Karlston Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 The Best Laptop Stands to Save Your Neck Help your back and posture by raising your computer screen up to eye level. You're often craning your neck when you work on a laptop, and that's not good for your back. Laptop stands can help, whether you're at home or in the office, especially if you want to upgrade from using a stack of old books. The best laptop stands raise your laptop's screen closer to eye level, bettering your posture, and some can even go from sitting to standing. We've tested a handful, and these are our favorites. Need more recommendations for your home office? Read our Work-From-Home Gear guide. Peripherals Are Important Snagging one of the laptop stands below is just one of many ways you can improve your posture when sitting at a desk for long periods of time. Hooking up a computer monitor to your laptop is another. Not only does it let you multitask easier, but it also means you won't have to crane your neck as much. Some of these laptop stands are best paired with a separate keyboard and mouse. These peripherals mean you can set your laptop farther away and at various heights, and you won't need to stretch your arms in weird or awkward ways just to type. The right mouse can even help prevent muscle pain or carpal tunnel syndrome, so check out our recommendations in our Best Keyboards and Best Gaming Mouse guides. Updated January 2021: We've added the Smarter Furniture Desk Converter, G.Flow Stone Foldable Stand, Grovemade Walnut Laptop Riser, and a docking station we like. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED Photograph: ObVus Solutions Best Overall ObVus Solutions Laptop Tower Stand This is the laptop stand I kept coming back to out of the many I tried. It's sturdy, light, and sleek (as far as office supplies go). I love that it can be raised to various heights and positions, so it should work for most people's home or work setups. You can easily go from sitting to standing, no standing desk needed (unless you are particularly tall), though it does take some muscle power to change the height and angle. That's probably a good thing, as it won't collapse while you're working and spill your coffee everywhere. I've been using it consistently for the past five months, and it has stayed just as sturdy, with no issues. $75 at ObVus Solutions $75 at Amazon Photograph: Monoprice A Standing Desk Converter Monoprice Sit-Stand Desk Converter If you already have a desk you like but want to incorporate a sit-stand routine into your workday with all your peripherals, you'll need something bigger than our top pick. Monoprice's Desk Converter is a good deal cheaper than most standing desks, and it's dead simple to operate—use the buttons on each side to raise or lower the stand to your preferred height. It's surprisingly lightweight for its size, and at its lowest it's quite thin. The only downside—and this is an issue with any converting stand—is that if you plan on raising it up and down every day, you lose the desk space underneath the stand that could be used for storage. My desk suddenly started looking messier when I had to find space for things that were usually tucked away. $120 at Amazon $113 at Monoprice Photograph: Superjare A Cheap Stand Superjare Dual Monitor Stand Riser I've been using this white Superjare laptop stand for the past year, and even after testing all the others for this guide, it's still one of my favorites. It's made of particleboard, but it's strong enough to hold my monitor and laptop. It's a nice break from all the other all-metal and industrial-looking stands. There are three sections—one middle piece and two adjustable sides—and you can even collapse the sides into the middle to make it shorter. I keep my monitor in the middle and my laptop slightly angled on the left side for a better two-screen setup. The best part? There's space underneath for storing notebooks, a keyboard, and other stationery that tends to clutter up my desk. If you occasionally want to stand up and work, this isn't a good option. Plus, it's not easy to tote room to room. If you're mostly going to sit at a desk, it'll do the job. $34 at Amazon Photograph: Nnewvante Work From the Bed or Couch Nnewvante Laptop Stand I've been working from home since 2018, and even though I love my desk (and my computer monitor), sometimes it's too hard to leave the bed (especially these days). The Nnewvante, which is also in our Home Office Gear guide, is a great stand for those days. You can't adjust the stand's height, but you can raise the base to an angle suitable to whatever you're doing—sketching, watching a movie on a tablet, eating breakfast, or typing on a laptop—and the built-in stopper keeps things from sliding off. The smaller surface on the right stays flat and is a good place for your morning coffee. There's even a cute, small drawer for storing knickknacks! And when you're done with it, you can fold up the legs for slimmer storage. Even better, it's made of bamboo and feels very nice. $54 at Amazon Photograph: Moft A Portable Stand Moft Z 5-in-1 Sit-Stand