Best Cheap Gaming Chairs Under $200: Worth It or Waste In 2024?
Many cheap gaming chairs priced under $200 use inexpensive materials and offer limited adjustability. Additionally, after-sales support is often scarce from the unknown manufacturers that typically sell on platforms like Amazon. However, some options prioritize durability and can last for over a year despite lower-grade drawbacks. Keep reading to discover our top picks for the best budget gaming chairs under $200 in 2024.
Cheap gaming chairs can be a budget-friendly option for casual desk use. They offer basic ergonomic features at a lower price point, making them suitable for first-time users like Gen Z (ages 11-26) and Millennials (ages 27-42).
However, for full-time desk work, cheap gaming chairs are not ideal. The materials are less durable, and the limited adjustability can lead to discomfort over extended periods.
Expect the padding to wear down and the upholstery to crack with daily use. For long hours at your desk, consider a higher-quality chair that offers better support and adjustability.
Best Cheap Gaming Chairs Under $200
Most models under $200 have similar features. The usual kit: 2D arms, an adjustable lumbar, a reclining backrest, rocking, or a locked upright seat.
Proper sizing is the key to success. A gaming chair with a seat that’s too deep for your knees will distort your posture. Instead, look for a fit that leaves a small gap between the back of your knees and the seat lip.
- E-Win Knight Series: best multi-size (for short, fat, tall & 400-pound sizes); 2-year warranty ($183)
- GTRacing Pro Series Red: the original fully-ergonomic cheap racer ($116.98)
- Elecwish Footrest Chair: family-style footrest gaming chair recliner with non-adjustable padded arms. ($119.99)
- Homall Classic: the original semi-ergonomic cheap gaming chair with non-adjustable arms ($99.99)
- GTRacing Music Footrest Chair: a more compact Pro Series variant with a footrest & Bluetooth speakers. ($139.99)
E-Win Knight Series
Rated #1 | $183 $229 from E-Win
The Knight is the cheapest model in the E-Win gaming chair collection. It supports short and heavy sizes with a wide seat, support for 400 pounds, a 2-year warranty, and a ChairsFX discount (use the code CHAIRSFX for 20% off).
One of the standout features is its sizing versatility. E-Win rates the Knight for short to tall sizes 5’3″ to 6’1″. How is such a huge range possible?
We tested it with a 6’1″ model. Notice the significant gap between the back of his knees and the seat’s edge.
This chair’s seat dimensions are on-point. It’s deep enough to support our 6’1″ model, yet shallow enough to fit shorter legs. As well, its flat, generous 21.7″ seat width can comfortably support slim to extra-thick sizes.
Knight Series Features
The Knight has a loose lumbar pillow; other gaming chairs have ones that attach to the backrest with straps. The obvious downside is that a loose pillow needs constant attention. Every time you sit down, you’ll need to reposition it.
On the flip side, the constant attention that loose pillows demand is a great way to master lumbar support fundamentals.
Another difference: firmer padding. Most cheap chairs use squishy PU foam with a 50kg/m³ padding density; the Knight’s is 55kg/m³. That’s stiff enough for good stability, yet malleable enough to ensure immediate satisfaction.
Knight Series Specifications
There are four Knight models with 12 style variations. All come upholstered in E-Win’s unique blend of PVC leather.
For a deeper specs dive, see E-Win Knight Review: Best Multi-size Gaming Chair Under $200.
- Functionality: 2D armrests; recline from 85° to 155°; rocking with tilt tension.
- Padding: cold-cured 55kg/m³ foam.
- Upholstery: PVC leather.
- Warranty: two years on padding & upholstery; 10 years on the frame.
- Seat width x depth: 21.7″ (W) x 19.7″ (usable depth)
- Backrest width x height: 22.6″ (W) x 33.9″ (H)
- Floor to seat range: 16.3″ to 20.2″
- Size rating: 5’3″ to 6’1″; maximum weight capacity 400 pounds.
Buying advice
The Knight Series is the most versatile cheap gaming chair priced under $200. It’s a good fit for short people with stubby legs, tall-ish ones with lanky legs, fat people, and slim ones.
Compared to other cheap chairs, it has a wider seat, larger weight capacity, and longer warranty. It provides excellent value for money.
- Extra-wide seat
- Support for 400 pounds
- Diverse range of styles
- Reliable 2-year warranty
- The old-school, racing-style designs may bore some people
PVC is thicker than PU leather, and also a lot more durable. Modern versions are slightly less breathable than PU, but only marginally.
Bottom line: this is the most versatile starter chair for first-time ergonomic chair users. If you’re within 5’4″ to 6’1″, the Knight will fit — regardless of your thickness or weight.
