These past two years have changed how we live, work and play. The pandemic had most people working from home in order to stay safe. As a result, people now had to create functional working areas in their homes instead of working on their couches or dinner tables. As a result, unused rooms were designed to include the best dual monitors for home office.
While some people may see dual monitors as excessive, they are actually linked to a significant increase in productivity. By having two monitors, rather than just one, there is more working space, thereby facilitating multitasking. This means you can get more work done in a shorter time. So, given this advantage, what monitors are the best for office at home?
Our Top Picks
- Best Overall: Acer SB220Q
- Best Budget: BenQ GW2480
- Best Runner up: HP VH240a
- Best Eco-Friendly: Philips 226E9QDSB
- Best for Work and Play: Sceptre E225W-19203R
- Best 27 Inch Monitor: Asus VA27EHE
- Best QHD Monitor: LG 27QN600
Best Dual Monitors for Home Office
1. Best Overall: Acer SB220Q
Specifications
- Screen Size: 21.5 inches
- Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
- Panel type: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Contrast: 1000:1
At just 21.5 inches wide (diagonally), the Acer SB220Q has proven to be the best dual monitor for any home office. Its small screen at full HD gives excellent picture quality due to its high pixel density of 102PPI. It has a thin, lightweight design making it compact enough to add to your home office desk as a second monitor. This Acer monitor has a thick bezel at the button but has narrow bezels along the top and sides, which is excellent for dual monitors.
Connectivity is important for dual monitors, and Acer has you covered. It comes with a VGA port and an HDMI port to facilitate connection to another device. The only letdown with this monitor is in its ergonomics. The screen rotation is limited to only tilting on its stand, and the monitor cannot be mounted on a movable arm or the wall for better comfort. Further, the screen size can be small for some jobs, but this is our top pick overall.
2. Best Budget: BenQ GW2480
Specifications
- Screen Size: 23.8 inches (diagonal)
- Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
- Panel type: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Color gamut: 72% NTSC
At its current price point, the BenQ GW2480 is one of the affordable options among the best monitors for a dual setup. Designed specifically as a home monitor, this full HD monitor with IPs Panel offers excellent visual clarity, making working at home easier. An edge-to-edge panel with super slim bezels makes for more screen space and, therefore, more working space.
This BenQ monitor is made with your eyes in mind. Along with the anti-glare screen, its eye-care technology minimizes blue light, adapts your screen to ambient light, and offers a flicker-free backlight to protect your eyes. This monitor is also designed to fit into small spaces neatly with its sculpted base that features a hidden cable management system. With BenQ, your eyes are protected as you work while your home office remains neat and tidy.
3. Best Runner Up: HP VH240a
Specifications
- Screen Size: 23.8 inches (diagonal)
- Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
- Panel type: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Color gamut: 72% NTSC
One thing you get with the HP VH240a is a flexible workspace. This 23.8″ monitor can be adjusted in various directions, including height adjustment, tilting, and pivoting up to 90°. Since you can place the monitor in either portrait or landscape orientations, you can fit this monitor on a small desk in your home office. Further, this adjustability enhances your productivity and makes this one of the best budget monitors for programming and gaming.
Connectivity features include an HDMI port and a VGA port to help you set up your dual-display. The 3-sided micro-edge design gives a widescreen view enhanced by the IPS panel with 178° wide viewing angles. 1000:1 contrast ratio and 72% NTSC color gamut further add to this monitor’s performance as a dual monitor. This monitor is a great option for your home office dual-display setup with its ultra-slim design.
4. Best Eco-Friendly: Philips 226E9QDSB
Specifications
- Screen Size: 21.5 inches (diagonal)
- Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
- Panel type: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Color gamut: 129% sRGB
Made from recyclable materials for the plastic body parts, metal chassis, and packing materials, Philips 226E9QDSB is the eco-friendly option. The LED backlight is completely mercury-free. The manufacturer follows strict standards to reduce and eliminate toxic substances. These features don’t take away from the performance of this monitor. While the monitor may be small, the IPS panel offers wide viewing angles with great color intensity.
An HDMI port is all there is as far as connectivity which, though limited, can still work to set up your home office dual-display. The anti-glare screen is bright enough and has flicker-free and blue light technology to protect your eyes. You can also play some games facilitated by the AMD FreeSync technology, 4ms response rate, and 75Hz refresh rate. For your comfort, you can tilt the monitor on its stand at 5° forward and 20°backward.
5. Best For Work and Play: Sceptre E225W-19203R
Specifications
- Screen Size: 21.5 inches (diagonal)
- Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
- Panel type: Twisted Nematic (TN)
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Color gamut: 95% sRGB
Sceptre E225W–19203R offers you a chance to work and play unless you are a gamer by profession. The 5.8lb monitor with a thin chassis makes it compact enough to fit any home office desk. Its frameless bezel gives that wonderfully seamless view through dual monitors, and the high color gamut and contrast ratio makes for excellent picture quality. This is truly a gamers’ monitor with a 3 ms response time, 75Hz refresh rate, and built-in game presets.
