Top Canadian Standing Desks
Are There Any Truly Canadian Standing Desk Companies?
There are hundreds of standing desk brands selling their wares on the internet nowadays, but if you live in Canada and want to patronize a domestic Canadian company, or just don’t want to hassle with cross-border shipping, there are scant few good options as compared to the vast number of options that American consumers enjoy.
After years of fielding requests from our Northern neighbors, our editorial team has finally gotten around to building a roundup of reviews of these prominent Canadian standing desk brands, which are now underway. These reviews are in various stages of completion from “first look” to full lab testing, so to be sure you’re immediately notified of our final publication of this roundup please subscribe to our free newsletter.
To be clear, there are no actual factories making standing-desk-lifting bases in the entire country of Canada (there are premium-grade electric bases manufactured in the USA and Europe and mostly commodity-grade components manufactured in China; you can geek out on the many detailed nuances between them by reading our primer on The Differences Between American and European-made Versus Chineses-made Standing Desks).
Any standing desk seller based in Canada is first and foremost providing warehousing, fulfillment and customer service in-country as one of its main benefits to fellow Canadians. The desktops and other accessories that they sell are, for the most part, imported from China. We note the exceptions (Ergonofis uses an American-made lifting base for its high-end solid wood standing desks like the Sway and the Alive; Burotic uses Canadian solid wood tops but a Chinese lifting base).
So, just as in the US, the majority of “Canadian standing-desk makers” are really just importing and reselling Chinese-made products. What we find humorously similar to our market in the US is that this information is usually hidden behind a boisterous claim of “The No. 1 Canadian Standing Desk” that you’ll find plastered all over their website marketing copy. You’ll figure it out when the product arrives with “Made in China” all over the packaging. In our reviews, we’ll reveal which of these companies are posers and which are authentically No. 1, as well as how much Canadian DNA is really in each of their products.
The Current Standing Desk Leadership Ranks in Canada
The most recognizable and longest established brand in Canada is Montreal-based Ergonofis, which is sort of like “the iMovR of Canada.” This premium brand is known primarily for its high-end, solid wood desks made from Canadian forest hardwoods. They use premium-quality American-made bases on their Sway and Alive (live edge) standing desks, and a relatively high-quality Chinese import on their Shift economy line desk. While they don’t offer the incredibly wide spectrum of desk models and desktop shapes, sizes, species and finishes as iMovR, the product quality on their premium tops appears to be on par, and their online shopping experience is pretty dreamy. So while we haven’t completed our entire roundup of reviews and all of our lab tests yet, we can feel pretty safe declaring that Ergonofis is in point of fact “the No. 1 Canadian standing desk company” when it comes to experience, quality, revenue/size and percentage of Canadian-made product.
The next-oldest pseudo-Canadian brand is Richmond, BC-based Progressive Desk, an offshoot of Arlington, WA, USA-based linear actuator components importer and integrator Progressive Automations (and a sister offshoot of Progressive Bed). Launched in 2019 as a desk manufacturer primarily focused on the Canadian market, Progressive Desk is actually a relatively unknown player in the US market. Their products appear to be the usual fare of commodity-grade Chinese imports, and they’ve had some alleged run-ins with intellectual property theft claimed by US- and European-based manufacturers, but they have a broad enough product line and customer history now to be considered the next-largest player in the Canadian market. Though, it appears that new players are now emerging hoping to upset the order…
At least three new startups launched during the pandemic to chase the work-from-home boom. Coming out with the biggest bang in paid advertising has been Coquitlam, BC-based Effydesk, which is sort of the “Autonomous of Canada,” with commodity-grade, Chinese-import products priced below everyone else. Toronto-based RiseDesk.io is taking more of a viral-video-social-media tack at the market, with both a commodity-grade, Chinese-import product and a very upscale artisan-grade epoxy desk (albeit still mounted to a cheap Chinese-made base) at the same time.
Also Worthy of Your Consideration
The second section is of major brands from the US that have streamlined their shipments to Canadian consumers. Pretty much all US makers can ship bulk orders to Canada economically, but it can often cost as much to ship a single standing desk or treadmill desk to a residential Canadian customer as it can for the product itself when you include customs duties, taxes and freight. To be fair, it’s not fair to blame these sellers. It’s not that any of those costs are pocketed by them, they go to the Canadian government and the carriers who deliver across the border. And the same problem exists, if not worse, for Canadian desk makers trying to sell across the border to American customers. We did, however, compile a short list of sellers like iMovR, ZipDesk, Flexispot and Branch that have good, affordable options for shipping a single desk to a Canadian consumer.
