Best Cheap Budget-Friendly Standing Desks Under $500

The Cheapest Standing Desk

Do you want to save some money on a standing desk? If yes, there are plenty of variants out there. But in case you are choosing a cheap standing desk, there’s a high risk of buying something, not of particularly good quality. So, how to select the best standing desk which is also affordable? What should you know before doing it, so you won’t make a mistake and regret it later? How to find a standing desk that is both cheap and decent? In our article, we’ll tell you everything about it!

First of all, it’s important to mention that standing desks have become noticeably more expensive in the recent two years. The reason behind this is the global coronavirus crisis. The prices of shipping and materials went up all over the world, and so did the cost of ready furniture. So, now, cheap standing desks are much rarer and more difficult to find. But some of them remain, and we’ll give you some pro tips about how to choose this kind of furniture.

Why Buy a Cheap Standing Desk?

Everybody knows that nowadays lots of jobs require too much sitting. But sitting in the same position for long periods can be harmful to your body. The standing desk was developed to help people get rid of this sedentary lifestyle and improve their health. This furniture is often used by those who work remotely or in an office and want to slim down. Some people even combine standing desks with a treadmill to do their usual job and be physically active at the same time. 

There are even those who are sure that such a desk will magically cure their neck and spine sickness, and make them super skinny. But in reality, it isn’t exactly so. A standing desk can be very good for you, but it needs to be used correctly. It won’t help you if you just lower its height and use it as an ordinary sitting desk. For its health benefits, you need to use it in a standing position.

In addition to that, purchasing a standing desk often makes people learn more about the ergonomics and ergonomics of a workspace. Many standing desk users, being satisfied with this furniture, want to make it even better by buying various accessories such as keyboard trays or monitor arms.

But if you prefer to save money, you may find the majority of standing desk deals on the market too expensive. So, what to do if you still want to buy such a desk? Of course, there are lots of really budget-friendly models. But not all of them are good, and there’s a high risk of buying a poor-quality one. So, to find a desk which is both cheap and comfortable, you need to know what to search for, and we are going to help you with it. In this article, you’ll find useful reviews on many cheap standing desk models.

Also, there are reviews on desk frames if you’d like to build your DIY stand-up desk.

Prices of Standing Desks

The range of most standing desk prices is approximate $159-$8,000. They can be roughly divided into four types:

• Super Premium (above $1,100). The best of the best standing desks. They have the highest quality and the widest range of functions – for example, programmable settings, USB charging ports, and power outlets. Many of them have at least four memory presets; 
• Simple Premium ($800–$1,100). They are also great and equipped with lots of useful features such as USB ports. Their design is very good too, and they have very attractive warranties. Many top-rated standing desks belong to this category;
• Medium ($400–$800). Decent but more affordable standing desk options. Probably the best combination of price and quality. Here you can also find lots of popular desks, such as the UPLIFT Desk or the Vari Desk;
• Cheap (under $400). This is the type which we’re going to cover in this article. They are meant to cost as low as possible, often at the expense of quality and various functions. Usually, their performance specs are not very high, and warranties don’t last long. But such standing desk deals are not always so bad. If you search well enough, you can find something suitable for yourself in this category too. Which Standing Desk is the Cheapest?

One of the most inexpensive standing desks on the market is the IKEA Knotten, costing $159. There are also some other desks which cost even less, but we won’t advise you to buy any of them. Their quality is usually very low, and they lack lots of useful options, such as height presets or adjustments. Their height regulation can be slow, rigid, and make unpleasant noises. In addition to that, their design may be just terrible.

One of the cheap standing desks that we totally wouldn’t recommend is the IKEA Bekant ($199). It has an electric height regulator, but besides that, it doesn’t have too many advantages. Looking at such desks, you can clearly see that to be as cheap as possible, they were deprived of many things. They have extremely poor quality, are incredibly difficult to put together, and can break down very easily. Their height adjustment is also very weak, even if it’s electric.

A much better solution can be a standing desk converter, which is placed on the existing desk. It costs almost as much as a really cheap standing desk, but its quality is way, way higher.

Which Desk is Better to Buy?

What should you know when buying a budget standing desk? First of all, it must be stable. This is an extremely important factor that can greatly influence your comfort, productivity, and health. It’s not easy to find a budget standing desk with perfect stability. Unfortunately, the majority of them tend to be rather shaky.

