Drafting Chair vs Office Chair: Find Your Perfect Chair

Which is the best chair to sit in while working on your PC?

What chair to consider for your reception area or client waiting room?

Best chair for a small classroom or studying at home?

Now that we have different types of office chair options, it’s obvious to get overwhelmed by the questions above.

If you are looking for any reasonable budget chair for formal spaces, this piece here might help you in choosing one.

The minimum expectations you have with a moving chair are both fulfilled by a drafting chair as well as an office chair.

But to get the best fit for your job, we are comparing both the chairs here. But before the drafting chair vs office chair comparison let us have a brief look at each of these chair types.

Office Chair

All types of chairs that are used in formal spaces for creating an efficient working condition are known as office chairs.

Generally, only an ergonomic chair with wheels is regarded as an office chair but it has a lot of different types as well.

Some of the chairs come without wheels and one even has a straight back. You have office chairs that are even dedicated to tasks and designations.

We will know more about them in the head-to-head comparison of office chairs with the drafting chairs.

Most of the office chairs have good adjustability and are easier to move around.

People also use office chairs at home for studying and the pandemic played a big role in making the office chairs popular at home to set up a productive workstation.

Drafting Chair

Drafting chairs are also a type of office chair as they too are used at formal spaces that are meant to serve certain professions.

They come with higher seat adjustability than other office chairs and are mostly meant for standing desks.

They have 360 degrees swivel and casters for quick movability and the overall dimensions are quite suitable for small areas.

Drafting chairs have a little lower profile than the regular office chairs but if you need a task chair for small work sessions, they are quite handy.

Drafting Chair vs Office Chair: Head-to-Head

As we said that the drafting chairs are also a type of office chairs, it is obvious that they have a lot of similarities.

In regular office chairs like 24 hours chairs or computer chairs, you find the wheels, swivel, and adjustability options just like in a drafting chair.

Let us discuss all these features along with the ones that set these two chair types apart.

Design and Purpose

Office chairs are designed to offer a healthy sitting to a person who works by seating for extended hours e.g., for 7-8 hours.

They come with an ergonomic back for lumbar support and a waterfall seat design so that your back and thighs are relaxed. One can sit relaxed in office chairs and work on their PC without feeling strains in their body parts.

For working and studying at home too, office chairs are very considerable. Teachers, writers, store managers, librarians, etc would like to use these chairs to get through their long working hours.

Drafting chairs are suited for professions such as artists, planners, designers, where one doesn’t sit for long hours straight.

They have a simple and small back that isn’t very suitable for long sitting sessions. These chairs are useful for front-office employees, bartenders, security guards, store helpers, etc.

As the drafting chairs are tall because they are meant to go behind the standing desks, they come with a foot ring.

A lot of people keep drafting chairs for their clients to sit in the waiting area. They are also a very budget option for classrooms and small study or art sessions at home.

Material And Durability

Though there are no particular material types that are associated strictly with these chair types, they are mostly made with mesh fabric.

As these chairs are not meant for a show and they go through rough usage, most companies make them durable.

If they are upholstered well, they can last for years but it also depends on the brand and the fabric type used.

Nylon mesh fabric is a little stronger than polyester mesh fabric.

As it’s a costly material, only the office chairs that are on the expensive side come with nylon fabric.

The frame of both chair types can be found in steel or iron material depending on the price.

Budget

When there weren’t many designs available for these chair types, the drafting chair was much cheaper than other office chairs.

You will still find drafting chairs available for under 100 bucks. But as the drafting chairs have a longer support cylinder and a footing and the latest chairs we see come with more comfortability, the prices are almost equal to other office chairs.

Drafting chairs of bigger sizes have also become common and they have almost everything that your find in other office chairs.

You can buy a good drafting chair or any other good office chair under $200.

Seat Height and Adjustability

It might be clear to you by now that the drafting chairs are tall. The adjustability of the seat height here is very significant. The seat height of a drafting chair can go as high as up to 30-32 inches.

Whereas in the office chairs, the maximum chair height that can be adjusted is around 20-22 inches.

With innumerable brands out there, you can find chairs with more height adjustment in both chair types.

Drafting chairs are available without armrests and with armrests too. Some of them with armrests are adjustable.

Whereas in office chairs like the 24 hours chair, you will surely find an armrest. Most of them have the adjustability feature as well.

Comfortability

As the office chairs are designed to support your back and buttocks for long working hours, they are more comfortable than the drafting chairs.

The back has an ergonomic shape which is like a blessing for your spine’s health. You will also find the ones with a high back to support your head.

The armrest and the seats of an office chair are thickly padded so that you feel relaxed while working. To get more comfort, some chairs also recline so that you can rest for a while.

Not all drafting chairs offer this much comfortability. Surely, we see armrests and padded seats and back on the latest ones but do not expect them to be as comfortable as office chairs.

However, the footring on the drafting chairs provides amazing support to your legs.

Options Available

Now, this is one of the most important aspects of choosing between an office chair and a drafting chair. Drafting chairs do not have a lot of design types (check this).

Depending on your budget and requirements you can find the ones with minimal features. E.g., if you want a drafting chair for an area where people would sit for only 5-10 minutes at max, you can skip a chair that has an ergonomic back or even the armrests.

In case of a low budget, people also opt for buying a drafting stool that serves the purpose of a drafting chair.

Those were all the options you have got in the drafting chairs. But the office chairs have many different types for different purposes including the drafting chair.

Other than drafting chairs, here are few popular office chairs you can consider for your work and home.

• Computer Chairs: These chairs are perfect for a workstation setup. They offer great mobility and ergonomic support for your back and arms. The armrest here is designed in such a way that your hands won’t feel stressed while working on your PC. These chairs are also called task chairs.
• Conference chairs: Conference chairs do not have an ergonomic back or relaxing back like other office chairs. The back here is straight and forward leaning so that the listeners seem attentive during a meeting.
• Executive Chairs: These chairs have high back and much more padding for extra comfortability. They are much more expensive than other office chairs and used in formal spaces by people on notable posts.
• Tablet arm chairs: Tablet arm chairs may or may not have the casters. These chairs are meant for small meeting spaces where the attendees might have to take notes.
• Folding chairs: They are mostly kept as a backup for large gatherings at formal or casual spaces.

We hope you understood the drafting chair vs office chair differences. The choice depends on whether you want a very supportive back, headrest, armrest, footrest, recliner, etc.

FAQs

Why should you buy office chairs?

Office chairs like computer chairs and executive chairs offer impressive ergonomic support. You can buy them for your home, office, or any other setup where you need to work or study for hours.

These chairs have comfortable padding, 360-degree swivel, and 5-star casters for moving around easily.

Why should you buy drafting Chairs?

For a comfortable sitting in small spaces, drafting chairs are the best. If you want a chair for standing desks, classrooms, or counters, these are the chairs you should consider. The low price of many drafting chairs also makes them considerable.

Can a drafting chair be used as an office chair?

A lot of drafting chairs come with all the qualities that make it fit to be used in your office spaces.

If you want a chair for sitting sessions of 2-3 hours, any drafting chair will provide your ample support.

For long working hours, you can buy drafting chairs with ergonomic backs and well-padded seats.

Why are drafting chairs so high?

Drafting chairs are meant to be used behind tall standing desks. Though they are high, you can adjust their height and use drafting chairs in other settings as well like classes and meetings.

Artists and architects use drafting chairs with their tall desks and the chair is more helpful because its movability allows the person to get their apparatus faster.