What’s the difference between a cheap and an expensive gaming chair? In ChairsFX rankings, the GTRacing Pro Series ranks among the top budget models. On the premium side, the Secretlab Titan reigns as the top pick. While both support healthy computing postures; there are significant differences. So let’s compare cheap vs expensive gaming chairs by pitting the GTRacing Pro Series against the Secretlab Titan Evo.
Based on institutional seating definitions, a chair qualifies as fully ergonomic with three adjustable features. When combined, this trio supports healthy neutral postures:
- Adjustable lumbar support: aligns the lower spine
- Adjustable armrests: provides extra bracing to hold the torso upright
- Tilt-locking backrest recline: enables seated movement
This means – with the requisite features – cheap gaming chairs are equipped to support neutral postures in the same way premium models do.
However, cheap gaming chairs priced under $300 aren’t as adjustable as pricier models. They also come stuffed with cheaper foam padding that won’t hold its shape as long as premium versions.
Cheap Vs Expensive Chair Differences
- Cheap chair appeal: sufficient neutral posture support for beginners, without financial risk
- GTRacing Pro Series vs Titan Evo: technical comparison
- Unreliable sizing: cheap chairs often have exaggerated size ratings
- Cheap chairs easier to use: limited adjustability makes cheap chairs easier to configure
- Squishier padding: cheaper chairs have lower-grade padding that flattens faster
- Limited durability: when used full-time, cheap chairs will break down faster
- Basic aesthetics: cheap chairs aren’t as visually appealing as pricier ones
Cheap Gaming Chair Appeal For Beginners
Compared to pricier models, cheap gaming chairs are less adjustable, come stuffed with cheaper padding, and aren’t as durable. Even so, they still have advantages for first-time ergonomic chair users.
For example, I bought my first gaming chair in 2017, a cheap DXRacer F-Series. It had 1D arms, standard tilt functions, and a crude lumbar pillow. After learning how to use it to support neutral postures, it changed my life!
Beyond longer periods of pain-free sitting, benefits gained included more energy and sharper focus while sitting, plus improved posture – while sitting and standing.
After a few years, I upgraded to a Secretlab Titan Evo. With its superior padding and adjustability, I was able to sit in slightly more biomechanically-precise neutral postures.
Even so, when I couldn’t afford better, my basic DXRacer provided the support I needed.
Key takeaway: if you don’t have a grasp of neutral sitting postures, a cheap gaming chair provides an easily accessible introduction. Once you learn the basics, you’ll be educated enough to make an informed seating upgrade.
GTRacing Pro Vs Secretlab Titan Specs
On ChairsFX, the GTRacing Pro Series has been our top-rated cheap gaming chair under $200. On the premium side, the Secretlab Titan reigned as our top-ranked premium gaming chair.
Here’s how both models compare:
| Spec | GTRacing Pro Series | Secretlab Titan Evo |
| Lumbar support | Height-adjustable pillow | Height x depth-adjustable integrated system |
| Padding density | 50 kg/m³ (squishy) | 65 kg/m³ (semi-firm) |
| Armrests | 2D | 4D |
| Backrest Recline | 90-160° | 85-165° |
| Seat Tilt | Standard (rock or lock upright) | Multifunction (rock, lock upright, or lock the seat at angles) |
| Sizing options | For slim users 5’6″ to 5’9″ | 3 specialized options for small, average, and XL sizes |
| Warranty | 1 year | 5 years |
| Price | $129.98 on Amazon | From $569 |
The key differences are highlighted. For a premium price, the Titan buys you more sophisticated lumbar support, firmer padding, a multi-function seat tilt, 3 specialty sizes, and a 5-year warranty.
Dubious Vs Legit Size Specifications
Using an ill-fitting gaming chair will cause discomfort and pain. For best results, a proper fit is crucial. For example, a 2021 Taiwan study wanted to prove that gaming chairs are bad for the back.
To do so, they sat a short user in a gaming chair too large for his size. The excessive seat depth is his biggest problem. That starts a chain reaction that obliterates good posture:
- A seat too deep pulls the knees forward.
