Gaming Chair VS Office Chair – Which One To Pick?

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

(Jack Nicholson, Shining)

Jack Nicholson didn’t go mad in Shining because of the chair he choose.

But he just might have if he would have to use his office chair to play video games (Tetris was big in 1980). But can you imagine having a gaming chair in the office? Should gaming chair be found only in your mom’s basements completed with a sick rig?

Simple fact: You can’t have a gaming chair in the office simply because everybody in the office will think you’re playing Counter Strike even if you’re looking at Excel spreadsheets 10+ hours a day. Nobody wants to be viewed as a complete nerd while sitting behind an office desk.

Gamers always have the dilemma of choosing a gaming chair VS office chair. Why?

Because we usually have some office chair that we sit on and we’re thinking:

“Those gaming chairs look awesome. Should I get a gaming chair and ditch the office chair? Will it be more comfortable and will I get an edge in gaming because I’m more relaxed and less tired even after hours of gaming?”

There is no such thing as a gaming office chair (unless you’re working at a really chill office with a Playstation – think start-up offices).

However, there is a simple formula when comparing gaming chairs versus office chair.

Simple Formula: Gaming Chair Versus Office Chair?

You don’t have to be an Einstein to figure out that the gaming chair is meant for playing video games and an office chair is for working. But can you combine the benefits of a gaming chair with the benefits of an office chair?

Yes, you can. We’ll go through some lists of best-mixed gaming office chairs that you can both use for gaming and office work. First of all, let’s establish the simple formula when it comes to contrasting between gaming and office chairs:

• If your primary use of the chair is gaming, go for a gaming chair.
• If you use a chair in a more conservative office, go for an office chair.
• You want to use a chair both for gaming and office? We have some ideas for you.

Here is the summary of the best chair for each activity, with the best chair for both gaming and office included (in the middle):

How Does Gaming + Office Chair Looks Like?

Best Gaming Chair	Best Mixed (Gaming + Office) Chair	Best Office Chair
Very comfortable, designed for hours of gameplay. Can swivel for gaming, reading, watching movies. The cheapest option.	Both comfortable and ergonomically designed. Used for gaming AND office work. Conveys adequate office authority Mid price range option.	Sturdy but ergonomically designed office chair. Primary use: working behind the desk. Conveys authority. The most expensive option.
Use only in your mom's basement or your room.	Can be used in basement/room + office!	Use only in office.
Check Price	Check Price	Check Price

Can you imaging parking the WENSIX gaming chair behind your office desk? That would be seriously awkward. Of course, no one would flick if you brought the Herman Miller Aeron to work. Everybody would probably want to try it out.

BUT! If you have to choose a chair for both sitting comfortably in your basement for gaming and for sitting ergonomically 8+ hours in your office, the noblechairs ICON is the perfect mixed-chair. It doesn’t look unusual in the office (in fact, it’s quite a nice-looking office chair in itself). Is very comfortable for gaming.

What’s The Difference Between Gaming And Office Chair?

The differences are actually quite substantial. It’s less like Call Of Duty vs. Battlefield and more like, well, I don’t know, Call Of Duty and Civilization. Chairs that belong in the office are completely different than the chair that belongs in front of the PC gaming rig.

Here are the most striking differences when comparing gaming chair vs office chairs (we’ll dive into them later on):

1. Chair design – how it looks like.
2. Ergonomic properties – how bad for your back it is.
3. Comfortability – how comfortable it is, duh.
4. Included adjustments – swivel, chair height and so on.
5. Materials – what’s it made out of.
6. Cool features – in-built speakers, Bluetooth, RCA cables, compatibility with Xbox, PlayStation etc.

Difference Between Chair Designs

The first, the most striking and the most important difference that separated office chairs and gaming chairs is the design. One look at an office chair and you know it’s an office chair; the same goes for gaming chairs.

I mean, just look at the Ironman themed gaming chair. You don’t have to ask if it’s a gaming chair or office chair:

Gaming chairs will feature striking colors and the design itself can be inspired by a particular game. You can have racing chairs, shooter game themed chairs or very comfy gaming chairs designed primarily for playing strategy games.

Does that mean that gaming chairs are better than office chairs? For gaming, sure. For the office, no way. The office setting is completely different. What is in the office is that:

• Office chair should be ergonomically designed.
• Office chair should convey some sort of aptitude, or authority.

When on a job, you don’t really want to communicate you play video games because it comes across as nerdy or even childish. An important difference that differentiates office chairs is that they look sturdy and designed for, well, grown-up people with jobs, taxes, credit scores and all that.

Are Office Chair More Ergonomic Than Gaming Chairs?

We can both sit on gaming and office chair for hours on end. But office chairs are usually designed to be more ergonomic than gaming chairs because people working in the office usually spend 30+ years sitting on them every single day.

Limelight reports that an average video gamer spends 6 hours per week playing video games. That’s A LOT less than 40h working weeks but for everybody who thinks working is more important than playing video games, I have this message:

The point I’m trying to make is that by default office chairs are more ergonomically shaped. However, we must differentiate between “ergonomic” and “comfortable”. Ergonomic means that they are good for your back and provide lumbar, high-back support and so on. Comfortable means that they are just very comfy. And here the gaming chair has an edge.

It is easier to spend an entire LAN party sitting on a gaming chair than an office chair because the gaming chair is more comfortable. Yes, it might not be as good for your back as an office chair, but who really thinks about the long-term effects of sitting on a chair: office people or gamers?

Included Adjustments (Gaming Chairs Are Better)

Gaming chairs are pretty versatile when it comes to chair adjustments. Everything from chair height to armrests, backrests and back-ward tilt can be adjusted considerably with ease. It is not uncommon for a PC chair to be as agile as WENSIX gaming chair:

This is something you just can’t do with an office chair. Chairs that belong in the office can be customized to a certain degree but that’s light years away from versatility and agility that gaming chairs can demonstrate. There are many benefits associated with office chairs vs gaming chairs but adjustability is certainly not one of them.

Are Office Chairs Of Better Quality Than Gaming Chairs?

As far as materials are concerned, office chairs are usually made out of much fancier materials than gaming chairs. Where gaming chairs are standardly made out of synthetic materials or ‘fake’ leather, the office chairs are made out of sturdy materials and real leather. One benefit that office chairs have over gaming chairs is that they are made to last.

Of course, the higher quality design of the office chair does come at a cost – quite literally. It is not uncommon for office chairs to be every 500$ more expensive than normal gaming chairs, and a lot of that has to do with sturdy materials that are designed to last.

Some low-quality gaming chairs (price range below $100) have a lot of synthetic materials and plastic parts. Eventually, they can’t keep up with wear and tear but at least they are very inexpensive and it’s not really costly to buy a new one.

Cool Features (In-built Speakers, Bluetooth, RCA cables, Compatibility With Xbox, PlayStation etc.)

The cool features, of course, are the speciality of gaming chairs. There are no gaming chairs with Xbox compatibility (and if they are, let me know, I’ll buy one for my office). The possibilities to add some gadgets on a gaming chair are endless. You have audio chairs, PS chairs, Xbox chairs, racer chairs and so on just based on the variety of cool features they come with.

So Which Is Better: Gaming Chair Or Office Chair?

It really depends on what you need. A chair for gaming? Go for a gaming chair. A chair for office? Go for an office chair.

But if you want to have a chair that can handle gaming as well as being in the office, you can go for noblechairs ICON which is kind of a perfect marriage of both worlds.