computer with homework on it

The best student laptops in 2024: top laptops for college and school

These are the best laptops for students across all budgets and preferences

• Black Friday
• Best overall
• Best budget
• Best Chromebook

Best premium Chromebook

• Best Windows laptop
• Best creative laptop
• Best 2-in-1
• Best premium 2-in-1
• Best gaming laptop
• How to choose
• How we test

Finding the best student laptops involves balancing value, performance, and battery life to get through a full day of classes and study sessions.

Now is an excellent time to explore the market, with a wide range of options available to meet different needs and budgets. Whether you're in high school or college, there's a laptop that fits your academic requirements.

Affordability without sacrificing quality is crucial for students on tight budgets. The Acer Aspire 5 stands out as a top pick, offering impressive performance at a reasonable price. For those who can invest more, the Apple MacBook Air with M3 and the Dell XPS 13 Plus are exceptional choices that deliver superior performance and sleek designs.

If you're seeking particularly budget-friendly options, consider exploring laptops under $500. You can still find some of the best student laptops that meet essential needs without breaking the bank. With careful selection, you can find the perfect device to support your academic endeavors.

The best student laptops on Black Friday

Students often have tight budgets, so Black Friday laptop deals make high-quality laptops more affordable.

Upgrading to a better laptop during this period means students can get enhanced performance features like faster processors, more RAM, and longer battery life without overspending.

These improvements can greatly assist with coursework that requires multitasking or running demanding software like AutoCAD and more. Additionally, the variety of laptops available during Black Friday allows students to find a device that fits their specific needs—be it for writing papers, graphic design, or programming.

Investing in a new laptop during this sales event ensures students have a reliable and efficient tool to support their academic success, all while maximizing their savings.

The quick list

If you want to get right to it and see the best student laptop in every category, check out our quick roundup of top picks below. Don't worry though, you can easily jump to a more detailed view of every pick along with a price comparison tool to help you find the best laptop deals for students no matter your budget.

Best student laptop overall

With a solid build and decent weight, this extremely affordable 14-inch laptop offers decent battery life and performance for the price.

Read more below

Best budget student Chromebook

It might not be the flashiest, but it's built to last, especially in terms of battery. ChromeOS is also a great, versatile OS - especially for younger learners.

Best student Chromebook

The best Chromebook for students overall, the Duet 5 Chromebook features a gorgeous OLED display, excellent battery life, and a portable design.

It may not be cheap, but its performance more than justifies the extra expense, delivering one of the best Chromebook experiences.

Best premium Windows laptop

A sleek, lightweight design and powerful performance make this a top-notch pick for Windows fans looking for a premium laptop for college.

Best laptop for creative students

Generally the best laptop out there for most people, this is a dream machine for creative students. Just be prepared to pay the steep price.

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Best affordable 2-in-1 for students

This laptop has an attractive price, good design, great performance, and excellent battery life. And it offers a great degree of versatility.

Best premium 2-in-1 for students

Sometimes, you need more than just good enough from a 2-in-1, and this delivers performance and build - though it's generally more expensive.

Best gaming laptop for students

It can't be all work and no play, but on a student budget, the MSI GF63 Thin has great performance and affordability you need from a gaming laptop.

Understanding what makes a good laptop for students is more than just knowing an awful lot about laptops (although I do know an awful lot about laptops). As someone who went through higher education with a decidedly lackluster laptop, I learned the hard way what's needed - and I've put that knowledge to use here to ensure you get the perfect laptop to carry you through a full course of studies.

The best student laptop overall

1. Acer Aspire 5 (2022)

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

✅ You’re on a budget: This entry-level model only costs around $600/£450, which makes it a capable option for budgeting students.

✅ You travel a lot: It’s not an ultrabook, but a sturdy design and weight of just 1.7kg mean that the Aspire 5 will happily live in your backpack all day long.

❌ You’re a gamer: Acer’s website talks about a discrete GeForce graphics card, but most Aspire 5 models rely on more basic integrated graphics.

❌ You need all-day battery life: Six and a half hours certainly isn’t bad for a laptop in this price range, but you’ll need to spend a bit more if you need a long-lasting laptop.

The Acer Aspire 5 (2022) remains our pick as the best student laptop you can buy right now. That's because it's got a low price, but decent specs (OK, the 11-gen Intel CPU isn't the most recent, but it does the job well, especially compared to the processors you find in similarly-priced laptops) mean it's a dependable performer for most day-to-day tasks students will use it for.

As it's a Windows 11 laptop, it can run full-desktop applications, unlike Chromebooks which often have to make do with pared-back apps that don't offer the full range of features.

Of course, you need to set your expectations for this laptop. It's price and age means this isn't going to be a powerful laptop that can handle media editing or gaming, but for writing up essays and researching for your course, it remains an excellent choice, especially if you're on a budget, but don't want a Chromebook.

Read our full Acer Aspire 5 (2022) review

The best budget Chromebook for students

2. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook

✅ You’re after a great value 2-in-1 Chromebook: Despite its low price, this Chromebook punches above its weight.

✅ You want the flexibility of a 2-in-1 device: Not only can this be used as a laptop, but it can turn into a tablet-like device as well.

❌ You need a powerful device: While the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 is fine for daily web browsing and media streaming, we wouldn't recommend it for anything more intensive.

❌ You want a great display: The small size and resolution of the screen keeps the price down, but that means it doesn't wow.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook is a decent Chromebook for students who are looking for a bargain. Its low price means this isn't a particularly powerful device, even by Chromebook standards, but ChromeOS runs impressively well, and it won't let you down for day-to-day tasks like web browsing, document creation and emailing.

It can also be used for media streaming when you're winding down after a day of studying, though the small screen isn't ideal for truly immersing yourself in TVs and films.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook is a great laptop for students because of its 2-in-1 design, which can be quite rare for laptops at this price. This allows you to use it as both a laptop and as a tablet-like device, and this kind of flexibility is super handy for students - especially as it means they don't need two separate devices.

The battery life lasted an excellent 16 hours in our video playback test when we reviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook, so it'll easily last an entire school day without needing to be charge.

Read our full Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook

The best overall Chromebook for students

3. Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook

✅ You want the best 2-in-1 Chromebook around: The flexible design of this Chromebook is ideal for students who want both a laptop and a tablet-like device.

✅ You want outstanding battery life: Hitting almost 19 hours on a single charge, there are few laptops or other Chromebooks that can match the IdeaPad Duet 5's lasting power.

❌ You want a cheap Chromebook: The premium features on the Duet 5 Chromebook means that this is relatively expensive, though still a lot less than most Windows laptops.

❌ You want more of a tablet-first form factor: The aspect ratio and 13.3-inch display size makes this bulkier than a standard tablet.

The brilliant Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is a great example of how Chromebooks don't need to be cheap, budget affairs. Thanks to its gorgeous 1080p OLED display, 8GB RAM and Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen2 processor, this is one of the most powerful Chromebooks out there, and is ideal for students who want a device to work and watch movies on.

The design itself is excellent, with a slimline body and detachable keyboard - there's certainly no chance of this being mistaken for a budget device. And as a 2-in-1 device, you can use this as both a traditional laptop, or a tablet-like device. Putting it into 'tent mode' also makes it a small screen for watching TV and movies on - so this is a great option for students who don't have the money (or space) for multiple devices.

In our review, we were particularly impressed by the stunning OLED screen - which is a rarity in Chromebooks, and thanks to its Snapdragon CPU, battery life is amazing, lasting over 16 hours in our tests. That blows past most Windows 11 laptops and MacBooks - and even a lot of Chromebooks as well. So, students can happily work on the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook for multiple school days without needing to charge. All of these premium features does mean the price tag is higher than you may expect from a Chromebook, but it still offers plenty of value, making it a great option for students with a bit of flex in their budgets.

Read the full Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook review

Get your laptop for less with our Lenovo voucher codes .

The best premium Chromebook for students

4. Acer Chromebook Spin 514

✅ You need a powerful Chromebook: Despite being similar in price to a mid-range Windows laptop, this is a more high-end Chromebook with solid internal specs to match.

✅ You care more about performance than aesthetic: Not that this looks hideous, but it certainly doesn't have the fancy trimmings of something like the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook.

❌ You're on a very tight budget: Though not quite as pricey as other premium Chromebooks, this might be out of reach if you're seeking something sub-$500/£500.

❌ You need a Windows or a Mac laptop: If most of your workload and casual computer needs to be done on a full operating system, this one's not for you.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 might be a bit on the pricier side when it comes to Chromebooks, but it offers a lot for the money: powerful components, great user accessibility, and strong versatility thanks to its 360-degree hinge and touch display - just like the best 2-in-1 laptops . When we reviewed it, we praised its great performance, robust build quality, and all-day battery life.

Still, starting at the $500/£500 mark means the Spin 514 is cheaper than many Windows laptops with similar specs, and it should still be accessible for students who want a high-end Chromebook. It's not the most expensive Chromebook on the market - that would be the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook .

Pricing aside, this is a solid 2-in-1 laptop with great internal specs, meaning that it should be easily capable of lasting through three, four, or even five years of study at university. A student laptop is often an investment - and in this case, you can rest assured it's a good one.

Read the full Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2022) review

The best premium Windows student laptop

5. Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023)

✅ You want ultraportability: There are very few laptops out there that are this easy to carry around. It also looks fantastic so you shouldn't have any qualms about showing this one off.

✅ You want a premium laptop: The Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) looks and feels high-end, with a sleek yet robust design.

❌ You want great performance: Thanks to its 13th-gen Intel CPU, it's a great everyday performer that will handle general workloads, but beyond that, this laptop is going to struggle.

❌ You loved the older XPS 13 design: With a major aesthetic redesign, if you're a fan of the old XPS 13s, it's very likely that you're going to dislike this laptop.

The Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) is a sidestep from the main XPS series from Dell, but it's no less excellent - this is the definitive Windows Ultrabook , a sleek combination of portability, performance, and refined design. We've reviewed a lot of XPS laptops over the years, and this ranks among the best.

With a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and up to a hefty 32GB of RAM, the XPS 13 Plus chews through productivity workloads despite its compact design. Weighing in at 1.26kg and just 1.5cm thick with the lid closed, it's easy to toss into a bag and take with you on the go. In our review, we praised its responsiveness and noted that it could even handle some light gaming on the side.

If you're looking for something with a bit more muscle, you might want to consider the Dell XPS 15 - the big brother to the 13-inch XPS models, which offers a larger screen and a dedicated GPU for students who need the processing power to work on video-editing or 3D-modelling workloads.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) review

The best creative laptop for students

6. MacBook Air 13-inch (M3, 2024)

✅ You need a powerful laptop for content creation: Apple's M3 chip represents a bigger step up in performance than we saw with the M2, making this a powerhouse laptop for creative workloads.

✅ You want a thin and light laptop: The MacBook Air 13-inch (M3, 2024) is one of the best thin and light laptops you can buy, and it's completely silent thanks to the fanless design too.

❌ You’re after the cheapest MacBook: It's the latest MacBook Air to be released, but macOS fans on a budget should consider the M2 or even M1 models.

❌ You need ports: The thin and light design that arrived with the M2 model comes at a cost of ports, and the new MacBook Air comes with just two Thunderbolt ports.

If you're a student taking a creative course - or you're a serious hobbyist when it comes to content creation - then the latest MacBook Air is arguably the best choice. Apple's M-series silicon is almost unparalleled when it comes to creative workloads, and the latest 13-inch MacBook Air crams all that creative power into a svelte, compact, but durable metal chassis. Students who prefer a bigger display can opt instead for the M3 MacBook Air 15-inch .

The M3 system-on-a-chip (SoC) offers yet another step up in performance from the 2022 M2 model, marking this as a prime pick for any students who plan to spend a lot of time doing tasks like digital art, video editing, 3D design, and animation. Despite the great performance, it's also silent in use since it's passively cooled with no fans, and the battery life is phenomenal.

Naturally, you'll be paying the infamous 'Apple Tax' here - this is one of the most expensive laptops on this list, so it's not for the faint of heart. You'll probably want to opt for a model slightly above the base version too, since that iteration skimps on RAM with only 8GB where 16GB should really be the minimum. However, Mac lovers on tighter budgets should definitely still consider older models, like the 2022 M2 MacBook Air or even the still-excellent 2020 M1 MacBook Air .

Read our full MacBook Air 13-inch (M3, 2024) review

The best affordable 2-in-1 laptop for students

7. Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 (2022)

✅ You want a well-rounded 2-in-1 laptop: It performs incredibly well in the areas it needs to like speed and an HD display, and even in areas it doesn’t like gaming or battery life.

✅ You need longer battery life: Its battery lasts quite long for a 2-in-1, lasting nearly eight hours or a full work day and boasting a fast charge time.

❌ You want something thinner and lighter: Though it’s a great laptop, it’s a bit on the heavier and thicker side at a little over three pounds and under an inch.

❌ You need a 2-in-1 with a tablet pen: This is a laptop made for work, which would have been perfect for an included tablet pen to go with it.

The Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 is a great laptop, but it's a tad on the large side for the average student (and a bit expensive too). On the other hand, its little sibling the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 could be the perfect college companion.

Besides the smaller 14-inch display, it's largely similar to the bigger Inspiron 2-in-1 model: strong performance, versatility thanks to its touchscreen and 360-degree hinge, and competitive pricing. It does fall short in the same areas as the 16-inch model, with the lack of a bundled stylus being a key point of contention in our review.

Despite this, we still found a lot to love when reviewing the Inspiron 14 2-in-1. The 1080p webcam is a nice touch for video calls and virtual classes (who'd want 720p in 2024?), and the overall performance is strong - with even some light gaming possible. The battery life and speedy charge time were also excellent to see, making this a hard laptop for us not to recommend.

Read the full Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 review

The best premium 2-in-1 laptop for students

8. Acer Spin 5 (2022)

✅ You need a powerful 2-in-1: Not only does the Acer Spin 5(2022) handle general computing tasks easily, there’s also enough performance power to handle creative tasks.

✅ You require a great screen and speaker combo: Between the lovely 14inch 2.5K screen and excellent DTS compatible speakers, there’s much to appreciate on the audio/visual side of things.

❌ You don’t like loud cooling fans: When running general apps like web browsers and video conferencing software, the fans on the Acer Spin 5 (2022) get loud.

❌ You want a 2-in-1 with a bit of design pizzaz: Looking a lot like its older sibling, the angular form factor with the steel gray and rose gold accents lacks excitement.

Acer's Spin series of laptops and Chromebooks have been good choices for students for years, thanks to their solid performance and good versatility. The 'spin' part of the name refers to their 360-degree hinges, which combined with a touchscreen let you flip instantly between laptop and tablet mode - and the Acer Spin 5 (2022) is a great example of this.

A built-in garaged stylus that charges when it's nestled inside the laptop makes this a fantastic laptop for artistic types, and the all-day battery life means you'll still have charge leftover when the school day is done to kick back and watch some Netflix. Add a high-quality webcam for distance learning and some generally strong performance in our internal tests, and you've got one stellar student laptop.

