What is the best gaming chair? Like the best office chairs, a good gaming chair will keep you comfortable throughout long stints of gaming, working, or relaxing at your computer. I’ve tested dozens of options to bring you our list of the best chairs, whatever your needs, whether budget, comfort, or features are your top priorities.
The best gaming chair overall is the Secretlab Titan Evo. It’s quite expensive but offers good value compared to truly premium office chairs and delivers on comfort, customization, and style options. For all-day work, the most comfortable and stylish gaming chair is the Fractal Design Refine, while the best budget gaming chair is the Corsair TC100 Relaxed, which costs under $230. Find plenty more options below, including the best mesh, the best lumbar support, and the most adjustable options.
For guidance on how to pick your perfect chair and answers to your gaming chair questions, you can read the “How to choose” and FAQ sections at the bottom of this guide. Meanwhile, the “Also tested” section includes chairs we’ve reviewed but haven’t quite hit the top of our list.
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Best gaming chair 2026:
Secretlab Titan Evo
Best gaming chair overall
| Maximum weight | 90kg (small) / 100kg (regular) / 190kg (XL) |
| Recline | 165 degrees |
| Upholstery | Leatherette / Fabric / NAPA Leather |
| Warranty | 3 – 5 years |
- High build quality
- Wide variety of designs
- Available in three sizes
- Expensive base price
- Customization is costly
The Secretlab Titan Evo has yet to be dethroned as our favorite gaming chair. It ticks all the right boxes for comfort and aesthetics, and you can even get variants that pay tribute to the best PC games, such as this Titan Evo League of Legends version.
Crucially, this chair offers excellent overall comfort, with three different sizes available to suit a wide range of users. Its padding can feel a bit firm upon initial use, but it offers long-term comfort, aided by an in-built and adjustable lumbar support. Meanwhile, its tilt and recline system is effortless to use and provides a wide range of very comfortable lounging positions.
A crucial addition with this chair, compared to many previous gaming chairs, is its magnetic headrest cushion. The magnets provide a secure seating for the cushion and make it easy to adjust its height, plus the padding is super comfortable. It’s a totally transformative improvement over chairs with elasticated headrest cushions. Add in this chair’s optional Secretlab Recliner Add-On, and you have the ultimate naptime chair, as well as a gaming workhorse.
With 4D armrests – with swappable covers – and several other optional upgrades, along with a choice of fabric, faux suede, or faux leather finishes, there’s even more versatility here. It is quite expensive, starting at $549, but it comes with a three-year warranty for extra peace of mind.
Read our full Secretlab Titan Evo review for more information.
Fractal Design Refine
Best gaming/office chair
| Maximum weight | 125kg |
| Recline | 0° |
| Materials | Fabric, mesh or faux suede seat and back options |
| Warranty | Five years |
- Top tier overall comfort
- Available in fabric or mesh
- Stylish design
- Sliding headrest
- Doesn’t recline, only tilts
- Armrest slide doesn’t lock in position
- Only one size, though seat base length is adjustable
With its effortlessly stylish design, the Fractal Refine is one of the best-looking gaming chairs around. It’s only available in a few colors, but every one of them looks fantastic.
What’s more, this chair is superbly comfortable. Its convexly curved seat base and equally curved back properly support and cushion you, making this among the most comfortable gaming chairs for just sitting up straight at your desk. Its seat base length is also adjustable to suit different sizes of sitter, while its headrest is fixed to the chair but offers sliding height movement for reliable, adjustable support.
If it’s so comfortable, why isn’t it our top pick overall? Well, its comfort is focused on sitting up straight only. It doesn’t recline, and the seat back only offers a little bit of tilt, so it isn’t so great for those moments where you want to fully sit back and relax in a reclined position. It also doesn’t have the extra feature options, customization, and overall versatility of the Secretlab Titan Evo.
Available in a mesh, fabric, or faux suede finish, the mesh version in particular makes for a comfortable and breathable fabric that’s great for all-day sitting.
Read our full Fractal Refine review for more information.
Boulies Master
Best mid-range gaming chair
| Maximum weight | 135kg |
| Recline | 135 degrees |
| Upholstery | Faux leather |
| Warranty | 2-year limited |
- Built in sound system
- Fun crossover variants available
- Decent price
- Faux leather can age poolrly
- Less ergonomic features than others
The Boulies Master is a mid-range hybrid office/gaming chair that offers a supportive foam seat with a more restrained design. Most importantly, it’s incredibly comfortable, with an adjustable in-built lumbar support – no lumbar cushion required here – and quality padding.
