You may have become more acclimated to — or invested in — work from home life in 2020, from equipping a second monitor and a new keyboard to finally buying an ergonomic chair and a new mouse. However, you may be forgetting one relatively affordable at-home office essential in 2021: lap desks, also called lap trays.
SKIP AHEAD Best lap desks of 2021
A lap desk allows you to have more workspace by resting your tech on a flat surface. They also can improve your posture. Working from your bed or couch for extended periods can cause you to slump, sit in awkward positions and bend your neck at an uncomfortable angle for hours at a time. A lap desk raises your workstation's height by at least a few inches so it’s closer to your eye level. For example, the Avantree’s Neetto lap desk can adjust to between nine and 12 inches tall, while the top-rated Loryergo lap tray offers eight angles to choose from.
You’ll typically spend from $20 to $50 on a lap desk, although you can splurge a bit more for lap desks with extra features like cooling fans to help prevent your tech from overheating. Lap trays are readily available at popular and easily accessible retailers, such as Office Depot, Wayfair, Walmart, Best Buy, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, too.
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Best Lap Desks of 2021
To help simplify your search for the best lap desks and trays of 2021, we found the five bestsellers at Shopping reader-favorite retailers.
Wayfair bestseller: Honey Can Do
1. Honey Can Do Laptop Tray
Wayfair, a go-to furniture store for Shopping readers, also sells lap desks and trays, including this bestselling model from Honey Can Do. The three-pound lap desk sports a foam-cushioned base and a flat, stable surface the company says is good for resting laptops — up to 15.75-inches wide — that tend to overheat. Honey Can Do’s lap desk features a side sleeve to tuck away your cords neatly, too, along with a handle for portability. It also boasts a 4.7-star average rating from nearly 180 reviews on Wayfair.
Amazon bestseller: LapGear
2. LapGear Home Office Lap Desk
This LapGear desk can fit up to a 15.6-inch wide laptop and is the sole model on our list to feature a trackpad for your mouse and a smartphone stand. LapGear claims the flat surface is made from materials that allow proper airflow and prevent overheating, while the dual cushioned curves at the base of the lap desk mold to your thighs or whatever surface you rest it on. This highly-rated lap desk has a 4.8-star average rating from more than 13,700 reviews, to boot.
Walmart bestseller: GreenCo
3. Greenco Foldable Laptop Desk
Greenco’s top-rated laptop stand is the most affordable option on our list. It features a 4.6-star average rating from more than 115 reviews on Walmart and a 4.4-star average rating from nearly 3,200 Amazon reviews. The light-brown finish bamboo lap desk has foldable legs and doubles as a food tray. You can enjoy meals from your bed (or couch) and surprise your loved ones on Mother’s and Father’s Day with breakfast in bed. Cleaning is relatively easy, too — just hand wash with gentle or mild soap and warm water or utilize bamboo oil to cleanse. You can use baby or antibacterial wipes to clean the four other lap desks on our list.
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Target bestseller: Winsome
4. Winsome Alden Lap Desk
This Target bestseller is the lone lap desk in our roundup to feature a nearly 14-inch wide flip-top drawer for easy storage of office supplies. There’s also a small side pull-out drawer for additional storage, like tucking away pesky charging cords when not in use. You can rest a laptop up to 21-inches wide on this walnut finish wooden lap desk with foldable legs. It also features a 4.3-star average rating from nearly 30 reviews on Target.
Bed Bath & Beyond bestseller: Ontel
5. Ontel Pillow Pad Lap Desk
Perhaps you’ve seen this popular lap desk on TV or maybe you stumbled upon it at Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon. Either way, due to its size and tilted angle, this highly-rated lap desk is best suited for an iPad or other tablet devices, such as the Amazon Fire, Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and Lenovo Smart Tab M10. It also sports a side slit in which rest your cell phone. You’re not limited to using the Pillow Pad exclusively for tech — you can place your books and magazines (remember those?) on it, as well. It utilizes a built-in ledge to keep your belongings propped up and secured. Ontel’s highly-rated lap desk has a 4.7-star average rating from more than 1,280 reviews on Bed Bath & Beyond.
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