This is one of the more expensive laptops on this list, marking it out as a more premium device, but for those students who are willing to view their college laptop as an investment, it's a great choice that should carry you through several years of coursework.

Read our full Acer Spin 5 (2022) review

The best gaming laptop for students

9. MSI GF63 Thin (2022)

✅ You want to game on a budget: Gaming laptops can be bloody expensive, but the MSI GF63 Thin walks the line between value and performance expertly.

✅ You need a multi-purpose laptop: Decent performance in just about every area and a reserved design means that the GF63 Thin can happily double as a laptop for study.

❌ You need good battery life: The battery life on offer here is far from dismal, but it’s not what we’d call impressive.

❌ You want high-resolution gaming: While some gaming laptops offer models with different screen resolutions, the GF63 Thin is only available at 1080p

Even the most studious of students need some downtime, but even the best cheap gaming laptops can cost way more than a student's budget can afford. Fortunately, for them, the MSI GF63 Thin is almost tailor-made for their academic and non-academic needs.

While it might not have the portability of a MacBook Air or Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, the GF63 Thin is still fairly manageable for a gaming laptop. What's more, its specs include up to an Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU, and plenty of RAM, so performance isn't going to be too much of an issue. When we reviewed it, we ruled that it offered fantastic value for money in terms of performance, and the dedicated GPU means that it should handle graphically-intensive tasks better than many of the other laptops on this list.

Those beefy specs are also going to be great for productivity work, especially if you're going into technical fields like engineering which often require special computer hardware for coursework. The MSI GF63 Thin is a fair compromise, then, between getting your school work done and having something to mess around with once you're done — all without absolutely blowing a hole in your budget.

Read the full MSI GF63 Thin (2022) review

How to choose the best student laptop for you

The best student laptop is going to give you the right balance between sufficient performance for productivity tasks, affordability for a student's budget, and durability to handle the kind of wear-and-tear that a student can put their laptops through – and having it look good never hurts.

But that can be a hard thing for students and families to balance, especially if they aren't as familiar with computer hardware as they'd like to be. Fortunately, there are some general guidelines that you can follow to get the right student laptop for your needs and budget.

How to choose the right laptop for students

There are a few other boxes that the best student laptops should check besides being able to handle the demands of your coursework. One of the biggest considerations you should have when choosing a student laptop is battery life - you need something that will last all day during your classes and still have juice leftover for late nights studying at the library.

Student laptops should also ideally be both versatile and lightweight because you’ll want something that can multitask all the programs you’ll need without being a drag to carry around campus. Versatility is crucial with a student laptop, especially with majors that will have you flipping back and forth between a published paper and the essay you’re trying to finish in time.

Budget is also a major consideration in choosing the best student laptop for your university experience. Not everyone can shell out a ton of money for a student laptop - we absolutely understand that - so you need to be sure to pick something that meets all your criteria without going overboard on your budget. It’s easy to find a great student laptop within your price range these days, and even better when you find a sale and get a good deal on it.

Is a MacBook a good laptop for students?

This is a slightly loaded question, because ultimately the best operating system for students (whether that's Windows 10 or 11, macOS, or ChromeOS) will always come down to which OS the student in question prefers to use. Some of us are married to the effective functionality of Windows; others might prefer the aesthetically pleasing UI of Apple devices, or the Android-esque, streamlined user experience Chromebook provide.

If you're already comfortable using a specific operating system, making the leap can be tricky. ChromeOS is arguably the easiest to pick up and use, but changing to MacOS after a decade spend familiarizing yourself with Windows might lead to confusion. Take this into consideration when choosing a new laptop for school or college.

On the hardware side, we're pleased to say that MacBooks are more competitive than ever. Apple's fantastic M1 and M2 chips are much more capable of running demanding tasks than processors with integrated graphics, making Apple laptops excellent all-rounders for the busy student. However, if you need to run highly intensive software, it's worth considering a Windows laptop with a dedicated GPU - ideally an Nvidia RTX one - since this will give you a lot more grunt in GPU-accelerated programs.

Which is better for students: a laptop or a desktop?

Simply put, most college-level students will need a laptop for their studies at this stage. While having a computer of some kind is practically a necessity at this point - with the rise of remote learning and content creation among university students - a laptop can be thrown into a rucksack and taken along to lectures and workshops, unlike a desktop PC.

Yes, a desktop will typically offer more processing power and the advantage of a bigger screen, but you might end up spending more (especially once you factor in the need for peripherals) and then still find yourself needing a portable device for note-taking and working on the go. If you've already got a small tablet or laptop that you can take out and about, you might want to consider buying one of the best desktop computers , but otherwise, we recommend you get a more capable laptop and use that in lieu of a desktop.

Can students get a free laptop?

Some schools and universities will offer free (or discounted via subsidy) laptops to students who demonstrate need. Be sure to research your chosen place of education to find out whether it offers any tech assistance schemes or hardware grants; whether or not you qualify is likely to depend on your personal financial situation.

If you don't qualify for these or your school doesn't offer a tech assistance program, there are also third-party groups that offer free or reduced laptops to students. Computers with Causes , Dell Scholars , and Notebooks for Students are some examples of these.

If you still need to buy a laptop, take a look at our best cheap laptop deals page to see if you can snap up a bargain.

How we tested these student laptops

We know that buying a new laptop can be a huge investment. Even more so with laptops for college students. That’s why we take our jobs seriously, and test every laptop we recommend on this list extensively.

That process involves using them in our day-to-day lives to see how long their battery lasts, how robust they are – college kids have hectic lives, after all, and how cool they stay under pressure. We also look at their design, including how stylish they are, if they are thin and light enough to carry around with, and how comfortable they are to work on. Because the webcam and microphone in a laptop are also incredibly important, especially these days, we take time to test those out as well.

When it comes to performance, we use a mix of real-world tests and synthetic benchmarks to see how powerful (or not) these laptops are. This means using Windows 10 (or Chrome OS on Chromebooks and macOS on MacBooks) and running various apps and seeing how fast they load, noting down any problems.

Battery lives are also important, so we’ll keep track of how long we can use the laptop without needing to charge it. To get specific numbers, we also run our own battery life benchmark that plays a looped 1080p movie until the battery dies and the PC Mark 10 battery life benchmark, which replicates real-world usage, such as web browsing and document creation. These tests give us an excellent idea of how long the batteries in these laptops last.

When all is said and done, we then take everything we’ve learned about the laptop and compare it to its price, to see if it offers the best value to students.

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Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.

Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.

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The Best Laptops and Tablets for College Students

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

Best Windows Laptop Asus Zenbook 14 OLED Read more

Best MacBook for College Apple MacBook Air (13 Inch, 2024) Read more

Runner-Up Acer Swift Go 14 (2024) Read more

The Best Chromebook for Students Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus Read more

The perfect college laptop may not exist. But somewhere between performance, size, weight, and price, there's a machine that will make you (and your parents) happy. We test dozens of laptops and tablets every year. The choices below are our favorite picks for students heading back to school this year. Whether you're attending classes in person or online—or doing some of both—there's something here for every student and every budget.

Be sure to check out our other back-to-school guides, including the Best Laptops , Best Tablets , Best Laptop Bags , Best Student Email Discounts , and Best Dorm and College Gear .

Updated August 2024: We've added the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus, M3 Macbook Air, Lenovo 9i, Macbook M1 Air, Acer Swift Go 14, Acer Nitro 17, Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, and Raspberry Pi 5, and we’ve revamped all our other picks to include the latest models with the most up-to-date specs.

Best Windows Laptop

The Asus Zenbook 14 is a unique combination of performance, great battery life, and an OLED display—all for less than $700 ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ). This 2023 model we like uses an AMD Ryzen 5 7530U CPU, with 8 GB of RAM and a 256-GB SSD. That may not sound like much, but we were impressed with the performance, especially given the price. That said, if you're heading to film school or plan to spend your nights gaming, this is not the laptop you want (see our gaming pick below). Battery life is outstanding though, clocking in at 12.5 hours (measured looping a YouTube video at full brightness), which is helpful for the long days on campus.

This is a small, portable machine (3.1 pounds and 19 mm thick), and it manages to pack in plenty of ports despite the slim form. There are two USB-C ports (one of which is needed for charging), one full-size USB 3.2 port, a full-size HDMI output, and a microSD card reader. If you want something just a little more powerful, you can bump the specs to 16 GB of RAM and a 512-GB SSD with the Ryzen 7 processor for not much more money.

You should also strongly consider Asus’ 2024 model of the Zenbook 14 OLED ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends ). It's $799 at Walmart , though stock frequently fluctuates. It has slightly more updated specs but otherwise delivers a similar experience to its predecessor, with even better battery life.

Specs to look for: AMD Ryzen 5 7000 series, 8 GB RAM, 256-GB SSD

Best MacBook for College

Apple’s latest MacBook Air ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends ) with the M3 chip is the best Mac for college. It's light (2.7 pounds), easy to cart around in a backpack all day, and powerful enough for most tasks. The 13.6-inch LCD screen is plenty bright at 500 nits (there's also a 15-inch model ), and the 1080p webcam has a nice, sharp image perfect for chatting with friends.

The Air is a little short on ports: two USB 4/Thunderbolt ports , a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a MagSafe port for charging. Apple claims 15 hours of battery life, but we hit 29 percent after eight hours during the workday. That's pretty good, if not quite up to Apple's claims. Apple’s M3 chip combined with the upgraded 16 GB of unified memory makes for a speedy laptop. We had no trouble running standard college apps like Slack, iMessage, Spotify, and Telegram, along with about 60 tabs open in Google Chrome.

Note: college students with a .edu email address can get the M3 Air for $999 through Apple’s Education store . On top of that Apple has a Back to School offer  through September 30, which includes a gift card up to $150 and 20% off AppleCare.

Specs to look for: Apple M3 chip, 8+ GB of RAM, 256-GB SSD

This Acer laptop is frequently discounted to $800 and, like the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, it's quite good value for the money ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends ). The build quality is a bit lackluster, but performance is excellent for everyday productivity. There's a nice selection of ports, even a microSD card slot, and the battery lasted roughly 11 hours in our tests (a YouTube video on loop at max brightness).

Specs to look for: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16 GB of RAM, 512-GB SSD

The Best Chromebook for Students

Lenovo's Flex 5i Chromebook Plus ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) is a good choice for students all in on Google services. It's one of the fastest, most versatile Chromebooks we’ve tested. It strikes a great balance between price, power, and features, with a 2-in-1 design that lets you seamlessly switch between laptop mode for homework and stand mode for late-night binges.

The 14-inch 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution screen is a bit taller than you’ll find on most laptops, which is great for working on documents and browsing the web. The Intel Core i3 processor and flash storage never struggle to keep up. Even if you have dozens of tabs open doing research, this won't let you down. The display is 1080p and gets bright enough for most typical conditions, though there's nothing special about it. The port selection is solid, with two USB-C ports and one USB-A on board. There's a microSD card slot too, if you find the internal 128 GB of storage wanting. See our Best Chromebooks guide for more options.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i3, 8 GB of RAM, 128-GB SSD

A Gaming Laptop for Students

You'll need a competent machine for when you want to play games and take your mind off coursework. But certain students will also need a powerful PC for graphics-intensive work, like video editing. A gaming laptop is the way to go, and the Acer Nitro 17 is a great place to start. It's frequently sold for just $900 at Micro Center, which is a killer price considering the performance it delivers. The RTX 4060 graphics card will handle most games at low to medium settings, and you get to enjoy all of it on a spacious 17-inch display and 165-Hz refresh rate .

The downside is it's very heavy at 6 pounds, an important factor to consider if you have to lug it to class. It also doesn't have great battery life, so you'll want to keep a charger handy. If those are deal-breakers, then consider the older Acer Nitro 5 ($908) , which has lesser specs but is slightly smaller and lighter, and its battery life is a bit better .

Specs to look for: AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card, 16 GB of RAM, 1-TB SSD

Best 2-in-1 Laptop for College

The Lenovo Yoga 9i ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) has long been a WIRED favorite. Two-in-one laptops are nice for college because they can double as a tablet or be folded into various shapes for watching movies or as presentation devices in class. Lenovo’s 2024 edition of the Yoga 9i features Intel’s Core Ultra CPU and a 5-megapixel webcam. With a trio of USB-C ports and one USB-A port, there are plenty of ways to connect any accessories you need. Our only issue with this laptop is the battery life, which isn't the best—something worth weighing if you plan to tote it around campus (bring the cord).

Specs to look for: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 16 GB of RAM, 1-TB SSD

Best Budget Laptop

Lenovo's AMD-based IdeaPad 5, which comes with a Ryzen 5 processor, is a great laptop for students. There's plenty of power, a very nice 14-inch IPS display, 16 GB of RAM, and a 256-GB SSD. The 360-degree hinge converts it to tablet mode or stand mode for watching movies in your dorm. To take full advantage of the 2-in-1 design, be sure to grab the digital pen ($40) . Another reason we like the IdeaPad is the plethora of ports: You get two USB-A ports, an HDMI, an SD card reader, one USB-C, a headphone jack, and a charging port (though you can use the USB-C to recharge the laptop too). If you're a computer science major or plan to do some video editing, the more powerful Ryzen 7 version can be had for just a little more .

Specs to look for: AMD Ryzen 5, 16 GB of RAM, 256-GB SSD

The Best Budget MacBook for College

The MacBook Air ( 9/10, WIRED Recommends ) from 2020 with the original M1 chip is still available, and at $650 it's a pretty good deal. The battery will last more than a full workday, under most workloads, and it's powerful enough for college use. These days you can only buy the base model with 8 GB of unified memory and 256 GB of storage, but that should be sufficient for college tasks. If you push it with many browser tabs and apps running simultaneously, you may run into some slowdowns. The 720p webcam isn’t great, but for this price it's hard to argue.

Specs to look for: Apple M1 chip, 8 GB of RAM, 256-GB SSD

Best Linux Laptop

Framework's 13-inch laptop is a good choice for budding programmers and sysadmins. The 13-inch model ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) is available with either Windows or Linux, but I much prefer it with Linux—a DIY laptop needs a DIY OS. The hallmark of this laptop is how you can repair and replace components down the road, making it more environmentally friendly and cost-effective.

Right now you can get an Intel Core Ultra series system with 32 GB of RAM, a 2-TB SSD, and whichever mix of ports suits your needs for around $1,300. That will ship with no operating system. When it arrives you can install Linux (or opt to ship it with Windows if you need to dual boot). See our Best Linux Laptops guide for more options.

Specs to look for: Intel Core Ultra 5, 16+ GB of RAM, 500-GB SSD

If You Want a Copilot+ PC

You might be seeing a wave of “Copilot+ PCs” in your research—that's because Microsoft launched this new moniker earlier in the summer. These machines have Qualcomm processors that enable good productivity performance, even with AI-specific tasks, and excellent battery life. They're not suitable for gaming or if you need to use specific, niche apps because the CPU architecture might not play well with apps that aren't properly optimized.

