Standing desk height guide · SingaporeWhat height should your standing desk be?

The quick answer

Stand upright, shoulders relaxed, elbows bent at about 90 degrees. The height of your forearms is your standing desk height. Do the same seated, with feet flat, for your seated height. Most adults land at about 0.60–0.64 × their height standing, and about 63–77 cm seated.

Everything below is how to refine that, and what it means for the frame you choose.

Recommended standing desk height by your height

Published in both units, because half the advice online is in inches and your tape measure probably is not. Find your height on the left; the desk height is where your forearms end up parallel to the floor.

Two worked examples. At 5'6" (168 cm) your standing desk lands at 104.1 cm / 41 in. At 6'4" (193 cm) it lands at 116.8 cm / 46 in — and at that height the frame range starts to matter more than the desktop, because not every frame reaches it.

What shifts the number for you

The chart is a starting point, not a rule. Personal comfort comes first, and four things move it:

• Your elbows. This is the real test, not the chart. Elbows at about 90 degrees, forearms parallel to the floor while typing. If the chart and your elbows disagree, your elbows are right.
• Your shoes. Heels or thick soles add height. If you often wear them at your desk, account for that when you set it.
• Your monitor. Top of the screen at or just below eye level, directly in front of you at roughly arm's length. Desk height and monitor height are one problem.
• What sits on the desk. A desk riser, an adjustable monitor arm, a thick keyboard or an anti-fatigue mat under your feet all change the working height. A footrest changes it seated.

And a standing desk is for alternating. The point is to move between sitting and standing through the day and take regular breaks, not to stand for eight hours instead of sitting for eight hours.

If discomfort or pain persists, see a healthcare professional. This guide is about setting up a desk, and it is not medical advice.

Desk height by body height, sitting and standing

Use these as a starting point, not a rule. Shoe height, chair height, keyboard thickness and how you like to sit all shift the number.

Matching your height to a frame range

A frame is only useful if its range covers both of your numbers. Someone at 190 cm needs roughly 77 cm seated and 115 cm standing — a 42–75 cm frame cannot reach that standing height, no matter how good the desktop is.

For tops over 200 cm long, our team confirms the right frame when we quote.

Remember to add your desktop

Frame ranges are measured without a top. A 2 cm or 3 cm solid wood desktop raises every figure by that amount, which is enough to matter at the edges of a range.

What getting it wrong feels like

• Too high seated: shoulders creep up, wrists bend back over the keyboard.
• Too low seated: you lean forward and your neck takes the load.
• Too low standing: you stoop, which is worse for your back than sitting was.
• Range too narrow: you stop adjusting it and it becomes an expensive fixed desk.

If no standard height fits you

Every My-Desk desk is custom-built to the measurements you give us, so the height is chosen around you rather than picked from a size list. That matters most at the ends of the chart — below 5'0" or above 6'2" — and for anyone sharing a desk with someone of a very different height, where the frame's range matters more than any single number.

The honest limits, so you can check yourself: across every frame we make, the minimum working height is 42 cm and the maximum reaches 135 cm, before you add a 2 cm or 3 cm desktop on top. If the height you need falls outside that, no frame we sell will reach it and we will tell you so rather than sell you one that does not fit.

You can also come and stand at one. The showroom at Sim Lim Square is open 24 hours, unattended, so you are welcome to try both heights before deciding anything. Book to meet our team.