The HM Aeron has become to go-to office chair. It's definitely a good one and popular for a reason, but there are other great chairs too. Any HM, Steelcase, or Haworth chair (and I'm sure there are others) is likely going to be well thought out, built to last, nice looking and comfortable.

Personally, I have a Steelcase Leap v2 chair. It was manufactured in 2004 (according to the sticker on the bottom). I purchased it used for around $150-200 in 2017 and it was in seemingly perfect condition at the time, although the used-office-furniture place I bought it from gave it a nice steam cleaning before I took it home. In 2024, it is still in nearly perfect condition and I'm not particularly careful with it. If you saw the fabric, arm rests and other visible parts of the chair, you would probably think it's a year or two old. I think it will easily last another 10 years. And I LOVE it.

The point is that if you buy a used chair in good condition made by a great company, it's a much better deal than getting a so-so new chair [1]. In my case, they sold it at a heavy discount, because the rest of the Steelcase Leaps that they had were grey and mine was the only navy one, so a corporate customer was less likely to want it. Didn't matter at all to me, and the truth is that had I spend $500 instead, it still would have been a great investment.

I would look for companies selling used office furniture in your area. In my case, they weren't really a "store", but instead a big warehouse that I went to. When companies move out of offices, they buy up all the good furniture and then sell it to other companies, but they were willing to sell to me. What's nice about this is they will likely let you look at all the chairs they have and pick the one that works best for you. You can also look for private sellers in your area. If possible, spend $30 to rent a steam cleaner to clean the chair when you get it. Not necessary, just nice to make the chair look like new.

Edit: I have had lower back pain and sciatica in the past, so a good chair is important for me. I found the Steelcase Leap great for this.

[1] Reminds me of the old quote from Charlie Munger / Warren Buffett: "It's better to buy a great company at a good price than an okay company at a great price".

+1 for secondhand, surprisingly easy to find around the world too (I had one couriered from Paris, from a liquidated startup to my home office in Toulouse)

In my experience, HM Sayls are easy to find secondhand. However, you'll probably need to dismantle the chair to add grease to the mechanisms.

The Office Depot Hyken is a great HM knockoff. Regularly goes on sale for ~$99 as well.

https://www.staples.com/union-scale-flexfit-hyken-ergonomic-...

Steelcase isn't cheaper but it's better in my opinion. For me the mesh on the Aeron chair causes intense hamstring pain more than any other chair.

Get a standing desk, don't buy a chair. Solved 99% of my lower back problems, and if I'm too tired to work at the desk, work's done!

I went to an ergonomic chair store and found several good chairs that compete with HM. They aren't the only manufacturer, shop around!

I've gotten the Ikea Markus chair twice (one for the US, one for Korea).

It used to be the WireCutter's budget pick for several years straight (however, now it's "universally reviled by our testing panel...")

I personally find the Markus very comfortable.

I've had the Herman Miller Aeron and the Steel Case Leap. Both are considered top tier options. I'm currently using an Autonomous chair and I'm very happy with it.

Here is a cheap alternative:

I bought a $300 chair off amazon, that actually isn't comfortable. The trick was to buy a seat cushion with memory foam. This made the experience 100% better.

Autonomous chairs are great and decent price