I swapped my $1,000+ office chair for its manual successor — and it’s actually better

The LiberNovo Omni was a surprise hit last year, combining ergonomics and comfort without compromising on either. Following its success, LiberNovo is back with a new version of the Omni that retains the original’s design and key features, but at a more affordable — yet still premium — price.

The LiberNovo Omni SE ditches its predecessor’s electronic adjustments and battery pack for a more manual approach. Instead of pressing buttons on the left armrest to adjust the lumbar support mechanism, you now use a knob behind the backrest. While you do lose access to the original’s spinal stretch functionality, there’s also no battery to charge and no electronic parts to worry about breaking in the long run.

I spent the better half of this year using the LiberNovo Omni as my daily driver long after my review before swapping it out for the Omni SE. Even though this is a mechanical take on the chair, it’s still just as comfortable and supportive as the original, albeit with slightly fewer extras.

My LiberNovo Omni SE review will help you decide if this is one of the best office chairs for your workspace, or if it’s worth spending a bit more on the original or going all out on the new Pro model.

LiberNovo Omni SE: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A dynamic, highly adjustable ergonomic chair that swaps the original LiberNovo Omni’s motorized lumbar controls for a manual knob.
• Who is it for? People who spend long hours working in their office chair who want top-tier ergonomics combined with excellent comfort and like the look of the Omni, but not its high price tag or electronic parts.
• What does it cost? The LiberNovo Omni SE costs $899 on its own or $1,097 bundled with a footrest. The chair can currently be picked up at a pre-sale price of $569 until July 31.
• What do we like? The chair’s highly engineered backrest, its very comfortable fabric-covered foam cushioning, the straightforward assembly process, and its manual adjustment controls.
• What don’t we like? The premium price for what was supposed to be a budget-friendly alternative, the awkward reach for the lumbar knob, and how the footrest is still an optional accessory.

LiberNovo Omni SE: Specs

LiberNovo Omni SE: The Ups

If you liked the look and features of the original, the LiberNovo Omni SE delivers a nearly identical experience for less. You’re still getting the same highly engineered backrest, very comfortable fabric-covered foam cushioning — and straightforward assembly process.

No electronic parts here

The LiberNovo Omni SE sent over for review arrived in one carefully packaged, large brown box. Once I took out everything, I was left with the chair’s base, seat, backrest, headrest, and all of the necessary parts to put it all together. Just like last time, I really appreciate how LiberNovo prints the chair’s instructions on a large, easy-to-read cardboard poster.

Putting the chair together began with inserting its casters into the base. Despite being a premium office chair (more on that later), the base is made from plastic, though the one on the original Omni has held up well over time. If you want a sturdier metal base, you’ll have to jump all the way up to the Pro model.

After dropping the chair’s frame onto the base, it was just a matter of tightening a few bolts to connect the lumbar support bar to its Bionic FlexFit backrest. Since the Omni SE is entirely manual, I also didn’t have to connect a USB-C cable from the frame to the base like I did with the Omni. Nor did I have to charge up a battery before making adjustments to its lumbar support mechanism.

With assembly out of the way, it was time to take the Omni SE for a spin to see how it compared to the original.

Space-age ergonomics for less

When viewed from the front, the Omni SE looks just like a standard office chair, but its fabric-wrapped seat, backrest, and headrest are immediately more inviting. The seat is made from high-density foam that’s organized in such a way that it’s firmly closer to the backrest and softer at the edge. This gives your glutes plenty of support without the edge of the Omni SE digging into your hamstrings or your calves if you’re using LiberNovo’s optional footrest.

With the Omni SE spun around, though, its Bionic FlexFit Backrest gives it a much more futuristic look. Made up of eight flexible panels held together by 14 connection points with 16 pivot points, the backrest is able to flex and respond to your body’s movements as you shift in your chair throughout the day. Its design is reminiscent of the Haworth Fern, but between the two, I’ve found LiberNovo’s approach to be more flexible overall.

The biggest differentiator between the Omni and the Omni SE is how you adjust its lumbar support mechanism. On this chair, there’s a knob behind the backrest on the right side that you turn clockwise to bring its lumbar support closer to the small of your back, or counterclockwise to move it away from you.

In practice, I found it slightly awkward to adjust while seated in the Omni SE. Reaching behind my back and turning the knob was a stretch for sure, so I got up while doing so instead. Fortunately, once you get the Omni SE’s lumbar support in the right position, you likely won't have to adjust it again.