There are, of course, a smattering of “online superstores” in Canada like Primecables.ca, BestBuy, Staples, Amazon, Walmart that sell mostly the same low-quality, made-in-China standing desks as well, but there’s nothing vetted about these selections and fake views are rampant on these platforms, so caveat emptor.
Standing Desk Companies Based in Canada
1. Ergonofis Alive Standing Desk
The most luxurious desk from Ergonofis, the Alive is highlighted by a live-edge solid wood desktop that’s 1.75″ thick. Paired with an American-made lifting base that features an inlaid handset in the corner of the desktop.
Price: $2,995.00 CAD
2. Ergonofis Sway Standing Desk
The bottom line is that the Ergonofis Sway solid wood standing desk is a quality product with one of the best bases money can buy and Canadian-sourced wood that will add a touch of class to any upscale office space. They don’t have a ton of options, opting for a more curated listing typical of many businesses trying to streamline the purchasing process. The desktop quality isn’t quite up to the standard of our favorite American-made standing desks from iMovR, but is better than all the other commodity-grade desks coming out of China. While the price is a bit higher than those more common desks, it is meant for shoppers wanting a superior product, and they will learn that the cost is worth it.
Price: $1,395
3. Ergonomyx Smart Standing Desk
While the Ergonomyx Smart Standing Desk certainly has a few faults, it is one of the few standing desks on the market that has integrated Bluetooth into the design, and has the best app for using the desk (and bike) that we have seen so far. On top of that, the desk has impressive stability as a result of quality engineering. On the other hand, it does have a weak motor with slow movement and low weight lifting capacity, so it’s really for light-duty applications. And with a short warranty of 2 years, we are a little worried that some parts might not be built to last. But with the pretty reasonable price point, we see it as a viable option for someone who wants a truly tech forward desk.
Price: $300
4. Ergonofis Shift Standing Desk
Coming from the longest established standing desk company based in Canada, Ergonofis, the Shift is their more pedestrian desk model, as compared to their Sway and Alive desks that feature solid wood tops. It does offer a unique laminate surface that feels nice to the touch, though it doesn’t have some of the features that the highest-quality, price-comparable desktops made in the US have, like ergo-contouring and fully laminated grommet holes. The base has some high precision robotic welding that we don’t often see coming from a Chinese manufacturer, but there are some design issues that lead to excessive instability at taller height settings. The assembly isn’t overly complex, but will be much easier with two people, as there are some heavy and awkward parts to move around. The unique features and positive points bring the price up a bit, but they help ensure a positive experience with the desk.
Price: $1,195 CAD
5. Burotic Solid Wood Standing Desk
The solid wood standing desks by Burotic feature premium quality solid-wood maple, walnut, or cherrywood desktops mated with not-so-premium basic electric lifting base made in China. The company promotes its five business-day ship time (limited to the Quebec area) as its main differentiator from long-established competitor Ergonofis, who also provides very aesthetically pleasing solid wood tops out of Canada paired with a premium-grade, American-made lifting base. A more impressive differentiator, however, is the option of easily configuring and pricing out a custom-sized solid wood standing desk, albeit with a 4-7 week wait. This is not something we’ve seen from any other desk maker anywhere.
Price: $1,745 CAD
6. RiseDesk Standing Desk
Toronto-based RiseDesk is one of several new upstart Canadian standing desk companies born out of the pandemic, chasing after the work-from-home boom. Their strength is building a large viral video social media following, appealing to younger users.
Price: $695 CAD
7. RiseDesk Live Edge Epoxy Standing Desk
The Live Edge Epoxy desk developed and sold by RiseDesk out of Toronto is one of the three premium standing desks made in Canada today (the Ergonofis Sway and Alive desks being the other two). This 60″ by 30″ tabletop is locally sourced from the forests of Canada, shaped and finished using epoxy resin inside a local Toronto woodworking shop and offered in two unique finishes — black and beach wave. You have to see this desk in person to truly appreciate the solid, natural wood surface and the quality craftsmanship. We personally can’t wait to get our hands on one.
Price: $2,995.00 CAD
8. Effydesk Home Standing Desk
The Home Desk by Effydesk is a relatively affordable standing desk option for Canadian consumers of medium stature. It’s single-stage lifting base has a limited 28” to 46” height adjustment range.
