Are you looking for a high-quality ergonomic office chair for your workspace? If you’ve scoured through the internet searching for the best office chair, then you’ve most likely come across the names of two brands. And they are Steelcase and Humanscale.
These two industry giants are two incredibly popular brands in the office chair industry. And they basically have a monopoly on the high-end office chair market. You’ll get an excellent deal if you decide to go with either one of these two amazing brands.
The tricky part is choosing one out of these two brands. So, Steelcase Vs. Humanscale: which brand is right for you?
That’s what we’re here to find out! I’ve performed extensive research on these two brands. I have broken down my findings into 9 easily digestible categories. Let’s compare and contrast Steelcase and Humanscale in these categories to figure out which one comes out on top!
So, without any further ado, let’s begin!
1. Most History: Steelcase
In order to determine the quality of the products made by a company, you need to have a firm grasp of the history of that corporation. If it has a rich history in the manufacturing business and it’s reputed, then that’s a clear indicator that it’s a company that you can trust.
That’s why, before we get into the nitty gritty of the products made by these two companies, let’s have a brief look into their past history.
Steelcase
Steelcase is a US-based furniture company that was founded in 1912 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Yes, you’ve read that right, this company is over 100 years old!
It was named the Metal Office Furniture Company during its inception. Now, with over 800 dealerships and more than 12,000 employees, Steelcase is one of the biggest furniture manufacturing companies in the world.
Steelcase also has global business centers in Romania, Malaysia, and Mexico. This company also has storerooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Dubai, and its manufacturing facilities are located in North America, Asia, and Europe.
The company received its first patent in 1914 for a fireproof steel wastebasket named “The Victor,” and the rest was history. This company is named Steelcase because it was advertising metal office furniture.
In 1973, Steelcase made the single largest furniture shipment in history by delivering 43,565 pieces of office furniture to the Sears Tower, thus cementing itself to be a big player in the office furniture industry.
Humanscale
Humanscale is another big name in the furniture industry. However, it’s fairly new, at least when compared to Steelcase. Founded in 1983 by its then CEO Bob King, Humanscale is company’s sole focus is in creating high-performance tools to improve people’s worklife.
Humanscale is widely accepted as being the global leader in ergonomics because of their reputation in building and designing intuitive products.
Their products encourage a more active way of working, and they improve the health and comfort of the workers.
All Humanscale chairs are proudly made in the US. Some of their flagship products include the Freedom Saddle seats and the Humanscale Freedom Pony Saddle seats. These seats are known for offering a countered and comfortable sitting experience to the users.
2. Best Innovations: Steelcase
Steelcase
Steelcase is a company that was built on top of innovation. And they have continued that trend throughout the past century. They always hire industry experts to research and develop the best ergonomic products.
Steelcase has been opening up global innovation hubs all over the world in order to advance their capabilities. That way they have positioned themselves as being the innovation leader.
This company also specializes in creating high-end office chairs, and that is why it has to perform a lot of R&D to make sure their products can do well in the competitive market.
The top innovative chairs from Steelcase are Gesture and Leap. Both of these chairs offer the best ergonomics, comfort, and premium build quality.
That’s why their chairs rank high in seat comfort, back comfort, and ergonomics.
Humanscale
As mentioned before, Humanscale is a leading manufacturer and designer of ergonomic office chairs. As the pioneering leader of office ergonomics, Humanscale is able to build products for workstations that can adapt to each individual user.
One of their biggest accomplishments is their pioneering work in the introduction of the articulating keyboard systems in the 90s. It solidified itself as a market leader in 1999 with the induction of the Freedom chair.
This executive task chair broke new ground by combining minimal controls with excellent functionality. Now Humanscale locations in 28 different countries, and their products have been prominently featured in various movies and TV shows.
Humanscale Freedom is the top innovative chair from Humanscale as it offers best design and ergonomic features than other Humanscale chairs.
3. Best Price: Humanscale
Steelcase
Steelcase is a brand that deals in premium, high-end office chairs. That’s why their products are bound to be on the expensive side. Suffice to say; these chairs are not for everyone.
The price of Steelcase chairs can vary from $450 up to $3,345. The Steelcase Series 1 is one of their most popular and budget-friendly chairs. It costs around $492.00. On the other hand, the Steelcase Leap WorkLounge office desk chair can cost up to $2,955.
Humanscale
Humanscale is pretty budget-friendly compared to Steelcase. However, they do sell expensive high-end products as well. If you’re looking for a casual chair for your workspace, you can easily buy it on a budget of $400-$500 from Humanscale.
The Humanscale Liberty side (starts at $479) is a great example of that. Typically, the price of Humanscale office chairs falls in the range of $549 up to $1249.
Their most expensive model, the Humanscale Summa, starts at a whopping $4300.
4. Best Designs: Steelcase
Steelcase
When it comes to office seating, nothing can beat Steelcase in delivering ergonomic performance with excellent designs. Whether it’s for your home office or for a large conference, Steelcase most definitely has the right seating solution for that.
Their office chairs will certainly transform any workspace into the ideal seating environment. They have combined some fresh design ideas with a mix of decades of experience to bring to you some spectacularly designed office chairs such as the Steelcase Leap.
Humanscale
As the pioneer of workspace design, Humanscale has mastered the art of designing and manufacturing chairs that promote healthy movement as well as outstanding ergonomics.
Their ergonomic office chairs aim to increase the productivity and efficiency of the workspace and, at the same time, reduce the discomfort faced by users after long hours of sitting.
In fact, all of Humanscale’s work tools follow this principle, and they are inherently ergonomic.
