The advantage of a gaming chair is that it’s more affordable, looks more gaming-friendly, has a steeper backrest angle and provides better support.
Ergonomic chairs are generally more expensive and have similar functions to gaming chairs, the difference being that their appearance is more “office” and all-purpose.
In the past, it would have been true to say that gaming chairs were made in a lesser variety of coverings, but the market has greatly evolved and this difference is no longer true.
I understand your problem: you’re torn between the ergonomic chair and the gaming chair…
What you want is to get a good deal, get the best settings, and buy a chair that won’t break your back after hours of sitting.
You don’t care about the rest of the ergo vs gaming chair debate, you just want to make an informed choice.
That’s exactly what happened to me, and at the time I couldn’t get a clear answer, so I invested my money in a bit of a haphazard way…
But now, with the benefit of hindsight, I intend to share with you everything I’ve learned in my many years of experience in this field.
And just because I’ve got “gamer” in the name of my site doesn’t mean I’m going to be nice to this type of chair.
So I suggest you read the whole article, because I’m going to give you some information, and not just a little.
Short on time and don’t feel like going through all the explanations and comparisons?
Then you can either watch the video to get an opinion other than mine, or read on to get MY full opinion.
Here’s a quick summary:
For me, the best value for money is to be found in gaming chairs, especially if you’re on a budget and looking for a budget gaming chair.
Because when it comes to value for money, gaming chairs beat office chairs hands down.
Where the trend is reversed is for chairs costing over €1,000. As a general rule, ergonomic chairs will be better here.
Why is that?
Well, they’ll be better because they’ll have more adjustments, including the ability to adjust backrest height or seat depth.
Finally, if you’d like to find out more and not be content with this simplistic answer, I suggest you read the rest of the article!
Sommaire
In this respect, ergonomic chairs and gaming chairs are identical in capabilities.
Just as many gaming chairs as ergonomic chairs have 4D armrests.
4D armrests allow you to adjust the armrests up and down, front and back, in angle and width.
I’m not going to describe the ergonomic benefits of such adjustment here, as I’ve already written an article about it in depth in How to choose your gaming chair.
What we’re interested in here is whether an ergo chair or a gaming chair is best.
And in this respect, the two are identical, except that gaming chairs generally offer greater customization possibilities.
For example, on an ergo chair, changing the armrests is impossible most of the time.
But on a gaming chair like the latest Secret Lab (the one I used for the photo), there’s CloudSwap technology.
This allows you to replace the armrests in 30 seconds, as the top of the armrests is magnetized.
And it’s possible to replace them with Technogel armrests (better thermoregulation, adapts to your wrist/arms) and so on.
I don’t know of any ergonomic chairs that can do this, but are you going to use this setting?
Once again, when it comes to the main types of upholstery, ergonomic and gaming chairs are all the same.
To find out exactly which fabric, imitation or leather you should choose, depending on your use, I refer you to my article on the subject.
It will be very easy to find an ergonomic chair in fabric, imitation or leather (whether nappa leather or other), and the same goes for gaming chairs.
Where it gets a little more complicated, however, is with “atypical” materials: it’s much easier to find a top-of-the-range gaming chair in suede, alcantara or other materials, than an ergonomic chair.
Although in the case of alcantara, it’s understandable because it’s a material used in sports cars.
There’s also the reputation that there are no fishnet gaming chairs, but that’s not true.
For example, the Sakhir brand makes some nice gaming chairs in fishnet.
So I’d say that thanks to the “sporty” and less “professional” side of gaming chairs, you have easier access to a panacea of different materials.
It’s hard for me to pick a winner here, because it’s all a question of situation and taste.
If you’re a lawyer, it seems obvious to me that you’re not going to put a gaming chair in your office, because the look is totally unprofessional.
Well, it depends – there are Maxnomic chairs like the Commander that are “sober” and are used by businesses…
But I don’t think it would look at all good in a law firm.
Imagine, for example, the gaming chair pictured here (an Aerone) in a law firm? Even though it’s black, sober and versatile, it wouldn’t look professional AT ALL.
In the same way, an ergonomic chair in a gaming set-up looks rather “banal”, although it’s still better than the opposite (a gaming chair in a law firm).
So I’d say that, from an objective point of view, ergonomic chairs have a more sober design that really goes everywhere.
On this point I’m going to have to declare a tie.
The rocking mechanism is very important if you want to be able to spend long hours sitting down without suffering and taking care of your back.
There are various types of rocker mechanism, the most commonly used being centered, off-center and synchronous.
The centered rocker is the worst of the three, and is available on most low-end chairs.
Off-center rockers are available on most mid-range/high-end chairs.
Synchronized is admittedly rarer on gaming chairs than on ergonomic chairs.
But contrary to popular belief, synchronous seating does exist, even on gaming chairs.
Take a look at Quersus gaming chairs, for example, which feature synchronous tilting mechanisms!
So here it’s a tie: all tilting mechanisms are available on both gaming and ergonomic chairs.
This is where gaming chairs come out on top, because ergonomic chairs don’t have a backrest tilt system.
The backrests of ergonomic chairs tilt, but cannot be adjusted independently to the same extent as gaming chairs.
For example, on a gaming chair, the backrest can sometimes be tilted up to 180°, allowing you to recline completely.
I agree that it’s a bit gimmicky to go as far as 180°.
Unless, of course, you like to take naps without moving from your desk.
