Task Chair Vs Office Chair 2021: Which One Is Best for You?

There are major differences between task chair vs office chair in terms of design, durability, and comfort. Actually, you might need to know if you want to buy the right kind of chair for yourself or for your workers.

Here’s a deep dive into the debate of a task chair vs office chair from FittingChairs.

Before learning about task chair vs office chair, let’s review the inherent characteristics of any task chair.

A task chair is a type of desk or office chair. These chairs are designed for specific tasks. You can see the terms task chair, desk chair, and office chair are frequently interchanged.

However, while the names are often used interchangeably, a real task chair has a few distinguishing characteristics that you don’t find in other “office chairs”:

First, the fact is that the task chair encourages proper posture. Usually, task chairs were used by typists and early stenographers.

These seats were created to keep the back straight and the weight off the shoulders, allowing for faster typing. They act on reducing stress on joints and muscles. In particular, modern task chairs comparable also encourage the body into an upright posture.

Besides, task chairs are functional, which also means they’ll help you get more done.

Although the majority of task chairs feature simple designs and nearly like every other office chair, they’re designed to assist you in completing your tasks as much as possible and are adaptable to a variety of job environments and body types.

Task chairs are adjustable and designed to fit many body types, unlike more specialized chairs that focus on supporting a single portion of the body. As a result, they’re frequently found in shared workspaces.

A basic chair, with or without arms, that offers an employee space to sit and work at a desk is the difference between an office chair and task chair.

Unlike executive chairs, they usually have a lower backrest to allow smaller work spaces. Lower backrests may have worked at a lower level of authority and control in the past.

When it comes to materials, office chairs were traditionally composed of wood or other metals.

Recent decades, office chairs have become more advanced with features such as fixed armrests, wheels for mobility, and non hydraulic or powered height adjustments if not fixed.

There is a special fact that office chairs have seen a complete transformation in recent years with ergonomics features.

So what’s the difference between a task chair vs office chair?

Functionality

Talking about the functionality of a task chair vs ergonomic chair, there is obviously a difference for you to choose the right one for your purposes.

Office chairs are mainly used for office work that requires sitting like desk jobs, conferences, training.

While the office chair is actually multi-purpose, the task chair has specific usage. It is meant for those employees who have specific desk jobs that involve typing, reading, or operating computers.

Comfort And Ergonomics

The difference in ergonomic characteristics is the first and most noticeable distinction between a task vs office chair that you would notice just by looking at these seats.

Indeed, task chairs are frequently constructed with comfort and ergonomics in mind rather than normal office chairs. With this kind of chair, if you have back problems, you may find that a task chair is more proper for your body.

Although standard office chairs are not all equipped with all features, they will have basic adjustability capabilities like a height function, back tilt, and swivel base.

In particular, there are some points where standard office chairs are not inferior to office chairs in their ability to be adjusted flexibly.

Specifically, adjustable seat height and depth, adjustable armrests, and adjustable lumbar support, as well as swivel and tilt functions, are all features of a task chair.

While task chairs can have a mid-height or full-height back, as well as a separate head and neck rest in some cases, most office chairs have high backrests, they don’t definitely include lumbar support.

In terms of comparison of task chair vs office chair, the one you choose will be determined by how you like to sit and what you find most comfortable.

Anyway, in this respect, a task chair with a full height back will undoubtedly provide the most thorough support.

Style And Design

When it comes to styles, the difference between a task chair vs office chair is that office chairs come in a variety of styles. The style you choose will ultimately be determined by your office decor and whether you value style over comfort.

Of course, depending on the application, they may be covered in luxurious upholstery such as leather or silk, or they may be constructed of thin mesh that allows you to breathe.

Office chairs encompass a wide range of material types, although the most frequent are leather and mesh office chairs.

While leather offers a plush feel, mesh allows for ventilation. Besides, the fabric will provide a comfortable seat, while the mesh back will enable air to circulate, keeping you at the ideal temperature all year.

If you have a chair with a fabric seat and a mesh back, it will give you the best of both worlds, giving you an advantage over ordinary office chairs.

Task chairs, on the other hand, have standard upholstery and basic foam. It’s possible that they’ll have wheels for convenience.

They are usually low-styled to provide the impression of a vast work area in an office. This type of chair is also available in thick mesh, which is less expensive and has a longer lifespan due to increased use and varied users.

Related to their design, what’s the difference between a task chair vs office chair?

Due to their fixed design, office chairs are heavier and more cumbersome than task chairs. Hence, it’s easy to understand that the task chairs will be far more flexible, and their upholstery makes their design much more lightweight.

There is a fact that both task chair vs office chair have a swivel base and casters. However, make sure to check if the armrests are fixed or adjustable.

An office chair, unlike a swivel chair, has a hydraulic height adjustment. A task chair can either be manually adjusted or has a fixed height.

Following that, in comparison to task chair vs office chair, the latter are lightweight, portable, and require little upkeep.

Pricing

For the fitness functionality that a task chair vs office chair can give, there is not much difference in price.

The most basic office chairs start at around £50, while some of the more opulent leather and mesh office chairs cost up to hundreds of pounds.

On the other hand, the average cost of a good task chair is roughly £150, with prices ranging from £200 to £300.

You may get an office chair and a task chair for the same price, and while they both look excellent in terms of style, you’ll likely be able to feel the difference in comfort.

Before you choose a chair, just think about the qualities of a task chair vs. an office chair and you should try it out to see how comfortable it is.

In other cases, a good office chair or task chair will last you for years, so think about your budget and how often you’ll use it before going with the cheapest option.

Now, after knowing all the differences between task chair vs office chair, you might ask, which one is better?

You know, every type of office chair has different ergonomics and uses. So, the question will be “Which one is best for yourself?”

If your top priority is productivity and you are tight on budget or you need to sit for work all day, every day, it’s evident that a task chair, with its ergonomic design elements, will be more beneficial to you.

However, if you are a boss of any office chair, then you might go for an executive office chair. Executive office chairs are actually made for showing your class instead of promoting productivity.

Since many of us are now working from home for the foreseeable future, investing in a chair that promotes good posture and provides maximum comfort should be a priority.

See more:

• Steelcase Leap Vs Amia: Which Chair Is Better?
• Gesture Vs Leap: Key Differences
• Herman Miller Mirra 2 vs Aeron

FittingChairs hopes this article on task chair vs office chair will be helpful. We have provided a lot of other useful articles on many types of ergonomic chairs for certain cases. Make sure to read them if you need to refer.