7 best standing desks for the office and home, reviewed by a WFH expert

In my tests, I found the Yo-Yo alert 2+ to be the best standing desk. It has an option that adds app connectivity to the mix, expanding on the usual feature of lowering and raising the standing height. The app essentially prompts you to move throughout the day.

The Bluetooth connectivity does cost £100, but it's an addition that I would highly recommend. Once connected, it enables you to connect to the “active working” app, which not only allows you to set working heights for sitting and standing, but it also gives you access to set automatic reminders for when you should sit and stand throughout the day. This promotes active working and has many health benefits, which are at the core of this system and the Yo-Yo desks.

For the test, I set the regularity of these to every 20 minutes, so my phone would alert me to change position. The app was surprisingly easy to navigate. The height adjustment is done with a tap on the phone, rather than adjusting the height automatically, but that prompt is surprisingly effective.

The desk itself arrived in three boxes: the worksurface, frame, cable and mechanism. I was initially exceptionally impressed. After checking over the build, even at this mid-range price point, there appeared to be more attention to detail and quality than I would have expected. The construction of the frame, for example, comes almost ready to go, and once lifted from the packaging, the legs fold down and secure. The build process is straightforward, as is configuring the wiring and adding the cable tidy.

The only complexity is that it does require a level of drilling and screwing to secure the desktop to the frame, but once aligned, the process is straightforward. For this review, I opted for the relatively small 120cm x 80cm design, with the legs lowering to 61cm and rising to 126cm with a maximum load of 120kg.

Once the desk was constructed, with a monitor and a few essentials for the week neatly positioned and ready to go, all felt extremely solid, and this sturdiness was consistent throughout the entire height range, whether typing or simply leaning on the desk in the standing position. The height adjustment control initially seemed more straightforward than most of the other desks on test. However, this is where the real uniqueness of this desk comes into play, and that control over the height is far from limited.

The desk and frames are solid and well-made, but the addition of the app and alert to position changing just elevates this desk to the best on test. I would, however, go for the slightly longer work surface as the 120cm length can be a little restrictive if you're using more than a single monitor.

For a desk with a clean, minimalistic design and style from a desk that will look equally comfortable in your office, studio, or home office, I’d recommend the Humanscale efloat go 2.0. One of the features of the desk that I liked from the outset was the volume of customisable options available, enabling you to select the width as well as the depth of the work surface.

This volume of customisation was, however, balanced with far fewer options when it came to the colour choices for the work surface and legs, with the company seemingly deciding that offering a good selection of physical rather than aesthetic choices would be the best route.

The desk assembly is relatively straightforward, with a good set of instructions available that carefully guide you through the construction process. It is also possible for you to get a Human Scale engineer to assemble it for you, cutting out any issues with the construction. If you do find DIY a challenge as a self-build, the table will take you less than an hour.

My review sample measured 117cm x 58.5cm with a motorised adjustable height range of 70cm to 119cm. Through the test, I found the 110cm height was ideal for everyday work for me at 5ft10in, including writing this review.

The desk utilises a dual motor system that enables fast and relatively quiet height adjustment, taking 21 seconds to move through the full range.

The desk features an electronic height adjustment, so there are two main presets for sitting and standing, with two further presets that can be set by raising or lowering the height using the two height adjustment buttons and then pressing the relevant button. A nice feature is the simple LCD screen that shows the height of the desk as you adjust it.

What makes this standing desk stand out is the pure stability and quality of the design. Typing on the desk at 110cm height provided a solid work surface with little monitor wobble and a comfortable working surface for a day's productive work.

The design and style of this Herman Miller jarvis hardwood standing desk instantly reinforce the premium price point and quality. The solid wood walnut top and sturdy legs provide a weighty but incredibly stable work surface at all heights. The design and tactile feel of the top is something to behold, and while I went for the slightly deeper 80cm x 120cm work surface, there are plenty of other size options available.

