10 Best Gaming Chairs Under $100
- Solid steel frame is sturdy enough to support gamers up to 300 lbs.
- Wide leaning range and two adjustable pillows included
- Strong casters roll well on hardwoods and carpets
- Faux leather is very comfortable but easy to clean
- Comes with an adjustable back pillow and headrest
- Can be fully assembled in as little as 30 minutes
- Lightweight design lets it rock back and forth easily
- Significant amount of range for tilting and swiveling
- Built from surprisingly high-quality materials
If you’re thinking of putting together a setup for your gaming room, chances are that a chair isn’t going to top your list of priorities. Building a computer in its own right is expensive enough, but even if you already have a console or rig, peripherals like keyboards, mice, and controllers are going to offer you a lot more bang for your buck than a chair. Even stereos are going to rank higher for most gamers.
But a good gaming desk chair is something your should seriously consider. It can be easy to overlook your health when gaming, but an ergonomic gaming chair can help you perform at the top of your game. You can find a great gaming chair for under 100 bucks. We’ve identified 10 of the best.
- The Best Gaming Chair Under $100
- 1. Homall Gaming Racing Chair
- 2. Merax High Back Gaming Chair
- 3. Furmax Leather Gaming Chair
- 4. Devoko Ergonomic Gaming Chair
- 5. Essentials Racing Style Leather Gaming Chair
- 6. BestOffice Ergonomic Office Chair
- 7. BOSSIN Ergonomic Gaming Office Chair
- 8. Polar Aurora Gaming Chair
- 9. JUMMICO Ergonomic Gaming Chair
- 10. Vitesse Computer Gaming Chair
- Budget Gaming Chairs Buying Guide
The Best Gaming Chair Under $100
1. Homall Gaming Racing Chair
The Homall's price may make it just barely qualify as a computer gaming chair under 100 dollars, but it's a gaming office chair that should definitely be in your sights. The cool black and white design isn't too ostentatious, but it does evoke the look and feel of a racing car seat. That's no mistake. It fits comfortably against the contour of your body, and the adjustable head rest and lumbar support pillow allow you to get comfortably seated in a way that matches your preferred posture.
That also means it can be used to catch a nap or relax in addition to being your designated gaming seat. But most customers will be using this chair in its default state, and for that, it works exceptionally well. It's rigid without not being bereft of give, able to maintain your posture and provide you with the right support for marathon sessions.
Key Features
- Solid steel frame is sturdy enough to support gamers up to 300 lbs.
- Wide leaning range and two adjustable pillows included
- Strong casters roll well on hardwoods and carpets
- Backed by a one year warranty for parts
2. Merax High Back Gaming Chair
The Merax is a racing style gaming chair in much the same style as the Homall. In fact, this racing game chair is similar enough that you could be forgiven for mistaking them. Fortunately, the Hornall is a great chair to emulate. This gaming PC chair similarly offers an adjustable headrest and lumbar cushion as well as adjustable height and tilt functionality. The high backed design and race car style back mold to your form while still providing you with the sort of stiffness you need to retain your posture and reduce back pain.
The solid five wheel base ensures a higher level of stability, and the materials are high-quality all around, providing a soft sense of comfort while still being easy to clean up. It even offers a rocking function to help you kick back and relax between games. It's potentially the best gaming chair under 100 dollars.
Key Features
- Faux leather is very comfortable but easy to clean
- Comes with an adjustable back pillow and headrest
- Can be fully assembled in as little as 30 minutes
- Supported by a full one year manufacturer warranty
3. Furmax Leather Gaming Chair
The Furmax is slightly more responsibly priced than the aforementioned gaming chairs under 100 bucks, but it's still a reliable piece of equipment that can hold its own with the other budget gaming chairs on our list. In fact, it outperforms expectations in a meaningful way. They manage to do this by relying on clever design rather than cheap materials to squeeze every bit of value out of your dollar as possible. The open backed seat gives your body space to breathe, while the cushioning feels great despite seeming insubstantial at first.
