Gaming Chairs vs Office Chairs: Which Style is Best for me?

Your home office space might not only be used for your typical 9-5 job. During your own time, you might like to catch a few hours of gaming on your PC or games console. This dual-use of your home office leads to one important question; what kind of chair is right for me, an office chair, or a gaming chair?

In this guide, we’ll outline the main differences between gaming chairs and office chairs so you can weigh up which is right for your home office space.

Gaming Chairs vs Office Chairs

Gaming chairs and office chairs diverge in many ways, making them more or less suited to individual users. Below is a breakdown of those differences.

Design and Ergonomics

Sit a gaming chair next to a standard office chair and you’ll immediately be struck by their visual differences. The main differences are not only stylistic, they are both designed to suit their intended users.

The main differences between these boil down to the typical habits of those who use them. Next, we’ll directly compare the design features of both options and explain which is more suitable for you.

Seat and backrest design

With a bucket seat and winged backrest, the seat of a gaming chair is designed for gamers who use pedals in a driving simulator. For extra immersion, gaming seats are designed much like those in a car, their striking design emulating that of a rally or Formula 1 car.

However, the seat of a gaming chair doesn’t provide much beyond looks. In a car, these design features provide support when distributing your weight from side-to-side. This won’t occur much during gaming, and during your working day, it only serves to restrict your movement. Over extensive periods of use, the seat of a gaming chair will provide less comfort than an ergonomically designed office chair.

Seat edge

The same is true of the seat’s edge. A gaming chair has a raised lip. In a car seat (which again is what many gaming chairs are designed like) that allows the driver to reach the pedals. Without that requirement, there is no real need for it. 

In an office chair, a lowered seat lip, or what is often referred to as a waterfall edge, reduces the amount of pressure on the user’s thighs. This leads to another tick in the box of the office chair when it comes to comfort over long periods.

Headrest and lumbar support

Support for the back and neck is essential to long-term health and wellbeing in office-related work. For office chairs, this is often a huge focus of their ergonomic design. A substantial lumbar (the lower part of your spine) support and headrest give you the best chance of staying comfortable throughout the day, every day.

With gaming chairs, offering support to these key areas is less of a priority. Cushioning in the headrest and lumbar areas is often detachable and comes with less adjustability than that of an office chair.

You will usually find ample support in these areas of a gaming chair, but to be sure of maximum comfort they need to be adjustable. Adjustability allows you to move the headrest or lumbar pillow in line with where you need support. This is an essential feature in office chairs but is not often found in gaming chairs.

Seat recline

The position you sit in has a significant impact on the long-term health of your back and your general comfort at your desk. 

Sitting up straight is often assumed to be the best position, but there is some evidence that shows going a step further and leaning back might be an even better solution. A 2006 study from the University of Alberta showed that sitting back at a 135-degree angle resulted in less strain than sitting upright at 90-degrees. However, sitting upright still resulted in less strain than sitting forward. 

What this shows is that a reclining seat is essential to comfort at your desk. This is a category where gaming chairs do win back some favour over traditional office chairs. Gaming chairs often come with extensive recline-ability, sometimes to 180-degrees. Certain types of office chairs are less flexible in how far they recline, but you can find chairs with adjustable backrests that make reclining easier.

Cost      

Gaming chairs are designed with lots of striking design elements and a look that steals the room – but they come at a cost. Add in other popular features like built-in speakers and premium, leather material and you’ve got a product that could cost upwards of £300. Budget options are available, but you’re unlikely to find a good gaming chair for under £80.

Given gaming chairs don’t bring the range of ergonomic benefits of office chairs, you are essentially paying more for less. A good ergonomic office chair can cost as little as £50, allowing you to get much better value for money.

Gaming Chairs vs Office Chairs: A Summary

Ultimately, it comes down to substance or style. A gaming chair will provide you plenty of comfort for a few hours, and some dedicated features that are great for gaming, but ergonomically their design is flawed.

Over several days, weeks and years of use, they can’t provide you as much comfort as an office chair. For a chair that brings comfort over long periods to help you remain productive throughout the day, a traditional office chair is the best option for working or gaming!