Monitor stand or monitor arm? How to choose without a return

A monitor arm frees up desk space and puts the screen at the right height. But arms have three hard limits, and if your monitor or desk falls outside any of them, it won't work. Check these first.

1. VESA mount

Look at the back of your monitor for four screw holes in a square. The spacing is the VESA size, usually 75 x 75 mm or 100 x 100 mm. Most arms support both. If your monitor has no holes, you'll need an adapter bracket, or a stand might be the better option.

2. Weight range

Gas-spring arms are built for a weight range, not just a maximum. A monitor that's too light will drift upward; too heavy and it sags. Find your monitor's weight without its stand (it's in the spec sheet) and pick an arm where it sits comfortably in the middle of the range. Large curved and ultrawide monitors are often heavier than people expect.

3. Your desk

• Clamp mount: check the clamp's thickness range against your desk, and that there's nothing underneath (a crossbar or drawer) in the way.
• Grommet mount: goes through a hole in the desk. Great for glass-free, thick desks.
• Thin or particleboard desktops can crack under a clamp. A reinforcement plate spreads the load.

Monitor stand (riser) instead?

A simple riser is cheaper, needs no install and works with any monitor. It's the better choice if you just need the screen a few inches higher and want storage underneath. Arms win if you want to push the screen back, swing it around or free up the whole desk surface.

Getting the height right

A common ergonomic starting point is the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, about an arm's length away. Adjust from there until your neck stays neutral.