That said, the Galaxy Book4 Edge ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) from Samsung is our favorite Copilot+ PC at the moment (and we've reviewed a lot !). It has the best performance out of the many we've tested, great battery life, and a pleasant 16-inch display. It's also not as expensive as many other options with the specs we recommend and has already dropped to an even better value on sale.

Specs to look for: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E84100, 16 GB of RAM, 1-TB SSD

Or Get an iPad

Do you really need a laptop? Really really? Only you can answer that, but if your requirements revolve around taking notes, doing research, reading textbooks, and other knowledge-related tasks, then you might be able to get by with a much lighter tablet like the iPad Air ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ). The Apple Pencil Pro is a must-have. Using it on the iPad's screen feels close to dragging a real pencil across a piece of paper. You'll also want a Bluetooth keyboard for typing those papers and emails. We like the Logitech Combo Touch ($229) ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) or Apple’s own Magic Keyboard ($299) , both of which add trackpads to the mix for a more computer-like feel. Our Best iPad Accessories guide has more options.

That said, it's not as easy to multitask on an iPad as it is on a laptop, and by the time you get a keyboard, pencil, and whatever else you need, it can become just as expensive as a laptop. With 2024's updated Air, supported accessories became a little confusing. The iPad Air is compatible with the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the new Apple Pencil Pro . It won't work with the second-generation Apple Pencil though. It also works with the first-generation Magic Keyboard case and not the latest redesigned version.

Specs to look for: M2 processor, Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+cellular, 64 GB of storage

★ An Android alternative: If you don't want to buy into Apple's ecosystem, the OnePlus Pad ($479) ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) is a great alternative. You need to add the $149 magnetic keyboard cover to make it a productivity machine (OnePlus sometimes has an offer that bundles it for free), but you can use split-screen mode to run apps side by side and have a third app floating on the side for easy access. The OnePlus Pad 2 is also a solid option that's larger, but it's pricier.

It's not a laptop or tablet, but the Raspberry Pi 5 has education written all over it. This hackable, programmable micro PC is a great option for anyone—computer science major or otherwise—who wants to tinker and experiment with software or hardware. They're also just fun to build projects with. You can automate your dorm coffee maker , make a beetbox , or create a network-wide content filter . If the Raspberry Pi doesn't grab you, have a look at our guide to some alternative small board options .

How to Choose the Right Laptop for College

The important thing to remember is that there is no single correct choice here. The laptop that's best for your college experience depends on what you're doing at college. An English major with long reading lists and many papers to write might do better with an iPad and a nice accessory keyboard. A computer science major who needs to compile software or run Linux will need a laptop they can tinker away on. That said, here are some basic metrics to keep in mind for laptops:

• Windows : If you're getting a Windows machine, your main options for the processor are Intel and AMD, though Qualcomm is now a viable alternative with Copilot+ PCs . Each has its strengths and weaknesses. For a more complete guide to the differences, see our full guide to buying a laptop .
• Chromebooks : These browser-based machines use half a dozen different processors, most of which you've probably never heard of. There's a reason for that: Those processors are slow. My recommendation when buying a Chromebook is to stick with a Chromebook Plus machine . This is a new standard Google created to ensure a certain level of performance and polish with Chromebooks.
• MacOS : Apple has been making its own processors for a few years, like the M3 chip found inside the MacBook Air showcased above. More powerful models like the MacBook Pros feature the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips. Our MacBook buying guide can help.

Regardless of which OS you choose, the minimum amount of RAM you want in your laptop is 8 GB. That's enough memory to keep your computer feeling snappy even if it's running under load. That much RAM will also keep the machine feeling spry longer into its lifespan. If you can afford it—especially if you plan to edit photos or videos as part of your coursework—go for 16 GB.

Screens vary tremendously but don't settle for anything less than 1080p. For a 13-inch laptop, 1080p is sharp enough. If you're going with a bigger laptop, 2.5K or even 4K screens will improve the viewing experience. If you're trying to play games as well, be sure to get something with a higher refresh rate— 120 Hz or 144 Hz will more than satisfy.

Weight and Battery

Don't forget you'll be lugging this thing around. It may well be tugging on your back for eight hours or more. One pound may not seem like much, but at the end of a long day of walking, you will notice the difference between a 3-pound laptop and a 4-pound laptop. Trust me. Also, maybe pick out a nice bag to carry your computer.

Similarly, battery life is very important when you're (potentially) away from a wall outlet for extended periods. Whatever you end up getting, make sure it's capable of lasting at least eight hours under real-world use—browsing the web, editing documents, writing emails, and taking notes. Even then, you might want to consider a portable battery charger .

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• Electronics

The Best Laptops for College Students

By Kimber Streams

Kimber Streams is a writer who has been covering laptops and other tech at Wirecutter for more than a decade. They once built a fort out of keyboards.

College is expensive—including tuition, housing, and textbooks, not to mention food and other miscellaneous costs. So students need a reliable laptop that’ll last for years of taking notes, writing papers at 3 in the morning, and editing slides for a group project. But choosing the right laptop can be more challenging than writing a thousand words on Proust.

We test dozens of laptops every year, and for this guide we’ve rounded up the picks from our other guides that are the best for students. A laptop’s price-to-performance ratio is the most important factor, followed by its battery life, its size and weight, and its keyboard and trackpad. Our top pick offers the best balance of all those factors for high school and college students, whether they’re attending classes remotely or schlepping it to a physical classroom.

We also have more-portable picks, if you’re able to spend more. And for anyone on a tighter budget, we have less expensive options that are also well suited for younger kids. To achieve their more-affordable price tags, these cheaper options all make serious trade-offs—in shorter battery life, bulkier size, or more-limited functionality—and they’re not likely to last as long as our picks. If you’re a film or photography student and you need a laptop for photo and video editing , or if you want a laptop that can also play games , we have picks for you, too.

The research

Our pick: asus zenbook 14 oled, mac options: macbook air, budget chromebook pick: lenovo ideapad flex 5i chromebook plus, budget windows pick: acer aspire 3 spin 14 (a3sp14-31pt), budget tablet pick: apple ipad.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406HA-WS74T)

The best ultrabook.

The Zenbook 14 offers excellent battery life, a vivid touchscreen, and a reliable keyboard and trackpad, all in a thin and light body. It’s comparatively inexpensive, too.

Buying Options

Recommended configuration

Who these are for: Budget ultrabooks—thin and light laptops with good performance and long battery life and a price tag in the $700 to $800 range—are ideal for high school and college students because they provide the best value. These cheaper ultrabooks tend to make minor trade-offs compared with ultrabooks over $1,000: They may be a bit larger and heavier, may not last quite as long on a charge, may feel less sturdy or solid, or may lack convenient features such as a fingerprint reader or USB-C charging. But even with those drawbacks, budget ultrabooks still provide far better performance and overall quality compared with $500 laptops.

Why we like this one: Most high school or college students shopping for a laptop to last through graduation should get the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, either the UM3406HA-WS74T or UM3406HA-PS76T model. It’s powerful and portable enough for a full day of classes, and it has a vivid screen and a solid keyboard and trackpad. At 14 hours, the Zenbook 14 OLED has the longest battery life of all the Windows laptops we’ve tested so far in 2024. Unlike most cheap ultrabooks, the Zenbook 14 is sturdy and comes with a USB-C charger, which you can use to charge more devices and is generally cheaper to replace than specialty non–USB-C chargers.

You can read more about the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED and our other picks in our guide to Windows ultrabooks .

Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

Performance for a great price.

The M1 MacBook Air has a comfortable keyboard, good performance, and a reasonable amount of storage—things that haven’t always been true of previous MacBook Airs.

May be out of stock

Upgrade pick

Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022, 13-inch)

A sleek design and a nice webcam.

The 2022 M2 MacBook Air offers an updated design, a brighter screen, and a better webcam, and it restores the fan-favorite MagSafe port.

You save $150 (17%)

Who these are for: If you prefer macOS or need exceptional tech support , a MacBook is a safe bet; the 13-inch models usually offer the best combination of size, weight, and speed. They’re great for most types of schoolwork, including writing, researching, and basic video and photo editing and coding. Once you factor in Apple’s education discount , you can get one with good enough specs and storage to last three to four years for less than $1,000. MacBooks are usually more expensive than Windows ultrabooks, especially if you want to upgrade the memory or storage; Apple’s SSD upgrade prices are so high that we usually recommend looking into cloud storage or an external SSD instead.

Why we like this one: The 13-inch MacBook Air (M1, 2020) costs just $700 at Walmart, the lowest price we’ve seen for a MacBook. If you have a higher budget, we recommend the newer MacBook Air (M2, 2022, 13″) , which has a brighter screen, a superior webcam, and a MagSafe charging port. Both models are more than fast enough for web browsing, working on documents, and light photo and video editing, plus they can even handle professional work like 3D rendering or compiling code. They also have great keyboards and trackpads, as well as all-day battery life. Like Apple’s other laptops, the Air has only USB-C ports; you may need a USB-C hub for certain peripherals. But the Air’s light weight, solid construction, and industry-leading support make it a great laptop, especially if you also own an iPhone or other Apple devices.

For more details on our Mac picks, take a look at our full guide to MacBook models .

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

The best chromebook.

Reliable performance, a spacious touch display, and long-enough battery life for a full workday make the Flex 5i the best Chromebook for the price. But it is a bit heavy.

Who these are for: Chromebooks are ideal for students who don’t need Windows or macOS for specific programs. A good Chromebook can do  almost anything a regular laptop can do , including document work, video calls, and streaming video—as long as it’s possible in a web browser or via Android apps. And $500 Chromebooks tend to be faster, lighter, and sleeker than similarly priced Windows laptops. Plus, Chromebooks are secure and easy to maintain . But Chromebooks may have trouble connecting to campus printers, and they can’t play Windows games. And they’re not good for people who need access to Mac or Windows apps for photo, video, or audio editing, or other specialized software.

Why we like this one: If you can complete all of your coursework on a Chromebook, we recommend the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus because it has the best combination of features and price of all the models we tested. It has fast performance, a reliable keyboard and trackpad, a tall touchscreen, surprisingly good speakers, and enough battery life to last a full day of classes. But we wish it were lighter—at 3.6 pounds, it’s heavy for a 14-inch laptop.

For more options, you can read our full guide to Chromebooks .

Budget pick

Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 (A3SP14-31PT)

The best windows laptop under $500.

Unlike most cheap Windows laptops, the Aspire 3 Spin 14 is fast, compact, and light, and it has a decent 1080p touchscreen and good battery life.

Who these are for: If you need a Windows laptop for school and you can’t afford to spend a lot, you can find a decent one for less than $500, but you have to make some compromises. These models are best suited for grade-school or middle-school students, because most budget Windows laptops that are fast enough for school work tend to be bulky, heavy, and stuck with battery life that won’t last a full day of classes. You have to be extra-vigilant when shopping for a laptop in this price range to avoid slow or old processors, not enough memory, sluggish storage, and terrible, low-resolution displays.

Why we like this one: The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 (A3SP14-31PT) in any of our recommended configurations ( 37NV , 38YA , or 32M6 ) is the best Windows laptop you can find for the price. But we strongly recommend saving up for our top pick if you can—it’s better in nearly every way.

The Aspire 3 Spin 14 is fast enough to meet most people’s computing needs, and its keyboard and trackpad are reliable. It also has a decent-looking 14-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen with a tall aspect ratio, as well as a 360-degree hinge that allows you to use the device as a tablet to take handwritten notes (if you have a stylus). Compared with most bulky Windows laptops in this price range, the Aspire 3 Spin 14 is also more compact, and it has long enough battery life to last a full day of classes.

The Aspire 3 Spin 14 ships with Windows 11 S mode, which allows only apps from the Microsoft Store and limits you to Microsoft Edge for web browsing. But you can switch it to Windows 11 Home for free to install any program you need. It also comes with a ton of bloatware; we recommend following these steps to get rid of it.

Choosing a budget laptop is tricky, because you can find hundreds of variations, their prices fluctuate constantly, and companies release and discontinue models with no warning. If our pick isn’t available, check our full guide for other available options and advice on how to shop for a budget laptop.

For additional details, you can read our full guide to budget laptops .

Apple iPad (10th generation)

The best ipad for most people.

The cheapest iPad that Apple sells has a large screen, fast performance, a USB-C port, and plenty of color options to suit the needs of most people.

With clipped on-page coupon (deal on silver and blue)

Who these are for: Windows laptops and Chromebooks that cost around $300 are almost uniformly unpleasant to use—washed-out screens and crappy performance are the two biggest problems. A tablet isn’t good at all the things a laptop is good at, and if you’re taking programming classes or learning how to do high-end photo and video editing with apps such as Photoshop or Premiere, a tablet probably wouldn’t work for you. But if you mainly need to browse the internet, write papers, stream videos, draw, and take handwritten notes, an iPad can be a workable, inexpensive substitute for a traditional laptop. iPads feel faster than cheap laptops, they run the App Store’s huge selection of games (in addition to productivity apps), and their light weight makes them more convenient to use in bed or on a couch when your homework is done and you want to unwind.

Why we like this one: The 10.9-inch Apple iPad (10th generation) is responsive and pleasant to use, its larger screen is bright and colorful, it has good battery life, and the Apple Pencil is great for drawing or taking notes. And Apple has made big strides forward in keyboard and mouse support, which makes the iPad feel a lot more like a traditional laptop when you put it in a case and pair it to a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (or one of Apple’s Magic Trackpads ). If you can afford it, and especially if your iPad will be your only computer, consider the 256 GB version instead of the 64 GB version; with that version, you’ll need to rely on cloud storage less, and you’ll have more space for apps and other files.

Head to our reviews of the best tablets and pro tablets to read more about our picks.

Meet your guide

Kimber Streams

I’ve been Wirecutter’s resident laptop expert for more than a decade. In that time, I’ve tested hundreds of laptops—including ultrabooks, gaming laptops, Chromebooks, and budget Windows laptops—as well as thousands of keyboards, mice, and other peripherals.

Further reading

The Best Laptops

by Kimber Streams and Dave Gershgorn

From budget-friendly options to thin-and-light ultrabooks to powerful gaming laptops, we’ve spent hundreds of hours finding the best laptops for most people.

The Best Backpacks for College and High School Students

by Zoe Vanderweide

Our top backpack picks for the 2023-2024 school year include a sporty-looking ergonomic pack, a bag that’s nostalgic and timeless, and a polished workhorse.

The Best College Dorm Essentials

by Wirecutter Staff

Our favorite durable-but-not-too-expensive bedding, accessories, kitchen gear, and tools for your dorm room.

The 36 Best Gifts for College Graduates

by Samantha Schoech and Mari Uyehara

This mix of practical and celebratory gifts will help any young person make their way in the world.

I've reviewed 70+ laptops and these are my top 7 laptops for college students

We've handpicked the best laptops for college students

• Best overall
• Best for creatives
• Best Windows option
• Best 2-in-1
• Best for DIYers
• Best gaming laptop
• Best for engineering students
• Battery life results
• How to choose
• How we test

I remember preparing for college, and the stress of finding the perfect laptop for my studies. You need advice on what will meet the demands of your studies — be it an ultra thin and light for essays or a power-packed machine for intense work — and all you're left with is some shop assistant just asking "what do you want the laptop to do?"

