Best Footrest for Office Chair
A footrest pairs with an office chair the same way a monitor arm pairs with a monitor — it completes the ergonomic setup rather than compensating for a bad one. Here’s the straightforward breakdown of which footrest works best in different office chair situations.
Who Actually Needs a Footrest with Their Office Chair
If you set your chair to the correct keyboard height and your feet rest completely flat on the floor with no gap and no thigh pressure from the seat edge, you don’t need a footrest. If any of those conditions aren’t met — feet hovering, back of thighs pressing into seat edge, or you’ve lowered your chair enough for foot contact but now your elbows are too low for the keyboard — a footrest is the right fix.
The most common scenario: chair set to a height compromise between foot contact and keyboard position, usually erring on the side of keyboard comfort, leaving feet slightly off the ground. A footrest eliminates the compromise.
BlissTrends Memory Foam Foot Rest
~$25–30 · Best for Home Office Chairs
The BlissTrends is the most popular footrest pairing for home office chairs because most home office users work barefoot or in socks, and memory foam is significantly more comfortable for bare feet than hard plastic. The two height settings cover the typical 3–5 inch gap most home office users have between their feet and floor at keyboard chair height. The rocking design is a practical benefit for home use: it encourages small foot movements throughout the day that help circulation without requiring you to think about it.
Best for: Home office chair users who work barefoot or in socks — memory foam is the right material for direct foot contact
Mind Reader Adjustable Footrest
~$25–30 · Best for Traditional Office Settings
In corporate or traditional office settings where shoes are worn throughout the day, the Mind Reader’s hard platform is the better pairing. It’s stable under dress shoes, doesn’t mark shoes the way some foam surfaces can, and looks more office-appropriate under a desk than a velvet-covered cushion. The adjustable height gives you two settings, the non-skid bottom keeps it in place on carpet or hard floors, and it’s simple enough to use without any adjustment learning curve.
Best for: Office chair users in professional settings who wear shoes — professional look, firm surface, stays in position
ComfiLife Memory Foam Footrest
~$35–40 · Best for Higher Desk Setups
If your desk height is on the higher end (30+ inches) or you have a longer torso that requires a higher chair, the foot-floor gap may be larger than the BlissTrends’s maximum height handles. The ComfiLife’s taller profile provides up to 6 inches of lift and a larger surface that’s more stable when the elevation required is significant. For most users with standard desk heights, the BlissTrends is sufficient — but if you’ve tried a lower-profile footrest and still have residual thigh pressure or a remaining gap, the ComfiLife is the right step up.
Best for: Users with higher-than-average desk setups or longer legs who need more than 5 inches of foot elevation
How to Find the Right Height
Sit in your office chair at your working height. Measure the distance from the floor to the bottom of your feet. That’s the footrest height you need. For most people this is 3–5 inches; for users under 5’3″ at standard desk height, it can reach 5–6 inches. Both the BlissTrends (up to ~5 inches) and the ComfiLife (up to ~6 inches) cover these ranges.
→ Read: Best Footrest Under $30
→ Read: Best Ergonomic Chair Under $200