A standing desk is largely thought of as a healthier alternative to sitting all day. It can help you increase your productivity levels, maintain your energy and maybe even improve longevity, which are potentially relieving benefits for anyone with a job that requires using a computer for hours on end.
That said, making the switch to a standing desk doesn’t mean you need to ditch your current desk altogether. And you certainly don’t need to crowd your workspace with a separate full standing desk. With a standing desk converter, the transition to a standing desk can be smooth and effortless.
While there are a handful of DIY standing desk conversions that work well if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, there’s no shortage of quality commercial standing desk converters for those who don’t want a hacksaw and hammer to update their desk situation.
Many standing desk converters have sit-stand (that’s sitting and standing) capabilities and features, with varying texture and build options, from beveled wood to aluminum. Some come with an adjustable height range (standing desk setups that don’t offer your desired height are no good) and a keyboard shelf (one even has a removable tray!). Other adjustable standing desk converter options have surface area for a keyboard and mouse mat at the same height as the computer monitor. If you have limited working space, others are much smaller, with a laptop riser and just enough room for the essentials (sorry about your keyboard and your dual monitor setup). Ultimately though, you’re going to want a sit-stand desk that will get you out of your traditional seated desk and lead to a healthier, less tired, happier you and a quality working session.
If you’re ready to upgrade your regular desk with the best standing desk converter, the following are our top picks. We considered everything from adjustable height range to load capacity and so that your current desk can rise to the occasion — pun intended!
Readydesk
If you were to take StandStand and turn it into a more permanent stand up desk solution, you would end up with Readydesk, a wooden workspace elevator that comes with two adjustable height shelves.
Readydesk has a work surface wide enough to hold two 27-inch monitors, with an adjustable height to suit most people between five feet, three inches and six feet, three inches (1.5 and 1.8 meters) tall, and even features some built-in cable management.
You can also purchase an additional shelf or a laptop rise if you want additional workspace or need tilting ability to raise your laptop a few inches.
Pros
- The Readydesk is easily assembled (without tools) and highly adjustable.
- Quality cross-braces keep the riser from shaking.
- At $155, Readydesk is still one of the cheaper standing desk converter options.
Cons
- Readydesk height adjustable standing desk is a semi-permanent standing desk conversion, meaning you likely won’t be switching your desk back and forth between sitting and standing for short periods of time or even on a daily basis.
- Adjusting the surface height of your keyboard and mouse or monitors means removing an entire shelf, making it slightly more tricky and time-consuming than other adjustable solutions.
Varidesk
Varidesk Pro Plus is one of the most compelling desk conversion kits available today, which is why it’s one of our top picks for the best standing desk converter. This stand-up desk converter boasts excellent desk riser quality and standing height stability for an overall smooth experience for its users and no wobbling. This adjustable standing desk converter is a two-tiered system that adjusts your monitors and keyboard and mouse together, in one swift motion, making it one of the best standing desk converter options for your workstation.
Varidesk Pro Plus comes preassembled and ready to use out of the box. Sit the desk riser on your existing desk, place your monitor or laptop on the top shelf, keyboard and mouse on the lower shelf and raise the desk to one of the preset height settings.
The Varidesk Pro Plus adjustable standing desk converter comes in three different models: 30, 36 and 48. The 30 is meant for a single monitor setup, while the 36 offers a dual monitor setup. The 48 is meant for people up to 6 feet, 1 inch tall and features work surface space for a dual monitor setup, as well as accessories on the top shelf and a keyboard, mouse and tablet on the lower shelf of the steel frame.
Pros
- The benefits are that this standing desk converter adjusts more easily than other standing conversions, with the entire desktop surface workspace (the top and bottom tiers) moving in tandem. The 30 and 368 have 11 different surface height adjustments, and the 48 features nine height settings for lowering or lifting your workstation.
- The Varidesk Pro Plus sacrifices very little work area at standing or sitting heights.
- Varidesk Pro Plus is very sturdy and, depending on the model, can hold between 35 and 45 pounds.