This decision-making process is a difficult one, so I'm here to help you find the perfect option for you. We review all the latest and greatest laptops (in my career, I've reviewed a nice 69), and even put them through strenuous tests in our performance lab. That means we can confidently put our stamp of approval on every single one, as they have been personally tested by me and my team.

So whether you need a machine that is capable of handling web browsing and typing (for those essay-centric degrees) or you're looking for something more specialized for the likes of creative arts or advanced programming, these laptops are going to be best for college use.

Based on that experience, here are the best laptops for college students that I recommend!

The quick list

In a hurry? Here's a brief overview of the laptops on this list, along with quick links that let you jump down the page directly to a review of whichever laptop catches your eye.

The MacBook Air M3 is what we most often recommend to students. You get fantastic performance from the new M3 chip, a bright display and more than 15 hours of battery life in an ultraportable package that's easy to tote to class.

Read more below

The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a great laptop for students on a tight budget since it delivers a solid 1080p display, a comfy keyboard and good battery life for $300. It's not fast or powerful, but it's fine for writing papers or doing research online.

The MacBook Pro M3 is the best laptop for college students that do creative work like video editing or graphic design. The new M3 chip is faster and more powerful but you also get a bright display and 17 hours of battery life based on our tests. The MacBook Pro M3 even comes in a new Space Black finish. 

Microsoft's big move to using Snapdragon X Elite for has allowed HP to make one of the best Windows college laptops. This is a performant powerhouse with power and battery life that rivals the M3 MacBook Air!

When it comes to that perfect blend of laptop and tablet for students, nothing comes close to the Surface Pro 11. Thanks to important keyboard cover upgrades, a drop dead gorgeous OLED touchscreen, and Snapdragon X Plus or Elite chips giving you peak performance and power efficiency.

The Framework Laptop is a truly unique Windows ultraportable that's more repairable and upgradeable than any other. It's designed to be easy to upgrade and repair, making it a great investment for tech-friendly (or accident-prone) students.

Load the next 2 laptops...

The MSI Cyborg 15 is the gaming laptop we recommend to students most often because it gives you Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 power for under $1,000. The webcam isn't great and the battery life is terrible, but it's great for gaming in the dorm.

Read more below 

The Dell XPS 16 is what we recommend for engineering students because it has the muscle to do heavy-duty coding or editing, but it's also svelte and portable enough to carry to the lab, class or the coffee shop.

I've been reviewing laptops for over four years, so I know a thing or two about what makes for a great buy for students heading off to college. Picking the right one for your studies is a huge decision, as it will be your daily driver for the next few years and you need that perfect mix of performance, power efficiency and reliability. I can help you find that!

The best college laptops you can buy right now

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

The best overall

1. Apple MacBook Air M3 (2024)

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

There's a reason why we call the M3 MacBook Air "a small wonder." On the face of it, this is merely a spec bump from last year's M2 MacBook Air, but in use, it is so much more than that.

It all comes down to three key things: design, performance and battery life. Starting with the build quality, this aluminum unibody inspires confidence in its durability and reliability, while also being super slim at just 0.44 inches and light at 2.7 pounds. Plus, with a gorgeously utilitarian aesthetic, you're sure to be the coolest kid on campus!

Next, the M3 chip is a mini wonder of a chipset that drastically improves app performance, graphical capabilities and even enables speedy AI thanks to its beefed up Neural Engine. Whether you're multitasking between Chrome and Pages with Apple Music in the back, or straining it with a Premiere Pro 4K edit, the Air can do it all (especially with that bright and color accurate Liquid Retina display).

And finally, if your college experience is anything like mine was, you'll be running between classes without access to a power outlet. Well, in our own intense battery life testing, we saw the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air last 15 hours and 13 minutes. That's "worry-free battery life" territory!

Top it all off with the slickness of macOS for getting work done by day and playing games/binge watching by night, and you've got what I believe is the best laptop for most college students.

Read our full Apple MacBook Air M3 (2024) review . 

The best value

2. Acer Aspire Go 15

The Acer Aspire Go 15 isn't amazing, but it doesn't have to be when the MSRP is $300. At that price, you can make peace with the fact that the Go 15's low-powered CPU and paltry complement of 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage aren't good for much else besides browsing the web, writing and editing, and maybe some very light gaming.

But that's fine for students who just need a cheap laptop for doing research, writing papers and emailing professors. What the Acer Aspire Go 15 lacks in features or charm it more than makes up for in utility, as it offers 10 hours of (tested) battery life and a keyboard that's surprisingly comfy to type on. And while its 15.6-inch 1080p screen looks a bit washed-out and won't make colors pop, it's more than good enough for working with documents.

The Acer Aspire Go 15 doesn't look, feel or sound as fancy as the other laptops on this list, but it's a serviceable workhorse with a $299 price tag, making it the laptop we recommend most often to students and others seeking great value on a budget.

Read our full Acer Aspire Go 15 review.

The best for creatives

3. MacBook Pro 14-inch M3

Out of the three MacBook Pros on offer, the 14-inch Pro with the standard M3 chip is the best for providing the right amount of horsepower for nailing that creative college degree. And even better, it's regularly discounted at up to $150 off.

Of course, with a saving like that, you could opt for upping that performance with something like the M3 Pro MacBook Pro , and get that additional Thunderbolt 4 port in the process. But for what you may be doing in 4K video editing, graphic design, music production or photography, you really don't need that additional oomph (as is clear from how quick it can roll through our Photoshop benchmark).

So that's a big fat "check" on creative performance. As for having confidence in color accuracy, the MacBook Pro features a 14-inch, mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display and in our lab tests, we saw that it's display is even brighter than its predecessor. Not only that, but with a Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.11 (one of the lowest I've ever seen, and lower is better), you will feel reassured that what you're looking at is true to life before sending it for print.

Add in the juicy extras that came with killing the 13-inch Pro and opting to give everyone this fresh 14-inch chassis — such as a full-size SD card slot, HDMI port, amazing keyboard and a battery life that exceeds 17 hours, and I think we've got a creative winner on our hands.

Read our full MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3, 2023) review .

The best Windows laptop for students

4. HP OmniBook X

With the dawn of Copilot+ PCs, Windows laptops are starting to become amazing options for students, and the HP OmniBook X leads the charge on this in terms of face-melting performance and astonishing battery life — all in a durable (and gorgeous) chassis with a fantastic typing experience.

This all comes down to Microsoft shedding the skin of its x86 past and adopting an Arm architecture with Snapdragon X Elite chips. You don't really need to know the differences (if you're curious, I go into a ton of detail at the beginning of my Asus Zenbook S 16 review ). But all you need to know is that the move to Snapdragon silicon has been the Windows 11 equivalent of when Apple ditched Intel and created its own chips. The impact on performance and battery life has been mind blowing.

Top all of that up with a beautiful lightweight aluminum design (2.9 pounds) that ensures durability, and a lovely keyboard/touchpad experience that you'll really enjoy typing on for hours on end, and you've got one of the MVPs of Microsoft's new Copilot+ PC movement.

So whether you're a Windows lover, or you've found out that your college's IT infrastructure leans more heavily towards you making the most out of it with a Microsoft machine, the OmniBook X is one of the best to do it.

Read our full HP OmniBook X review.

The best 2-in-1

5. Microsoft Surface Pro 11

It's taken a while, but the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 has finally nailed the 2-in-1 formula — making this a perfect hybrid for college students. Turns out the secret sauce to achieving greatness is Snapdragon X.

As you saw with the HP OmniBook X, the use of Qualcomm 's chip has dramatically sped up the system, with particular props to transcoding media (important for video editing) and its multitasking performance. Meanwhile, the OLED display (optional in more expensive models) is a flash flood of gorgeous color and aids the battery life too. 

All of this has been packed into that same beautiful design that is just 0.37 inches thick and weighs a mere 1.97 pounds. Plus, with critical improvements made to the typing experience on that keyboard cover (including a wireless connectivity so you can disconnect it from the Surface Pro and keep on typing), this is a fantastic choice for the next step in your education.

Of course, moving to Arm means that certain apps may be incompatible, but the core set you need (or want) are supported for your studies and keeping yourself entertained. This includes Chrome, Office, Photoshop and much more.

Read our full Microsoft Surface Pro 11 review .

The best for DIYers

6. Framework Laptop

Upgradeability is not necessarily something people think about when it comes to a good college laptop, but it makes a lot of sense, and the Framework Laptop is my top pick for this for its impressive modularity.

Put simply, you can customize, repair and upgrade every component to an unprecedented degree — all while remaining affordable and ultraportable. And when it comes to replacing key components like the screen and mainboard, all you need is the screwdriver that Framework ships with it.

It's not for everyone, but if you're the DIY type and love the idea of being able to tinker with your laptop's innards this is the best laptop for you. The Framework laptop is currently only available for purchase from the Framework  website , and the price tag starts at around $1k — though you can pay even less for the DIY Edition if you're willing to assemble your laptop yourself and provide your own memory, storage, operating system, and Wi-Fi card. It's a great ultraportable that doubles as a learning device you can take apart and fix or upgrade yourself, and for some students it's perfect.

Read our full Framework Laptop review .

The best gaming laptop

7. MSI Cyborg 15

OK, so I can imagine some confused faces here — why am I recommending a gaming laptop for college students? Well, as I'll explain in handpicking the MSI Cyborg 15, you get so much more than you think.

It starts with the ability to handle design-intensive college work well with its dedicated GPU. This will allow it to handle beefy animation tasks impressively well, and thanks to Nvidia 's AI toolbox of features, you can be sure of strong horsepower.

And also, there is that gaming performance. Maybe you've got a dense Steam library that you want to play while in your dorm room? This will handle gaming admirably at 1080p, and that RTX 4050 unlocks the combo breaker of gaming and AI that is DLSS 3.5 to give you impressive frame rates.

Of course, it's a gaming laptop, so stamina is not its forte. Only go for this if you can be sure of power outlet availability, and if you're feeling confident whipping out an in-your-face gaming laptop in class without judgemental looks. 

But for what you get at a price below $1,000, if you can forgive battery life, this could be the all-in-one productivity and gaming machine that will carry you through college easily.

Read our full MSI Cyborg 15 review .

The best laptop for engineering students

8. Dell XPS 16

I like to recommend the Dell XPS 16 to engineering students because (if it matches the requirements of your program!) it's a nice blend of power, portability and a big screen for staying on top of your work without eye strain.

I know because I reviewed this Windows 11 laptop, and I really love the 4K OLED touchscreen upgrade because it makes everything you do on the laptop look nicer. But students on a budget need not strain themselves to get it: Dell's basic LCD panel that comes standard on this machine is more than good enough for school.

But please do check your school's requirements about what laptop to bring before pulling the trigger, and make sure you get one that meets your needs. That's another nice thing about the XPS 16: it's highly customizable, so you have a lot of room for configuration. If you plan to do a lot of demanding simulations, coding or other such work I recommend upgrading to a discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX laptop GPU as well.

Read our full Dell XPS 16 review .

Battery benchmarks: comparison

Battery life is a key concern for students since you don't want a laptop dying in the middle of class. With that in mind we've collected all the results from our battery tests of these laptops, and I've organized them below in a brief chart.

As you can see, Apple's MacBook Pro is the current clear winner of terms of long battery life.

How to choose the best laptop for you

Performance: If you're going to be spending years studying, you're going to need a computer with enough power to handle anything your teachers throw at you. We recommend at least a new mid-range CPU (Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5) and at least 8 GB of RAM, though if you can afford to spend more on on a laptop with better specs it will pay off in the long run.

Graphics and gaming: Most gaming laptops come with discrete graphics cards so they can run the latest games well, but the same card can be equally vital to engineering students who will be using CAD (computer-assisted design) and 3D analysis programs. These kinds of applications really benefit from the power of a good GPU, so if you're expecting to do any graphics or 3D work it's a good idea to invest in a laptop with a discrete Nvidia or AMD graphics card.

Operating system: Laptops typically come in three flavors: Windows (most mainstream PCs), macOS (MacBooks) and Chrome OS (Chromebooks). Chrome OS isn't good for much besides web surfing, file management, and light computing, so a Chromebook isn't a great choice for serious schoolwork. However, a crafty student could install Linux on a high-powered Chromebook to turn it into a decent laptop for engineering work.

Many engineering students spend a lot of time working with specialized or self-developed software, so Windows is often preferable over macOS because it throws up fewer roadblocks when using such tools. However, even Windows can sometimes get in the way of serious engineering work, which is why many engineering students get Windows laptops and install Linux on them so they can dual-boot into either operating system.

As mentioned above, when making your buying decision be sure to consult your teachers and/or the engineering department at your school for more specific advice on what you'll need for your studies. Whichever system you decide on, it's a good idea to pair it with the best mouse for your particular work situation.

How we tested these laptops

How we test the best laptops for students.

To find the best laptops we run every machine through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use. 

We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter. For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include Geekbench 6 (CPU performance), as well as various 3DMark tests to measure graphics capabilities. We also run a file transfer test to measure how fast a machine's hard drive is, and a custom battery test that has the machine browse the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.

Plus, we run the graphics benchmark test in Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm to get a sense of how well a laptop can handle basic games. When testing dedicated gaming laptops, we run benchmarks for a number of games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry: New Dawn.

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Jason brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a Managing Editor of Computing at Tom's Guide. He has previously written for Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, Kotaku, Stuff and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you'll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn't already.

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Best College Laptops: Tested Picks for Research, Writing, Gaming and More

College laptops fit for any student.

• MacBook Air (M3)
• Asus Zenbook 14 OLED
• Microsoft Surface Pro (11th Edition)
• HP Spectre x360 14
• Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12)
• Shopping Tips

For a college student, there is no more important tool than a laptop. It's a catch-all for note-taking, studying, homework, collaboration, procrastination (don't tell your professors), and extracurricular activities. When you pick one, you're likely choosing a tool for at least four years of education, if not further studies or just life after college.

Picking a college laptop can feel like homework in itself. There are a ton of laptops on the market, and you may get some help by checking out recommendations from your school or department. In our opinion, most students should prioritize portability, battery life and then performance, unless your school recommends something specific. This semester, the latest parts in laptops include Intel's Core Ultra CPUs, AMD's Ryzen AI 300 processors, Apple's M3 chips and Nvidia's RTX 40-series GPUs. If you're taking classes remotely, be sure to take the webcam into consideration. More and more laptops are finally getting 1080p webcams, which often include higher-quality lenses for better images. (Many, but not all, also have privacy shutters for when you're not making calls.) Also, don't forget whatever student discounts are available. Many vendors may give you some percentage off, a gift card, or a free extra when you can prove that you're a student, either with a .edu email address or a college ID card.

