IKEA is known for perky yet functional desks. When it comes to aesthetics, functionality, and cheaper price, IKEA is one of the brands that comes to mind. The brand offers a luxurious selection of pieces that look quite charming. You can even make a complete makeover of your room or home office using IKEA products. And the brand has extended this functionality with their standing desks.
The brand is notorious for products that are great alternatives to expensive ones, and if DIY is your thing, you’ll be delighted to set up pieces of IKEA cabinets and the like. They also excel when it comes to the perky pieces with the Scandinavian charm that each piece of their furniture evokes.
But not to burst your bubble here, this charm is a bit downplayed with their standing desk pieces. For instance, Bekant and the Trotten standing desk have a very simple and straightforward appeal, lacking the Scandinavian charm most of their furniture has.
On the good side, these desks offer different configurations making them more functional. The Bekant desk comes with a corner desk option that can be configured either way. This gives more liberty to the user on where he’d want to position the extended desk to optimize their working space.
Let’s see how it fares against Flexispot.
Standingdesktopper's pick
Flexispot offers a more reliable standing desk
There are a handful of differences that we can say
The number of standing desk options
Flexispot is known for manufacturing cheaper standing desks, but they also have more selection on their website.
The basic and entry-level unit of the Flexispot, such as E150 has more modern and updated electrons compared to the Bekant or the Trotten. And you also have an option to get a unit with more modern functionalities, you just must be willing to pay more. Say if you want a standing desk with a toggle or an updated keypad with more features such as a USB charger, you have to get the more expensive unit.
Function-wise, you can also opt to get a unit with more working space such as an L-shaped desk.
Flexispot is more reliable and more durable.
The brand does have its share of wobbling problems, especially the entry-level desk with an allowed weight limit. But compared to the Bekant, which also has a lower weight limit, Flexispot feels more stable and steady. Moreso if you choose to get the Pro desk with higher weight capacity and a more stable construction, you will feel that noticeable difference.
And to be honest, when it comes to standing desks, Flexispot is a more known brand compared to IKEA. IKEA shines in the realm of charming and quaint furniture mostly relating to DIY cabinets, beds, and chairs. But not so much when it comes to standing desks and even ergo office chairs. So we have to vouch for the Flexispot here. As charming as IKEA is, it lacks the heftiness that the Flexispot can offer.
IKEA desks have more shaking issues.
The wobbling issue is just one. There are some other concerns that you may come across when using an IKEA standing desk. Especially if you have tried other more well-known standing desks, you will see the significant differences.
IKEA uses very basic technology for its motors, while it may be able to control the minimum and max height ranges, anti-collision, overload protection, and programmable height options, it did not fare that well. There were lagging issues and lots of stability concerns.
The weight capacity of these desks is also quite low. You cannot hope to use an IKEA desk and load it with 200 lbs. The Bekant for example, has a 160 lb weight capacity. But we advise only using up to 130 lbs and not maxing out the weight limit of the unit. Because the motor can be pretty inconsistent and can lag at times.
But this may not be true for all BEKANT units, which means there is also an inconsistency with the units of each desk.
The replacement of broken parts can be frustrating.
The process of replacing broken parts of your IKEA standing desk can take a while. There is a need to do a lot of follow-up calls and emails to make this happen too.
Flexispot may not be the best in this department, but they are certainly far better than IKEA.
The stability issues even if the desk capacity isn’t maxed out
And here is another looming frustration. Though not all units may present this problem, because of inconsistencies your desk might be one of the unlucky ones. Even desks that are not carrying much load can have stability issues, and a little rocking here and there. Though not noticeable yet, imagine how it would feel if you had maxed out the deks; weight capacity.
The problem is with how the desk was designed too, there seems to be a bit of a problem with the round columns that were used.
Flexispot will offer more value
So there you go, IKEA will be cheaper but you will have to through all the problems that we have presented, though some units may have lesser issues, it’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’d get, stable or not
IKEA may be king when it comes to cheap yet perky-looking pieces with Scandinavian design, but it has limited standing desks and can carry with them a handful of problems.
