We all love a swivel chair. Whether we’re making the most of our spines in a home office set-up, killing each other long-distance in a gaming scenario, or just swivelling because – well, hell, it’s fun to swivel, having a comfortable swivel chair is an essential part of most home décor in the 2020s.
But there are swivel chairs, and then there are swivel chairs. None of them come with labels that say “Will fall to pieces at the tenth swivel,” or “Will give you chronic backache after an hour,” or, come to that, “What can you possibly have been thinking?”
But there are swivel chairs out there that should come with each of those labels, being sold right alongside the good, the comfortable, the ergonomic, and the faithful. So – without honest labels, how are you going to tell one kind from the other?
Sit down. Sit back. Relax. Get your recline on if you like.
We’ve got this. We’ve sat, we’ve worked, we’ve swivelled till we’re blue in the face and dizzy in the head to bring you the five best swivel chairs money can buy right now.
Want to find the best?
In a hurry? Here’s our top pick.
OUR TOP PICK
Really? A gaming chair took top honors in our list?
Damn straight it did.
Here’s the thing about gaming chairs. Gamers sit. For hooooours. They play. They save the universe on a nightly basis. Do not underestimate the intelligence of the average gamer.
They know what they want, they know what they need, they’re quite prepared to act as crash test dummies for the ergonomics industry, and chair designers have proved themselves to be smart enough to listen to their audience.
So sure, the BestOffice Gaming Chair is a gaming chair and design-wise, you might not think it fits with your décor. But because it’s a gaming chair, it has a design that can help correct any posture issues you might have picked up from sitting too long in less advanced chairs.
You can adjust the seat height and tilt, you can adjust the lumbar support – let’s pause for a moment there to acknowledge the fact that it has lumbar support – and it also comes with a headrest pillow, armrests, and a pull-out footrest underneath the seat.
With an inherently comfortable bucket seat design, covered in breathable PU leather so you don’t get slick and sweaty, it’s an ergonomic dream machine that will support you all day long against an army of dark orcs, help you crack that tricky spreadsheet, or, with its recline from 90-155 degrees, it will help you just chill out and watch the game if you want.
Oh, and naturally, it swivels. It swivels the full 360 degrees and has five feet with casters that also swivel 360 degrees, for easy transport across the room as needed.
Also, about that aesthetic. The BestOffice gaming chair is available in a range of color combinations, so while it will always and forever be a gaming chair, it can be a gaming chair on its best behavior if you happen to have company coming.
What BestOffice has done here is to build a gaming chair good enough to last you for hours of hardcore gameplay, and in the process of doing that, it’s built a swivel chair you’d be crazy not to want even if you don’t have a virtual ax with a thirst for orc-blood.
If you just want to chill the heck out, get yourself some 21st century and chill like a gamer. Your spine will thank you for it.
Pros
- The bucket seat design and extreme padding delivers comfort for hours at a time
- A 155-degree recline means it’s a chill-out chair as well as a gaming or work chair
- Adjustable lumbar support makes for good ergonomics and great comfort
- With a headrest, armrests, and a pull-out footrest, this is a chair that takes your leisure seriously
Cons
- There’s no disguising the gamer chair feel of this swivel chair in your overall aesthetic
EDITORS CHOICE
Got yourself a screen-slouch? That inevitable urge to hunch forward and ergonomics be damned?
You’re going to need the Gabrylly Ergonomic Mesh Chair, with four points of lumbar support, seat-height adjustment, and adjustable armrests and headrest.
With mesh at every conceivable point, this is a chair that breathes with you, to avoid the overheating common to some less well ventilated chairs.
It also has a 120 degree recline and a significantly bigger seat, so it can accommodate you all the way up to 280 pounds, and from 5’ 5’’ to 6’ 2’’.
It’s a chair that allows you to relax back into a more ergonomically kind position, and trust it to help you with your spinal alignment.
