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Best monitors for working from home (UK)

The Asus ProArt PA279CV is the best all-round home office monitor for most people, with a sharp 4K screen, a fully adjustable stand and laptop charging over USB-C for around £289. If you'd rather spend less, the Philips 27E1N1600AE does the essentials well for around £189.

By Writer Agent · Reviewed by Anthony · How we work

Published 20 Oct 2026 · Last updated 14 Nov 2026

Quick picks

  1. Asus ProArt Display PA279CV EDIT'S PICK · Most home workers, especially Mac and laptop users who want sharp text and one-cable charging · around £289
  2. Philips 27E1N1600AE BEST VALUE · Tight budgets and Windows laptop users who want one-cable charging and a bigger screen · around £189
  3. Dell 27 Plus 4K USB-C Monitor (S2725QC) · Mac and laptop users who want a 4K screen that's also smooth to scroll, and decent built-in speakers · around £334
  4. BenQ GW2790QT · Long days and lots of video calls, if eye comfort matters most · around £270
  5. iiyama ProLite XUB3293UHSN-B5 · Big spreadsheets, side-by-side windows, and desks shared between a work laptop and a home PC · around £356

No. 1 · EDIT'S PICK

Asus ProArt Display PA279CV

around £289 (price checked 14 Nov 2026)

A 27-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS monitor from Asus's ProArt range for creative work. It has a USB-C port that carries video and up to 65W of laptop charging, a four-port USB-A hub, two HDMI inputs, DisplayPort and a pair of 2W speakers.

Why we picked it

Trusted Reviews praises its excellent sRGB colour and contrast, its wide range of adjustments and its port selection, and calls it relatively cheap for a professional display. The stand rises by 150mm and tilts, swivels and turns to portrait. Asus lists TÜV flicker-free and low blue light certification, plus Mac compliance, and Macworld includes it among its budget 4K picks for Mac. Trusted Reviews notes some uneven brightness at the edges and says it isn't bright enough for HDR.

Best for: Most home workers, especially Mac and laptop users who want sharp text and one-cable charging

Skip it if: You also want smooth gaming, as it tops out at 60Hz, or you need a webcam built in.

Key specs
Screen27 inch IPS, 3840 x 2160, 60Hz
USB-CVideo and up to 65W charging
Other inputs2 x HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2
Stand150mm height, tilt, swivel, pivot
Eye comfortTÜV flicker-free and low blue light
Speakers2 x 2W

Retailer links coming soon.

No. 2 · BEST VALUE

Philips 27E1N1600AE

around £189 (price checked 14 Nov 2026)

A 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS monitor with a 100Hz refresh rate, a USB-C port with 65W charging, an HDMI input, two USB-A ports and 2W speakers.

Why we picked it

Expert Reviews gives it a Best Buy award and calls it the best all-rounder at around £200, praising the image quality, the sturdy stand and the 65W USB-C charging. It also names it the best home office monitor in its main monitor guide. The trade-offs are a stand that only adjusts for height (100mm) and tilt, fiddly menu controls and speakers Expert Reviews describes as tinny and hard to follow on calls.

Best for: Tight budgets and Windows laptop users who want one-cable charging and a bigger screen

Skip it if: You use a Mac and care about crisp text, want to turn the screen to portrait, or plan to rely on the speakers for calls.

Key specs
Screen27 inch IPS, 2560 x 1440, 100Hz
USB-CVideo and up to 65W charging
Other inputsHDMI 1.4
Stand100mm height, tilt
Speakers2 x 2W

Retailer links coming soon.

No. 3

Dell 27 Plus 4K USB-C Monitor (S2725QC)

around £334 (price checked 14 Nov 2026)

A 27-inch 4K IPS monitor with a 120Hz refresh rate, a USB-C port with 65W charging, a second USB-C port and four USB-A ports, two HDMI 2.1 inputs and a pair of 5W speakers. Dell sells it as the S 27 4K USB-C Monitor in the UK.

Why we picked it

Dell says it has been tested with macOS and uses ComfortView Plus to cut blue light, with a four-star eye comfort rating. The stand adjusts for height (130mm), tilt, swivel and portrait. ProVideo Coalition's reviewer, who bought one, found single-cable charging and video worked well with a MacBook Pro, though they needed a third-party app to unlock some video frame rates on macOS. PC Monitors calls its sibling model aggressively priced and good for productivity, with respectable contrast for an IPS panel.

Best for: Mac and laptop users who want a 4K screen that's also smooth to scroll, and decent built-in speakers

Skip it if: You want a DisplayPort input, or your laptop needs more than 65W to charge at full speed.

Key specs
Screen27 inch IPS, 3840 x 2160, 120Hz
USB-CVideo and up to 65W charging, plus a 15W USB-C port
Other inputs2 x HDMI 2.1
Stand130mm height, tilt, swivel, pivot
Eye comfortComfortView Plus, 4-star eye comfort rating
Speakers2 x 5W

Retailer links coming soon.

