The brand-new MacBook Pro 16-inch now comes with the excellent M4 Pro and M4 Max chips – Apple’s latest and most powerful bits of silicon that offer incredible performance, especially when it comes to creative tasks such as video editing. In real-world use, our reviewer got between 10 and 12 hours on the battery, which means you should get through an entire workday on a single charge. This is probably the most important consideration when it comes to picking the best laptops to recommend to you.

The best laptops need to be able to let you work – and play – for hours on end without you having to scramble for a power adapter. Modern laptops are getting ever more power-efficient, which has led to longer battery lives. For a laptop to be included in our best laptops list, it needs to offer a battery life of five hours or more.

We test all laptops in a given model year using the same benchmark versions to ensure consistent comparisons across reviews for the laptops you might be considering. And since benchmark scores can sometimes be difficult to interpret, we leverage our expertise to explain these scores for you to help you compare the performance of competing laptops in easy-to-understand terms. When reviewing laptops, I also look at the hardware within the device – often known as the hardware specifications. This can give you a good idea of how well the laptop will perform, whether or not it’s good value for money, and if the laptop will be future-proof. The Asus Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ proves that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great looking laptop. Its metallic chasssis is stylish and modern, while incredibly thin bezels ensure that the stunning OLED screen is your main area of focus.

Below, you’ll find a roundup of our choices, and you can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals. We’ve reviewed hundreds of laptops from all brands, all shapes and sizes and all price points, so that we can bring you our definitive list of the best laptops you can buy in 2025. The Asus ProArt P16 has a fast AMD processor, a bright OLED display, and an Nvidia RTX graphics card to rip through video edits.

We check email, work in large documents and spreadsheets, open too many tabs for research, chat in Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet, and stream music and YouTube videos. The Zenbook 14 is light and compact, with good-enough battery life, a touchscreen, and a reliable keyboard and trackpad. Every laptop in this guide has been thoroughly, and independently, tested by our team of laptop experts, including members of TechRadar’s computing team, as well as experienced freelance reviewers. Meet some of the experts below who have reviewed these laptops and helped me create this best laptops list. We understand that a new laptop is a significant investment, so each laptop on our list has been thoroughly tested by our team (read more on how we test laptops). We integrate these laptops into our daily routines to evaluate their performance comprehensively, in addition to running industry standard benchmarks like GeekBench, PCMark, 3DMark, and the latest PC gaming benchmarks.

If you want the ability to upgrade and repair your laptop yourself and make it last longer without replacing the whole thing — which theoretically can save you money and create less e-waste over the years — our repairable pick is for you. But the ability to upgrade and repair this laptop down the line depends on the company continuing to exist and to supply parts. Read more about the Lenovo Yoga 7i click here 2-in-1 and other options in our full guide to Windows laptops. The M1 MacBook Air has a comfortable keyboard, good performance, and a reasonable amount of storage.

However, all these premium bells and whistles comes with a premium price, which means this won’t be a laptop we’d recommend to people on a budget. Apple has once again launched the best laptop money can buy with the new MacBook Air 13-inch (M4). There’s simply not another laptop at this price point that offers the same mix of performance, design and build quality. A new and improved webcam brings some handy AI-powered tools to make video calls look even better, and the new Sky Blue color option gives you more options for picking a MacBook Air that suits your tastes. If you want a laptop with a bigger screen, then consider the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) instead. Dell continues to prove it’s the go-to company for some of the best Windows laptops money can buy, with its latest XPS 13 laptop that features Intel’s cutting-edge Core Ultra 200 series processors.

As for the screen, it’s smaller and lower resolution than the previous model, and offers 60Hz refresh rate, half of the 120Hz the last model supports. This means the 13-inch Surface Laptop is actually a brilliant choice for most people, offering a premium experience at an affordable price. The overall build quality is impressive considering the price, with a sturdy feel that means you shouldn’t worry about chucking it into a bag, and there’s a decent amount of ports as well, including two USB-C, one USB-A, microSD and 3.5mm audio jack.

