With so many gaming chairs to choose from, it can be hard to make the right decision - whether it is for yourself, for a friend or for a family member. We have taken the time to compile this list of the top 10 best gaming chairs of 2018 to help narrow down your search. We have decided on 10 different categories to help meet whatever need you may have in a chair, and ultimately we decide on our favorite gaming chair of 2018.
Please note that if you follow a link to Amazon, some products may change unexpectedly or go out of stock.
Best Cheap Gaming Chair
Homall Racing Style PU Leather Gaming Chair
Click to shop for Red, White, or Blue
Perhaps this comes as no surprise since Homall has dominated the market for the best cheap PC gaming chair for quite some time now, but if you haven't heard of this chair, it is a great place to start. To tell you the truth, the Homall gaming chair holds up pretty well to the higher priced gaming chairs on the market. It offers the full 180 degree recline, a rocking adjustment for tight or loose rocking, a class 3 gas lift that supports up to 300 lbs., and the traditional racing style design that many popular gaming chairs have.
You might think they go cheap on us with a weak frame, but the frame of the chair is steel, and the rubber casters have the racer style look. The Homall chairs also feature PU leather and high density shaping foam, making them feel like other popular chairs that cost a good bit more than this model. The main drawbacks of the Homall gaming chair is that it doesn't have adjustable armrests, and that it isn't great for taller users, since the seat sits lower, the backrest is shorter, and the seat is not as deep as more expensive chairs on the market. We would recommend this chair for kids, or for someone that is under 6'0" and less than 200 lbs.
Best Newcomer Gaming Chair
AutoFull Mesh Back Spider Design Gaming Chair
Click to shop for Blue or Red
You may not have heard of AutoFull yet, but they are quickly growing in popularity, and it is not hard to see why when you take a look at the AutoFull mesh back gaming chair. Most of the best gaming chairs are made with PU material, whereas ergonomic office chairs are designed with mesh. This model clearly has the design of a gaming chair, but uses the mesh backrest style that is popular with ergonomic chairs. It is basically a hybrid between a gaming chair and an ergonomic chair, and customers are loving it.
As for the specs, the company did not hold anything back in their design of this chair. It features the full 180 degrees of recline, a Class-4 gas lift and nylon base that can support up to 400 lbs., adjustable armrests, and the upgraded thin-style plush lumbar support cushion. The design of the mesh allows airflow to reach your back while you sit, and the strong metal frame should last a lifetime (not to mention it is covered under warranty for lifetime). The main drawback of this chair is the minimum and maximum height of the seat being fairly low, at 16.93" - 19.69". In comparison, the Boss Series by DXRacer (which is intended for big and tall users) has a minimum and maximum seat height of 19.5" - 23.5". This chair is an awesome pick if you are able to make the seat height work for you.
Best Floor Gaming Chair
X Rocker 51259 Pro H3 4.1 Audio Gaming Chair
Click to shop for Black
The X Rocker 51259 Pro H3 is our top pick for floor-style gaming chairs, and there are so many good things to say about this chair. If you prefer to sit on the floor rather than in a PC chair when you play video games, this is the best gaming chair for you. It has a built in subwoofer and 4.1 audio 4 speaker system that delivers the audio directly to your chair. The open design of the interior causes the chair to vibrate in response to the bass during peak moments of gameplay, which creates an amazing immersive audio gaming experience.
The chair sports a sleek vinyl material that is plush, but firm enough to not cause you to sink into the chair, and durable enough to last for years. The curved design of the chair allows you to rock freely just like a regular rocking chair, and the panel on the side allows you to have control over the volume and bass (plus vibration) to suit your preference. Note that the main drawback of the Pro H3 audio gaming chair is that it is not Bluetooth compatible, but it does have input and output jacks on the control panel on the side.
Best Interchangeable Office / Gaming Chair
DXRacer OH/CA120 Classic Series Gaming Chair with Footrest
Click to shop for Black, Tan, or Red
Many people have the desire to pick up a high backrest style chair, but don't want one of the flashy, racing style chairs that dominate the market. Luckily DXRacer produces a line of classic office chairs, which can still come in the brighter colors we are used to seeing from their company. The DXRacer OH/CA120 Office Chair is our pick for best interchangeable office / gaming chair, and is available in red, coffee/tan and black.
This chair also comes with a built in footrest, and features a sleek, leather style vinyl design that looks great in any home office or executive space. It features a multi-functional tilt mechanism and a tilt lock feature for maximum angle options, 4D armrests, a 4-class gas lift and a 5-star wide aluminum base. In other words, this chair is set up with some of the best accessory and adjustment options available on the market.
Best Style Gaming Chair
TopSky C4C-6 Comfy Series Ergonomic Gaming / Office Chair
Click to shop for Blue, Red, or Gray
TopSky recently updated this chair to the new model, and the design looks absolutely incredible. Whereas a lot of gaming chair and office chair designs on the market look practically identical, the TopSky C4C-6 Comfy Series looks completely unique, very stylish and quite comfortable, as the name might suggest.
But as far as the design of this chair is concerned, it doesn't stop with the looks. The features of this chair are spot-on, offering 90-175 degrees of recline and lock, an upgraded design to the lumbar pillow (which is flatter and softer than the usual pillows included with these chairs), a built in extendable footrest, padded armrests, and a wide, flat design to the seat to help remove pressure from your legs. Just note that this chair does not come with adjustable armrests, but we'll take the padding over adjustment any day.