Its recline system is also more premium than you get on many chairs of this price, offering the ability to tip back the seat base and back in sync with each other – many cheaper chairs just tilt the seat back.
You can get the chair in a choice of materials, including water-repellent fabric, PU, and leather. It’s a good size for larger users but I’d suggest it might be too chunky for smaller spaces.
Read our full Boulies Master chair review for more information.
Corsair TC100 Relaxed
Best budget gaming chair
| Maximum weight | 120kg |
| Recline | 160 degrees |
| Materials | PU fabric or leather |
| Warranty | 2 years |
- Comfortable materials
- Wide seat base
- Good lumbar support
- Rigid neck cushion placement
- 2D armrests
The Corsair TC100 Relaxed is a solid entry-level gaming chair. Priced at just $229 right now, it’s half the price of more premium options, and while this does result in lower quality and features in some areas, it includes some crucial upgrades over many cheaper options.
The clue is in the name with this chair, as it’s this chair’s ability to offer good recline and comfort that sets it apart from many cheaper options. Its seat back can tilt 160° while its seat base can drop 10° for a super-relaxed pose. Extra back and seat width, along with a wide height range, also means the chair can fit a wide range of sitter sizes.
What’s more, while this chair does rely on cheap and generally less reliable strapped-on cushions for its headrest and lumbar support, they work better than many others. That’s because the two holes in the back of the seat provide a place for the straps to thread through, keeping the cushions in place. All told, this is a sturdy, comfortable, and adjustable chair for a great price.
Read our Corsair TC100 Relaxed review for more information.
ThunderX3 Core Modern
Best lumbar support
| Maximum weight | 150kg |
| Recline | Not stated |
| Materials | Leatherette or woven fabric |
| Warranty | 2 years |
- Class-leading gaming chair comfort
- Fantastic feature set for the money
- Great build quality
- Faux leather version can get a bit hot
- Faux leather finish creaks
- Can be hard to find in the US
The ThunderX3 Core is defined by two core things: it’s really comfortable and it’s amazingly good value. Across the board, its padding is much softer than many competitors, leading to superior short and long-term comfort. The seat padding and armrests are also so much nicer than many gaming chairs.
Then there’s the lumbar support. It’s a really odd idea on the surface of it: the lumbar support plate sits on a pivot point that wobbles around as you lean against it. But it really does work. The support nestles nicely into your lower back – unlike so many poor-quality lumbar support cushions provided with other gaming chairs – and then just gently moves with you as you shift in the seat, continuing to add unobtrusive support.
You also get a quality recline feature that’s nicely weighted for an easy, relaxed recline action, plus the seat slides forward and back to provide for shorter or longer-legged users. The recline controls aren’t the easiest to use, but they get the job done.
All this and the ThunderX3 Core is priced very competitively. It’s around half the price of the Razer Iskur V2 yet gives up relatively little in terms of core features and comfort. The Iskur V2 has more adjustability in its lumbar support and a more premium finish, but the ThunderX3 Core delivers where it counts.
Read our full ThunderX3 Core review for more information.
Hbada E3 Pro
Best mesh gaming chair
| Maximum weight | 136kg / 300lbs |
| Recline | Yes, 140° |
| Upholstery | Mesh seat and back |
| Warranty | 3 years |
- Exceptional Comfort
- Sturdy Build
- Highly adjustable
- Base accumulates dust
- Limited height armrest adjustability
- Expensive
The Hbada E3 Pro takes chair adjustability to the next level. Not only does this mesh office chair include adjustable headrest and lumbar supports but even includes leg rests and has armrests that flip up to support your arm while browsing your phone.
To look at that list, and in fact to look at the chair, you might think it’s all just a load of gimmicky extras. However, in our testing, it really did prove useful. Being able to deploy the leg rests that otherwise tuck neatly under the seat is such a nice way to elevate your reclining to truly super relaxing levels.
The flip-up armrests are great too for sitting back to browse YouTube or TikTok on your phone without having to hold your arm up in an awkward position. It sounds like the ultimate in laziness, but it really is useful.
