Written by us at Freedesk. We manufacture and sell desk risers ourselves, but this guide is a neutral analysis of the European market, including where other solutions are a better fit than ours.
Short answer
A desk riser (also called a desk converter) is a small height-adjustable tabletop that you place on top of a table in your home, so you can work standing up without replacing the table.
The easiest way to understand the market is to look at how the products are used, not what they cost. Two questions tell you a lot:
- Will you switch between sitting and standing several times a day, or set it once?
- If it’s portable — can it be moved, and what happens when it’s folded down?
That gives four groups:
- Static – set once, not meant to be folded up and down all the time. (e.g. Standsome)
- Stationary adjustable – large, heavy, for a fixed home office. (e.g. Flexispot M7, Ergotron WorkFit)
- Portable, but must be moved out of the way when folded down – lightweight, but folds down so high that you either remove the desk riser when you want to sit, or leave the laptop up and move the keyboard down to the underlying table. (e.g. Leitz, IKEA Dubbla)
- Portable, and you can keep working when folded down - is lowered so far down that you can work seated just as usual, without moving your desk riser (Freedesk) out of the way
What is a desk riser?
You place a desk riser on top of your regular desk to raise the work surface to standing height. It is not the same as a height-adjustable desk, where the entire desk is an adjustable piece of furniture (such as IKEA's own standing desks, for example Relatera or Trotten). The difference is that you keep your desk. A desk riser is cheaper, easier to move, and can be put away.
Three things set the models apart: how they raise and lower, how large and heavy they are, and what many people miss: what happens when they’re folded down.
Why folded-down mode matters so much
You do not use a desk riser standing all day. The point is to be able to switch between sitting and standing. So for part of the day it is lowered, and then you sit and work at it.
This is where the products differ. If it still sits a bit above the desk when folded down, you have to do something every time you want to sit. You can lift it off the desk or use it as a laptop stand, with your laptop on the desk riser and an external keyboard on the regular desktop.
An IKEA customer describes it in a review: the laptop ends up about 7.5 cm above the desk in the lowest position, which feels a bit too high for comfortable typing.
If the Desk Riser’s surface lies almost flat against the desk, there’s no problem. You work just as usual even in the folded-down position.
The four groups
1. Static
Fits you if you want to set a good standing height and work there, not switch back and forth during the day.
You set these once. This includes fixed platforms and stands with little or no adjustment. They’re often simple, stable, and affordable, but not made to be folded up and down often.
Example: Standsome (Germany). Stylish wooden stands, made in Germany. The simple model has a fixed height and is assembled from separate parts. The adjustable one weighs around 7 kg and doesn’t go lower than about 28,5 cm. Nice and durable, but built like a stand — not something you switch between often.
2. Stationary adjustable
Fits you if you have a fixed home office with dual monitors or heavy equipment, and don’t plan to move the desk riser.
These are the large, sturdy models. They usually have two levels, with the screen up high and the keyboard on a separate tray lower down. They can handle a lot of weight and are raised with a gas spring. Good for a heavy, permanent workstation. But they weigh quite a bit and aren’t meant to be carried around or put away.
Examples: - Ergotron WorkFit-TX – premium. Sturdy, stepless gas spring. Raises about 51 cm, supports around 18 kg, and sits about 5,7 cm high when folded down. Sold in Europe through office resellers. - Flexispot M7 – large across Europe. Two levels, gas spring. Height about 12–50 cm, weighs around 10,8 kg, supports about 15 kg. Lowest position about 12 cm.
3. Portable, but must be moved out of the way when folded down
Fits you if you want something light and easy to move, and don’t mind making a quick adjustment to sit.
These are lighter and can be moved around or put away. The difference from the next group is what happens when you work with it in the lowered position. The desk riser still sits too high to provide a good working position when you are seated. You solve that in one of two ways: remove your desk riser when you want to sit, or leave the laptop/monitor up and move the keyboard down onto the desk.
The other approach works well for many people. It’s not worse, just different. The point is that folded-down here is not the same as a regular desk.
Examples: - Leitz Ergo Cosy – well-known European office brand, available in many stores. German design, ergonomic certified. Stepless gas spring. Lowest height 4,8 cm on the base model (up to 31 cm), 7,2 cm on the model with tray. Leitz itself shows the product folded down as a raised platform for a laptop or monitor, with the keyboard down on the desk. Weighs 7,9 kg, supports 16 kg. - IKEA Dubbla – called a laptop stand. Gas spring, height 18–41 cm, supports 10 kg, comes fully assembled and is easy to move. The lowest position is 18 cm, so it’s made to be raised when you stand and then put away or used in a raised position, not for sitting and working at.
4. Portable, and you can keep working when folded down
Fits you if want to be able to work seated just as usual and then simply raise your desk riser when you want to stand, without having to move your equipment. Great for small spaces and for those who work both from home and elsewhere.
