Short answer: a power recliner opens at the touch of a button, stops anywhere you want, and is the only real option if getting a manual footrest up or down is hard for you. A manual recliner has no motor to fail, needs no outlet, and costs less. Power is the better chair; manual is the simpler one.
How each one opens
Manual. A lever, a handle or a push back against the seat, using your own body weight and the arms for leverage. It goes to fixed stops — usually partly open and fully open — and closing it means pulling your legs back and pushing the footrest down.
Power. A motor moves the mechanism while you hold a button. It stops at any angle you let go at, and it closes on the button too, so you never have to force a footrest down with your legs.
Side by side
| Power | Manual | |
|---|---|---|
| Positions | Infinite — stops wherever you release | Two or three fixed stops |
| Effort to use | None. One finger. | Needs arm and leg strength, especially to close |
| Needs an outlet | Yes, unless it has a battery pack | No — put it anywhere |
| Can fail | Motor, transformer, switch or wiring | Mechanism only — far less to break |
| Price | Higher new | Lower new |
| Extras available | Power headrest, power lumbar, USB | None |
What a power headrest actually does
This is the feature people skip and then wish they had. On a plain recliner, when you lean back your head goes back with the chair — so you are looking at the ceiling instead of the TV. A power headrest tilts the top of the backrest forward independently, so you can recline fully and still watch the screen or talk to someone.
Power lumbar does the same thing for the lower back: it inflates or pushes the curve of the backrest out, which matters most if you sit in the chair for hours.
Most of what we carry is power reclining with power headrests, because that is what came out of the liquidations we buy — so you often get the feature without paying the new-chair premium for it.
Measure behind the chair before you buy
Standard recliners need several inches of clearance behind them to open. Wall-hugger or wall-saver models glide forward as they recline, so they can sit only a few inches off the wall. If your chair is going against a wall in a tight room, ask specifically whether it is a wall-hugger — it changes where the chair can live.
Who should buy which
Buy power if: anyone using it has arthritis, a bad back, limited strength or recovers from surgery in it; you want to stop at your own angle instead of the chair deciding; you want a headrest that keeps the TV in view; or it is going in a media room.
Buy manual if: there is no outlet where the chair goes and you do not want a cord running across the floor; you want the least possible to go wrong; you are furnishing a guest room or a spare den; or the price difference is what decides it.
Look at a lift chair instead if: standing up from a seated position is the hard part, not reclining. A lift chair tilts the whole base forward and helps the person to their feet. That is a different machine from a power recliner and it is the right one for that problem. We stock lift chairs.
About the motor failing
It is a real difference, and it is also the most overstated one. Motors and transformers on power recliners are replaceable parts, and on a chair bought at liquidation prices the savings usually cover a replacement transformer several times over. What you cannot replace is the years of not being able to work the footrest yourself.
What we have right now
- Recliners — power and manual, many with power headrests
- Reclining sofas and reclining loveseats
- Power reclining sectionals
- Lift chairs and massage chairs
Common questions
What happens to a power recliner in a blackout?
It stays where it is. Most models include a manual release or accept a battery pack so you can close it. Ask before you buy if that matters to you.
How much electricity does a power recliner use?
Very little. The motor only draws power in the seconds it is moving, not while you sit there.
Is a manual recliner harder to close?
Yes, and that is the part people underestimate. Opening is easy; closing takes a pull with your legs and a push on the arms. If that is a problem now, it will be more of one in five years.
Can a power recliner go anywhere in the room?
Only within reach of an outlet, unless it takes a battery pack. Plan the cord before you pick the corner.
Come see it in person
Everything on our floor comes from overstock and store liquidations, so the selection changes weekly and most pieces are one of one. If you tell us what you are trying to solve, we will point you at what actually fits.
Financing through Snap Finance, Koalafi, Acima and Kafene, with no perfect credit needed. How the financing works. Same-day delivery on all items, priced by distance, up to 150 miles. Delivery zones and prices.
Tony Discount Furniture and Mattresses
6650 E WT Harris Blvd, Unit C, Charlotte, NC 28215
(704) 390-1713 · Monday to Saturday 11am–7pm, Sunday 2pm–6pm
Se habla espanol.