Desk Height Calculator

Desk Height Calculator

The right desk and chair height for your own height, worked out from your elbow angle

Recommended desk height

73.6cm

Your desk is close to the ideal height for you.

Chair seat height

42.5cm

Standing-desk height

102.0cm

Monitor centre height (from floor)

86.7cm

These are estimates from body-height ratios, not a fitted measurement — everyone’s proportions differ slightly.

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Fixed desks are built for one height, not yours

Most fixed-height desks are set around 73–75cm, sized for someone close to 175cm tall. If you’re shorter, that’s several centimetres too high and forces your shoulders up with your wrists bent back; if you’re taller, you end up hunching down to reach it.

The real reference point is your elbow

With shoulders relaxed and elbows bent to roughly 90–100°, the desk surface should meet your hands at that height. It varies a little with torso and arm length, but estimating from total height works well: seat height ≈ height × 0.25, desk height ≈ height × 0.433, standing-desk height ≈ height × 0.60.

If your feet don’t reach the floor, nothing else matters

Most desks can’t be lowered, so the practical fix is usually to raise the chair to match the desk and add a footrest underneath. This calculator works out how tall that footrest needs to be, along with where your monitor’s centre should sit.

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Frequently asked questions

QMy desk is fixed height — what should I do?

Raise the chair seat to the height this calculator recommends for your desk, then add a footrest at the height shown so your feet still have solid support.

QWhy does my wrist hurt even with a “normal” desk?

A desk that’s too high for your height forces the shoulders up and the wrists to bend backward to type — that position on a keyboard for hours is a common cause of wrist strain, independent of the keyboard itself.

QHow high should my monitor be?

The center of the screen works best slightly below your seated eye level, so you look down gently rather than straight ahead or up — this calculator gives that height too, measured from the floor.