5. Most Awards: Steelcase + Humanscale
Steelcase
You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Steelcase has racked hundreds of awards in its over hundred years of operation. This company is highly respected in the industry for its commitments to the people, the planet as well as the community.
In 2021 alone, they have received eight prominent awards such as the 2021 Civic 50 award, the Better practice award, the Shaw Sustai[Human]ability Leadership award.
From 2016 to 2019, Steelcase was awarded the title of “World’s Most Admired Company” by Fortune.
Humanscale
Humanscale is also not far behind in terms of awards and recognition. They have also received countless awards in the past two decades.
In January of 2019, they received the Design Excellence award from Nova. They have also received the Product of the Year award multiple times.
Other notable awards of Humanscale include the Architect’s choice award in the 2013 Architecture Expo and RedDot awards in 2015 and 2016.
6. Best Ergonomic Features: Steelcase + Humanscale
Steelcase
A Steelcase office chair is the best choice for you if you’re looking for high-end ergonomics with a myriad of adjustment options.
Steelcase office chairs are capable of delivering full support to users of various different body shapes and sizes.
These chairs are height and depth adjustable, and they encourage you to move from time to time while working.
The ergonomic features that Steelcase Chairs offer are seat height & depth adjustment, lumbar support height adjustment, 4D armrest, optional headrest support, firm & comfortable seat cushion, and weight-activated tilt mechanism.
These chairs also feature a 3-sided flexible seat edge, high-density foam with air pockets.
Humanscale
Humanscale has a large collection of award-winning office solutions. They are the leading manufacturer of ergonomic office furniture.
Their chairs have excellent quality, are height-adjustable, and have adjustable back and armrests.
The ergonomic features that Humanscale chairs offer are seat height adjustment, dynamic lumbar support, dynamic headrest, armrest adjustment, standard or gel seat pad, and weight-activated tilt mechanism.
Humanscale believes in the highest level of functionality when it comes to manufacturing its products. And that’s why they excel at ergonomics.
7. Weight Capacity: Steelcase
Typically, Steelcase office chairs have a weight capacity of around 400 lbs. Some models, such as the Steelcase Leap Plus Desk chair, have a weight capacity of 500 lbs.
Humanscale office chairs have a lower weight capacity when compared to Steelcase. Their chairs have an average maximum weight capacity of around 300 lbs.
8. Best Accessories: Humanscale
Steelcase manufactures various work tools and office accessories that are designed to organize your workspace and enhance your work experience.
You should look into these accessories if you want to make your corporate office more productive.
Humanscale engineers are known for designing innovative and ergonomic accessories that are essential for completing your workstation.
9. Best Customer Service and Warranty:
Both Steelcase and Humanscale are very reliable when it comes to customer service. We all know that Steelcase provides great after-sales service. Humanscale also provides very satisfactory customer service.
In terms of warranty, both of these brands provide very extended warranties, especially on their office chairs.
On most Steelcase chairs, you will find up to 12 years of warranty, while on Humanscale office chairs, even 15 years of warranty is provided by the brand, which is dope.
Since we are comparing, I would say Humanscale is slightly ahead of Steelcase in this category. But don’t get mistaken both the brands provide amazing customer service and warranties on their products.
Steelcase Vs. Humanscale: Which One is Better?
Finding a definitive answer to the question of which one is better, Steelcase or Humanscale, is a rather tough task.
Humanscale excels in ergonomics and design. And they are quite affordable by modern standards. On the other hand, Steelcase is the leading manufacturer of premium, high-end office chair models.
We have created several categories to check which brands actually are better than the others.
N.B: Winner gets “1” point, and the loser gets “0”. If it’s a tie, both brands will get a “1” point.
| Category | Steelcase | Humanscale |
| 1. Most History | 1 | 0 |
| 2. Best Innovations | 1 | 0 |
| 3. Best Price | 1 | 0 |
| 4. Best Designs | 1 | 0 |
| 5. Most Awards | 1 | 1 |
| 6. Best Ergonomic Features | 1 | 1 |
| 7. Weight Capacity | 1 | 0 |
| 8. Best Accessories | 0 | 1 |
| 9. Best Customer Service & Warranty | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 7 | 4 |
In the end, Steelcase is the victor. But it wasn’t an easy win as in every category both the brands competed really hard in every category. Humanscale office chairs aren’t that far behind in terms of quality than Steelcase.
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Related Questions
Are Steelcase Chairs Worth It?
Out of all the office chairs that we’ve had the pleasure of testing, the Steelcase chairs were our favorite. They have excellent build quality; they are made out of quality materials, they are ergonomic and last but not least, they are easy to assemble.
So, Steelcase gets full marks across the board. And that’s why, despite being expensive, Steelcase chairs are definitely worth it.
Steelcase Leap V2 Vs. Humanscale Freedom: Which One Is Better?
It’s definitely recommended that you purchase the Humanscale Freedom chair if you’re in search of a high-quality office chair. But, if we were asked to pick one out of the two, we have to choose the Steelcase Leap V2. It’s the ideal chair to get the premium seating experience.
Final Thoughts
Finding the perfect office chair made by the industry’s best brand is a tough task. That’s especially true when it comes to making a choice between two outstanding brands such as Steelcase and Humanscale.
Steelcase chairs are some of the most popular office chairs in the market, and they are highly customizable as well.
Humanscale is also a solid choice for that searching for excellent features and ergonomic functionality.
Now you have all the necessary information you need to make a choice between these two brands.
Hopefully, you’ve found this helpful. Thanks for sticking with me till the end. Till next time!
