L shaped standing desk showdown – Autonomous vs Monoprice Corner

L- shaped standing desks can cause a lot more. So if you urgently need a corner desk but don’t have a 4 digit budget, there are two budget-friendly L-shaped desks in the market. The Autonomous and Monoprice L- shaped desk cost much less than most L-shaped desks available. These two are the most affordable ones. But what’s the catch? It sounds too good to be true right? 

You might be curious about the tradeoffs and compromises considering the very low price. Let’s start rolling then. 

Autonomous L shaped desk

The Autonomous L-shaped desk is modular. So you can configure it and make it fit into your space. You will have fewer worries if you have to transfer or move your home office. Since one part of the desk can be attached to either left and right, you will also have more liberty on how you want to set up your desk. And dexterity will be no problem. Both left-handed and right-handed users will find it comfortable to use. 

Well, you might argue that all L-shaped desks are meant to fit seamlessly into any corner. But not really, it also depends on where the extended part of the desk is. That’s an important concern in configuring the desk into your current space. So it’s a misnomer that all L-shaped desks can fit into any corner. 

This might not be a big concern. But for those who tend to move or change the zoning of their workstation, this can spell a lot of comforts. 

We also love the lean and sleek design. The standing desk doesn’t have any crossbars that run from one side to the other. Thus, it will not only give you more legroom, but it will also look sleeker and cleaner. There are no knee crusher issues too. 

Very huge and long working area

If you need a massive space or need to upgrade your working area, this L-shaped desk is 77 inches wide. It’s quite wider even when compared to a more expensive and popular L-shaped desk from UPLIFT. The UPLIFT measures around 72 inches wide, so the Autonomous desk will indulge you more space. So you can nominate several zones to make your workflow more efficient. 

Other things we liked about the desk

1. This Is the cheapest standing desk with a lot of decent reviews.
2. This basic desk comes in with a cable tray. So even if you have an elaborate setup, you will be able to keep your messy wires out of sight. The brand also tossed in staples or cable tapes that you use to gather all the wires and cables. 
3. This is a huge but minimalist desk. The design is simple yet looks fresh and chic. The lines are clean and there are not any complaints about how the desk looks.

The caveats

1. The instructions were pretty straightforward, except for one thing. The brand only had instructions for configuring the desk on one side. So if you want to attach the corner part of the desk to the other side, you’ll have trouble setting it up. 
2. Though you have more liberty on how to set up the desk, you still have to consider the size of the desk. This is quite large and wide at 77 inches. So it will look and feel cramped in a very small space. 
3. Also, you will need a bigger space to set up the desk. You need to flip it up and down. So you need ample space for leeway of movement.
4. It comes in only one large size. So if you need a smaller desk for a smaller space, you have to go for another brand.
5. Quality-wise, this is not the best. The desk comes in three boxes, but it’s light. And you can tell that the parts are not made of high-quality materials. So the lower price could have accounted for something else, the lack of quality materials.
6. The desk only has a single stage infinite base. So expect that it will not be able to go low enough or high enough. So this is best for average-size users. This will not be able to provide them with the best ergonomic position.
7. It has few color options, it’s either back, white, or a combination of the two. If you want a minimalist style, then this is acceptable. Otherwise, you will find the lack of choices a negative.

Monoprice Corner Standing Desk

The Monoprice Corner desk, at first glance, also looks simple and sleek. But it does offer more color options for the tabletop compared to Autonomous. It has the same aesthetics, but it is not modular. So you can configure the desk in only one way. Thus, you might encounter dexterity problems with this corner desk. 

It’s a tad bit smaller compared to the Autonomous L- shaped desk. The desk width is 70 inches and it also has a lower weight capacity compared to Autonomous. 265 lbs versus 330 seem to be a hefty difference. So this is one thing to consider if you fancy this cheaper desk. 

Like the Autonomous, this isn’t a robust desk. The connectors used are all made of plastic. So can you just imagine how that will be able to take on use and abuse? It looks like it can easily break, bend, or crack. And oh, the one-year warranty did not add up to the confidence in the product. It even reinforces our belief that this desk is more likely to break down in less than a year. 

Things we liked

1. The width of the frame can be adjusted. So you can outfit your old old desktop and buy just the frame. That will put the price further lower.
2. Compared to the Autonomous L-shaped desk, it can go higher by 2 inches. So it may be able to accommodate slightly taller users.

The caveats

1. The brand could have made more detailed instructions on how to set it up. We just found out that if you want to install an extra cable management tray, you have to install it first before screwing in the tabletop. So we had to redo that part. Should the brand include this detail in the manual, no time will be wasted.
2. The brand has a double motor so we expected it to be more durable than the Autonomous. But unfortunately no, we did encounter some motor issues as early as a few years after buying the desk. It did not even fit into the stingy one-year warranty!
3. And speaking of the warranty, the one-year warranty seems ridiculously scraggly. This definitely made us question the durability of the desk and the reliability of the brand. So if your desktop or the motor dies after a year, you’re on your own. A one-year warranty isn’t a standard. And sometimes this could be the reason why people would opt to buy from another brand that could at least offer a decent 3-5 years warranty. 
4. Since you cannot configure the corner part of the desk, there might be dexterity problems involved in using the desk. 

Overall Comparison

1. Which standing desks are the more durable? The Autonomous L-shaped desk will be able to last longer than the Monoprice Corner desk. Though we are not really fans of the build of this Autonomous desk, it did fare better than Monoprice. The Monoprice desk has flimsy parts and connectors. So who knows how long it will last. And with a warranty of one year, it might give up on you within 6 months. 
2. That being said, the Monoprice is the more budget-friendly option. But if you can spare a few more moolah, go for the more durable one. We are also seeing several problems with the motor of the desk and the tabletop itself. 
3. You’d rarely see reviews on the Monoprice desk. So the positive reviews on amazon raving about how durable the Monoprice is indeed questionable. And we always believe that the durability of the desk is likely equivalent to the warranty the brand offers. That alone says a lot about the product and the reliability of the brand. That’s also the reason why UPLIFT and Fully Jarvis are crowd favorites.
4. So does that mean that the Monoprice corner desk is of no use at all? It still does. But hear this out. The max weight capacity of the desk is 265 lbs. If you’re going to use just half or max three-fourths of the carrying limit, you can still use the desk without it breaking in a few or  several months. So the Monoprice desk is for light-duty use only. So if you are in dire need of an L-shaped desk and don’t have more money to spend, this can be an option, but do not maximize the  weight capacity desk. The lighter you keep it, the better it is.