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The Best Laptops and Tablets for College Students

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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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The best laptops for college students in 2024.

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Whether your classes are in-person or online, a laptop is a vital tool for college. Plus, when you’re not writing a paper or looking for study materials, you can stream your favorite show or play some games on your laptop.

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2023)

Lenovo ideapad slim 3i chromebook, lenovo yoga 7i (2023), apple macbook air (2020), acer chromebook spin 714 (2023), apple macbook pro (14.2-inch, m2 pro), what to look for in a laptop for college.

Trying to buy a laptop for college can be overwhelming because of the vast variety of laptops available, all with wildly different specs that can look confusing to the untrained eye. Depending on your specific needs, the best college laptop for you might look different than the best option for someone else.

When buying a laptop for college, one of the most important things to consider is price. College is expensive, and saving money anywhere is beneficial. Luckily, most college students don’t need a super powerful laptop for simple tasks like checking emails, writing papers, creating presentations, or attending a video session.

While choosing a powerful processor is important, most laptops—even the cheaper ones—will have a processor that’s powerful enough for the simple tasks needed for college. The specs you’ll mainly be deciding between are how much RAM and storage you need in a laptop, the size and resolution of the display, and your preferred operating system.

Many of the cheaper laptops you’ll see available are Chromebooks , which means they run ChromeOS rather than Windows or macOS. If all you plan to do on your college laptop is use the internet, whether it’s for streaming a show, writing a paper in Google Docs, or attending a virtual Zoom meeting, a Chromebook is more than capable. You’ll only need to prioritize a laptop running Windows or macOS if you need your laptop to run a specific software or a demanding video-editing software.

Laptops with 8GB of RAM are generally okay as long as it’s a Chromebook or a MacBook . If you’re looking at a Windows laptop , 16GB is preferred so you have a smooth experience when you have multiple windows and programs open.

For storage, most students only need 256GB or 512GB of storage, or possibly less if everything is internet-based. Look up the size of any programs or games you plan to download on your laptop, and use that as a starting point when thinking about how much storage you need.

Although the visual aspects of a laptop might not be as important as internal specs, it’s worth considering if you plan to have the same laptop throughout your entire college experience. Generally, you’ll want a 13-, 14-, or 15-inch laptop that’s easy to carry around between classes. For most people, the standard display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution is okay, but if you’re majoring in something that requires a lot of visual creation, like design, spending more on a high-quality display will be worth it.

How-To Geek's product recommendations come from the same team of experts that have helped people fix their gadgets over one billion times. We only recommend the best products based on our research and expertise. We never accept payment to endorse or review a product. Read More »

Best Laptop for Students Overall: 14-inch ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2023)

For most students, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2023) is the best option because it combines a set of excellent specs at an affordable price. While you might not be able to play graphically demanding games with its integrated AMD Radeon graphics, you can play simple games and do just about everything else you’ll need to for college.

Inside, there’s an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor powering everything, 512GB of SSD storage, and 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM to help you multitask smoothly. The laptop runs Windows 11 Home, supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5, and features a long-lasting 75Wh battery.

When you’re done with homework, you can stream your favorite show on the Zenbook 14’s gorgeous 14-inch 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED NanoEdge display. The backlit keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the trackpad doubles as a touch calculator. Plus, this laptop only weighs about three pounds, so it’s easy to cart around between classes, home, and everywhere else.

With a 14-inch OLED display, an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, the ASUS Zenbook 14 is the best choice for most students.

Best Budget Laptop for Students: 14-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook (2023)

If you need a laptop for college and don’t want to spend a lot, check out Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook . It’s cheaper because it’s a Chromebook, which means it runs on ChromeOS and performs well with internet- or cloud-based programs. For college students who are primarily researching and writing papers, attending the occasional video call, and utilizing online study tools, a Chromebook will work beautifully.

The IdeaPad Slim 3i is equipped with an Intel Core i3-N305 processor, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 128GB of eMMC storage. If you need to download large video files or games, 128GB probably won’t be enough storage for you. But for the majority of college students who may only download a few photos and files, it’s plenty.

This laptop supports Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6E, and its battery can last up to 11 hours on a single charge. It weighs just over three pounds, making it easily portable, and has a great 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) touchscreen IPS display.

If ChromeOS doesn't work for you because you need Windows to run a specific program, check out our review of Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) , a more powerful, Windows-based version of this laptop.

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 3i is an extremely affordable choice, thanks to ChromeOS not requiring much RAM and storage to run internet-based programs.

Best Touch-Screen Laptop for Students: 14-inch Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023)

A 2-in-1 computer like Lenovo’s Yoga 7i gives you the flexibility of using it as a laptop when you need to type and as a tablet when you want to stream videos or draw something. The Yoga 7i is a Windows-based laptop that looks sleek and packs plenty of power inside.

Inside, there’s a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U processor, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. For basic college tasks like writing assignments, utilizing study tools, and researching papers, this laptop won’t falter. With 512GB of storage, you can download plenty of files, photos, videos, or games, though the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics can only handle simple, not-very-demanding games. With this laptop purchase, you’d get three months free of Xbox Game Pass to try out a plethora of games.