Some get way too hot, others have poor build quality, and some have dim screens with poor viewing angles. And compared with our more portable picks, all gaming laptops are large and heavy, and don’t last very long on a charge. Ultraportable Windows laptops tend to cost more than most people want to spend, but they last years longer than cheap laptops under $500. They also lack the processing power to play high-end games or handle demanding tasks such as professional video editing or 3D modeling.

Only two USB-C ports does mean plugging in lots of accessories will need a USB hub, however. Microsoft’s Surface devices have always been stylish products, and the latest Surface Laptop continues that trend, even with a lower price. It has a thin and light chassis that is easy to carry around, yet feels sturdy and premium, and we especially love the new purple colorway, though that is only available on the higher-specced model. However, the quality of the screen has been reduced compared to the more expensive model from 2024. I am based in Seattle and responsible for Wirecutter’s computer monitor coverage, as well as all our guides to Apple laptops and desktops. I also review higher-powered laptops, such as business laptops and laptops for photo and video editing.

One of the best things about laptops is how portable they are – but if you need to always look out for a power outlet to keep using your device, then you’re going to get very annoyed very quickly. The best brands for laptops include Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP, and they all have their strengths. For example, Apple make brilliantly-designed slim and light laptops, while Dell does a great range of high-end ultrabooks, as well as affordable devices and Chromebooks as well. Lenovo’s well known for making solidly-built business laptops (and some great 2-in-1 laptops as well), and HP’s also been making some gorgeous laptops recently that are some of the best laptops in the world. The Dell XPS 13 continues the XPS lineup’s reputation as being some of the best-designed Windows 11 laptops you can buy. It looks gorgeous with a thin and light design that rivals any Apple product, and it feels sturdy and well built as well.

However, it’s far from the most powerful laptop in our best laptops list, and the M4-MacBook Air (which sits at the top of this guide) offers much better performance. Also, if you’re looking for a laptop to play games on, then you should look elsewhere, as this is a laptop that really isn’t built for that kind of use. A capable laptop for photo and video editing typically costs between $2,000 and $3,000 due to its powerful specs, large, color-accurate display, and excellent build quality. But if you’re not working in 4K, you can get by with less expensive options around $1,000. If you’re on a tight budget or don’t need a laptop for more than light tasks like browsing and checking email, you can get away with a less powerful processor and 8 GB of memory. Intel Core 3 and AMD Ryzen 3 processors are fine for casual use and basic schoolwork but aren’t the best for multitasking; Core 5 and Ryzen 5 options are faster and better at multitasking but rare in lower price ranges.

Asus rates the Vivobook S 15 at 70WHrs for its battery click here capacity, and promises around 18 hours of battery life. In our tests we found it came close to that promise, lasting around 17-hours on a single charge. This means it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for a laptop they can use for multiple work days without worrying about charging it.

It’s well-priced for an RTX 5000 series laptop, and it hasn’t skimped on gaming performance.. Gaming laptops rarely offer good battery life, but the new Blade 16 surprised us with its power-efficiency. The design, though not really different from last year’s model, is still unmatched in a gaming laptop. If you want an ultra-cheap budget laptop, then the Asus Chromebook CM14 is the best laptop for you thanks to an impressively low asking price and solid (if unspectacular) performance.

Recently, Microsoft suggested that 16GB of RAM would be the minimum requirement for the next generation of ‘AI laptops’. You’ll want 4GB at the very least for a Windows laptop – though we’d actually recommend for many people to go for 8GB. Battery life is very good, at just over 9 and a half hours, and it charges back up to full very quickly, making the Asus Chromebook CM14 a great laptop for working away from a desk. The best laptops of 2025 keep on impressing me, and in the past few months alone, I’ve been kept busy keeping this page updated when new laptops have been released and been given the stamp of approval from our crack team of laptop experts.

These gaming laptops, along with powerful workstation laptops often known as ‘desktop replacements’ are usually designed to be used while plugged in. However, you should expect at least a few hours of battery life for when you’re using the laptop for less strenuous tasks such as emailing and editing documents. Chromebook Plus devices are usually a bit more expensive than standard Chromebooks, and the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch is no different. However, compared to other laptops, the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch offers excellent value for money with a fantastic display, premium design and solid performance that other laptops at this price point struggle to match. It often goes on sale as well, making it even better value when sales events like Black Friday roll around. The latter is possible thanks to the beefy AMD Radeon 890M integrated graphics that even allow you to play some games on it (though we don’t recommend it, this is definitely not a gaming laptop – check out the Razer Blade 16 in this guide instead).

