Best Office Chair for Short Person Review 2023

Our Pick: Steelcase Leap

Aesthetic Design

The Leap Chair was built around a very specific design philosophy based on four fundamental discoveries which can be summed up as follows:

These four points serve as the basis for every feature included in the Leap Chair, and as you might suspect, the results were nothing short of amazing.

Chair Specifications

Virtually every element of the chair is adjustable, including:

LiveBack Feature

As good as all that is though, those things aren’t the best part of the Leap’s design. It would be the “LiveBack” feature which, as mentioned in the company’s design philosophy, provides different levels of support for both your lower and mid back (lumbar and sacral regions).

Every time you push back on the seatback, the chair dynamically adjusts to you, providing precisely the level of support you need.

Adjustability

It gets better. In addition to all of that, you can adjust the angle of recline, choosing from five different presets that range between 96 and 120 degrees. 

While it’s true that this recline range isn’t best-in-class (some chairs recline 135 degrees or more), it’s sufficient for most people, and honestly, the other superbly implemented features more than make up for it.

Also, you can adjust the precise position of the lumbar support via a simple dial located on the back of the chair. You can also customize the overall firmness via two separate dials (one for the lumbar and one for the sacral region of your back). 

In our view, this combination of ergonomic features puts the Leap in a class by itself. Nothing else even comes close, but Steelcase still isn’t done, if you can believe that.

Upholstery

The Leap also comes in three different upholstery configurations: Standard (breathable mesh fabric), 3D knitted fabric, or sewn fabric. Whichever option you select, you can order the material in a variety of colors, including:

And finally, the Leap can be ordered in the following finishes:

A Few Extras

Oh, and let’s not forget about the extras the company offers, like the ottoman, which works with any of the company’s models, and pulls double duty as a low work table.

By this point, if you’re like most people, you’re probably getting pretty excited about buying one. Unfortunately, there’s a catch, and it’s a pretty significant one. This is an expensive chair. True, it’s high-quality, and you get what you pay for, but the simple truth is that the Leap is going to be out of reach for many who want and need one.

Still, if you can afford it, the Steelcase Leap is a fantastic choice and will serve you well. We’d rate this as the best ergonomic chair for a short person on the market today.

Runner-Up: Steelcase Amia

Design & Features

The Amia is the predecessor to the Leap chair, which makes it similar to the Herman Miller Aeron. It’s an exceptional chair by any reckoning; it’s just not quite as good or as robust as the Leap. 

Here are the things we think you’ll like best about this model:

However, as good as those features are, they’re not the main selling point of the chair. We’ve saved that for last. 

Live Lumbar Technology 

The Amia sports “Live Lumbar” technology, which is tucked away out of sight, inside the seatback. 

This is a series of panels and slats that not only help support your back (including the ability to adjust the position of the lumbar support, as mentioned above) but also move independently of each other as you reposition yourself in the seat, providing dynamic support when and where you need it most.

Even better, the name is something of a misnomer because the support extends to your mid-back; it’s not limited to just your lumbar region.

Best of all, you can tweak the tension, and thus the amount of support the chair provides so that it’s perfect for your needs. Granted, this takes a bit of experimentation to get right, but is well worth the time spent!

Made from Recycled Materials

Finally, if you’re looking for a “green” option, the Amia is made with up to 97% recycled materials, providing an excellent seating experience for you while being kind to the planet. That’s a win-win!

Upholstery

Like the Leap Chair, you can order the Amia with three different upholstery options: Standard, breathable mesh, or sewn fabric. This fabric can be ordered in a variety of colors, too, including:

Where finishing options are concerned, you’ve got four choices: Platinum, black, merle, or an upholstered outer back.

In other words, the Steelcase Amia not only feels great when you sit in it, but it’s also got enough color and customization options that you can truly make it your own, giving it exactly the “look” you want and making it a natural fit into most any home or office décor scheme.

All that and a ten-year warranty too? What’s not to like! It’s an expensive model but highly recommended. One of the best office chairs for petite frames available.

Value Pick: Serta MyFit

Design & Comfort

Serta knows a lot about comfort. Although they’re best known for making mattresses, they’ve made considerable strides in the office furniture market in recent years, producing a variety of modestly priced, high-quality office chairs. The MyFit is a great example, and a chair that placed a respectable third in our roundup review of the best leather-upholstered office chairs under $200.

The seat isn’t “racing style,” but clearly draws some of its design inspiration from computer gaming chairs, and the shape of the upper portion of the seatback provides exceptional head/neck/shoulder support, which is an important ergonomic design feature that a lot of companies don’t do well.

Ergonomic Features

That’s not the only thing the MyFit has going for it though. It also sports a waterfall-style seat and ergonomic armrests, though these are fixed-position and can’t be tweaked or adjusted in any way.