Cons
- Starting at $295 and going up to $500, Varidesk Pro Plus is one of the more expensive stand desk conversions around.
Ergotron
The Ergotron WorkFit-T and the Varidesk Pro Plus are direct competitors. The WorkFit-T has a similar design with comparable features and variations. The major difference between the WorkFit-T and Varidesk Pro Plus is that the WorkFit-T moves vertically, whereas the Varidesk shifts outward (toward users) when raised. If space is a tight squeeze, the minimalist WorkFit-T may be a better fit.
Pros
- The Ergotron WorkFit-T adjusts vertically with the press of two buttons, and it has 15 inches of vertical adjustment.
- This standing desk converter ships preassembled and ready to use out of the box.
- Unlike the Varidesk Pro Plus, the surface height adjustment on this uplift desk is entirely vertical with no lateral movement.
- The Ergotron WorkFit-T holds up to 35 pounds and features a fair amount of workspace at standing or sitting height. The updated model, WorkFit-TL, has a weight capacity of up to 40 pounds and adds a few inches in all dimensions, offering slightly more monitor and keyboard space than the T model.
Cons
- The WorkFit-T sells for $389 and the WorkFit-TL can be purchased for $399 from ErgoDirect, making it even more expensive than the similar Varidesk Pro Plus.
WorkEZ
WorkEZ is the middle ground between Varidesk Pro Plus and StandStand. This adjustable sit stand desk provides a smooth, small and lightweight conversion that can be easily installed or removed, but it’s also highly adjustable and has a keyboard tray.
WorkEZ features three pieces: the laptop or monitor mount, a separate keyboard tray and a detachable mouse pad. The laptop and monitor riser can be adjusted to virtually any angle and up to an adjustable height of 18 inches above the existing desk height. The laptop stand, keyboard tray and mouse pad are all independently adjustable, making it one of the most customizable conversions available.
Pros
- At $100, the WorkEZ Standing Desk is adequately priced between the StandStand and Varidesk Pro Plus.
- It is easily added or removed from a traditional desk surface, making the height adjustable desk ideal for both sitting and standing.
- With individual desktop surface adjustments for the laptop or monitor, keyboard and trackpad angle and height, it’s easily the most customizable sit stand workstation, with plenty of adjustable conversions offered.
Cons
- The downside is that the WorkEZ is not the most smooth and stable stand up conversion option.
- Like the StandStand, the WorkEZ features no additional workspace at standing height.
- WorkEZ only fits one monitor or a laptop, and it can only hold up to approximately 13 pounds. If you have an additional monitor or a heavy duty monitor that exceeds that weight limit, you’ll need something like LIFT.
StandStand
Most standing desk conversion kits are semipermanent and solely seek to raise your existing desk workspace.
Place it on top of your current desk; add the monitor or laptop, keyboard and mouse; and adjust the riser to the proper height adjustment that you want for your work surface.
StandStand is an entirely different stand desk converter experience. From its inception, it was intended to be a truly portable quality standing desk converter. This stand up desk converter is meant to be assembled or disassembled in a few seconds and users can effortlessly pack the desk riser away in a backpack.
Another benefit is the desktop converter is very strong, yet lightweight. It is smooth and effortless to employ. This standing desk converter is also one of the most affordable workstation conversions available.
Pros
- The StandStand is incredibly affordable, starting at just $59 for the baltic birch model and $89 for bamboo.
- While this standing desk converter does exhibit some “rotational play,” it’s very sturdy. According to the Kickstarter campaign page, StandStand was able to withstand a load capacity of over 900 pounds (408 kilograms) without breaking.
- It’s very lightweight and packable, making it one of the only truly portable stand desk solutions around.
- StandStand comes in four different sizes between 9 and 16 inches (23 and 41 centimeters).
Cons
- With StandStand, there is no additional surface workspace at standing height, only enough room for the laptop.
- It only features one working surface for desk space, which means either your keyboard is going to be too high or your monitor will be too low (unless you have a laptop, in which case your keyboard will still be attached to your monitor).