However, all these premium bells and whistles comes with a premium price, which means this won’t be a laptop we’d recommend to people on a budget. Apple has once again launched the best laptop money can buy with the new MacBook Air 13-inch (M4). There’s simply not another laptop at this price point that offers the same mix of performance, design and build quality. A new and improved webcam brings some handy AI-powered tools to make video calls look even better, and the new Sky Blue color option gives you more options for picking a MacBook Air that suits your tastes. If you want a laptop with a bigger screen, then consider the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) instead. Dell continues to prove it’s the go-to company for some of the best Windows laptops money can buy, with its latest XPS 13 laptop that features Intel’s cutting-edge Core Ultra 200 series processors.

As for the screen, it’s smaller and lower resolution than the previous model, and offers 60Hz refresh rate, half of the 120Hz the last model supports. This means the 13-inch Surface Laptop is actually a brilliant choice for most people, offering a premium experience at an affordable price. The overall build quality is impressive considering the price, with a sturdy feel that means you shouldn’t worry about chucking it into a bag, and there’s a decent amount of ports as well, including two USB-C, one USB-A, microSD and 3.5mm audio jack.

Some get way too hot, others have poor build quality, and some have dim screens with poor viewing angles. And compared with our more portable picks, all gaming laptops are large and heavy, and don’t last very long on a charge. Ultraportable Windows laptops tend to cost more than most people want to spend, but they last years longer than cheap laptops under $500. They also lack the processing power to play high-end games or handle demanding tasks such as professional video editing or 3D modeling.

Only two USB-C ports does mean plugging in lots of accessories will need a USB hub, however. Microsoft’s Surface devices have always been stylish products, and the latest Surface Laptop continues that trend, even with a lower price. It has a thin and light chassis that is easy to carry around, yet feels sturdy and premium, and we especially love the new purple colorway, though that is only available on the higher-specced model. However, the quality of the screen has been reduced compared to the more expensive model from 2024. I am based in Seattle and responsible for Wirecutter’s computer monitor coverage, as well as all our guides to Apple laptops and desktops. I also review higher-powered laptops, such as business laptops and laptops for photo and video editing.

One of the best things about laptops is how portable they are – but if you need to always look out for a power outlet to keep using your device, then you’re going to get very annoyed very quickly. The best brands for laptops include Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP, and they all have their strengths. For example, Apple make brilliantly-designed slim and light laptops, while Dell does a great range of high-end ultrabooks, as well as affordable devices and Chromebooks as well. Lenovo’s well known for making solidly-built business laptops (and some great 2-in-1 laptops as well), and HP’s also been making some gorgeous laptops recently that are some of the best laptops in the world. The Dell XPS 13 continues the XPS lineup’s reputation as being some of the best-designed Windows 11 laptops you can buy. It looks gorgeous with a thin and light design that rivals any Apple product, and it feels sturdy and well built as well.

However, it’s far from the most powerful laptop in our best laptops list, and the M4-MacBook Air (which sits at the top of this guide) offers much better performance. Also, if you’re looking for a laptop to play games on, then you should look elsewhere, as this is a laptop that really isn’t built for that kind of use. A capable laptop for photo and video editing typically costs between $2,000 and $3,000 due to its powerful specs, large, color-accurate display, and excellent build quality. But if you’re not working in 4K, you can get by with less expensive options around $1,000. If you’re on a tight budget or don’t need a laptop for more than light tasks like browsing and checking email, you can get away with a less powerful processor and 8 GB of memory. Intel Core 3 and AMD Ryzen 3 processors are fine for casual use and basic schoolwork but aren’t the best for multitasking; Core 5 and Ryzen 5 options are faster and better at multitasking but rare in lower price ranges.