Active Lumbar Support

The most significant advantage this model brings to the table though and its most potent ergonomic feature is its active lumbar support. The seat is designed in such a way that if you’re not sitting all the way back with your back pressed against the seatback, it will move forward, almost as if seeking you out to provide lumbar support.

It’s a cool feature, but it’s one that users either love or despise. Many users have complained about it, and admittedly, it does take some getting used to. The people who love it though, absolutely swear by it and claim that they won’t get another office chair without it.

Mostly, this comes down to how you sit in your chair. If you’re not a “seat percher,” then you probably won’t even notice, but if you are, and you can get used to the somewhat unusual sensation, you’ll probably find that you like having a chair that can adapt to the way you sit in it.

For Short Users

On top of that, the chair is ideal for shorter users, with a seat height adjustment range that starts at just 16”. Be aware, however, that while many models have a broad seat height adjustment range that makes the chair able to accommodate a wide variety of user body shapes and styles, this one is poorly suited to bigger, taller users.

Moderate Daily Usage

Our main complaint about the MyFit is this: It’s unusual to see a cutting-edge design feature, which the active lumbar support definitely is, paired with relatively low-end materials like the faux leather upholstery and the nylon base. It almost feels like overkill, given that the chair wasn’t designed to stand up to the rigors of heavy daily usage.

Still, if you’re only planning to use this chair lightly to moderately, say, no more than 4-5 hours a day, and you’re looking for something custom-made for shorter folks, this is an excellent option.

Also Great: AmazonBasics Mid Back

Amazon has entered the office furniture market in a big way, and their products usually wind up somewhere on our list of finalists. They offer good furniture at attractive prices. Sure, they’re a bit bare-bones and don’t provide a lot in the way of extras, but they also keep the price low, which is a fair trade.

Design

This Mid Back chair is typical of what we’ve seen from the other Amazon chairs we’ve reviewed. They’re reasonably attractive, comfortable, and comes equipped with a basic set of ergonomic features. In this case, the chair only has one feature: well-implemented lumbar support. 

If it had been equipped with a greater number of ergonomic enhancements, it would probably have moved up a notch or two in our rankings, but don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a bad chair. It’s not. It’s just that it’s basic. Functional.

While it doesn’t sport a waterfall-style seat, it is comfortable and shaped so that it does provide some ergonomic benefit.

Things to Consider

The arms are a weak point – not only are they not ergonomically designed, but the padding is a bit sparse, and you can’t adjust them in any way, which makes the armrests the weakest point of the design.

There are two other limitations to be aware of. First, the chair doesn’t recline, but it does rock slightly, and second, it’s got the lowest maximum supported weight limit (just 225 pounds) of any chair on our list of finalists.

Still Good Value

Given all that, you might be wondering how it wound up on our list of best office chairs for small people. It’s a fair question, and ultimately, it comes down to the value proposition. At less than a hundred bucks, it’s one of the least expensive chairs on our list.

Sure, it’s made from low-end materials, and neither the bonded leather nor the nylon base will stand up well to the rigors of heavy daily use, but given its low price, none of those details matter much. 

On the upside, you can order this chair in one of three colors: black, brown, or white, which gives this model some added aesthetic flexibility. 

The bottom line then is that this is a basic, functional, comfortable chair that’s well-suited to shorter people. It’s certainly not best in class, but if all you need is a basic office chair for light to moderate daily use, buying this one will leave you plenty of money left over for other things, and there’s something to be said for that.

We provisionally recommend it for people on a budget and who aren’t looking for anything fancy.

Honorable Mention: Serta Hannah II

This is the second of two models offered by Serta to make our short list, and the Hannah II won top honors in our recent roundup review of the best fabric-upholstered office chairs under $200.

It didn’t place higher here because of the intense competition, and the fact that it’s not as well-optimized for shorter people as some of the other models. It is nonetheless, a chair well worth considering.

Design and Features

Its 19” seat width is just outside the range of what we’d consider being a chair optimized for shorter folks, but it is exceptionally well-padded, and the seat height extension falls just inside the lines.

So, while this is a marginal case that may not work well for extremely short users, it’s well worth considering for people on the upper end of the petite range.

It’s got a full suite of ergonomic features including:

Upholstery

On top of that, it’s upholstered in microfiber fabric which is a joy to sit in, and given the generous amounts of padding, sitting in the chair almost feels like a hug. Put that together with the well-implemented ergonomic features, and it’s hard not to love this chair!

Even better, you can order it in a variety of colors, including:

Note that you can also order this chair with durably woven fabric upholstery, rather than microfiber. True, you give up some of the comfort, but you get a slightly more durable chair that can better withstand the rigors of heavy daily use.

