Standing-desk height charts are fine for getting into the ballpark. I would not buy a desk from one.
Two people can be the same height and have different arm lengths, shoulder proportions and seated positions. The number that matters is much simpler: where do your forearms naturally land when your shoulders are relaxed?
Standing desks with useful adjustment range
Check the finished minimum and maximum height, including the desktop. A wide range is only useful if it covers your two working positions.
Measure yourself standing first
Stand naturally in the shoes or slippers you normally wear while working. Let your shoulders drop. Keep your upper arms close to your sides and bend your elbows so your forearms are roughly parallel to the floor.
Measure from the floor to the underside of your forearm. That is a useful starting point for keyboard height.
You are not trying to hit a medically perfect number down to the eighth of an inch. You are trying to avoid a desk that forces your shoulders up or makes you reach down all day.
OSHA’s workstation guidance emphasizes relaxed shoulders, elbows close to the body and fairly neutral wrists. OSHA’s workstation-position guidance is here.
Now measure while sitting
This is the number a surprising number of standing-desk listings make easy to overlook.
Adjust your chair normally, with your feet supported. Repeat the elbow-height measurement.
A desk can go impressively high and still be a bad fit because it does not go low enough. If the seated position makes you shrug your shoulders, the 50-inch maximum height is not going to cheer you up.
Desktop thickness changes the real height
Read the specification carefully. Is the listed range measured to the top of the finished desktop, or to the top of the bare frame?
If you add a 1.25-inch top to a frame, every position just moved 1.25 inches higher. Casters raise the whole thing again.
This is especially important near the minimum setting, where an extra inch can be the difference between comfortable and constantly too high.
A keyboard tray changes the equation too
A tray puts the keyboard below the desktop, which can rescue a desk whose top is slightly too high.
That can be useful, but make sure there is enough knee clearance and that the tray is wide enough for the keyboard and mouse you actually use.
Do not raise the whole desk just to fix the monitor
The keyboard height is for your arms. The monitor height is for your eyes and neck. Those are separate adjustments.
If the keyboard feels right but the screen is too low, use the monitor stand or arm rather than lifting the entire desk and ruining the keyboard position.
Cornell’s workstation guidance covers monitor position and viewing distance in more detail. Cornell’s ergonomics guide is here.
Shared desk? Measure both people
If two people use the desk, write down both seated and standing measurements.
Now you have four numbers the desk must cover. That is much more useful than reading “fits users from 5’2" to 6’4"” and hoping the marketing department knows your arms.
Check stability near your actual standing height
A frame is usually most stable near the bottom.
If you will work near the upper end of the range, read reviews from people using the desk at similar heights and test it there if possible. A monitor that shivers every time you type gets old quickly.
The simple test
- Measure seated elbow height.
- Measure standing elbow height.
- Confirm whether the desk’s published range includes the desktop.
- Add casters if you plan to use them.
- Keep monitor height separate from keyboard height.
- Make sure the desk is still stable where you will actually stand.
Our broader standing-desk buying guide covers depth, stability, motors, cables and warranties. But height comes first. If the desk cannot meet your body in both positions, nothing else on the spec sheet rescues it.
Ready to compare standing desks?
Keep your seated and standing measurements beside you while you shop, and check finished height rather than the headline range.