Free gear report
What creators actually use.
We read 535 real desk setups and broke down the data three ways — by creator type, head-to-head by category, and the one setup the “median” creator runs.
Built from 535 real interviews · not sponsored · every ranking backed by setup data
Updated July 2026
A few findings
of setups run a MacBook Pro — the most common piece of gear, period.
chair is the Herman Miller Aeron — but developers barely touch it.
creator types, three different setups. Designers, developers, and founders diverge more than you'd think.
Build the single most-used setup and it runs ~$6,318 at retail — though the same data points to a capable budget version closer to ~$2,349. Full breakdown below.
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Download the PDFThe 10 most-used pieces of gear
Across all 535 setups. The full top 40 (with buy links) is in the PDF.
🔒 The full top 40 (with buy links), the creator breakdowns & the showdowns are in the report — enter your email above to unlock.
The software creators actually run
The apps that show up most across the 220 setups that listed their stack.
- 01 Figma 107 setups
- 02 Notion 80 setups
- 03 Slack 74 setups
- 04 Spotify 47 setups
- 05 VS Code 26 setups
- 06 Zoom 18 setups
- 07 Webflow 15 setups
- 08 Loom 15 setups
- 09 Discord 15 setups
- 10 Apple Notes 14 setups
What each kind of creator uses
Designers
194 setups- 1MacBook Pro136
- 2Apple Magic Keyboard55
- 3Apple Studio Display47
- 4iPad Pro43
- 5Apple Magic Trackpad40
- 6Apple AirPods Pro31
Display-first — the Studio Display over-indexes here.
Developers
77 setups- 1MacBook Pro52
- 2Apple Magic Keyboard21
- 3Apple AirPods Pro20
- 4Apple Magic Trackpad17
- 5Apple Studio Display15
- 6Apple Magic Mouse10
Audio-first — AirPods Pro rank #2, and the Aeron drops out entirely.
Founders
122 setups- 1MacBook Pro70
- 2Apple Magic Keyboard30
- 3Apple Studio Display18
- 4Apple Magic Mouse17
- 5Apple AirPods Pro16
- 6Fully Jarvis Standing Desk15
The standing-desk crowd — the Fully Jarvis cracks their top six.
Category showdowns
Leads by 194%
Leads by 700%
Leads by 54%
Leads by 29%
Leads by 30%
Leads by 72%
The consensus setup — and what it costs
If you copied the single most-used item in every category, here's the desk you'd build — with approximate retail prices for scale.
- Computer MacBook Pro $1,999 59%
- Monitor Apple Studio Display $1,599 16%
- Keyboard Apple Magic Keyboard $99 24%
- Mouse Apple Magic Trackpad $129 16%
- Chair Herman Miller Aeron $1,395 10%
- Desk Fully Jarvis Standing Desk $599 8%
- Headphones Apple AirPods Pro $249 13%
- Microphone Shure MV7 $249 5%
- Total — approx. retail ~$6,318
Prices are approximate retail, for scale. Building the same categories from the data's more affordable popular picks — Mac Mini, Herman Miller Sayl, AirPods, Blue Yeti — lands around ~$2,349.
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