Long before I was forced to stay indoors, I spent most of my time … indoors. I built a PC back in college (with the help of some friends), and ever since then I’ve continued perfecting my home office setup—switching desks, keyboards, monitors, and more.
When many of my friends and colleagues were forced to quarantine because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, I realized most people don’t have home workstations like mine. So, my fellow folks privileged enough to be able to work from home during this crisis, below are some picks in a bunch of that might make working from home more bearable. Most have been tested by WIRED’s Gear team and we’re recommending others based on customer reviews across retailers, what other sites have to say, and our experience with the brand.
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You’ll Need a Good Laptop or PC
We’re guessing you have a laptop or desktop of some kind, whether it’s your own personal device or the one you brought from work. If not, check out our Best Laptops, Best Cheap Laptops, and Best MacBooks guides. If you’re eyeing a desktop PC, we have recommendations for prebuilt gaming PCs that might be handy, or you can build your own for a lot less.
Here are a few of our favorites:
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MacBook Air (2020) for $1,299: Apple’s newest MacBook is the best for most people. Get the Intel Core i5 model to make sure you have enough power for most tasks. For more details check out our review (8/10, WIRED Recommends).
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Lenovo ThinkBook 13S for $668: This isn’t the best Windows laptop out there, but it’s our top pick if you’re looking for something affordable. WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson said it has great speakers, a good keyboard, as well as a fingerprint reader and a physical privacy shutter for the webcam.
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Pixelbook Go for $850: If you can do all your work via a browser and that browser happens to be Chrome, then you should consider a Chromebook. You can find more affordable Chromebooks, but the Pixelbook Go (specifically the Core i5 model) doesn’t skimp on performance.
Great Desks
A workstation starts with a good desk, and sometimes that means one that can convert into a standing desk so that you’re not sitting all day.
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Fully Jarvis Standing Desk for $449+: This is our favorite standing desk with an adjustable height via the motor (and up to four height presets), tested by WIRED reviews editor Jeffrey Van Camp and featured in our WFH gift guide. He likes the eco-friendly bamboo top, and there are also tons of ways to customize it to your liking.
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VertDesk V3 standing desk for $568+: This standing desk comes recommended from WIRED senior editor Michael Calore. It moves up and down, and holds up to 275 pounds so you can have multiple monitors on the desk. It’s infinitely customizable—go crazy and add a keyboard tray, monitor arm, power strips, casters, and more.
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A more standard computer desk for $135: This is a simple desk that can be put together in five minutes out of the box. There are a few size options (I have the 62-inch model) and while it doesn’t have the highest quality materials (it uses particle wood board for the table), it has a sturdy frame, looks minimalist, and it’s affordable.
Relaxing Chairs
No workstation is complete without a comfortable chair to ease into. Here are a few the Gear team has tried and like.
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Staples Hyken Mesh Task Chair for $160: Reviews Editor Jeffrey Van Camp says he personally tried “all the chairs at all the stores” last year and this was his favorite—and now sits at his desk. It reclines, has neck support if you need it, and the mesh holds up.
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Staples Ardfield Mesh Back Fabric Task Chair for $130: This chair (another recommendation from Jeffrey) might not last a lifetime as your main chair, but it comes in a variety of colors and frequently dips below $100.
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AmazonBasics Mid-Back Desk Office Chair for $63: WIRED writer Louryn Strampe says this chair from Amazon isn’t mind-blowing but it’s cheap and worked for her secondary workstation set up in her home. It’s fully adjustable, too.
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Ferrino Line Gaming and Lifestyle Chair by RapidX for $300: My partner and I have been using a pair of these chairs for four years now and they’ve held up incredibly well. It’s comfortable, the artificial leather feels high quality, and it reclines quite a bit.
A Laptop Stand Also Helps
The benefit of using a laptop is that you don’t need to be confined to a desk. And when you work from home, sometimes a change of scenery feels necessary. A stand will help add stability, wherever you are.
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Rain Design mStand Laptop Stand for $40: This simple stand needs a sturdy surface like a coffee table, but it’s affordable, attractive, and highly rated by buyers across multiple retailers. There’s also a cutout on the back where you can pull cables through for maximum organization.
