event of a coffee spill. The smooth leather upholstery is also comfortable and durable. In the case of the Haworth Fern chair, the leather is warrantied against defects in workmanship or materials (aside from normal wear and natural patina aging) for a period of five years. Other components of the chair, like the seat, frame, and mechanisms, are warrantied for twlve years. 

Expect to pay a premium for a leather task chair. This ergonomic version costs more than $1,600, although you can save a few hundred dollars and still benefit from the design and adjustability of the Haworth Fern chair if you’re willing to sacrifice leather upholstery for a mesh or knit upholstered chair. The chair’s claim to fame remains the same, regardless of whether you opt for a leather finish. 

The Haworth Fern task chair utilizes a three-part frame to support the back from the neck to the pelvis while still allowing for flexibility and movement in the seat back. Built-in lumbar support is part of the design, although height adjustability for the lumbar support is an add-on to the already premium price. Standard points of adjustability that come with this task chair include seat height and depth, four-way adjustable arms, and tilt tension and tilt lock.

Price at time of publish: $1,689

_{Dimensions: 29 x 28.5 x 47 inches | Material: Leather | Weight Capacity: 325 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best for Home Offices

Steelcase Series 1 Work Office Desk Chair

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Home offices come in all different sizes and configurations, but maximizing the space available is typically a priority. For a compact and lightweight task chair that doesn’t sacrifice support, we recommend the Steelcase Series 1. It has an adjustable lumbar support to keep you comfortable and a breathable mesh back and an upholstered seat that is designed to relieve pressure points during extended periods of sitting.

This chair incorporates the most essential features of a task chair into a lighter chair with a smaller footprint. It only weighs 29 pounds, while other task chairs weigh 75 pounds or more. In regards to floor space, this task chair takes up less room. As an example, the Series 1 chair measures up to 27 inches wide with adjustments, which saves considerable space, compared to the larger Steelcase Gesture task chair, which measures up to 34.6 inches wide. 

In exchange for more compact dimensions, you lose some space in the seat. The Steelcase Series 1 has a seat width of 19.5 inches and a maximum depth of 17.75 inches. The shorter height of the backrest is fine for most users (maximum height is 41.25 inches), but it may be too short to support taller individuals without the addition of a headrest. 

Other aspects of adjustability include arms that adjust in four ways: height, width, depth, and pivot. There’s no lock for your preferred setting, so some people find it necessary to adjust them more often than expected. The recline tension adjustment is weight-activated and locks into place. 

Price at time of publish: $477

_{Dimensions: 21 x 23.5 x 36.5 inches | Material: Polyester | Weight Capacity: 400 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}

Best for Back Pain

Steelcase Gesture Ergonomic Chair

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Choosing a supportive, ergonomic task chair is essential if you frequently experience back pain. The Steel Case Gesture Ergonomic Chair is designed to support you as you move within your seat, adjusting to your body position. The result is a chair that makes it more comfortable to sit for an extended period of time with less back pain.

The Gesture task chair stands out for its lower back support, which flexes as you move forward or backward in the chair. The lumbar support maintains the natural S-curve of your spine, which supports healthy posture and can reduce back pain. The highly adjustable arms further support your posture without limiting mobility. They adjust width-wise and also swivel 360 degrees as you use various devices or shift position in your seat. This can eliminate back and neck pain from hunching forward in your chair for tasks like texting. You can fine-tune this chair to fit your needs with adjustments for the seat height and depth and range of recline. 

Even tall individuals will find the seat pan and tall chair back to be comfortable and supportive. However, the seat is only available in a 20-inch width rather than multiple sizes like the Herman Miller Aeron chair. While it’s not available in various seat widths, Steelcase has a 400-pound weight rating for its task chairs—the highest capacity for any option on our list. 

Price at time of publish: $1,690

_{Dimensions: 28.75 x 28.75 x 40.25 inches | Material: Polyester | Weight Capacity: 400 pounds | Adjustable: Yes}