FLEXISPOT Standing Desk Converter, 28", Black

Why it's worth it

This is the 28-inch version of our top pick, built around the same steel spring lift and reinforced frame. It's meant for a laptop or a single monitor, and it's the one to get when your desk simply can't spare 36 inches.

If you work at an apartment desk, a dorm setup, or a corner of a dining table, width is the constraint that decides everything. A 28-inch deck leaves you actual desk on either side. Owners of the small-space setups this is built for describe it as space-efficient without feeling cramped for a single-screen workflow.

The internals are the same as the larger model: mechanical steel spring lift, reinforced steel frame, thickened square tubes, 33-pound top capacity and a 4.4-pound keyboard tray. You're not getting a downgraded mechanism for the smaller size — just less surface area. That's an unusually honest way to build a budget option.

From our review of 8 standing desk converters, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +If you work at an apartment desk, a dorm setup, or a corner of a dining table, width is the constraint that decides everything
• +The internals are the same as the larger model: mechanical steel spring lift, reinforced steel frame, thickened square tubes,…
• +Skip this one if you run two monitors
• +Setup takes minutes. It ships nearly assembled, and attaching the keyboard tray is the only step

What to know

• –It weighs 31 pounds, which is heavy for something this small
• –The keyboard tray's 4.4-pound rating is low
• –Like the 36-inch model, some units arrive with scratches on the top surface