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I went through the same dilemma when I retrofitted my van bed with a lift mechanism. It really boils down to your project’s load and travel requirements. You need to measure the total distance your desk needs to travel (that’s your stroke length) and also account for the maximum weight it will need to lift, including the tabletop and any gear on it. I’d add a safety margin of 25–30% on top of the estimated force just to avoid strain. I used Progressive Automations for mine, and they’ve got a pretty diverse selection, especially in the compact actuators. You might want to check out this page linear actuators: https://www.progressiveautomations.ca/collections/linear-actuators — you can filter by force, stroke, and even noise level. Super useful. Also, don’t forget to think about mounting space — longer strokes mean longer actuators when retracted, which could mess with your build if it’s tight.