Best College Laptops You Can Buy Today

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Popular in the lecture hall

1. MacBook Air (M3)

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

Apple's thin and fanless MacBook Air with the M3 chip is likely to be a popular sign on college campuses this fall. The company may be popular, sure, but the M3 Air has the performance and longevity to back it up. If you use multiple monitors at your desk, you'll be glad to know the new MacBook Airs support two of them. For when you're on the go, both the 13-inch and 15-inch models ran for more than 15 hours on our battery test. Both machines include sharp webcams, excellent touchpads, and bright displays. The 15-inch version in particular has excellent speakers, with six speakers and force-canceling woofers. The M3 MacBook Airs start at $1,099 for the 13-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-incher. Be sure you get exactly what you want, but beware, upgrade pricing can be wallet busting. For those looking for some savings, the 13-inch M2 model starts at $999. Read: MacBook Air (M3) review

High specs for a good price

2. Asus Zenbook 14 OLED

We see laptops with great screens and fast chips all the time, but the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED delivers both, and for a great price. We tested it with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for $1,299, and have seen even lower prices in the months since. 

At just 2.82 pounds, the sturdy aluminum laptop won't be too heavy in a backpack (Though the "pounder blue" color attracts fingerprints). The only performance downside was that this machine throttled on our Cinebench stress test. For quick bursts of speed, it's good, but if you do intensive work, you should take note. The keyboard is sort of mushy, which might not be great for term papers, but for the pricing, you may be able to tolerate that. Read: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review  

For dedicated notetakers

3. Microsoft Surface Pro (2024)

The Microsoft Surface Pro is a sleek, portable system that's easy to take with you, and is great for notetaking with a pen. Add in long battery life, and you have a study tool that can go with you from class to class. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip has enough power to keep up with x86. Thanks to an increasing number of Arm-compatible apps, including Google Chrome, you won't be missing out on a lot from Intel and AMD machines. That being said, you'll want to make sure any dedicated software you use for class will work. Qualcomm's NPU, with 45 TOPS, is great for Windows Studio effects, but mostly these effects are cool tricks for now. Don't buy this just for AI. But if you want a great note taking device that's extra slim, it's worth considering. Just don't forget to add a keyboard and stylus to the base price. Read: Microsoft Surface Pro review

An excellent 2-in-1

4. HP Spectre x360 14 (2024)

HP may have sunset the Spectre line , but the last 14-inch machine on the market to bear the name is a great one. The Spectre is an attractive laptop with a 16:10 display (though we still miss the old 3:2 aspect ratio). The aluminum design feels premium, which it should — this laptop commands a high price. The Spectre doesn't have a ton of ports, but you still get a USB-A port for legacy peripherals thanks to a drop-jaw hinge. HP has switched to speakers from Poly, which it owns, and we found they were loud, clear, and balanced.

Read: HP Spectre x360 14 review

For a bit of graphics power

5. Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i

Some majors, like engineers, graphics designers, or some programmers may need a bit of extra graphics power. That's where having a discrete GPU comes in. We tested the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i with an RTX 4050, along with a beautiful 16-inch, 3200 x 2000 display. The Yoga Pro 9i also has an excellent 5MP webcam for when classes are remote, and deep key travel for taking notes. The display could be a bit brother, and there's a bit of bloatware you may want to remove. But the Yoga came in cheaper than some competing laptops, like the Dell XPS 16, with a discrete graphics card. Those who like to tinker will appreciate the extra SSD slot, which you can use to bulk up storage. 

Read: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i review

A finely-honed business machine

6. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12

For business majors who want to get a feel for the type of laptop their first job will give them, there's the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12). The ThinkPad has its trademark excellent keyboard, and with the TrackPoint in the middle, you don't even have to move your hands from the home row to move the cursor. There are plenty of ports for your peripherals, including USB Type-A. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon can get pricey. We advise against the OLED screen option, as we didn't find it that impressive, and a standard LCD display would likely do better on battery life.

Read: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12)  

Quick College Laptop Shopping Tips

• Consider your major or specialization: Science majors and liberal arts majors may have different needs. An engineering major working with computer-aided design software might want a notebook with a discrete graphics card, while students who primarily do research and write papers may be fine with a thin ultrabook. Your school or department may also have recommended specifications (as well as a list of software that you'll need to run), so be sure to check those out.
• Learn if your work will live locally or in the cloud: Find out if your school or department uses cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. If they do, you may be able to get by with less internal storage. Of course, if you want your own copies of your work or would like to keep personal files as well as school files, budget for a bit of extra space.
• Weight and battery life matter: After all, you'll be carrying this laptop around all day in a backpack as you move from class to class. Lightweight and long battery life can both save your back and leave more room for books.
• Consider how you take notes: A good keyboard is always important, especially when you're writing papers. But some students still prefer to take notes by hand, and those people will want to consider a convertible or detachable 2-in-1 with a stylus.
• See if you can get a student discount: Some stores will offer you a discount with your proof of affiliation with a university or college. It's also possible that your school will have a relationship with a vendor for deals on certain models. Others may just throw in a gift card or some free earbuds. If you can find a deal, great; school is expensive enough.

Finding Discounts on the Best College Laptops

Finding discounts on the best college laptops .

Whether you're shopping for one of the best gaming laptops or another model that didn't quite make our list, you may find some savings by checking out our lists of Dell coupon codes , HP coupon codes , Lenovo coupon codes , Razer promo codes or Newegg promo codes .

Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter

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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social .

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• RebeliusGaming I had you as a referent, but Apple laptop as number 1 option for gaming?.... It has to be a mistake. Reply
• aindriu80 This list makes no sense at all, going to college with the highest-end machines consumers can purchase??, what about the college part? Reply
• Old Molases What do you think of Acer Nitro 5? Reply
• shady28 Bad list. In college you want something light, good battery life, a good adjustable screen, decent keyboard, and fairly rugged. Those are paramount. Gaming is a far distant concern. A lot of corporate laptops fit this bill A big bulky low battery life Nitro 5 is horrible. You'll look really dense sitting in a classroom with that thing and its huge power brick. Which means it'll sit in the dorm. The Surface would be perfect, but that's a $1500+ laptop there. You probably should have set a price limit of $800 or so. The XPS, beyond being expensive, again you picked a 15" model. Do you guys imagine a bunch of students in class with 15" screens on their 12" wide flip up tables? I mean yes, get a 27" 1440p IPS monitor for the dorm, the laptop needs to be usable in class. The Mac would be the perfect form factor with a great screen and solid construction, but unless you are going for a media related degree like graphic design or some such, it is a no go. Too much requires Windows software. It's also expensive. There are plenty of options out there but this list is trash. Reply
• JimboCA Mac may be out of the budget of many college students. I have both PC and Mac laptops. The PC laptop is necessary for PC-specific applications. In my work, I need MS Visio. The Mac substitutes do not work for me as well. I love the Mac for its intuitive layout. On the PC side, I like the HP laptops. I have a Z Book 17 (not the best for lugging around, however it has a top notch discrete graphics card and 32 gb of RAM. I have a smaller HP for portability's sake. The elite book is small and fairly powerful. The best considerations need to be: What software do I need to run? How portable do I need it to be? What kind of battery life do I need? There are great choices that fit the spectrum. Reply

Admin said: , portability and the power to tackle everything your major requires. Our list includes Windows PCs, Macs and some gaming systems for those who like to play when they aren't working.

Admin said: The best college laptops offer great battery life, portability and the power to tackle everything your major requires. Our list includes Windows PCs, Macs and some gaming systems for those who like to play when they aren't working. Best College Laptops: Tested Picks for Research, Writing, Gaming and More : Read more

shady28 said: Bad list. In college you want something light, good battery life, a good adjustable screen, decent keyboard, and fairly rugged. Those are paramount. Gaming is a far distant concern. A lot of corporate laptops fit this bill A big bulky low battery life Nitro 5 is horrible. You'll look really dense sitting in a classroom with that thing and its huge power brick. Which means it'll sit in the dorm. The Surface would be perfect, but that's a $1500+ laptop there. You probably should have set a price limit of $800 or so. The XPS, beyond being expensive, again you picked a 15" model. Do you guys imagine a bunch of students in class with 15" screens on their 12" wide flip up tables? I mean yes, get a 27" 1440p IPS monitor for the dorm, the laptop needs to be usable in class. The Mac would be the perfect form factor with a great screen and solid construction, but unless you are going for a media related degree like graphic design or some such, it is a no go. Too much requires Windows software. It's also expensive. There are plenty of options out there but this list is trash.

• passivecool IMHO an idiotic set of parameters by which to judge this category. Poor Andrew, a victim of TH intel+gaming brainwashing. I like to follow TH but if you are looking for advice for this segment, click on... Reply
• My son loves the hp ultrabook. AMD powered and only was $600 I would never buy the intel part. Lol. They run super hot. They are also inefficient. I’ll be sticking with AMD These articles are generally terrible Reply
• View All 10 Comments

Most Popular

• Buying Guide

What’s the best student laptop? We asked students

The best laptops for students, from kindergarten through college.

By Monica Chin , a senior reviewer covering laptops and other gadgets. Monica was a writer for Tom's Guide and Business Insider before joining The Verge in 2020.

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Shopping for a laptop can be stressful — doubly stressful if you or your children will be learning online for the first time. Kids of different ages have a range of different laptop use cases and different needs. And as the choices for best laptop and best Chromebook evolve, so do students’ needs. So I spoke to some experts on the subject: students themselves. 

• The best laptop you can buy
• The best Chromebooks to buy

My recommendations here are meant to accommodate a variety of preferences and price ranges. But they’re a jumping-off point rather than an exhaustive list: every student is different. Before making a decision, you’ll want to make sure you read reviews and try out devices yourself if you can. I’ll do my best to keep this article up to date with items that are in stock. 

The best laptop for elementary school

For younger students, a touchscreen device is easier to use than a keyboard and touchpad, says Michelle Glogovac. Glogovac’s five-year-old son uses an iPad for Webex meetings with his kindergarten class. He’s gotten the hang of it; Glogovac says he’s already learned how to mute and unmute himself, “a skill that many adults aren’t familiar with.” 

That said, it may be worth investing in a keyboard case if you go the tablet route. Glogovac has to type her son’s meeting codes and passwords for him, which can be cumbersome on the iPad’s flat screen. 

As kids get older, their best laptop choice will vary depending on their needs. As a parent, it’s important that you and your child are in sync about how they intend to use it and the size of the programs they want. 

Kristin Wallace purchased a budget HP laptop for her daughter, Bella, but didn’t realize how quickly the nine-year-old would fill up 32GB of storage. “It is really slow and has no space for games. I need a computer with more storage space,” said Bella, who uses the laptop to Zoom with friends and take virtual guitar lessons and math enrichment classes. Wallace plans to buy Bella a better device in the next few weeks. 

Audio quality is an important consideration for kids’ laptops. Lisa Mitchell, an elementary library media specialist, says her students use their devices to watch YouTube videos in addition to their online classes. Battery life is also a plus, even for distance learners who may not be far from a wall outlet. Bella likes to use her laptop all around the house and doesn’t want to bring the cord with her.

Durability is also worth paying for, according to Mitchell. If you’re using a tablet, get a protective case. “If a reasonably-priced insurance or replacement policy is available, it’s usually worth the extra expense.”

Check out :

• Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Editio n ($139.99): a colorful, fast tablet with kid-friendly content
• Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 ($379): a tiny 11-inch Chromebook with a detachable keyboard
• Apple 10.2-inch iPad ($329): a great budget tablet that supports the Apple Pencil
• Microsoft Surface Go 3 ($439.99): a solid Windows tablet with a built-in kickstand
• Google Pixelbook Go ($649): a sturdy touchscreen Chromebook

The best laptop for middle school

The middle school students I spoke to don’t use their laptops for much more than web-based schoolwork and browsing. Don’t be too concerned about power — prioritize a machine that’s comfortable and easy for your child to use. 

“We just got the most basic Chromebook and it is totally perfect,” says Gabrielle Hartley, an attorney and mother of three children. “The most basic Chromebook serves all the needs of the basic middle schooler.”

Hartley’s son Max, who is in eighth grade, agrees. “I would really like a gaming PC or gaming laptop that can plug into a monitor and run video games with 120fps, but I really don’t need that,” Max says. “Most eighth graders aren’t going to be running any video games on their laptops or any software that requires a lot of power.”

Max mostly uses his laptop for Google Classroom applications, including Gmail, Slides, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. They’re very easy to use on his device, which he describes as “a run-of-the-mill Samsung Chromebook.” That said, if your child is starting middle school this year, it could be worth checking with their teachers to see what operating system is most compatible with their workflow. Caspian Fischer Odén, a ninth grader from Sweden, told me he has trouble with his Chromebook because his school has blocked downloading apps from the Google Play Store. 

Even kids with more demanding hobbies think a budget device can get the job done. Sam Hickman, an eighth grader from the UK who uses his laptop for photo and video editing, says, “For most middle schoolers, any processor developed within the last two years will be able to handle any tasks they can throw at it.” 

So, what is worth paying for? A comfortable keyboard, several students told me. Many middle school kids aren’t used to typing for long periods of time. You should also look for a device that’s compact and easy for them to carry around, particularly if they’re preparing for in-person school. Shoot for an 11- to 13-inch model — certainly nothing larger than 15 inches. 

• HP Chromebook x360 ($239.99): an affordable Chromebook with great battery life
• Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook ($299.99): a small but sturdy laptop made for students
• Lenovo 300e ($419.99): a durable 2-in-1 with a stylus and LTE
• Acer Aspire 5 ($679.99): a portable option for kids who need a 15-inch screen
• Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 ($573.99): an attractive, light Windows laptop

The best laptop for high school

High schoolers’ laptop needs can vary based on their interests, but most don’t need powerful machines with lots of bells and whistles — especially if they come with glitches or serious downsides that could interfere with schoolwork. Miles Riehle, a student at Laguna Beach High School, has a high-end Surface Pro 7 but finds it overwhelming. “There is so much other stuff that I don’t use very often,” he said. “Something simpler might be a little more straightforward.”

The best operating system may depend on what your child is used to. Aryan Nambiar, a student at Barrington High School in Illinois, has an iMac at home and enjoys using an iPad for his schoolwork. Riehle says he would prefer a Chromebook because he has an Android phone and often uses Google services. 

But almost every student I spoke to agreed that the most important feature of a high school laptop is portability. Kids attending in-person classes may be carrying their device around for much of the day with a stack of other books. Look for a 13- or 14-inch screen, or a lighter 15- to 17-inch model. 

Students also recommend something sturdy. “Most high schoolers I’ve seen will throw their laptop in their bag without too much care,” says Moses Buckwalter, a student at Penn Manor High School. Backpacks can be jostled in the hallway as well. Kids can also run into trouble at home. “Anything can happen,” says Aadit Agrawal, a high school student from India. “My own brother scratched my laptop with his nails.”

Battery life is another key feature. “It can be a real struggle to find a place to charge while in class,” says Cas Heemskerk, a sophomore from the Netherlands. Unlike college students, many high schoolers don’t have frequent breaks to juice up their devices, so try to find something that can last a full day. 

