Best Footrests for the Most Comfortable Desk Setup

The perfect footrest for your home office is ergonomically sound—to make sure it will fit you and your setup, you should be able to adjust its height and angle, and its width and depth should suit your foot’s length and foot placement preference.

It should be easy to assemble and simple to use (if it’s slipping out from under you every time you try to put your feet on it, it may not be the most useful footrest.

For foot platform width, the suggested measurement (according to HFES 100-2007 standards) is at least 20.1 inches and the ideal depth is at least 7.9 inches. However, we used the 95th percentile measurement of a male foot, 11.4 inches, to set the criteria for depth in this evaluation at 11.8 inches, to accommodate most foot sizes. Note: HFES’ stated goal is to have a new standard this year. 

The measurements listed below for each footrest are estimates of the functional dimensions of these products. The actual usable dimensions of the footrest (such as the usable width of the footrest platform) are listed, without including the parts where you can’t put your feet. These are the measurements you should use to determine which footrest is the best fit for you and your home office setup.

Three footrests were top scorers, and five more received honorable mentions. Here are details on our top, middle, and worst-performing footrests.

All footrests can look like slightly varied versions of the same object to the untrained eye. That’s why Paul Ritchey, DrPH, CR’s in-house certified professional ergonomist, rigorously evaluated 10 popular footrests from brands such as BlissTrends, Cushion Lab, and Humanscale to find the most ergonomic models that are easy to use, assemble, and feature clear instructions. Before his evaluation, CR recruited 34 current users of under-desk footrests to participate in a preliminary user study that determined what users like, dislike, and value about their footrests so that CR can hone in on the details that will be most important for you.