Other essential factors are the desk’s quality, warranty, and the availability of customer support. Also, it’s extremely important how easy the desk is to assemble and to use. Besides that, a significant thing is how much space the desktop has and whether all your files, documents, and other necessary things can be placed on it comfortably. Some people need multiple monitors for their work, so for them, large desktop size especially matters.

It’s worth noting that desks with manual height regulation are very rare in the United States. Moreover, this kind of furniture is slowly going extinct. Nowadays, the overwhelming majority of desks in the US are electric. Budget standing and sit-stand desks with electrical adjustment exist too. They are even cheaper than manual ones, and their quality is often higher.

On the market today, most cheap standing desks are Chinese. Recently China has introduced new tariffs, which increased the price of their desks. Now, cheap Chinese standing desk deals are even harder to find. For instance, a desk without any extra features that used to cost $400 now has a price of almost $480. As you see, it doesn’t fit into the cheapest category anymore.

Desk Bases. Creating Your Own DIY Desk

Another way to save money on a standing desk is to buy a base and a desktop separately and then put them together. Of course, it is a bit more difficult than purchasing a ready-made one. Although, it isn’t much harder than the assembly process of a regular standing desk. You’ll just need to pick the right combination of a desktop and a frame of matching size and weight. It’s not so hard either, given the wide assortment of standing desk bases on the market. Here are some reviews of affordable stand-up desk frames to help you in case you choose this method. Probably, you’ll build the best standing desk for yourself.

iMovR Freedom

This standing desk frame is produced in the USA, and its quality is well-corresponding. But what’s most surprising, its price is incredibly low. iMovR Freedom is a great answer to cheap bases from China. It’s much more durable and long-lasting than the majority of its Chinese rivals, which is confirmed by an extremely long warranty period – it lasts for a whole 15 years! Another advantage of its US origin is that its customer support is situated in this country, too.

iMovR Studio 470

The initial purpose of this compact base was simple: to combine good quality and low price. Just as iMovR Freedom, it’s made in the USA and can be a decent rival to Chinese-produced bases. It is quite lightweight, which makes building a standing desk with it much easier. The desktop for this base shouldn’t be too big, heavy, or overloaded with equipment. It is a good option for working with a laptop or a small computer.

FEZiBO

Unlike the whole desk, the FEZiBO base is one of the cheapest electric-adjustable frames in the whole market. Its quality is also rather low and got many negative reviews. So, it’s a bit risky to buy it. Also, it doesn’t have any warranty at all. But on the other hand, a desk with this base can be equipped with ergonomic accessories and be solid on a middle height.

VIVO V102E Frame

This model’s price is one of the lowest on the market. But its quality is not very high either. Yes, it allows installing various ergonomic accessories such as a monitor arm or a keyboard tray, but it’s extremely shaky, and its controller doesn’t work properly – annoying errors happen very often. So, we are firmly convinced that buying this desk would be an awful idea.

Autonomous SmartDesk 2 Frame

In this article, we’ve already covered the desk of the same model, and as you may remember, we didn’t praise it. So, what can be expected from the frame? As the whole desk, it’s made from the lowest-price (and, as it seems, the lowest-quality) materials, and hundreds of buyers complain about it in their reviews.

Budget Standing Desk Risers

We’ve already mentioned desktop converters, or desk risers, in our article. Now let’s have a more detailed look at them. A desk riser (for example, the one made by Vivo) is a great solution for everybody whose workspace is too small for a full-fledged standing desk. 

What is a desk riser? It is an ergonomic extension for a regular sitting desk. As we’ve said before, it can let you convert your existing desk into a standing-like one without buying the entire piece of furniture. With it, you’ll be able to get a quality product and save lots of money at the same time. It’s a truly irreplaceable thing for people with little home offices. A double-tier desktop converter gives you the possibility to have several monitor layouts and change them smoothly.

The Vivo desktop converter is not the only one of this kind. There are numerous other models of such desktop units – for example, the WorkFitZ Desk Riser. The maximum weight it can endure is 25 pounds. Its Z-shape will fit well into every workspace, including really small ones. This option has a truly great value for those who share their working environment with other people.

In addition to that, this converter has a place for various gadgets such as a smartphone or a tablet, so that they won’t bother you, but also won’t be too far away. If, for example, somebody calls you, you’ll be able to reach your phone easily.

So, as you can see, there are plenty of options for those of you who would like to save some money. Quality things aren’t always expensive; it’s just necessary to make a wise and thoughtful choice.