The Furmax doesn't necessarily have the stylistic sensibilities of other video gaming chairs, but its lack of ostentation doesn't mean it's not created without care. The stitching of the fabric and leather is meticulous and results in a build that's designed to last. The dimensions of the chair itself are great, and there's a significant amount of height adjustment.
Key Features
- Lightweight design lets it rock back and forth easily
- Significant amount of range for tilting and swiveling
- Built from surprisingly high-quality materials
- Comes with a 30 day money back guarantee and 6 month warrant
4. Devoko Ergonomic Gaming Chair
If the Furmax makes a name for itself by not really resembling a gaming chair, the Devoko is every bit its opposite. A picture of this chair could be placed under the dictionary description for cool gaming chairs, but your appreciation will vary depending on your appreciation for red and black color schemes. But it feels great too. The lumbar cushion is enormous, comfy, and fully adjustable, and it's well matched by the generally opulent feel of the chair itself. The frame is firm, but the soft and breathable material will feel good even hours into your heated Overwatch session.
It's also a chair that's well suited to a wide variety of gamers. It can support gamers up to 300 pounds in weight, and the wide range of the adjustable seat makes it accommodating to gamers of any height. The large frame is equally as accepting of a diverse audience.
Key Features
- Height can be adjusted to up to 20 inches
- Built squarely with big and tall gamers in mind
- Great moving wheels won't scratch your hardwoods
- Curved high back includes a comfortable headrest
5. Essentials Racing Style Leather Gaming Chair
The pricing of the Essentials racing style chair is deceptive. Prices range from under $100 to over $250, but the only key difference is coloring. If you're willing to invest in a less ostentatious design, you can get one of the best gaming chairs under 100 dollars. This budget gaming chair under 100 bucks doesn't veer from the competition much in terms of design. It sports a recognizable sports car style that tells you all the fundamentals: rigid seat back with comfortable cushioning.
This is an incredibly adjustable chair, so it can suit people of varying sizes and even adapt to the changing habits of your day. If you're looking for a racing desk chair that can also serve as your dedicated office chair, you'll find it here. It's rated to hold up to 250 pounds of weight, and its wide frame design can accommodate players with larger frames comfortably.
Key Features
- Flip up arms, great tilt, and 360 degree swivel
- A leather and mesh gaming chair that's very breathable
- Extra padding at the head and the arms
- Available in a variety of different colors
6. BestOffice Ergonomic Office Chair
Whether or not the BestOffice is actually the best gaming chair around is arguable, but the company's confidence in naming their product is well earned. This is absolutely one of the best affordable gaming chairs on the market and a contender for the best around. Like the Essentials, this is a PC gaming chair that combines mesh with leather for results that feel good while also being breathable and reducing overheating.
While many gaming office chairs are designed with larger gamers in mind, this chair opts instead for something smaller and more lightweight. If you can fit in it, you'll find it to be a much more mobile option than many of the alternatives available on the market. Despite that, it can carry a reasonably heavy load, and it's one of the easier gaming computer chairs to put together. It can be constructed in an easy 15 minutes.
Key Features
- Lightweight despite being able to hold 250 lbs.
- Incredibly comfortable and reasonably adjustable
- Adjustable height comes with a locking back
- Supported by a full one year no risk guarantee
7. BOSSIN Ergonomic Gaming Office Chair
Looking for something a little more luxurious than what good gaming chairs in this price range typically offer? With its plush cushioning and kick-out footrest, the Bossin may just be the most comfortable gaming chair under 100 dollars. It might not provide you with the sort of posture you need while in the heat of the game, but it's an incredibly reliable gaming chair when you lock down the rest and lifts up the reclining seat.
It's also got the cushioning to support you no matter what position you're in. That's reflected in the large cushion and the soft and wear resistant PU leather that makes up the majority of this chair's surface. And while the chair back doesn't extend into a full 180 degree incline, it extends far enough for you to catch a quick cat nap in the chair if that's your preference.
