Products at a Glance
How we picked the best gaming chair under $200
It’s hard to find a cheap comfortable gaming chair, so let’s discuss what you need to consider when browsing. You will be spending hours in this chair almost every day, so you need to be sure you get the perfect seat that fits not only your style but your body type as well.
Our body is built for activity, designed to be mobile and flexible. When we sit in one place for hours on end we tend to go against nature’s intentions. It is important to keep a good posture while gaming and having a chair that supports this idea – and your back – is very important for your spinal health.
Having bad posture can lead to shortened gaming sessions as well. You wouldn’t want to be in the middle of a great gaming session, only to stop halfway through because you’re having back and neck pains!
In picking the best gaming chairs under $200, we’ve considered all of this. We’ve also looked at features, aesthetics, and adjustability.
Spending $200 on a chair isn’t to be sniffed at, so you want to ensure it’s what you need. We want to ensure you get exactly that.
Product Reviews
- Steel Frame
- Lumbar Support
- Adjustable and ergonomic
- Limited color options
Homall’s ergonomic high-back gaming chair is designed with a tight budget in mind. It doesn’t have any crazy features atypical of a budget gaming chair, but in this price range dependable mediocrity isn’t a bad thing, per se. That’s especially true since this is the best-priced gaming chair on this list.
That being said, it does have a few features that help it find its own niche: a footrest, adjustable armrests (which can be hard to find at times), a long back that gives additional support for your neck and shoulders– making this a solid choice for taller gamers– and auto-locking castors.
The castors are weight-activated, providing optimum movement while seated. Once you stand up the braking mechanism activates and holds the position in place, ensuring the safety of the player and the chair itself. Once you sit back down the castors will unlock and move freely once again. This is the feature we liked most about the chair.
Reclining the chair is simple – the back of the chair can be adjusted to any body weight by leaning back, finding the perfect position, and locking it into place. The chair also sports adjustable lumbar support, and the footrest is customizable as well.
Our thoughts? The best gaming chair under $200, in this list and elsewhere.
- 360 degree swivel
- Steel tubular frame
- Removable headrest
- Durability
This Furmax High-Back Gaming Chair has all you need for a pleasant and comfortable gaming experience, all built within a cool racing-influenced design.
PU leather upholstery, thick padding, and ergonomic technology ensure a comfortable fit for any body type. Moreover, this gaming chair has soft lift armrests which provide cushy support as you play.
The steel frame and nylon base combine to create a sturdy support system to hold fast, even at the three hundred pounds maximum weight capacity. The sturdy base is also designed to stay steady when the chair is reclined in any position. The pneumatic lift system adjusts smoothly with a pull of a handle, making for easy height adjustment to best suit your body type.
Furmax is a respected name in the gaming world, and this chair is a testament to why that is the case. With all the features you need, this chair is ready for your next gaming season.
In our view, this comes second on our best gaming chair under $200 list.
- Comfortable
- Footrest
- Good features
- Pricey
Do the best gaming chairs under $200 has design and comfort too? Yes, and this Wensix proves it.
Although this chair’s price tag is less than $200, it still has a sleek, comfortable design. The racing-inspired design shape is perfect for back and neck support and, combined with a stylish aesthetic, this chair is sure to please.
Oh, and it also has one of the larger lumbar supports on this list.
The chair reclines a full one hundred and eighty degrees if you need to stretch out or relax in between games. The height of the chair can be adjusted using the level 4 gas cylinder mechanism.
Most impressive of all, the chair’s armrests adjust in every dimension, so you can tweak the chair to perfection.
- Bonded Leather
- Ergonomic design
- Cheap
- A bit wobbly
The Respawn 110 racing-style gaming chair is designed for intense gaming and tedious office work. Super dense padding wrapped in bonded leather makes for a comfortable and professional-looking chair.
Although built to last through years of wear and tear, this chair comes with a lifetime limited warranty through Respawn.
The chair also has an adjustable headrest, providing optimal neck support. This chair’s adjustable lumbar support helps keep your posture straight to prevent stiffness while putting in long hours on the computer.