However, I particularly like the 140-150° tilt, which means you can lean back just enough to relax and play/work quietly.
So there’s no doubt in my mind.
Here, I’m going to focus on the chair’s base, castors, chassis and, more generally, its entire skeleton.
As a general rule, the castors and frame are all the same, whether in an ergonomic chair or a gaming chair.
However, I’ve often noticed that the legs of ergonomic chairs (even at €500) are made of nylon, which is of fairly low quality and only found on low-end gaming chairs.
And why take my word for it?
Take a look for yourself!
Although a headrest is optional for ergonomics, gaming chairs are far ahead in terms of advances.
Ergonomic chairs either don’t have one, or have manually adjustable headrests.
By contrast, some gaming chairs like the Secretlab or the Razer Enki Pro have headrests magnetized directly to the backrest.
And as a bonus, they’re memory-formed, which improves blood circulation, distributes pressure points more evenly and provides much greater comfort than a normal headrest or cushion.
Well, clearly not all gaming chairs have this, because if we look at the lower-end gaming chairs, they have simple lambda cousins, but the reverse is also true for ergonomic chairs.
In my opinion, there’s no contest.
Another very important point for sitting well is lumbar support.
It’s essential that your lumbar region is well supported, reproducing the natural S-shaped curve of your spine.
Without lumbar support, you’re going to suffer very quickly.
And on this point, I find the lumbar support (on some gaming chairs, but not all) more advanced than that of ergonomic chairs.
On ergonomic chairs, as a general rule, lumbar support is built-in, and is not volume-adjustable.
But you can often either adjust the height of the backrest (which also changes the height of the lumbar support) or directly adjust the height of the lumbar support (sometimes on very expensive models).
On gaming chairs, it depends whether you’re going for a lousy chair or a good one.
On gaming chairs, it’ll either be built-in, but not adjustable at all, so pray it fits.
Or it’ll be a cushion that you’ll have to place manually, but that’s annoying because sometimes it moves and you have to put it back in place.
However, on good gaming chairs, since I’m comparing good gaming chairs to good ergonomic chairs…
Well, it’s a completely different story.
They’re much more advanced, since on some gaming chair models you can adjust the lumbar support both in height and volume.
I’ve never come across an ergonomic chair that lets me adjust both the height and volume of the lumbar support.
And yet I think this is really important, because for some people the lumbar support will be too pronounced, for others not enough, well, everyone has a different physique and different needs.
The photo shows a Quersus Vaos 501, with integrated volume-adjustable lumbar support.
For an integrated lumbar support with adjustable volume and height, you’ll have to look at the Secretlab (but I was fed up with putting up pictures of the Secretlab afterwards, people will think the article is a sponsorship, when it’s not).
There’s only one gaming chair on the market today that offers a seat translation mechanism (basically, to adjust the depth of the seat from front to back).
And that’s the Quersus ICOS pictured here.
On the other hand, on ergonomic chairs, it’s not uncommon at all; in fact, it’s quite common to have such a mechanism.
However, gaming chair manufacturers try to compensate by offering their models in various sizes.
The aim is to ensure that, when you buy a chair of your own proportions (or thereabouts, of course), you won’t need to adjust the depth of the seat, because it’ll be just right.
But then again, it depends on the manufacturer, and there aren’t many who offer models according to size.
(By this, I mean that they offer different models in different ranges according to size. For example, a Quersus VAOS 501, an EVOS 301 and a GEOS 701 are more or less the same chair, but there’s one for tall people, one for short people and one for people in the middle).
And those offering this are… Maxnomic, Quersus, Secretlab… And I think that’s all?
So here it is, very mixed, and I give my vote to the ergonomic chairs on this point.
This is a clear victory for gaming chairs.
The possibilities for customizing a gaming chair are infinitely greater than for ergonomic chairs.
I’m not just talking about colors, which are generally much more plentiful on gaming chairs, but also customizations, such as adding a nickname or something similar.
Only on gaming chairs is it possible to add a nickname or logo, or have something embroidered on a particular part of the chair.
Here, for example, my headrest proudly displays my site’s logo!
For a good ergonomic chair, unless you buy second-hand, you can quickly find yourself looking at 1000-1500€, and I’m not just talking about Uncle Herman’s famous Embody ergonomic chair.
On the other hand, gaming chairs rarely cost more than €550, even at the very top end of the market.
Then, for less expensive, entry-level chairs, it’s all the same.
On a 200e gaming chair, you’ll generally have far more options than its 200e ergonomic counterpart.
And that’s something I’ve noticed on a regular basis.
| 💰 Quality-price:️ | Gaming chair |
| 👔 Pro Context: | Ergonomic chair |
| 🎛️ Quantity of settings: | Gaming chair |
| 🦵 Synchronous seat/tilt translation: | Ergonomic chair |
For me, gaming chairs are the best of the best, because they offer excellent value for money.
If you’re working in a professional context, I imagine you’ll have no choice but to buy an ergonomic chair, because of the racing aspect of gaming chairs.
On the other hand, if you’re on your own, or if it’s for your gaming setup, I think the best choice is still to select a gaming chair.
They outperform ergonomic chairs in every way, except for the seat translation mechanism.
AND provided you choose carefully, of course. There are brands out there that I’d describe as “profiteers” on both sides, so be careful.
Thomas is the creator/editor of this site. A very passionate gamer since his early childhood, his mission is to help you choose an important part of your set-up: the gaming chair.