Best standing desk 2021: With adjustable heights and electric mechanisms

Best: Overall

Rating: 9/10

This minimalist desk with clean lines and plenty of desktop space is clearly made with work from homers in mind, as it combines one of the most efficient motorised mechanisms we tested with straightforward assembly, which won’t take more than an hour.

The lowest this desk will go is 62.5cm, which is great if you’re not super tall, and it raises to 128cm, so you’ll still be able to work ergonomically, even if you’re 6-foot plus. Capable of supporting 125kg, you won’t have to worry about overloading even if you’ve got a multiple monitor set-up, and the table was still rock solid when raised to its highest limit.

The transition from sit to stand was smooth and quick, thanks to a dual-motor lifting system, and there are four pre-sets that you can programme in so that different household users can quickly and easily get to work at the desk at their required height. There are plenty of other features that can be enabled from the keypad too, from locking the height so that it can’t be tampered with to fully lowering the table with one button press when you’re all finished for the day.

There is also an anti-collision sensor when the table is on the move that will stop the table before it whacks your household pet on the head. The legs are rounded for a more attractive look and the desktop itself has a nice, natural grain finish with eleven variations available to suit your home décor.

Best: For bigger office spaces

Rating: 7/10

If you have a larger working area, particularly one that’s suitable for a corner desk with a return, then this UK manufacturer has come up with a desk with three efficient motors that will raise the right-angled desktop at the touch of a button. The desk ranges in height from 70cm to 123cm, allowing taller individuals to still work ergonomically, although there is also a pro 3+ version (£879.95, Yo-yodesk.co.uk) with a height range of up to 127cm – making it suitable for users up to 6’8”.

The spacious table didn’t suffer from any wobble at the higher ranges of height, and the powder-coated top plate comes in ten colours for easy blending with existing décor.

Best: For converting an existing desk

Rating: 8/10

If you’re happy with the desk you have but would like the option to sit-stand, then this riser will sit on top and give you that freedom of movement, raising your keyboard up to 35cm from the base while the desktop itself goes up to 50cm, so you should easily be able to find an optimum working height.

The gas-assisted lifting mechanism is very easy to operate and when you want to sit down the whole unit lowers so that your keyboard sits flush to your existing desk, with the monitor sitting at 15cm.

Best: If you’re good with your hands

Rating: 8/10

Right, we’re pretty good at DIY, but it was a bit of a struggle putting the Jarvis together. However, we can say that you won’t be disappointed with the end result because the table supports an astonishing 158kg and is made from premium materials that are built to last – particularly the sustainably grown and harvested bamboo, which looks fantastic and is very workable.

The lifting mechanism is impressively fluid, using up and down arrows on the keypad and the table is one of the most customisable on the market too, with two shapes and seven sizes, so you should easily be able to find a configuration that is tailored to your office space.

Best: For modernist office spaces

Rating: 9/10

The minimal aesthetic of this desk would make it a very welcome addition to a modern work space, and the fact that there are a mind-boggling number of combinations to choose from in terms of the frame colour and finish of the hard-wearing melamine top means that you should have no trouble blending the desk into the space.

Putting the desk together was straightforward and the lightweight components meant that we didn’t need another pair of hands to help, but once assembled the desk felt strong and stable, even when raised to the maximum height of 125cm. The mechanism was smooth without any judder and the desk itself will take 75kg of weight, so will easily be able to accommodate most office setups.

Best: For yo-yo workers

Rating: 9/10

If you are one of those workers who are constantly up and down throughout your working day, then this table made from recyclable steel and aluminium has one of the fastest mechanisms on test. Rather than motors, the float relies on a constant force spring and counterbalance mechanism to raise and lower the top plate over 50cm of height via a paddle placed just underneath the table. The transition is smooth, strangely satisfying to operate and, most importantly, quick.

The range offered tops out at 120cm and the desk can support 58kg, but the float was absolutely solid at the top level and never moved even when we were leaning on it. This is an expensive desk but it’s also supremely functional and impressively engineered and, again, it’s highly customisable – we specifically liked the under-table keyboard system, where the keyboard can be hidden away in a pull-out drawer to give you even more room on the desktop and reduce clutter when the desk isn’t in use.

Best: For kids

Rating: 7/10

Childrens’ posture is rarely a problem, but sit-stand desks can still really benefit them as they stop those bad postural habits that we pick up as adults slowly creeping in.

This Flexispot table features a similar mechanism to the company’s adult desks so your child can switch from sitting down in front of their homework to standing up for a spot of crafting without any hassle. This is thanks to a one-touch button that easily raises the table between heights that range from 77.5cm to 87.5cm. There’s plenty of room on the waterproof top plate for exercise books and organisers and the desk also comes with some kid-friendly features – like a hook from which they can hang their schoolbag so that it’s easily accessible.

Best: For busy desks

Rating: 7/10

This desk offers four different sizes of top plate, so if you work pretty minimally you can opt for the 120x80cm desk. However, there is also a 180x80cm top that will ensure you can really spread out without feeling cramped while you work.

The dual motors were very smooth raising the table via a responsive keypad between 64cm and 130cm and we had no worry wobbles when we were working at the upper reaches of the table’s standing mode. The table has a 100kg weight capacity which means you can work with confidence even if it has to accommodate a sizeable digital set up.

Best: For easy assembly

Rating: 6/10

Not all sit-stand desks rely on motors and fancy mechanisms, and if you don’t want a permanent sit-stand option then this birch plywood desk offers both laptop and desktop users the opportunity to feel the benefits of standing on posture and productivity. It sets up on an existing desk within minutes offering a simple system of seven slots that you can fit two shelves into according to how you want your laptop and screens set up.

At the highest level the stan 2 will raise a monitor 32cm above the height of your original desk and the whole thing is very easy to pack away again at the end of the working day.

Best: Value for money

Rating: 9/10

This table from the Swedish flat-pack specialists was suitably straightforward to assemble and raises via a handle and crank from 70cm to 120cm. Unlike some other cranked tables that we’ve seen, the Ikea desk’s crank slides back under the table once you’ve set the height to stop you impaling yourself on it when you get up to make a cup of tea.

With 50kg of load and a 120cm x 70cm working area, the table is functional for all kinds of working practices, whether you’re sat at a keyboard and screen or actually making something.