Use the coupon code ChairsFX to get 20% off the retail sales price.
Knight Series from E-Win $183 $229
Learn more: Knight Series Review With a 6’1″ Model
GTRacing Pro Series
Rated #2 | $116.98 on Amazon
This is one of the original cheap gaming chairs, launched in 2013. Its basic features include 2D arms, an adjustable lumbar support pillow, and a 90-160° recline. That stack provides everything you need to support healthy computing postures.
The key downside: it lacks the sizing versatility of the E-Win Knight. GTRacing rates the Pro Series as a small chair for sizes 4’9″ to 5’9″. We tested it with a 5’8″ 155-pound model; it was a good fit for her size.
But based on her fit, those with shorter legs will find the seat too deep. So the Pro Series chair’s advertised size rating is unrealistic. Instead, we suggest it as a safe fit for sizes 5’6″ to 5’9″ only.
Pro Series Chair Features
The GTRacing Pro Series starts with a steel frame and a thick layer of mid-grade polyurethane foam (PU) padding. Like most cheap blends, the padding has a semi-spongy 50kg/m³ density. That’s not as supportive or durable as firmer padding blends.
In fact, firmer padding provides better stability to support good postures. On the flip side, the Pro Series padding is soft and comfortable on the buttocks — a gentler introduction for ergonomic beginners.
In a similar fashion, the Pro Series lumbar pillow is easy for beginners to master. Simply adjust its height to provide support above your beltline. Then, lean back and enjoy a supported healthy posture.
GT099 Specifications
We’ve revised GTRacing’s size rating for this chair. Our tests found the Pro Series 22.8″ seat depth excessive for short legs. ChairsFX size rating: 4’9″ 5’6″ to 5’9″ and up to 200 pounds.
- Functionality: 2D armrests; recline to 160°.
- Comfort: PU 50kg/m³ foam padding; neck and lumbar pillows.
- Upholstery: 2-tone PU leather.
- Support: steel frame; metal base; class 4 gas lift; smooth rolling casters.
- Warranty: one year.
- Seat width x depth: 16″/21.3″ (inner/outer seat width) x 22.8″ (D)
- Backrest width x height: 20.8″ (W) x 32.2″ (H)
- Seat height: 16.92″ to 20.86″
- ChairsFX size rating:
4’9″5’6″ to 5’9″; 330-pound capacity (200-pound suggested fit limit)
Buying advice
Versus the E-Win Knight, the Pro Series is around $60 cheaper with a shorter 1-year warranty. It differs with squishier padding and a lumbar pillow attached with straps. For the price, it offers good value as a solid starter chair.
- Rugged, easy to clean
- Good adjustability
- Comfortable
- Limited sizing potential
- Mediocre (1-year) durability
But compared to the Knight, its sizing is clumsy. The backrest is well-designed for short sizes — but the 22.8″ seat depth is for longer legs. That limits its sizing potential.
People taller than 5’9″ will find the backrest too small; those shorter than 5’6″will find the seat too deep. On a positive note, those within the 5’6″ to 5’9″ size range can enjoy a solid starter chair for a great low price.
GTRacing Pro Series on Amazon $116.98
Learn more: GTRacing Pro Series Review With a 5’8″ Model.
Elecwish Footrest Gaming Chair
Rated #3 | $119.99 on Amazon
There’s an interesting trend going on within Amazon’s best-selling computer gaming chair rankings: 8 of the top 20 best-sellers are gaming chairs with footrests.
Several of these have fixed (non-adjustable) padded armrests. Most are modernized clones of the original ‘living room gaming chair’: the Elecwish Footrest Chair. Since 2015, this model has been popularizing the living room gaming chair concept.
Without adjustable arms, this model qualifies as a semi-ergonomic. Even so, our tests found this kit suitable for shared computing millennial households. Adults can use it as an office chair and a recliner; younger ages can also make use of it as a console gaming chair/ lounger.
Elecwish Chair Features
Even with its non-adjustable padded arms, the Elecwish does a decent job at supporting good posture. The secret is its old-school lumbar support pillow on straps. Adjust it to support above your beltline, lean back, and you’re in ergonomic business.
As goofy as it looks, this lumbar support system works. Our model had never used a gaming chair before. But with basic instructions, he found the lumbar pillow supportive, comfortable, and effective.
Beyond supporting upright desk postures, the Elecwish chair also lets you kick back. For deep relaxation, pop out the footrest and set a deep recline. To watch movies, set a more upright recline to keep your back and neck in a healthy position.
Summary of Specifications
For a detailed review (a 6’1″ dad and two spider monkey kids), see our Elecwish Footrest Gaming Chair Review. Summary of specs:
- Functionality: footrest; backrest recline to 170°; fixed armrests.
