The Best Affordable Standing Desks

Whether you’re doing work, live streaming, or just browsing the web, it’s important to your health to stand up every now and again while you’re at your desk. With these standing desks, you can keep working while you stand.

We rounded up a variety of options for you to choose from that span all budgets and needs. Just want a simple, affordable desktop riser?  No problem. Would you rather get a fully-automatic that (literally) does all the heavy lifting for you? We got you. Prefer to save a few bucks with a manual crank option? Say no more. Keep reading to learn more about these amazing desks and see our favorite picks.

Update, 05/09/21: Checked content for accuracy, updated links to latest versions..

What Are the Benefits of Using a Standing Desk?

Standing up throughout your workday, whether it’s for a few minutes or a few hours, is something you should already be doing if you spend all day at your desk. Sitting for long periods of time can cause shoulder and back pain, and has been linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease among other issues. Using a standing desk can help reduce your risk of these issues, plus it can lower your risk of weight gain and heart disease, as well as improve your energy levels and overall mood, among other potential benefits.

Bonus points if you throw a balance board into the mix! These accessories can help tone and strengthen your muscles while you stand at your desk, which is awesome, plus they’re also just a ton of fun to mess around with, no matter which kind you choose.

What to Look for in a Standing Desk

Standing desks usually come in one of two flavors: desktop risers, which are movable and sit atop an existing desk; and adjustable desks, which are full-on mechanical desks that let you adjust the height of the entire desktop surface, either automatically with the press of a button or manually with a crank. They also have tons of features that can make or break the deal, so make sure you understand what they are and why they’re important:

• Wide Adjustable Height Range: The best standing desks accommodate a wide range of minimum and maximum heights, so they’re a better fit for a wider variety of people. This is especially important if multiple people will be using the desk. Good standing desks also give you precise control over the height, rather than locking into one or two preset positions.
• Ease of Adjustment: Odds are, if you’re getting a standing desk, you’ll be switching between sitting and standing throughout the day. As such, the standing desk you choose should make adjustments easy, not a time-consuming pain. Consider how often you might switch between sitting and standing each day, and whether you prefer one-touch automated adjustments or adjusting your work area manually.
• Stability: The idea of your desk wiggling every time you type on your keyboard is unpleasant, and the feeling of your standing desk wobbling is sure to stress you out. Standing desks of any design should feel stable when you use them, just like a regular desk does.
• Surface and Weight Capacity: If your setup is lightweight and you don’t have much gear, this isn’t a big deal. However, if you have a multi-monitor setup and store lots of equipment on your desk—like a phone, notes, toys, mugs, lamps, and so on—ensure the standing desk you choose is strong enough and big enough to support everything properly, including your favorite desktop supplies.
• A Good Warranty: Like anything you use on a regular basis, a good desk is worth investing in. And when you invest in something, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth and have recourse in the event the product is faulty or gets damaged. Standing desks, especially the electric ones, should come with a solid warranty—at least 5 years, if not 7 to 10 years.

The Best Standing Desk Risers

If you don’t want to commit to a costly electric standing desk, there are plenty of desktop options worth checking out that work well for simple laptop setups and multi-monitor, equipment-heavy configurations.

Levit8 Folding Standing Desk

The Levit8 Folding Standing Desk is an inexpensive standing desk solution. Its lightweight collapsible design makes it portable and easy to store. Though its small footprint doesn’t take up much space on your desk, it’s only big enough for a laptop; there isn’t any room for a mouse, keyboard, speakers, let alone a double-monitor setup. However, if your laptop is your entire setup, this is a great buy. The Levit8 comes in four colors and depending on which size you choose (with small, medium, large, and x-large options), it can raise your laptop anywhere from 8.9 inches to 18.3 and supports up to 20 times its weight.

FENGE Standing Desk

With its spacious easy-to-adjust work area, the FENGE Standing Desk is an affordable desktop riser option. Its surface measures 25.7 x 15.9 inches, so it’s large enough to hold a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and more, yet not so large as to take over your entire desk. The gas-spring mechanism offers smooth vertical adjustments anywhere between 2.1 inches to 15.7 inches, and it can support up to 37.4 pounds, which should be sufficient for the average setup. The riser ships fully assembled, so you can start using it right out of the box.

VIVO DESK-V000V

For those looking for a more heavy-duty desktop workstation riser, the VIVO DESK-V000VS is a solid choice. It’s bigger than most of the others—which is great if you have a dual-monitor setup, for example—and its sturdy Z-frame design keeps things stable yet compact on your desk, so you’ll still have room for lamps, notes, and everything else. The split-level riser provides a large work area for your monitors and a lower area for your keyboard and mouse.

The VIVO riser is available in black or white, and you can choose between the 32-inch or 36-inch design. Either size can support up to 33 pounds, and you can use the simple touch height locking mechanism anywhere between 6 inches to 17 inches. It only requires minimal assembly before it’s ready to use, and it is backed by a 3-year manufacturer warranty.

