Desk Converters, and the Height You End Up At

Your Desk Is 29 Inches. Now Add the Converter.

A converter has no height of its own, only travel. The height you end up working at is your desk plus that travel, which is why the figure on the listing decides nothing on its own.

Twenty Nine Plus Twelve Is Forty One, and Forty One Is Too Low

Start with the arithmetic. Standing elbow height, which is the right keyboard height, is about 40 inches for someone 5'4", 43 to 45 for 5'10" and 47 for 6'2". A standard fixed desk is 29. A converter with 12 inches of travel leaves the keyboard at 41: fine for a short person, and hunched for everyone above 5'6". It takes 16 inches to reach 45.

This table publishes the maximum lift and, in a resolved column, the working height reached on a 29 inch desk, with the sum shown and the range of heights it serves, so you see at once which half of the catalog does not work for you.

• The keyboard level is the real difference between ranges. On a single top converter the keyboard sits at the same height as the monitor base, so getting the screen to eye level pushes the keyboard above the elbow, or the other way round. A dual tier puts the keyboard 4 to 6 inches lower, which is the right geometry, and the reason the same maker sells the one level and the two level model at very different prices.
• The specification blackout: the titles in this category almost never name the lift mechanism or the weight it holds. There are four mechanisms in the catalog and they behave differently, so the table reads the mechanism and the declared pounds from the bullets and the specification, listing by listing, and puts them in columns.
• The stolen depth: a converter adds 20 to 24 inches of depth sitting on the desk, so the monitor ends up 4 to 8 inches closer to your eyes than before. On a 20 inch deep desk, 24 inch converters overhang the edge. The table gives the base depth and the minimum desk it needs.

Of the 164 converters in this table, 155 put the keyboard high enough for someone 5'4" on a 29 inch desk, 42 for 5'10" and 8 for 6'2". The median keyboard height reached is 43.7".

Reaches on 29" = 29 + maximum lift - keyboard deck drop. Fits: up to the height whose standing elbow height (0.63 x height) equals that figure.

Reaches over 45"Up to 42"Fits over 6'

Maximum Lift Is the Only Number That Matters

Subtract your desk height from your standing elbow height and you have the lift you need at the keyboard. For a 29 inch desk that is about 11 inches at 5'4", 15 inches at 5'10" and 18 inches at 6'2". On a dual tier converter add the 4 to 6 inches the keyboard deck sits below the top. Every other figure, top width, colors, the photo, comes after this one, because a converter that stops short cannot be fixed with anything but a lower desk.

Over 17"14 to 17"Under 14"

Single Top or Dual Tier, and Where Your Keyboard Ends Up

The screen should sit with its top at or slightly below eye level, which is 15 to 20 inches above the elbow when you stand. On a single top the keyboard and the monitor base share one surface, so one of them is always wrong unless the monitor has its own tall stand or an arm. A dual tier drops the keyboard deck below the top and gets closer; a model with monitor arms gets closest. The table shows the deck drop in its own column, as declared or 5 inches for a dual tier that does not say.

Dual tierSingle topWith dual monitor mount

Gas Spring, Z Lift, X Lift and Electric

• Gas spring: a pneumatic strut balances the load. It holds its position and is the only type that rises one handed fully loaded, as long as the load matches the spring.
• Z lift: the top rises straight up on a folding Z arm. It takes less depth on the desk and can sink on its own if the weight exceeds the spring.
• X lift: scissor legs, the cheapest design and the one that sways most at the top.
• Electric: a motor drives it. It does not drift, but needs an outlet and usually adds depth.

24 listings do not describe their mechanism anywhere in the bullets or specification.

Gas springZ liftX liftElectric

Monitor Weight and the Drift Nobody Declares

Add up the monitors with their bases, the laptop and anything else on the top. A 27 inch monitor weighs 10 to 15 pounds, a 32 inch 15 to 20, a laptop 3 to 5. A spring converter is tuned to a weight range: well under it the top springs up when released, over it the top creeps down during the day, and no listing declares that drift. Keep the load inside the declared figure with a margin; two large monitors usually call for 33 pounds or more.

Over 33 lbsOver 44 lbs

How Much Depth It Steals From Your Desk

The base of a converter sits on the desktop and the keyboard deck reaches forward, so the converter takes 20 to 24 inches of depth and pushes the monitor 4 to 8 inches closer to your eyes. Check that your desk is at least as deep as the base; the computer desks measured by usable depth show how much each desk really leaves in front of the monitor.

140 converters declare their depth. 70 fit on a 20 inch deep desk; 47 need 24 inches or more and overhang a shallow desk. The median is 20.3".

Fits a 20" deep deskNeeds 24"+

Which VIVO Size, and What Else There Is

VIVO fills much of the first page of this category, in top widths from 25 to 54 inches and in single top, dual tier and electric versions. The width decides the setup: 26 to 29 inches holds a laptop or one monitor, 32 to 36 two smaller screens, 40 inches and more two large ones. The table keeps every relevant VIVO size and range, and every alternative that shows up next to them, from FLEXISPOT and FITUEYES to Vari and smaller makers, so it is not one maker's catalog.

26 to 29"32 to 36"40 to 48"

Converter or a Full Standing Desk

A converter is cheaper, needs almost no assembly and keeps the desk you have, drawers and all. Its limits are the ones above: it stacks on top of a desk that is already 29 inches high, so it never brings the keyboard lower when you sit, it takes depth, and its reach is capped by its travel. A full standing desk moves the whole top from the floor up and covers both your sitting and standing heights; if you are tall, or want to sit at the right height too, compare the standing desks sorted by how low they go.

What We Exclude From This Table

Every listing is checked by its ASIN data, never by its title. The mechanism and the pounds are in no headline in this category, so they are read from the bullets and the specification one by one. Left out:

• Full height adjustable desks with their own legs, which go to /standing-desk/. Searches for this term bring them in, including full 60 inch desks with drawers.
• Fixed desks, which go to /computer-desk/.
• Fixed height platforms that do not rise or lower, which go to /monitor-stand/.
• Tilting laptop stands, which go to /laptop-stand/.
• Clamp on monitor arms and stands.
• Under desk keyboard trays sold alone.
• Bed tables, lecterns and sofa trays.
• Any listing without a declared lift range, since without it the main column of the table is empty.
• Anti fatigue mats, footrests and accessories.
• Lots of several units.