If you’re sitting at your chair for ten, twelve hours a day, then it’s really important that you’re comfortable in your chair. Maybe you need to upgrade, maybe you’re looking for something new like I was recently when trying to go away from the CXO that I was uncomfortable using. I started my search right where you guys are right now with the two most popular chairs from the two most popular brands: the Herman Miller Aeron and the Steelcase Leap.
Eventually, I did end up settling on the Leap but I spent a ton of time in the Aeron and there are things about the Aeron that I wish the Leap did. With all that in mind I am going to run through my comparison with you and point out what I like about both chairs and features I wish they had.
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Aeron vs. Leap: My Opinion 3 Years Later Links
- Aeron vs. Leap Pricing
- Significant Seat Differences
- Seat Depth Adjustment for One Chair
- 3D vs 4D Armrests
- Leap’s Backrest Promotes Movement
- Herman Miller Recline Still the Best
1. Aeron vs. Leap Pricing 2025
Let’s start with pricing. The Aeron is going to be about $2,000+ fully loaded, compared to the Leap, which is about $1,600 (refurbished for $619), so quite a difference. Ultimately, the main reason for the difference is going to be the Aeron name. This brand holds a lot more weight and comes with recognition. I will say the Aeron does feel a bit more robust, smoother, a little bit more fine-tuned overall. Even the look of the chair is more high-end and modern looking, which is why it’s featured in the Museum of Modern Art.
Aside from the price, the chairs come with the same warranty and very similar build quality. These chairs last forever and can be used in the field for decades, which is why they are constantly on the used market. In terms of longevity, functionality, and comfort, it’s going to be a coin toss and just depend on your personal preferences.
2. Significant Seat Differences
When it comes to the actual components of the chair, the first thing we are going to discuss is also the first thing you touch when you use the chair and that is the seat. This is the big difference between the two chairs. With the Leap, there is a padded seat that provides a nice level of cushion even though it is very thin compared to other padded chairs. Of course, the Aeron is known for its mesh seating, which is a little more firm and creates a suspended feeling.
One huge advantage that the Leap seat has over the Aerons is its ability to flex and move, which is one feature I personally really like about the seat. As you bend it and move it, the seat will move with you, which makes a difference, especially when you lean back.
The Aeron features a much more rigid design with a plastic bucket seat design. This doesn’t leave a lot of area to move around and because it is that hard plastic, when you move in the chair, it doesn’t move with you. This difference was the first big reason I made the move from the Aeron to the Leap. The seat movement was a real dealbreaker for me.
3. Seat Depth Adjustment Only For One Chair
Another big advantage the Leap seat has is the seat depth adjustment. The Aeron doesn’t have depth seat adjustment, so you’re not going to be able to extend the seat out or extend the seat back like you can on the Leap.
This type of adjustment ensures that you are able to get the right distance for proper ergonomics. The Aeron isn’t going to be able to do that; instead, they have three different sizes. In my opinion, it’s not a great solution for everyone because you have to fit one of the sizes and for me, I really dislike this approach. When you sit in the Aeron chair, the front of the seat pan can be a hindrance to comfort and it’s a common reason why some people do not like the Aeron and choose to go with a different model.
4. 3D vs 4D Armrests
Looking at the armrests on both chairs, I do think that these are two of the best armrests that I’ve ever tested on any chair. However, the Leap gets a ton of praise over the Aeron because it has four-way adjustability that will provide you with excellent height adjustment, depth adjustment, width adjustment, basically the whole package.
But in my opinion, it’s not that big of a difference as compared to the Aeron. With the Aeron’s you will get three-way adjustability, but the ranges are massive, so I never had a problem getting the Aeron arms in the most comfortable position for me wherever I was using it.
And truth be told, I actually like the Aeron arm pads quite a bit more than the Leap arm pads. They’re just a lot softer, bigger, more comfortable overall.. So, while you do get a little bit more adjustability with the Leap arms, I actually prefer the Aeron arms, which I don’t think is the popular opinion.
5. Leap’s Backrest Promotes Movement
Focusing on the backrest and back comfort overall, it is quite a different experience between the two chairs. The Leap comes with more of a traditional lumbar support of where it hits right in your lower back. It also comes with more height adjustment and depth adjustment here as compared to the Aeron.
The lumbar support in the Aeron has more vertical range whereas the Leap comes with greater horizontal range. The Aeron also comes with a knob that allows you to dial in the tension to make the lumbar support a little bit tighter or looser, but you can’t adjust the height. So it covers a bigger region, but you can’t control it as much as the Leap.
I do prefer the lumbar on the Aeron. In fact, I actually took the lumbar out of my personal Leap chair because the support is pretty aggressive and very pronounced. I found the chair to be more comfortable without support and prefer the natural curve of the back. If I had to choose one backrest over the other, I would go with the Aeron because I had to alter the Leap to make it more to my liking.
Even though I don’t love the standard lumbar support on the Leap as compared to the Aeron, I do like the Leap’s backrest design overall. It is super flexible and I can actually bend it with my hands. The Aeron is very rigid and there is no way that I could manually bend it. This really affects the way that you’re sitting.
In the Leap, you can recline a little bit and actually bend and move and stretch really easily in the chair, which moves along with the seat. When you’re just moving around in the chair, it’s very flexible and adaptive to you and that simply isn’t the case with the rigid Aeron. That level of flexibility is probably one of the biggest reasons why I chose the Leap over the Aeron.
6. Herman Miller Recline Still the Best
Another huge difference between the chairs is the way that you recline in them. When it comes to recline capabilities, this category goes heavily in favor of the Aeron. In fact, I wish that the Leap moved in the same way, but when I combined all the other factors, they were great enough to push me in the direction of the Leap.
As you recline in the Leap, the seat slides forward, the back goes back. It’s almost like a modified synchro-tilt motion. The only drawback here is that this reclining function isn’t great for constant motion. It’s designed to hold its position wherever you stop. It’s very easy to stay in one static position, which is great for tasking and great for if you want to change your position and still be able to work, but it’s not the same experience as the Aeron, the silky, smooth recline motion.
The Aeron creates a very smooth experience as you come back and come forward. It’s almost like a traditional rocking chair, but you’re still being kept in a perfect ergonomic position. Personally, this is probably the most comfortable feeling out of any office chair that I’ve used. If the other factors that I’ve described, like the rigid seat, the rigid back, the lack of seat depth adjustment, weren’t an issue, I would easily choose the Aeron. You simply can’t beat the effortless movement of the recline.
One unique adjustment that the Aeron does have over the Leap that might make the difference for you is the forward seat tilt, which puts you at a nice forward angle similar to a kneeling chair. That forward angle is perfect for task-intensive applications. If this is a position you use often, then the Aeron is going to have to be your pick over the Leap.
Final Thoughts
Over the past three years, I have spent countless hours in both the Leap and the Aeron and ultimately, the Leap is the chair for me. However, your personal preferences may make the Aeron the right choice for you.
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