Comfort Desk HubDesk Advice
How High Should Your Desk Be?
The right desk height is a formula based on your body, not a standard number — here's how to find yours.
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The standard "29 inches" you’ll see quoted everywhere is a rough average, not a rule — the right desk height depends on your seated elbow height, which varies significantly by how tall you are. Getting this wrong is one of the most common causes of shoulder and wrist strain at a desk.
The Actual Formula
Sit in your chair with your feet flat and knees at roughly hip height — that’s your seat height, set correctly first. From there, measure from the floor to the bottom of your elbow while your upper arm hangs relaxed at your side. That number is your target desk height, give or take half an inch for keyboard thickness.
If You Have a Fixed-Height Desk
A fixed desk that's too tall for you can sometimes be fixed with a slightly higher chair and a footrest to compensate. A desk that's too short is harder to fix without risers under the legs, which can affect stability — worth factoring in before buying a fixed-height desk if you're notably taller or shorter than average.
Related
A standing desk sidesteps this problem entirely by letting you set the exact height for both sitting and standing.
See our standing desk picks →If replacing the desk is not an option, a keyboard tray brings the typing surface down instead — which is the usual answer for a shorter user stuck at a standard 29 or 30 inch fixed desk. Whether one will actually mount to your desk is a matter of measurement, not preference.
Keyboard trays, and how to check yours will fit →Ready to Shop?
Height range is the specification that decides whether a desk fits you at both working positions. Our current picks list the published range for each frame.