Still cloud-like comfort

Compared to the other ergonomic chairs I’ve tested over the years, the original Omni remains the most comfortable — and this holds true for the Omni SE as well. I love how its stretchy elastic fabric wraps around my body when I sit down, and the soft yet firm seat cushion remains a highlight.

While headrests are often a point of contention with ergonomic chairs — which is why you won’t find one on the iconic Herman Miller Aeron — I like that LiberNovo includes one here right out of the box rather than making it an optional add-on. Just like the Omni SE’s backrest, the headrest flexes with you as you turn your head from side to side. It also pivots with your head as you recline to keep your neck fully supported.

The Omni SE is definitely the kind of office chair you can spend long hours working in. Beyond its cushioning and flexible backrest and headrest, a big part of this comfort comes down to how it reclines. Next to the lever used to adjust the chair’s height, there’s a second handle that controls the recline.

It’s clear a lot of thought went into this aspect of the Omni SE, as it features five distinct recline positions tailored to different tasks — ranging from an upright 105 degrees, all the way back to 160 degrees. By comparison, other chairs I’ve tested with built-in footrests, like the Hinomi X1 or the Hbada X7, only recline to 135 or 140 degrees respectively.

If you want to practice good posture while seated at your desk without feeling stiff, the Omni SE is certainly worth considering. However, like the original Omni, it remains a serious investment for your home office or gaming setup.

LiberNovo Omni SE: The Downs

The LiberNovo Omni SE is a comfortable and supportive ergonomic office chair, but it’s not without its downsides — which include its high finalized price and the fact that you’ll need to opt for the bundle to get its best accessory.

Still in premium territory

When I first heard the news that LiberNovo was going to launch a more affordable version of the Omni, I was ecstatic — especially considering you weren’t really losing anything except for the electronic adjustments and the rechargeable battery pack, all for $569. Then I read the fine print.

Like a lot of other companies do, LiberNovo launches its new products at a discounted rate before they eventually go up to their actual cost. With the Omni SE, that full sticker price is $899 — taking the chair from mid-range to premium instantly.

Things were similar but slightly different with the original Omni. That chair started on Kickstarter for $698 before having a pre-sale price of $849 on LiberNovo’s site. Given that the company wasn’t established at that time, this was quite a lot to invest in an unproven chair. Now though, with the Omni SE, LiberNovo has a solid track record and picking one up at a pre-sale discount makes a lot more sense.

Still, when I first heard "more affordable Omni," I really thought the Omni SE would be closer to $500. At $899, we’re very much in premium office chair territory — and unless you work from home or spend countless hours gaming at your desk, it's definitely an investment. You can’t put a price on your health, but I wish the chair was slightly less expensive. Then again, you are getting an almost identical design to the original with only two of its core features cut.

Locked behind a bundle

With both the original Omni and the Omni SE, LiberNovo was kind enough to send along its StepSync Footrest. As someone on the shorter side at 5’4”, using it alongside both chairs has definitely made a difference — placing far less strain on my legs by relieving pressure on the back of my thighs.

The footrest isn’t just about upright work, though. Its upper platform features the same fabric and padding as the Omni SE itself, which becomes essential when taking advantage of the chair's excellent recline. When you’re reclined all the way back at 160 degrees, you definitely want somewhere to kick your feet up.

While I appreciate the quick convenience of a pull-out footrest like the ones on the Hinomi X1 or Hbada X7, being able to manually position LiberNovo’s standalone unit let me fine-tune my setup — to the point where I built a rolling workstation just to use my laptop while lying almost completely flat.

Though frequently on sale, the StepSync Footrest costs just under $200 on its own. You can soften the blow by bundling it directly with the Omni SE, but doing so pushes the total price from $899 to $1,097 — turning an already premium home office upgrade into a significantly larger investment.

Given that the footrest shares the chair’s exact design language and the two are explicitly built to complement each other, I’d love to see LiberNovo ditch the bundle structure entirely and ship a footrest in the box with every chair.

LiberNovo Omni SE: Verdict

The LiberNovo Omni SE is an exceptionally comfortable and supportive office chair that — rather than cutting corners — simply strips away the excess of the original. You’re still getting the exact same ergonomic design and core functionality, but without the hassle of recharging a battery or the looming worry of electronic components failing down the line. It’s just as effortless to adjust and assemble as its predecessor, while remaining a genuine head-turner in any home office setup.

While a slightly lower price tag would have been welcome, the Omni SE never feels like a stripped-down compromise. Instead, you’re getting practically the exact same chair, albeit at a price that firmly remains in premium territory. Still, if you want an outstanding office chair built for long work sessions — and if the original Omni I still use daily is any indication — the Omni SE will comfortably serve you for years to come.