You’re in the market for a standing desk, but which one? For our latest side by side comparison, we’re pitting the FRISKA Stockholm against another of the UK’s favourite sit stand desks, the Yo-Yo Pro 2+.
As with our other comparisons, and in the spirit of full disclosure, it won’t have escaped your notice that we’re a sit/stand desk company and so are they. Nevertheless, and despite the fact we clearly have ‘skin in the game’, this is a genuine comparison using information drawn from publicly available content and our own insight. We promise we’ll stick to the facts.
Why? Because we believe the FRISKA Stockholm is the world’s best standing desk. We only shoot ourselves in the foot if we don’t do an honest comparison. So here goes.
NOTE: All information correct at time of writing.
What are we comparing?
Say hello to the FRISKA Stockholm, our most popular height adjustable desk.
Here’s the Yo-Yo Desk Pro 2+. Other Yo-Yos are available, but this is the one we felt was the closest direct comparison to the Stockholm. It’s certainly the Yo-Yo standing desk that’s closest in price.
Standing desk comparison: Height
Range comparison (in cm):
|
FRISKA |
Yo-Yo Pro 2+ |
|
59.5 – 127.5 |
62 - 127 |
Extended to their highest heights or lowered to their lowest limits, there’s just a few centimetres in it – 0.5cm at the top end, 2.5cm at the bottom. Yo-Yo measures frame only so we’ve adjusted our own measurements to do the same. Our desktop depth is 2.5cm, which brings the full standing desk height of the Stockholm to 130cm.
A total 3cm height difference doesn’t sound like much, but for some it can be the difference between standing or sitting comfortably and, er, not.
If you’re 6’ 8” (203cm) the height of your standing desk will need to top out around 129-130cm to enable to you stand and work in comfort. Similarly, if you’re around five feet tall (where ‘ideal’ sitting height is around 60cm), you’ll need a desk with a range that’s right for you.
The Yo-Yo desk, with a height range that will suit most users perfectly well, doesn’t have quite the same range as the FRISKA Stockholm.
So if you stand taller or shorter than most, you’ll have a better chance of standing comfortably at the Stockholm.
Standing desk comparison: Adjustment speed
Adjustment speed (in cm/sec):
|
FRISKA |
Yo-Yo Pro 2+ |
|
4.2 |
3.6 |
The Yo-Yo Pro 2+ sit/stand desk has two motors which raise and lower the desk at a speed of 3.6cm per second. FRISKA Stockholm gets there 15% quicker, at 4.2cm per second.
Does that (just over) half a second difference really matter? Initially, we guarantee the answer will be no. After all, you probably don’t have the two height adjustable desks side-by-side to make a direct comparison.
But when you know that there’s a standing desk that can move more swiftly, the Yo-Yo’s leisurely pace can start to become a bit of ‘thing’. It’s not slow. It’s just that the Stockholm is faster. So why not choose faster?
Standing desk comparison: Noise level
Mechanism noise (in dB):
|
FRISKA |
Yo-Yo Pro 2+ |
|
38 |
<45 |
Just as with the adjustment speed, the Stockholm wins out in terms of noise, although it’s not as though you need ear defenders to raise and lower your Yo-Yo. According to the American Academy of Audiology (AAoA) 45dB falls somewhere between the equivalent of a quiet library and moderate rainfall. 38dB sits between a quiet library and a whisper.
If you’re in an office with others and you want the standing desk that’s least likely to irritate you and others as you switch between sitting and standing, clearly the Stockholm wins by a nose. Or an ear.
Standing desk comparison: Frame load
Frame load (in kg)
|
FRISKA |
Yo-Yo Pro 2+ |
|
120 |
100 |
The load comparison is closer than it appears in the above table, as FRISKA includes the weight of the desktop in its calculation and Yo-Yo doesn’t. Without the desktop, they’re pretty much identical – and 100kg should be comfortably enough for most workplace setups.
Standing desk comparison: Sturdiness
Of all the factors that count, perhaps the hardest to gauge from online specifications tables is sturdiness. Extend your electric desk to its highest height and will it stand rock solid, or will there be just a little bounce and play that quickly starts to annoy the hell out of you?
