5 Of The Best Monitor Arms You Can Buy

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Anyone who spends a significant amount of time at a desk knows how much of a difference the right setup can make. Monitor positioning can go a long way toward making the workday more comfortable, and it can even keep you from destroying your posture. The stand that comes with a monitor is often limited in that regard, but adding a monitor arm to the setup opens up the ability to position the monitor exactly where you need it. A monitor arm can free up a lot of desktop workspace as well.

Monitor arms come in all different build qualities and price points, with key differences coming down to weight capacity, range of motion, and how much space is required for the arm to mount to a desk. Which monitor arm is best for you will come down to what size monitor you use, how wide your desk is, and, of course, your budget. If you need some tips and tricks for monitors or for optimizing desktop setups for space and comfort, it starts with the monitor arm, whether you have one or two monitors.

The Ergotron LX Pro is a monitor arm that should be at the top of the list for those who utilize a heavier monitor. It supports up to 22 pounds of weight, and according to the Amazon product page, this arm has gone through extensive testing to ensure mounted monitors stay stable. From a dimension standpoint, the LX Pro can support monitors that are up to 34 inches measured diagonally. The arm itself comes with a two-piece clamp that's designed to fit a number of different desk types.

Wirecutter has picked the Ergotron LX Pro as the best monitor arm for large or heavier monitors, and the LX Pro has received 82% favorable reviews from people who have purchased it at Amazon. One customer review even notes the sturdiness of the LX Pro when using two of them in a dual-monitor desktop setup. The build quality comes at a price, however, with the LX Pro listed for $199 on Amazon. For many looking to optimize their desktop, this may be worth the price, but for those on a budget, more affordable options are available.

With a price tag of about $30, the North Bayou F80-G is one of the more affordable, yet still sturdy, monitor arm options. Because of its price point, the F80-G may seem like it's intended to support only cheap monitors or monitors that don't have much weight to them. But it manages to support monitors with weights of up to 19.8 pounds, which places most 17-inch to 30-inch monitors within its range. The monitor can be rotated in any direction, and North Bayou claims it's 85% sturdier than similar monitor arms on the market.

One thing of note with this monitor arm is that it's not compatible with curved monitors, and Apple users may be disappointed to find it's not compatible with iMac computers either. But the North Bayou F80-G is incredibly well-reviewed by customers at Amazon, receiving 95% favorable reviews and a 4.6-out-of-5 overall rating. It offers a lot of value to users with standard monitors that need mounting, as it offers a weight capacity and range of motion similar to the Ergotron LX Pro, despite its much lower price point.

A monitor that's similar to the North Bayou F80-G but comes with a little more name recognition is the Acer Single Monitor Mount. Just like the F80-G, it supports monitors weighing up to 19.8 pounds. This monitor arm is a little more expensive, though, priced at $46. With the extra cost, however, comes automotive-grade springs for a sturdy monitor-mounting experience. The heavy-duty build quality is made to last more than 20,000 positioning adjustments, so you can reposition and tilt your monitor throughout the day without concern of it suddenly giving out.

The product page does note that certain desk styles may prove difficult or completely incompatible when mounting this monitor arm. That's going to be the case with a lot of monitor arms, however, so you always want to be sure to compare your desk's lip width to the arm mount's requirements to be sure they are compatible. But Acer does include two different mounts with the Single Monitor Mount. It's incredibly well-reviewed at Amazon, receiving 91% favorable reviews and an overall customer rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's a solid monitor arm option for users of standard monitors or curved monitors up to 34 inches in size.

Curved monitors often have pros and cons, with one drawback being additional weight, as do ultrawide, super-ultrawide, and premium-built displays. Gamers and creative professionals often find themselves with such monitors on their desktops, and should these displays require the use of a monitor arm, the MSI Mag MT201 can carry the weight. It supports screen sizes from 17 to 49 inches and has a weight capacity of up to 44 pounds. It's regularly priced at $100, though Amazon frequently discounts it, and it has hit a sale price as low as $50.

This monitor arm is geared toward gamers and the bulkier displays they often implement in their setups. As such, it may be more than what the everyday user is looking for. Even so, its build quality will hold up even better with more standard-sized monitors, and its cable management system provides a way to keep things tidy for those who utilize desktop components like external hard drives. The MSI Mag MT201 has received 92% favorable reviews and has an overall customer review rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Many reviewers note the monitor arm's build quality and premium feel.

Another well-built monitor arm at the $100 price point is the Vivo V101G1. It comes with compatibility for ultrawide monitors up to 49 inches and can support monitors that weigh up to 33 pounds. In terms of range of motion, the V101G1 can both swivel and rotate 180 degrees, and its height adjustment range is 13 inches. It comes with two different desk mounting options, built-in cable management, and an elbow spring gauge that ensures making weight adjustments is easy and convenient. For those who need a little extra height, a tall version of the V101G1 is available for $120.

Similar to the other more premium options presented here, the Vivo V101G1 might be a little more premium-minded than a lot of users are looking for. Its $100 price point positions it well among mid-range and premium monitor arms, but its build quality and weight capacity come at a cost that those with smaller monitors may not want to shell out for. But for those looking to invest a little into their desktop setup, the V101G1 is incredibly popular and has more than 2,200 customer reviews on Amazon. It has received a 4.3-out-of-5 overall rating, with 72% of reviewers giving it five stars.

Finding the right monitor arm is rarely a one-size-fits-all proposition. There is a wide range of monitor sizes and a wide range of budgets out there, and the selections we've made here reflect that. We didn't set ourselves with a specific budget, but instead wanted to present options across a range of price points, from budget-friendly arms under $50 to more premium options and their higher price tags. Build quality, weight capacity, and range of motion all tend to scale with pricing, and covering that spread was a significant part of our approach.

When it came down to researching specific monitor arms, we considered our own experience with them, as well as our experience in creating some comfort in our own desktop setups. We applied that experience to what people across the internet are saying about different monitor arms. Individual experience with products like these can only go so far, however, so once we had some solid choices in front of us, we leaned heavily on Amazon customer reviews to help us determine which monitor arms are truly worth recommending.