Price: $715 CAD
9. Effydesk Business Standing Desk
The Business Desk by Effydesk is a relatively affordable standing desk option for Canadian consumers that works for taller and shorter users, too (unlike the Home Desk, which really only works for medium-stature individuals). It has a dual-stage lifting base with a 24″-50″ height adjustment range. A very minimalist, low-quality design that is priced a lot higher than it should be for what it offers.
Price: $835 CAD
10. EffyDesk Wildwood Solid Wood Standing Desk
Overall, the Wildwood Standing Desk from Vancouver, BC-based Effydesk is a pretty good desk for its price, especially if you are looking for the attractive aesthetic of real wood. In truth, however, the desktop is faux solid wood, not the real thing. It is a lot cheaper than the real thing, and pretty, but not a one-for-one substitute from classic hand-crafted solid wood. EffyDesk has taken significant measures to improve the quality of the desktop and frame over the typical standing desks we see come out of Asian factories. Only time will tell if those measures are enough to keep the desk alive as long as its warranties, which are better than what other Canadian brands offer. Hopefully you won’t have to go through the hassle of a warranty return, but if someday you do, Effydesk has friendly and easy customer service for its Canadian customers.
Price: $1,200 CAD
11. Effydesk Executive L-Shaped Standing Desk
Overall, the “Executive” L-Shaped Standing Desk from Vancouver, BC-based Effydesk is a pretty good desk for its price, considering that it provides a decent amount of desktop space. The top is made from the high density particleboard that commonly comes from cheaper manufacturing facilities in Asia. But this also helps keep the cost down for the consumer. The tops come in only one size and fewer than a handful of color selections, whereas some other standing L-desks come in a great number of size combinations and as many as 62 finishes. EffyDesk has taken significant measures to improve the quality of the frame over the typical standing desks we see come out of Asian factories. Only time will tell if those measures are enough to keep the desk alive as long as its warranties, which are better than what other Canadian brands offer. Hopefully you won’t have to go through the hassle of a warranty return, but if someday you do, Effydesk has friendly and easy customer service for its Canadian customers.
Price: $1,425 CAD
12. Effydesk Terradesk Standing Desk
The Terradesk by Effydesk is an environmentally-friendly standing desk featuring a desktop made from 10,854 recycled chopsticks. This environmentally-sustainable product has a beautiful butcher-block tabletop look and offers “20,020 gram carbon storage.”
Price: $1,749 CAD
13. Progressive Desk V Ryzer Standing Desk
The V Ryzer Standing Desk by Progressive Desk is a unique corner desk offering that provides ample workspace with its dual 55″-length tabletop pieces. Though, the 120-degree angled design is somewhat unique for the adjustable-height desk industry, the design elements of the V Ryzer are not. As with the rest of the Progressive Desk line of standing desks, it is manufactured in China with the bare minimum design features. The desktop is available in only one size and shape, one material and two color finishes. The adjustable-height range of 49.1″ is not remotely suitable for users 6-feet and taller.
Price: $1,724 CAD
14. Progressive Desk Solo Ryzer Standing Desk
The Solo Ryzer desk by Progressive Desk is their medium-level standing desk option, offering only minor upgrades in both transit speed and weight capacity over the Economy Ryzer brought by the upgrade to a dual-motor frame. Still, the Solo Ryzer comes with a cheap, commodity-graded MDF laminate desktop sourced from China and the added 1-1/2″ height is a small benefit for taller users.
Price: $750 CAD
15. Progressive Desk Economy Ryzer Standing Desk
The Economy Ryzer standing desk from Progressive Desk is the very cheapest standing desk you can buy from a Canadian company. Though, to be fair, it’s entirely made in China; no part of it is Canadian-made. A single-stage, single motor affair, it is severely underpowered, with a 155 lbs lift capacity (minus the weight of the desktop you choose) and a glacially-slow 1-inch-per-second transit speed. You’ll do all the assembly yourself. The only good news is it comes with a comprehensive 15 year warranty, the best from any Canadian standing desk company, though the website is inconsistent on what is actually covered. You’ll likely be tapping it, though, given the poor component quality of this desk. And if you’re not of absolutely medium stature this desk may sit too high for you or be too low when you stand.