Asus rates the Vivobook S 15 at 70WHrs for its battery click here capacity, and promises around 18 hours of battery life. In our tests we found it came close to that promise, lasting around 17-hours on a single charge. This means it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for a laptop they can use for multiple work days without worrying about charging it.

It’s well-priced for an RTX 5000 series laptop, and it hasn’t skimped on gaming performance.. Gaming laptops rarely offer good battery life, but the new Blade 16 surprised us with its power-efficiency. The design, though not really different from last year’s model, is still unmatched in a gaming laptop. If you want an ultra-cheap budget laptop, then the Asus Chromebook CM14 is the best laptop for you thanks to an impressively low asking price and solid (if unspectacular) performance.

Recently, Microsoft suggested that 16GB of RAM would be the minimum requirement for the next generation of ‘AI laptops’. You’ll want 4GB at the very least for a Windows laptop – though we’d actually recommend for many people to go for 8GB. Battery life is very good, at just over 9 and a half hours, and it charges back up to full very quickly, making the Asus Chromebook CM14 a great laptop for working away from a desk. The best laptops of 2025 keep on impressing me, and in the past few months alone, I’ve been kept busy keeping this page updated when new laptops have been released and been given the stamp of approval from our crack team of laptop experts.

These gaming laptops, along with powerful workstation laptops often known as ‘desktop replacements’ are usually designed to be used while plugged in. However, you should expect at least a few hours of battery life for when you’re using the laptop for less strenuous tasks such as emailing and editing documents. Chromebook Plus devices are usually a bit more expensive than standard Chromebooks, and the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch is no different. However, compared to other laptops, the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch offers excellent value for money with a fantastic display, premium design and solid performance that other laptops at this price point struggle to match. It often goes on sale as well, making it even better value when sales events like Black Friday roll around. The latter is possible thanks to the beefy AMD Radeon 890M integrated graphics that even allow you to play some games on it (though we don’t recommend it, this is definitely not a gaming laptop – check out the Razer Blade 16 in this guide instead).

It comes with a choice of Nvidia RTX 5000 series GPUs, allowing it to punch well above its weight when it comes to gaming performance. Haley Perry covers all things gaming, and she recommends the best video games to play, the peripherals to play them with, and the laptops to play them on. Reliable performance, a spacious touch display, and long battery life make this model the best Chromebook.

More expensive and more powerful gaming laptops exist, but we’ve found they typically run too hot to the touch or don’t perform well enough to justify their increased prices. You can’t get a perfect laptop for less than $500; at this price you make serious trade-offs in click here performance, display quality, and sturdiness. In this price range, Chromebooks tend to be faster, have better build quality, longer battery life, and superior screens, keyboards, and trackpads.

The Yoga 7i has fast performance, terrific battery life, a vivid OLED touchscreen, and a 360-degree hinge. Smartphones may have captured much of our screen time, but sometimes a task calls for a real computer — and for most people, that means a laptop. For school and office work like creating spreadsheets and editing video, there’s no good substitute for a decent keyboard and a spacious screen. But which laptop you should get depends on what you’ll use it for and (of course) how much you can spend. These tests provide us with a clear understanding of the battery longevity for each laptop. On the performance side, we use a combination of real-world tasks and synthetic benchmarks to determine the laptops’ capabilities.

It keeps the laptop feeling nice and light as well, despite having a relatively large 16-inch display. If you’re after a laptop that will really turn heads when you whip it out, then this is the machine for you. The Dell XPS 13 offers excellent day-to-day performance thanks to its new Intel Ultra Series 2 chips, which can handle day-to-day tasks with ease. You also don’t get some of the compatibility issues that the Snapdragon model suffers from, which while rare does mean that the Intel model is far more versatile. As with other Arm-powered laptops, the Surface Laptop 13-inch is incredibly power efficient, and that means that the battery life is excellent.