The core chair seat and back are comfortable too, with good support, adjustability, and a breathable mesh fabric. Some of the adjustments are a bit too easy to move accidentally, which is a bit disappointing at the full $699 price of this chair. However, with it regularly discounted to $449, it’s a great buy at this price.
Read our full Hbada E3 Pro review for more details.
Sihoo C300
Best value mesh gaming chair
| Maximum weight | 136kg |
| Recline | 112 degrees |
| Materials | Mesh back and seat with soft PU coated armrests |
| Warranty | 3 years |
- A comfortable chair
- Great, breezy mesh
- Adaptable
- Higher price
- Armrest adjustment is fiddly
- Assembly instructions could be better
This middle-of-the-road offering from Sihoo utilizes a mesh design that’s comfortable to sit on, even for longer periods, and it keeps you cool even during the longest gaming sessions. The ergonomic design matches your body shape with a self-adaptive lumbar support cushion that moves with you as you use it. The armrests are admittedly a bit fiddly to adjust, but it’s otherwise easy enough to get it just the way you want it.
The mesh isn’t as padded as options like the Boulies Master. The Sihoo S300 is also a more luxurious mesh chair, made of higher-quality materials and with a broader range of adjustment options. Still, the Sihoo C300 is ideal for hybrid use between your office and game time and great for a budget.
Read our full Sihoo C300 chair review for more information.
FlexiSpot C8/BS11 Pro
Best office chair
| Maximum weight | 130kg / 287lbs |
| Recline | Yes |
| Upholstery | Mesh cloth seat and back |
| Warranty | 5 years |
- Full-body support with head rest
- Great support and ventilation from mesh
- Lots of adjustability
- Not as high build quality as more expensive options
- Hard to find in the US
This FlexiSpot chair is available globally, as the C8 in the US and the BS11 Pro in the UK. After several weeks of testing, we found it to be a fantastic all-rounder office chair for comfort, features, and value. It’s not the cheapest chair going, but its smart design, cooling mesh fabric, and good overall support make it the best office chair with no pretence at being “for gamers.”
Along with its mesh fabric providing good ventilation for your whole body, the convex curve of the seat base ensures you don’t feel the seat dig into the underside of your legs plus the curve of the back provides good lumbar support, though there isn’t any additional and adjustable support behind the mesh, like on the Hermen Miller Aeron. You can, though, tilt the back, headrest, and arms to suit your build, and all of the movements are smooth.
The C8/BS11 Pro looks sleek with a design that’s less “heavy” than a traditional solid gaming chair, especially in a small room. It’s an ideal option for those who like to maintain a smart, professional look when not gaming, and for a low price too.
Read our FlexiSpot C8/BS11 Pro review
Also tested – more gaming chair reviews
Hbada X7 Smart Ergonomic Chair
The Hbada X7 is a super feature-packed office/gaming chair. Its fully mesh build is ergonomically adjustable in all sorts of ways, including seat heat and depth, lumbar depth, mid-back height, four degrees of headrest movement, and multiple degrees of armrest movement. It even has a pop-out legrest. Adding to this, it has an electronic lumbar support section that heats and massages you, as well as being adjustable in depth at the push of a button. There’s even a fan under the seat to cool your tush. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as comfortable as it should be, a lot of the adjustments are just irritating, and its price is ludicrously high. Read our full Hbada X7 Smart Ergonomic Chair review for more details.
Libernovo Omni
The Libernovo Omni got its start on Kickstarter, with this chair gaining enthusiastic support for its impressive-looking motorized lumbar support. However, in practice, that lumbar support isn’t all that effective. It’s a nice little extra to be able to adjust lumbar depth and height at the touch of a button, but it doesn’t ultimately result in the best lumbar comfort we’ve ever experienced. It is a largely good-quality and comfortable chair, but it’s simply too expensive for the core comfort that it offers. Read our full Libernovo Omni review for more details.
Razer Iskur V2
The Razer Iskur V2 is a huge improvement over the 1st-gen Iskur, with a more comfortable, generously proportioned seat and back cushion, and generally decent comfort all round. It’s also a reasonably smart-looking chair. However, its standout feature is its lumbar support system. Like that of the ThunderX3 Core Modern, this one tilts and moves with you, offering support as you shift in your chair. It works well, but it’s not a huge improvement over the ThunderX3 model, and Razer’s chair is twice the price. Go for the ThunderX3 Core instead. Read our full Razer Iskur V2 review for more details.