Whether you’re playing games, watching videos, or doing homework, everything looks great on the 14-inch 2.2K (2240 x 1400) IPS touchscreen display. On a single charge, the Lenovo Yoga 7i’s battery can provide up to 17 hours of video playback, and it weighs just over 3 pounds, so it’s easy to pack it up and take it to a coffee shop to finish up an assignment.

The Lenovo Yoga 7i is a mid-range 2-in-1 laptop that can function as a traditional laptop or a tablet. Inside, you’ll find a 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.

Best MacBook for Students: 13-inch Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

If you’re looking for an affordable MacBook for college, you can’t beat the specs of Apple’s MacBook Air with an M1 chip. This laptop originally came out in 2020, but you can still buy it new today, and it’ll likely receive support and updates through 2028.

The M1 chip is one of Apple’s first powerful Silicon chips, and it’s decked out with an 8-core CPU, a 7-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, and 8GB of unified memory. With these specs, the laptop has no issue handling low-power tasks like checking emails or using Google Docs, as well as more demanding tasks like running a small game or simple program. With 256GB of storage, there’s enough room to download a few games or store photos and videos.

Like all MacBooks, the Air features a sleek design with a cool-to-the-touch magnesium chassis. It’s thin and light, making it easy to carry around in a backpack. And when you’re not studying, you can stream TV shows and movies on the MacBook Air’s gorgeous 13-inch Retina display with True Tone.

Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with an M1 chip is relatively affordable for a MacBook, and it features a gorgeous display and plenty of performance power for school tasks.

Best Chromebook for Students: 14-inch Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2023)

Acer’s Chromebook Spin 714 might not be the cheapest Chromebook available, but it’s certainly the best Chromebook for students. This laptop combines decently powerful specs with ChromeOS to create something light, efficient, and fairly affordable at only $669.

There’s a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U processor powering everything, with the help of 8GB of RAM to keep things running smoothly. Because this laptop utilizes ChromeOS, you won’t be able to download certain software, like Steam for games, but most college students only need internet- or cloud-based programs anyway, like Google Docs or Google Play Store apps.

The laptop’s 256GB of SSD storage isn’t much, but if you’re only going to be downloading a few apps, files, and photos, it’s more than enough. With the Chromebook Spin 714’s versatile 2-in-1 form factor, you can fold the screen down completely to use it as a tablet or put it in tent mode to watch a movie on its 14-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS touchscreen display.

On a single charge, you can get up to 10 hours of battery life on this laptop. Plus, it’s a compact laptop that only weighs about three pounds, so it’s easy to carry between classes.

The Chromebook Spin 714 from Acer is a simple, affordable laptop with a 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 14-inch touchscreen display.

Best Photo/Video Editing Laptop for Students: 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 2023)

Many college students won’t need a premium, powerful laptop like Apple’s MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip for simple tasks, like browsing the internet or reading textbooks. However, if you plan on doing any photo or video editing, for a personal social media account or your major, this laptop is worth every penny.

This particular model retails for $1,999, and while that is a steep price, this laptop will last you for years to come, through your college experience and then some. Apple’s powerful M2 Pro silicon chip can handle practically anything you throw at it, from graphically intense games to demanding video-editing software. Inside, there’s also an M2 Pro 16-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.

On top of getting a workhorse of a laptop, the MacBook Pro also sports the classic magnesium chassis that gives MacBooks a premium look and feel. The 14.2-inch 3024 x 1964 Liquid Retina XDR display is just as gorgeous as the sleek chassis, and it boasts a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and high color accuracy.

Despite its sturdy build and possible 18-hour battery life, this MacBook Pro only weighs about 3.5 pounds, so it’ll still be pretty easy to pack up and take with you anywhere.

Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip is an excellent option for students who need to edit photos or videos between classes. It’s powerful, has a long battery life, and it’ll last for your entire college experience.

Can an iPad or tablet replace a laptop for a student?

Absolutely! With wireless keyboards and mice, it’s easy to transform a tablet into a laptop-like workstation, and this’ll work perfectly for most students’ needs. However, if you need a specific software, double-check its compatibility with the tablet you’re looking at.

What size laptop is best for a student?

Because students are generally always moving, a smaller, lighter laptop is often the smartest choice. A 13-, 14-, or 15-inch laptop is usually the best bet for students.

Are there college student discounts for laptops?

Yep! Certain laptop manufacturers, like Apple and Lenovo, or large retailers, like Best Buy and Walmart, offer various deals and discounts on laptops for college students.

Why is my laptop so slow?

The most common reason for a slow laptop is having too many programs open, or not having enough RAM to run the programs you have open simultaneously. Restarting your laptop can be a quick fix, but you might need to invest in a laptop with more RAM if it’s constantly slow.

How do I connect a laptop to a monitor?

Connecting a laptop to a monitor is as simple as finding the right cable. Some laptops make this process easy by providing an HDMI port, letting you use an HDMI to HDMI cable to connect a monitor. Check the display ports your laptop has and compare them to the monitor’s available ports to see which cables or adapters you’ll need.

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 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.

Back to the top

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?

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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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