- Knees pulled forward will flatten the lower back (lumbar) curve.
- A flattened lumbar curve rounds the upper spine (neck & shoulder pain).
Cheap Chair Brands Make Dubious Sizing Claims
Despite the potential harm caused by ill-fitting chairs, cheap gaming chair makers like GTRacing exaggerate the sizing potential of their chairs. This is most likely to flip as many chairs as they can to the widest possible markets.
For example, GTRacing rates the Pro Series for sizes 4’9″ to 5’9″. We tested the fit with a 5’8″ model. The 22.8″ seat depth leaves a decent gap between the back of her knees and the seat lip.
However, based on our tests, users shorter than 5’6″ will definitely find the seat too deep. Even so, GTRacing markets this chair for sizes 4’9″ and up. For users seeking back support value, this type of exaggeration can become a huge problem — especially for first-timers with no ergonomic points of reference.
Secretlab: Meticulous Value-Driven Sizes
Chair chair brands exaggerate sizing potential to flip cheap products to ergonomic beginners. In contrast, Secretlab strives to build ‘customers for life’.
To that end, it offers Titan chairs in three sizes with meticulous dimensions:
| Specification | Titan 2022 Small | Medium | XL |
| Seat (total inner width) | 17.7″ (W) x 18.9″ (D) | 18.5″ (W) x 19.3″ (D) | 19.3″ (W) x 19.7″ (D) |
| Backrest | 20″ (W) x 32.3″ (H) | 21″ (W) x 33.5″ (H) | 22″ (W) x 35″ (H) |
| Seat height | 17.7″ to 20.5″ | 17.7″ to 20.5″ | 18.1″ to 21.9″ |
| Size rating | 4’11” to 5’6″; 285 pounds | 5’7″ to 6’2″; 285 pounds | 5’11” to 6’9″; 395 pounds |
A proper fit ensures good back support, comfortable users, and happy customers. You can see the accuracy of Secretlab’s size ratings for yourself using my 5’9″ size as a reference. Here’s my fit in medium and XL Titan chairs:
Looking at seat depths, the medium edition leaves a nice gap between the back of my knees and the seat lip. In contrast, the lip almost touches my knees in the XL. Thus, Secretlab accurately rated me as 2″ too short for the XL chair!
Cheap Chairs Are Easier For Beginners
The cruder adjustability of cheap gaming chairs has a big upside: beginner-friendliness. For instance, effective lumbar support usage is the key to maintaining healthy postures in a gaming chair.
Boilerplate configuration: lumbar support height-adjusted to fit slightly above the beltline; set around 1.5″ (4 cm) deep. But even with these numbers, getting the settings right is tricky for beginners.
It took me around three months of fiddling with my gaming chair before I found my lumbar support sweet spot. Along the way, I did tests with other support types (rolled-up yoga mat and lifter’s belt) to get a feel for it.
Cheap Gaming Chair Pillow Lumbar: Easy To Use
Cheap gaming chairs typically come with lumbar support pillows filled with mid-grade PU foam. They attach to the backrest with straps for height-adjustability. The compressive nature of the foam pillow adds auto-depth adjustability.
Despite the crude, goofy looks, these are very easy to use — especially for ergonomic beginners. There’s only one height adjustment to make: set it slightly above your beltline — or close enough so that it feels supportive.
I think the model’s lumbar pillow looks a touch too low. However, she found that position the most comfortable and supportive. With practice, she’ll likely use the easy adjustability to fine-tune her approach.
Secretlab Integrated Lumbar: Subtle And Complex
The Titan Evo 2022 has an integrated 4-way adjustable lumbar support system. The dial on the right controls the depth of support; the dial on the left controls the height. In the middle is an adaptive matrix of hinges that respond as the user moves.
This gives you complete control to achieve super-precise lower back support. But what is the precise setting for your particular needs? Height x depth gives you hundreds of possible configurations.
What’s more, the maximum depth is mild. So if it hits the wrong spot, you may not notice at first — until pain emerges!