In this, the FRISKA wins hands down, because we’ve engineered it that way.
Desktop assembly
FRISKA uses a solid U-beam that creates an extremely effective cross-brace. Our customers have described our desks as “rock solid” even at height. Yo-Yo uses a ladder assembly which, to be fair, is used by most of the industry because it’s the cheaper option and not a bad option. It’s just that the U-beam is better. A lot better!
Fixings
A FRISKA Stockholm uses bigger fixings and more of them to anchor desktop to frame more securely than any other comparable desk. Larger frame bolts means they can be tightened to a higher torque which means no chance of the desk frame working loose or slipping under pressure.
Mast construction
Both Fully and Yo-Yo utilise a three-mast leg construction. Raise the desk, and each of the leg sections telescope out until they reach full height. It’s here where the biggest risk of wobble occurs.
Clearly, those three-piece leg assemblies need to be able to move near-silently, so they can’t be tightly squeezed together otherwise they’ll screech as the legs extend and your motors will burn out in a day or two. On the other hand, the assembly can’t be slack otherwise the desk will sway so much you’ll feel as though you’re onboard a ship.
Sit stand desk manufacturers achieve the right balance with plastic inserts between each mast section that give each leg enough room to extend, but not enough room to sway.
Most standing desk companies use a standard insert which helps towards keeping bounce and wobble low. But only FRISKA machines each insert to each individual leg, to tolerances of less than 0.1 mm. This means that, however good Yo-Yo’s stability is, the FRISKA Stockholm will always be better still.
Standing desk comparison: Finishes
Possible finish combinations (standard)
|
FRISKA |
Yo-Yo Pro 2+ |
|
72 |
15 |
Yo-Yo offers three frame finish options. Stockholm offers four. For desktops, Yo-Yo offers just five finishes as standard (and included in the above table), although it does offer a further five options for an extra £25. If we were to include those in the total number of finish combinations, Yo-Yo would manage a so-so 30.
The Stockholm height adjustable desk offers 18 desktop colours as standard. If we were to include non-standard options, that figure would increase massively.
In fact, our desktop (and frame) customisation options are virtually limitless. They will cost you more than £25, but if you really want your desk and frame in the green and yellow of Norwich City FC or the red and black of Ferrari, you can. Just tell us your idea and we’ll give you a quote.
So whether you’re looking at standard or customised finish options, Stockholm wins by a mile.
Standing desk comparison: Sustainability
Both companies are doing lots to make their electric desks and their wider operations sustainable.
- All Yo-Yo’s desktops come from FSC-certified forests. So do FRISKA’s.
- Yo-Yo desk frames use 26% recycled steel. FRISKA pips Yo-Yo by using 30% recycled steel.
- All Yo-Yo desks arrive in sustainable packaging. So do FRISKAS’s.
- Yo-Yo plants trees (via a third party) when it sells desks. So does FRISKA. Thousands of trees have been planted as a result of both companies’ operations, although it’s fair to say Yo-Yo have planted more.
- Yo-Yo’s warehouse is part solar powered. We’re working on ours.
Perhaps the biggest single impact on sustainability is logistics. When you look at all of the ingredients that go into making a standing desk, FRISKA’s do a lot less travelling than Yo-Yo’s. Virtually everything in our desks is sourced within Europe. Ukrainian steel is about as distant as the Stockholm gets. Our frames and controls are manufactured in Sweden. Our desktops come from the UK.
You won’t find much online about where Yo-Yo’s materials come from. Although the Yo-Yo Pro 2+ carries a made in Britain logo, that applies to the desktop not the entire desk, elements of which travel much further than a FRISKA.
Standing desk comparison: Delivery and installation
|
FRISKA |
Yo-Yo Pro 2+ |
|
Delivery: Free next day (with 2pm cut off) |
Delivery: 5-7 days |
|
Installation: Yes, usually within 10 days and is chargeable |
Yes, usually within 2-3 weeks – FREE (or possibly chargeable) |
It’s not easy to get a handle on quite what you’re getting delivery-wise from Yo-Yo. The icons suggest free delivery within 5-7 days, but elsewhere there’s mention of next day delivery (which we assume is chargeable).
