A standard gaming chair is designed to support good posture for long periods of sitting at a desk. A gaming chair with a footrest adds an extra relaxation element. These chairs come with a footrest that folds under the seat while you do deskwork. When it’s time to relax, retract the footrest and kick up your feet! Looking for a gaming recliner? Here we review the best footrest gaming chairs on the market in 2023.
Sitting with a footrest raises your feet off the floor. Elevated feet + a supported lumbar spine + knees bent beyond 90° reduces the power absorbed by the seat.
This position ‘hacks’ gravity. Instead of gravity pulling your torso downward, it curls through the hips and into the spine. With lumbar support in place, that lets desk workers enjoy comfortable, effortless posture for long periods.
Cheap, Versatile Family Computing Chairs
Why are footrest gaming chairs such consistent best-sellers on Amazon? They only provide decent posture support; other types of chairs provide better.
But as a shared family computing chair, gaming chairs with footrests stand out. all top-ranked footrest models are budget chairs. Atop steel frames, they layer comfortably squishy mid-grade padding.
The downside of ‘squishiness’ is a slight loss of stability. Even so, most (like our top-ranked Elecwish Footrest chair ($159.99 on Amazon)) provide comfortable footrest variations for both gaming and relaxing.
The combination of low prices, basic adjustable features, and versatility explains why footrest chairs remain popular. Other chairs provide better deskwork posture support.
In contrast, cheap footrest chairs better serve shared computer households. Families with kids will enjoy footrest gaming chairs the most.
When Mom or Dad aren’t using it for upright desk work, kids can enjoy gaming in healthier positions than on the sofa.
What Is A Footrest Gaming Chair?
A gaming chair with a footrest can be used in two ways. With the footrest folded under the seat, it works as an ergonomic desk chair. With the footrest retracted, it serves the same purpose as a living room recliner.
You can use one to take a nap, read a book, or play console video games in your living room. When playtime is over, retract the footrest and use it as a PC desk chair.
Zero gravity reclining
A gaming chair’s footrest folds under the seat. Extracting it and reclining the backrest turns the chair into a zero-gravity lounger.
“Zero gravity” describes a reclining function that certain chairs have. The position mimics the one astronauts assume during liftoff to space missions. The zero-gravity position distributes a user’s body weight across the chair.
Chairs with footrests use a similar concept. With the footrest opened and the backrest reclined, users can forgo a strict 90° knee bend for a more relaxed 120°+ one.
From a physical therapy perspective, that knee position allows the glutes and quad muscles to fire while reclining. That helps to decompress the spine while seated.
Types Of Footrest Gaming Chairs
In 2023, there are two main types of footrest gaming chairs to choose from. Both deliver a zero-gravity effect.
- Footrest gaming chairs for the living room: most models cost less than $200. All have non-adjustable armrests. Adjustable armrests help to sync a chair with a desk. In a living room without a desk, padded fixed armrests work fine.
- Gaming office chairs with footrest: these differ from living room chairs with adjustable armrests. For serious office work, you can position adjustable armrests to meet the height of your desk and keyboard. When it’s time to relax, yank out the footrest and kick back.
Best Living Room Footrest Game Chairs
Two features make this style of chair optimal for use in the living room. First, living room footrest chairs come with fixed armrests. When sitting at a desk, adjustable armrests help to sync your chair and body with the desk height.
But in a living room without a desk, you don’t need adjustable armrests. Second, most of these models have flat, wide seats. Typical racing-style chair seats come with ridged edges that restrict leg movement. Flat seat edges do the opposite, providing enough room to sit cross-legged.
If you use an Xbox or PS5 in the living room, these provide better back support than console gaming seats. Thus you can enjoy La-Z-Boy-style reclining with good posture and healthy benefits.
Living Room Footrest Chair Rankings 2023
Choose whichever you fancy based on styling, price, or the appropriate sizing for your needs. All prices are from Amazon:
- Elecwish Footrest Chair: an original classic that’s still one of the most popular. ($159.99)
- Respawn 110 (RSP-110): a pricey long-time favorite from a reputable brand. ($224.99)
- Sitmod Fabric Footrest Chair: like the RSP-110, but in four fabric upholstery styles. ($179.00)
- Soontrans Gaming Recliner: popular ultra-cheap footrest chair ($129.86)
Elecwish Footrest Chair
Amazon price: $159.99
All footrest gaming chairs for the living room have similar features. That includes a height-adjustable lumbar pillow, deep recline, adjustable arms, and a footrest. The Elecwish is one of the originals, around since 2016.