The Best Electric and Manual Adjustable Standing Desks

If you want something larger and more permanent than a small desktop riser, you can choose from some amazing electric and manual crank standing desk options.

IKEA IDÅSEN

If you want a motorized standing desk with a stylish yet minimal design, the IDÅSEN is a beautiful choice. Its veneered surface is durable, stain-resistant, and easy to clean, and with a desktop measurement of 63 x 31.5 inches, it offers a generous work area. The contoured design can provide ergonomic support to your wrists and forearms while you use the desk, and its handy cable management tray hides your messy cables away discreetly so you can keep your office looking clean. The IDÅSEN can be adjusted anywhere from 24-¾ to 50 inches, and you can tweak the height from the interface located on the handle display, or from the companion IKEA Desk Control app on your smartphone or tablet. How cool is that?

BTOD VertDesk v3

The BTOD VertDesk v3 is a popular standing desk—and for good reason. It has 93,632 different combinations for you to choose from, which should make it easy for you to get the perfect configuration to fit your needs. There is plenty to customize on the v3, like width and depth, corner options, cable management, a file cabinet, caster, and button options. You’ve also got tons of finishes to choose from to ensure the desk matches your office’s aesthetics. It also offers massive stability and can support up to 275 pounds, making it ideal for those with hefty setups.

The VertDesk companion app lets you program four height presets that work with voice commands, and it can even send you a push notification to remind you to take a break and stand up or sit down. VertDesk’s built-in GyroSense technology can detect if the desk is going to collide with something (like your equipment or a sneaky pet) as it moves. The standard warranty for the v3 includes 10 years for frame coverage, 5 years for the desktop, and 7 years for all electronic parts. Just keep an eye on the price as you customize yours; if you go all-out on the upgrades, the VertDesk v3 costs upward of $2,500.

Uplift V2

In addition to being gorgeous and customizable, the Uplift V2 is also magnificent because it’s great for tall folks. It can be raised anywhere from 25.3 inches up to 50.9 inches, which accommodates people as tall as 6 feet 8 inches, and it has a 355-pound lifting capacity. The desktop measures 1.75 inches thick and comes in bamboo, laminate, whiteboard, rubberwood, reclaimed wood, and other desktop options, so you can easily find something that matches your tastes.

You can customize options like the desktop, frame type, grommets, and keypad, and even opt for a desk with an ergonomically curved front. And again, be mindful of the cost when applying upgrades, as this one runs over $1,600 when fully equipped. The Uplift V2 only takes a few minutes to assemble and is backed by a 30-day trial and a 7-year warranty covering the frame, mechanisms, and electronics.

Fully Jarvis Bamboo

If you need a standing desk but also care about using sustainable materials, the Fully Jarvis Bamboo is a choice you can feel at peace with. The bamboo used to make the desk is sourced from sustainable forests. No fertilizers or pesticides are used to grow the bamboo, and the material is harvested by hand so as to not damage the root structure. The desk itself can lift 350 pounds, and can move from as low as 24.5 inches up to 50 inches, measured without the attached desktop.

When customizing the Jarvis Bamboo, you can choose from options for power upgrades, wire management grommets, frames, handset options, monitor arms, desk shelves, desk organizers, and even chairs, stools, and balance boards. Fully offers other electric Jarvis models as well, starting at $479, made from materials like laminate, whiteboard, hardwood, and reclaimed wood, or you can opt for the hand-crank option if you don’t mind saving a few bucks in the name of a little manual labor. The desk ships with a 7-year warranty covering the frame, mechanical, and electrical components.

IKEA SKARSTA

Manual crank standing desks offer the same functionality as their electric counterparts but let you save a few hundred dollars by taking away the automation. The SKARSTA from IKEA offers a clean minimalist look and keeps its crank handle tucked away underneath the desk when it’s not in use. You can choose from an all-white design or a white-and-beige combination, and opt for the handle to be mounted on either side of the desk for left-hand or right-hand users. The SKARSTA can be adjusted between 27.5 to 47-¼ inches tall, and the desktop measures 63 x 31.5 inches, so there’s ample room to store your monitors, keyboard, mouse, and other accessories comfortably. You can add on the Signum cable trunking for cable management, and the desk is backed by a 10-year warranty.

Autonomous L-Shaped SmartDesk

Whether you’re in a corner office or you simply need a lot of gear to do your work, the Autonomous L-Shaped SmartDesk can bring all of your desk equipment up to level whether you’re sitting or standing. It can hold up to 300 pounds, and offers near-silent height adjustment thanks to the triple electric motor. The SmartDesk only requires about 15-30 minutes of easy assembly, and it comes with a 30-day trial and a 5-year warranty for the frame and 1-year for the desktop.

The desktop comes in two interchangeable long and short pieces, measuring 77 inches x 29 inches and 35 inches x 29 inches respectively, and can be adjusted anywhere from 29.5 inches up to 48.5 inches. The Autonomous L-Shaped SmartDesk is built on a steel frame, and has three leg stands for maximum sturdiness.