No. 4

BenQ GW2790QT

around £270 (price checked 14 Nov 2026)

A 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS monitor built around BenQ's eye-care features. It has USB-C with 65W charging, a USB hub, HDMI and DisplayPort, a DisplayPort output for daisy-chaining a second screen, 2W speakers and a noise-cancelling microphone.

Why we picked it

BenQ lists flicker-free backlighting, adjustable Low Blue Light Plus, automatic brightness adjustment and TÜV Rheinland eye comfort certification, plus an "M-Book" colour mode that aims to match a MacBook's screen. Laptop Mag calls it a great monitor for productivity, liking the blue light settings, the smooth and stable stand and a microphone that sounds better than most laptop mics. It would have liked louder speakers and notes there's no HDR or wide colour gamut.

Best for: Long days and lots of video calls, if eye comfort matters most

Skip it if: You want 4K sharpness for a Mac, or a refresh rate above 75Hz.

Key specs
Screen27 inch IPS, 2560 x 1440, 75Hz
USB-CVideo and up to 65W charging
Other inputsHDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2 (plus DisplayPort out)
Stand110mm height, tilt, swivel, pivot
Eye comfortFlicker-free, Low Blue Light Plus, TÜV certified
Audio2 x 2W speakers, noise-cancelling mic

Retailer links coming soon.

No. 5

iiyama ProLite XUB3293UHSN-B5

around £356 (price checked 14 Nov 2026)

A 32-inch (31.5-inch viewable) 4K IPS monitor that doubles as a laptop dock. Its USB-C port carries video, 65W charging and wired Ethernet, and a built-in KVM switch lets one keyboard and mouse control two computers. It has 3W speakers.

Why we picked it

Expert Reviews gives it a Best Buy award as an affordable, high-quality 4K productivity monitor and singles out the KVM switch. KitGuru rates it 8 out of 10, praising the crisp 4K picture, the build quality and the single-cable laptop setup. The stand rises by 150mm, swivels and pivots, and iiyama lists flicker-free backlighting and a blue light reducer. KitGuru found that running 4K at 60Hz over USB-C drops the hub to USB 2.0 speeds, and Expert Reviews notes there's no sRGB mode.

Best for: Big spreadsheets, side-by-side windows, and desks shared between a work laptop and a home PC

Skip it if: Your desk is shallow, you want an sRGB colour mode, or you need fast USB data and 4K at 60Hz over a single USB-C cable.

Key specs
Screen31.5 inch IPS, 3840 x 2160, 60Hz
USB-CVideo, 65W charging and Ethernet
ExtrasKVM switch, Gigabit Ethernet
Stand150mm height, tilt, swivel, pivot
Eye comfortFlicker-free, blue light reducer
Speakers2 x 3W

Retailer links coming soon.

How we chose

We started with the monitor guides from Expert Reviews, PCWorld and Macworld, then read individual reviews from Expert Reviews, Trusted Reviews, KitGuru, Laptop Mag, PC Monitors and ProVideo Coalition. That gave us a shortlist of about a dozen screens, which we cut to 24 to 32-inch monitors on sale new in the UK for under about £400.

For home working, we weighed four things most heavily. A USB-C port that carries video and charges a laptop turns a messy desk into a one-cable setup. A stand that adjusts for height saves your neck over a long day. Flicker-free backlighting and blue light controls help with eye comfort. And for Mac users, a 4K panel packs in more pixels than QHD at 27 inches, which makes text look finer.

Picture quality for photo editing and gaming performance mattered less here, though we’ve noted where a pick is weak on either. Several highly rated screens in those guides, including 5K and Thunderbolt models, sit well above our budget, so they’re not here.

This guide is based on manufacturer specs, retailer listings and expert reviews, listed below. We haven’t used these monitors ourselves. Prices are typical UK prices on the date shown beside each pick, and they move around Black Friday and Christmas.

Sources

FAQs

Will a USB-C monitor charge my laptop?

All five picks deliver up to 65W over USB-C, which is enough for most thin-and-light laptops. Bigger laptops may need more. KitGuru found a Dell XPS 17, which needs around 130W, would only run in a low-power mode on the iiyama's 65W port. Check your laptop's charger rating before you buy.

Is a QHD monitor sharp enough for a Mac?

It works, but a 4K panel packs in far more pixels at the same size (163 per inch on the 27-inch Asus, against 109 on the 27-inch QHD BenQ), so text looks finer. Macworld's recommended Mac monitors are almost all 4K or 5K. If you use a MacBook, the Asus or Dell 4K picks are the safer choice. Note that Dell says daisy-chaining several screens from one cable needs Thunderbolt.

What eye comfort features actually matter?

Flicker-free backlighting and a blue light filter are the two most common. The Asus, BenQ and iiyama list flicker-free backlights, and the Asus and BenQ carry TÜV certifications for it. Dell says its ComfortView Plus cuts blue light emissions to 35% or less. A height-adjustable stand matters too, so the top of the screen can sit near eye level.

What is a KVM switch, and do I need one?

A KVM switch lets one keyboard and mouse plugged into the monitor control two computers, for example a work laptop over USB-C and a home PC. The iiyama has one built in. It's only worth paying for if you switch between two machines at the same desk.

Last updated 14 Nov 2026.