Connectivity is essential for dual monitors. This is covered by two HDMI ports and one VGA port. Ergonomics include the monitor tilting 5° forward and 15° backward on its detachable stand. Further, you can mount this monitor on the wall, opening up more desk space in your home office, and making long hours of work more comfortable. Ultra-thin and affordable, this is a great choice as part of your dual monitors.
6. Best 27 Inch Monitor: Asus VA27EHE
Specifications
- Screen Size: 27.0 inches (diagonal)
- Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
- Panel type: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Contrast ratio: 1000:1
Finally, we have more screen space with the Asus VA27EHE. This 27-inch monitor is the best dual monitor as it offers you even more workspace. The non-glare IPS panel further offers wide viewing angles of 178° to enhance your comfort. Speaking of comfort, while you can’t adjust the monitor’s height, you can mounted and tilted at 5° forward and 23° backward.
Capable of displaying 16.7 million colors, the Asus monitor has eye care technology that protects your eyes from backlight flickering and blue light. Further, Adaptive-Sync technology offers smooth, seamless visuals whether you are playing a game or editing a video. All these ensure that you can work safely for long hours at the non-glare screen without damaging your eyes.
7. Best QHD Monitor: LG 27QN600
Specifications
- Screen Size: 27.0 inches (diagonal)
- Resolution: QHD (2560 x 1440)
- Panel type: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Brightness: 350 cd/m²
- Color gamut: 99% sRGB
The LG 27QN600 is where we come to find colors and images that come to life. Its quad-HD resolution is four times the normal high-density resolution, and when combined with such a high color gamut, the results speak for themselves. 350 nit brightness and high contrast balance each other out to give lifelike images and sharp, clear text. This way, you can work effectively on this monitor either as a primary or secondary monitor between your dual monitors.
FreeSync technology and Black Stabilizer manage visual fatigue allowing smooth viewing while enhancing the vision of dark images. For your comfort, the monitor has an anti-glare coating and can tilt on its stand up to 5° forward and 20° backward. You can also mount it to free up space on your desk. Connectivity features include two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort, enhancing productivity with the two monitors.
What to Check While buying the Best Dual Monitors for Home Office
Dual monitors have been shown to improve productivity, whether at work or in the home office. As such, careful consideration is needed when deciding on those dual monitors. You could be adding to your single monitor or just buying a brand new set. Either way, there are two main things that you should check before making a purchase.
1. Connectivity
Connectivity has to be on point to synchronize functionality between your two monitors. One way of connecting the monitors is through their ports. Monitors come with various ports, including HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, and USB-C ports. To connect your dual monitors, just use the appropriate cable for the matching ports and proceed to the setting options to complete the connection.
Alternatively, you could use a docking station to connect your monitors. Docking stations can actually connect more than two monitors at a time due to their multiple video ports. If you later decide to work on one monitor, simply switch off the other monitor and continue working. Whatever your preferred means of connectivity, make sure it is compatible with the monitor(s) you want to buy.
2. Design
How the monitors are designed will determine if they can be used as dual monitors. First, it is important to have a seamless experience when looking at your dual-display setup. As such, thin bezels and a ‘zero-frame’ design are critical elements. It is also important that both monitors can be adjusted for height to be perfectly leveled with each other and for your viewing comfort.
Ergonomics is another aspect of design for a dual monitor setup. Monitors that can pivot, swivel, and tilt, are ideal because they can allow effective multitasking while keeping you comfortable. For instance, if you are looking for the best budget monitors for programming, 90° pivoting is preferred for working through your source code. Plus, if your monitors can pivot to portrait orientation, they can take up less desk space in your home office.
Best Dual Monitors for Home Office FAQ
1. Is one ultrawide monitor better than dual monitors?
It depends on how wide the ultrawide monitor is, the kind of work you are doing, and your personal preference. For example, some of the best PC monitors for photo editing are widescreen. However, one drawback to large screens is that without the right resolution, the images appear pixelated, which lowers the quality of the photo editing. In this case, having two average-sized monitors would be better than having one ultrawide monitor.
2. How do I connect another monitor to my current home office PC?
First of all, you should find the ports available on your PC to which you can connect the second monitor. Then, you should instruct your OS on how to manage the two monitors. They can either work together as two separate screens or work as one contiguous screen. Next, choose which monitor will be on the left or right to avoid confusion. Finally, select your primary display, and you are ready to go.
3. Must dual monitors be the same size?
If you are photo and video editing, gaming, or even just watching movies, it would be ideal to have monitors of the same size. This way, you can have a seamless viewing experience, especially if you configure both screens to be one continuous one. That being said, if you aren’t doing serious professional work and the second monitor is just for extra working space, the monitors don’t have to be the same size.
4. Can I use a laptop as part of my dual-display setup?
If you have a PC and a laptop or tablet, you can create a dual monitor arrangement in your home office. As with the PCs, you need to consider connectivity. If your laptop or tablet has a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port, you can easily connect to your PC monitor and get to work. However, if your monitor does not have the Thunderbolt 3 port, simply find a suitable video adapter to complete the connection.
