We advise you get a standing desk if you want help avoiding back pain, staying mobile during the working day, and generally feeling healthier during office hours.
One of the best standing desks could be the best home-working investment you’ll ever make. A great way to stay healthier, keep active and stave off back pain, a standing desk can also improve concentration – making you more productive.
My colleagues and I at Creative Bloq are big believers in working from home, and we’ve invested in our home setups. I have personally reviewed many of the standing desks on this list, with my colleagues covering others. We spend time with these desks to rate how comfortable they are to use, how easy they are to assemble and how practically they slot into a home office setup.
My top pick currently is the excellent Ergonofis Sway desk, but I've included more options that are worth consideration. If you’d prefer a sit-down setup but still want to stay healthy, see our guide to the best office chairs for back pain.
This is my current standing desk at home, and I have absolutely no desire to change it. Though the construction was a tad fiddly (though to be fair, I did it by myself, which is not advised), the finished product is both beautiful to look at, and a joy to use.
Every standing desk has a unique selling point, and if I had to chose for the Sway, I'd say it's the brilliant controls. A length-ways LED touch display, it's basically a line that you can swish your finger up and down on, and the desk moves to your pre-set hight. I also managed to set two heights without consulting the guidebook, so I'd say it's pretty intuitive.
First released in 2015, the Sway standing desk has had a couple of updates in recent years, and you really feel them in the details. The quite motors, smoothly moving the desk, the reassuring anti-collision system, and the controls that can cater for four users all stand out. Read my full Sway standing desk review.
This is another option that isn't cheap, but an L-shaped desk offers a lot more space than a conventional desk, and it can be particularly useful if you have a setup that involves more than one screen. And it's an area where there's very little competition since there just aren't many L-shaped standing desks around. Our reviewer tried out Brödan's offering for a couple of weeks in his home office and was impressed with its quality and convenience. The electric motor allows you to preset three heights, and there are some nice touches such as power outlets and cable management.
It's big and heavy and not the easiest to manoeuvre once assembled, but then much of that is because of the quality of the materials. All in all, if you’ve got the money to spend and need the flexible space that comes with an L-shaped desk, this is a great option.
For my money, the FlexiSpot E9 offers some of the best value for money you can get when it comes to standing desks. Currently retailing for as little as £499 or $339, it's an eminently affordable option, and while you can drive the price up by customising with add-ons like castors, storage, power strips or even an under-desk bike, a good way to keep the desk within your budget is to simply not do that.
Our reviewer liked this desk from the moment it arrived. It's fairly heavy, but the assembly process itself is pretty easy and painless. It requires a power drill and an extra pair of hands, but the instructions are clear and all told it took less than an hour (flatpack experts will likely manage it a good deal faster). And once the desk is up, that heaviness rebrands itself as sturdiness – this is not a desk that wobbles easily.
Height can be adjusted via the LCD panel, which is useful if you want to be able to quickly switch between sitting and standing positions – and there's a built-in child lock to prevent accidents. The movement is also smooth enough that you don't have to clear the desk when you want to change positions; we found that even a full cup of tea wasn't disturbed by it. The height range is suitable even for very tall people, and the desk surface itself gives you plenty of space. It can hold a weight capacity of up to 180kg, which is plainly more than enough for even the most cluttered workspace.
For the money, this is a bargain, and I feel comfortable recommending it as one of the best-value standing desks on the market.
When we got our hands on ChopValue and Fnatic's unique standing desk, we were eager to find out what the hell a desk made out of chopsticks would look and feel like. Turns out, it can look sleek and beautiful, and feel like a prestige quality product.
Some would say that the Revive Essential and Pro models of this desk are on the smaller side (at 111.5cm wide, 74cm deep). You certainly couldn't say that about the mega Revive XL model! But of course, this 140cm x 74cm table will come with an XL price tag – currently $1,345 over at the ChopValue website. But you do get 9,565 chopsticks with every XL model!
Check out our hands-on review for more information on the unique Revive standing desk.