The desk arrived in a variety of boxes, each one weighing more than the next, making it quite difficult to carry all parts to the studio for setup. Once unpacked, the instructions were clearly laid out, and the actual assembly, like the other desks in this test, took around an hour. One point of note is that all extras are extra, with cable management being an additional £65, as is the OLED controller.

The desk features a fully electric motorised mechanism which enables height adjustment between 65.2cm and 130cm, giving it one of the largest height spans in the test.

The motor mechanism is nice and quiet, and fast, covering the full height distance in 28 seconds. While there is an OLED touch screen control panel available as an extra, my review sample featured the simple toggle up-down pressure switch. It's simple by design, but it doesn't feature any preset positions, which is a shame.

In use, the desk stands out for its quality. The solid wood surface and sturdy design of the stand add to the rigidity, giving a solid foundation for you to work from. The stability ensures there is little monitor wobble, even at the height of today's productivity.

At the affordable end of the market, Vernal’s hardwood standing desk still features an impressive, sleek design with sturdy build and stylish overall look and finish. Compared to the two premium models in this test, the difference in the build quality and finish was apparent, with more engineering going into the mechanics and construction to compensate for the change in materials. Once constructed, the overall build was incredibly solid.

However, as a more affordable proposition, it also features a modular design with a wealth of accessories that will enable you to adapt and change the configuration of the desk as you need. I particularly liked the fact that there are additional monitor stands and drawers all available to slot or bolt on, enabling you to adapt the desk to your own needs and Workflow.

Construction was relatively straightforward, and while there are a few nuts and bolts to be fixed into place, the build was straightforward, helped by decent instructions and a generally simple design. However, it took me a good hour and a half to fully construct.

The rise is powered by a relatively quiet dual motor system that had enough power when moving between each of the end points, taking 17 seconds to go from the minimum height of 63.5cm to the maximum of 123.5cm.

I tested the 160cm x 80cm walnut surface, a slightly longer and deeper model. The additional length on the desk felt significant in use, especially with a large 27in monitor. The 80cm depth also enables you to set the monitor back a little further, which is handy when working while standing. There's also a decent cable management system, although it takes time to construct and isn't as easy to use as the more expensive models.

Like other motorised desks, the height adjustment is controlled through a touch panel on the front of the desk with an LED readout. While this interface and the design of the controls are simple for me, it's one of the most aesthetic and easiest to control, with large tactile buttons that are easy to navigate when you want to adjust the height. The panel also features preset heights, which are easy to program.

In use at a height of 110cm, the desk provided a good, solid base for work, and with the larger surface, for me at least, was one of my favourites in the test, especially considering the price.

If you’re looking for a standing desk that offers the best stability, I’d recommend the Flexispot E7 plus. It arrived in three large boxes, and while the price of the desk is at the mid-range, the build quality and design felt at the upper end of the mid-range.

The desk arrived in three boxes, with the legs split between two (more for weight rather than bulk), and the table top arrived in the third. Inside, there's plenty of packing to keep everything safe during transit, and once all components were removed, it was time to start the construction. This took around an hour and a half, and unlike the other desks, there's a bit of drilling involved to secure the work surface to the legs.

The entire construction, once complete, felt extremely robust, and of all the desks on test, the weight and construction made this desk feel extremely sturdy and stable. There are, however, a couple of notes on the construction; the first is the coupling between the motors and the rise mechanism. During construction, there's a small grub screw that needs to be tightened fully; if not, the coupling will pop out, as I found out. It's worth making a cardboard jig just to help with the accuracy of the desktop placement before you start drilling to ensure the legs are absolutely in the right place.

Once constructed, this is a great-looking desk – the dark walnut surface has a gloss finish that sets the look nicely. Rise times from the lowest to the maximum height were relatively quick at 26 seconds, and again, the control panel is programmable. Unlike the others, there are no pre-programmed presets. During the setup process, I added the heights that I wanted, and the instructions clearly show how to do this. The cable management system took a little time to sort out and wasn’t entirely straightforward either.