Best Unique Design Gaming Chair
Killabee PU Leather Gaming Chair
Click to shop for Red
The first time we laid eyes on this chair we didn't know quite what to think. It looks oddly futuristic, perhaps some sort of alien sitting technology we've never witnessed before. Odds are you either hate this chair, or think it is the coolest gaming chair you've ever seen - That's why it had to make it on this list.
The Killabee high backrest PU leather gaming chair to us looks like the perfect streaming chair. If you want to add a bit of professionalism, design and color to your gaming stream, we think the Killabee gaming chair is a great pick. It supports up to 330 lbs. and has no trouble supporting users over 6'0. Just note that while most gaming chairs come with an included headrest and lumbar cushion, this chair does not. For many customers that is a deal-breaker, but if you can pick this chair up for a decent price it may still be worth it.
Best Value Gaming Chair
EWIN Calling Series PU Leather Gaming Chair
Click to shop for Available Colors
EWIN is relatively new to the gaming chair space, but they are putting out some high quality gaming chairs, and quickly becoming a leader in the industry. You've probably seen this design before from other brands, but likely not for the affordable price this one goes for. The Calling Series by EWIN gives you the most value for your purchase.
This chair comes with a class-4 gas lift and a five-star nylon base, so it will support up to 330 lbs. in weight. It also has a multi-functional tilt mechanism which allows for tilt lock and angle lock. The backrest reclines up to 155 degrees, and the 2D armrests allow for adjusting up and down to better support your height. Note, however, that the relatively small dimensions of this chair make it best for someone under 6 ft. tall and less than 200 lbs.
Best Dependable Gaming Chair
DXRacer OH/FD01/N Formula Series Gaming Chair
Click to shop for Black or Red
Ah, old dependable. The DXRacer OH/FD01 Formula Series gaming chair has been around for what feels like ages, and at the end of the day, is basically the safest option you can go with. DXRacer has been the biggest name in the eSports chairs industry for quite some time, and this is their flagship gaming chair. Not only can you depend on the quality of their products, you can also trust that if you have any problems with your purchase, they will be there to assist you with their warranty service. We have worked closely with DXRacer and can recommend their team with confidence. Even purchasing a DXRacer chair on Amazon comes with the manufacturer warranty.
The DXRacer OH/FD01 gaming chair is a mesh based chair. We find the mesh chairs to actually be more comfortable than the PU chairs, as the PU tends to create a denser barrier between the foam and the material, causing you to not feel the foam as well. This chair comes with a conventional tilt mechanism so you don't have angle lock, but you do have tilt lock. This means you can recline and lock the chair in place, but you cannot tilt the base of the chair back to create a more "zero gravity" feel. The OH/FD01 has armrests that can be adjusted up and down, and is capable of supporting approximately 250 lbs., and a height of under around 6 feet.
Best Themed Gaming Chair
Neo Chairs Marvel Themed Superhero Gaming Chairs
Click to shop for Spiderman, Captain America, Black Panther, or Iron Man
Now we're talking. These Marvel super hero themed gaming chairs are awesome, and Neo Chair clearly has licensing connections in this space. The company also produces a line of more traditional office chairs, but their super hero themed chairs are the ones that get all the attention. Surprise your kid, nephew, grandkid or neighbor with a Spiderman, Captain America, or Iron Man themed gaming chair this Christmas! Most of their hero themed gaming chairs are available in alternate colors.
These chairs can support up to 330 lbs., offer a dual locking system, feature a 5 star heavy duty base, and can recline a full 180 degrees. The included lumbar cushion and headrest pillow show the Marvel and other themed logos, and are actually embroidered rather than screen printed, so you can be sure the design of the chair won't wear out. Our favorite (not shown) lumbar cushion comes on the blue Captain America gaming chair, which reads "property of Captain America". You can bet a Marvel fan would be really happy with these chairs.
Our Favorite Gaming Chair of 2018
AKRacing Masters Series Arctica Gaming Chair
click to shop for White
We'll be honest - Our pick for our favorite gaming chair of 2018 has less to do with features or specs, and more to do with how cool this chair looks. There are a few white gaming chairs on the market, but many of them feature white as an accent color rather than the primary color of the chair. They also tend to be a sort of off-white, whereas the AKRacing Arctica gaming chair is a bright, snow-like white. It wears the name Arctica quite appropriately.
Thankfully the Arctica isn't just all show. It comes equipped with a class-4 gas lift, a durable steel frame, and a strong 5-star base. The chair can support up to 330 lbs. of weight, and comes with AKRacing's 5 year warranty on parts, and 10 year warranty on frame. It is worth noting that there are gaming chairs with similar specs that are less expensive than this model, but if you are anything like us, you'll appreciate this chair for the looks alone. Cool stuff, AKRacing.
...
That's it for our list of our top 10 best gaming chairs of 2018. We have updated this list for 2019 & 2020, be sure to check them out! There are several brands we would like to touch on but didn't have the opportunity to here. Is there a chair you think should be on this list? Leave a comment below and we will look into it and consider it for next time!