If you've got a little bit of money set aside for a premium build standing desk, the Uplift V2 is a great option. It will do all the things that the number one standing desk will do, above, but with an added focus on silky smooth movement and stability. With dual motors, the Uplift V2 is also quite responsive in its movement. As with the top choice, there's also a feature that will stop the desk moving if it detects that it's 'hit' something on the way down (your chair, your knees, etc).
There are more options for attachments in the Uplift V2, allowing you to attach and hold your desktop computer, for example, under and to the side of the desk. This is particularly great if, like me, your desk is already nicely filled.
Constructed from recycled steel, and made without any toxic chemicals, the Humanscale Float is an environmentally sound choice of premium standing desk. It doesn't use a crank or a motor, but rather a counterbalance mechanism not dissimilar to that of a sash window, making height changes the work of effortless seconds.
It can be adjusted with one hand, even if you've absolutely laden it with heavy equipment and fat books, like we have. All you need to do is turn the weight adjustment handle a few times to compensate, press the handle under the desktop, then lift or lower it.
It's a tough desk too, just in case you do plan on subjecting it to some cruel and unusual punishment.
Many of the best standing desks are adjusted by electric motors, but the Ikea SKARSTA has a more manual approach, with a crank handle to raise and lower it. That means you might not want to have to adjust the height every day, but it does make this standing desk a more affordable option because electrical components don't come cheap. It also means that the desk is lighter than many others without compromising on strength.
You can adjust the height between 70cm and 120cm, letting you work comfortably either sitting or standing. The crank can be fitted on either side, depending on whether you're right or left-handed, and can be tucked neatly out of the way when not in use. While it might sound like hard work compared to the electrical options, the crank is easy to use.
Wondering what the health benefit is to a standing desk?
The idea of standing all day may seem strange, but studies have indicated a variety of health benefits. For instance, some studies have shown that after a meal, blood sugar returns to normal levels more quickly in a standing person than a sitting person. Standing also burns more calories than sitting, even if you're standing still, and it can also be much better for your posture; sitting for long periods puts pressure on your back and discs. Standing while working may not be for everyone, but there are definitely benefits to doing so.
How high should my standing desk be?
It's all about configuring it to your specific needs.
You should set your standing desk to roughly elbow-height – to a point where your elbows can rest roughly 90 degrees from the floor. As a guide, a person of the rough average height of 5'11" (180cm) should have their standing desk at about 44 inches, or 112cm. Ideally, your fingers should lightly meet the keys of your keyboard, and your monitor should be 20-28 inches (51-71 cm) away from your face.
How do I choose a standing desk?
The first thing to think about when buying a standing desk is its height. At its full height, you'll want to be able to stand at it comfortably, without hunching over something that's too small or straining to reach something that's too high. This also means you'll have to take your own height into consideration, as what will fit a 5ft2 person, won't work for a 6ft3 person!
Next, you'll need to think about the standing desk's ease of movement and lifting mechanism, so whether you have to manually crank it up or press a button for it to rise. The speed and noise it makes is also important to consider, and you'll need to check how much weight it can take so you can fit all your equipment on it.
Once you've decided all the features and functionalities you want from your standing desk, it's time to narrow down your budget and find an option in our best standing desk guide above.
How we test
At Creative Bloq, we test a variety of products that makes artists, editors and designers lives easier and more creative. From standing desks to drawing tablets, we test everything you could possibly need to fulfill your creative dreams, and we do this honestly and expertly to give you the best recommendations.
How we test products, like the best standing desks, is we spend time with the product to test out its full capabilities. For example, when testing a standing desk, we'd look into how it sits as a normal desk and how it rises to standing, height and width, comfortability and other additional features, like price. From there, we compare each standing desk to similar models and other brand models to see which one is the best of the best.
All our reviews are written by experts in the field of art and design, and who use these products daily. We also update our reviews and guides regularly, so our readers get up-to-date information about any changes or updates on the product that we think are worth knowing before you buy.
Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he's not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.
