Quick Answer
The gaming chairs vs office chairs debate is one that may not come to an end. However, we think that while the gaming chair is the one you should go for if you need something with many features and adjustability, the office chair is what you should go for if you need something that is not sophisticated. More than, everything else, you should make your selection based on your needs and budget.
The gaming chairs vs office chairs comparison are very popular among people who are set to either get a gaming chair or an office chair and are confused about which to go for and the advantages they would come with.
While both chairs are popular in different ways and for what they are created for, there are areas where you would find one performing better than the other in things like comfort, ergonomics, and usability among other things. Beyond that, selecting either a gaming or office chair will always ball down to what you want and what needs you have.
Importantly, there is no law that prevents you from using a gaming chair in an office or an office chair for gaming as long as either is able to meet the needs you have. In fact, there are many gamers that prefer office chairs to those specifically made for gaming.
Gaming Chairs vs Office Chairs
Design
The first thing that will always come up in the gaming chair vs office chairs comparison has to be the design of both chairs because that is the most obvious difference between them. In the design of office chair, you will always find it very simple while there is some sophistication in the design of gaming chair.
More so, office chairs may be designed with good looks, but their main objective is not so that they look good. On the other hand, gaming chairs are emphasized to look good. It is because of this that you will find most office chairs designed with subtle colours while gaming chairs come in many and mixed colours. More so, gaming chairs are also bold and flashy.
Customization and adjustment
Office chairs are not designed to have as much customization or adjustment options as you would get with gaming chairs. Hence if adjustability is what you are looking for, you will fare better with a gaming chair. However, if you are going up the ladder to more expensive office chairs, both office and gaming chairs will lock horns in adjustability.
In terms of adjustability of the chair, what you should get include things like height adjustment, armrest adjustment, back reclining or adjustment, and base tilting.
Because the need for a gamer is arguably broader than the need of someone in the office, gaming chairs have more adjustment features than office chairs most especially when they are both at the medium to low price spectrum.
Comfort and Ergonomics
Considering the fact that both gamers and office workers spend a long time sitting, both of these chairs are designed to offer extended comfort and ergonomics. If you are on a budget or you don’t want to spend too much, the most comfortable one for you will be the office chair while going higher on the ladder, gaming chairs become more comfortable.
Also, both chairs come with ergonomics, but the gaming chair provides more of it thanks to its adjustability. You get to find things like proper and external lumber support on gaming chairs than on office chairs, also adding to the ergonomics.
Features
Regarding the features that you get, the gaming chair is the better one of the two. As a result of the many needs of a gamer, the gaming chair is designed to come with as many features as possible so that it becomes easy to adjust and tweak. Of course, the office chairs also come with good features, but there is less emphasis on that. More so, you will have to spend a significant amount to get an office chair that has abundant features.
Price
At various prices, you can get both gaming and office chairs but when you consider things like the features you get for each chair, it will be easy to say that office chairs are cheaper than gaming chairs.
See Also: How Ergonomic Chairs Might Be Changing The Gaming Experience
There are some office chairs that are also very expensive, but most times this is because of some extra features that they have to offer or even a premium design quality. Gaming chairs, on the other hand, are mostly expensive even when they don’t have anything significant. For example, there is a greater quality to an office chair of $200 than there is for a gaming chair of the same amount.
Which Should I Go For?
When it returns to the question of what to get, the answer that remains is that it all depends on you and what you want since you can use both for gaming. Among the things you should consider is your budget. If you are limited in terms of finances, it will be better to go for an office chair because spending $100 on a gaming chair will only give you something mediocre while you can get a fairly good office chair with that.
Secondly, if you are interested in sophisticated chairs, your pick is a gaming chair while your choice should be the other if you need the simplicity of design. Other things that come with the sophistication of a gaming chair are additional features and adjustability.
| Gaming Chair | Office Goair | |
| Design | Sophisticated | Simple |
| Adjustment | ✓ | |
| Comfort | ✓ | ✓ |
| Features | ✓ | |
| Pricing | ✓ |
One thing that we can all agree on, no matter the heat of the Gaming Chairs vs Office Chairs debate is that there are a number of features that both chairs should have including:
- Adjustability of height, back, and arm
- Lumbar support
- Stability
- Comfort and durability
Conclusion
At the end of the day, there are so many things that come to play whether you are going for a gaming chair or an office chair. Nonetheless, the two most important things you should consider are your needs and your budget. The good news is that at all levels, you will be able to find good gaming and office chairs, although the very good ones are more easily found at the high-end.
