Portrait Monitor Next to a Landscape One: How to Line Up the Screens

Quick Answer: Set both screens so their top visible edges sit at the same height, then match that layout in your computer's display settings.

• Both screens can move up and down freely: Set the heights to your target line. Use Fix A to set both heights
• One stand is already at its limit: Change where that screen's height comes from. Use Fix B to extend the height range
• Not sure whether to line up tops or centers: Go to Step 1 to choose your alignment line

• Difficulty: Easy with adjustable arms or stands; moderate if one screen needs a new mount.
• Tools: A tape measure, painter's tape, and the hex keys for your arms or stands.

Jump to:

• Step 1 - Measure the Screens and Choose a Line
• Step 2 - Set Each Screen to the Line
• Step 3 - Check the Line From Your Chair
• Common Mistakes
• FAQ

Why a Portrait and Landscape Pair Never Line Up by Default

A monitor turned to portrait is much taller and narrower than the same model in landscape. Set both on their stands at similar heights and the portrait screen towers above the landscape one.

Since the two can't match top and bottom at once, you have to choose one line to share. Your eyes jump to that line every time you look across, so it should be the one you read from most.

Bezels make this harder, because frames of different thickness hide where the picture actually starts. Measure the visible picture area, not the outside of the frame.

Problem state: The screens sit at whatever height their stands give them, so the picture areas start at different heights and your eyes jump up or down when crossing over.

Corrected state: One chosen line, usually the top of the picture area, sits at the same height on both screens, and the computer's layout matches it.

Critical Safety Warning: A monitor raised on stacked books, boxes, or a loose platform can slide or tip off when bumped. A tall portrait screen is especially easy to knock over.

This happens when a stand runs out of height range and the gap is filled with whatever is nearby.

• Raise a stand only on a solid riser rated for the monitor and stand's combined weight, with the stand's whole base on it.
• Hold a screen with both hands while changing a stand or arm height, and keep fingers out of the stand's sliding column.

Step 1 - Measure the Screens and Choose a Line

Measure with the screens on and in their current positions. Take every measurement straight up from the desk surface.

1. Measure the landscape screen: Find the height of the top edge of its picture, not its frame.
2. Measure the portrait screen: Find the height of the top and bottom edges of its picture.
3. Check each mount's range: Note how far each screen can still move up and down on its stand or arm.

Then choose the line to share:

• Top edges (the usual choice): Line up the top of both pictures. You read from the top of most pages and windows, so your eyes stay on one line as they cross. The portrait screen then extends lower.
• Centers: Line up the middle of both pictures if the portrait screen's bottom would otherwise hit the desk, keyboard, or speakers. The portrait top then sits higher.
• Bottom edges: Rarely useful, because the portrait top ends far above where you comfortably look.

Set the shared line at a height that suits your eyes. How High Should a Monitor Be Relative to Eye Level? explains how to measure that starting height.

If both screens can reach the line, go to Fix A. If one can't, go to Fix B.

Step 2 - Set Each Screen to the Line

Fix A - Set Both Heights to the Shared Line

Use when: Both screens can reach the chosen line within their stand or arm range.

Before you start: Hold each screen with both hands as you change its height, since a stand's column can drop suddenly when its lock is released. See the height-change precaution.

1. Mark the line: Put a strip of painter's tape on the wall or a vertical surface behind both screens at your target height.
2. Set the landscape screen first: Bring its picture edge to the tape.
3. Match the portrait screen: Bring its matching picture edge to the same tape.
4. Close the side gap: Move the screens together until the inner frames nearly touch, without letting them rub.
5. Match the distance and angle: Keep both screens about the same distance from your eyes, and angle the side screen in slightly toward you. What Angle Should Dual Monitors Be? shows how to set that angle.

Check: Both picture edges sit on the tape line. Match the on-screen layout in the card below, then go to Step 3 to check it from your chair.

Fix B - Extend a Screen's Height Range

Use when: One screen's stand is already at its highest or lowest setting and still can't reach the line.

Before you start: A raised stand is less steady, so only use a solid, rated riser or a proper mount, never a stack of loose items. Read why improvised risers tip.

You need: The height difference from Step 1, the monitor's weight with its stand, and its VESA mounting pattern if you plan to use an arm.

• Landscape screen too low: Place its stand on a solid monitor riser that covers the whole base and is rated for the weight, or move it to a monitor arm.
• Portrait screen too high: Its stand can't go lower, so the reliable fix is a monitor arm that can bring it down. Alternatively, raise the landscape screen so both meet higher, as long as the shared line stays comfortable for your eyes.
• Choosing an arm: It must list your VESA pattern and a weight range that includes the monitor without its stand, and its clamp must fit your desktop thickness.

Check: Both screens now reach the shared line. Return to Fix A to set the final heights.

Match the Layout in Your Display Settings

Your computer doesn't know where the screens physically sit. Without this step, the mouse pointer and dragged windows jump up or down as they cross over, even after the hardware lines up.

1. Open the display arrangement: On Windows, use Display settings; on a Mac, use the Arrange option in Displays settings.
2. Drag the screen icons: Move them so their tops, or centers, match the line you chose.
3. Test the crossing: Move the pointer slowly across the boundary and adjust until it enters at the same height it left.

Step 3 - Check the Line From Your Chair

Sit in your normal working position. Look across the two screens several times, then drag a window slowly from one to the other.

PASS: The chosen picture edges sit on one line, your eyes move straight across without hunting up or down, a dragged window crosses without jumping, and the portrait screen's bottom clears the desk and keyboard.

FAIL: The edges are visibly offset, windows jump as they cross, the portrait top is uncomfortably high to read, or a screen has drifted from its set height.

NEXT ACTION:

• Edges offset: Remeasure the picture edges, not the frames, and reset with Fix A.
• Windows jump at the boundary: Fine-tune the screen icons in your display settings.
• Portrait top too high to read comfortably: Switch to top-edge alignment, or lower both screens together.
• A screen won't hold its height: That is a separate mount problem. If it is on an arm that sinks, see Why Does My Monitor Arm Keep Falling Down?

Common Mistakes

Mistake: Lining up the outside of the frames.

What happens: Different bezel thicknesses leave the pictures offset even though the frames match.

Instead: Measure and align the edges of the lit picture area.

Mistake: Aligning the hardware but skipping the display settings.

What happens: The pointer still jumps between screens, so the setup feels misaligned anyway.

Instead: Match the on-screen arrangement after the physical one.

FAQ

Which side should the portrait monitor go on?

Put the screen you use most straight in front of you and the other to the side. The portrait screen usually goes on the side, since it often holds reference material, chat, or code.

Do the two monitors need to be the same size?

No. Different sizes work well as long as you align one shared line and keep both at a similar viewing distance.

This guide covers side-by-side pairs of one portrait and one landscape monitor on stands or arms. The heights here are physical starting positions, not a substitute for adjusting to your own comfortable viewing posture.

Written and edited by Lio Lim

Every guide on The ErgoDesk Lab is reviewed before it goes live so each step leads to a clear next action. Spotted something unclear or wrong? Let us know, or read how these guides are made.