- Upholstery: foam padding; PU leather seat and backrest
- Support: adjustable neck and lumbar pillows on straps.
- Extra: USB-powered massage unit stuffed inside the lumbar pillow.
- Warranty: 1-year warranty.
- Seat width & depth: 21.7″ (W) x 21.7″ (D)
- Backrest height & width: 32.3″ (H), 21.7″ (W)
- Floor to seat range: 18″ to 21.3″
- Total height: 50.3″ to 53.6″
- Size rating: 5’5″ to 5’11”; 330 pounds
Buying advice
The semi-ergonomic, goofy-looking Elecwish footrest chair has held consistent popularity for years. Our research suggested shared computing trends in millennial households as the reason. Many Millennial households have kids — and a shared family computer.
- Versatile (supports deskwork, gaming, TV watching, etc)
- Rugged build that doesn’t need babying
- Easy to use
- The non-adjustable arms aren’t supportive enough for full-time deskwork.
To test our theory, ChairsFX sent an Elecwish chair to a Millennial household with kids. The 6’1″ dad had never used a gaming chair before but adapted to the Elecwish quickly. However, the chair’s 5’11” max size rating left him a bit squished.
For proper postural support, it’s necessary to fit within this chair’s 5’5″ to 5’11” size rating. Even so, our model’s kids were thrilled with this chair. In his view, the Elecwish provided them a ‘better place to play games than on the sofa’.
Elecwish Footrest Chair from Amazon $119.99
Learn: Elecwish Footrest Gaming Chair Review: Fun Family Ergonomics.
Amazon Best-Seller Picks
Many of the gaming chairs on Amazon’s best-seller lists cost less than $200. Among these are pure desk chairs and also gaming chairs with footrests. Two examples:
Homall Classic
Rated #4 | $99.99 on Amazon
The original cheap gaming chair has reigned as Amazon’s #1 seller for years. It has clear pros and cons. On the upside, its dimensions are sound: the 19.8″ seat depth provides a legit good fit for chunky sizes 5’4″ to 5’10”.
On the downside, this is a semi-ergonomic model with fixed, non-adjustable armrests. That suits short computing periods. For full-time ones, the lack of adjustable support may strain the shoulders and wrists.
If you can live with the downside, this is a rock-solid starter chair with reliable dimensions and a great price.
- Features: non-adjustable arms, 90-180° recline, lumbar & headrest pillows.
- Size rating: 5’4″ to 5’10”, 300 pounds.
- Warranty: 1 year.
GTRacing Music Footrest Chair
Rated #6 | $139.99 on Amazon
A slightly smaller Pro Series with a retractable footrest and Bluetooth speakers. The GTRacing Pro Series chair’s 22.8″ seat depth is excessive for short sizes. The GTRacing Music Series solves with a 20.07″ depth.
Beyond a better fit, sizes 5’4″ and up get the bonus of a retractable footrest and Bluetooth speakers built into the backrest. Available in six color variations.
- Features: 2D arms; 90-155° recline; footrest; massage stuffed lumbar pillow
- Extras: retractable footrest; massage stuffed lumbar pillow; built-in Bluetooth speakers.
- ChairsFX size rating: 5’5″ to 5’9″; 200 pounds
- Warranty: 1 year.
Cheap Gaming Chair Target Markets
DXRacer dropped the world’s first gaming chair in 2006. For seventeen years, office chair purists have been feverishly deriding gaming chairs as scams. But despite their cries, cheap gaming chairs are more popular than ever.
To find out why, we did some market research. To start, we used Pew Research Center generational definitions(1):
- Generation X: born between 1965 to 1980 (ages 43-58 in 2023)
- Millennial: born between 1981 to 1996 (ages 27-42 circa 2023)
- Generation Z: born between 1997 and 2012 (ages 11-26 in 2023)
The ergonomic seating era kicked off in 1994 with the Herman Miller Aeron (29 years ago). Then, Generation X was aged 14-29. They grew up using Windows 1.0 in an era when ergonomic seating was revered with god-like status.
But the times have changed. In fact, modern computing trends suggest that cheap gaming chairs provide plenty of value for Millennial and Gen Z computer users.
Cheap Gaming Chairs For Gen Z Gamers
For Gen Z (ages 11-26, born 1997-2012), a cheap gaming chair is all that’s needed to emulate the habits of their esports and streaming heroes. In those circles, many are switched on to the Esports Performance Blueprint.
The Esports Performance Formula reframes ergonomic seating as a lower-priority support tool. Greater performance-boosting priorities include regular exercise, a healthy diet, and stable sleeping patterns.
