The Best Standing Desks
Verified by
Ryan V. Editor-in-Chief
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Wirecutter has tested more than 40 standing desks since 2013, and its current top pick is the Uplift V3. Its panel of nearly three dozen people, from 4'10" to 6'9", worked at each desk for a month, and the V3 went from lowest to tallest in 14 seconds, less than half the time of Wirecutter's budget pick. Tom's Guide ranks it first too, crediting the redesigned frame with "rock-solid stability at any height."
The V3 replaces Uplift's long-running V2 with a single three-stage frame. It drops to 22.6 inches, low enough that WIRED named it the best desk for shorter people, and rises to 48.7 inches with a 355-pound lift limit. A gyroscope anti-collision sensor comes standard. So do a FlexMount cable manager and ten cable wraps.
Wirecutter calls it the most customizable desk it has tested. You choose from ten top sizes in laminate, bamboo, butcher block or solid wood, and Uplift covers everything from the top to the electronics for 15 years. A 48 by 30 inch laminate version lists at $659.
What It Won't Do
Two desks in this lineup hold steadier than the V3. Wirecutter found slightly more front-to-back wobble than its other picks once the top passes 40 inches, and the Vari Electric and Secretlab Magnus Pro both held steadier at full height. WIRED also puts the comfortable ceiling nearer 6'4" than Wirecutter's 6'8". One annoyance hides in the base price: the default keypad has no memory presets, and the keypad that saves your heights costs $29 more.
The FlexiSpot EN1 is the cheapest electric desk Wirecutter still recommends, and WIRED named it Best Budget Standing Desk after more than two years of daily use. WIRED's reviewer reports no slide in reliability or stability over that stretch, and clocked the motor at 38 dB, the quietest reading in our research.
It keeps the basics that cheap desks often skip. The top is one solid piece, which Wirecutter thought looked as good as the $649 Branch Duo's, and the current version adds four memory presets and anti-collision. Wirecutter found the heights simple to program.
WIRED lists it at $210 and regularly sees it on sale for $170. That is roughly a quarter of the Uplift V3's $659 list price.
What It Won't Do
Speed and size are where the savings show. The EN1's single motor took 30 seconds to go from lowest to tallest in Wirecutter's test, more than twice as long as the Uplift V3, and WIRED found the down button slow to respond. The current version tops out at 45.7 inches with a 176-pound limit, so tall users and heavy multi-monitor setups should look elsewhere. FlexiSpot has also pulled the EN1 from its own website. It now sells only through FlexiSpot's Amazon store, with 2 years of coverage on the electronics.
Who Should Buy Which
Uplift V3 Standing Desk
The top pick at Wirecutter and Tom's Guide, backed by a 15-year warranty on everything
- Buyers who want the desk Wirecutter and Tom's Guide both rank first
- Shorter users, since the V3 drops to 22.6 inches
- Anyone who changes height often and wants a 14-second full lift
- Households sharing one desk between people of different heights
- People who want a specific top size or material with a 15-year warranty behind it
FlexiSpot EN1 Electric Standing Desk
Wirecutter's cheapest pick and WIRED's Best Budget desk after more than two years of use
- First-time standing desk buyers with a budget around $200
- Students and renters setting up a small home office
- Laptop and single-monitor setups rather than heavy multi-screen rigs
- Users under about six feet, who fit inside its 45.7-inch maximum
- Shared rooms, since WIRED clocked it at 38 dB