Best office chairs for tall people

Steelcase Leap

The Leap is the chair most often handed to someone who has to sit all day and cannot get comfortable, and it is a reasonable pick for a tall person mainly because of how far its back and seat adjust rather than because it is oversized. Its flexible back changes shape as you recline instead of pushing back as one rigid panel, and the seat slides forward to give longer thighs more support. The catch for very tall buyers is the seat: it tops out at 20.5 inches, lower than most purpose-built big-and-tall chairs here, so anyone over roughly 6 foot 3 should check leg clearance before committing. It is also one of the two most expensive chairs in this table at list price.

Steelcase Gesture

Gesture is Steelcase's arm-focused chair: the armrests move through a much wider range than most, which matters if you are tall and keep ending up with your elbows unsupported or your shoulders hunched. It raises about half an inch higher than the Leap and carries the same 400 pound rating and the same lifetime warranty. Like the Leap it is a standard-width chair that fits tall people through adjustment rather than extra size, so a broad-framed buyer may still prefer one of the big-and-tall models here. Price is the main obstacle: at list it is the most expensive chair in this table alongside the Leap.

Herman Miller Aeron (Size C)

The Aeron is the one chair here that is genuinely built in different sizes, and Size C is the large one: Herman Miller sizes it for taller and heavier people rather than asking a standard shell to stretch. It has the highest seat in this table at 22.8 inches and the widest published fit range, and the Size C shell is rated to 400 pounds, higher than the A and B sizes. The suspension is an elastomeric weave rather than foam, so it breathes well but feels firm and unpadded to people expecting a cushioned seat, and there is no factory headrest. The price shown is the configuration Herman Miller's own store displays; lighter option packages start several hundred dollars lower, so treat it as the top of the Aeron's range rather than its entry price.

Serta iComfort i6000 Big & Tall

A padded bonded-leather executive chair built specifically for larger and taller sitters, and the most conventional-looking option in this table. Its seat rises to 23 inches, higher than any of the premium ergonomic chairs here, and it is rated to 400 pounds with a 10 year warranty at a fifth of their price. The trade-off is the material and the adjustment range: bonded leather traps heat over a long day, and the chair adjusts in fewer directions than a task chair, with no independent lumbar or arm depth control. Office Depot lists it for professional use of 8 to 10 hours a day.

Realspace Torval Big & Tall

The Torval has the highest seat in this table, a little over 24 inches at full extension, which makes it worth a look if other chairs leave your knees above your hips. It is a bonded-leather high-back with an adjustable headrest and extending armrests, rated to 400 pounds, and it is the cheapest chair here. The short warranty is the tell: five years against ten on several competitors at a similar price, and bonded leather is the surface most likely to crack first on a heavily used chair. Treat it as a budget pick that solves the height problem rather than a chair to keep for a decade.

Serta Commercial Eco 2000 Big & Tall

This is the mesh-backed answer to the leather big-and-tall chairs above: a high mesh back with height-adjustable lumbar support and a molded foam seat with a gel layer, rated to 400 pounds. It is the option to pick if you run hot, since a bonded-leather back over a full workday is the complaint that sends most people back to a mesh chair. Its seat tops out around 22.5 inches, so it is not the tallest here, and at roughly $575 it costs more than the leather models without matching the adjustment range of a premium task chair. Office Depot gives it a 10 year warranty.

FlexiSpot C7

The C7 is the value ergonomic pick here: a full mesh high-back task chair with adjustable, pivoting armrests for around $310, which is where most people land when a premium chair is out of reach. Its seat lifts to roughly 22.6 inches, higher than either Steelcase in this table, so it clears the basic height problem that rules out most cheap chairs for tall sitters. The limit is capacity rather than height: it is rated to 300 pounds, the lowest here alongside the ErgoChair Pro, so it is aimed at tall-and-lean rather than big-and-tall. Office Depot lists a 10 year warranty, unusually long at this price.

Shaquille O'Neal Sciron Big & Tall

A high-back vegan-leather chair from a line built and marketed around larger frames, styled halfway between an executive chair and a gaming seat. It is rated to 400 pounds with a 10 year warranty at around $450, which is competitive with the Serta models, and the padded adjustable T-arms are a step up from the fixed loop arms found on cheaper big-and-tall chairs. Its seat height stops at 22 inches, mid-pack here, and Office Depot rates it for 6 to 8 hours of use a day rather than the 8 to 10 given to the Serta and FlexiSpot chairs, which is worth knowing if you sit for a full shift.

Flash Furniture HERCULES 24/7 Intensive Use

The HERCULES is built for round-the-clock use, the category chairs in dispatch centres and control rooms come from, which is why it is here: chairs rated for continuous multi-shift duty are usually the ones that survive a heavy sitter. It pairs a reinforced breathable mesh backrest and adjustable lumbar with a 400 pound rating and a seat that rises to 23 inches, matching the tallest of the leather big-and-tall chairs. Two things count against it for a home office: at about $1,050 it is the most expensive non-premium chair here, and its warranty is only two years, the shortest in this table.

WorkPro 9500XL Big & Tall

The 9500XL is the big-and-tall version of a mesh task chair, with a fabric seat, mesh back, adjustable back height and arm height, and a 400 pound rating. Its headline feature is the warranty: Office Depot lists it as limited lifetime, which no other chair under $700 here matches. The catch, and it is a real one for this question, is that it is a mid-back chair, the only one in this table, so it supports the lower and middle back but stops short of the shoulders. If you are tall and want something behind your upper back, one of the high-back chairs here is the better fit despite the shorter warranty.

Autonomous ErgoChair Pro

The ErgoChair Pro is the direct-to-consumer mesh chair most often cross-shopped against a used Steelcase, with nine adjustment points, a breathable mesh back and a molded foam seat for around $499. For a tall sitter the useful numbers are a seat that lifts to 22 inches and a backrest 28 to 31 inches high, taller than most chairs in this price band, plus a seat depth that slides between 19 and 21.5 inches for longer thighs. Its 300 pound capacity is the lowest here alongside the FlexiSpot, so it suits tall-and-slim buyers rather than heavier ones, and Autonomous advertises a lifetime warranty.