Steelcase chairs are some of the fanciest around — much with like rival brand Herman Miller, they represent a range of premium options that are made to withstand career-long usage while maintaining an unparalleled degree of comfort and adjustability. Steelcase's chairs are incredibly sturdy, yet they're lightweight and breathable just the same. Better yet, though they can be as pricey as $2300, these chairs can also be as affordable as $500 for much of the same top-tier tech.
Regardless of which chair you're looking at from the brand's lineup, one thing is certain: this is a big investment, and not one we recommend making without some thought and care for your specific needs.
To help keep the search for your next (and hopefully last) office chair on track, we've rounded up five of the most mention-worthy models to give them a proper comparison. For more options though, check out our roundup of the best office chairs.
Key Differences
Steelcase's chairs don't stray too far from each other in terms of their silhouettes. That said, we can boil down the functional differences between these models to a few simple categories.
Material: Steelcase uses several popular materials and suspension methods to make its chairs comfortable. Most importantly, the cushioning on these chairs can vary. Some, like the Gesture and Amia, have full-bodied foam backrests and seats for a cushy feel that lets you sink into your seat a little more. On the other hand, models like the Karman use thin mesh linings to provide sprightlier support and added breathability for your back.
Backrest Height: You also have your pick between low, mid, and high-back chairs from Steelcase's lineup to give yourself your preferred level of back and neck support. A low-back is best if you want a small seat that still has some lumbar support, and a high-back is less storable but will support your full back and neck. A mid-back is a compromise between the two that supports you up to your shoulders and takes up less space than a high-back chair.
Regardless of the backrest height you pick, the lumbar support these chairs offer is fantastic.
Adjustability: The chairs we're looking at here are all height-adjustable, but depending on the model you pick, you can have a lot more freedom to configure their fit to your needs. Several models have adjustable recline angles, most have adjustable armrests, and every model can be customized to better suit your needs for an additional fee.
Steelcase Series 1
Starting just shy of $500, the Series 1 would make itself right at home in the middle or upper ends of many other chair brand lineups. As such, it's worth looking beyond the Series 1's role as Steelcase's cheapest chair. While this chair is relatively compact and doesn't boast the same wide, square backrest as many other models in this roundup, it's still plenty comfortable, especially around the lower back.
Unlike the next step up, the Series 2, this model has a super-thin mesh lining that maximizes airflow around your back to prevent sweat buildup. It may not be the most durable material out there, but it's incredibly easy to clean.
Steelcase Series 2
The Series 2, an apt follow-up and upgrade to the budget-friendly Series 1, sits on the opposite end of Steelcase's price spectrum than the Gesture. Priced as low as $794, this chair still isn't cheap, but its lower base price makes it highly customizable in terms of upholstery and colors. If office aesthetics are paramount, this chair is your best bet for getting a curated look without shattering your budget.
Good looks and a low price aren't the only things this chair has to offer, though: The Series 2 also has a fairly wide back (even wider than the Series 1), and the backrest is sneakily thin and breathable despite its foam-like appearance. This chair's recline resistance can also be adjusted to perfectly counteract your weight, and it comes standard with four-dimensional armrest adjustment, which can be hard to find at the base level on premium office chairs.
Steelcase Karman
There are some downsides that present themselves in mesh office chairs, as low-quality mesh so often tends to be either too hard or too soft. In other words, it can be difficult to get the right balance between comfort and support. This is why Steelcase decided to forego mesh and come up with its own proprietary performance textile instead for the Karman.
The Karman is Steelcase's lightest, most breathable chair thanks to its ultra-thin mesh-like backrest and seat. This textile is so thin that you can easily see the spine of the chair from the front, and this translates to unparalleled airflow that will prevent your back and your lower body from getting sweaty. This proprietary textile provides a pleasantly bouncy feel, but it also has the ability to mold to your back and give you targeted support around the contours of your lower back without losing its structure.
Much like other mesh chairs, this one is also incredibly easy to clean, and it's superbly light. The whole chair also comes fully built out of the box, and that lack of assembly pairs nicely with its low weight to make it easy to set up in pretty much any home.
Steelcase Amia
If you're new to adjustable office chairs (at least premium ones), the Amia is a phenomenal entry point that makes understanding your various adjustment points incredibly easy. This chair's design is relatively simple, and every lever, knob, and other movable part is labeled clearly to guide you through dialing in your fit.
Just like the Leap, the backrest here isn't particularly breathable, but it's similarly sturdy and also has adjustable lumbar support. It's also made to flex just a little around the edges to give you freedom to shift around without worrying about your back. A comfy foam seat and 4D armrests round out this chair's contact points.
Steelcase Leap
When we tested the Leap, we lauded it for its sturdy back support and its color customizability, and we also appreciated that the lumbar support is vertically adjustable.
This chair doesn't have the most breathable backrest (the Karman is a much better option in that regard), but it makes up for that slightly less breezy feeling with some wonderfully redundant support from shoulder to hip. The whole back of the chair is lined with hard material, meaning there's no way for you to warp the support to throw your back out of alignment.
This seat may not be the easiest to sink into, but if you're after a sturdy seat that keeps you relatively upright and supported, look no further.
Steelcase Gesture
The Gesture is Steelcase's flagship model, and subsequently its most popular. It's also one of the costliest, as some configurations can climb up to $2300 for the final price, but the quality you're getting with this chair cannot be understated. It's also impressively versatile for a range of user sizes and postures.
First and foremost, this chair is one of Steelcase's most sizeable models. It's a high-back, meaning the backrest feels substantial and supports you up to your shoulders, and the lumbar support it offers is similarly quite pronounced.
This chair uses foam cushioning, but it's not a sluggish seat by any means. Thanks to Steelcase's proprietary cushioning tech, which the brand calls LiveBack, you can sit in just about any position you can imagine in this chair and the cushioning will adapt to keep you from forming hot spots.
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