Many students recommend a touchscreen with stylus support. Nambiar uses the feature for his biology class, where he does a lot of visual modeling. “The touchscreen is always a bonus for drawing diagrams, whereas if you’re using a laptop it’d be a whole process to submit a diagram you drew,” Nambiar says. Riehle uses a Surface Pen to fill out school forms and annotate PDFs. Agrawal finds it useful to take notes on the same screen as his online lessons.

Depending on the broadband situation in your area, you may also want a laptop with multiple connectivity options. Agrawal’s online classes are sometimes interrupted by powercuts, so he recommends an LTE model. Matej Plavevski, a junior at Yahya Kemal College in North Macedonia, recommends looking for an Ethernet port in case slower connections disrupt meetings. That’s hard to find on smaller laptops, but there’s a slew of affordable dongles and docks to consider. 

• Acer Chromebook Spin 514 ($699.99): a convertible Chromebook with all-day battery
• Apple iPad Air ($599): a powerful tablet with a great screen
• Acer Chromebook Spin 714 ($699.99): a fantastic Chromebook that’s not too pricey
• Dell XPS 13 ($599): a solid clamshell Windows laptop
• Surface Laptop 5 ($899.99): an excellent, light laptop that’s comfortable to use

The best laptop for college

College kids are justified in spending a bit more money than other age groups. Some (especially in STEM courses) can expect to do some fairly demanding work. Assad Abid, an electrical engineering undergrad from Pakistan, needs to run simulation software for his assignments. Aakash Chandra, a student at New Horizon College of Engineering in India, does a lot of coding, in addition to creative work in Premiere Pro and Photoshop, and gaming. Students also noted that it’s worthwhile to pay for a laptop that will last for a few years after graduation. That means you won’t have to worry about finding and financing your next device until you’re (hopefully) settled into a job.

But among high-end, capable devices there’s still a wide range of options. Students stressed that a college laptop should be light. Expect to bring it between classes, meals, meetings, the library, and other locations on campus. “It’s a boon that I can carry my laptop as well as some notebooks without feeling like I’m carrying too much for six hours a day,” says Haseeb Waseem, a senior at Villanova University. 

Another universally-lauded feature: battery life. Waseem, who uses an HP Spectre, says the all-day juice gives him “the flexibility to study in a bunch of different locations, and even outside.” 

Speakers and webcams are often overlooked, even in top-end devices. But students say it’s worth looking for good ones if you’re starting college this year. Though many college students are now back to in-person classes, some will still be meeting with clubs and attending events online. Waseem isn’t satisfied with his laptop’s audio and picture quality, which he says has made it difficult to pay attention in class and to engage with other students.  

Many students will need to invest more in areas tailored to their interests and schoolwork needs. Chandra’s dream laptop would include a stylus and touchscreen for his creative work as well as a high-end GPU. Waseem, who uses his laptop for a hodgepodge of activities, including streaming, coding, social media, video chatting, and Microsoft Office work, would prefer to prioritize a large screen to keep track of his multitasking. 

• Acer Swift 3 ($849.99): a super light laptop that performs well
• HP Envy x360 ($1099.99): a fast and stylish 2-in-1
• HP Spectre x360 13.5 ($1,399.99): a premium convertible with standout battery life

The iMac M4 wasn’t built for this world

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Best laptops for college students 2024: Top picks and expert advice

The school season is finally here, folks. Whether you’re looking to pick up an affordable laptop for an elementary student or something more powerful for a college freshman, we’ve got several options to choose from right here. However finding the right laptop for your studies can be difficult and overwhelming, which is why it’s important to consider these six must-have features first. If you’re here for just laptop buying recommendations, then you’ve come to the right spot. Below you’ll find a carefully curated list of laptops the team at PCWorld have personally tested. Read on to learn more.

Why you should trust us: It’s in our name: PCWorld. We’ve been reviewing laptops for over 40 years, with exacting standards applied to all facets of the user experience, from performance benchmarks to features to the rigors of daily use. Our experts know their stuff and have curated a comprehensive list of the best laptops for college students, with their particular needs in mind.

After you finish looking over our recommendations, be sure to hit our daily updated roundup of the best laptop deals to try and score a great laptop on sale. Or check out our roundup of the best laptops for even more recommendations. By the way, since we’re in the middle of back-to-school season, be sure to check out PCWorld’s extensive back-to-school coverage for advice and deals.

Quick links to select top recommendations:

• Best overall for students:   Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (2024)
• Best battery life:   Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6
• Best budget laptop for students:   Acer Aspire Go 15
• Best Chromebook for students:   Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

Best laptops for college students

Dell inspiron plus 14 – best overall for students.

• Fantastic performance
• Exceptional battery life
• Great typing experience
• CPU throttles under heavy loads
• No user upgrades

Why we like the Dell Inspiron Plus 14

The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is one of the most well-rounded laptops available right now. You’re getting reliable performance, phenomenal battery life, and a superb-looking display. It only costs $999.99 too, which is several hundred dollars cheaper than our former top pick. With a PCMark 10 score of 7,061, it beat both the similarly spec’d Acer Swift Go 14 and the more expensive Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon . (PCMark 10 gauges how well a laptop handles day-to-day tasks.) It also lasted a whopping 17 hours on a single charge, which is perfect for students looking for a long-lasting machine. You don’t have to go hunting for an outlet between classes, that’s for sure.

Performance and battery life are no doubt impressive, but the 14-inch 1400p display is also worth noting. According to our review, “the display is exceedingly well suited to office work and static imagery.” We measured a peak brightness level of 418 nits, which is plenty bright for writing papers and browsing the web. Plus, thanks to the anti-glare coating on the display, you can use this laptop in natural lighting environments.

Who should buy the Dell Inspiron Plus 14

Students looking for a well-rounded and long-lasting laptop. The design is a bit boring, sure, but its hardware capabilities and long battery life make up for the staid aesthetics. You can’t get much better than this–especially for $999.99.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED – Best laptop for students runner-up

• Robust build quality
• Attractive OLED touchscreen
• Good CPU and integrated GPU performance
• Amazing battery life
• Blah design
• Keyboard isn’t memorable
• Mediocre connectivity

Why we like the Asus Zenbook

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED dazzled us with its peppy processor performance, outstanding battery life, and sublime OLED touchscreen display. Movies and games “look realistic and vibrant” on the 14-inch 1200p display and the 75 watt-hour battery ran for a whopping 16 hours on a single charge. This result really blows away competitors like the Lenovo Slim 7 14 Gen 9  and the  HP Pavilion Plus Laptop 14 . As for how it fares in the performance department, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is plenty fast during day-to-day tasks such as web browsing, chatting over video, and so on, delivering benchmark scores just a bit below our top pick.

Who should buy the Asus Zenbook

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is a fantastic choice for students because it offers outstanding battery life, speedy overall performance, and a lovely OLED display. It’s also cheaper than our current top pick. That said, it’s a runner-up for a reason. The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, which is still the reigning champ, is the more well-rounded option of the two. It has twice the storage, a higher resolution screen, and a better keyboard. However, if you’re looking to save a hundred bucks or so, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is still a great option.

Acer Aspire Go 15 – Best budget laptop for students

• Decent battery life
• Good display visibility
• Big and bulky
• Cheap build
• Limited performance

Why we like the Acer Aspire Go 15

The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a great choice for students on a tight budget. The power-efficient Intel Core i3-N305 is capable of handling day-to-day tasks such as watching Netflix, surfing the web, writing papers, and more. This laptop also managed 12 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is more than a full school day. Connectivity options aren’t too shabby, either. You’re getting one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with Power Delivery and DisplayPort, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI, one 3.5mm combo audio, one Kensington lock slot, and one DC barrel jack.

Who should buy the Acer Aspire Go 15

Anyone who needs an affordable laptop with decent performance. The 53.9 watt-hour battery will last you most of the day and the CPU has enough power for daily tasks. The 15.6-inch 1080p display also boasts good visibility and the keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience. It doesn’t have all the fancy features you’d see on a high-end machine, but some folks don’t need all that extra noise. If you’re on an ultra-strict budget, then the Acer Aspire Go 15 is worth picking up.

Lenovo Flex 5i – Best Chromebook for students

• Great build quality
• Vibrant touchscreen display
• Fast performance
• Nice typing experience
• Stylus not included
• Average battery life for a Chromebook
• Heavier than expected

Why we like the Lenovo Flex

The Lenovo Flex 5i is a great Chromebook because of its convertible design, fast performance, superb typing experience, and touchscreen display. The chassis has a luxurious aluminum finish on it, which makes it feel three or four times as expensive. The 360-degree hinge that connects the display to the rest of the laptops feels strong and like it won’t wear out anytime soon. The keyboard is also a dream to type on and easy to adjust to, and the 1200p display produces sharp, colorful visuals. Sure, it’s heavier than we expected right out of the box and the stylus isn’t included, but those are small trade-offs in the grand scheme of things. Overall, this is a well-rounded machine.

Who should buy the Lenovo Flex

We feel as though the Lenovo Flex 5i is a good option for those who prefer using Google’s ecosystem and can handle mostly working online. The beautiful touchscreen display and the convertible design really gives it the edge over other Chromebooks and even some Windows laptops, as you usually see those features in machines that cost much more. While the nine-hour battery life is a little below average for a Chromebook, it’ll still last you a full school day and then some. At the end of the day, the Lenovo Flex 5i’s list of compromises is quite small.

Alternative option :  If you’re dealing with an unforgiving budget (been there), the  Acer Chromebook Plus 514   ($249.99 / £399 U.K. ) is worth picking up . It’s about $100/£100 cheaper than our current pick and it comes with loads of connectivity options as well as a spacious keyboard and a sophisticated design. It’s not a 2-in-1 laptop like Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus, but I wouldn’t consider that a deal-breaker, especially if you prefer traditional clamshells.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 – Best battery life

• Remarkable battery life
• A great array of ports
• Sturdy, lightweight design
• High-visibility display
• Variable performance trails competitors
• A bit pricier than competition

Why we like the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is a long-lasting machine with a “reasonably sharp” 14-inch 1920×1200 display. In fact, it lasted almost 24 hours on a single charge–that’s absolutely bananas! This is likely because of the power-efficient Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 processor inside the machine and the lower-resolution display. The speakers also pump out impressive volume and the connectivity options are pretty diverse. In addition to a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, you’ll also find two USB-A 5Gbps ports and two USB4 ports.

Who should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6

Anyone with a jam-packed school schedule! The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is designed to keep going and going, which is perfect when you’re running from class to class. It’s a dependable machine that will keep up with “light workloads wherever you go,” according to our review. If you don’t mind a drop in storage space, the 256GB SSD configuration of this laptop is currently 40 percent off at Lenovo . That’s a savings of $787.60!

MacBook Air (M3) – Best MacBook for students

• Excellent battery life
• Great combination of price, features, and performance
• 256GB SSD is now two NAND chips, maintaining performance
• Expensive memory upgrades
• Dual external display support requires closed lid

Why we like the MacBook Air

From the outstanding battery life to the spacious Liquid Retina display, the MacBook Air (M3) received high marks across the board. It comes with an 8-core CPU (M3) and a 10-core GPU as well as two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 66.5 watt-hour battery. Performance is similar to the MacBook Pro (M3) , which means it can blitz through school work and casual use tasks. The only difference between the two is that the MacBook Air doesn’t have fans, resulting in quieter operation. This laptop also managed a whopping 19 hours on a single charge, which is great news for those with jam-packed schedules and who have zero time to plug into the nearest outlet.

Who should buy the MacBook Air

Anyone who prefers MacOS over other operating systems! The battery life is incredible and the laptop itself weighs just a little over three pounds, which means you can easily take it anywhere with you. The $1,299 price tag is also reasonable for the performance and features. However, the 8GB of RAM is light compared to Windows-based alternatives.

Acer TravelMate P6 – Best ultraportable for students

• Long battery life
• Light and portable
• A good price for a business laptop
• Keyboard is a tad mushy
• No NPU for future Windows AI features
• Consumer laptops deliver similar specs at a lower price

Why we like the Acer TravelMate

The Acer TravelMate P6 is so lightweight that it might just float up into the stratosphere. It weighs just 2.65 pounds and is made of magnesium alloy, which is a very light yet durable material. This is the kind of laptop you can easily toss in a bag and take with you from class to class. The 65 watt-hour battery also lasted nearly 13 hours on a single charge — more than a full school day! In the performance department, thanks to the Intel Core i5-1335U CPU, it’s equipped to handle coursework and day-to-day tasks.

Who should buy the Acer TravelMate

The Acer TravelMate P6 is a good option if you’re looking for a powerful, lightweight laptop. In addition to the slimmed-down form factor, it also features a 1080p webcam with a physical privacy shutter and a 14-inch 1200p display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The taller aspect ratio gives you more room to scroll through webpages and the 1080p webcam will make you look your best during remote sessions. Plus, the backlit keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience. What more could you ask for?

Alternative option : The Lenovo Chromebook Duet ($399.99) is another good option to consider. It weighs just 2.09 pounds and it’s hundreds of dollars cheaper than our current pick. However, you’re stuck using Google’s web-focused ecosystem (aka ChromeOS), which may be a non-starter if you need to run discrete programs for school.

Acer Nitro V 16 – Best gaming laptop for students

• Solid performance
• Competitive price
• Dedicated button for quick performance mode switching
• Fast 165Hz display with good colors
• Fully plastic build
• Mushy keyboard
• Weak battery life

Why we like the Acer Nitro V 16

The Acer Nitro V 16 is a fantastic option for those on a strict budget. You’re getting a fast IPS display and RTX 4060 graphics for just under a grand, a phenomenal value. When we ran the more demanding Metro Exodus benchmark on this machine, the Nitro reached an average of 38 frames-per-second, which is “more than competitive with gaming laptops with similar components,” according to our review.

The battery life, as you might’ve guessed, is the laptop’s Achilles heel. We only managed to get four hours out of it before it died. That’s not a surprising result, as gaming laptops traditionally have poor battery life, but it won’t last very long unplugged.

Who should buy the Acer Nitro V 16

Anyone who needs an affordable, reliable gaming laptop. The 16-inch 1920×1200 display is perfect for action-packed games because of the 165Hz refresh rate and, thanks to the RTX 4060 GPU, it’s capable of running most games on the Medium or High graphics preset. That sort of grunt makes it great for handling heavier work tasks as well, though its plastic build may be a turn-off for discerning students.

Recent laptop reviews

• Acer Swift 14 AI : The Acer Swift 14 AI isn’t exciting, but it packs well-rounded performance, good battery life, and a nice buffet of connectivity at a reasonable price.
• HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 : If you’re looking for a solid 2-in-1 that gets the job done and you can get behind the idea of efficiency over power, then the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 is worth your Consideration.
• Dell Inspiron 14 : The choice to switch to a Qualcomm SoC should have come with some advantage over other systems, but our testing couldn’t really find one.
• Asus Zenbook S 14 : The Asus Zenbook S 14 is a potent lightweight laptop that allows you to work over a day without a charge.
• MSI Stealth A16 AI+ : The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is a jack-of-all-trades that tries to deliver strong CPU and GPU performance in a thin chassis yet also provides lengthy battery life. It mostly succeeds, though its mediocre display is a bummer.
• Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus : The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus offers strong processing performance as well as a paper-thin design. However, battery life could be better and it’s missing a few premium features we expected to see given the price of this laptop.

