The best budget office chairs in the UK under £150

Affordable office chairs that won’t break the bank - but will help your back.

The best budget office chairs under £150
Marc Chacksfield's avatar
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Get a decent office chair. It's one of the first pieces of advice you'll be told if you start working from home.

We also often hear folks recommended a Herman Miller Aeron. It's the chair you seen most often in fancy offices in movies. There's just one problem. Those chairs cost a fortune.

You don't have to spend £1000 or more to avoid back pain, though.

Our list of the best budget office chairs starts at under £100, and tops out at £150 - a budget that's hopefully manageable, even in these tightest of tight times.

This price bracket is a pretty happy place to be in office chair land. It’s enough to net you proper height adjustment and seat tilt, lumbar support and a solid metal core seat post construction that will take some beating.

One of the key decisions you have to make here is “to mesh or not to mesh?”

A mesh back will help keep you cool and avoid sweating because the back of the chair itself is super-breathable. In this more affordable price bracket, mesh is often a good idea because one of the key alternatives, synthetic leather, can feel sticky and tacky in its lower-cost guises.

However, we have both styles to show below. And one of them is a chair, below £100, we’ve been testing recently right inside Shortlist towers.

If you're in search of an office chair with no budget constraints, we also have a guide to the best office chairs, featuring options ranging from £100 to £1,000.

Best budget office chairs in the UK under £150

COMHOMA Office Desk Chair
at AmazonWhile the brand sounds like something Matthew McConaughey would shout in one of his ultra-hip movies, COMHOMA is more at home producing well-built, comfortable office chairs. We like the curved backrest, the spongey seat and it's the sort of chair that matches pretty much any office environment. Oh, and the arms flip up, which may sound like something trivial but is great if you need to save a bit of space when you aren't using the thing, as it'll fit nicely under your desk as a result.
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Yaheetech Office Chair
at AmazonOur butts are sitting on this one right now. Of course we could have gone with something far more expensive - ahem - but why would we when the Yaheetech offers a decent amount of comfort and that all-important reclining option for those times when we close our eyes to 'think'. It's easy to put together, durable and has castors, which are no use in our 6x10-foot office-shed but we're sure someone somewhere will find them of benefit.
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IKEA Markus office chair
at IKEAThe IKEA Markus has been around for yonks, but only in 2024 did it come back down to a price low enough to fit in this round-up. It's an ultra-practical workhorse made to last. And it actually got a redesign back in 2022. The basics remain the same, though. You get a tall mesh back, to keep things cool. The one downside is the arms are totally fixed, where a pricier model of this style would net you adjustable arms.
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John Lewis Anyday Penny office chair
at John LewisThe Penny is John Lewis's budget take on the classic task chair, made for serious work rather than just to look good. However, we think there's a certain breeziness to its lines that make it appear a little less serious than those of the classic brands. That may appeal if you don't want your home to be turned into an actual office. Its back is mesh, for breathability. And while there's no dedicated lumbar support, the shape is designed to nudge you towards better habits.
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IKEA Flintan office chair
at IKEAThe Markus is the classic IKEA office chair. However, that doesn't quite fit into the budget for today, so we're looking at the Flintan instead. It's a less imposing, perhaps cuter, chair that still offers a tilting mesh back rest, handy for those moments you want to be able to relax a bit at your desk. If buying for a home office, make sure to check out the beige version, which has a much less stiff appearance. The removable seat cover waves away worries about stains too.
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Habitat Brixham Faux Leather Office Chair
at ArgosHabitat is known for its reliable and budget-friendly homewares and we highly recommend its Brixham office chair if you're looking for an understated design and decent comfort for well under £100. It doesn't have the features you'd get from a more premium office chair, like ultimate adjustment, but the faux leather is comfy and looks nice. Although you can't customize it to your preferences as much as pricier models, you can swivel and tilt it to find the right angle for you, and adjust the height with its smooth gas lift mechanism.
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Niceday Ergonomic office chair
at viking-direct.co.ukThis Niceday chair offers a classy, stylish look for minimal outlay. It has a mesh back, with a high-rise profile and built-in synthetic leather head pad. The base, which uses standard fabric padding rather than a mesh, tilts too. This chair doesn't have the greatest castors, so may not be ideal for those with hard floors who expect to be able to glide around the place. But it's a cheap deal, no mistake.
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Life Carver Mesh Office Chair
at AmazonWhile Life Carver sounds like a fancy job title for the modern world ("What do I do? Well, I life carve dahling"), it's actually a brand that makes very affordable, very comfy office chairs. We like the rounded seat on this one and while there is a distinct lack of arms, adding them would only ruin the minimalist look. You do get castors and easy height adjustment, though.
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John Lewis Anyday Dorsal office chair
at John LewisThis is John Lewis's step-up model from the Penny, also found on this list. The most important difference? Lumbar support. This chair has structure for your lower back, promoting good posture. This is not a full recline chair, but the back rest does tilt, and can be locked in position. It's a step above the basics, but does max out our budget for this list.
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Habitat Milton office chair
at ArgosCheck the Milton out if you want a serious-looking chair selling for sensible money. Two of the important features you get here not often seen in more affordable chairs include a dedicated neck/head support and a lumbar support piece. You'll be glad of its mesh back in the summer too. Sure, the adjustments on offer aren't going to match those of a £1000-plus office chair, but the Habitat Milton does have gas lift, swivel and tilt.
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Marc Chacksfield
Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.

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