Whether you’re working from home or in the office environment, sitting at your seat for a lengthy amount of time can have a negative impact on your health. Traditional desks make you sit for the whole working day in only one position that can affect your body posture. These desks don’t offer an option to work in a standing position because of the fixed height and diameter. Luckily, you have the choice of standing desks that are modern, height-adjustable sit-to-stand desks. They allow you to work in the position you’re comfortable in. You can work on standing desks in a standing position by just adjusting their desktop height according to your body length.

The primary purpose of almost all of the standing desks is the same: to provide you the freedom to work in whatever position you like, whether you want to work while sitting or standing. However, not all standing desks are built the same. One of the significant differences between standing desks is the mechanism they utilize to increase or decrease the height of the desktop. At present, a wide range of standing desks are available in the market which has made it challenging to find the best one that fits your needs. Luckily, we’re here for your help. We’ve summarized a detailed beginner’s guide to buying a perfect standing desk for your needs.

This guide will help you to make the right choice while buying a standing desk for your workplace. Read this guide from start to end as it is worthy of consideration if you want to buy a high-quality standing desk at an affordable price. So, let’s get started!

Guide to Buying a Standing Desk

Before discussing the factors you should consider while buying a standing desk, it’s important to mention the different popular types of standing desks you can choose.

Standing Desk Options

Standing Desks are available in a wide variety, depending on their design and functionality. Fixed standing desks don’t allow the users to change their desktop height, while Adjustable standing desks have the option to change the desktop height to achieve a comfortable position to work. Although Fixed Standing desks are also available in the market, adjustable standing desks are the popular ones because they provide a comfortable standing working position more efficiently. Therefore, we’ll only discuss the adjustable standing desks here.

Adjustable Standing Desks

Adjustable Standing desks are height-adjustable working tables. You can adjust their height according to your standing position to achieve a comfortable body posture.

Adjustable Standing Desks have two major types:

Electric Standing Desk

As the name implies, this type of standing desk utilizes the electric power from an external source to increase or decrease the desktop height. Electric standing desks are equipped with an energy-efficient motor that drives the desktop up and low to adjust the height. These desks are more expensive than other standing desks. However, their weightlifting power is high.

Manual Standing Desk

Manual Standing Desks involve the hand crank mechanism to achieve the desired desktop height. In contrast to electric standing desks, you need to turn the crank to increase or decrease the desktop height in manual standing desks. They are cheap but with considerably low weightlifting power.

Essential Factors to consider while buying a standing desk

Now that you have the basic knowledge about the popular types of standing desks, it’s time to look at the most significant factors you should consider before buying your standing desk.

Standing Desk Budget

BudgeT is the first and foremost factor to consider before buying a standing desk. Several features and elements can increase or decrease the price of your standing desk. For example, an electric standing desk costs more than a manual standing desk because it comes with a high-power electric motor and an expensive wiring system. The size of the standing desk can also increase the budget of your desk. Large-sized standing desks are more expensive than smaller ones.

First of all, you should determine your budget range to buy your standing desk. After that, you’ll compare various companies by analyzing the features, materials, and functions of the standing desks they’re selling. That’ll help you a lot. Don’t fall for an extremely lower price because it might be a trap set by a manufacturer to sell you a low-quality standing desk. Always try to keep a healthy balance between price and quality. While determining your budget range, don’t forget to add the cost of customization, shipping, and installation.

Standing Desk Size

The next factor to consider is the size of a standing desk. To choose the best-sized standing desk, take careful measurements of the area you need to accommodate. People often make a mistake while taking measurements that they don’t consider the depth of the desk. If you want to ensure that the desk you’re going to buy will fit in your workspace, measure length, width, and depth carefully. The correct depth will support the proper wrist and elbow ergonomics and allow you to keep your monitor at the right distance from your face. While measuring your space you wish to accommodate with a standing desk, make sure you take the measurement for both seated and standing positions. It will surely help you achieve ergonomic work positioning in front of the desk.

Once you’ve taken the measurements, you can go for buying the standing desk according to them. Sometimes the actual measurements of the desk are different from the dimensions mentioned in the manual or on the label. In that case, you should consider the actual measurements of the desk to match them with your working space’s dimensions.

Standing Desk Design

Now, it comes to the design of the standing desk. The weight and volume of items that you place on the desk play a crucial role in determining the design of your standing desk. For example, if you want to keep a computer LCD on the desk, you need a standing desk with the design having space for installing the LCD Stand. The design of your standing desk should allow you to place almost all types of general office items like stationery, gadgets, paperweight, laptops, etc.

Number of Users

You might think about how can the number of users affect your choice of buying a standing desk? Well, you may have to choose different standing desks depending on the users at your workplace. For example, if you’re the only user of the standing desk at your workplace, you have to adjust the desktop height a few times daily when you change your body position from sitting to standing. In that case, a manual standing desk that comes with the crank option could work best. However, if your standing desk has more than one user and its height needs to be adjusted frequently, an electric standing desk will get the job done for you. Some electric standing desks come with a programmability function that has a memory setting to remind different desktop height adjustments for different users. That can give you an extra boost!

Standing Desk Material

The materials utilized in the manufacturing of standing desks can determine their overall quality, stability, durability, and aesthetic appeal. Standing desks are made of a wide range of materials, including steel, wood, and polymer plastic. The desktops are usually made with wood material, while the legs are made with a mixture of materials. The wooden materials utilized to build worksurface of standing desks include solid hardwoods such as walnut, softwoods such as bamboo, and laminated substrates.

Some companies manufacture stainless steel standing desks that are used in manufacturing workshops and industries. You should also make sure that the materials you’re choosing are environmentally friendly. We recommend buying a standing desk made with wooden bamboo material as it’s one of the most ecologically friendly and fastest-growing plants on the planet. This plant is easy to cultivate and grows at a faster pace than other plants. You just can’t go wrong with a bamboo desk because it’s a perfect choice.