How we tested

The PCWorld team puts every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests. It wouldn’t be fair or possible to run the same kinds of tests on a Chromebook, as they’re Chrome OS-based machines.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them. For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out  how PCWorld tests laptops .

Windows laptops

• PCMark 10 : PCMark 10 is how we determine how well the laptop handles lighter tasks like web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on.
• HandBrake : HandBrake is more intensive than PCMark 10. It basically measures how long a laptop’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file.
• Cinebench : Cinebench is a brief stress test of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a short period of time.
• 3DMark : 3DMark checks if 3D performance remains consistent over time by running graphic-intensive clips.
• Video rundown test : To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video using Windows 10’s Movies & TV app until the laptop dies.

Chromebooks

• CrXPRT 2 : The CrXPRT 2 benchmark tests a Chromebook’s battery life.
• Speedometer 2.0 : This test determines a Chromebook’s web browser performance. It simulates this by adding, completing, and removing a to-do list.
• Basemark Web 3.0 : This benchmark gauges how well a Chromebook can handle web-based applications.
• Kraken 1.1 : Kraken 1.1 is a JavaScript performance benchmark.
• Jetstream 2 : Jetstream 2 is a combination of WebAssembly and JavaScript benchmarks. This is a way to gauge how well a Chromebook runs advanced workloads.

What to look for in a laptop for college

The first thing to consider is budget. How much are you willing to spend on a laptop? If you’re working with an inflexible budget, Chromebooks are a good option. They’re affordable and designed to handle everyday tasks like writing papers, working on spreadsheets, and so on. Chromebook prices can range anywhere from $200 up to $1,000. If you want to spend a bit more, laptops with convertible touchscreens (otherwise known as 2-in-1s) offer a great deal of functionality. You can flip the screen around and use it like a tablet or prop it up like an easel for watching movies.

Things like navigating your e-mail or watching Netflix will require more RAM. We recommend springing for 8GB of RAM or more. 4GB of RAM is fine and good for web browsing and basic office work, but 8GB is better for having more tabs open and whatnot. Plus, applications like Google Chrome and Spotify tend to eat up a lot of memory. Most people can get by with 4GB in a pinch if you’re on a tight budget, but you won’t be able to multitask as much.

The final thing is a decent keyboard. In college, you’re going to be spending a lot of time typing. Depending on your personal preference, you may want either a full or short travel keyboard . Mechanical keyboards , for example, normally have longer travel. This helps prevent accidental keystrokes. The keys also give a lot of tactile feedback, as they bounce back after they’re pressed down.

Which laptop size is best?

This is mostly personal preference. Students who bring their laptops to class or intend to travel a lot should consider a smaller, more portable size. Anything in the neighborhood of 13- to 14-inches is recommended. However, if you want to use your laptop for gaming, then you should consider something in the 15- to 17-inch range. It’s also important to keep in mind the weight of the laptop before buying it. Ultra thin laptops can weigh a featherlight two pounds while hefty gaming rigs top the scales at three or four times that—not exactly something you want to carry in a backpack everyday.

How long should a laptop last on a single charge?

If you’ve got a jam-packed schedule, you’ll probably be running from class to class with very little downtime in between. That’s why we recommend a laptop with a long-lasting battery. We recommend something that’ll last 7 to 10-plus hours on a single charge, unless you want a notebook that can play games on the side—gaming laptops are notorious for their shorter endurance, even during everyday tasks. That 7 to 10 hours is a good figure if you plan on taking your laptop with you everywhere.

What about processing power?

Most students will be able to get by with an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor. You don’t need anything mega powerful for everyday tasks and school work. However, if you’re using more graphically demanding programs on the regular, then you may want to spring for an Intel Core i7 or i9. It all really depends on your workload.

For more specifics regarding the hardware you want inside your laptop, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide on how to buy a budget laptop without getting screwed , as well as our broader cheatsheet on what to look for in a laptop CPU and GPU .

Author: Ashley Biancuzzo , Associate Editor, PCWorld

Ashley Biancuzzo manages all laptop and Chromebook coverage for PCWorld. She's been covering consumer tech since 2016, and her work has appeared on USA Today, Reviewed, Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.

Recent stories by Ashley Biancuzzo:

• Today’s best laptop deals: Save big on work, school, home use, and gaming
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• Best Chromebooks 2024: Best overall, best battery life, and more

Best laptops for college in 2024: Student laptops for every budget

The best college laptops we've tested, from under $500 to full workstations

Best overall

Best under $1,000, best under $500.

• Best battery life

Best 2-in-1

Best for business majors, best for engineering students, recent reviews, how to choose the best college laptop, how we test college laptops, laptop lingo 101, why trust laptop mag.

1. The list in brief 2. Best overall 3. Best under $1,000 4. Best under $500 5. Best battery life 6. Best 2-in-1 7. Best for business majors 8. Best for engineering students 9. Recent reviews 10. How to pick the best college laptop 11. How we test college laptops 12. Why trust Laptop Mag

Picking the best laptop for college is the most important choice a student makes after school and major — so you want to get it right the first time. We review more than 100 laptops each year at Laptop Mag, and I've reviewed over 40 laptops throughout my time here, and among them are some of the best laptops for college you can buy.

In particular, there is no better college laptop than the MacBook Air M3 . For just a little over $1,000, it boasts over 15 hours of battery life, phenomenal performance thanks to Apple 's powerful M3 chip, and a bright display at nearly 500 nits, making it perfect for getting work done in bright environments.

But if you'd prefer to stay beneath $1,000, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is a champion with nearly 16 hours of battery life and a colorful OLED display, both of which are packed into a lithe, 3-pound chassis with 0.6-inches of thickness, making it ideal for traveling students. If you're looking for even cheaper, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is under $500 and yields a compelling 2-in-1 laptop that's perfect for college students on a budget.

Other excellent choices are available, so here are the best laptops for college you can buy.

The Quick List

Have you got to get to class? Here's a quick rundown of our picks for the best college laptops. Follow the links to the full review if you want to know more about one.

The best overall

The MacBook Air M3 is the best laptop for college for most people. For just over $1,000, it offers over 15 hours of battery life, excellent performance, and a bright display.

Read more below

The best under $1,000

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED crushes almost every critical feature for a college laptop with nearly 16 hours of battery life, a gorgeous OLED display, and a powerful Intel Core Ultra CPU.

The best under $500

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is an outstanding value, as it often dips below $400. It offers a versatile 2-in-1 form factor, nearly 10 hours of battery life, and an excellent keyboard.

The best long-lasting

The MacBook Pro M3 has a fresh MacBook Pro design and ports, but it doesn't sacrifice battery life, with 17 hours and 16 minutes in our testing. If you must go that long without plugging in, well, your professors are cruel.

Best 2-in-1 laptop

HP's 2-in-1 powerhouse is thin and sleek, with a gorgeous 2.8K OLED display and excellent speakers. Did I mention it has over 11 hours of battery life? If you need the flexibility of a 2-in-1, this is top of the class for 2024.

Over 13 hours of battery life, off-the-charts productivity performance, a full keyboard with number pad, and a gorgeous 16-inch OLED display in a 3.3-pound laptop. This laptop deserves a promotion.

Load the next laptop

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is an excellent pick for engineering students. Its powerful RTX 4070 GPU and AMD CPU tick the boxes for most engineering programs. The gorgeous display, sturdy build, and exceptional keyboard round it out nicely.

Claire Tabari graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism & Media Studies at Brooklyn College and has been covering tech since 2020. She has written over forty laptop reviews and has been reviewing and testing for Laptop Mag for four years.

1. MacBook Air 13 M3

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

The MacBook Air M3 is the best choice for most students in 2024. Starting at $1,099 ($999 for education), you get an outstanding keyboard, excellent performance, and remarkable endurance, which ticks all the boxes for college laptop shoppers.

The MacBook Air M3 lasted 15 hours and 21 minutes in our battery life test. With Apple's excellent build quality and strong support, this is a great choice for almost any college student.

Why buy the MacBook Air instead of the Pro? If you need more sustained performance or longer battery life, then by all means, the MacBook Pro 14 M3 is an excellent option that you'll spot a little further down this list. The main tradeoffs are weight and, of course, the higher starting price, around $1,500.

As long as macOS isn't a dealbreaker for you, college students will appreciate everything the MacBook Air M3 offers. If you need to save a little money, the MacBook Air 13 M2 remains a solid laptop available at $899 for education and sometimes less on sale. The only major difference between the two models is its chip, and while it does yield a tangible performance boost, it's not necessary for everyone.

If you need a little more screen real estate, you can always check out the MacBook Air 15 M3 , which is just $200 more. It has the same benefits as the Air 13 but a 15.3-inch display.

While the MacBook Air M3's display isn't as vivid as the slightly more affordable Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, which starts at just $799, it makes up for it with a brighter panel at 476 nits. This makes it excellent for outdoor use, whereas the Zenbook 14's 339-nit display might be a bit dim in sunlight.

See our full Apple MacBook Air M3 review .

• ­Back to the top ⤴

2. Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425M)

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425) was a hotly anticipated laptop this year, and it delivered on all fronts. The Intel Core Ultra CPU gives it outstanding performance, but the efficiency is even more impressive, with almost 16 hours of battery life!

For all of the details, you can check out our full review , but here's a look at a couple of critical benchmarks. In the multi-core Geekbench 6.2 test, the Zenbook managed to beat the MacBook Air M3 (12,707 vs. 12,087). And if you happen to need to create videos for school or as a part-time gig, in the Handbrake 1.6 test, the Zenbook converted a 4K video to 1080p in 6 minutes and 36 seconds, over a minute faster than the Air M3's 7:54. 

The 1080p OLED display looks fantastic, whether you're toiling away at schoolwork or taking a break to watch some streaming content. While its 1080p panel leaves a bit to be desired when compared to the MacBook Air M3's 2,560 x 1,664-pixel panel, the black depth of its OLED panel more than makes up for its lesser resolution. And at 3 pounds, the Zenbook 14 OLED also won't overload your laptop bag, which you'll appreciate as you haul it around campus.

Considering the Zenbook 14 stunning OLED panel and solid Intel Core Ultra CPU processing power for a starting price of only $799, compared to the MacBook Air M3's $1,099, it's an absolute steal. It's especially impressive that its battery life even outdoes its Apple competitor, with the Zenbook 14 lasting 15 hours and 52 minuites and the MacBook Air M3 coming in a bit shorter at 15 hours and 13 minutes.

If you aren't a MacOS fan, this is easily the best laptop for college under $1,000. If you are an engineering student or creating content, this laptop may come up a little short on power, but if some presentations and papers are the heaviest lifting your laptop will do in college, this has you covered.

See our full Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425) review .

3. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

The best college laptop won't do you much good if you can't pay for tuition, so if you're a bachelor of arts student who needs to keep things affordable, look no further than the sub-$500 Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. While memorizing that long name may feel like an assignment, you'll appreciate everything it offers for typically less than $400.

As long as you don't need any specific Windows software for your major, Chrome OS will handle everything you need to do without a problem. While you may remember underpowered Chromebooks from grade school or middle school, times have changed, and the Flex 5i benefits from an AI -infused Intel Core i3-1315U chipset that will keep your productivity tasks running smoothly.

As the name suggests, the Flex 5i is a 2-in-1 laptop, which makes it perfect for streaming content in tent or presentation mode, whether it's lectures or Netflix. However, this is one avenue the laptop's lower price point shows: The 14-inch 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS display is lackluster at a 46.5% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut (compared to MacBook Air M3's 78% coverage or Asus Zenbook 14 OLED's 80% coverage), while its 306 nits of brightness isn't bright enough to handle sunny environments.

The major difference between the previous model of the IdeaPad Flex 5i is its weaker Intel Core i3-1215U processor, and some models even had only 4GB of RAM (compared to the current model's 8GB of RAM). It also moved up from a 720p to a 1080p webcam.

In our testing, we found the keyboard to be "clicky, super responsive, with excellent bounciness." While you can, of course, fall back on the touchscreen, the touchpad is spacious and accurate as well. Speaking of that touchscreen, you can also run Android apps if there's something that Chrome OS can't handle natively.

For around $400, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is an easy recommendation for budget-conscious college students.

See our full Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review .

Best long-lasting

4. apple macbook pro (14-inch, m3, 2023).

The MacBook Pro 14 M3 finally brings the updated Apple design to the most affordable "Pro" MacBook, starting at $1,599. That antiquated design was the one thing holding back a recommendation for the MacBook Pro 13 in 2023. Now you get all the outstanding performance and battery life without sacrificing those new ports and superior display.

The MacBook Pro 14 M3 is powerful enough to handle virtually any course load, including software engineering and other computing-intensive majors. And while the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED defeated the MacBook Air M3 in our battery life tests (15:52 vs 15:13), the MacBook Pro 14 M3 absolutely crushes both with an incredible 17 hours and 16 minutes on our battery test, which simulates real-world usage.

If you have any remote courses, the upgraded 1080p webcam is vastly superior to the 720p camera in its predecessor. The icing on the cake is the comfy keyboard and gaming performance for one of the first times on a MacBook.

The MacBook Pro 14 M3 finally gives us a better entry point into the modern MacBook Pro design at a more palatable price. If the MacBook Air M2 just can't quite cut it for you, this is the clear upgrade option and one of the longest-lasting laptops on the market. If you need to "Max" things out, the MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Max, 2023) does outlast the Pro 14 by about 40 minutes, but at $3,499, it's Ivy League pricing that you can skip unless you need the added performance too.

And while the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED defeated the MacBook Air M3 in our battery life tests (15:52 vs 15:13), the MacBook Pro 14 M3 absolutely crushes both with a staggering 

See our MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, 2023) review

5. HP Spectre x360 14 (2024)

Our reviewer called the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) a "near-perfect" laptop, which sounds like precisely the sort of thing you want to wield heading into college. Considering the laptop is typically just over $1,500, it serves up an incredible combination of features with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, and 11 hours of battery life with a 14-inch, 2.8K OLED touchscreen.

It's not the cheapest college laptop by any means, but you are getting excellent value. The sleek and durable build will hold up well in your laptop bag for four years or beyond. The 4K webcam and excellent built-in speakers could save you from buying an external webcam or speakers to augment your setup.

Digging into the specifics of that OLED display, the Spectre covered 85.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which surpasses competitors like the  MacBook Air 13 M3 (77.8%). At 366 nits of brightness, the Spectre could be brighter, the MacBook Air turns the tables on it there at 476 nits, but it's still bright enough for use in anything but direct sunlight.

its high price point yields certain expectations, and while its 11 hours of battery life is undeniably great, it's noticeably behind more affordable products like the MacBook Air M3 (15:13) and Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (15:13).