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Neetto Height Adjustable Laptop Table for $55: This one isn’t as pretty, but it comes recommended from The Verge and has top marks on Amazon. It’s adjustable, cheaper, and the better choice if you often find yourself on the couch watching Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness while working.
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Grovemade Walnut Laptop Stand for $140: This is a beautiful laptop stand, and yes, it’s expensive, but I love every minute I use it. It’s best suited for a desk or table—to make room for a keyboard and mouse. There’s a stainless steel stop to keep your laptop from sliding off and the feet are made of cork so it doesn’t move around.
A Monitor Can Do Wonders
A monitor is one of those things that will dramatically improve your work experience at home. They’re selling out across several retailers at the moment, so you may have a hard time snagging one. These are some good options still in stock.
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HP 24EA 24-Inch HD monitor for $130: This simple 1080p monitor will do the job for most people and it’s pretty affordable. It doesn’t have any bells or whistles, but it’s relatively slim and the stand doesn’t take much room. It doesn’t come with a VESA mount so if you wanted to mount it, you’d need an adapter.
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AOC 24-Inch mountable HD monitor for $150: This is a solid 1080p monitor for the price, but you might need your own HDMI cable as it only comes with a VGA cable in the box. This is the better choice if you want to mount it as it’s VESA compatible.
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Dell S2719DM 27-Inch QHD monitor for $400: This monitor is bigger, has a very slim profile, a higher 1440p pixel resolution, and even supports HDR for better colors in supported apps. You’re stuck with two HDMI ports but that should be fine for most people It’s well-rated online, and Laptop gave it high marks.
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LG 34-Inch ultrawide monitor for $377: If you’re frequently in front of a monitor and still find yourself craving more screen space, consider an ultrawide. Reviews Editor Jeffrey Van Camp recommends this model from LG, which has a 2,560 x 1,080 pixel resolution, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, and a speedy response time (handy if you also play fast-paced videogames). Ultrawide monitors open up new worlds of multitasking, letting you run two full-size browser windows side-by-side (or another application), which is why several members of the Gear team have one (including me!).
Mounts for Your Monitor
If you’re working with limited desk space, a monitor arm mount is a great way to reclaim some of it back (plus it helps hide pesky wires!).
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Workstream by Monoprice Desk Mount for $50: I’ve been using this mount to hold up my 34-inch ultrawide monitor and it works like a charm. It’s adjustable, holds up to around 20 pounds, and the arm clamps to the desk and doesn’t look hideous. It uses the VESA mounting standard, so make sure the monitor you have supports it.
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Fully Jarvis Monitor Arm for $99: This arm mount supports the same weight as the previous one and is just as adjustable. It’s VESA compatible, has a 5-year warranty, offers built-in cable management, and it’s made by the same company that makes the standing desk we recommend above. Wirecutter also has it at the top of its list.
You Probably Need a USB Adapter
If you’re plugging in a laptop to a monitor, chances are you’ll need to plug in several other items, like a keyboard, mouse, the charging cable, and maybe an SD card reader. That’s where an adapter come in. Plug it into your laptop, and plug everything else into it. It’s so much simpler.
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Anker PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 USB-C Hub Adapter for $40: Anker products are reliable and inexpensive, and this dock recommended by WIRED contributing writer Boone Ashworth is no different. Plug the USB-C cable into the port on your laptop, and then you can plug in two USB-A devices into the dock, an Ethernet cable, a USB-C charger to juice up your laptop, a MicroSD card and SD card, as well as an HDMI cable to connect a monitor.
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Anker PowerExpand Direct 7-in-2 USB-C Hub Adapter for $60: Anker has a newer version specifically for MacBooks. It takes up two USB-C ports, but it can charge the laptop faster and offers Thunderbolt 3 support so you can connect it to a second monitor.
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Vava USB-C Hub 9-in-1 Adapter for $60: This is another well-rated dock that’s similar to the first one from Anker, but it has an extra USB-A port and a headphone jack.
Snag a Good Keyboard
You type all day, so you need a good keyboard. Everyone’s preferences are different, and while we at WIRED love mechanical keyboards, we also have other options if you want something a little more subtle.
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Logitech K380 Wireless Keyboard for $40: This is a simple, cheap Bluetooth keyboard. You do need two AAA batteries to power it thou