Types of standing desk

Three telescoping segments per leg. The extra segment is what buys range: a leg collapses shorter and extends taller from the same footprint.

22.5″–51.6″ · 15 brands · ~$300–$1,345

Two segments per leg. Travel varies a lot between two-stage desks, so the minimum and maximum on each one matter more than the stage count.

22″–50.95″ · 10 brands · ~$260–$1,330

Four legs and high lift ratings. Four legs roughly halve the unsupported span, which is the structural answer to front-to-back sway at standing height.

22.5″–52.6″ · 5 brands · ~$700–$1,249

Sits on the desk you already have and raises the keyboard and screen above it. It adds a standing position; it cannot change your sitting height.

30″–51″ · 2 brands · ~$349–$499

A powered corner surface, normally on three legs driven together. Harder to engineer, more expensive, and effectively immovable once built.

22.6″–51.8″ · 3 brands · ~$740–$1,249

Height changed by a tuned counterweight or a constant-force spring: instant, silent, no power — and re-tensioned whenever the load changes.

30.6″–50.6″ · 2 brands · ~$595–$595

A hand crank instead of a motor. Nothing electronic to fail and far cheaper, at the cost of dozens of turns of a handle end to end.

28.5″–46.7″ · 2 brands · ~$130–$130