The best student laptops: top models to help you power through coursework

best student laptops
(Image credit: Apple / ASUS / HP)

The best student laptops have everything you need to get through your studies, keep up with project deadlines, and prepare for tests. Whether your subject needs a lot of computing power, such as 3D animation, or you have more admin tasks, such as dissertations, intense research, or responding to emails, a reliable laptop is a worthy investment that'll pay for itself many times over.

So, which one to choose? At Creative Bloq, our laptop experts have been testing and reviewing tech for over a decade, so we know what we're talking about, and more importantly, we know how to save money on a laptop. That's how we've curated our list of the best student laptops below (for something post-studies, see our list of the best graphic design laptops, and best MacBooks for students).

Right now, our top pick is the Apple MacBook Air M4 (2025), which offers speed and power. But if you don't need a super-spec laptop, we've also listed some alternatives. When shopping for back-to-school tech, don't forget to make the most out of student perks such as Apple student discounts and Samsung student discounts.

Beren Neale headshot
Beren Neale

As Ecom Editor, when Beren's not testing and reviewing the best laptops, he helps digital creatives get the best deals on the kit that they need and love. Attending university in the early 2000s, just as laptops for students were becoming the norm, Beren has had experience with all sorts of models, from entry level Chromebooks to top end MacBook Pros.

Our top 3 student laptops

The best student laptop overall

The best laptop for students overall

Specifications

CPU: Apple M4 with 10-core CPU
Graphics: Integrated 10-core GPU
RAM: 16GB
Screen: 15.3-inch IPS, 2880x1864 pixels
Storage: 512GB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Thin and light 
+
Long-lasting battery

Reasons to avoid

-
Limited ports
-
Expensive

30-second review: Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air M4 is feather-light, beautifully built, and impressively powerful for its class. While not quite a MacBook Pro, it gets incredibly close thanks to the M4 chip, stunning screen, and fanless design. With 16GB RAM now standard and a slight price drop, it’s Apple’s most tempting Air yet – ideal for creatives on the go. A few more ports would be nice, but it’s still a top-tier ultraportable.

Price: Starting at $1,199 / £1,199, with the reviewed configuration at $1,599 / £1,599, it’s not cheap – but it’s excellent value for what it offers. Well-priced for creatives who want portability and performance without splurging on a Pro.

Design: The MacBook Air M4 15in continues Apple’s legacy of sleek, refined design. It's ultra-thin (11.5mm), light (1.51kg), and solidly built, with a beautiful aluminium finish and a new silver/blue colour. Details like the precise lid alignment and rubber feet add to its premium feel. Downsides? Only minor ones: the keyboard layout feels like it belongs on a smaller model, and the fingerprint sensor key looks a bit odd.

Performance: The M4 chip delivers great CPU performance for a fanless machine – easily beating many older high-end chips and competing well with mid-range Intel and AMD processors. The integrated 10-core GPU is capable, handling video upscaling and 3D tasks surprisingly well, but not on par with Nvidia GPUs. It lags behind in demanding 3D/rendering tasks, but comes very close to the base-level MacBook Pro.

Battery life: Apple claims 18 hours of battery life, and while real-world use may vary, it easily lasts a full day with juice to spare. Our reviewer found that charging via MagSafe or USB-C was smooth and convenient.

Read more: MacBook Air (M4) review

Our expert says...
Ian Evenden profile shot
Our expert says...
Ian Evenden

"The combination of Apple’s thin and light laptop and the M4 processor leads to a machine that’s only just behind the low-end MacBook Pro, and which has had a price-drop too. Highly recommended."

Best budget laptop for students

The best budget laptop for students

Specifications

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700U 1.80GHz
Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics
RAM: 16GB
Screen: 14in IPS LED
Storage: 1TB

Reasons to buy

+
Lightweight
+
Nice and bright screen
+
Comfortable typing experience

Reasons to avoid

-
Underpowered
-
Graphically limited

What you need to know: The Acer Swift 3 is our pick as the best budget laptop for students right now. It's not the latest laptop, in that it isn't stuffed to bursting with largely unasked-for AI features and more computing power than you need. However, it is a capable laptop for the majority of tasks that students are likely to throw at it.

