Best gaming chairs 2024

Don’t let the “2022” in the name throw you – despite being a couple of years old, the Secretlab Titan Evo has yet to be dethroned as our favorite gaming chair. It ticks all the right boxes for comfort and aesthetics, and you can even get variants that pay tribute to the best PC games, such as this Titan Evo League of Legends version.

Crucially, this chair offers excellent overall comfort, with three different sizes available to suit a wide range of users. Its padding can feel a touch firm upon initial use but offers long term comfort, aided by an in-built and adjustable lumbar support. Meanwhile, its tilt and recline system is effortless to use and provides a wide range of very comfortable lounging positions.

The cherry on top of this chair, though, is its very squishy magnetic headrest cushion. The magnets provide a secure seating for the cushion and make it easy to adjust its height while the padding is so comfortable. It’s a totally transformative improvement over chairs with elasticated headrest cushions. Add in this chair’s optional Secretlab Recliner Add-On and you have the ultimate nap time chair as well as a gaming workhorse.

With 4D armrests – with swappable covers – and several other optional upgrades, along with a choice of fabric, faux suede or faux leather finishes there’s even more versatility here. A three-year warranty will provide you with peace of mind too.

Read our Secretlab Titan Evo review.

With its effortlessly stylish design, the Fractal Refine is easily the best-looking gaming chair around, outside of high-end office brands such as Herman Miller. It’s only available in a few colors but every one of them looks fantastic.

What’s more, this chair is superbly comfortable. Its convexly curved seat base and equally curved back properly support and cushion you, making this the most comfortable gaming chair for just sitting up straight at your desk. However, it doesn’t recline and only offers a little bit of tilt, so isn’t so great for those “sit back and relax” moment.

Available in a mesh, fabric, or faux suede finish, the mesh version in particular makes for a comfortable and breathable fabric that’s great for all-day sitting. The finishing touch is a sliding headrest that’s a vast improvement over chairs with elasticated headrest cushions.

Read our full Fractal Refine review.

Like so many chairs on the market now, the Boulies Master is a hybrid office/gaming chair that offers a supportive foam seat with a more restrained design. Most importantly, it’s incredibly comfortable, with adjustable everything, including a smooth tilt mechanism ideal for kicking back and playing games.

You can get the chair in a choice of materials, including water-repellent fabric, PU, and leather. It’s a good size for larger users but I’d suggest it might be too chunky for smaller spaces. Assembly is a two-person job, and you won’t want to move this chair upstairs if you can help it because it’s so heavy.

But I’m incredibly impressed by the build quality, comfort, and adjustability of the Boulies Master (also available in a taller Max version). This is my favorite pick for value, especially if you want a supportive option that looks less imposing than a traditional gaming chair.

Read our Boulies Master chair review.

Are you after a standard gaming chair with a price tag that’s not inflated by the addition of corporate partnerships and advanced ergonomic features? But one that doesn’t scrimp on build quality or comfort? The Acer Predator Rift may be your best bet.

While it’s only available in black, it looks pretty great and its design is just about subtle enough that it could double as an office chair if you wanted it to. It’s a shame that there are no customization options at all, as that’s kind of standard these days – but if the chair is fine to you as it is, then this won’t be a problem.

It takes about 40 minutes to build, so you can get it set up pretty quickly. It’s not difficult to put it together, but there are a few sharp edges that are a scratch risk, even with the addition of the safety gloves it comes packaged with. Not a huge problem, but worth noting.

Its main issue comes from the fact that its ergonomic adjustments are a little limited. There are no options for adjusting seat depth, and the armrests are quite narrow, so it’s a shame it doesn’t have a swappable selection. If you have an especially sensitive back, this could be problematic. Still, it’s a great choice if you aren’t likely to be sitting on it for excessive sessions that last 8 hours or more and if you don’t have too much back pain.

Read our full Acer Predator Rift review.

The Corsair TC100 Relaxed is an ideal midrange gaming chair, with the levels of comfort you find in premium competitors. Our reviewer found it helped her posture, and she particularly enjoyed the tilt 160-degree recline.

The TC100 doesn’t slack when sitting up straight either, with robust lumbar support and a comfortable memory foam neck pillow. It does have shortcomings, like its 2D armrests, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a gaming chair that offers the same level of value at this price point – although the armrests in particular will be quite irritating to taller gamers.

Read our Corsair TC100 Relaxed review.

The Razer Iskur V2 takes the fantastic flexible lumbar support system of the ThunderX3 Core and cranks it up a notch with an adjustable section that can alter the height and depth of the lower back support. The result is just about unparalleled lumbar support that supports you even as you move around to different positions on the chair.

Joining this excellent back comfort is a wider, flatter chair and seat back than the first Iskur, making this chair comfortable for wider sitters and for those that like to sit cross-legged.

The fit and finish of the chair is excellent too and is available in a muted all-black look as well the green-trimmed version shown above. The grey fabric version is lovely too and slightly better and coping with wicking away moisture when sitting for long periods of time.

The quality recline and tilt system, comfortable and adjustable armrests, and general style and built quality all also add up to an impressive overall gaming chair. The only downside is the headrest cushion that slides around too easily, particularly on the faux leather options.

The price is high on this chair, which holds it back from claiming an overall top spot on our list but if lower back support is a priority, it’s a great option, especially if you can’t otherwise get hold of the cheaper ThunderX3 Core chair in your region. 

Read the Razer Iskur V2 review here.

The ThunderX3 Core is defined by two core things: it’s really comfortable and it’s surprisingly good value. Across the board, its padding is much softer than many competitors, leading to superior short and long-term comfort. The seat padding and armrests are so much nicer than many gaming chairs.

Then there’s the lumbar support. It’s a really odd idea on the surface of it: the lumbar support plate sits on a pivot point that wobbles around as you lean against it. But, it really does work. The support nestles nicely into your lower back – unlike so many poor-quality lumbar support cushions provided with other gaming chairs – and then just gently moves with you as you shift in the seat, continuing to add unobtrusive support.

You also get a quality recline feature that’s nicely weighted for an easy, relaxed recline action, plus the seat slides forward and back to provide for shorter or longer-legged users. The recline controls aren’t the easiest to use but get the job done.

All this and the ThunderX3 Core is priced below the more premium chair we’d consider it to compete with. Unfortunately, buyers in the US will have a hard time getting their hands on it as it’s not widely available in that region at the moment (and when it is, the price is inflated). In time, it may receive broader distribution in the United States, but for now, this is primarily a recommendation for gamers in Europe or the UK.

Read our full ThunderX3 Core review.

This middle-of-the-road offering from Sihoo utilizes a mesh design that’s comfortable to sit on, even for longer periods, and it keeps you cool even during the longest gaming sessions. The ergonomic design matches your body shape with a self-adaptive lumbar support cushion that moves with you as you use it. The armrests are admittedly a bit fiddly to adjust, but it’s otherwise easy enough to get it just the way you want it.

The chair arrives flat-packed, so you’ll need to assemble it. While it is relatively easy to build, its instructions are fairly limited. The mesh isn’t as padded as options like the Boulies Master. While the Sihoo S300 is a more luxurious mesh chair, made of higher-quality materials and with a broader range of adjustment options. Still, the Sihoo C300 is ideal for hybrid use between your office and game time and great for a budget.

Read our full Sihoo C300 chair review.