Which monitor size fits your viewing distance?
A comfortable field of view for desk work is about 40 to 50 degrees. Your distance gives the matching width, and your target sharpness gives the resolution you need.
Your desk
Recommendation
- Middle of the range
- 26.2″
- Resolution
- 3840 × 2160
- Field of view
- 40–50°
Common resolutions at 26.2″
| Resolution | PPD centre | Target 60 |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 × 1080 | 40.5 | – below |
| 2560 × 1440 | 53.9 | – below |
| 3840 × 2160 | 80.9 | ✓ reached |
| 5120 × 2880 | 107.9 | ✓ reached |
Size follows from a comfortable field of view of 40 to 50 degrees. Wider formats keep the height of the 16:9 screen and only get wider. The resolution you need depends only on the field of view, not on the distance.
How we calculate the size
How big a monitor looks depends on the visual angle: a 27-inch screen at 70 cm (28 in) fills about 46 degrees of your view, as much as a 34-inch 16:9 screen at 88 cm (35 in). About 40 to 50 degrees of width are comfortable for work and games. More means turning your head, less wastes space.
Field of view and distance give the width and from it the diagonal. The resolution then depends only on the field of view: at 45 degrees you need just under 2900 pixels across for 60 PPD in the centre, whether you sit 60 or 100 cm away. That is why the calculator always suggests 4K for 60 PPD, while 1440p is enough for 50 PPD.
Width = 2 · d · tan(field of view / 2)Diagonal = width · √(1 + (height/width)²)Pixels needed = width / (2 · d · tan(1° / 2·PPD))
Frequently asked questions
Which monitor size fits a 60 cm (24 in) viewing distance?
For 16:9 about 20 to 25 inches, so 24 inches is the typical choice. At 70 cm (28 in), 23 to 29 inches fit, at 80 cm (31 in) 26 to 34 inches.
Is a 32-inch monitor too big for a desk?
For 16:9 not from about 75 cm (30 in) on. Closer than that it fills more than 50 degrees of your view, and you turn your head more often to see the corners.
Which size for an ultrawide monitor?
A 21:9 monitor should be about as tall as the matching 16:9 monitor. At 70 cm (28 in) that means 29 to 37 inches, so the common 34-inch size.
More tools
- Motion blur Is 144 or 240 Hz worth it? See side by side how much motion blurs at 60, 144, 240 and 480 Hz on IPS and OLED – even on a 60 Hz screen.
- Sharpness Calculate pixels per degree, PPI and field of view of your monitor. Above about 60 PPD, an eye with normal vision no longer resolves single pixels.