Pricing: Retailing at $799 / £799, this is a cheaper buy than most laptops on the market, although facing strong competition from similarly priced alternatives. If you can live with light power, you might want to consider a Chromebook, as featured in our fourth entry.

Design and build: Built with an aluminum body in classic silver, the laptop features a traditional 16:9 display with slightly thicker bezels than premium models. At just 1.19kg, it's highly portable. The keyboard offers good resistance with white backlighting, and the device includes thoughtful features like a fingerprint reader and Kensington lock slot. Port selection includes USB-C with DisplayPort support, two USB-A ports, and HDMI.

Display: The 14-inch Full HD IPS screen is good without being exceptional, though gamers may be put off by the 60Hz refresh rate. In our tests, it delivered 320 nits brightness and respectable color accuracy (100% sRGB, 76% AdobeRGB, 76% P3). While not suitable for professional color work, it's more than adequate for general use and basic photo editing.

Performance: This laptop did come in a little under-par in our benchmark tests, and so it's not going to be anyone's laptop of choice for intensive 3D modelling. However, for general design work it's more than fine – our reviewer did various Photoshop tasks on it without any problems. It could definitely be one of the best laptops for college if you're embarking on a 2D design course.

Read more: Acer Swift 3 review.

Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson headshot
Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson

“The Acer Swift 3 is a good laptop for all general uses, and as such makes it an attractive option for students looking for a sturdily built, lightweight laptop with RAM and storage to suit you for a long while. I’m impressed, especially given its student-friendly price.”

Best battery life

The battery life on this is something special – it just goes and goes

Specifications

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno
RAM: 16GB
Screen: 14in IPS touchscreen
Storage: 1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Enormous battery life
+
Decent screen
+
Portable build

Reasons to avoid

-
Usual weak Snapdragon GPU
-
Could have more ports

What you need to know: Our reviewer called this the "Duracell Bunny" of laptops. By this, he didn't mean that it was fluffy or fictional, but that it's one of the longest-lasting laptops we've ever tested, clocking in 17 hours of constant use in our tests (for context, the Surface Laptop 7 lasted just over nine hours). Elsewhere, it's a fairly standard mid-range laptop, with a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite delivering decent computing power.

Pricing: It sits comfortably in the mid-range for most users, probably the upper range for students. It's cheaper than a Surface Laptop 7 with similar specs, but more expensive than budget laptops like the Acer Swift 3.

Design and build: Reasonably light but solid-feeling, the HP Omnibook X 14 certainly feels like the kind of laptop you can take to classes, workshops and study nights without it suffering from the journeys. The keyboard feels good to type on, and the body has just enough ports that you won't be hurting for more unless you have a higher-than-average number of peripherals.

Display: The screen offers 2.2K resolution, which is a nice cut above the competition, and it's also nice that it's touch-sensitive. We put it through our battery of colourimeter tests and it managed 100% of sRGB, 79% of Adobe RGB, and 81% of DCI-P3, which all should be fine for anyone except perhaps for art and photography students. The maximum brightness of 306 nits was also sufficient without being exceptional.

Performance: The CPU performance of this well-specced laptop is about as good as you'd expect, scoring well in our benchmark tests. The integrated GPU, however, is looking rather weak – it wasn't even compatible with some of the tests we usually run. Graphical performance definitely isn't a strong point of this laptop. Battery life, as we've already mentioned, was quite simply incredible. Our demanding tests managed 17 hours of use, and a conservative and careful user could easily eke out more.

Read more: HP Omnibook X 14 review

Our expert says
Ian Evenden profile shot
Our expert says
Ian Evenden

"While it suffers from the same GPU issues – namely a lack of power and compatibility – as other Snapdragon laptops, the HP Omnibook X 14 pulls a rabbit from the hat in the form of extremely long battery life."

The best Chromebook for students

The best Chromebook for students

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i3 N305
Graphics: Intel UHD
RAM: 8GB LPDDR5 RAM
Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080)
Storage: 128GB UFS + microSD

Reasons to buy

+
Good performance
+
Affordable for students
+
Great connectivity

Reasons to avoid

-
Small form
-
ChromeOS limitations

What you need to know: If you're a student on a tighter budget, or you only need a laptop for simpler tasks such as taking notes and writing essays, a Chromebook may be the best fit to help keep costs down. These excellent value stripped-back laptops run ChromeOS, which means you won't be able to use some of the desktop software that you would use on a Windows or Mac computer; however, there is now a wide range of apps available for ChromeOS, making it more compatible.

Pricing: With the HP Chromebook Plus 15, you’re paying less than £500 for a 15.6-inch device, which is excellent value, although don't expect premium quality. This laptop is currently priced at $599 in the US and £449 in the UK, making it half the price of a MacBook Air and cheaper than a lot of Windows laptops in this guide too.

Design and build: Our reviewer found that the design of this Chromebook was certainly cheap and plasticky, though it gives off a premium illusion almost too well until you touch it. It has a thicker casing than usual on a Chromebook, though overall, the keyboard feels a bit small and squished if we're being picky.

Display: This Chromebook is priced well for a reason, though surprisingly, the display is not the compromise here with a large 15.6-inch full HD screen that performs well for streaming thanls to the vivid colours.

Performance: According to our tester, this laptop does an extremely good job of being an all-around useful laptop, so long as you can live without certain desktop apps and Microsoft compatibility. For an office laptop, it's ideal, with great battery life. But if you're a student with more creative potential, you might find that a Chromebook is limited in this area.

Read our HP Chromebook Plus 15 review for all the details.

Our expert says
Ian Evenden profile shot
Our expert says
Ian Evenden

"While it’s not going to replace your Windows PC or Mac for creative use, Google’s lightweight OS and HP’s low-cost hardware come together to make a machine that’s scrappy and tries hard."

Best mid-range laptop for students

This relatively affordable laptop is the best mid-range option for students

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 processor with Intel AI Boost (NPU)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
RAM: DDR5-5600 Max 32GB
Screen: 14-inch 2.8K (2880x1800px), 144 Hz refresh rate
Storage: 1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Super affordable
+
Portable
+
WiFi 7

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacks design flair
-
Needs more power for professionals

What you need to know: While it joins the glut of recent laptops to have the letters 'AI' shoved somewhat unceremoniously in their name, the MSI Prestige 14 AI is a pretty impressive performer that should suit a lot of students. It's our pick as the best mid-range option, being neither the cheapest nor the most expensive on this list, and it's got enough horsepower to be suitable for all but the most demanding of creative uses. The cheaper laptops we've featured like the Acer Swift don't have these AI features, so if that's important to you, it's worth the extra outlay.

Pricing: Did we mention that it's mid-range? Well, it is. The MSI Prestige 14 AI Evo C1MG-003UK we tested costs around £799 in the UK; in the US, you'll have to spend a bit more to get the closest equivalent, the Prestige 14 AI Evo C1MG-048US. That'll set you back around $1,649, though you do get an intel Ultra i9-185H CPU processor. Discounts are not infrequent in both cases, so it's worth shopping around.

Design and build: Weighing 1.7kg, the MSI Prestige 14 AI isn't the lightest laptop to have crossed our desk, but also isn't prohibitively heavy – you're realistically going to be just fine shoving it in a backpack and running to class. And with that in mind, it's also pleasingly robust with a solid matte grey metal design that is functional without being especially inspiring. The keyboard is recessed into the laptop, which can make it feel a bit cramped when typing, and there's a decent-sized trackpad. All solid stuff.

Display: The resolution of 2.8K sits in, you guessed it, the mid-range – better than bog-standard Full HD, not quite as good as premium 4K, probably sufficient for most purposes. Its 16:10 aspect ratio gives you a little more vertical room to work with, which definitely helps when working with 14-inch displays as they can otherwise feel quite cramped. It also does feel a little fragile – while the laptop is durable when closed, a decent amount of care should be taken not to manhandle the display when it's open.

Performance: You may or may not care about the AI-powered image generation features that the makers are keen to shove in your face. A more interesting use of AI comes in the performance enhancers, which are designed to dynamically tune the hardware in accordance with what you're working on, constantly optimising the performance for your individual needs. This sort of thing is difficult to test empirically, but we did put the MSI Prestige 14 AI through our battery of performance tests, and it performed pretty impressively. For creative tasks in the likes of Photoshop or Illustrator, it'll work great – it's only if you're 3D modelling in Blender or editing 4K video that you'll start to feel its limitations. Battery life is also very good, lasting 16 hours in our playback test.

Read more: MSI Prestige 14 AI review

Our expert says
Paul Hatton, a photo of a smiling man
Our expert says
Paul Hatton

"I graduated with a first-class honours degree in Computer Science, and this is the kind of laptop I would have loved – especially for its price."

Best affordable AI student laptop

A decent AI-equipped machine that's solid for 2D design

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor (octa-core 2.20 GHz)
Graphics: Intel Arc integrated graphics
RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X
Screen: 16-inch OLED touchscreen (2880x1800px), 90Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3
Storage: 1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Gorgeous 3K OLED display 
+
Lightweight for 16-inch 
+
Excellent battery life 
+
Good port selection

Reasons to avoid

-
Struggles with demanding AI tasks 
-
Just 16GB RAM 
-
Poor speakers

What you need to know: Want an AI laptop but don't want to pay premium prices? This is our top pick. With a clever lightweight design, the Swift 16 AI is perfect for students who need a larger screen without the bulk, though you'll need to handle it with care.

Pricing: At $1,200 in the US and £1,200 in the UK, the Swift 16 AI sits in premium territory for students – though you can often find it discounted. For example, in the UK we've spotted retailers like Amazon and Currys selling it for closer to £750-£800. For highly budget-conscious students who don't care about AI, though, the price premium may be hard to justify.

Design and build: Acer has prioritised portability above all else with the Swift 16 AI, resulting in a remarkably light 1.5kg laptop that feels quite delicate. The ultra-thin plastic and metal construction makes the entire chassis susceptible to flexing, and the display panel feels worryingly fragile when closing the lid. The offset keyboard includes a full numpad that some will appreciate, whilst the trackpad offers a satisfying click across its entire surface. Port selection is generous with HDMI 2.1, two USB-C, two USB-A, and a 3.5mm jack spread across both sides.

Display: The star of the show is undoubtedly the 16-inch OLED touchscreen. The 2880×1800 resolution is very sharp at normal viewing distances, and the touch response is fast and precise. With 100% DCI-P3 coverage and gorgeous colours typical of OLED technology, this display is perfect for creative work where colour accuracy matters. The 90Hz refresh rate provides smooth scrolling, though it's not quite fast enough for serious gaming.

Performance: The Intel Core Ultra 7 processor handles everyday tasks admirably and excels at power efficiency, contributing to the laptop's impressive battery life. The Swift 16 AI's greatest strengths lie in its display and speakers — but they aren't strong enough to make up for this laptop's biggest weakness: heavy multitasking performance. Students working with basic photo editing and productivity apps will be fine, but if you're expecting serious AI capabilities or video editing prowess you'll be disappointed. The 16GB RAM limitation becomes apparent quickly with demanding workflows.

Read more: Acer Swift 16 AI full review

Our expert says
Paul Hatton
Our expert says
Paul Hatton

"I'd say this is a laptop for generalist creatives who do a little bit of everything or students who work with a diverse set of applications, including word processing, image editing, and online browsing."

Best student laptop for creatives

The best laptop for students on creative courses

Specifications

CPU: 14th Gen Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU
RAM: 16GB
Screen: 15-inch 2880x1620 OLED, 120Hz, 617 nits peak brightness
Storage: 1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Fantastic screen 
+
Serious power 
+
Great ergonomics

Reasons to avoid

-
No touchscreen
-
Speakers aren't the best

What you need to know: As a photography student, this is the laptop that I owned while studying for my Master's. I highly recommend it as one of the best laptops for college, an excellent choice for multitasking as it offers a great balance between professional and personal use. For example, I used it for essay writing, photo editing, online lectures and Teams meetings, plus it could handle light gaming sessions in the evening.

Design and build: The laptop maintains the sleek and minimal metallic-lid design of its predecessor, coming in Earl Grey and “Cool Silver” color options. It weighs 1.8 kg and retains a slim profile, making it portable without compromising power. The keyboard is ergonomic, with a numpad that feels slightly cramped but still manageable. Port options are excellent, including Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, an SD card reader, and more, ensuring connectivity for a range of devices.

Display: The 15-inch, 3K OLED display is a highlight, reaching a peak brightness of 617 nits in our tests, exceeding ASUS's own brightness claims. With 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, Pantone certification, and near-infinite contrast ratio, the screen is excellent for creatives working with color-sensitive projects. However, the lack of touch capability could be a drawback for some.

Performance: Powered by Intel’s 14th-gen Core Ultra processor and a GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED performs excellently in both creative tasks and gaming. I love that it has enough processing power to run any creative software, including 3D modelling slicers as the image above demonstrates, as well as Adobe's suite of Creative Cloud apps. I loved the small design features like the built-in privacy shutter, fingerprint reader, and backlit keyboard for late-night essays.

Pricing: The laptop is priced around £1,599, slightly above the 2023 model, offering better performance than comparable models in the same price range, such as the MacBook Air, particularly in creative and gaming benchmarks.

Read more: Asus Vivobook Pro 15 review

Our expert says
Beth Nicholls headshot
Our expert says
Beth Nicholls

"This is the laptop that got me through my university studies, and I couldn't have handled the workload without it. For photo editing, it's an absolute dream, capable of running multiple programs with ease, such as Capture One and Photoshop".

Best lightweight laptop for students

The best lightweight laptop for students

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7-1355U (10 cores, 12 threads)
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: 8-32GB
Screen: 13.3in, 2.8K (2880x1800) OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio
Storage: 512GB-1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Extremely light and portable
+
Fantastic screen
+
Good for photo-editing

Reasons to avoid

-
Only integrated graphics

What you need to know: One of the smallest and lightest laptops we've ever tested, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is a dream for any student who likes to travel light. It also packs in plenty of power and performance.

Pricing: At around $1,399 for the 32GB model, the Zenbook S 13 OLED is priced in line with premium ultraportable laptops. While it may be slightly more expensive than the base model MacBook Air, its top-tier OLED display and eco-friendly design justify the price, offering strong value for its features.

Design and build: The Zenbook S 13 OLED is a marvel of compact engineering, featuring a sustainable chassis made from post-industrial recycled aluminium and magnesium alloys, with keycaps from recycled plastics. At only 1.09 cm thick, it’s designed for those who want a high-quality laptop in a tiny, portable package. Despite its light weight, the laptop feels solid and durable.

Display: ASUS likes to make claims about producing the best OLED screens on the laptop market, but honestly, use the Zenbook S 13 OLED for a spell and you'll be hard-pressed to disagree. It's incredibly bright and beautifully sharp, with 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage and a Pantone Validated certification.

Performance: Power-wise, the Zenbook acquits itself well. For 2D design tasks in programs like Photoshop and Krita, we found it to be perfectly smooth and responsive. You'll get a little fan noise, but nothing anti-social. With moving images though, you start to feel the limits of the integrated GPU, meaning video editors and animators will probably be better off with something else. Plus there's the impressive battery life, clocking in over 13 hours during our video streaming tests.

Read more: ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED review

Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson headshot
Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson

"Though I especially recommended this laptop to hybrid workers, its teeny-tiny dimensions make it an easy rec for students as well. Run to class with this in your bag and you'll barely feel it!"

Best 2-in-1 laptop for students

09. HP Spectre x360 14 (2024)

The best 2-in-1 laptop for students

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
Graphics: Intel Arc integrated
RAM: 32GB
Screen: 14-inch HDR OLED
Storage: 2TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Great OLED touchscreen 
+
Comes with a stylus
+
Excellent design

Reasons to avoid

-
A little heavy
-
Noticeable fan noise

What you need to know: A lot of students opt for 2-in-1 laptops for college and university as an alternative to using both a laptop and a separate tablet for drawing and note organising. If you enjoy using a touchscreen or require a touchscreen for your course, then a 2-in-1 laptop is usually a more affordable option (and very classy too). More of a tablet person? We have a guide to the best iPads for students.

Pricing: At $1,899/£1,899 for the top configuration reviewed, the Spectre x360 is comparable to the MacBook Air and Pro, both featured on this list. This premium price is justified by its build quality, versatile functionality, and included features like the stylus pen.

Design and build: The device features a robust design that's a great choice for student, as it's super sleek and weighs just 1.44kg, making it portable enough for travelling around campus. The 2-in-1 design is super-flexible and it has a strong hinge so you can feel confident that it will fold smoothly, plus ou can also use it in tent mode for watching movies hands-free. The port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a slim-design USB-A port.

Display: The 14-inch HDR OLED touchscreen is a a standout feature of this laptop, offering a resolution of 2880 x 1800, a 120Hz refresh rate, 100% P3 color coverage and i Gorilla Glass. The display quality delivers the deep blacks and vibrant colours characteristic of OLED technology, and you also get a magnetic stylus for digital artwork or note-taking.

Performance: With powerful components, our reviewer found this laptop handled productivity tasks with ease. The only thing that really lets it down was the Intel Arc integrated graphics cores, which could prove problematic down the line, as it has the potential to slow down graphics-heavy tasks. With that said, our reviewer found that it responded very well to Photoshop software, and didn't tax the GPU too much at all. Battery life extends to approximately 8.5 hours under typical work conditions.

Read more: HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) review

Our expert says
Ian Evenden profile shot
Our expert says
Ian Evenden

"Having been working in journalism since the days of QuarkXpress 4 and Photoshop 5, I always appreciate a powerful laptop. This is a pricey proposition, but has much to recommend."

Best powerful laptop for students

10. MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro, 2023)

The most powerful student laptop

Specifications

CPU: Apple M1 Pro / M1 Max
Graphics: Integrated 14-core or 16-core GPU with M1 Pro / M1 Max chip
RAM: 8GB - 64GB
Screen: 13.3in, 2,560 x 1,600
Storage: 512GB - 8TB

Reasons to buy

+
Top-of-the-line Apple hardware
+
Great battery life 
+
Can run iOS apps

Reasons to avoid

-
No USB-A port
-
Exceedingly expensive for many student budgets

What you need to know: The MacBook Pro 16 isn't just one of the best laptops for students right but one of the best laptops period. As such, it comes with a pretty hefty price tag, and it's a lot more than almost any student needs. That said, power uses on courses in 3D animation, video editing and other graphically demanding disciplines will without doubt appreciate the power and efficiency on offer here.

Price: The best prices we can find for the MacBook Pro M3 at time of writing are $2,999 in the US and £3,239.10 in the UK. Obviously the MacBook Air in our number-one spot is going to be the vastly more sensible option for most people. But if you've got the cash, this is power in the extreme.

Design: The Pro is sleek and streamlined, just like you'd expect from Apple, and the overall design is a little different from its predecessor. In terms of connectivity, you get two USB-C ports on the left, a single USB-C, an HDMI and an SDXC card slot on the right. The base-level M3 are USB-C 4 while the Max supports Thunderbolt 4.

Display: The Liquid Retina XDR display is one of the best things about this laptop. It's big and bright, with a peak brightness of 1,600 nits if working in HDR (compared to 1,000 otherwise). Our tests found the colour accuracy was extraordinary, with a 116.70% sRGB colour gamut. And the 16-inch screen gives you plenty of space to work on.

Performance: Running benchmarks using Blender, we concluded that the Pro 16 is a viable replacement for a desktop machine in many scenarios. It feels smooth and fluid, interactive rendering runs with ease and high-polygon and model count scenes showed no signs of slowdown and when video editing – even 8K or multicam timelines are responsive. Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve and Fusion projects feel super smooth. While many rival workstation laptops often sacrifice battery life in exchange for power, in our own tests, we worked for 10 hours in Cinema 4D before the power indicator turned red. And the laptop never got uncomfortably hot

Read more: MacBook Pro M3 review | MacBook Pro M3 Max review

Our expert says
Rob Redman author bio
Our expert says
Rob Redman

"It's obviously not going to be an option for most students. but if I'd had the budget for something like this back when I was studying Art and Design, I'd have snapped it up like a shot."

Also tested

We've tested many more laptops that are suitable for students in a range of disciplines. If you've not quite seen what you're looking for yet, consider these, and click to read our full reviews.