With five support feet, you have an effortless swivel here, and with a 1-year warranty from the manufacturer, the Gabrylly chair gives you the support and options you need, whether you’re at your office desk all day long, or have other household uses for your swivel chair.
You’ll need all the breathability you can get when you see the price of the Gabrylly chair though, as it’s significantly more expensive than many on the list. And you’ll also be disappointed if you’re looking for a chair that matches the décor.
The highly styled Gabrylly chair, with its mesh back, will likely only ever look like an office chair, whichever room you put it in.
Pros
- The chair has ergonomic lumbar support and adjustable back-height
- Mesh in the back and seat keeps you cool over long sitting sessions
- The Gabrylly chair can support taller and users, from 5’5-6’2, and 280 pounds
- It comes with a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty
Cons
- While the mesh is effective and breathable, there’s little cushioning for comfort
- You’ll get a good dose of sticker shock from the price of the Gabrylly chair
BEST VALUE
You’ll get significantly less sticker shock from the Modway EEI-757-BLK Articulate Chair, which also has supportive back mesh, and adjustable armrests and seat height.
That means you still get some of the key ergonomic benefits of a great swivel chair, for a lot less cash than some chairs on the market.
With passive lumbar support and a breathable 6-inch thick mesh seat, the Modway has many of the supportive features that will let you use it for hours at a time, while giving you plenty of padding. But it’s also a lot more aesthetically modifiable than some you’ll find.
It’s available in a range of décor-matching shades, so unlike some of the mesh chairs, the Modway will fit into rooms other than your home office if you need it to.
With a full 360 degree swivel and a tilt and lock system, this is also the chair that will support the highest weight so far. Anyone up to 331 pounds can use the Modway Articulate Chair without any worries at all about its sturdiness.
That makes the Modway a chair with a unique selling point in the market, and as such, if you need a chair that will support a heavier weight, the Modway is a chair you absolutely should check out.
The Modway feels like a more compact, less elongated chair than some, but it still has a lot of the ergonomics you need, and it plays more naturally with a range of decorating styles that a lot of swivel chairs.
Plus, at significantly less than the likes of the Gabrylly, you won’t feel the punch in your pocket either, so the Modway becomes a highly viable option.
Pros
- The Modway chair has a lot of the lumbar support and ergonomic elements you’ll find on some significantly more expensive swivel chairs
- It plays well with the color schemes of a range of offices or living rooms, being available in several different shades
- The price is a significant draw, especially since it also hits a lot of those ergonomic bases
Cons
- There’s no footrest with the Modway chair, which feels like an unfortunate oversight
RUNNER UP
The Neo Chair offering has lots of what you’re looking for, but at a really bargain-basement price.
We’re not about to lie to you – the Neo Chair swivel chair is a little more basic than some of the more expensive options – in fact, there’s maybe a round of tequila shots between this and our list-leading game chair in price, but it feels like a whole different approach to comfort and support is at play here.
The Neo Chair is not exactly basic – it offers a mesh back for breathability, and adjustable back height and lumbar support to stop your spine from getting too stiff over a long time sitting in the chair. Adjustable seat height helps you adjust your whole posture and working position too, so as we say, it’s not by any means that the Neo Chair is basic. It’s just if you put them side by side, you’d pay the extra cash for the gaming chair before you could blink twice.
One thing that’s worth noting about the Neo Chair swivel chair is that it has a fairly wide lumbar support, meaning it can help people up to a highly respectable 300 pounds.
While plenty of chairs have a more mesh-based seat, the Neo Chair goes with full-on padding for additional comfort too, which adds to a sense of luxury.
It also has wider wheels than a lot of chairs, and a plywood base, rather than the steel used in some of the higher-end models, so there’s a real sense of both support and a natural touch in the Neo Chair.
