I’ve been reviewing laptops for well over a decade, sometimes testing more than 30 devices per year. They aren’t all winners, and many should be avoided, no matter how slick the marketing or cheap the discount. Good news: It’s my job to recommend laptops that fit your budget and won’t make you regret your purchase six months later. These are my favorite laptops that I’ve tested myself and would highly recommend you buy.
For more guidance, also see my recommendations in specific categories, such as the Best MacBooks, Best Gaming Laptops, Best Chromebooks, Best Budget Laptops, Best Windows Laptops, and Best 2-in-1 Laptops. My guide on How to Choose a Laptop may also help if you’re undecided.
Updated August 2026: I’ve updated my recommendations after testing the Dell XPS 13, Alienware 15 Gaming Laptop, and Lenovo LOQ 15 Essential.
The Laptops I Recommend Most
When friends or family ask what laptop to buy, I always start with the MacBook Air. It is far more powerful than its compact size suggests. It’s a shame about the recent $200 price increase from $1,099 to $1,299, but even at that new price, it remains my top pick because it nails the big picture. Everything from the trackpad to the speakers is of the highest quality, and it delivers all the performance and battery life the average person needs.
With the latest M5 chip, its GPU matches the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, easily handling everything from gaming to video editing. That’s not at all what the MacBook Air is designed for, but the performance is there when you want to dabble. It’s what makes it feel like a do-it-all machine, all contained in a fanless chassis that’s still one of the thinnest laptops you can buy. Oh, and did I mention it’ll last well over a full workday away from the wall socket and perform just as well on battery as when plugged in? In almost every aspect, it’s the gold standard.
While the lower price of the new MacBook Neo might be tempting, the MacBook Air is the better choice for anyone working at a computer all day. With its superior performance, extra memory, faster storage, and Thunderbolt ports, you will never have to question if you have the right tool for the job. (And unless you already know you need a MacBook Pro, you probably don’t.)
Speaking of price, I have to mention the new Dell XPS 13 next. It’s primarily being talked about as a budget laptop, thanks to its $699 starting configuration. But that model only comes with 8 GB of RAM, which presented some performance limitations when I tested it. Dell, fortunately, sells an upgrade model with 16 GB of RAM for $899, which is otherwise identical. Both models have the same gorgeous screen, which is not only sharp, bright, and color-accurate, but also includes a 120-Hz refresh rate, which makes animation and motion on the device look super smooth. The XPS 13 is filled with features like that, which don’t normally end up in a laptop at this price.
While it doesn’t have what I’d call powerhouse performance, the Intel Wildcat Lake chip inside gets the job done. Don’t try to play games on it, though. That translates to great, all-day battery life, competitive with the MacBook Air. The XPS 13 is especially good for those who want a compact laptop. Because of the tiny bezels, it’s still one of the best laptops to work on a plane with. But even beyond that, it’s just the best laptops you can buy under $1,000 right now. You’ll probably just want to avoid that 8 GB model. Beyond the memory situation, the only real caveat is the lack of a headphone jack.
If you want a Windows laptop that looks and feels high-end, I would point you to the OmniBook Ultra 14. It might be the prettiest Windows laptop you can buy right now. The device is beautifully built and incredibly sturdy, with a thin chassis, an oversized haptic trackpad, and polished metal edges. I also appreciate the three Thunderbolt 4 ports split between both sides for convenient charging, as well as the surprisingly good speakers. I tested the high-end model, which features a fast Snapdragon X2 Elite, 32 GB of RAM, and a gorgeous 2880 x 1800 OLED display. The screen offers near-perfect colors, excellent brightness, and astounding HDR performance. It doesn’t get much better than this. It’s usually quite expensive, but we’re finally starting to seem discounts that drop it to a more reasonable price. There’s also an Intel model with a very efficient and powerful chip that would also be a good choice. I’d go with whichever is cheaper at the current moment.
And lastly, for something with a larger screen, I’d recommend the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x. It serves as a particularly good alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Air, coming in at a much lower cost. These days, you can buy the upgraded model with the 2560 x 1600 OLED display (and 165-Hz refresh rate) for $1,000, on sale at Amazon. While it’s slightly thicker than the MacBook Air, it leaves more room for extra ports including HDMI, UBS-A, and an SD card slot. And while the Snapdragon X2 Plus isn’t quite an M5 killer, I was happy with the performance and battery life provided.
Cheap Laptops That Are Actually Good
While “cheap” means something different to everyone, the best budget laptops generally fall under $750. This is where Windows truly shines, offering great specs for less money. Thanks to the latest processors from Qualcomm and Intel, these laptops now offer battery life that rivals Apple. The best affordable laptop I’ve checked out is the HP OmniBook 5. The model I tested has a Snapdragon X processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and a 14-inch OLED screen. Discounts fluctuate frequently, but right now you can buy that configuration directly from HP for $650. That’s a killer deal.