Desk The Moft Z 5-in-1 stand can be easily configured into five different positions. At its tallest 10-inch height, you can comfortably stand for a little while. If you're standing for most of the day, go for the ObVus Solutions Tower above, which can go higher and is more likely to reach eye level for most people (if you're particularly tall, you may want to consider a standing desk converter). What I really like about this one is that it's light and folds down to just half an inch thick, so you can take it anywhere without adding much weight or bulk—even if that just means going from the bedroom to the living room table right now. $59 at Moft $70 at Amazon Photograph: Grape Lab A Sustainable Stand G.flow Stone Foldable Laptop Stand This stand is made from one sheet of recycled stone paper (which comes from stone waste from the mining industry), and it's meticulously folded to give it an accordion-like design. Unfurled, it holds your laptop steady—I was surprised it didn't buckle under the weight—with a nice viewing angle, but you can fold it up to an inch thick to take it anywhere. It's waterproof too. I purposely spilled my coffee and was able to wipe it up without a wrinkle or stain left behind. $32 at Etsy Photograph: Smart Furniture A Converter With a Keyboard Tray The Smarter Office Passage Desk Converter This standing desk converter gives you even more space than the Monoprice one above, with a dedicated keyboard tray you can angle to your liking—an option I didn't know I wanted. It looks much more attractive, and it's very easy to raise and lower it without much effort. But it's bigger and bulkier, so you'll have less free space on your desk. Plus, it's about $300 more than the Monoprice. For comparison, the standing desks we tested range from $300 to $600. This is only a good option if you like its aesthetic, the price doesn't startle you, and you already have a desk you love. $400 at Smart Furniture Photograph: Grovemade If Looks Are Important Grovemade Walnut Laptop Stand If you want your home office to match the other decor in your home, Grovemade's Walnut Laptop Stand might do the trick. WIRED senior associate editor Julian Chokkattu recommends it in his Home Office Gear guide and says it's best suited for a desk or table to make room for a separate keyboard and mouse, though you can use it on a couch too. There's a stainless steel stop to keep your laptop from sliding off, and the stand's feet are made of cork to keep it from moving around. The American black walnut base is gorgeous, and it supports up to 200 pounds. Just be prepared to spend a little cash. ★ Alternative: We also tried Grovemade's Walnut Laptop Riser, which looks just as nice (and is very light). Neither stand is adjustable, but if you need your laptop at a higher angle, go with the Riser. $150 at Grovemade Photograph: Lention A Docking Station Lention C-95 Docking Station The worst part about my MacBook Pro is its frustrating lack of ports. The Lention 11-in-1 docking station corrects that. It keeps everything plugged in while staying tucked away underneath the laptop, instead of dangling off the side. It's not much of a laptop stand, but it does offer a slight lift, which is better than nothing. Of course, you can also pair it with another laptop stand (I use it with the ObVus). This docking station includes ports for HDMI, VGA, and DisplayPort; SD and Micro SD card readers; one USB-C, two USB 3.0, and one USB 2.0 ports; ethernet; and a 3.5-mm aux port. You can see a list of compatible (and incompatible) devices on the company's site. $120 at Lention Photograph: Moft Honorable Mentions More Laptop Stands There are a lot of laptop stands out there, and most of them do the job just fine. We didn't love the ones below as much as our other picks, but they're still worth considering. Monoprice Universal Riser ($29): This stand involves some assembly and the result is a bit dull, but it can hold the weight of a monitor. Plus, it's cheap. Moft's Slim ($25) and Universal ($27) Stands: The Slim stand sticks to the bottom of your laptop so it's there whenever you need it, giving you the ability to raise the laptop's keyboard at different angles. The Universal version doesn't have an adhesive, so it's a better choice if your laptop's air vents are on the bottom. Twelve South HiRise ($80): The HiRise's aluminum build is durable, and the nonslip arms mean your laptop won't slide off. It offers a small range of heights to choose from, and it's best used in conjunction with a separate keyboard and mouse. It's expensive for what it offers, but the price often dips. Tabletote ($40): This makes a great temporary workstation for a laptop. It's easy to put together and transport—you can collapse and store the legs in the underside of the tabletop—but I received one with a broken leg (it could have happened during shipping). Tabletote's customer service department quickly replaced it, but it is something you might have to deal with. The Best Laptop Stands to Save Your Neck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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