If you use a standing desk, you are already familiar with the idea of a comfortable and risk-free working desk environment. When you pay attention to certain details, you can relieve some tension or strain held by your eyes, neck, wrists, hips, and feet.
One detail that helps you is the position of your monitor.
A monitor arm for your standing desk can improve your ergonomics, as it lets you adjust the position of your monitor for comfortable viewing. Further, a monitor arm enables a distraction-free standing desk, as the monitor arm elevates your monitor and frees up desk space. There are some reliable single or dual monitor arms in the market that happen to suit standing desk users.
But before you get too excited, there are some potential cons to monitor arms that you should learn about. By doing your due diligence, you can pick the most suitable monitor arm for your monitor(s), desk, and budget.
Benefits of Monitor Arms for Your Standing Desk
1. Monitor arms free up your desk
Most obviously, monitor stands take up quite a good amount of desk space. This makes it difficult to put the back of your desk to good use. Monitor arms, on the other hand, allows your monitors to be mounted and elevated above your desk, so this frees up the space at the back of your desk. You can use monitor arms for a range of monitors, from basic 22 inch monitors to a 49 inch ultrawide monitor.
Monitor arms are especially useful if you use two or three monitors, provided that they do not exceed the weight limit of your desk.
2. Monitor arms improve ergonomics and comfort
As already stated, monitor arms improve ergonomics due to the ease of repositioning your monitors with its help. Proper viewing height and distance is important, if you do not want to experience eye strain and problems in your neck/shoulders. It is way easier to make long-term ergonomic mistakes if your desk is cluttered.
If you use a sit-stand desk, you may find yourself adjusting the monitor position often as you raise or lower your desk. While monitor arms let you find proper viewing height and distance, not all monitor arms have a full range of motion that lets you tilt, swivel, and freely adjust the height of your monitors without a wrench in any direction. Some basic models have limits that you need to be aware of, before you invest your money.
3. Some monitor arms have built-in cable management
Messy cables lead to annoyances and a distracting workspace. If you spent money on a standing desk, I believe you’d want your workspace to be optimally decluttered.
A proper cable management system is important, especially if you use more than one monitor. Although the cable management of monitor arms are not perfect (cables are often not perfectly hidden and out of sight), they generally work well. So if this is an important feature to you, you need to find a monitor arm with a decent built-in cable management system – not all monitor arms have it.
4. Monitor arms let you flexibly position your monitors
Not all of us have the same working needs. For myself, I need a basic setup with monitors side by side and a laptop. But it doesn’t mean that the exact configuration will work for you.
Some users want their monitor in portrait rather than landscape position, which means that one monitor is set up vertically instead of horizontally. Such a setup can allow developers to see more code when using dual monitors, and allow writers to read lines of words without excessively moving and straining their eyes.
Whatever dual or triple monitor configuration rocks your boat, monitor arms can suit your working needs by letting you flexibly position your monitors.
5. A distraction-free workspace is easier with monitor arms
As you can already tell and envision, you can more easily create a distraction-free workspace with monitor arms.
With cables less visible and freed up desk space, your standing desk can have a cleaner and more appealing look.
When you can position monitors for your viewing comfort, you are less likely to strain your body by positioning yourself in uncomfortable ways.
Monitor arm for your standing desk: Key factors
What are the key factors you need to consider, before you are certain that getting a monitor arm is the right decision for your standing desk?
Check for VESA compatibility
What is VESA compatibility? Run a quick eye test on the back of your monitor. If you see four standard mounting holes on the back, there is a good chance that your monitor can be mounted.
VESA is simply an acronym for industry wide manufacturing standards, denoted by the horizontal and vertical distance that sets the mounting holes apart. These days, computer monitors are usually designed with VESA compliance in mind, which means that the mounting holes should have a 75mm X 75mm or 100mm X 100mm pattern. Before you eagerly buy a monitor arm for your monitor, you should do two things:
- Do an eye test followed by a quick search of your monitor’s brand and model, to determine the VESA compliance of your monitor.
- Check the product specs of the monitor arm that you intend to purchase. Likely, most monitor arms will suit a 75mm or 100mm hole pattern at the back of your monitor.
Generally, only some of the very large monitors and Apple monitors will encounter issues of VESA compliance. In these cases, you would want to obtain aftermarket brackets or adapters which are readily available. For instance, adapters provided for Apple computers can serve as an aftermarket VESA plate, when you attach them onto your monitors’ back. Then, you can mount the monitor as usual.
Buy a monitor stand that holds you monitor reliably
The next thing to note down the size and weight of your monitor(s). This will determine whether the monitor stand can hold your monitor(s) stably without issues of unwanted tilting, rotating, and shaking.
A monitor that is too wide can cause unwanted tilt, created by its weight lying outside of the monitor arm’s ball joint connection point. So, pay attention to the width and weight restrictions stated by monitor arm manufacturers.
This step is especially important if your monitors are 24 inches and wider, as some monitor arms may not function properly with larger monitors. Better be safe than sorry.
How many monitors do you use?
Next, how many monitors are you using on your standing desk?
If you only use one monitor, obviously, you can proceed to look at single monitor arms. In most cases, a relatively cheap monitor arm from a reputable brand with a decent warranty will do (under $30-40), unless you want the complete range of motion and height adjustment that come with premium monitor arms ($100+).