Since then, this model hasn’t evolved much — yet consistently ranks among Amazon’s best-selling gaming chairs. That’s a testament to this chair’s reliability.
It performs as advertised. Its highlights include a solid build, ease of use, and exceptional versatility that the whole family can enjoy.
Key Features
This chair is designed for slim users from 5’5″ to 5’11”. As a reference, our 6’1″ model found a usable but very snug fit. In particular, the backrest and headrest were barely able to fit his torso.
As well, the seat was a bit too shallow to support long sessions comfortably. On the flip side, average sizes should find a decent fit. On top of that, ultra-short kids can also make use of this chair:
While the posture support is far from perfect for tiny sizes, this is a safe chair for kiddies. Above the seat, there aren’t any adjustable parts to potentially snag fingers. Instead, the recline and height controls are safely tucked under the seat.
Like most living room footrest chairs, the Elecwish has a vibrating massage unit stuffed into the lumbar pillow. Other features are predictable. You can adjust the height of the seat, swivel 360 degrees, and recline the backrest to from 90-170°.
- Functionality: footrest; backrest recline to 170°; fixed armrests.
- Upholstery: memory foam padding; PU leather seat and backrest; neck and lumbar support pillows.
- 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
Elecwish Advice
The OG living-room-style gaming chair with footrest remains our top 2023 pick in this genre. Competing footrest chairs with fixed arms are a bit flashier — and more expensive — than the Elecwish.
But they’re all tribute chairs — jazzed up Elecwish clones with the same functionality. That makes the Elecwish an easy #1 pick in this genre.
Given its price, performance, and consistent longevity among Amazon’s best-sellers, it’s a very safe pick. As a pure desk chair it’s mediocre — you can tell that just by looking at it.
But as a shared computing family chair in a budget household, the Elecwish delivers. For at least a year, expect comfortable, versatile support for lounging, gaming, and light desk work.
Elecwish Chair on Amazon $159.99
Learn more: Elecwish Footrest Family Gaming Chair Review
Respawn 110
Amazon: $224.99
This model also consistently ranks among Amazon’s most popular footrest gaming chairs. It has similar features as the Elecwish, plus a flashier style. But a recent $100 price hike has soured its appeal.
As a full-time working chair, the Respawn 110 will flatten out in less than a year. For $229.99, it’s unreasonable to hype it over the Price not available Elecwish model.
Respawn 110 features
This is a compact chair suitable for sizes 5’5″ to 5’11”. Unlike other Respawn chairs, it only comes with a basic 30-day return policy.
- Functionality: fixed padded armrests; footrest; recline to 155°; adjustable seat height.
- Upholstery: high density foam padding; standard faux leather; neck and lumbar support cushions.
- Warranty: 30 days return policy only (details).
- Seat width & depth: 21″ (W) x 21.5″ (D)
- Backrest height & width: 30.5″ (H), 22″ (W)
- Floor to seat range: 19.25″ to 22.5″
- Total height: 48″ to 51.5″
- Size rating:5’5″ to 5’9″; 275 pounds
Buying advice
The Respawn 110 has a fluffy look and feel. With the footrest extended, it feels like sinking into a marshmallow.
On the downside, the high price is a potential deal-breaker. Although not as flashy, the Elecwish model does a similar job — for less money and a 1-year warranty.
To compare the entire Respawn collection, check this Respawn Chair Brand Review.
Sitmod Fabric Footrest Chair
Amazon price: $179.00
At a glance, the Sitmod collection stands out with a modern design in a choice of four fabric upholstery styles. Compared to cheap gaming chair faux leathers, fabric gaming chairs offer superior breathability and durability.
But despite the fabric advantage, trust is an issue with unproven budget brands. For example, that’s the biggest problem with this model.
Sitmod Chair Features
The Sitmod collection’s product description hypes the chair as able to support 400 pounds. However, it’s also listed under ‘product information’ with a weight capacity of 299 pounds.
Given its shaky, cheap chair feel, I’m guessing the latter to be true.
- Functionality: fixed padded armrests; 90-150° recline; adjustable seat height; 360° swivel.
- Upholstery: high density foam padding; fabric upholstery; neck and lumbar support pillows.
- Warranty: unspecified.
- Seat width x depth: 20.5″ (W) x 20.8″ (D)
- Backrest width x height: 22″ (W) x 32.6″ (H)
- Floor to seat range: 3.2″
- Chair height: 51.2″ to 53.5″
- Size rating: 5’8″ to 6’2″; up to 300 pounds
Beyond the vague weight capacity, the lack of clear warranty information is also a concern. Some users have reported the only available support is in Chinese.