For this one, we’d recommend taking careful measurements to make sure you’ll fit into the chair well, and if you’re planning to use it lightly to moderately, the microfiber option is the way to go. For people looking to buy a chair for heavy daily use, the woven fabric option would be the better choice in our view.

Finally, be aware that although this is a great model, one thing it doesn’t do is recline. It does rock slightly, but you won’t be able to lean way back and kick your feet up as you can in many other models. Even so, this is one of the most comfortable chairs for short people.

Other Notable Fabric/Leather Upholstered Alternatives 

There is a certain amount of subjectivity to any “best of” list, and this one is no exception. That’s why we wanted to include the chairs we evaluated but didn’t quite rank high enough to make an appearance on our list of the best petite ergonomic chairs available today. That way, if none of the chairs in our top five are exactly what you’re looking for, you’ve got other options available! Here they are:

NBF Petite Faux Leather Office Chair

Part of the NBF Signature Series, this chair narrowly missed making our top five. It’s an amazing, surprisingly adjustable product, but before we get into its ergonomic features, let’s start by giving you a quick overview of the basics. 

Chair Specifications

Ergonomic & Adjustable

The basic stats above don’t even begin to tell the story of this chair though. It’s got a suite of ergonomic and adjustable features that rival some of the entries on our top five list. These include:

Seat Design & Seat Cushion

Although the seat isn’t a waterfall design, it is sculpted and provides decent support. We’d hesitate to call this an ergonomic feature, or if so, it’s the weakest of the bunch, but the company did make some effort on this front as well.

In addition to well-implemented ergonomic features, the padding in this chair is a significant upgrade from standard block foam. This chair utilizes memory foam, which gives you a positively luxurious seating experience.

Upholstery 

All of these are features you’d expect to find in a high-end product and had NBF paired those features with better upholstery and an aluminum or steel base; this chair would have certainly made the top five. 

As it stands, the upholstery is faux leather which looks decent but will begin showing its age quickly, paired with an ordinary nylon base. Neither of these are capable of standing up to heavy daily usage. 

That’s unfortunate because this really is a superb model, but in our view, the low-end materials make it something of a paper tiger. 

It’s okay if you only plan to use your chair for a few hours a day, tops, but if you’re looking for something capable of standing up to intensive use, this is sadly not the model you want.

We recommend this chair, but only for light/moderate daily use.

Flash Furniture Microfiber High Backed Chair

Although our top five lists are dominated by big, well-established brands, Flash Furniture has as many chairs featured in this roundup review as Herman Miller does, and more than both Serta or Steelcase, if you look at the top ten, and not just the final five. That’s a pretty amazing feat, given that it’s a small brand that’s not very well known.

The reason is simple: Flash Furniture is a good company, and they make surprisingly high-quality chairs. This one is no exception, and since it’s microfiber, you know that it’s going to be delightfully comfortable. 

Basic Specifications

Our favorite aspect of this chair is the fact that it’s very well-padded. That, combined with the softness of microfiber makes it an absolute joy to sit in. 

Colors

Even better, the company offers this model in a modest selection of colors, including:

Ergonomic Features

In terms of ergonomic features, the Flash Furniture Microfiber High Back has three excellent ones on offer, providing you with exceptional lumbar support, an ergonomic headrest, and a waterfall-edge style seat.

The stationary arms are well-padded and comfortable but are not ergonomically sculpted. The chair tilts to a maximum angle of 120 degrees, which isn’t best in class but should be sufficient for most potential buyers. 

Honestly, though, people who gravitate to this model will do so because they want to maximize comfort. Details like maximum recline angle will only be a deal breaker for a tiny minority. 

In terms of comfort, this chair compares favorably with the highest-ranking chairs on our list. In fact, if Flash Furniture had the same brand heft as Serta and Steelcase, this model would have appeared in the top five. It’s a tremendous value for the money and highly recommended.

Work Smart FL660-U42 (Office Star)

WorkSmart is another small, not well-known brand. You may have also seen their products sold under the “Office Star” brand. WorkSmart is a division of Office Star, but their products are sold interchangeably between both divisions, which has created some confusion.

In any case, the Work Smart/Office Star faux leather manager’s chair is a good alternate choice in this category, if none of the heavy hitters are exactly what you had in mind. 

Chair Specifications

As you can see by the stats above, this chair is something of a rare find, and these figures, in particular, are exactly why we wanted to include it on our list. 

Early on, we mentioned that the chairs we were most interested in were those with seat depths of 18” or less, and seat height adjustment ranges that started at 18” or less. This chair violates our own rules, having a 20” deep seat, so why did we include it?

