ErgoChair Plus office chair: Apple employee approved (apparently)

This chair provides a clever skeletal back support and fresh colours, but its arms are a little unwieldy.

The blue Autonomous office chair, surrounded by generic black office chairs.
(Image: © Future)

Our Verdict

The Autonomous office chair is a neat little addition to the over-crowded world of ergonomic thrones, with a Herman Miller Aeron-like skeletal back structure, at a fraction of the price of the original. But that's not all it offers – it's light, bright, and sits well on the firmness/comfort spectrum. If you're looking for a premium option, look elsewhere, but for a decent quality chair that does the basics and a little more, this is worth a purchase.

For

  • Looks great
  • Firm yet comfortable

Against

  • Back support is lacking
  • Slightly rickety arms

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There are many ergonomic chairs out there that excel at support, or go all in on style, but few hit both nails on the head like ErgoChair Plus. It's a fairly priced office chair with decent support and a nice selection of colours on what is a pretty unique-looking design. What's not to like?! 

Well, I guess that depends if you require top-end ergonomic lumbar support, because if you do, this is not the chair for you. There are also a couple of niggles that I have, after sitting on the chair for some weeks, but the ErgoChair Plus office chair just has a nice character to it. And it's a touch of genius by Autonomous's marketing team to proudly advertise that it is 'Bought by 300+ Apple employees'.

Looking for more ergonomic office chair options? We've got an ever-expanding list of the best on the market. You can also check out our list of the best standing desks on sale too.

Comfort and build

The back end of the ErgoChair Plus chair.

(Image credit: Future)

The ErgoChair Plus office chair is very comfortable to sit in, and smooth to move around on. It's a fairly light chair, too, so it's ideal for sitters that like to move around a bit – rolling out from the desk, sliding over to another colleague, etc. Of course, that also means that the ErgoChair Plus office chair doesn't have that monumental comfort that comes with the really heavy chairs out there. But that's fine – this is not a luxury office chair, rather it's an all-rounder that does lots of things well. 

Part of the comfort is due to the plastic skeletal back and seat of the ErgoChair Plus office chair. This resists to whatever part of your back and bum is pressing against the seat, absorbing backwards and downwards movement. It reminds me of the far more expensive and prestige Herman Miller Aeron, but the comparisons should probably stop there, as the Aeron is the last word on quality. This rubbery plastic does look a little cheap on close inspection, but does the job great. 

This chair does hit a sweet spot with its comfortable-yet-firm feel. You can't sink into the chair like the best ergonomic chairs, but you feel cradled, held, without it being unyielding and hard. 

I did find the arms were a little rattly – you can visibly move them slightly when shaking them, which isn't the best. But they don't move when you're just resting your arms on them, so this shouldn't be a deal breaker. 

Design

A detail closeup of the ErgoChair Plus chair.

(Image credit: Future)

I really like the look of the ErgoChair Plus, especially in the blue and white that I selected. There are some nice design notes, such as the curve of the top of the chair, the skeletal backing, the blocky, chunky yet light base. 

I chose to review the chair that comes with a fabric mesh over the skeletal material, but looking at the chair photos without the mesh, I quite like the look – it's nothing like anything else I've seen. And, if you go for that combination, you'll save a bit of money (see more below). 

I think there's something of the lightness of the chair that also bleeds over into how I think the chair looks. If it were heavy, I think the wide back, blocky legs and big base might seem unwieldy and cumbersome. Because it's light, the chunkier elements of the design seem fun, playful almost. 

The grey ErgoChair Plus office chair without fabric mesh.

(Image credit: Autonomous)

Assembly

A deconstructed ErgoChair Plus chair, on an office floor.

(Image credit: Future)

Not much to report on this side of things – the ErgoChair Plus office chair comes in only a few parts, and it's super easy to put together. Often office chairs will give you the base of the chair separately to the seat, but the ErgoChair Plus office chair combines them, so really all you have to do is combine the back to the seat/base, and then sit that on the hydraulic that you've sat on the five legs. Easy! I was using the chair within 15 minutes of getting it all out of the boxes. 

Price and verdict

A ErgoChair Plus chair amongst some other black office chairs.

(Image credit: Future)

If you like the look of the reviewed blue and white, rubber and fabric ErgoChair Plus office chair, you'll be paying around $449. If you like it without the fabric, you can get it for $399. That's pretty standard for a quality office chair, and the fact that it you get this directly from Autonomous, you get a five-year guarantee, I think this is a good price for what you get. 

There are cheaper chairs, but then there are also chairs that aren't as agile, comfortable or easy to put together. It has all the movement that you'd expect from an office chair, it looks cooler than the majority of the competition, and it won't break the bank. In my eyes, it's a winner that I will definitely be holding on to. 

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The Verdict
8

out of 10

ErgoChair Plus

The Autonomous office chair is a neat little addition to the over-crowded world of ergonomic thrones, with a Herman Miller Aeron-like skeletal back structure, at a fraction of the price of the original. But that's not all it offers – it's light, bright, and sits well on the firmness/comfort spectrum. If you're looking for a premium option, look elsewhere, but for a decent quality chair that does the basics and a little more, this is worth a purchase.

Beren Neale
Deals Editor

Beren has worked on creative tech magazines and websites at Future Publishing for 13 years. He started this journey as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, and in 2012 found himself bridging the magazine/website divide as Commissioning Editor on the newly launched Creative Bloq. Since then he took the editor role on ImagineFX, was Launch Editor of the fine art magazine Paint & Draw, moved to Canon Pro Europe website as Deputy Editor, and then edited the graphic design magazine Computer Arts. In 2020 he moved back to Creative Bloq, the biggest global art and design website, and as Deals Editor has applied his expertise in creative tech to help digital creatives get the best deals on the kit that they need and love. Outside of work, Beren likes nothing better than to climb himself a bit of rock.