Standing Desk Stability

Stability in standing desks is strongly related to the construction material, quality of electric motor (in case of an electric standing desk), and weight capacity. Indeed, a standing desk with high stability will cost you more than desks with lower stability. However, you can find a highly stable standing desk at an affordable price by doing some market research and comparing different brands. We recommend standing desks made with wooden bamboo materials because they’re not only stable but affordable as well.

Standing Desk Weightlifting Capacity

How much weight do you want to place on your standing desk? It’s a question worth considering if you’re going to buy the standing desk that best fits your needs. Make a list of items you usually place on your desk. It may include heavyweight items like a laptop, computer LCD, books, files, boxes, or anything you use in the office. Most of the average-priced standing desks can hold and lift up to 50 pounds. However, some expensive models can hold and lift up to 700 pounds. Electric Standing desks have high weightlifting capacity than manual standing desks because they use an electric motor to lift the weight. If your budget allows it, we will recommend you to buy a standing desk with considerably high weight capacity because you may have to place some extra items on your desk on any occasion.

Electric Standing Desk Vs. Manual Standing Desk Which is Best for You?

As we mentioned earlier, people use either manual standing desks or electric standing desks nowadays. Which is best for you depends on your needs, usage frequency, the weight of table items, and, more importantly, your budget. Electric standing desks offer more freedom because they don’t require any physical effort to adjust the desktop height. On the other hand, manual standing desks use a hand crank mechanism for height adjustment in which you turn the crank with physical force to get the desired desktop height.

Electric standing desks are considerably easy to adjust and have a higher weight capacity than manual desks. Some electric standing desks even come with a programming feature that makes adjusting desktop height a cinch. However, these desks require an external power source, increasing their operating cost.

Manual standing desks don’t require any external power source; thus, they lower operating costs. If you own a manual standing desk, you do not have to worry about any electronics failure that can interrupt your work.

Before making a choice between electric and manual standing desks, consider your budget, work needs, and the weight of items you’re intended to place on them. That will surely help.

Standing Desk Dual Monitor Setup

Most standing desks have space to place only one monitor or computer LCD screen. However, if you’re looking for a standing desk that offers space to place two monitors on it at the same time, there’s good news for You! Standing desks with dual monitor setup are available in the market nowadays. These desks work in the same way as standing desks with the single monitor setup, except they have space for two monitors. Standing Desks that have a dual monitor setup are helpful for the IT Professional, stock exchange professional, media managers, and anyone who needs more than one screen to work. These desks are slightly more expensive than the standing desks with a single monitor setup.

Standing Desks with Drawer

Standing desks with drawers is an excellent option if you want a safe place to keep your valuable items within your working desk. These desks have a perfect storage space in the form of a drawer, so you don’t have to leave your working space to get your valuable things. Standing desks with drawers are more expensive than simple standing desks because of this additional feature.

• Standing desks have many types depending on the location of the drawer, such as:
• Standing Desks with Drawers under desktop
• Standing Desks with Drawers on Top of Desktop
• Standing Desks with Connected Drawers
• You can choose any of these depending on your needs, number, and volume of valuable items you want to keep in it, and more importantly, your budget.

Standing Desk Warranty

Different standing desk manufacturing companies offer a wide range of warranties. The minimum warranty of a standing desktop is around two years. Some companies offer a lifetime warranty on the base or the frame and a limited-time warranty on the desktop or the motor, but the desks are usually more expensive than others. You can get a good-quality standing desk with a warranty of 2-3 years if you don’t place heavy items on your tabletop.

Assembly & Shipping

Assembly & shipping are some of the most neglected factors while buying a standing desk. People often don’t consider them while booking their desk, but the truth is these factors can affect not only your overall price but also the manufacturing quality. Most standing desks aren’t premade and need to be assembled before their delivery to the customers. These desks can take up to 4-8 weeks to reach you. Their shipping costs are usually high, around $100-$150. So while booking your standing desk, don’t forget to check its shipping and assembly conditions. Some standing desk manufacturing companies offer the “white-glove” service in which the workers build your desk at the spot where you want to use it. This service is expensive, though.

Some Special Features to look for while buying a standing desk

Apart from the aforementioned factors and features, you can add up some unique features and functions by paying extra. For example, some companies offer customization of the standing desk through which you add an upgrade of a tray that will hold and hide the wires, a net to hold various items, or a keyboard tray. Some special features you can incorporate into your standing desks include:

• The desk synchs with your phone to provide you the information about the usage time and height adjustment in digital form.
• Desk’s tabletop that can serve as a mouse pad as well.
• Built-in speakers.

Some Useful tips for using your standing desk more effectively

No matter what standing desk you buy, it will offer health and comfort benefits more effectively if you adopt proper ergonomics for it. These valuable tips will help you to make the most out of your standing desk:

• If you’re using a manual standing desk with a crank system, don’t turn the crank too hard because it can lead to its breakage. Most cranks are made of polymer plastic and stainless steel material which is vulnerable to bending.
• If you’re using an electric standing desk that is equipped with an electric motor, you should be more careful with the external power supply to it. Disconnect the external power supply when you’re not working on the desk. Don’t try to operate the desk if the voltage is lower than recommended.
• Keep your standing desks clean to avoid the buildup of debris and dust. This can prolong its lifespan.

Conclusion

Standing Desks are revolutionary working desks that offer a wide range of health and work benefits. However, there are many factors to be considered before buying your standing desks, such as type, size, budget, design, material, ergonomics, assembly, shipping, etc. By considering all these factors, you can choose a good quality standing desk for you at an affordable price.

Thank You Very Much!