shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Steelcase?

The leading manufacturer of furniture for offices, hospitals, and classrooms. Our furniture is inspired by innovative research in workspace design. - steelcase.com

Depends. Buy if you sit 6+ hours daily and want a chair that lasts a decade — the Leap and Gesture repeatedly earn their price in long-term reviews. Skip if you sit casually or are furnishing a team on a budget; $500–$1,000+ per seat and dealer-led bulk pricing add friction you don't need.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources: Reddit and YouTube reviews, Trustpilot, lab-test rankings, NVD, breach news, and contract pricing documents.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Under $500

Series 1

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
Leap / Gesture~$1,000+
Enterprise / contractQuote via dealer

Best for

  • Desk-bound workers sitting 6+ hours daily
  • Companies outfitting entire offices
  • Schools and healthcare facilities
  • Home offices wanting a buy-once chair

Not for

  • Casual sitters fine with a $200 chair
  • Tight budgets needing many chairs fast
  • Buyers wanting transparent e-commerce pricing
  • Second-hand buyers counting on warranty coverage

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Trustpilot sits at 2.9/5; expect delivery and service friction on direct orders.

medium

Users report warranty questions when chairs are used by family or resold.

medium

October 2020 Ryuk ransomware idled operations for two weeks; bulk-order delays are plausible.

low

RoomWizard booking hardware had XSS CVEs in 2018; patch before deploying.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Leap called S-tier after five years of daily use
  • Series 1 named best chair under $500
  • Gesture reviewed as $1,000 well spent for heavy sitters
  • Leap appears in lab-tested best-office-chair rankings
  • Research-backed designs span offices, hospitals, and classrooms

Cons

  • Trustpilot just 2.9/5 from 365 reviews
  • Some buyers report quality below expectations for the price
  • Contract and bulk pricing runs through dealers and GSA schedules
  • S&P downgraded Steelcase to BB+ from BBB-

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/22/2026 - 12 sources - Hit by Ryuk ransomware in 2020 (two weeks down); old RoomWizard XSS CVEs; publishes cybersecurity and privacy practices.

official x2review x7security x2news x1
  • Ryuk ransomware attack, October 2020, Office furniture giant down for two weeks after a Ryuk ransomware attack disclosed October 22, 2020.
  • CVE-2018-7057 — RoomWizard XSS, RoomWizard before 4.4.x allows cross-site scripting; relevant only if deploying RoomWizard hardware.
  • CVE-2018-7056 — RoomWizard, Medium-severity RoomWizard vulnerability listed by NVD.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • Under $500

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Durable long-term, but high price and 2.9 Trustpilot
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Long-term owners report comfortable, adjustable daily use
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Flagship chairs highly adjustable, research-backed
  • Support quality: 2/5. Trustpilot 2.9/5; service and delivery complaints
  • Security posture: 2/5. 2020 ransomware outage; RoomWizard CVEs; publishes security practices
  • 2.9/5 Trustpilot rating 365 reviews (NL store)
  • ~$500 Starting price Series 1 under $500; Gesture ~$1,000+
  • No Free tier Physical furniture, dealer-led contracts
  • 1912 Founded Grand Rapids, Michigan

Pricing

Series 1

Under $500

  • Rated best Steelcase under $500 by Crandall Office
  • Budget entry point

Leap / Gesture

~$1,000+

  • Flagship ergonomic chairs
  • TNW: spend $1,000 and not regret it

Enterprise / contract

Quote via dealer

  • GSA contract and state price lists
  • Leasing via Steelcase Financial Services

Security

Hit by Ryuk ransomware in 2020 (two weeks down); old RoomWizard XSS CVEs; publishes cybersecurity and privacy practices.

  • Ryuk ransomware attack, October 2020Office furniture giant down for two weeks after a Ryuk ransomware attack disclosed October 22, 2020.⁸
  • CVE-2018-7057 — RoomWizard XSSRoomWizard before 4.4.x allows cross-site scripting; relevant only if deploying RoomWizard hardware.⁹
  • CVE-2018-7056 — RoomWizardMedium-severity RoomWizard vulnerability listed by NVD.

What users say

Long-term owners praise Leap and Gesture durability, while some recent buyers and Trustpilot reviewers fault quality-for-price and service.

Alternatives

Compare Steelcase with each alternative.

  • Herman Miller

    Premium ergonomic rival at similar prices; Aeron and Embody.

  • Crandall Office refurbs

    Refurbished Steelcase chairs at steep discounts.

  • tCentric Hybrid

    Wirecutter's lab-tested top office chair pick.

Companies that use it

  • Arkema
  • Duke Kunshan University
  • Institut International de Lancy
  • U.S. federal government
  • New York State
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources: Reddit and YouTube reviews, Trustpilot, lab-test rankings, NVD, breach news, and contract pricing documents.

Worth it for all-day sitters; overkill for casual use. Bulk buying means dealer quotes, not a checkout button.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources: Reddit and YouTube reviews, Trustpilot, lab-test rankings, NVD, breach news, and contract pricing documents.

Sources

  1. Are Steelcase chairs worth it? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  2. I Tested The 7 Most Popular Steelcase Office Chairs — BTODbtod.com
    review
  3. Steelcase Leap 5 Years Later — BTODbtod.com
    review
  4. Steelcase Gesture Review — TNWthenextweb.com
    review
  5. Steelcase Series 1 Review — Crandall Officecrandalloffice.com
    review
  6. The Best Office Chairs — TechGearLabtechgearlab.com
    review
  7. Steelcase Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  8. Steelcase down 2 weeks after ransomware — BleepingComputerbleepingcomputer.com
    security
  9. CVE-2018-7057 — NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  10. Steelcase downgraded to BB+ — S&P Globalspglobal.com
    news
  11. Steelcase GSA contractgsaadvantage.gov
    official
  12. Steelcase store — office chairsstore.steelcase.com
    official

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