Avoid AMD processors such as the dual-core A9, as well as Intel Pentium or Celeron processors like the N4200 and N5000 — they’re unusable with more than a single open app. But to get a cheap laptop that doesn’t run like molasses, you have to make significant compromises. Most budget laptops are bulky and heavy with short battery life, and they tend to have low-resolution, low-quality screens. You have to be especially vigilant when shopping for a laptop in this price range to avoid slow or old processors, insufficient memory, and sluggish storage. Shopping for a laptop on a tight budget can be tricky because there are hundreds of variations with fluctuating prices and low stock — and most of them are terrible.

But Apple’s SSD upgrade prices are so high that, if you need more storage, you may want to consider cloud storage or an external SSD instead. As ChromeOS, which Chromebooks use as an operating system, isn’t as demanding a bit of software as Windows 11 and macOS, it means Chromebooks don’t need as high specifications – and that’s why they are often quite a bit cheaper than laptops and MacBooks. When I say ‘future-proof’ what I mean is that if you buy a laptop, you won’t need to upgrade or buy a new one for a long time. A laptop with old hardware might be cheaper, but if you feel the need to buy a new laptop after only a year or so, it’ll cost you more in the long run. For Chromebooks and modern MacBooks, a time of around 10 to 20 hours between charges should be expected.

Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide – and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally. During his almost 40-year-long career in tech journalism, Lance has reviewed hundreds of laptops for TechRadar, as well as Lifewire, PCMag.com and more. If you’re looking for advice on whether or not a laptop is worth buying, there are few people in the industry with as much knowledge and authority as Lance. Our assessment includes examining a laptop’s design, with special attention paid to the aesthetics, portability, and overall comfort for everyday use.

Chromebooks also don’t come with bloatware (unnecessary, manufacturer-loaded software that clutters the computer and slows it down) which is a scourge on cheap Windows laptops. On Windows laptops, we recommend the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 or series chips or the AMD Ryzen 9 AI 370. Many manufacturers are still using last year’s RTX 40 series graphics, but newer models will have the RTX 50 series, which are more power-efficient and have more AI-enabled features.

Of course, there are some compromises here, especially when it comes to the chunky design, and gaming performance can’t match more powerful (and expensive) gaming laptops. However, if you’re on the hunt for a budget gaming laptop that doesn’t make too many compromises, then the Acer Nitro V 15 is the best laptop for you. If you’re looking for a premium thin and light laptop with cutting-edge features and best-in-class design, then the Asus Zenbook S 16 could be the perfect laptop for you. It’s our new pick for the best Ultrabook of 2025, thanks to an incredible design with parts of the body made from ceraluminum – a composite of aluminum and ceramic, making it easily one of the best-looking laptops we’ve ever tested here at TechRadar.

However, all these premium bells and whistles comes with a premium price, which means this won’t be a laptop we’d recommend to people on a budget. Apple has once again launched the best laptop money can buy with the new MacBook Air 13-inch (M4). There’s simply not another laptop at this price point that offers the same mix of performance, design and build quality. A new and improved webcam brings some handy AI-powered tools to make video calls look even better, and the new Sky Blue color option gives you more options for picking a MacBook Air that suits your tastes. If you want a laptop with a bigger screen, then consider the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) instead. Dell continues to prove it’s the go-to company for some of the best Windows laptops money can buy, with its latest XPS 13 laptop that features Intel’s cutting-edge Core Ultra 200 series processors.

As for the screen, it’s smaller and lower resolution than the previous model, and offers 60Hz refresh rate, half of the 120Hz the last model supports. This means the 13-inch Surface Laptop is actually a brilliant choice for most people, offering a premium experience at an affordable price. The overall build quality is impressive considering the price, with a sturdy feel that means you shouldn’t worry about chucking it into a bag, and there’s a decent amount of ports as well, including two USB-C, one USB-A, microSD and 3.5mm audio jack.

Some get way too hot, others have poor build quality, and some have dim screens with poor viewing angles. And compared with our more portable picks, all gaming laptops are large and heavy, and don’t last very long on a charge. Ultraportable Windows laptops tend to cost more than most people want to spend, but they last years longer than cheap laptops under $500. They also lack the processing power to play high-end games or handle demanding tasks such as professional video editing or 3D modeling.