I also recently tested the new HP OmniBook 3, which uses the same chip as the OmniBook 5. It frequently sells for less than the OmniBook 5 by at least a $100 or so. HP is selling this configuration of the 14-inch model for just $543. While the OmniBook 3 is a good alternative, the OmniBook 5 is much thinner and looks more modern. Neither laptop has a particularly great touchpad, though, which is easily the biggest flaw in both laptops. Between the two, the OmniBook 5 is the better buy if you can afford it.
The MacBook Neo is Apple’s new entry-level laptop. It initially started at an aggressive $599, but that price has recently been raised to $699. Even at that price, the laptop shines when it comes to the display. It offers the best screen you can find at this price, bringing the macOS experience to an unprecedented value, even at $699 (or $799 for the 512 GB model). Apple clearly gave priority to the front-of-screen experience, delivering a premium feel across the display, build quality, and keyboard. While the 8 GB of RAM, outdated ports, and slower SSD are notable drawbacks—making the MacBook Air a better choice for remote workers—the Neo is the most premium-feeling laptop available for students, travelers, and casual users.
Given how good some of these budget laptops are, it’s a bit harder to find a place for Chromebooks. The standout option is still the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14. It’s the most premium Chromebook available, with an OLED screen, 16 GB of RAM, and battery life that rivals the MacBook Neo. Its price just keeps going up, though, now up to $849. That’s far too expensive for what you get.
Instead, I recommend the Acer Chromebook Plus 516, which is the best of the cheaper Chromebooks. While it’s a bit thick and the screen isn’t the sharpest (especially for a 16-inch laptop), it’s the best laptop you can buy for under $500, and it occasionally dips down to $349. Acer didn’t skimp on the quality of the touchpad, either, which I appreciate. Windows laptops are about to get much stronger in this category, however, just as higher-priced Chromebooks will be seemingly phased out over time and replaced by the upcoming Googlebooks. Personally, I wouldn’t spend more than $500 for a Chromebook and would instead opt for one of the cheaper HP OmniBooks mentioned above if you’re already spending close to this price.
Powerful Laptops for Those Who Need It
While the laptops above are great for the average person, content creators and gamers need extra performance. For the former, the 16-inch M5 Max MacBook Pro is the ultimate choice. It combines immense power with surprising portability and fantastic battery life—a rare feat. The M5 generation is the most impressive yet, with a greatly expanded GPU and significantly boosted on-device AI processing thanks to a more efficient Neural Engine and faster memory bandwidth. While it is one of the most powerful AI laptops available, the MacBook Pro isn’t for everyone; it is built specifically for professional creatives and engineers running heavy, demanding applications. It’s become more expensive in 2026, but there’s still nothing quite like it on the market.
There are a number of Windows alternatives to the MacBook Pro, including the Asus ProArt P16 and Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i. And while these are both powerful, they take an old-school approach to performance, using hot-and-heavy discrete graphics cards that significantly reduce the battery life to achieve that level of performance. We’ll probably need to wait for Nvidia’s anticipated RTX Spark laptops for a true MacBook Pro competitor later this year. The Dell XPS 14 takes a different approach, ditching the discrete GPU for Intel’s new X7 or X9 chip (also known as B390 or Intel Arc graphics). The results are seriously impressive, replicating the performance of an RTX 4050 without the downsides of using a discrete GPU. Moreover, the Dell XPS 14 has a level of polish in its design really seen only on MacBooks—even surpassing them in some areas. The more affordable configurations with the Core Ultra 5 or 7 don’t have as strong of graphics, but you still get the premium design and excellent battery life.
The most common use for laptop performance, however, is for playing games. If you plan on booting up any graphically intensive games more than a couple of times a week, you will want a dedicated gaming laptop. After testing dozens over the past year, the Alienware 15 Gaming Laptop is my current recommendation. At $1,200 for the RTX 5050 model or $1,350 for the upgrade RTX 5060, this is the best deal in gaming laptops right now.
It performs well, though its strongest quality compared to the competition is how robust and beautiful the exterior chassis is. Most gaming laptops around this price are eyesores. The main downside to the Alienware 15 is the screen, which has some noticeably bad color reproduction. The visuals have a desaturated look that annoys me, which is common on these budget gaming laptops.
The Lenovo LOQ 15 with the RTX 5060 has been my top pick for affordable gaming laptops throughout most of the year, as it has been the cheapest way to get decent gaming performance without any major compromises to the laptop. It has a much better display than the Alienware 15, for example. However, it’s recently gone up by hundreds of dollars in price, which is frustrating. Its high-quality display still makes it stand out, though, and it’s worth the couple hundred extra dollars in my book.
There’s a whole world of gaming laptops outside the budget tier, though. I’ve tested an assortment of options, and I always come back to the Razer Blade 14 and Razer Blade 16. Portable, minimalist, and extremely well-made, they have rightfully earned their reputation as the MacBooks of PC gaming—along with the MacBook Pro–like price tag. Their sleek design means they work just as well for school or work as they do for gaming, without the bulk of a traditional gaming laptop. While there are more powerful options out there, nothing quite matches the Razer Blade.