Additionally, the armrests have extra padding that pivots along with the reclining of the chair for added forearm support. These 4D armrests can ensure a fitting position for any gamer at any time.
Interestingly, these look nearly identical to the Elecwish’s distinct arm rests – and also share the Elecwish armrest’s propensity to feel loose.
Of course, the height of the chair is adjustable, and it can recline from ninety to one hundred and thirty degrees.
The Respawn undeniably deserves its place in consideration for the best gaming chairs under $200.
- Ergonomic design
- 360 degree swivel
- Three reclining positions
- Cheap base
GTRacing has dedicated much of its time and effort to designing gaming chairs that are stylish and comfortable enough for professional gamers, and this model is no exception.
Ergonomically designed with a strong metal frame and a thick padded seat, this chair is ready for hours of comfortable gaming. The armrests are adjustable– both up and down as well as pivoting– to keep your arms supported.
It also has height adjustment, which is simple to use. The reclining and rocking features allow you to lock the backrest into place in either an upright or reclined position, depending on your mood.
Smooth PU leather covers the chair, making for a comfortable experience. Moreover, the seat, lumbar, and headrest cushions offer additional support.
This GTRacing Gaming chair is one of the best gaming chairs for the price. Not only does it boast professional style, but also all of the features needed for long, yet comfortable gaming sessions. This gaming chair is a worthy addition to your gaming setup.
Things to Consider
Types Of Gaming Chairs
Primarily when looking for gaming chairs under $200, price is key. However, with chairs in general there’s a lot to look at.
There are many different types of gaming chairs on the market. We are focused on PC gaming chairs in this article but let’s touch on some other styles so you know the difference:
- Rocking Gaming Chair – These chairs rest on the floor in an L shape. The bottom of the chair is rounded to provide a little bit of movement or rocking. Many of these styles come equipped with speakers built into the headrest. These are more common for console gaming and are frequently seen at Wal-Marts.
- Pedestal Gaming Chairs – These chairs are basically Rocking Gaming chairs… placed on a pedestal. While this adds some height and swivel motion, it also completely nullifies the need for the L-shaped design.
- Racer Gaming Chairs – Racing chairs are designed for racing games, at least originally. Not unlike many PC gaming chairs, Racer style chairs are designed to be similar to bucket seats in racing cars. Many of these chairs come equipped with a steering wheel and pedals to create a very immersive experience when playing racing games.
- PC Gaming Chairs – PC gaming chairs are the stars of our article and are the most versatile when it comes to gaming. These are familiar since they are identical to standard office chairs for the most part barring mostly aesthetic differences.
After choosing the style of chair you are interested in, there are still several things to consider.
Ergonomic Design
You’ve probably seen this word quite a bit in your search for the perfect chair. “Ergonomic” means it is designed for easy and comfortable use by humans. There are ergonomic guitars, keyboards, and of course, chairs.
An ergonomic gaming chair– that is, a chair designed to properly accommodate the human body– will work wonders when it comes to comfort and spine health. For instance, a traditional dining room chair has a lot of hard 90-degree angles, which is at odds with the human form.
When companies design and manufacture chairs specifically for gaming, they are building them knowing that their users will be seated for hours on end. These designs often include many adjustable components, removable headrests, and lumbar cushions.
Adjustable Components
When you’re in the market for the best PC gaming chair, you are looking for the best for you. Just because the reviews are perfect for a chair doesn’t mean it’s perfect for you. All the different shapes and sizes of the human body make this difficult for chair manufacturers – this is where adjustable features come into play.
Below we mention some of the more common adjustable parts and how you might expect to adjust them. And yes, the best gaming chairs under $200 do offer good adjustability.
As mentioned above, headrests and lumbar support are features of an ergonomic design. Along with these features we have armrests and footrests as well. In order to purchase the most versatile and customizable chair, be sure to have all four of these components on your new chair. The more adjustable the better.
- Headrests often adjust up and down or are removable. They need to be quite firm for support of sensitive muscles in the neck and upper back.
- Lumbar cushions tend to adjustable by a lever or are completely removable due to straps. They are typically very dense with little give. These are handy to keep your posture in check and add support to the lower back.
