Best gaming chair 2025

Mar 16, 2025

Our top gaming chair choices bring you comfort and support whatever your desk and PC setup. Including Fractal, Razer, and Secretlab options.

Edward Chester

Published: Mar 13, 2025

What is the best gaming chair? A good gaming chair can keep you comfortable throughout long stints of gaming, working, or relaxing at your computer. We’ve tested dozens of options to find the best models for your needs, whether budget, comfort, or features are your top priorities.

The best gaming chair overall is the Secretlab Titan Evo, thanks to its top build quality, customization, and recline features. For style and all-day desk sitting comfort, though, the Fractal Design Refine is our top choice. You don’t have to break the bank to get comfort and features, though, with the Corsair TC100 Relaxed costing under $250.

If you’re not sure how to pick your perfect chair, you can read the how to choose a gaming chair guide at the bottom of this list. We also have an FAQ section that will answer your most common gaming chair questions. Be sure to check out the also tested section too, which includes chairs we’ve reviewed but haven’t quite hit the top of our list.

Why you can trust our advice ✔ At PCGamesN, our experts spend hours testing hardware and reviewing games and VPNs. We share honest, unbiased opinions to help you buy the best. Find out how we test.

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. It is expensive but it comes with a three-year warranty for extra peace of mind.

Read our Secretlab Titan Evo review.

With its effortlessly stylish design, the Fractal Refine is one of the best-looking gaming chairs around. 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. Its seat base length is also adjustable to suit different size sitters while its headrest is fixed to the chair but offers sliding height movement for reliable, adjustable support.

However, it doesn’t recline and only offers a little bit of tilt, so isn’t so great for those moments where you want to fully sit back and relax in a reclined position.

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.

Read our full Fractal Refine 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.

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.

There are hundreds of gaming chairs on the market, from unbranded budget options to top-of-the-range products from major gaming brands. As with any purchase, you’ll need to start with your budget. You can get very cheap options, such as those made by Ikea, but generally you’ll need to spend at least $250 / £200 to get one with good build quality, a comfortable design and enough adjustments.

Next up, you’ll want to consider the basic ergonomics of the chair. Companies such as Secretlab and Noblechairs offer a range of different sizes of certain models, which can be a great way to help ensure you’re getting a chair that suits your size. The Secretlab Titan Evo is our favorite gaming chair at least in part for this very reason.

Meanwhile, other chairs also offer a wider range of adjustments to also try and make them fit a wide range of users. The Fractal Refine is one such chair as it offers seat length adjustment – something most other chairs don’t offer – as well as really good lumbar support and a sliding headrest. Beware of chairs that only offer a loose cushion for lumbar support, as these aren’t good for consistently supporting your back.

Beyond this, thinking about the material type you want from your chair is important too. Leather and faux-leather (sometimes called PU leather or pleather) are wipe clean, which even without engaging your dirty mind, is a genuinely useful property for somewhere you sit and likely eat and drink for hours on end. Alternatively, mesh chairs offer great breathability, ensuring your back and other areas don’t get too sweaty, so they’re a great choice in hotter places – particularly if your AC could do with an upgrade.

Fabric-covered chairs offer something of a middle ground. Slightly softer and more cosseting than both mesh and leather, they’re great for sitting up on with crossed legs while wearing a onesie to keep warm in winter. Yet, they’re more breathable than faux leather. Most materials have a stain resistant coating too but do ultimately absorb grime more than leather or mesh.

Next up is to look for features such as the quality of the recline mechanism – do you want to be able to sit back and relax or just need a straight up and down chair for work/gaming – the adjustability of the armrests, and the quality of the head cushion and lumbar support. Many early gaming chairs had awful head cushions that just attached with a piece of elastic. Our top picks use magnets or sliding headrests for reliable support. Meanwhile, the Secretlab Titan Evo can even be upgraded with a foldout ergonomic recliner leg support.

The last consideration for most users, other than professional streamers seeking a certain look above all other factors, should be the style of a chair. It’s really fun to get some of the amazing brand tie-in designs – such as Noblechairs Fallout series or Secretlab’s The Witcher chairs – but for most gamers we recommend not compromising on all the other above factors just for a certain look. At least, that’s our advice if you’re planning to spend many hours on your chair. If you only game/sit down for a couple of hours at a time, you can get away with picking based on style first.

Both office chairs and gaming chair are just chairs designed for sitting at desks for long periods of time. Where gaming chairs started was in wanting to offer a slightly different look, tapping into the racing chair vibes of car seats converted to home furnishings. Ironically, these were often quite uncomfortable, which is why I generally didn’t recommend the first generation or two of gaming chairs – they were overpriced and uncomfortable.

However, since establishing as a market, gaming chairs have legitimately pushed forward the frontier of office chair comfort and versatility. Yes, the classic Herman Miller Aeron office chair is still a very, very comfortable chair, but so are many of the gaming chair options on this list, and many of them offer more features.

That’s also why we’ve also included options such as the Sihoo C300 on this list. It isn’t really branded as a gaming chair but offer loads of adjustability and great comfort with a quite traditional office look and feel. A chair such as the Fractal Refine also bridges the gap between office and gaming chairs. It mostly looks like a smart office chair but comes from one of the best PC case manufacturers.

Ultimately, don’t worry about the difference, just worry about which chair is going to suit your needs at the right price for your budget.

For the most part, gaming chairs are very well built. If you buy from one of the big gaming chair brands, they’re generally incredibly sturdy with quality gas lifts, recline controls, and padding. Cheaper options have some more basic adjustments and features but generally the build is far ahead of cheap office chairs that can be wobbly and have thin padding.

That’s why most gaming chairs don’t really start for less than $250, with many of the best options sitting in the $400-$600 range. That’s undoubtedly a lot of money, but premium, well-made office chairs aren’t much cheaper. By all means, you are paying a bit of a premium for the known brands, in some cases, but that Herman Miller Aeron has famously been priced around $1,000 for the decades it has been available, so brand caché is far from exclusive to gaming chairs.

It all depends what you’re comparing to and which gaming chair you’re talking about. Compared to sitting on a sofa with a laptop or sat at a dining table with a basic dining/foldout chair, then, yes, absolutely gaming chairs are better for your posture. They will offer better leg cushioning, support your lower back and take the strain off your neck and shoulders. The extent to which they do this will depend on the model you buy but looking for quality lumbar support, getting the correct length seat cushion, and finding a seat with an easy to adjust headrest will all help with your posture.

If you’ve decided a gaming chair isn’t quite the right choice for you and you’d prefer a more traditional office seat, check out our best office chairs guide. Or, your new chair choice has made you realise a better desk would improve your setup even further, our best gaming desk list will guide you through that shopping journey.