70–128 cm
The manufacturing band for standing desks. Treat it as the outer limits and choose the point inside it that matches your body, not the midpoint.
Desk heights and screen distance
A basic home office comes down to three numbers and one choice. Set the work surface so the elbows sit near ninety degrees, keep the monitor at least 51 cm from the eyes, and decide whether an adjustable desk earns its place by how much sitting time it removes.
Numbers first
Scroll the strip sideways — 5 cards.
The manufacturing band for standing desks. Treat it as the outer limits and choose the point inside it that matches your body, not the midpoint.
With seated desks, the working height relative to the user is changed by adjusting the chair height, then supporting the feet.
The desk area must be deep enough for a monitor at least 51 cm from the eyes, measured from the eye position while seated.
The reported reduction in sitting time per work day from sit-stand desks, based on low-quality evidence.
Some studies found decreased waist circumference and improved psychological well-being; a significant number of others saw no marked improvement.
The materials story is short: one moment produced the stiff frames that later informed adjustable designs.
| Measurement | Value | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Standing desk height, short end | 70 cm | Lower limit of the made range |
| Standing desk height, tall end | 128 cm | Upper limit of the made range |
| Minimum monitor distance | 51 cm (20 in) | Required desk depth and screen placement |
| Possible sitting-time reduction | 30 min – 2 h per work day | Behavioural effect of a sit-stand desk |
| Seated working height | set via chair | How a fixed seated desk is fitted to the user |
| Evidence quality for sitting-time change | low | How much weight to give the 30 min – 2 h range |
Standing desks are made between 70 and 128 cm, and the right height is the one that fits the individual user.
That 70–128 cm band is a manufacturing range, not a recommendation. Within it, the correct point is set by body proportions: the elbow should rest near a right angle, the shoulders should drop, and the wrist should stay roughly flat over the keys.
With seated desks, height is not changed at the surface. Adjusting the working height relative to the user is done by adjusting the chair height, and then supporting the feet so the legs are not left dangling.
The practical consequence is that a fixed desk can only fit people inside a narrow band of chair heights. Outside that band, either the chair runs out of travel or the feet lose contact with the floor.
Plan for at least 51 cm between the eyes and the screen, and buy desk depth that allows it.
The desk area should be deep enough to accommodate a monitor placed at least 20 inches (51 cm) away from the eyes. That single rule drives almost every other depth decision on the desk.
In practice, 51 cm of eye distance plus the depth of the monitor stand plus the room the keyboard needs adds up to a top depth that smaller writing desks do not supply.
The rule scales with screen size, not with preference: a larger panel needs more distance to stay inside a comfortable field of view, and that pushes the required depth further back.
Every figure on this page comes from published descriptions of standing desks and computer desks: the 70–128 cm height band, the 51 cm monitor distance, and the reported sitting-time change of 30 minutes to two hours per work day. Where the underlying evidence is described as low quality or mixed, that caveat is carried through rather than smoothed over.
Where the numbers come from
Figures and caveats are drawn from published encyclopaedic descriptions of standing desks, computer desks, and desk history.