Buying advice
Flashy skins sell more chairs. That’s the angle Sitmod seems to be going for with its footrest collection. Spec-wise, these offer similar features as other fixed-armrest footrest chairs — fabric upholsteries set them apart.
But if blinded by the lights of the fancy upholstery, you might ignore the risk factors. First, there’s no clear warranty. Second, after-care seems non-existent.
Third, despite its billed 400-pound support, these models have a shaky feel best suited to lightweights. On the upside, for $179.00, there’s no huge risk. Expect a decent (but flimsy-feeling) chair with questionable long-term durability
Soontrans Gaming Recliner
Amazon price: $129.86
This footrest chair has the same features as the others — plus a rock-bottom price. Chairs come with a black PU leather base and a choice of color accents (red, white, green, blue, or grey).
Stylewise, Soontrans chairs look plainer than pricier Sitmod fabric footrest chairs. But neither comes with clear warranty protection.
In both cases, expect one year of usage before deterioration sets in. That usually means loosened parts, worn leather, and flattened padding.
Key features
This chair has the same features as the others. That means a deep recline, a massage-stuffed lumbar pillow, and fixed padded armrests.
- Functionality: retractable footrest; backrest recline to 160°; fixed armrests; adjustable headrest pillow and lumbar support.
- Upholstery: high density foam padding; faux leather seat and backrest in five color options.
- Warranty: none specified.
- Seat width & depth: 15″ (W) x 19″ (D)
- Backrest height & width: 21″ (W) x 33″ (H)
- Floor to seat range: 15″ to 18″
- Size rating: 5’3″ to 5’9″; up to 250 pounds
Buying advice
If you’re looking for an ultra-cheap footrest chair for your living room, the Soontrans collection qualifies. The biggest concern at this price point is durability.
In fact, many users report a flimsy build unlikely to last long. However, at this price point, that’s to be expected.
Office Style Footrest Gaming Chairs
These models differ from the preceding ones with adjustable armrests. That makes them better suited for office-style computing. With the footrest folded under the seat, they work like typical ergonomic desk chairs.
These models are a bit more expensive than the preceding living room chairs. That typically buys users better armrest adjustability, nicer styling, or longer warranties. Listed prices are from Amazon:
- Autofull Conquer: boasts an attractive modern design, specialty support pillows, and an outstanding 3-year warranty. (Price not available)
- NeoChair Marvel: comes with 3D armrests, vivid Marvel superhero styling, and a decent 1-year warranty. ($209.98)
- Nokaxus 6008: spacious footrest chairs with 2D arms, a 1-year warranty, and support for 350 pounds. ($189.99)
- Fuqido XL Footrest Chair: Xl footrest chair with 2D arms and 400-pound support. ($169.99)
- Dark Echo: spacious footrest chairs with 2D arms, a 1-year warranty, and support for 350 pounds. ($169.99)
Autofull Conquer Footrest Gaming Chair
Amazon Price: Price not available
Autofull Conquer chairs stack footrests with attractive styling, heart-shaped lumbar pillows, 2D arms, and an impressive 3-year warranty. Chairs are available in five styles.
This combination of selling points beats every other footrest chair in this genre. Given the price, warranty, and styling, these stand out as the best office-style footrest chairs of the year.
Conquer Chair Features
These attractive chairs come with heart-shaped lumbar pillows. Autofull calls them “3D Bionic Lumbar Support” systems.
They’re designed to support the lower back curve with extended support for the waist. as well.
- Functionality: 2D armrests; recline to 170°; tilt tension and rocking.
- Comfort: resilient foam padding; headrest pillow; upgraded lumbar pillow concept
- Warranty: 3-year warranty
- Seat width & depth: 15.3″ (W) x 19.7″ (D) | 38.8 cm” (W) x 50 cm (D)
- Backrest width x height: 22″ (W) x 34.6″ (H) | 55.8 cm (W) x 87.8 cm (H)
- Floor to seat range: 17.3″ to 20.5″ | 44-52 cm
- Size rating: 5’3″ to 6’0″, weight capacity 350 pounds | 160-182 cm; 158 kg weight capacity
Conquer Gaming Chair Advice
The Autofull Conquer is our top-rated (office-style) gaming chair with a footrest. It’s the best-looking and it also comes with the longest warranty.
Spreading the cost over three years, this chair offers tremendous value for money. If you’re slim enough to fit, the Conquer Series is an excellent pick.