Price: $555 CAD
16. Progressive Desk Corner Ryzer Standing Desk
The Corner Ryzer standing desk manufactured by Progressive Desk boasts a triple-motor, three-column lift operation and 10 unique size combinations. In comparison to the V Ryzer, another corner desk offering from Progressive Desk, the Corner Ryzer features much more variety in configuration. Sadly, that is the lone differentiation between the two desks. Each comes in the lone, commodity-grade desktop material (laminate-coated particle board) and poor maximum height range. This desk – especially with the larger size combinations – is exceptionally difficult to assemble as well.
Price: $1,260 CAD
US-Based Companies That Ship Easily To Canada
Out of the many dozens of standing desks we’ve reviewed over the years, we list below only the ones that make it easy for Canadian customers to buy their products. Typically they will have Canada-specific shipping options as part of their desk configuration or checkout process.
1. iMovR Lander Standing Desk
The Lander is clearly more future-proof than any other standing desk we’ve had the pleasure of testing. There have been some gimmicky predecessors that had an iPod built into the desktop (e.g. the Stir Desk) or a smartphone app (e.g. the Autonomous SmartDesk 3, from a bottom-bracket Chinese manufacturer with extraordinarily bad reliability and customer service record). And there have been multiple attempts at building in standing reminder notifications, but the results have been clunky, at best. The Lander is the first desk we’ve seen to put it all together in a clean way, with true ease-of-use, and on a top-tier mechanical platform.
All this comes at somewhat of a premium price, naturally. While the Lander isn’t the cheapest desk on the market, given its premium components, the value is clearly there. Desks built this well tend to last longer and easily justify their higher price by promising lower cost of ownership (purchase price divided by years of use) than cheaper models from China.
Price: $1,330
2. iMovR Lander Lite Standing Desk
iMovR has managed to take the industry’s No. 1-rated, premium-technology standing desk, the original Lander, keep 90 percent of the technology features and significantly lower the entry price with this new Lander Lite offering. It’s a winner because of features like factory pre-assembly, Bluetooth-enabled height control paddle and smartphone app, built-in health coach, and the choice of over 50 colors of Surf(x) 3D-laminated or solid wood desktops resulting in superior value to consumers.
Price: $900
3. iMovR Jaxson Standing Desk
It’s hard to say what we like the most about the Jaxson desk, it has so many distinguishing features over the dozens of “ordinary” commodity-grade standing desks we’ve lab tested over the years. The ultra-reliable brushless motor technology in the base is obviously a standout, the Jaxson being the first standing desk in 24 years not to be built with brushed motors. The unobtrusive yet sleekly contoured handset is as “space age” as it gets in standing desk controls, with built-in Bluetooth, an infrared presence sensor and NFC. But it’s the overall styling that really grabs us, from the chamfered square columns to the ergo-contoured 3D-laminated tops, there are no hard edges to this desk. Where many standing desks have an industrial equipment aesthetic, the Jaxson with its warm colors and softened edges just looks nicer in any home or commercial office environment. And the industry-leading 15 year “top to bottom” warranty and 100-day satisfaction guarantee is classic iMovR. At only a slight premium in price to the most popular standing desks out there today (all of which are made in China), this American beauty is likely to massively disrupt the competitive landscape and finally give consumers the impetus to ditch the cheaply-made foreign goods.
Price: $760
4. Flexispot Kana Standing Desk
The FlexiSpot Kana looks to be a bargain option for a desk with a dual-stage base. This base gives it a strong height range adjustment of 23.6″-49.2″. The desk has a weight capacity of 275 lbs. It also has anti-collision technology. The frame also has distinctive rounded edges on the legs. There is only one option for desktop color, the natural bamboo. The frame comes in white or black. The controller has a child lock feature, LED display, four memory presets and a timer that alerts you to switch positions.
Price: $699.99
5. Flexispot Comhar Standing Desk
This desk is made for a laptop user who doesn’t have specific ergonomic needs like a keyboard tray or monitor arm. Options and weight capacity are minimal, and it, unfortunately, comes with a crossbar running between the legs right where your feet want to be. It’s a good value for those who don’t mind the drawbacks because of its price, easy assembly and built-in drawer and USB ports.
Price: $340
6. Branch Electric Standing Desk
While based in New York City, one of Branch Furniture’s co-founders is Canadian, and so the company has always catered to Canadian consumers with the ability to easily order online in Canadian dollars and shipping to Canadian addresses. There is nothing specifically Canadian about the desk itself, which is made in China. Read the full review for more details.
Price: $699
Frequently Bought With Standing Desks
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