Best Desks of 2026: I’ve Spent Nearly 4,000 Hours Testing Desks. These Are the Ones You Want
Testing desks is somewhat of a subjective game. Much like office chairs, testing is based on comfort, reliability and ease of installation rather than things you can test in electronics such as power and battery usage. I have tested each of them again rigorously and will continue to test their longevity in the months to come.
I tested these desks by having three people try each one. Each of them used the desk for at least 16 hours and then shared their impressions with me. All three people were 6 feet 1 inch tall; 5 feet 8 inches tall; and 5 feet 4 inches tall respectively, to give me a good cross-section of the average user’s height.
Installation time and package quality
Building offices can often be difficult and time-consuming. For each desk, I timed how long it took to unpack and assemble, and noted whether the manual was easy to follow. I followed the instructions as closely as possible so that each build came out as if I had never built one before. I also carefully checked the packaging to make sure it was not damaged and if it was secure enough to transport the desk inside. Any damage was noted and images sent to the manufacturers for review.
Structural integrity
Modern offices must be able to support significant weight. If you’re at a desk, you might only have a small laptop, but if you’re using a gaming desk, it probably also has dual monitors and a giant gaming PC. For each desk I checked the maximum load specification and tried to match it to the materials we actually use on our desks.
I used:
- A heavy gaming PC tower
- Two 27-inch gaming monitors on one arm for two monitors
- A MacBook Pro
- Two different keyboards and matching mice and trackpads
- My Oculus Quest 2
- My phone holder and USB hub
- A podcasting microphone and headphones
Depending on the length and weight capacity of the desk, I mix and match these items and then check for any curvature of the top or any inconsistencies in the feel of the desk as I work.
The wobbles
It’s a bit of a throwback to when my father made furniture. Everything my father built was criticized by my mother, and if it didn’t pass, she would say, “It’s a little shaky, isn’t it, darling?” Once I have built each desk and loaded it for normal use, I would check it for wobbles. This means rocking it side to side and back and forth to check that all the screws, bolts and fasteners are holding everything rigid.