Luckily, with experience using cheap gaming chair lumbar pillows, the Titan’s lumbar controls are a delight. But without experience, users may randomly toggle the controls with no idea what they’re doing.
This is likely why Secretlab also offers external Titan memory foam lumbar pillows. Unlike the built-in controls, these 11.4″ x 11.4″ pillows are super-easy to use.
Simply chuck it behind your spine, aim it roughly around your lumbar curve, and lean back. This presents a foolproof way for beginners to master lumbar support biomechanics for themselves. Learn more:
Cheap Chairs Have Squishier Padding
In the furniture industry, cheap seating is usually stuffed with squishy PU foam padding. As you go higher up the pricing scale, padding becomes firmer. In premium tiers, brands like Secretlab use firm cold-cured foam padding.
Many first-time ergo chair users prefer the marshmallow feel of soft, squishy sofa-style padding. The problem is that soft padding gives inconsistent support. That forces muscles to work harder at keeping the user stabilized.
That’s why many people feel exhausted — not refreshed — after a long stint on a fluffy sofa. Even so, the low cost and immediate appeal sees almost all cheap gaming chairs stuffed with cheap, squishy PU foam padding.
In contrast, premium brands like Secretlab use firm, cold-cured foam padding. This is the same stuff used in luxury theater and first-class airplane passenger seats.
Secretlab’s padding provides excellent stability with the right amount of give. However, many first-time ergo chair users are shocked by its firmness. Luckily, cold foam padding is adaptive. Once it adapts to your body’s nuances, the comfort level is (in my experience) divine.
Cheap Gaming Chairs Are Less Durable
Most cheap gaming chairs have 1-year warranties and cheap, squishy padding. After a year of full-time use, expect flattened, uneven padding and degraded upholstery. The only chair I’ve pushed to the limit was a cheap DXRacer F-Series.
After 2.5 years, the upholstery had degraded. Even worse, the padding flattened enough that I could feel steel bars under the seat.
In contrast, the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 is guaranteed for five years. After 21 months of full-time use, it’s still functionally like new. But to maintain aesthetics and hygiene, I’ve learned that deep cleanings are also necessary.
In 21 months, I’ve cleaned my Cookies and Cream Softweave fabric four times. Besides that necessary evil, my Titan should keep performing until 2026. That makes it slightly cheaper than the Pro Series in the long run:
- Titan ($549) with 5-year warranty: $109 per year.
- GTRacing Pro Series with 1-year warranty: $129.98 per year.
Secretlab Titan Aesthetics Are Better
When you pay more, sweeter aesthetics are expected. On that front, Secretlab Titan chairs are available in over 50 styles, with new ones coming out all the time. The latest: a stunning pair of Lilith (dark) and Inarius (light) Diablo chairs.
In contrast, cheap gaming chairs tend towards old-school, racing-style designs. For instance, the GTRacing Pro Series sports the same look in 2023 as it did for its 2013 debut. In ten years, neither its functions or aesthetics show any evolution.
Like most cheap chairs, the quality of its faux leather is basic. This stuff does the job, although it lacks the superior suppleness, breathability, and look as premium blends.
Meanwhile, with the aim of nurturing ‘customers for life”, Titan chairs functionally upgrade every two years. On top of that, its 50+ style collection caters to various styles, tastes, and fandoms.
Secretlab chairs cover the entire color spectrum. There are also plenty of official brand chairs for League of Legends, Diablo, World of Warcraft and many more. Check out the effects of various styles:
Cheap Gaming Chair Target Markets
We’ve already established that cheap and expensive gaming chairs both support healthy neutral postures. Pricier ones add firmer padding, better adjustability and durability, plus nicer aesthetics.
Circa 2023, who do cheap gaming chairs appeal to? How about premium models? To answer these questions, ChairsFX recently did a consumer seating market analysis.
That started with some generational definitions from the Pew Research Center:
- Generation X: born 1965 to 1980 (ages 43-58 in 2023)
- Millennial: born 1981 to 1996 (ages 27-42 circa 2023)
- Generation Z: born 1997 to 2012 (ages 11-26 in 2023)
Then, we found some notable trends among U.S. Gen Z and Millennial groups. Highlight trends:
- Higher living costs = smaller chair budgets: per capita disposable income decreased by 6.4% in 2022. In 2023, cost of living expenses are surging in sync with inflation.