Key Features
- An incredibly comfortable chair at a reasonable price
- Chair rest can extend to three separate levels
- Height adjustment controlled by a gas-powered cylinder
- Protected by a 90 day satisfaction guarantee
8. Polar Aurora Gaming Chair
When you're looking at gaming chairs under 100 dollars, mobility should be a high priority, and the Polar Aurora is one of the most flexibly responsive chairs on the market. The multi-directional castors work equally as well on tile, hardwoods, and carpet, and they aren't going to scratch up the surfaces or make a lot of noise in the process. This PC gaming chair under 100 dollars has a swivel range of a full 360 degrees as well. Calculate in the 180 degree tilt options, and you're left with one of the most flexible options available.
This chair is similar in look to the Homall, and like that racing chair, it allows you to detach both the headrest and the lumbar supporting pillow. The seat's height can be adjusted pneumatically to get you in the perfect position for gaming, and the armrests are also adjustable.
Key Features
- A gaming chair where practically everything is adjustable
- Great wheel castors are flexible, quiet, and non-damaging
- Offers great support for your lower back and your neck
- Chair can be locked firmly in place or put in rocking position
9. JUMMICO Ergonomic Gaming Chair
The Jummico is another chair that's built to be accommodating to larger players. The wider frame and weight load of 300 pounds make it suitable for most gamers, but there's also a deep bucket seat to provide a greater level of comfort. Regardless of your size, you'll love the incredibly plush headrest and lumbar pillow that can be removed and adjusted to suit your preferences.
But even in its normal configuration, this is a top gaming chair under 100 dollars in terms of practical design. The high back and general contours of this chair offer balanced support for your lower back, spine, and head, making it a highly sensible choice for longer periods spent sitting. The 360 degree swivel allows you a freer range of movement whether you're trying to navigate your workspace or truly immerse yourself in a virtual reality gaming experience.
Key Features
- Smooth rolling casters work well on any indoor surface
- Easy assembly that can be completed in 20 minutes or less
- Ergonomic design makes it suited for gaming, studying, and relaxing
- Free replacement for 30 days and 6 month warranty on parts
10. Vitesse Computer Gaming Chair
Vitesse" is an apt name for this gaming chair. The name is French for speed, and everything about the aesthetics of this gaming chair evokes a sense of velocity. The race car design is sleek and stylish, but those lean curves are also designed consciously with ergonomics in mind. They provide a great sense of balance between your spine, neck, and lower back and find just the right balance between comfort and posture.
Vitesse hasn't cut corners with the materials here. The PU leather is wrapped around some very strong high density foam that's durable and offers the right amount of give that molds to your body without giving way to the contours of your body in the long term. You can count on firm support for the entire life of this chair. All of those features make this a primary contender as the best chair for gaming.
Key Features
- Racing chair design with a deep bucket seat
- Offers three firm points of support for your head, lumbar, and spine
- Steel frame is incredibly durable and stable
- Wheel casters are nearly silent and won't damage your floors
Budget Gaming Chairs Buying Guide
Fundamentally, goo gaming chairs aren’t that different from more traditional office chairs, but the demands of professional and endurance gaming is different from the demands of a traditional 9 to 5 work environment, so there are still some things you’ll want to consider before making your purchase. We’re here to help you understand them with our buying guide.
What Distinguishes a Gaming Chair From an Office Chair?
Gaming chairs and office chairs at their core are very similar in both purpose and design. While there are a few gaming chairs (not featured on this budget guide) that buck the norm, a vast majority of gaming chairs employ the same leather-style frame on a rolling metal base, just like office chairs. But while a simple glance through the most popular gaming and office chairs may convince you that the main difference is that gaming chairs are designed to look cool and office chairs are designed to not look ostentatious, there’s more going on here than that.
That’s because what so many people identify as “cool” design actually serves an ergonomic purpose. All of the gaming chairs on our list sport what’s known as the “racing style” design that’s so prolific in the industry. Racing style chairs makes use of a much higher back that’s more uniform in design than traditional office chairs.
The headrest isn’t independent from the body but instead is just another component of a longer body that extends from the base to above the back of the skull. The fixed headrest is one of the bigger distinguishing factors present in most if not all gaming chairs, but the other is the fact that these chairs use bucket seats like in a car.