Specifically, because everyone’s body shape and style are different, and the combination of the slightly wider than normal seat, paired with the slightly lower seat height (lowest setting) appeals to a segment of the market that’s small but still important.

If you’re a smaller person, but have longer legs than average, this chair will almost certainly hit the sweet spot for you, though it pays to take careful measurements before committing to a purchase.

Function

Regarding functionality, this is a pretty basic design. It’s got above average lumbar support and above-average head and neck support (this is a high-backed chair), but those are its only two ergonomic features. 

Despite its appearance, the seat isn’t a waterfall-edge seat although it does a fair job at mimicking one, and the stationary arms are well-padded and comfortable, but not ergonomically designed, and although the chair rocks slightly, it doesn’t have a tilt range to speak of.

Color Options

Finally, this model is offered in three different colors: Charcoal, Black and Chocolate. Those are the best aspects of the chair, but there are two things to keep in mind about this model that may steer you in some other direction.

Upholstery

First, the upholstery is faux leather. While it looks nice, it’s not going to age well, and it won’t stand up to the rigors of heavy daily use. If you have cats, you can expect it to last about thirty minutes. Second, the base is nylon, which also isn’t designed to stand up well to heavy use.

Understand that we think this is a better than average chair, and for the right user, it could be a great computer chair for a short person, but the right user is someone who only plans on using this chair for a few hours a day. If you need something you can spend a whole day working in, this isn’t the model you want.

With those things in mind, we provisionally recommend it.

Boss Double Plus Mid Back

Boss Office Products isn’t a big, well-known brand, but they make surprisingly good office products, including a range of office chairs that will surprise you with their quality. Although this one didn’t make our list of finalists, if none of those chairs were exactly what you were looking for, this is a great option to consider. Let’s start by taking a quick look at the basics.

Chair Specifications

As you can see, based on the stats above, this is another one of those office chairs for small adults that just barely meets our selection criteria. 

With that in mind, it pays to either try one of these out in the showroom before you buy or to take careful measurements to be sure the chair fits you well.

Assuming that it does, you’ll find that this is a surprisingly capable model. Granted, it’s not built to last in the same ways that our top picks are, but then, given the asking price, when it starts to show its age, it’s easy enough to get rid of it and buy a replacement.

Ergonomic Features

Concerning ergonomic features, this chair offers two: Excellent lumbar support and a waterfall-edge style seat. The arms are padded and comfortable, but not ergonomically sculpted or adjustable.

The chair can recline within a range of 90 to 120 degrees, which is not as broad as our top picks but should serve most people well enough. In addition to that, we find it to be a surprisingly attractive chair that will blend in well with most home or office décor schemes, a fact which is helped along by virtue of the fact that you can order it in either black or brown.

Normally, this is the part of the review where we talk about how faux leather is low quality, starts showing its age quickly and is ill-suited for long duration sitting. All of that’s true, but Boss has figured out a partial workaround where the last item is concerned.

They’ve built ventilated mesh side panels into both the seat and the seat back which helps to improve breathability. It’s not a perfect solution, but if you’ve shied away from leather chairs before because of the sweat issue, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the seating experience this model offers. 

In our view, it’s the main reason to consider this model as an option – it gives you the elegant look of leather, without the major drawback.

That said, the upholstery is faux leather, and the base is nylon. This isn’t a chair that will stand up well to the rigors of heavy daily use. It is, however, perfect for light to moderate daily use. If that’s your plan and what you need it for, this one deserves a second look.

Officient Compact Ergonomic Fabric Chair

Officient is an off-brand that doesn’t get much attention, but this is a surprisingly good chair for the money.

Chair Specifications

Adjustability

It’s a surprisingly adjustable little chair, with the hallmark feature (and the main reason we think most people will consider this model) being the fact that it’s one of the least expensive chairs we’ve found that features a depth-adjustable seat.

Lumbar Support

The lumbar support is very good but falls just shy of being excellent, and the seat tries to be a waterfall-style, and almost succeeds. Even though the seat is imperfect ergonomically, it is exceptionally well padded and comfortable.

The armrests are height adjustable, but not ergonomically designed, and the chair is offered in two different fabric colors, burgundy or black.

Putting all of these elements together, we’d rate this chair as being excellent for short to medium duration daily use. If you need a chair for intensive daily use (say, more than 5 hours a day), the absence of a true waterfall-style seat and the lack of ergonomic armrests will leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed. 

Still, depending on what your needs are, this could be an excellent choice, and it’s offered at a price that will leave you with money left over to get other things you’ve had on your wish list for a while. It’s an attractive design that blends in well with most home and office décor schemes. We provisionally recommend it.

Best Office Chair for Petite Person 2023 (Mesh)