- Millennials are sickly: since COVID, this generation inflicts greater mental & physical disease burdens on hospitals than others. They also generate 22% more back disorder ER visits than others.
- Fitness beats chair posture: 34.5 million Americans suffered chronic musculoskeletal pain (MSK) in 2018. But esports doctors and clinical reviews agree: exercise reduces pain & depression while boosting quality of life.
- Gen Z are posturally savvy: a 2020 survey found that 36% of Gen Z (ages 11-26 in 2023) experience back pain between the ages of 11-15. Instead of seeking medical care, 44% used natural healing methods like stretching.
- Gen Z are fitness savvy: 48% work out several times per week; around 33% of those lift weights; 42% wear fitness trackers.
These trends justify cheap gaming chairs as starter models for two groups:
Cheap Gaming Chairs For Millennials
This group rushes to hospitals for mental and physical breakdowns a lot more than other generations. They also generate 22% more back disorder hospital visits than older and younger generations.
Meanwhile, health problems caused by sloppy sitting habits are well-documented among U.S. workers. Common symptoms include:
- Wrist disorders: 4 million Americans suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Neck pain: the fourth-leading cause of disability nationwide.
- Shoulder pain: employees average 4.5 million doctor visits and $3 billion in associated health costs.
- Elbow and forearm pain: 1-3% of American adults suffer from elbow tendonitis (tennis elbow).
- Low back disorders: estimates suggest around 31 million Americans are suffering from low back pain at any given time.
For Millennials, a cheap gaming chair that fits is an easy way to reverse a posture-related wellness spiral.
With proper usage, less than $200 can easily buy a fully-ergonomic racing style chair that provides the support you need.
Cheap Gaming Chairs For Gen Z
Aged 11-26 in 2023, this group has grown up watching their heroes parlay chiseled physiques into esports fame and glory. For example, Arslan Ash is one of the world’s top Tekken players. His current success stack includes a cheap racing-style gaming chair + a physical fitness routine.
Ergonomics + fitness is actually a boilerplate formula well-established in pro esports circles. For instance, Dr. Jordan Tsai is one of the top LA-based docs on the pro esports physical therapy scene. His performance optimization nutshell summary:
Gen Z + Cheap Gaming Chairs + Fitness
This boilerplate formula might explain why Gen Z prefers natural back pain remedies like stretching or exercise.
Gen Z is also the heart of the $195 billion video game market. Its promotional spearhead is the pro esports industry (valued at $1.39 billion in 2022). At most big tournaments, Gen Z watch their heroes ride to glory atop racing-style gaming chairs.
Secretlab gaming chairs dominate most of the top tournaments (like the International and LoL Finals). But $549 is a steep ask from ages 11-26. That’s where cheap gaming chairs come in.
They do a similar job as elite chairs, for a much lower cost. They also align well with the tenets of an esports performance model that’s growing in relevance.
In fact, even for desk workers who don’t play video games, this model is relevant. An ergonomic chair supports neutral postures.
While a pricey ergonomic chair would be nice, it’s not a necessity. With proper habits, any ergonomic chair that supports neutral postures will suffice.
Cheap Vs Expensive Chair Conclusion
Cheap and expensive gaming chairs meet institutional ergonomic guidelines that define ‘seating ergonomics’. In all cases, adjustable lumbar + arms delivers the support for users to maintain healthy neutral postures.
Both the GTRacing Pro Series and Secretlab Titan Evo do a similar job at supporting neutral postures. Beyond neutral fundamentals, the Titan stacks better adjustable features, superior durability, and a kaleidoscopic array of stunning designs.
Regardless of whether you choose a cheap or premium model, make sure that it fits. Choose an appropriate small, medium, or XL gaming chair that supports your size.
Once your chair sizing is sorted, make it a priority to master neutral sitting fundamentals:
