The best student laptops need to tick a lot of boxes – quality performance, good value for money, and enough battery life to get you through a full school day are three of the most vital factors. With that in mind, we’ve organized a list of the best laptops for college and school, carefully tailored to suit all needs and budgets. The best Student Laptops in 2024
It can be daunting to sift through the ocean of all the best laptops on the market, so we’ve narrowed the scope of our search here to include a curated mix of everything from the best Ultrabooks to the best MacBooks and even some of the best Chromebooks. Whatever operating system you prefer, we’ve got you covered.
Price is naturally one of the most important things when it comes to buying a laptop for schoolwork, since students might be more cash-strapped and need to get as much bang for their buck as possible. That doesn’t mean skimping on performance, though – especially since some students will need a laptop capable of more demanding tasks like 3D rendering and scientific modeling.
1. Acer Aspire 5
The Acer Aspire 5 (2022) remains our pick as the best student laptop you can buy right now. That’s because it’s got a low price, but decent specs (OK, the 11-gen Intel CPU isn’t the most recent, but it does the job well, especially compared to the processors you find in similarly-priced laptops) mean it’s a dependable performer for most day-to-day tasks students will use it for.
As it’s a Windows 11 laptop, it can run full-desktop applications, unlike Chromebooks which often have to make do with pared-back apps that don’t offer the full range of features.
SPECIFICATIONS
Best for: All students
CPU: Up to Intel Core i7-1165G7 or AMD Ryzen 7 5825U
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook is a decent Chromebook for students who are looking for a bargain. Its low price means this isn’t a particularly powerful device, even by Chromebook standards, but ChromeOS runs impressively well, and it won’t let you down for day-to-day tasks like web browsing, document creation and emailing.
It can also be used for media streaming when you’re winding down after a day of studying, though the small screen isn’t ideal for truly immersing yourself in TVs and films.
SPECIFICATIONS
Best for: Budget-minded students who don’t need a lot of power
The brilliant Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is a great example of how Chromebooks don’t need to be cheap, budget affairs. Thanks to its gorgeous 1080p OLED display, 8GB RAM and Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen2 processor, this is one of the most powerful Chromebooks out there, and is ideal for students who want a device to work and watch movies on.
The design itself is excellent, with a slimline body and detachable keyboard – there’s certainly no chance of this being mistaken for a budget device. And as a 2-in-1 device, you can use this as both a traditional laptop, or a tablet-like device. Putting it into ‘tent mode’ also makes it a small screen for watching TV and movies on – so this is a great option for students who don’t have the money (or space) for multiple devices.
SPECIFICATIONS
Best for: All students who have some room in their budget
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen2 2.55GHz
Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno GPU
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4
Screen: 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080p multitouch OLED, 400 nits
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 might be a bit on the pricier side when it comes to Chromebooks, but it offers a lot for the money: powerful components, great user accessibility, and strong versatility thanks to its 360-degree hinge and touch display – just like the best 2-in-1 laptops. When we reviewed it, we praised its great performance, robust build quality, and all-day battery life.
Still, starting at the $500/£500 mark means the Spin 514 is cheaper than many Windows laptops with similar specs, and it should still be accessible for students who want a high-end Chromebook. It’s not the most expensive Chromebook on the market – that would be the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook.
5. Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023)
The Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) is a sidestep from the main XPS series from Dell, but it’s no less excellent – this is the definitive Windows Ultrabook, a sleek combination of portability, performance, and refined design. We’ve reviewed a lot of XPS laptops over the years, and this ranks among the best.
With a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and up to a hefty 32GB of RAM, the XPS 13 Plus chews through productivity workloads despite its compact design. Weighing in at 1.26kg and just 1.5cm thick with the lid closed, it’s easy to toss into a bag and take with you on the go. In our review, we praised its responsiveness and noted that it could even handle some light gaming on the side.
SPECIFICATIONS
Best for: High school through college students who need more performance
CPU: Up to 13th-generation Intel Core i7
Graphics: Up to Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: Up to 32GB LPDDR5
Screen: Up to 13.4″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Non-Touch – 13.4″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) OLED 60Hz Touch
If you’re a student taking a creative course – or you’re a serious hobbyist when it comes to content creation – then the latest MacBook Air is arguably the best choice. Apple’s M-series silicon is almost unparalleled when it comes to creative workloads, and the latest 13-inch MacBook Air crams all that creative power into a svelte, compact, but durable metal chassis. Students who prefer a bigger display can opt instead for the M3 MacBook Air 15-inch.
SPECIFICATIONS
Best for: Students wanting to go into creative fields
CPU: Apple M3 chip with 8‑core CPU
Graphics: Integrated 8/10-core GPU
RAM: Up to 24GB unified LPDDR5
Screen: 13.6-inch 2560 x 1664 Liquid Retina display
