Head-to-Head Comparisons

Two chairs, one table, and who each one is wrong for

Most head-to-head comparisons end in a verdict that amounts to "they are both good, pick the one you like." That is not a comparison, it is an abstention, and it is usually what happens when the writer has not worked out what the two chairs actually do differently.

Every comparison here does three things instead. It puts the published figures side by side, so you can see which numbers genuinely differ and which are within rounding. It names the decision axis - the one property that actually separates them, which is frequently not the one the marketing emphasizes. And it states plainly who each chair is wrong for, because that is the half of the decision that saves money.

Take the Aeron against the Leap v2, the comparison most readers arrive with. The marketing difference is mesh versus upholstery. The real difference is that the Aeron comes in three shell sizes and the Leap has a lumbar pad you can position with a separate firmness dial. Neither chair has both properties, and which one your body needs settles the question in about a minute.

Where a third chair would beat both, we say so. On several of these pages the honest answer is that a Steelcase Series 1 does most of what either premium chair does for a fraction of the money, and there is no reason not to mention it.

How to compare two chairs properly

1. Find the decision axis

Two chairs at the same price usually differ on one or two properties that matter and a dozen that do not. Work out which, and the rest of the comparison becomes noise. Aeron against Leap: shell sizing versus lumbar control. Aeron against Embody: sizing and suspension mesh versus whole-back curvature. Mesh against foam: heat and long-day pressure versus cushioning and edge comfort.

2. Check whether either fits you at all

A comparison is moot if one of the chairs cannot seat you. Run your numbers through the seat height table and the seat depth guide first. A 5 ft 2 in sitter comparing an Aeron C against a Leap v2 is comparing a chair with an 18.5-inch pan they cannot use against one with a 15.75-inch pan they can.

3. Compare published figures, not impressions

Where both makers publish a number, compare it. Where one does not, that is itself worth noting - Steelcase publishes an armrest width range of 12.75 to 20 inches for the Leap v2 and Herman Miller publishes no equivalent for the Aeron, which is a real difference in what you can verify before buying.

4. Ask whether a cheaper chair does most of it

Frequently it does. Comparing two premium chairs is a satisfying exercise and the answer is sometimes that neither is the right purchase. We would rather write that than pick a winner from a shortlist that should not have been the shortlist.