- Adjustable armrests are harder to come by, but they do exist and they’re very important. Usually, these features are adjustable up and down, side to side, or even pivot in some cases.
- Footrests aren’t as common as the above features, which are nearly mandatory even in this price range. You’ll want your footrest to be easily retractable– which is rare– and for it to be sturdy. If you don’t care about a footrest, then that’s fine since most can be removed (or just never put onto the chair to begin with since you have to put it together).
- Misc. You should also consider height adjustment, seat recline, backrest size, etc. All of these factors – depending on how well they suit your body type – will either make or break your experience.
It’s important to note that it is really hard to find a chair that is great in all of these categories whether in this price range or in the premium tier.
Materials
When it comes to gaming chair materials, there are two popular choices: leather-like or mesh-like fabric. While these materials each have their own perks, the choice is ultimately up to you and your personal preferences.
Most of the more popular brands use polyurethane (PU) leather materials since they are smooth and durable. Either stitched or bonded together, the leather is reliable for a long term gaming chair that is going to be used daily. While leather chairs look more professional and may be more durable, they tend to be less breathable than fabric or mesh chairs.
Fabric chairs are much less common with popular gaming chair brands, but they offer their own perks. These chairs tend to be much more breathable than leather, so if sweat is an issue, consider a mesh design.
You might have better luck finding a fabric chair by looking at traditional office chairs, but even those quickly become dominated by leathers at higher price points.
For gaming chairs under $200, there will be less premium materials being used. But it’s still useful to know about the wider market.
Style
The style and appearance of your chair should be a small factor in your decision… that being said, we both know no one wants to have an ugly chair.
Luckily, it’s possible to have both. Most PC gaming chairs are designed after bucket seats in race cars, as this look is the go-to for both ergonomics and looks.
While at a glance most chairs seem the same, the contours and little details say a lot about your style. Are you a serious person using the chair for gaming and work, or perhaps an all-out flashy type of person who needs a bright vibrant color scheme? Further still, maybe you just want it to match your room. Either way, there’s going to be a chair for you, so choose colors that suit you.
Price
The price of your chair doesn’t have to break the bank. Many brands offer a wide price range to suit their customer’s different budgets. Just because something is more expensive doesn’t mean it’s better. Choose wisely and within your means so you can have plenty of cash for the new games or PC gaming hardware you need.
On the other hand, it’s important to invest in a quality gaming chair that is comfortable and, more importantly, will last a long time. If you’re going to be gaming for hours every day (or close to it) you need a chair that’s fit for the task.
With gaming chairs under $200, you are of course restricted a little in terms of budget. But there is still some elbow room to find the right chair at the right price for you.
FAQs
What chairs do most gamers use?
Looking for the most popular gaming chair? From our research, it seems that brands such as Razer and Secretlab are fan favorites.
The Secretlab Titan range always ranks highly in reviews and is a trusted option by many. As for Razer, the Razer Iskur range again is a well-known and popular range from this brand.
When it comes to Twitch streamers and YouTubers this is another story. An all-round favorite, Pewdiepie (YouTuber) uses the Clutch Chairz Throttle Series. Whereas, Twitch streamer and YouTuber Tfue uses the Maxnomic Commander S Gaming Chair.
As you can see, there is a range of gaming chairs out there. Depending on your budget, and personal preference we recommend choosing your next chair using one of our buying guides.
What is the best gaming chair under $300?
In our opinion, the Homall Ergonomic High-Back Racing Chair is the best option when it comes to gaming chairs in the sub-$200 price range. It offers great support for marathon gaming sessions at an affordable price.
What brand of gaming chair is best?
SecretLab have the best reputation when it comes to well-made, durable gaming chairs. However, they can run a little pricey, so for a budget option check out Furmix and Homall.
Our Verdict
It’s a tricky choice at this price, but for our money, the Homall Ergonomic High-Back Racing chair is the best gaming chair under $200. It offers the right combination of comfort, features (adjustability), and support to deliver a good experience for use as a gaming chair. And that’s key.