Only two USB-C ports does mean plugging in lots of accessories will need a USB hub, however. Microsoft’s Surface devices have always been stylish products, and the latest Surface Laptop continues that trend, even with a lower price. It has a thin and light chassis that is easy to carry around, yet feels sturdy and premium, and we especially love the new purple colorway, though that is only available on the higher-specced model. However, the quality of the screen has been reduced compared to the more expensive model from 2024. I am based in Seattle and responsible for Wirecutter’s computer monitor coverage, as well as all our guides to Apple laptops and desktops. I also review higher-powered laptops, such as business laptops and laptops for photo and video editing.

One of the best things about laptops is how portable they are – but if you need to always look out for a power outlet to keep using your device, then you’re going to get very annoyed very quickly. The best brands for laptops include Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP, and they all have their strengths. For example, Apple make brilliantly-designed slim and light laptops, while Dell does a great range of high-end ultrabooks, as well as affordable devices and Chromebooks as well. Lenovo’s well known for making solidly-built business laptops (and some great 2-in-1 laptops as well), and HP’s also been making some gorgeous laptops recently that are some of the best laptops in the world. The Dell XPS 13 continues the XPS lineup’s reputation as being some of the best-designed Windows 11 laptops you can buy. It looks gorgeous with a thin and light design that rivals any Apple product, and it feels sturdy and well built as well.

However, it’s far from the most powerful laptop in our best laptops list, and the M4-MacBook Air (which sits at the top of this guide) offers much better performance. Also, if you’re looking for a laptop to play games on, then you should look elsewhere, as this is a laptop that really isn’t built for that kind of use. A capable laptop for photo and video editing typically costs between $2,000 and $3,000 due to its powerful specs, large, color-accurate display, and excellent build quality. But if you’re not working in 4K, you can get by with less expensive options around $1,000. If you’re on a tight budget or don’t need a laptop for more than light tasks like browsing and checking email, you can get away with a less powerful processor and 8 GB of memory. Intel Core 3 and AMD Ryzen 3 processors are fine for casual use and basic schoolwork but aren’t the best for multitasking; Core 5 and Ryzen 5 options are faster and better at multitasking but rare in lower price ranges.

Asus rates the Vivobook S 15 at 70WHrs for its battery click here capacity, and promises around 18 hours of battery life. In our tests we found it came close to that promise, lasting around 17-hours on a single charge. This means it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for a laptop they can use for multiple work days without worrying about charging it.

It’s well-priced for an RTX 5000 series laptop, and it hasn’t skimped on gaming performance.. Gaming laptops rarely offer good battery life, but the new Blade 16 surprised us with its power-efficiency. The design, though not really different from last year’s model, is still unmatched in a gaming laptop. If you want an ultra-cheap budget laptop, then the Asus Chromebook CM14 is the best laptop for you thanks to an impressively low asking price and solid (if unspectacular) performance.

Recently, Microsoft suggested that 16GB of RAM would be the minimum requirement for the next generation of ‘AI laptops’. You’ll want 4GB at the very least for a Windows laptop – though we’d actually recommend for many people to go for 8GB. Battery life is very good, at just over 9 and a half hours, and it charges back up to full very quickly, making the Asus Chromebook CM14 a great laptop for working away from a desk. The best laptops of 2025 keep on impressing me, and in the past few months alone, I’ve been kept busy keeping this page updated when new laptops have been released and been given the stamp of approval from our crack team of laptop experts.

These gaming laptops, along with powerful workstation laptops often known as ‘desktop replacements’ are usually designed to be used while plugged in. However, you should expect at least a few hours of battery life for when you’re using the laptop for less strenuous tasks such as emailing and editing documents. Chromebook Plus devices are usually a bit more expensive than standard Chromebooks, and the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch is no different. However, compared to other laptops, the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch offers excellent value for money with a fantastic display, premium design and solid performance that other laptops at this price point struggle to match. It often goes on sale as well, making it even better value when sales events like Black Friday roll around. The latter is possible thanks to the beefy AMD Radeon 890M integrated graphics that even allow you to play some games on it (though we don’t recommend it, this is definitely not a gaming laptop – check out the Razer Blade 16 in this guide instead).