Dell Inspiron 14 (5441)

Dell Inspiron 14 (5441)
This is a pretty standard-fare laptop for anyone who wants decent power without breaking the bank – but since it's fairly recent, it does come equipped with AI features to speed up workflows.
Read our 4-star review

Acer Aspire 5

Acer Aspire 5
This is one of the best options for students on a tight budget. In fact, we're talking almost Chromebook prices, but without many of the limitations that come with using ChromeOS.
Read our 3-star review

MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
It might not have an M3 chip, but we think the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is an excellent and affordable laptop for students. Its price is significantly lower, and it offers perfectly acceptable performance for most needs.
Read our 5-star review.

Acer Chromebook Spin 514

Acer Chromebook Spin 514
This was our previous pick as the best Chromebook for students, thanks to its fast and reliable performance. It's stripped back without all of the bloated desktop software, which makes it excellent for everyday tasks with a spread of office apps.
Read our 4-star review.

Microsoft Surface Go 3

Microsoft Surface Go 3
The Surface Go 3 is one of the most affordable 2-in-1 tablets in the Microsoft family, and while it's nowhere near as powerful as the Surface Pro, it has a similar design and is capable of running low-demand software.
Read our 3-star review

MSI Prestige 14 Evo

MSI Prestige 14 Evo
For a Windows option firmly in the middle of the range, we think the MSI Prestige 14 Evo is a good option for students, with enough specs to cover a wide degree of uses while keeping costs down.
Read our 3.5-star review

How to choose the best student laptop

Choosing the best student laptop will depend on your needs and budget. Naturally, different students will have very different requirements for a laptop depending on what they're studying. Many will not need massive amounts of power, while those studying subjects such as video production and 3D design will have greater needs.

Students of creative subjects are likely to need at least 16GB of RAM and possibly a laptop with a dedicated GPU. They'll likely also have greater demands for the display of their laptop, requiring a good colour gamut for visual work. Other students can better prioritise value and portability.

We've considered these different needs when selecting the options to include in our guide above. In our experience, there are three major factors to consider:

Portability: If you're ferrying your laptop to lectures, seminars and the library for all-night cram sessions, you don't want it to be giving you back problems. A laptop that doesn't weigh too much and can easily fit into a standard backpack or shoulder bag should definitely be a priority for a student.

Battery life: The last thing you want is your laptop running out of power at a critical moment, and if your laptop can't get you through the day, it's probably not going to be hugely useful to you as a student.

Affordability: Of course, everyone is looking for value with any purchase they make, particularly tech, but for many students, affordability is a more important factor than it is for working professionals who still need a solid laptop. Thus, getting as much computing power on the dollar as possible is paramount.

How to choose the right laptop for your college major

Picking the best laptop for college is made more complex by the fact that, of course, everyone is studying different things! Depending on your choice of major, your needs from a laptop could differ quite significantly. Going through the requirements of all different majors could be an article in itself, but in brief, here is a quick guide to help you get started.

Humanities majors (English, Journalism, History etc)

No need to overdo it. A laptop with an Intel Core i5 processor or equivalent and at least 8GB of RAM will suit you fine for typing up your assignments and watching Netflix once you're done. You can also probably go for a light option on storage, as text files won't take up a lot of space.

Computer Science majors

You'll likely need a bit more computing heft to run engineering-specific software, so an Intel Core i7 processor or equivalent is a good idea, and 16GB of RAM will make your life easier.

2D design majors (Art, Graphic Design, Photography etc)

A similar level of power to the computer science major is a good idea, but the main things you're going to want to focus on are getting a colour-accurate display and plenty of storage for all your files. At least 512GB is good, and 1TB is better.

Video editing, 3D Design

Don't skimp. An Intel Core i9 or Mac M3 processor will make your life much easier when it comes to running the software you need – and simply working with large files (for which you'll also want plenty of storage.

How we tested the best student laptops

All the laptops in this guide have been reviewed and tested by Creative Bloq's hardware experts, who have not just run them through a gauntlet of benchmarking, but also used them in real life over weeks and sometimes months.