There’s no definitive winner in terms of ergonomics between these two styles of chairs, but each has their advantage in different circumstances. The fixed headrest means that racing chairs are better for users who tend to spend a lot of time leaning back, and that’s especially true if they come with a neck pillow for cradling the neck. They provide support for the neck that would otherwise be entirely absent in a traditional office chair, but the fact that the entire high back seating is contoured means that you get a level of balance that extends from your lumbar through your spine and up to the back of your skull.
The bucket seat is less an ergonomic and more a stylistic choice. In a car, the role of the bucket seat is to keep your body secure even as the vehicles shifts left or right. That’s obviously going to be largely a non-issue when gaming. It’s a cool design and one that can feel especially immersive when playing a racing game like Forza or Gran Turismo, but it ultimately limits your range of movement within the seat far more than a traditional office chair.
Combine that with the raised seat lip that most gaming chairs use, and you’re left with a chair that leaves you feeling more nested in your seat. It can be useful for more fidgety players, but it’s not a choice that’s ergonomically as dependable as regular office chairs. Neither gaming chairs or office chairs are ergonomically better than one another. But for gaming, and particularly competitive gaming, where staying focused on the task at hand for long periods of time is important, the former do a great job of keeping you comfortable and secure.
What Materials Are the Best?
When shopping for a gaming chair, you’ll notice that all of the most prominent options either come in leather, mesh, or a combination of the two. Which one you choose can have a pretty significant impact on how comfortable and long lasting your chair is. The primary advantage of mesh surfaces for chairs is their higher level of breathability. Since mesh is porous, it doesn’t trap in heat the way denser fabrics and leather do.
That’s obviously a big deal when you’re going to be sitting for an extended period of time, and it’s especially effective in gaming chairs given that these chairs tend to be more solid masses with less holes in them than many traditional office chairs. Mesh chairs reduce the rate of overheating and provide you with significantly more ventilation.
Beyond that, mesh is relatively cheap to produce, and cleanup is often easier than with leather surfaces. You can generally just wipe up spills without having to worry about the surface staining. Mesh surfaces tend to be more prominently used in more lightweight gaming chairs.
You aren’t going to find a chair with genuine cow leather in the less than $100 range, but you don’t need to. Polyurethane, or PU, leather is the most common material for gaming chair surfaces. This synthetic leather is cheaper to produce, and the polyurethane coating makes it easier to clean than traditional leather. And while it doesn’t have the same level of durability that organic leather does, it’s still a very durable material.
The polyurethane coating means that maintenance really isn’t going to be an issue. Unfortunately, faux leather tends to be more prone to scratches and tears than mesh surfaces, and it’s also more likely to stain, but PU leather has a great aesthetic and is comfortable against the skin.
A chair that’s constructed of both PU leather and mesh offers the best of both worlds, but it also has the weaknesses of both. The mesh is traditionally place in areas of the chair that are prone to overheating like the back so that you can get the added ventilation of mesh with the style and comfort of leather. Whatever type of chair you opt for, you might want to dig more deeply into customer reviews to determine how well the materials last. Not all leather and not all mesh are created equally.
You may also want to look into the construction of the frame. Most of the frames here employ some combination of metal or plastic, but if you want the most durable frame around, you should investigate options that are constructed from real stainless steel.
How Concerned Should You Be About Size?
Gaming chairs are by and large sturdy pieces of furniture, but larger gamers will want to be a little more careful to find a chair that’s able to comfortably hold them. All of the chairs here have maximum weight capacities of either 250 or 300 pounds, and if you’re pushing 250, you’ll definitely want to look specifically for the larger chairs.
That’s because weight capacity isn’t the only issue here. Since gaming chairs are a lot more penned in than more traditional office chairs, you need something that will support not just your weight but also your frame. If you’re a taller gamer, pay special attention to the maximum height of chairs so you can find something that suits you.
Chairs with a 300 pound weight capacity are also typically built with a width accommodating to larger gamers. The last thing you want is to be trapped in a piece of furniture that feels more like a cage than a chair. Larger gamers should look for chairs that don’t have winged backs. While these gaming chairs have a great sense of style to them, the contoured design can be uncomfortable for people who have wider shoulders and backs.
