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There are a lot of options on the market for a motorized standing desk. Some are marketed as “budget” or “value” desks offering motorized features at prices under $200, while others can easily exceed $1,000. But when it comes to the best combination of quality and features for the price, it’s hard to beat the FlexiSpot E7 Pro Plus desk. FlexiSpot sent me the E7 Pro Plus standing desk to review with a 48″ x 30″ black laminate top, and since I had never tried a standing desk for my work from home setup, I spent a week testing it out to determine if a standing desk is worth the investment.

Price & Options

The E7 desk starts at $499 for the base only. FlexiSpot gives you the option of not getting a desktop if you would like to source your own or already have one to use. With the chipboard 48″ x 30″ top that they sent me, the price increases to $610. Going with larger sizes and/or solid wood tops increases the price – for example, with a solid cherry wood top in the 60″ x 30″ size the MSRP is $1,119.99. That may seem high, especially compared to what you can find on amazon, but it’s all about what you’re getting for the price (see the competition section below).

FlexiSpot offers multiple desktop options including laminate chipboard, bamboo, and solid wood. They also offer a T-frame or C-frame shape for the base. The T-frame has the legs centered under the desktop while the C-frame has them shifted towards the back. The T-frame has a little bit less of an open feel under the desk, but offers the best stability. A wealth off add-on accessories is also available, including additional cable management, drawers, attachments, and separate furniture pieces such as file cabinets and anti-fatigue mats.

Assembly

The E7 arrives in separate boxes, but that is fine by me. The base weighs about 77lbs, so having it in a separate box of a manageable size was appreciated. The desktop and any accessories you order will arrive in separate boxes.

Assembly was simple in comparison to other desks that I’ve put together myself. There was not a large number of small pieces to keep track of, and the instructions only include a few steps. The only guesswork came at the step of adjusting the width of the base to meet the pre-drilled holes in the desktop. I imagine doing this would be easier with a lighter-colored top, because the black top made it hard to see the holes through the base (a flashlight helped). Other than that, the desk went together easily and took about 40 minutes. I went at a pretty deliberate pace, so if you have experience assembling furniture it could easily take less time.

Observations

After setting up the desk, I spent the next week working my 9-5 job from the E7. Here are my main observations:

• The up/down speed of 1.5″/sec is quick enough to make adjustments mid-video call. The motors are rated for 2 minutes on and 18 minutes off, meaning you should give them a rest of 18 minutes after using them for a continuous 2 minutes so they don’t overheat. 2 minutes is plenty of time to raise or lower the desk and then go back if you change your mind.
• The included keypad features a child lock which I appreciate. Even if you don’t have little ones who love pressing buttons for fun, I found that just bumping or grazing the buttons will activate them so I’ve been using the lock to keep that from happening.
• The black laminate top seems to be vulnerable to scratches and marks, so keep that in mind when considering top options.
• The motors are not overly noisy and the up/down movement is smooth. I never worried about stability while using the E7 at any height position.

Competition

Before determining whether I would recommend the FlexiSpot E7 in general, I compared it to a few competitors. This is where we answer the question as to whether the E7 is a good value for the price. The top competitors to the FlexiSpot E7 are the Uplift Desk V2 and the Vari desk. I also looked at the SHW 48×24 desk on amazon because I wanted to include a “budget” option in the comparison. Below is a table that compares some of the key features.

Both FlexiSpot and Uplift give you the option of buying only the base with no top, in case you want to source your own or already have one, while the options from Vari and SHW only come with a top. When comparing price, of course the budget-friendly SHW wins but the FlexiSpot E7 is actually the next most affordable in this comparison when looking at the 48×30 inch basic laminate top option.

The E7 and Uplift V2 are tied for best weight capacity at 355lbs. This means you can put just about any solid wood top of any size on the base and it will have no problem lifting it and your desk setup. The Vari desk has a lower capacity of 220lbs which should still be fine in most scenarios while the SHW has a relatively low limit of 110lbs. The adjustable height range starts at a higher point with the SHW and Vari desks, while FlexiSpot goes the lowest, down to 22.8″. All except for the SHW desk carry a BIFMA certification for stability.

The included keypad is a win for the E7. It features 4 memory settings, a child lock, and a USB charging port. The Vari desk includes the memory settings and child lock, and the SHW includes memory settings but no child lock. The Uplift V2 included keypad is the most disappointing (especially for the starting price), only including manual up/down buttons. You can pay extra ($39) for a keypad with saved memory settings. Lastly, the warranty offered by both FlexiSpot and Uplift are the best at 15 years for the base components including the motors. The Vari desk offers 5 years while the SHW offers only 1 year.

Conclusion

Based on my experience with the E7 and comparison to competitors, I believe it offers a lot of value for the price and I can happily recommend it to anyone in the market for a quality standing desk.

I’ve appreciated the benefits of a standing desk while testing it, and have decided to continue using the E7 permanently as my work from home desk. I will be making one upgrade to it – a 60 inch top. My desk setup includes a few more items than what would comfortably fit on the 48″ top so I’ll be looking for a wider solid wood top.

Standing desk benefits:

• Health benefits – there are health benefits to alternating standing and sitting. Really doing anything other than sitting for 8+ hours is better for your health. Standing still may not have huge benefits over sitting, but just having the desk at standing height makes it possible for you to pace around during calls and stretch your legs out.
• Practical movement – if you’re like me, then you get a bit fidgety during long virtual calls where you have to try to stay focused. I found it helpful to raise my desk, stretch my legs, and move around a bit. This was easier than having to look down at my monitors. I call this “practical” movement because health-related or not, I need to move around a bit so I don’t go completely bonkers and a standing desk seems to facilitate that better than a sitting desk.
• The little things – Ever dropped a pen or anything else under your desk? Then you know how much fun it is to crawl underneath a traditional desk when you can’t see what you dropped. With a standing desk, just raise the height and you’ll have a clear view.

Check out the E7 Pro Plus desk at FlexiSpot.