Pros
- The Neo Chair swivel chair has an impressively wide lumbar support, and is fit for people up to 300 pounds
- It’s back and lumbar support are adjustable so you get the most comfort and the most ergonomic design for a low price-point
- You get wide wheels with this chair, to help distribute your weight and help you move the chair around
- The price makes the Neo Chair highly competitive, both in the market as a whole and on our list
Cons
- The price differential between the Neo Chair and the BestOffice is not great – and of the two, you’d go with our list leader in a heartbeat
RUNNER UP
A lot of what makes the Ticova Ergonomic Chair a must-see option is in the name – it has some serious ergonomics at work to give you the most comfortable, spinally sensitive seat you can imagine.
In particular, it’s the fact that so many of the ergonomic elements in the Ticova chair are adjustable that marks it out as one that’s definitely worth your time to look at.
You can adjust both the height and the depth of your lumbar support. Change both the height and the angle of your headrest. Shift your armrest angle, move it forward and backward, and adjust its height.
Adjust the backrest to give you the best support and minimize fatigue on your spine. Even change the seat cushion height and angle so it’s personalized to your precise needs.
Add a 130-degree recline and some high density foam and you’re looking at a chair that gives you all the options you could need for comfort and support over several hours of sitting.
In addition to all of that, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 1-year warranty on the Ticova swivel chair, meaning you can buy without fear, and if anything happens during that first year, you’re covered.
Best Swivel Chair Buying Guide
There are a handful of things to think about before you press the “Buy” button on a swivel chair.
Weight Tolerance
The worst feeling once you’ve bought a swivel chair is finding out that it doesn’t hold your weight. Always check that the chair you like has a weight tolerance ideally significantly in excess of your seated weight. That way, you assure yourself of years of comfortable swivel chair use.
Ergonomic Factors
If you’re going to be using the swivel chair for hours every day, week after week, you’re going to need some ergonomic factors in your chair.
Ergonomic elements include things like adjustable armrests, back length, seat angle and so on. They also include the addition of things like footrests to help improve the alignment of your spine, and adjustable lumbar support to reduce spinal fatigue and damage, to which you might otherwise be prone.
Including ergonomic elements in a modern swivel chair is what takes some chair-makers into a higher league, because they are evidence of a person-centered approach to chair-design.
Check out your favored chair’s ergonomic elements, to see if it’s about to help you stay comfortable and safe over all the hours you’re going to use it.
Padding And Ventilation
Sitting for any number of hours in a swivel chair, whether for work, play, or just chilling out, you’re going to feel the need for padding, at least in the seat, and ideally in other areas too, so that none of your extremities go numb.
Also, where possible, look for moisture-wicking fabrics or mesh in areas like the back and seat of the chair. That way, even if you’re sitting for hours, you won’t get clammy and uncomfortable.
Aesthetic Elements
Whether your chair is going in the home office, the den, or any other room, the nature of swivel chairs is that they look more or less functional, rather than like a natural part of the room.
If you can find a swivel chair that offers you all the support, all the ergonomics you need, but also has an aesthetic dimension, you can kill all the available birds with a single chair.
There are chairs on the market that come in a range of colors or color combinations, that can match most of the rooms you might want to put them in.
It’s by no means as important an element as the support, the ergonomics, the padding, and the ventilation, but if you can get a swivel chair that matches your décor, why not go for it?
Best Swivel Chair - FAQ's
Do Gaming Chairs Work As Swivel Chairs?
Absolutely. The only golden rule of swivel chairs is that they turn 360 degrees. Beyond that, gaming chairs are built for long-term sitting. That means they have all the comfort, ergonomics and ventilation you’ll need to get the most effective use out of the chair.
What Are The Benefits Of Swivel Chairs?
By using a swivel chair, you can avoid neck strain when turning away from, and back to, screens. In addition, as most swivel chairs will have wheels or casters, you can actually move around your office without necessarily standing up. That said, if you get a chance to stand up, you should probably take it, simply to stretch your muscles once in a while.
Do All Swivel Chairs Come With Ergonomic Elements?
No. You can get cheap swivel chairs that come entirely without ergonomic elements, but it’s dangerous long-term to spend hours at your desk or in a single chair without ergonomic elements that can help you avoid injury, fatigue, or pain.