Have You Considered Your Gaming Space?
Dedicated gaming chairs are typically rather large and ostentatious in design, and that means that they’re destined to be the centerpiece of whatever room you game in. You should consider the practical limitations of your space before deciding to make an investment in a particular chair model. Aesthetics are an obvious thing to focus on here.
If your gaming space doubles as an office, you may want to consider going with something less flashy and colored a simple black. But if you’re working with a gaming rig and peripherals that give you a full RGB light show, something more flamboyant can complement your existing space.
PC gamers and console gamers will generally want to look for slightly different options as well. One consideration here is the height. If you have a gaming monitor set up on a desk, chances are that you’ll want a chair that has a higher profile than if you’re gaming from a typical TV stand. And if your chair is going to be sitting out in the living room, a bright red and black racing seat could stick out like a sore thumb.
That said, gaming chairs with expansive recline and rocking features can work great for just kicking back and relaxing, so a smartly coordinated gaming chair can double effectively as all-purpose seating in your common area.
A gaming console can be tucked away in an entertainment center, and a PC is likely going to be stowed away beneath your desk, but a chair is going to sitting front and center. Take the time to figure out what works for the look and feel of your space. The last thing you want is a chair that clashes with your interior design sensibilities.
How Important Are the Adjustable Features?
One of the main features that distinguishes a good gaming chair from a conventional office equivalent is the range of adjustability available in terms of the armrests, back, and wheels. The ability to shift your chair between a number of different configurations can greatly increase its usability and make it a feasible choice for situations outside of traditional gaming.
Many office chairs don’t have the option to recline the seat at all, but the race car inspired designs of gaming chairs means that they often have a recline range far more resembling the passenger seat of a car. Many offer a full recline of 180 degrees, while many more can go back to 150. If we don’t have degrees listed under the specs, chances are that the range of movement is far more limited.
Gaming chairs are big and comfortable pieces of furniture, and in addition to being great for gaming, they can be the perfect place to take a nap. If you want to be able to lean back and doze off, definitely opt for one with a 180 degree lean. Even if you plan to spend all of your time gaming, a decent range of movement here is preferable. After all, the sort of rigid posture you might need during a heated Battlefield match isn’t going to be all that necessary for a lazy afternoon playing World of Warcraft.
Less frequent but still pretty common is the ability to adjust your armrests. This is another situation where PC and console gamers are going to have different needs. If you find yourself using a keyboard and mouse for most of your gaming, having arms that can rise up close to the level of your desk are going to be a huge advantage. If you do most of your gaming with a controller in hand, the armrests are something you don’t need to worry about quite as much.
Finally, you need to consider the quality of the wheel casters. Many manufacturers put in the extra effort to create casters that are durable, quiet, and not prone to scratching surfaces. The ability to move in 360 degrees is a huge benefit if you find yourself regularly rolling your chair between rooms or you intend to spend a lot of time gaming in VR. How stationary you intend to be will be the biggest factor on whether you should make the quality of the wheels and the range of movement a top priority.
Do Any of These Gaming Chairs Have Speakers?
The financial limitations we set on ourselves for highlighting budget level gaming chairs means that some of the higher level features that gamers crave had to be left on the cutting room floor. While there are gaming chairs that come with speakers and provide you with a more immersive gaming experience, they’re hard if not impossible to find for under $100.
Unfortunately, we had to weigh the core considerations that gamers need before looking at special features. As such, we made comfort and maneuverability our main focus here. We weren’t able to identify any chairs that offered decent speakers while also meeting the standard we set for ourselves in these qualities. If you’re looking for game chairs with speakers, be sure to check out our more general guide to the best gaming chairs.
Final Thoughts
If you aren’t comfortable, you’re not going to perform at the top of your game, and that’s not even taking into considerations the health risks from sitting in a non-ergonomic chair for extended periods of time. A quality gaming chair may require an investment, but it will pay dividends to serious gamers. We’ve offered a variety of good gaming chairs under 100 bucks. We hope you find what you’re looking for here.