Neochairs ARC Marvel editions
Amazon price: $209.98
Neo Chair is a South Korean company with a license to produce official Marvel gaming chairs. Its ARC-R collection includes five footrest gaming chairs with Marvel superhero designs.
ARC-R chairs fail to match the 3-year warranty stacked with Autofull Conquer chairs. Instead, you get a 1-year warranty, 3D armrests, and superhero designs with bold colors and intricate embroidery.
Features
Like many others, ARC-R chairs have a USB-powered massage unit stuffed inside the lumbar pillow.
Connect a USB cable from the lumbar pillow to your PC to charge the massager. While sitting, turn the unit on to activate vibrations from inside the pillow.
- Functionality: 3D armrests; retractable footrest; deep recline to 180°.
- Comfort: high density padding; neck and lumbar support cushions; lumbar pillow massage insert.
- Support: heavy-duty steel frame that supports up to 350 pounds.
- Warranty: 1-year warranty; 30-day money-back-guarantee.
- Seat width & depth: 22″ (W) x 22″ (D)
- Backrest width x height: 21″ (W), 32.5″ (H)
- Floor to seat range: 18″ to 22″
- Chair height: 51″ to 54″
- Size rating: 5’5″ to 6’0″; up to 300 pounds
Marvel chair buying advice
A stylish superhero gaming chair with footrests for under $200 is a solid deal. Choose your favorite from Captain Marvel, Deadpool, Captain America, Spider-Man, and Iron Man designs.
My only quibble with this series is subjective — I think Autofull Conquer chairs are more attractive. Marvel fans who prefer ARC-R designs instead get solid chairs for a great price.
Nokaxus 6008
Amazon price: $189.99
This footrest collection features classic racing-style designs, spacious dimensions, and 1-year warranties. Footrest fans needing a more spacious seat can consider this model
Chairs come in a choice of colors. Each comes with the typical massage-stuffed lumbar pillow and support for up to 300 pounds.
Features
- Functionality: 2D armrests; retractable footrest; massage unit; deep recline to 180°
- Comfort: high density sponge padding + standard padding; neck and lumbar cushions
- Support: heavy duty steel frame that supports up to 350 pounds
- Warranty: 1-year
- Seat width & depth: 22″ (W) x 21″ (D)
- Backrest height & width: 36.2″ (H), 23.2″ (W)
- Floor to seat range: 19″ to 22″
- Chair height: 55.2″ to 58.2″
- Size rating: 5’7″ to 6’3″; up to 350 pounds
Nokaxus Advice
Chunky users wanting a cheap but reliable footrest gaming chair should consider this model. Its sturdy build and spacious dimensions also make it a good shared family chair.
On the downside, the quality of the materials is mediocre. After a year of full-time use, expect the upholstery to start degrading. If you can live with that and like the specs, click to buy:
Fuqido XL Footrest Chair
Amazon price: $169.99
This model currently ranks in the top-10 of Amazon’s Computer Gaming Chair rankings. It has spacious dimensions, solid features, and a sleek gaming-style design.
On the downside, like so many Amazon chairs, there’s no clear warranty policy. But given the styling, sizing, low price, and solid reviews, it’s worth a look for thicker sizes.
Key features
- Functionality: 3D armrests; footrest; recline to 90-150°
- Upholstery: high density sponge padding; standard PU leather; removable neck and lumbar support pillows.
- Warranty: unspecified
- Seat width & depth: 21.3″ (W) x 19.7″ (D)
- Backrest width x height: 20.5″ (W) x 33.5″ (D)
- Size rating: 5’6″ to 6’1″; weight capacity 350 pounds
Fuquido Chair Advice
Thicker sizes seeking a footrest gaming chair should decide between this model and the preceding Nokaxus 6008. Both have spacious seats with support for up to 350 pounds.
The Nokaxus is a safer pick. It’s from an established brand with a legit 1-year warranty. On the flip side, the Fuqido comes with no quality assurance. But it’s cheaper, with a more contemporary look.
Dark Echo Footrest Massage Chair
Amazon price: $169.99
This model ranks top 20 in Amazon’s Computer Gaming Chair rankings. It’s available in six attractive PU leather styles.
Each includes a racing-style design, massage-stuffed lumbar pillow, 2D armrests, and a 1-year warranty.
Key features
This chair is a good fit for slim sizes of average height. The listed 20″ seat width includes the side wings. The inner seat width of 15.5″ is for slim figures only!
