REASONS TO BUY
Sturdy
Easy to assemble
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Could be more adjustable
Humanscale Diffrient Smart Office Chair Review
While decent, we expected a significantly more impressive performance from this incredibly expensive chair
The Diffrient is a great chair, but it is a bit pricey.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
RELATED: Best Office Chairs of 2024
Our Verdict
The Humanscale Diffrient Smart Office Chair has a high price tag, and its performance isn't entirely commensurate with its premium price. It scored above average in several metrics but didn't really distinguish itself from office chairs in our group — besides its price tag, of course. The Diffrient is well-built and a snap to assemble, but other chairs are more comfortable and have more adjustability — the most important traits a good office chair should have — making it hard to recommend. Overall, we don't foresee anyone being disappointed in this chair, but for this much money, you have better options.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Diffrient is a decently comfortable chair with excellent durability and ease of assembly. That said, it didn't stand out in any particular way and, for the price, we wish there was more adjustability.
Performance Comparison
The Diffrient scored quite well in our comfort test, but wasn't the best of the bunch.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Comfort
Comfort is the highest-rated metric in our testing process. We selected a group of testers of various sizes and stature, and they put each chair to the test. To award points, we had each judge rate multiple parts of the chair with respect to comfort and then evaluate how long they could comfortably sit. The Diffrient did well, though reviews were mixed; half rated the chair highly and reported that they could sit in it for 10-12 hours. The other half detested the chair and experienced discomfort after sitting in it for 1-2 hours. Everyone was happy with the seat and armrests, but the difference of opinion became noticeable when evaluating the backrest.
Opinions on how long you could comfortably sit on the Humanscale differed drastically among our testers.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Adjustability
We had the same panel of judges try out the full range of motion on the backrest, armrests, and seat and then rate their impressions. We also had them assess the customization available with the reclining mechanism. The Diffrient wasn't terrible, but this was its weakest metric.
We weren't fans of the minimal lumbar support and fixed backrest.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
This chair got off to a bad start when we scored its back design, as it barely has any lumbar support, and you can't adjust the backrest at all. The version of this chair we tested only allows you to raise and lower the armrests, but the newer versions are fully adjustable, letting you move them up or down, forward or back, and swivel them. On the other hand, the seat is very adaptable, allowing you to change both the height and the depth.
We appreciate the fully adjustable seat.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Unfortunately, the Diffrient doesn't have a way to manipulate the resistance for reclining, and we found the default setting far too low. It also doesn't have tilt limiters, so you can recline much further than you make prefer by only slightly leaning back.
The low reclining resistance made it easy to feel like you are going to fall out of the Humanscale.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Durability
Next, we compared the durability and sturdiness of each chair. We used both our own observations and research into other user reviews to make our assessments. The Humanscale Diffrient achieves an excellent score in this department. We do not have any issues to report, as our chair held up well in our tests, showing no noticeable signs of wear over many months of testing and beyond.
This chair is one of the more durable models that we have seen.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Assembly
For our last category of assessments, we judged each chair on the effort required to go from unboxing to sitting in it, as well as how easy the directions were to understand. The Diffrient is top-notch in this area. The process was straightforward — you just need to set the top on the base. We were ready to go in less than five minutes.
This chair required almost no assembly at all.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Value
The Diffrient is far from a high-value option, pairing a middle-of-the-road performance with a premium price.
Conclusion
While the Humanscale Diffrient Smart Task is a solid chair, we would expect something in this price range to be a bit more impressive than we found this one to be.
—Hayley Thomas, David Wise, and Austin Palmer
You Might Also Like
