Best Office Chairs Europe

Office chairs for shorter people

Most chair problems for shorter people are two numbers: a seat that won't go low enough and a seat that's too deep.

Updated By The Best Office Chairs Europe editorial team11 sources

At 155 cm you need a seat of about 420 mm in flat shoes; at 150 cm about 408 mm. Only EN 1335 Types A and Ax have to reach 400 mm, so check the published minimum: the HÅG SoFi Mesh 7500 (390 mm) and Dauphin Indeed mesh (ID 7056) (400 mm) go lowest in our register.

Then check seat depth: you should be able to sit back with a 2–3 cm gap behind the knee, as the UK HSE puts it.

Lowest-reaching seats against the seat height shorter people needPublished seat-height ranges (black bars) against the seat height estimated for 150, 158, 165 cm (green lines), from popliteal height 0.255 × stature plus 25 mm for shoes. HÅG SoFi Mesh 7500 390–540 mm; Dauphin Indeed mesh (ID 7056) 400–520 mm; HÅG Futu Mesh 1100 400–550 mm; Haworth Zody 400–520 mm; Kinnarps Capella Classic (Capella X family) 400–530 mm; Sedus se:flex 400–520 mm; Steelcase Series 2 400–510 mm; Vitra AC 5 Work 400–520 mm; Vitra ID Mesh 400–520 mm; Wilkhahn IN (184/7) 400–520 mm.360380400420440460480500520540560150 cm158 cm165 cmHÅG SoFi Mesh 7500390–540Dauphin Indeed mesh400–520HÅG Futu Mesh 1100400–550Haworth Zody400–520Kinnarps Capella Classic400–530Sedus se:flex400–520Steelcase Series 2400–510Vitra AC 5 Work400–520Vitra ID Mesh400–520Wilkhahn IN400–520LOWEST SEATS IN THE REGISTER VS SEAT HEIGHT NEEDEDmm
Seat height needed, estimated as 0.255 × stature plus 25 mm for shoes; black bars are the published ranges.

What seat height do you need?

Seat height by stature
Your height150 cm155 cm160 cm165 cm
Flat shoes (25 mm)408 mm420 mm433 mm446 mm
Heeled shoes (45 mm)428 mm440 mm453 mm466 mm

Estimated with popliteal height ≈ 0.255 × stature (Bodyspace) plus a shoe allowance. Try your own numbers in the height calculator.

Which chairs go low enough?

Seat-height range compared with EN 1335-1:2020 types EN 1335 Type Ax: 400–540 mm; EN 1335 Type A: 400–520 mm; EN 1335 Type B: 420–510 mm; EN 1335 Type C: 430–480 mm; SoFi Mesh 7500: 390–540 mm; Indeed mesh (ID 7056): 400–520 mm; Futu Mesh 1100: 400–550 mm; Zody: 400–520 mm; Capella Classic (Capella X family): 400–530 mm; se:flex: 400–520 mm; Series 2: 400–510 mm; AC 5 Work: 400–520 mm 380420460500540580620660 EN 1335 Type Ax EN 1335 Type A EN 1335 Type B EN 1335 Type C SoFi Mesh 7500 390–540 Indeed mesh (ID … 400–520 Futu Mesh 1100 400–550 Zody 400–520 Capella Classic … 400–530 se:flex 400–520 Series 2 400–510 AC 5 Work 400–520 420 mm
The eight task chairs with the lowest published minimum seat height. Green line: about 420 mm, the estimate for a 155 cm person in flat shoes.
Lowest chairs
ChairLowest seatSeat depthLowest price
HÅG SoFi Mesh 7500390 mm380–460–
Dauphin Indeed mesh (ID 7056)400 mm380–460€545 DE
HÅG Futu Mesh 1100400 mm370–450–
Haworth Zody400 mm400–455€1,050 DE
Kinnarps Capella Classic (Capella X family)400 mm380–470–
Sedus se:flex400 mm395–465€780 DE
Steelcase Series 2400 mm465–465€765 DE
Vitra AC 5 Work400 mm390–440€1,220 DE

Chairs whose published minimum is 430 mm or more will usually be too high for people under about 160 cm without a footrest: Interstuhl PUREis3 (PU213) (430 mm), Steelcase Amia (430 mm), IKEA JÄRVFJÄLLET (450 mm), IKEA MARKUS (460 mm), Löffler Figo Air (1N) (460 mm), Löffler Lezgo 72 (LG 72) (460 mm). Some makers sell shorter gas lifts; ask.

A seat that isn't too deep

A deep seat pushes you forward, away from the backrest, or presses behind your knees. These task chairs publish a seat depth that starts at 400 mm or less:

The Herman Miller Aeron handles this differently: its seat depth is fixed per size, and size A is the smallest.

When a footrest is the answer

If your desk is fixed at standard height, your seat may need to be higher than your legs want, so that your elbows sit level with the keyboard. Then a footrest closes the gap. The UK HSE checklist asks whether feet are flat on the floor "without too much pressure from the seat on the backs of the legs", and if not, "a footrest may be needed". At work, the DSE Directive entitles you to one on request.

Questions buyers ask

What office chair height does a 155 cm person need?

About 420 mm in flat shoes, using the Bodyspace popliteal ratio of 0.255 plus 25 mm. That is near the 400 mm minimum of EN 1335 Types A and Ax and below the Type B (420 mm) and Type C (430 mm) minimums, so check that the chair goes low enough.

What if my feet do not reach the floor?

Use a footrest. Under the EU Display Screen Equipment Directive, employers must provide one to anyone who wants it. It also helps when the seat has to stay high to suit a fixed desk.

Sources

  1. HÅG SoFi Mesh 7500: manufacturer data: store.flokk.com/global/en-gb/products/hag-sofi
  2. Dauphin Indeed mesh (ID 7056): manufacturer data: www.dauphin.de/dauphin/de/englisch/products/office-chairs/indeed
  3. HÅG Futu Mesh 1100: manufacturer data: store.flokk.com/global/en-gb/products/hag-futu
  4. Haworth Zody: manufacturer data: www.haworth.com/eu/en/products/office-chairs/zody-1.html
  5. Kinnarps Capella Classic (Capella X family): manufacturer data: www.kinnarps.com/products/seating/task-chairs/capella-x-classic/
  6. Sedus se:flex: manufacturer data: www.sedus.com/en/products/chairs/seflex
  7. Steelcase Series 2: manufacturer data: www.steelcase.com/eu-en/products/steelcase-series-2/
  8. Vitra AC 5 Work: manufacturer data: www.vitra.com/en-dk/product/details/ac-5-work
  9. Bodyspace data via RoyMech: www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Ergonomics/Human_sizes.html
  10. HSE: good posture at a workstation: www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/good-posture.htm
  11. Directive 90/270/EEC, Annex 1(e): eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01990L0270-20190726

All sources checked 20 October 2026. Where a manufacturer does not publish a value, we say so rather than estimate it.

Cite this page

Best Office Chairs Europe, “Office chairs for shorter people”, https://bestofficechairs.eu/guides/office-chair-for-short-people/, updated .