If you have two monitors, you have a few options when it comes to mounting your monitors on your desk. Choose either one of these:
- Two inexpensive single monitor arms (around $25 each) that has limited range of motion; or
- Two premium single monitor arms ($100 each) that has full range of motion; or
- One dual monitor arm to hold two monitors
If you want a dual monitor arm, you need to make a cautious purchase. To mount multiple displays on one arm, the monitor arm must handle the size/weight of your monitors. Generally, you want a monitor arm with a wider base that can hold bold monitors’ weight, without resulting in your monitors tilting or rotating by themselves.
The next section will cover each of these options in greater detail.
But if you want to mount as many as three monitors on a desk, the answer is quite simple: Go with three single monitor arms.
The first reason is that three single monitor arms give you more flexibility in positioning your monitors. Although a triple monitor arm enables a cleaner look, when it comes to the aspect of freely positioning and maneuvering your monitors about, using three single monitor arms will give you more ease than one triple monitor arm. They are simply more practical.
The second reason? Three single monitor arms place less pressure on any given point of your desk. Since you will be attaching the monitor mount at the very back of your desk, instead of in the middle of it, this might place too much pressure on the back of your desk. For a standing desk, I wouldn’t want to take the risk, especially if your sit-stand desk wobbles at the maximum height.
What monitor arms should you get for your standing desk?
Once you are certain about getting a monitor arm for your single or multi-monitor setup, you are one step closer to the right purchase. As you would expect, the first and foremost consideration is to ensure that the monitor arm you buy is stable enough to hold your monitor(s).
If you go with any cheap, flimsy monitor arm made from lower quality components, you will be prone to encounter monitor bounce and shake upon activities like typing and writing on your desk.
Single monitor arm: Lower-Tier vs Premium
To mount a single monitor, a relatively inexpensive monitor arm from a reputable brand with a decent warranty will do.
For example, the VIVO single monitor desk mount is a popular and reputable monitor arm that can hold one screen up to 22 pounds and 38 inches ultrawide. It is a solid monitor arm that does the job without giving most people any issues with stability. For most people, this basic or “lower-tier” version of a monitor arm is sufficient for their needs.
But before you settle on the inexpensive monitor arm, some of you may actually prefer a more premium monitor arm, due to a few factors:
- A premium monitor arm gives a fuller range of motion
- A premium monitor arm suits users who make frequent adjustments to your monitors’ positioning
- Heavier monitors 27” and above and ultrawide monitors may wobble on a cheap monitor arm, especially if your standing desk is not fully stable
For sit-stand desk users, since you can adjust the height of your desk, you would not really need the dynamic height adjustment of premium monitor arms. For the monitor arm, you can “set it and forget it”, and instead focus on finding the best height which your monitor lines up with your eye level through the sit-stand desk.
However, some of us may still fiddle with our monitors when we raise or lower our sit-stand desks. Perhaps, you may just prefer monitor arms with dynamic height adjustment and a complete range of motion.
A premium arm like the Amazon Basics arm would not only let you adjust the height of your monitor, but you can swivel, rotate, and tilt your monitor with ease. The Amazon Basics arm feels exactly like how a high-quality, fully adjustable monitor arm should feel. So if you truly want to maximize comfort, ergonomics, and dynamism, go for such a higher-tier monitor arm.
Heavier monitors 27 inches and above, including ultrawide monitors, may also do better with a higher-tier, premium arm that can better hold weight.
Picture this: If you use a very heavy/wide monitor which you frequently reposition on your monitor arm, resting upon a sit-stand desk that wobbles at the maximum height, you would be concerned with potential issues of stability.
Still, a $30 monitor arm could work, as long as your monitor falls within the size/weight limit set by the monitor arm manufacturer. So, it is up to you whether you would start off with a cheaper arm or go with a premium version.
Dual monitor arm
Dual monitor arms are a little more tricky. First and foremost, they add more pressure at one single point on the back of your desk, so you must ensure your desk is sturdy.
Also, you need to ensure that your dual monitor arm can hold your monitors’ width and weight. Not all dual monitor arms can hold both of your monitors’ weight over a period of months or years.
Generally, there is less flexibility of maneuvering your monitors compared to a single premium monitor arm. This also depends on the dual monitor arm which you buy. Another issue is you may struggle to align both monitors at the same height.
So, ultimately, you will likely consider between two single monitor arms and one dual monitor arm. You would need to weigh the pros and cons of each. If you are unsure, I would recommend starting off with two single monitor arms. Otherwise, you should invest in a high quality dual monitor arm to ensure that it holds up and is worth the investment.
In terms of a high-quality dual monitor arm, the PRISM+ ARC Stealth Dual Monitor Arm will be one of your best value-for-money options. It apparently supports screens up to 34 inches in width, and each of the arms allows for complete freedom of movement, so that you can freely tilt, rotate, and swivel both arms. There is built-in cable management. Users of this product are generally satisfied, so there is a good chance that you will enjoy this dual monitor arm.
Alternatively, the Ergotron LX Dual Monitor Arm is another popular choice that is well-known to work. It comes at a really high price, but if you can afford it, it would probably ease your worries about potential failings that plague many dual monitor arms out there.