There’s also the offer of a £50 installation service (which takes 2-3 weeks), although elsewhere on the same product page the service is offered for free.
FRISKA despatch same day when you order before two. That means, in most cases, your standing desk will be with you next day. Shipping is free to virtually all the UK mainland.
Installation is available in 10-14 days. It’s chargeable, and while the individual price is quoted at £157 (as at 1.1.2023), that price drops when you order more desks, although most of our customers choose self-assembly.
Give us a call for an installation quote
Standing desk comparison: Accessories
Both sit stand desks offer lots of ways to tailor the experience. Yo-Yo lets you add monitor arms, castors, seating, a standing mat, cable management, portholes and more.
The FRISKA Stockholm offers all of the above plus extra extras like lockable drawers, USB charger, pedestal storage, acoustic screens and more.
The biggest difference in accessories comes in the control switch. Both standing desks are supplied with a free control switch. Yo-Yo’s has memory settings, which FRISKA’s doesn’t BUT FRISKA also offers Bluetooth control as standard which does have memory settings.
That makes Yo-Yo’s physical switch the better standard physical option (although you can add a memory control switch as an extra with FRISKA), but FRISKA is currently the only European desk manufacturer offering the Bluetooth control, which puts your desk controls on your phone and keeps them away from prying fingers or paws.
Standing desk comparison: Bespoke
There are lots of ways to customise both desks, but there’s no escaping the fact that there are many more with FRISKA.
It starts with desktop sizes, for which there are five options compared with seven for FRISKA (and eight if you include the Stockholm Micro).
We’ve already explored bespoke finish options at FRISKA, but the same applies to desktop sizes and contouring. Want a kidney shaped desk bigger than your bed? As long as the frame will support it, you can. Just ask for a quote.
Yo-Yo doesn’t offer such bespoke options.
Guarantee
You’ll get a decent 7-year warranty with your Yo-Yo desk. You get a considerably better 10-year no-quibble guarantee with a FRISKA Stockholm.
Customer service
Let’s talk awards. FRISKA’s mantelpiece is virtually buckling with them, and several of them relate not just to the quality of our standing desks, but the quality of the service we offer. In fact we’ve just been awarded BUILD’s Standing Desk Supplier of the Year Award (Europe) in the Home and Garden Awards 2023.
We also won UK Enterprise Awards’ eCommerce Customer Service Excellence Award 2021.
Yo-Yo is no stranger to awards either, although our online trawl found these related more to the desks themselves rather than service.
Of course, the best measure of customer service and product quality comes from happy (or otherwise) customers, so let’s look at both companies’ reviews.
Reviews
Take a look at FRISKA’s Google reviews and you’ll find 202 of them, all but two of which are 5*. Google reviews aren’t verified though, so in 2020 we opened a Trustpilot account to add a layer of independence. On Trustpilot, 89% of our reviews are 5*. We’re particularly excited by the fact that our customer reviews reference our service almost as often as they wax lyrical about our standing desks.
Yo-Yo also has lots of good reviews, although its 5* Trustpilot ratings are a slightly lower 80% compared with FRISKA.
Payment
Both height adjustable desk companies give you the opportunity to split your payment into three interest free instalments with Klarna, making it easier to budget for your new sit stand desk.
Price
The base price for a 120 x 80cm Yo-Yo Pro 2+ is £749.95 inc VAT. The same sized FRISKA Stockholm costs £799.00 inc VAT. For both desks, as you add options or increase the desktop size those prices increase.
Yet for that extra £50 you get an awful lot more desk with a FRISKA. A quieter mechanism. A greater height range. Swifter raising and lowering. More finishes. Bluetooth control. A guarantee that lasts 3 years longer and unparalleled stability.
Buy a Yo-Yo Pro 2+ and you’ll get a good standing desk. But why buy good when you buy better?
Bring the best standing desk to your office. For help in finding the right FRISKA for you, call us now on 0330 133 1937 or email sales@friskadesk.com.