This group is special because it handles two things at once. You get a stable, full-sized surface to work on, like a regular desk. And the desk riser sits so low when folded down that you can sit and work as usual, without moving it.
It's not enough for a desk riser to just be low, or just easy to move. IKEA Dubbla, for example, is light and portable, but is the tallest of all when folded down (see the table). Easy to carry and low when folded down are therefore two different things
Freedesk. A wooden stand where the legs fold into the board when it is folded down; they disappear completely and add no height. That means it is only 22 mm high when folded down - so low that you can work seated as usual with it left on the table. Manually adjusted in 9 steps. Weighs from 2 kg (Light Compact) to 5,5 kg (Original Large). Supports 10 kg. Available in Compact (39 × 58 cm) and Large (54 × 80 cm).
We do not know of any other desk riser that has both a full work surface and such a low height when lowered. There are lighter laptop stands and there are desk risers with a fairly low profile, but they are either not a stable work surface or sit several centimeters higher when lowered. If you find one that manages both, let us know and we will update the guide.
Comparison
| Product | Group | How it raises | Folded-down height | Max height | Weight | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standsome (adjustable) | Static | Fixed / small adjustment | ~28,5 cm | – | ~7 kg | – |
| Ergotron WorkFit-TX | Stationary | Gas spring | ~5,7 cm | ~51 cm | – | ~18 kg |
| Flexispot M7 | Stationary | Gas spring | ~12 cm | ~50 cm | ~10,8 kg | ~15 kg |
| Leitz Ergo Cosy | Portable – move away | Gas spring | 4,8 cm | 31 cm | 7,9 kg | 16 kg |
| IKEA Dubbla | Portable – move away | Gas spring | 18 cm | 41 cm | – | 10 kg |
| Freedesk | Portable – keep working | Manual, 9 steps | 2,2 cm | 43,5 cm | 2–5,5 kg | 10 kg |
Which one should you choose?
- Do you want to set a standing height and work there, without switching all the time? → Static (e.g. Standsome).
- Do you have a fixed home office with dual monitors or heavy equipment? → Stationary (Flexispot, Ergotron). You trade portability for more stability and a higher load capacity.
- Do you want something light and easy to move, and don’t mind lifting it away or working in a raised position when folded down? → Portable and easy to move aside (Leitz, IKEA Dubbla).
- Do you want to work seated as usual and easily be able to raise your workstation, without moving anything? → Portable and lets you keep working at it (Freedesk).
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a desk riser and a height-adjustable desk? A height-adjustable desk is a complete piece of furniture where the entire desktop moves up and down. You place a desk riser on top of your regular table and it raises only part of the surface. The desk riser is often cheaper, easier to move, and requires no rearranging, but provides a smaller surface when you are standing.
Can you work seated as usual with a desk riser lowered? It depends on how low it is when folded down. If it sits close to the desk (around 2 cm), you work as if it isn’t there. If it sits several centimeters higher, you either have to lift it away or work in a raised position — i.e. with the laptop or monitor still on the desk riser and an external keyboard on the desk.
What does it mean that it "must be moved out of the way when folded down"? That you have to do something to sit comfortably: lift it away or move the keyboard down. The opposite is a riser that sits so low you don’t need to do anything — you fold it down and keep working.
Is a portable desk riser always low when lowered? No, and that is a common misconception. Portable means light and easy to move, but it says nothing about how low it is when folded down. IKEA Dubbla is a good example: it is marketed as portable but sits the highest of all in this comparison. If you want to be able to both move it and work seated with it left in place, folded-down height is what you should look at.
Do I need a gas spring? Not necessarily. A gas spring gives quick, smooth height adjustment, which is nice if you switch often. Manual step adjustment is simpler, has fewer parts that can break, and makes the riser lighter. If you switch a couple of times a day, manual adjustment is plenty.
How often should you switch between sitting and standing? There’s no exact answer, but ergonomists say the important thing is to change position regularly — not to stand all day. It’s the movement that helps. Read more in our blog post about this.
Summary
The easiest way to understand desk risers is to look at how they’re used. First: do you set it once (static) or switch often (adjustable)? The adjustable ones are then divided into large and fixed (stationary) and light and movable (portable). And the portable ones differ in one thing that matters a lot in everyday use: what happens when folded down — some need to be moved away or used in a raised position, while others sit so low that you work seated as usual.
Freedesk belongs to the last group. The legs fold into the top, so it is only 22 mm high when folded down. Low enough for your workspace to function as usual even when folded down, and you do not need to move your equipment out of the way. That makes it a good choice for small spaces and for those who switch often. If instead you need to handle a lot of weight, have dual monitors, or want a large stationary solution, one of the other groups is a better fit, and we have tried to point those out honestly above.
Do you want to see how Freedesk works in practice? ["Read more about our models →]
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