Herman Miller x Logitech Embody
Logitech’s collaboration with legendary furniture maker Herman Miller has resulted in one superbly built chair with an incredible 12-year warranty. This chair is compact, comfy, and stylish. However, it lacks a headrest and several other features present in far cheaper options, plus its lumbar support isn’t amazing. Those compromises hurt a lot when a chair is this expensive. Read our full Herman Miller x Logitech Embody review.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition
With an even softer padding than the standard Titan Evo 2022 and included PlushCell armrests, the NanoGen Edition is an even more comfortable upgrade to the Titan Evo. However, it’s only a modest increase in real-world, all-day sitting comfort, yet it is a lot more expensive than the standard version, so it’s not our top choice for value. Read our full Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition review.
Acer Predator Rift
This budget gaming chair option from Acer offers solid build quality and comfort for under $250. It’s only available in black, and its style is a little old school, but it gets the job done. It’s not enough to knock the Corsair TC100 Relaxed off our budget option top spot, but is worth considering. Read our full Acer Predator Rift review.
Herman Miller Aeron
Herman Miller is the most famous office chair brand in the world. Its Aeron is a design icon and the go-to option for many a fancy office. Crucially, though, it is also legitimately a great chair. As one of the first companies to make a mesh chair, its mesh is still among the toughest, most supportive, and comfortable – my chair is over 20 years old and still going strong. The whole chair is also highly adjustable, and you can buy it in three different sizes. However, it lacks a headrest, it’s super expensive, and it lacks some of the extra features of our favorite gaming chairs. You can often pick them up for half price in office clearance sales, though.
Herman Miller Sayl
One of Herman Miller’s more recent chair designs is the Sayl, which is a simpler offering than the Aeron, with a padded fabric seat and pliable plastic back. It’s a really well-made chair and is very comfortable too. However, it lacks adjustment and features, yet is still very expensive. It’s a stylish and tough chair that’s well-suited for the abuse of office use. However, we’d recommend the Aeron over the Sayl for at-home comfort. Read our full Herman Miller Sayl review.
Boulies NUBI Series
The Boulies NUBI Series chair is a great option for those seeking a simple, compact, affordable office chair, but which is a step up in comfort and build quality from the very cheapest options. It’s not packed with features, but it includes height adjust, armrest height adjust, back tilt, and (crucially) seat length adjustment for long-term comfort from proper leg support. Read our full Boulies NUBI Series review.
FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic / ErgoX
The Flexispot C7 Ergonomic (the latest version is known as the ErgoX) is a fantastic choice for anyone seeking a mesh office chair with great lumbar and head support. It’s reasonably affordable yet offers solid build quality and plenty of adjustment. Its mesh isn’t as taut and supportive as some, but it’s still a very good chair for the price. Read our FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic office chair review.
Sihoo Doro S300
The Sihoo Doro S300 is one of the most comfortable and versatile office chairs around, with it previously being our pick for the most adjustable option. It has since been supplanted by the Hbada E3 Pro, but remains a great choice for those seeking a mesh office chair with great comfort and loads of options for fitting the chair to your needs. Read our full Sihoo Doro S300 review for more details.
How to choose the best gaming chair
There are hundreds of gaming chairs on the market, from unbranded budget options to top-of-the-range products from major gaming brands. As with any purchase, you’ll need to start with your budget. You can get very cheap options, but generally you’ll need to spend at least $150 / £100 to get one with good build quality, a comfortable design, and enough adjustments. Around $300-500 gets you loads of choices, while $500 upwards is premium chair territory.
Next up, you’ll want to consider the basic ergonomics of the chair. Companies such as Secretlab and Noblechairs offer a range of different sizes of certain models, which can be a great way to help ensure you’re getting a chair that suits your size. The Secretlab Titan Evo is our favorite gaming chair, at least in part for this very reason.
Meanwhile, other chairs also offer several types of adjustments to try to make them fit a wide range of users. The Fractal Refine, for instance, offers seat length adjustment as well as really good lumbar support and a sliding headrest. Meanwhile, the Hbada E3 Pro is absolutely packed with all sorts of extra adjustments. Beware of chairs that only offer a loose cushion for lumbar support or an elasticated headrest cushion, as these are both terrible for long-term comfort.