Our reviewers have specifically put these devices through their paces with tasks that students in different fields tend to carry out. We spend several days testing each device and comparing their specifications to pick the best laptops for students with varying needs. We run different benchmark tests on each device depending on its intended use by its maker, but the laptops we've included in this guide have all been run through the following:

Cinebench R23/2024 - this assesses the performance of a computer's CPU and GPU using real-world 3D rendering tasks

Geekbench 5/6 - this tests the CPU's processing power, both by using a single core for a single task at a time as well as all the CPU's core to see its ability to multitask

Handbrake - we use this free and open-source transcoder for digital video files to render a short 4K animated film, using the same file for all our tests

3DMark - this assesses a computer's ability to run graphic rendering tasks, including for gaming

PCMark 10 - this test assesses a computer’s ability to run all everyday tasks from web browsing to digital content creation, testing app launch speeds, 3D rendering and even battery life

But perhaps more importantly than technical benchmarking, we evaluate machines in real-world situations, pushing them to the limit with multiple applications running to see how they perform in real project-like conditions. Power, speed, flexibility, and what a computer looks and feels like to use are all criteria in our reviewing process.

We do much more than simply unpack a test unit, run some benchmarks and then pack it up again; we have lived and worked with all of the above computers, running them in real-life scenarios and completed projects relevant to the subject of this guide, otherwise, we wouldn't recommend these models to you. For more details, see a full breakdown of how we test laptops.

FAQs

How much computing power do I need for a student laptop?

It depends what you are studying (see our quick guide to college major requirements, above). For basic essay writing, one of the Chromebooks or 2-in-1 hybrid laptops on our list with RAM in the 4GB to 8GB range should serve you just fine.

For a course that requires more intensive processing power, in which case a student laptop won't necessarily be a budget option. If you're editing video, for instance, or working with 3D software, you'll need 16GB of RAM or more, and possibly a dedicated graphics card. The products featured in our most powerful laptops guide may be worth checking out if this is the case.

Which laptop brand is best for students?

Good laptop brands for students include: Dell, HP, Acer, Asus and Microsoft for Windows laptops – and then, of course, there's Apple (see our best MacBooks for college post). For creatives, Asus's VivoBook range offers good prices on devices built with creative work in mind, and we recommend considering this brand if you're starting a course for video editing or digital illustration.

How can students save money on laptops?

With budget a primary concern for students, it's worth exploring you're options for how to save money. Of course, there are the standard sales and deals offered throughout the year, but there is also opportunity for special student discounts available all year round, like the Apple Student discount, Samsung Student discount or the Dell student offers.

Can a student laptop be used for gaming?

A student's gaming laptop will require a bit more power than one that's just used for writing and web-browsing. A good gaming laptop needs both graphical and processing power to ensure that modern games run smoothly, with no lag or stuttering. See our roundup of the best gaming laptops for more.

Do Chromebooks make good student laptops?

Yes, they do. Not every student will need massive specs. We've included a Chomebook at number 2 in our guide to the best student laptops because for many students giving up a big storage capacity for super speed makes very good sense. The apps that Chromebooks run take up very little space, and with built-in support for Google Drive, it means your documents are all saved in the cloud as well.

Are hybrid 2-in-1s good student laptops?

Again, this is a resounding 'yes' in our opinion. Hybrids, also known as 2-in-1s combine the best of tablets and laptops into a highly portable package that's ideal for slinging in a bag to carry to school or university. Devices like the Microsoft Surface Go 3 above are great for working in spaces where you might not have a desk – even on the train, while you can still keep the convenience of a keyboard for when you need it.

Should I buy a refurbished or second-hand laptop?

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

Getting a student laptop that has had a previous owner is a great way to save money and be a bit more environmentally conscious. There are a couple of ways to do this:

Refurbished laptops are sold directly by their manufacturer, or through an official partner retailer. Essentially, they are previously used laptops that have been traded in, then given a professional once-over – cleaned up, wiped and made ready to sell again. They're often sold 'as-new', or given an official grade for their condition, giving you a good idea of what you're getting into.

Second-hand laptops will usually be sold directly from the previous owner, usually via a reselling platform like eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

Refurbished laptops will generally be more expensive, however for the price you'll get an assurance of quality and good working order, as well as usually a limited warrant. Second-hand laptops will be cheaper, but not offer the same kinds of guarantees, while also running the risk of potentially being infected with malware (which the previous owner may not have even been aware of).

Beren Neale
Ecom Editor

Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he's not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.

With contributions from
  • Freelance journalist and editor