While the surface of the desk looked great, it scratched relatively easily, and placing an admittedly heavy camera rig weighing in at just over 2kg did leave a slight imprint. However, for general office work, it should be more than robust enough.

Of all the desks, the Flexispot with its solid construction and four-pillar design felt the most stable and robust, so if you're not just typing at your desk and you need a solid, stable surface, especially if you work in the arts, then this could be a great option.

The Oakywood standing desk pro is the most beautiful of all the standing desks on test, and a real statement of quality and finish. The top oak surface is stunning, and although, like any wooden surface, it will require some level of care over the years, this desktop has been designed to last a lifetime.

The quality of the surface is matched by a set of legs, with the entire package arriving in two large boxes that will require additional help to move and construct. The instructions are relatively clear once you work out the diagrams, with everything slotting together neatly. The one standout feature here is that the construction process is one of the simplest, with the frame and surface all precision-engineered so that the frame and legs click into position, locking tight. Likewise, pre-drilled holes in the underside of the desk surface make it easy to position and accessible.

Once completed, the desk was good and solid, although initially, with a maximum height of 128cm, I felt a little wobble; this was because I’d not pushed in one of the locking wedges completely. Once the wedge was correctly inserted, the stability of the desk was absolute at both its lowest and maximum height. Considering the size and weight of the surface, this stability is impressive.

Setting up my monitor and a few other work accessories, the additional workspace offered by the length of the desk was handy, and with the cable hole at the back of the desk, everything was neatly finished, including the small wooden insert.

Once everything was in place, adjustments to the height could be made with the small lever at the front. This features a mono display that highlights the height measurement. It's simple but effective.

After a week of testing, the tactile feel and aesthetics of the desk won me over. While the solid wood surface of the Herman Miller stood out for its office chic, the craftsmanship of Oakywood just elevates it to a softer working environment. The 70cm depth of the desk was a little narrow, but if you're short on room depth, then the addition of the 170cm length is appealing.

The other point to note is that as this surface is oak, a hardwood, it is hardwearing and should last you for decades, if not centuries, and that quality can be felt throughout. However, like all wooden surfaces, it will need to be maintained and fed at least once a year with natural oils. While this is, for me, by far the best-looking desk in the test, it's also the only one that will require your love and attention to maintain its beauty.

The Yo-Yo alert 2 is one of the cheaper mid-range desks on test. However, arriving in three boxes, the desktop surface I had selected for this review was the same as the more expensive alert 2+ with a veneered surface with an authentic wood look.

I opted for the active working app-enabled addition, which adds £100 to the overall price; however, it still offers exceptional value for money, especially considering the health benefits that a sit-and-stand desk can potentially offer, especially if you're prompted to use the feature. You can set the timer from one of the presets, and the app will send an alert to your phone, prompting you to go from sitting to standing. Once you have tapped to adjust your position, the timer restarts for the next alert and position change.

The app also enables you to control the desk remotely, raising and lowering as well as adjusting your active settings. What I really liked about the app is that it relies on a Bluetooth connection, which means that the alerts stop as soon as the Bluetooth connection is lost, and only restart when you reconnect, or you can opt for it to connect automatically when in range.

While the construction of the alert 2+ was one of the easiest on test, the alert 2, while not complex, did take a little longer. After the legs and surface had been drilled and screwed, a secondary check was needed to ensure that everything was tight.

The 120cm x 80cm desktop surface is on the smaller side, but it’s fine for more compact locations. It has two cable holes and covers, helping to keep everything neat. There's the seemingly simple height control, and the ROL addition that enables you to connect with the Bluetooth app. This version is slightly different to the alert 2+ with different style connectors, but it essentially works in the same way once everything is connected.

When testing, the veneer surface proved to be hardwearing. As with the other veneered surfaces, I was far less worried about marks or damage compared with the wood options. If you're working in a busy office and want the wood aesthetic without the worry of wear, then a surface like this is a great option.

At the more affordable end of the market, this is one of the desks that I would recommend to home workers, with the alert 2+ just offering a little more stability for busy offices.