Beyond this, thinking about the material type you want from your chair is important, too. Leather and faux-leather (sometimes called PU leather or pleather) are wipe-clean, which, even without engaging your dirty mind, is a genuinely useful property for somewhere you sit and likely eat and drink for hours on end. Alternatively, mesh chairs offer great breathability, ensuring your back and other areas don’t get too sweaty, so they’re a great choice in hotter locations – particularly if your AC could do with an upgrade.
Fabric-covered chairs offer a middle ground. Slightly softer and more cosy than both mesh and leather, they’re great for sitting up on with crossed legs while wearing a onesie to keep warm in winter. They’re also more breathable than faux leather, though not as much as mesh. Most materials have a stain-resistant coating, too, but fabric will ultimately absorb grime more than leather or mesh.
Next up is to look for features such as the quality of the recline mechanism – do you want to be able to sit back and relax, or just need a straight up and down chair for work/gaming? The adjustability of the armrests and the quality of the head cushion and lumbar support are also crucial. Many early gaming chairs had awful head cushions that just attached with a piece of elastic. Our top picks use magnets or sliding headrests for reliable positioning. Meanwhile, the Secretlab Titan Evo can even be upgraded with a fold-out ergonomic recliner leg support.
The last consideration for most users, other than professional streamers seeking a certain look above all other factors, should be the style of a chair. It’s really fun to get some of the amazing brand tie-in designs – such as the Noblechairs Fallout series or Secretlab The Witcher chairs – but for most gamers, we recommend not compromising on all the other above factors just for a certain look. At least, that’s our advice if you’re planning to spend many hours in your chair. If you only game/sit down for a couple of hours at a time, you can get away with picking based on style first.
Best gaming chair FAQs
Office chair vs gaming chair: What is a gaming chair?
Both office chairs and gaming chairs are just chairs designed for sitting at desks for long periods of time. Where gaming chairs started was in wanting to offer a slightly different look, tapping into the racing chair vibes of car seats converted to home furnishings. Ironically, these were often quite uncomfortable, which is why I generally didn’t recommend the first generation or two of gaming chairs – they were overpriced and uncomfortable.
However, since establishing itself as a market, gaming chairs have legitimately pushed forward the frontier of office chair comfort and versatility. Yes, the classic Herman Miller Aeron office chair is still a very, very comfortable chair, but so are many of the gaming chair options on this list, and many of them offer more features for a lot less money.
That’s also why we’ve included options such as the Sihoo C300 on this list. It isn’t really branded as a gaming chair, but it is comfortable and has loads of adjustability with a quite traditional office look and feel. A chair such as the Fractal Refine also bridges the gap between office and gaming chairs. It mostly looks like a smart office chair, but it comes from one of the best PC case manufacturers.
Ultimately, don’t worry about the difference; just worry about which chair is going to suit your needs at the right price for your budget.
Why do gaming chairs cost so much?
For the most part, gaming chairs are very well built. If you buy from one of the big gaming chair brands, they’re generally incredibly sturdy with quality gas lifts, recline controls, and padding. Cheaper options have some more basic adjustments and features, but generally, the build is far ahead of cheap office chairs that can be wobbly and have thin padding.
That’s why most gaming chairs don’t really start for less than $250, with many of the best options sitting in the $400-$600 range. That’s undoubtedly a lot of money, but premium, well-made office chairs aren’t much cheaper. By all means, you are paying a bit of a premium for the known brands, in some cases, and indeed, that’s part of the reason that the Herman Miller Aeron costs $2,000. However, both that chair and many gaming chairs do actually have solid build quality backing them up, too.
Are gaming chairs better for your posture?
It all depends on what you’re comparing to and which gaming chair you’re talking about. Compared to sitting on a sofa with a laptop or sitting at a dining table with a basic dining/foldout chair, then, yes, absolutely, gaming chairs are better for your posture. They will offer better leg cushioning, support your lower back, and take the strain off your neck and shoulders. The extent to which they do this will depend on the model you buy, but looking for quality lumbar support, getting the correct length seat cushion, and finding a seat with an easy-to-adjust headrest will all help with your posture.
If your new chair choice has made you realise a better desk would improve your setup even further, our best gaming desk list will guide you through that shopping journey.
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