Finding the best standing desk for your home office with a limited budget under $500 can be a tough task. In this article, we will be comparing two of the most popular models in this price range, Flexispot Pro E5 vs VARI Essential.
When it comes to budget-friendly standing desks, Flexispot is one of the most popular brands out there. The Flexispot Pro E5 is their entry-level model and it’s a great option if you’re looking for a quality product without spending too much money.
Flexispot Pro E5 vs VARI Essential, which is the best budget standing desk within $500?
The VARI Essential is another popular budget standing desk and it offers a lot of features for its price point. So, which one should you choose? Let’s take a closer look at each desk and see how they compare.
Flexispot Pro E5 vs VARI Essential – The Design showdown
The Flexispot Pro E5 has a clean and simple design that will look great in any home office. It’s available in two different colors, black and white, so you can choose the one that best fits your style.
The desk is made of high-quality materials and it’s very sturdy. It has a weight capacity of 154 pounds, which is more than enough for most people.
The VARI Essential also has a clean and simple design. It’s available in three different colors, black, white, and oak. Like the Flexispot Pro E5, it’s made of high-quality materials and it’s very sturdy.
Flexispot Pro E5 has a weight capacity of 220 pounds, which is a bit higher than the Vari Essential (150 lbs). However, both desks are more than strong enough to support most people and their equipment.
Flexispot Pro E5 vs VARI Essential – The Features Showdown
For the budget options, both have limited features, which can be basic!
But the Flexispot Pro E5 has a few extra features that the VARI Essential doesn’t have. For example, it includes a cable management system to help keep your cords tidy and organized.
It also has an adjustable tablet holder so you can keep your tablet within reach while you’re working. These are both great additions, but they’re not essential features.
The VARI Essential does have one extra feature that the Flexispot Pro E5 doesn’t have and that’s an adjustable keyboard tray. This can be a helpful addition if you want to keep your keyboard at a comfortable height.
Flexispot Pro E5 vs VARI Essential – The Price Showdown
For under $500, both have versions with the detail sizes of tabletops. While the VARI Essential has only the 48×24″ size with the price of $499.99, the Flexispot E5 has more options with “48×24″, 48×30″ and even bigger 55×28” with the prices starting at $359. So it really depends on your needs and budget when it comes to deciding which desk is the better deal, but look like in the price showdown, clearly, we see the Flexispot is the winner
In the table below, we make a comparison between the basic standing desk (with a price under $500) and the high-end products of both Vari and Flexispot. The info we use from their official website and another source: Standingdesktopper!
Standing Desks | Flexispot Pro E5 | VARI Essential | VARI Standard | Flexispot Pro Plus E7 |
Height adjustment range | 24.4” – 50” | 27”-47” | 25″-50.5″ | 22.8”-48.4” |
Size available for the price under $500 | 48×24″ 48×30″ 55×28″ | 48×24″ | None | None |
Warranty | 5 years of the frames | 3 years | 5 years | 15 years of the frames |
Weight capacity | 220 lbs | 150 lbs | 220 lbs | 355lbs |
How about the warranty and assemble?
Flexispot offers a 5-year warranty for the frame and 3 years for electronic components, while VARI only offers 3 years for both parts.
As for the assembly, Flexispot is super simple and can be done within 30 minutes following the detailed instructions. For VARI Essential, it might take up to 60 minutes since there are more than 80 screws needed to put together.
About the customer services, both companies offer excellent service. They have a team of experts who are always ready to answer your questions and help you solve any problems you may have. But sometimes, we still see complaints from the users on Reddit that they can not get a response from the customer service of Flexispot. If you have a few errors from installation or the standing desk does not go down or up, you should take some pictures and send an email to the customer service of Flexispot, or you can directly call them.
Flexispot Pro E5 vs VARI Essential – Which one should you choose?
If you’re looking for a quality standing desk on a budget, either the Flexispot Pro E5 or the VARI Essential would be a great choice. They’re both well-made desks with clean, simple designs.
The Flexispot Pro E5 has a few extra features that the VARI Essential doesn’t have, but they’re not essential features. And the VARI Essential has an adjustable keyboard tray, which can be a helpful addition.
But if you ask us, we have to take the winner to Flexispot E5 with more tabletop options, a good fit for both tall & short people, a better price, and a longer warranty.