The big difference between last year's model of the Spectre is a chip upgrade, with 2023's model featuring either an Intel Core i5-1335U or Intel Core i7-1355U. With the wave of growing interest in AI computing, Intel's Ultra chip is far more capable of handling AI-based tasks found through Copilot.

The Spectre held up well through our gauntlet of performance benchmarks. In the Geekbench 6.1 overall performance test, its multi-core score of 12,358 crushed the average premium laptop (8,443) and even outpaced the MacBook Air 13 (M3, 12,087). It also has a decent SSD speed, with a transfer rate of 1,362 megabytes per second, which is within the margin of error for the average premium result (1,378 MBps). 

See our full HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) review.

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6. MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo

MSI isn't the first name you think of when you think about business laptops. But maybe that's time to change. The company's Prestige 16 AI Evo has a resume that will blow you away, including over 13 hours of battery life and prodigious productivity performance.

Battery life will be one of the big selling points for business majors and many others; our reviewer and lab tester were astounded to see the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H-powered laptop last up to 13 hours and 22 minutes in our Laptop Mag battery test. However, the part that is even more shocking is that given that excellent battery life, this laptop scored 13,310 in the Geekbench 6.1 overall performance test, surpassing Apple's MacBook Pro 14 M3 (12,024).

Business majors can still enjoy time off, and while the 16-inch 4K OLED panel gives you plenty of space for spreadsheets or presentations, you'll also be able to enjoy watching content on it when you're not studying to be a titan of industry. 

The Prestige 16 AI Evo's display covered 139.2% of the DCI-P3 color gamut in our testing, which blows other laptops on this list out of the water. The MacBook Air M3 only covers 78%, while even another OLED panel like the Asus Zenbook 14 managed 80%. However, it did fall behind a bit in brightness, standing no chance with its 368-nit panel against the MacBook Air M3's 476-nit display.

Speaking of spreadsheets, the full keyboard with a number pad is a data-entry dream, our reviewer loved the comfortable and speedy chiclet-style keys. 

While you perhaps are less security conscious at this stage in your career, the MSI Prestige is outfitted with robust protection, including a fingerprint reader and Windows Hello login support with the IR webcam. 

At 3 pounds the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo isn't a featherweight, but it's not a spine-compressing beast either, and well worth its weight considering everything on offer.

Read our full MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo review

7. Lenovo Legion 5 Pro

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is among our best gaming laptops of 2024 , and the features that made it stand out make it a fine choice for engineering students. The affordable price is a welcome start, as a laptop with a dedicated GPU can climb north of $2,000 to $3,000 quickly, but the Legion 5 Pro is available for under $1,500.

Inside, the Legion 5 Pro should tick the boxes for most engineering programs, with an AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU. Are these the bleeding edge of performance? No, but they are plenty fast enough to handle any software or tasks that come your way. 

Sometimes, affordable gaming laptops are cheap out on other aspects of the laptop. Still, the Legion 5 Pro crushed more than the internal specs with an outstanding keyboard that our reviewer called her keyboard soulmate . It didn't skimp on the display, reaching 82.4 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 319 nits of brightness. Those are unheard-of marks for a gaming laptop at this price.

There's also the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (Gen 9) , which launched in 2024, and is powered by the incredible Intel Core i9-14900HX. Both laptops feature an RTX 4070, but the Intel model underwhelms with an hour less longevity (3 hours and 43 minutes) when compared to the AMD model (4 hours and 38 minutes).

There are more powerful systems if you want to spend more or are close to graduation and looking to step up to something more professional. Still, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro will complete the job for most engineering students and let you have fun gaming in your downtime.

See our full Lenovo Legion 5 Pro review .

We review dozens of laptops every year that aren't admitted into the prestigious best laptops for college page. While some simply didn't have what it takes, others are still strong options. Here are some of our most recently reviewed laptops that didn't make the cut. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra | Intel Core Ultra 9 185H | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Score: ★★★ ★

Pros: Gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED display; powerful CPU/GPU Combo; excellent battery life; relatively thin and light; robust Samsung ecosystem

Cons: Performance doesn't quite match top competitors; retail pricing high for max configuration; webcam could be better in low-light

See our full Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra review .

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 | Intel Core i9-14900HX | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Vibrant display; bouncy keyboard and silky touchpad; powerful performance and graphics; cool thermals

Cons: Scratches will strip the paint; mediocre audio; short battery life

See our full Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 review .

HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 | Intel Core i9-13900H | Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada Generation GPU | 64GB RAM | 2TB SSD

Pros: Powerful, well-optimized performance; Stunningly vivid display; Incredibly light and thin; Loud onboard speaker system

Cons: Prohibitively expensive; No HDMI port

See our full HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 review .

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite | Qualcomm Adreno | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD

Pros: Impressive battery life; Fantastic keyboard; Sharp OLED display; Strong multi-core performance

Cons: Mediocre gaming performance; No USB Type-A ports; Reflective display

See our full Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x review .

Microsoft Surface Pro (11th Edition) | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite | Qualcomm Adreno | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD

Score: ★★★ ½

Pros: Great performance; Gorgeous display; Sturdy and thin; Solid speakers; Superb battery life

Cons: Shallow keyboard; Poor trackpad; Lack of ports; Expensive for just a tablet

See our full Microsoft Surface Pro (11th Edition) review .

Acer Nitro 17| AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS | Nvidia RTX 4060 | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Score: ★★★★

Pros: Huge display; great audio quality; smooth gaming performance; budget-friendly price

Cons: Bulky; plastic chassis; no right-hand control key; grainy webcam

See our full Acer Nitro 17 review .

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16| Intel Core i9-14900HX | Nvidia RTX 4060 | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Leading productivity power; solid RTX 4060 fps; bright and colorful panel; sturdy chassis; tons of ports

Cons: Piercing speakers; sluggish trackpad; dreadful battery life

See our full Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 review .

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 Gen 9 | Intel Core Ultra 9 185H | Nvidia RTX 4050 | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Score: ★★★★ ½

Pros: Beautiful display; bouncy keyboard; strong overall performance; discrete graphics; decent battery life

Cons: No RTX 4060 with Intel Core Ultra 7 configuration; touchpad too resistant; awful audio

See our full Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 Gen 9 review .

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG | Intel i9-14900HX | Nvidia RTX 4080 | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Superb processing power; high RTX 4080 fps; beautiful display; decent battery life; solid audio

Cons: Flimsy trackpad; loud fans; SSD could be faster

See our full MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG review .

HP Spectre x360 16 (2024) | Intel Core Ultra 155H | Nvidia RTX 4050 Graphics | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Large, vibrant display; great performance; incredible speakers; huge touchpad; sleek design

Cons: Limited ports; battery life could be better

See our full HP Spectre x360 16 (2024) review .

Alienware x16 R2 | Intel Core Ultra 185H | Nvidia RTX 4080 Graphics | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Thin design; excellent keyboard & touchpad; strong performance and graphics; solid battery life

Cons: Price-to-performance ratio is rough; display isn't the best for a $3K+ gaming laptop; messy audio

See our full Alienware x16 R2 review .

Razer Blade 16 | Intel i9-14900HX | Nvidia RTX 4070 Graphics | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Score: ★★★★½

Pros: Powerful, reliable performance; vivid OLED display; loud, powerful speakers; comfortable, snappy keyboard

Cons: Worse battery life than the previous generation at under five hours; base model starts at $2,999

See our full Razer Blade 16 (Early 2024) review .

Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 | Intel Core Ultra 5 125U | Intel Integrated Graphics | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD

Pros: Good battery life; roomy touchpad; loud top-firing speakers; flexible 2-in-1 design; ample ports

Cons: Underwhelming display, sluggish gaming performance, grainy webcam; heavy for a 2-in-1.

See our full Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 review .

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus | Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | Intel Arc Graphics | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Quick, responsive performance; over 15 hours of battery life; powerful speakers; comfortable keyboard

Cons: Display could be brighter; one USB-C port; blurry webcam

See our full Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (7044) review .

Asus Zephyrus G14 | Ryzen 9 8945HS | Nvidia RTX 4060 | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Stunning OLED display in a sleek, compact chassis. Springy keyboard is a joy to type on, has strong CPU performance for gaming/productivity, and has a long battery life.

Cons: Middling graphics; runs hot

See our full Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) review .

Lenovo Slim 7i Gen 9 | Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | Intel Arc Graphics | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD

Pros: Bright, vivid OLED display; speedy performance; snappy keyboard, loud speakers; compact chassis

Cons: Mushy touchpad; disappointing webcam

See our full Lenovo Slim 7i Gen 9 review .

There are several factors students should consider before buying a laptop for college. 

The first is portability, which goes hand in hand with screen size. Thirteen- and 14-inch laptops are popular among college students because they balance screen real estate and portability well. Ideally, you'll stay below 3 pounds as well, although budget or more powerful systems may have you go higher.

Battery life is another critical component of any good college laptop. If you plan to take the notebook to class or the library, don't count on there being an outlet! Choose a laptop with at least 9 hours of battery life, which should be enough to get you through a couple of classes with enough juice to hit the library, too.

Regarding specs, I recommend buying a laptop with an Intel 13th Gen Core i5 CPU, AMD Ryzen 7000 series, or Apple M2. You should also look for at least 8GB of RAM (16GB if you can afford it) and a minimum of 256GB of storage. 

Don't be afraid to go with a Chromebook if you want to keep things affordable and don't have specific Windows or macOS software requirements. Chrome OS can handle typical tasks for university students, and Chromebooks tend to be cheaper and require less support.

Other things that will help you punch up a successful report or research complex topics include a comfy keyboard and a sensitive touchpad. And when it's time to relax, get a laptop with a vivid and bright display.

We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before sending them to our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers, and heat management.

Because college students will be bringing their laptops on-the-go, and will likely use them in bright spaces, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut of the laptop's display. Anything over 300 nits should be able to handle a well-lit room, but you'll need anywhere from 400 to 500 or more nits for it to handle sunlight. 

For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 6 and 3DMark professional graphics tests. The performance you'll need depends entirely on your major.

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop with converting a 4K video to 1080p resolution and duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm benchmark with medium settings at 1080p and 4K resolution, and if it's a gaming laptop, we'll run it through other games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and more.

We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Regardless of what type of college laptop you're purchasing, certain aspects will come to the forefront in importance compared to others.

College laptops need to have long-lasting battery life to take you through your full day of courses without running out of juice, so we look for a bare minimum of 8 hours on the Laptop Mag battery life test, which involves continuous web surfing over wifi at 150 nits. However, we prefer laptops that can go even further and manage more than 10 hours of battery life, just to give students that extra bit of wiggle room.

The situation is slightly different for workstations and gaming laptops, as five hours or more of battery life is pretty solid, since discrete GPU's are absolute battery killers.

These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop's materials to the feel of its touchpad.

Are budget laptops good for college?

Why you can trust Laptop Mag Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

If you're on the prowl for a good laptop to use throughout college and university, plenty of excellent budget options exist, but you need to be wary of your major. If the bulk of your work involves working on Microsoft's 365 Suite, or using Google's Workspace applications, you can absolutely survive with an affordable Windows or Chromebook laptop.

However, if you're video editing, audio editing, coding, graphic designing, using Photoshop, and anything along those lines, aiming for the most affordable option could become a bit of an issue. In these cases, you'll need something with solid processing power and a good bit of RAM, alongside potentially a discrete GPU depending on how heavy the load is.

Can a college laptop be used as a tablet for artists?

Yes! College laptops come in many shapes and sizes, and while your first thought when thinking "college laptop" might be something affordable and focused on performing the bare minimum for note taking, 2-in-1 laptops can fulfill the perfect balance if you're an artist. 2-in-1 laptops sometimes even come with a stylus and have additional features that can assist your creative process.

Some examples include the Lenovo Yoga 9i (Gen 9) , which comes with the Lenovo Slim Pen that features up to 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and has tilt detection. However, if you're looking at another 2-in-1 laptop that doesn't come with its own stylus, check out our best stylus page to see if you find something right for your creative process.

CPU refers to central processing unit . It's the most important part of your laptop, and its determines the speed at which you accomplish tasks like web browsing and running applications.

GPU refers to graphics processing unit . It's what your laptop needs for video editing and graphics rendering, alongside being vital for processing visual information on the screen like images and videos.

Integrated graphics refers to a GPU that is built into the processor. All modern Intel and AMD processors feature their own integrated graphics. Examples include the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, which is the processor, but it's built with Intel Arc integrated graphics.

Discrete graphics refers to a GPU that exists separate from the processor. These are often capable of running far more intensive tasks like demanding video editing or running video games, whereas integrated graphics are often weaker. Examples include the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 7700.

RAM refers to random access memory . It stores data for your CPU on a short-term basis, allowing for that data to be read quickly, rather than always reading from your storage device. Larger RAM allows applications to store more data, which can improve efficiency while working, while faster RAM improves how quickly it can call upon that data.

SSD refers to solid state drive. It is a type of storage device that can read and write significantly faster than the hard drives of the past. Most laptops utilize SSD storage nowadays for quicker reading and writing. SSDs have different speeds, so some can be a lot faster than others.

eMMC refers to embedded MultiMediaCard . It is a type of storage device that is often limited to budget laptops, as it's typically smaller in size and lower speed when compared to an SSD. However, eMMC is still a formiddable option for cost-conscious consumers.

OLED refers to organic light-emitting diode. It is a type of display technology that can achieve far deeper blacks (referred to as "true black") and higher contrast. It is essentially the best choice for those who want a vivid display. While it is not always the case, OLED panels are typically dimmer.

IPS refers to in-plane switching. It is a type of display technology that has great color accuracy and wider viewing angles, which are useful when working on projects that calls for precision. IPS is the most popular laptop display technology.

DCI-P3 refers to a color space defined for motion pictures, as determined by the Digital Cinema Initiative. The higher a percentage a laptop covers of the DCI-P3 color gamut, the more color space it can reproduce. Laptops with a lower DCI-P3 color coverage appear lackluster, while those with a higher DCI-P3 color coverage appear vivid.

Nits refers to a measurement of how bright a screen can get. The higher the nits, the brighter the screen is.

Geekbench refers to a technical benchmark that measures system performance and simplifies it into a few numbers split between single-core performance and multi-core performance that makes analyzing a laptop's processing power simple. The higher the number, the better the processor is.

Handbrake refers to a video transcoder application that can convert videos between resolutions and in different formats. Laptop Mag's Handbrake test uses this application to convert a 4K video into 1080p, and then we measure how long it takes for the laptop to complete that task.

MBps refers to megabytes per second, which is a way to measure the speed at which your storage device can read or write. The higher the number, the faster the storage device is.

Laptop Mag reviews over a hundred laptops yearly, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming. 

We are 100 percent independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades and continues to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on. 

Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it. 

Future Publishing , one of the world's largest technology publishers, enforces our editorial trustworthiness. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.

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Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Claire finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Claire is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.

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