Buying a chair you cannot sit in first means the product page has to answer your questions. Most of what matters is printed there: the seat height range, the seat size, the weight rating and what adjusts. Shopping for office chairs online goes smoothly when you know which figures to check and what to measure at home first.
This guide walks through a product page section by section, using chairs from our office chairs range as worked examples.
Measure before you shop for office chairs online
Start with your desk, not the chair. Measure from the floor to the top of the desk, and check the clear space underneath for your knees and the chair arms. Measure the floor space behind the desk too, so the chair can roll back without hitting a wall or cabinet.
Then compare those numbers with the chair's seat height range. The Cascade Mesh Chair ($292) lists a seat height of 500mm to 600mm, a seat 510mm wide and 520mm deep, and a 535mm back height. Its footprint is 625mm wide and 625mm deep, and it stands 1015mm to 1115mm high. Check both ends of a seat height range: the bottom matters for shorter people and low desks, the top for taller people.
For more on matching seat height and depth to the person, see our guide to office chairs for tall and short people.
Seat, back and overall sizes
A complete product page gives the seat width and depth, the back size and the overall size. The Buro Mentor v2021 - Dynamic Intelligence (from $488) is a good example. It lists a seat 515mm wide and 480mm deep, a 475mm to 595mm seat height and a back 485mm wide and 575mm high. Its overall size is 635mm by 640mm by 1020mm for the model without arms.
Read the small print next to each figure. Arms usually add width, so a chair may be wider than a figure quoted for its no-arms model. Seat slides change the numbers too. The Buro Metro Nylon - SafeTex (from $564) lists a seat height of 465mm to 595mm, or 480mm to 610mm with the seat slide, which is standard on that chair.
Weight rating, seated hours and warranty
The weight rating is the heaviest user a chair is made for, so choose one with room to spare above the heaviest person who will use it. Some pages also give indicative seated hours per day, which shows whether a chair is meant for full workdays. The warranty or guarantee period tells you how long it is backed.
The Titan Heavy Duty Executive - 200KG ($732) sits at the top of this group, with a 200kg user weight rating and a seat up to 575mm wide and 475mm deep. It suits seating times of eight hours or more, has fine real leather on the body contact areas and carries a 5 year warranty.
The Metro Nylon - SafeTex is rated to 180kg for 8+ hours a day, with a 10 year guarantee and a lifetime guarantee on the gas lift. The Mentor is rated to 140kg for 8+ hours a day with a 10 year guarantee, and the Cascade to 110kg with a 5 year warranty.
Adjustments, upholstery, base and castors
Next, read what adjusts and how. The Mentor's synchronised seat and backrest lock in four positions, its self-weighting tension adjusts to the user, and it has a depth-adjustable seat slide and adjustable lumbar support. Its optional arms adjust in height, depth and angle. A list like that tells you how closely the chair can be set up for each person.
Options change the price, which is why many chairs show a "from" price. The Eko Mesh Chair (from $439) is a three-lever mesh chair with standard lumbar support and a ratchet back, rated to 160kg with a 10 year warranty. Adjustable arms and seat depth adjustment are both options on its page. It is also the one chair in this guide that is supplied assembled and ready to use.
Upholstery and colour come next. The Metro Nylon - SafeTex offers SafeTex upholstery in Charcoal, Olive, Rust, Cobalt or Smoke, while the Titan uses real leather where your body touches the chair. The Flow Ergo Mesh (from $473) comes in Black or White, with a weight-activated synchro tilt, built-in lumbar support and optional 4D arms.
The base and castors decide how a chair moves. The Flow sits on a nylon five-star base with 60mm castors, and the Mentor has 60mm soft PU castors. Softer castors are generally the gentler choice on timber or tiled floors.
Compare a shortlist side by side
Once you have a few candidates, put their figures in one table. Not listed means the product page does not give that figure.
| Chair | Seat height | Seat (W x D) | Weight rating | Warranty | Arrives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade Mesh Chair | 500 to 600mm | 510 x 520mm | 110kg | 5 years | Flat-packed |
| Buro Mentor v2021 | 475 to 595mm | 515 x 480mm | 140kg | 10 years | Flat-packed |
| Buro Metro Nylon - SafeTex | 465 to 595mm, or 480 to 610mm with seat slide | 520 x 490mm | 180kg | 10 years, lifetime gas lift | Flat-packed |
| Titan Heavy Duty Executive | 540 to 615mm | Up to 575 x 475mm | 200kg | 5 years | Flat-packed |
| Eko Mesh Chair | Not listed | Not listed | 160kg | 10 years | Assembled |
| Flow Ergo Mesh | Not listed | Not listed | 160kg | 10 years | Flat-packed |
Laid out like this, the trade-offs are easy to see. The Titan suits a heavier user, the Metro offers the widest colour choice, and the Eko skips assembly.
Delivery and assembly for Australian offices
Every product page has a Delivery line naming the metro cities that product goes to. All six chairs in this guide list Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. When you buy office chairs online for a team, check that line on each page before you order.
Deliveries go to the ground-floor entrance, which matters in the multi-storey buildings many Australian offices occupy. Chairs arrive flat-packed unless the page says otherwise, so plan who will carry the boxes up and put them together. The Eko is the exception here.
For workplaces, independent certification is one more thing to compare. The Eko and Metro Nylon - SafeTex pages list AFRDI Level 6 certification. AFRDI, the Australasian Furnishing Research and Development Institute, is an independent body that tests and certifies furniture for Australia and New Zealand.
Buying office chairs online — frequently asked questions
What should I check before buying an office chair online?
Check the seat height range against your desk first, then the seat size, weight rating, adjustments and warranty. Finally, see whether the page says the chair arrives assembled, and read its Delivery line.
How do I know if an office chair will fit my desk?
Compare your desk height with the chair's seat height range and, if it has arms, make sure they will clear the desk edge. The Mentor, for example, lists a 475mm to 595mm seat height and optional arms that adjust in height.
What does a "from" price mean on an office chair?
It is the starting price for the lowest-priced option on the page, and adding options can raise it. The Eko Mesh Chair is listed from $439, with adjustable arms and seat depth adjustment offered as options.
Do office chairs bought online come assembled?
Most arrive flat-packed, so expect some assembly. The product page says when a chair is supplied assembled, as the Eko Mesh Chair's page does.
What weight rating should an office chair have?
Choose a rating above the weight of the heaviest person who will use the chair. The chairs in this guide range from 110kg on the Cascade to 200kg on the Titan.
Shop the range
Compare more options in our ergonomic task chairs and mesh office chairs collections, or start with the chairs from this guide.
- Cascade Mesh Chair ($292): budget desks needing a synchro mesh chair with full measurements listed
- Buro Mentor v2021 - Dynamic Intelligence (from $488): long workdays with self-weighting tension, a seat slide and adjustable lumbar
- Buro Metro Nylon - SafeTex (from $564): offices wanting a 180kg rating and a choice of five upholstery colours
- Titan Heavy Duty Executive - 200KG ($732): larger users needing a 200kg rating and a wide leather seat
- Eko Mesh Chair (from $439): busy offices that want a 160kg mesh chair supplied assembled
- Flow Ergo Mesh (from $473): workstations wanting a mesh chair in black or white with optional 4D arms
Metro delivery is a flat $75 per order, and prices include GST.
