If you spend eight hours a day staring slightly down at your screen, your neck is paying for it. Raising your monitor to eye level is the single cheapest ergonomic fix there is — but should you buy a monitor riser or a monitor arm? Here's the honest 2026 breakdown so you can pick once and stop hunching.
The quick answer
Buy a riser if you have one monitor, a fixed sitting position, and you want a clean look for under $20. Buy an arm if you want to move the screen around, reclaim the desk space underneath, or run dual monitors. Both fix the eye-level problem — they just solve it differently.
What a monitor riser does well
A riser is a simple platform that lifts your monitor 4–5 inches and gives you a shelf underneath for your keyboard, cables, or desk clutter. There are no clamps, no assembly headaches, and nothing to fail. Our Bamboo Monitor Riser with Cable Shelf is the go-to here: solid bamboo, holds up to 60 lb, and the lower shelf swallows a keyboard so your desk instantly looks tidier.
- Cheapest fix — usually under $20
- Zero install — set it down, done
- Bonus storage — the shelf underneath
- Limitation — fixed height, one position
What a monitor arm does well
An arm clamps to the back edge of your desk and floats the monitor on a gas spring, so you can pull it closer, push it back, raise it, tilt it, or swing it aside entirely. The big win is the desk space you get back — nothing sits under the screen anymore. A Dual Monitor Arm Mount also keeps two screens perfectly aligned, which is where risers fall apart.
- Full adjustability — height, depth, tilt, swivel
- Frees the desk — clamp mount, nothing underneath
- Best for dual monitors — aligned and height-matched
- Limitation — needs a desk edge it can clamp to, and a few minutes to install
Side by side
Cost: riser wins — it's the budget pick. Desk space: arm wins — it clears everything underneath. Adjustability: arm wins easily. Simplicity & reliability: riser wins — there's nothing to break. Dual monitors: arm wins. Renters / glass desks / no clamp edge: riser wins, since arms need something solid to clamp onto.
Which should you choose?
Pick a riser if: you have a single monitor, you sit in one spot, you're on a budget, or your desk can't take a clamp. Add the bamboo riser and you're at eye level in ten seconds.
Pick an arm if: you run two monitors, you switch between sitting and standing, or you're tired of losing half your desk to a stand. The dual arm pays for itself the first time you reclaim that space.
One setup tip either way
The top of your screen should sit at or just below eye level, about an arm's length away. If you find yourself leaning in to read, the monitor is too far or too low — adjust until your neck is neutral and your shoulders relax. That's the whole point.
Whichever route you go, getting your screen to eye level is the highest-return desk upgrade you can make. Browse the full lineup of desk upgrades and fix the hunch this week.