So why should a cash-strapped Gen Z gamer need to pay more for pricey, complicated ergonomic seating? A cheap gaming chair provides everything young gamers needs for postural success:
Adjustable lumbar support aligns the spine. A reclining backrest lets you customize angles. Adjustable armrests take pressure off your wrists and shoulders.
Cheap Gaming Chairs As DIY Support Tools For Gen Z Gamers
Dr. Jordan Tsai is one of the top performance docs on the LA-based pro esports scene. His performance blueprint summary:
Three trends suggest that this blueprint resonates with Gen Z more than fancy office chair ergonomics:
- Fitness beats chair posture: clinical reviews support the esports performance model. Exercise reduces pain & depression while boosting wellness(2).
- Gen Z Addresses Pain Proactively: a 2020 survey found that 36% of Gen Z (ages 11-26 in 2023) suffered back pain between the ages of 11-15. But instead of relying on fancy chairs, 44% addressed their pain with natural methods like stretching.
- Gen Z is passionate about fitness: 48% work out several times per week; around 1/3 of those lift weights. 60% of Gen Z ages jog vs 26% among other generations.
For a full list of trends with source citations, see this report:
Cheap Gaming Chairs For Millennials
Millennials (aged 27-42 in 2023) dominate the modern workforce. Specifically, ages 35-44 made up 77% of the U.S. labor force in 2020(3). Also in 2020, studies of locked-down executives found the majority ergonomically ignorant.
Post-COVID, the Millennial age group shows greater disease burdens than others. Notably, they generate 22% more back disorder ER visits than other generations(4).
Cheap Gaming Chairs For Ergonomically Ignorant Millennials
The above suggests that many in this group completely missed the entire (29-year-old) ergonomic office chair revolution. Given their back woes, many are likely still using old-timey non-ergonomic office chairs.
If not sold on fancy ergo office chairs by now, chances of Millennials ponying up big money for one in 2023 are slim. That’s where cheap gaming chairs priced under $200 fit in.
Instead of a major expense, cheap gaming chairs are a trivial one. Rather than supporting neutral postures with fancy features, they use simple, idiot-proof ones.
The end result: a similarly healthy neutral posture — but with much less financial and technical strain.
Footrest Chairs For Millennial Families
Snooty office chair purists deride cheap, goofy gaming chairs with footrests as absurd. Along that line of logic, footrest chairs with non-adjustable arms are even more absurd — they don’t properly support the arms!
Even so, based on these U.S. back pain and computing trends, footrest gaming chairs look to be a great fit for Millennials (ages 27-42 in 2023) operating households with shared computers:
- Household computer saturation: 98% of households (with a householder under 50) have at least one computer; 40% of households have kids.
- Excessive sedentary behavior: in 2020, 26% of children spent 4+ hours per day in front of a TV or electronic device during the week — on top of schoolwork.
- Endemic lower back pain: in 2019, around 33% of U.S kids were beset by back pain. Of those, 69% of those surveyed reported lower back pain as the problem.
On top of these developments, per capita disposable income decreased by 6.4% in 2022(5). With less money to spend on chairs for all, cheap footrest gaming chairs have the potential to support entire families on a budget.
Gaming Chairs With Footrests For Shared Computing Households
Ergo Office Chairs Under $350 For Gen X
Cheap gaming chairs aren’t the best fit for Gen X (born between 1965 to 1980). They grew up revering fancy office chair ergonomics.
In 2023, Gen X is 43-58: old, fat, and stuck in their ways. Many hold cubicle-style office chairs dear to their heart; racing style gaming chairs repugnant. Luckily, gaming chairs and ergo office chairs are functionally the same.
But given the ergonomic trends of their youth, Gen Xers are likely to find office-style aesthetics more reassuring than flashy gamer ones.
To that end, a handful of cheap ergo office chairs priced under $350 offer good value for money. Browse the best of the moment:
Footnotes
- Michael Dimcock. ‘Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins’. January 17, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/, (accessed 29 May 2023).
- Grace Wang et al. ‘Older Adult Use and Outcomes in a Digital Musculoskeletal (MSK) Program, by Generation’. August 3, 2021, doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2021.693170, (accessed 17 May 2023).
- Matthew Zane. ‘2023 Statistics On Prime Working Age Population In America’. January 30, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/working-age-population/, (accessed 29 May 2023).
- Health Action Council. ‘Millennials Exceed Older Generations In Chronic Health Conditions’, February 9, 2023. https://healthactioncouncil.org/News/2023-White-Paper-Announced, (accessed 29 May 2023).
- Ibisworld. ‘Per Capita Disposable Income’, March 22, 2023. https://www.ibisworld.com/us/bed/per-capita-disposable-income/33/, (accessed 15 May 2023).