- Functionality: 2D armrests; USB massager lumbar pillow; footrest; recline to 90-155°
- Upholstery: high density sponge padding; standard PU leather; removable neck and lumbar support pillows.
- Warranty: 1 year
- Seat width & depth: 20″ (W) x 20″ (D)
- Backrest width x height: 20.5″ (W) x 33.5″ (D)
- Size rating: 5’6″ to 6’1″; weight capacity 350 pounds
Buying advice
This collection has 3000+ reviews on Amazon, most of them positive. Users rave about chair styling, durability, and after-care support.
Expect a good chair that’s well worth its budget price. It’s comfortable enough, but no more durable or functional than the competitors. If you like the styling and the price, go ahead and pull the trigger:
More About Footrest Gaming Chairs
Is a gaming chair with a footrest right for you? Here are some points to consider:
Who Are Footrest Gaming Chairs For?
Gaming chairs with footrests look like toys compared to high-end ergonomic chairs. So why are they so popular? These household computing trends suggest an answer:
- Household computer saturation: 98% of householders aged under 50 have at least one computer at home.
- Many U.S. homes have kids: 40% of U.S. households have kids (37.5% are headed by married couples; 50.54% by single moms).
- Tablet saturation: 4 out of 5 households with kids also have at least one tablet.
- Excessive sedentary time: in 2020, 26% of kids spent 4+ hours per day in front of a TV, computer, cellphone or computing device during the week (excluding schoolwork).
- Young people lower back problems: in 2019, studies suggested that around 33% of American kids suffered from back pain. Of these, 69% reported suffering from lumbar (lower back) pain.
Meanwhile, U.S. per capita disposable income dropped by 6.4% in 2022. This year, rampant inflation is expected to spike cost of living prices (and slash disposable incomes) even further.
Cheap, Versatile Family Computing Chairs
Gaming chairs with footrests are a good option for computing families on a budget. For one thing, they’re cheap and easy to use. With proper usage, they support good posture over long periods of computing.
For another, they’re versatile. Families who can afford it can buy dedicated computing chairs for kids. Those on a budget can consider a footrest gaming chair instead.
In a pinch, everyone from kids to adults can make use of a footrest gaming chair. In contrast, solo gamers can find better support elsewhere.
Consider: gaming chairs with footrests are not popular among hard-core gamers and power users. Rather, they’re good starter chairs for families having two types of users:
- First-time gaming chair users: a footrest eases the transition to healthy sitting.
- Living room gamers: a healthier alternative to gaming on the sofa.
Footrest Gaming Chair Alternatives
This article classifies a retractable footrest as a luxury extra, not a necessity. Beyond the footrest, the biggest attraction of these chairs is that they’re cheap.
However, many other good-quality cheap gaming chairs exist. As well, a built-in footrest isn’t the only way to put your feet up. Here are two alternatives to the gaming chair with footrest option:
Cheap Gaming Chairs Without Footrests
Cheap gaming chairs without footrests offer better value. At the loss of footrest functionality, you get longer warranties, better adjustability, and more varied styles. For example, our top-rated gaming chair under $200 is the GTRacing Pro Series.
For under $150, it comes in a range of fabric and leather styles with 2D armrests. Many others in the same price range offer similar value for money:
Best Gaming Desk Chairs Under $200
Standalone Footrests
Standalone ergonomic footrests don’t raise your feet as high off the ground as gaming chair footrests.
Instead of La-Z-Boy-style lounging, these footrests suit various purposes. These include:
- Reduced knee bend: using a footrest increases a rigid 90° knee bend to a more comfortable 120°+ angle. That helps to reduce stress on the lower back.
- Height-adjustment: ergonomic footrests let shorter people sit taller at a task.
- Movement: most ergo footrests have swivel functions to work your feet while computing.
Here at ChairsFX HQ, I’m using a Secretlab Professional Footrest ($199 from Secretlab). Its functionality (and pricing) is at the extreme high-end.
For average users, Amazon offers a range of good footrests for under $50. Before my Secretlab, I spent several years happily using a $26.99 Mind Reader Footrest. Learn more:
CONCLUSION
Gaming chairs with footrests are designed for first-time gaming chair users. The top-rated models in this review have a few things in common. Most come with basic features, 1-year warranties (or less), and prices under $250.
If sitting in a deep recline is a priority, these chairs are for you. For instance, if you spend a lot of time playing video games on a sofa, a footrest chair provides a healthier alternative.
When it’s time to relax, simply put your feet up and ease back into super comfy La-Z-Boy style reclining.
