School isn’t cheap. Books, tuition, accommodation and even food can add up. But, you shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the best laptops for students. In fact, student laptops will be budget-minded devices that have great style and plenty of power, but they’ll do it without charging an arm and a leg.
However, when you’re buying textbooks and ramen, saving up for a shiny new laptop can be quite hard. So, the best student laptops will put value above having the best processors and graphics cards. You won’t be limited to Windows 10, either – the best Chromebooks are some of the best laptops for college students, as you can get all your work done while saving hundreds of dollars.
We know that school is stressful – we’ve been there. But, that’s why you should make sure you have one of the best student laptops. You don’t need to add the stress of running around campus with a dying laptop to your plate. So, that’s why we went ahead and gathered up the best student laptops you can buy today: no one should be limited to some old clunker just to get some work done, and you shouldn’t have to drop all of your savings, either.
- Discover the best laptops you can buy in every category
- 1. Huawei Matebook 13
- 2. Surface Laptop 2
- 3. Apple MacBook Air (2018)
- 4. Microsoft Surface Pro 6
- 5. Dell XPS 13
Here at TechRadar, we love it when a laptop can perfectly balance price and performance without any compromises, and the Huawei MateBook 13 comes closer to hitting that perfect balance than anything in 2019 so far. Thin, light, quick and affordable, this beautiful 13-inch Ultrabook will let you get all your work done in style, without dragging down on your wallet. The battery life is a little weak, but that’s a worthy sacrifice to make here – just carry the charger around with you.
Read the full review: Huawei MateBook 13
While the first Surface Laptop was already one of the best student laptops, it was held back by sub-par performance, a lack of ports and Windows 10 in S Mode. With the Surface Laptop 2, however, everything is better – except for the ports. It’s packed with 8th-generation Kaby Lake Refresh processors, full-fat Windows 10 Home and a black color option. We wish it had even a single USB-C port, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ll be able to get all your work done in style with this laptop.
Read the full review: Surface Laptop 2
We were left waiting for Apple to renew the MacBook Air for years, as it languished with a 5th-generation Intel Core processor and an out of date, low-resolution display. Thankfully, those days are over. Apple has ushered the MacBook Air into the modern age, with 8th-generation fanless processors, a thinner and lighter design, and perhaps most importantly – a Retina display. No more do you have to compromise on modern features if you want an “affordable Mac”, and that makes the MacBook Air one of the best laptops for college students.
Read the full review: MacBook Air
The Microsoft Surface lineup has built a reputation for itself for being among the best Windows devices out there – gorgeous touch screens, incredible performance and long battery life. The Surface Pro 6 continues this tradition, even if it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. What you’re getting here is a speedy Windows tablet that can effortlessly turn into a laptop through the Surface Type Cover. You can get your work done and then effortlessly transition into break time.
Read the full review: Surface Pro 6
There’s a reason the Dell XPS 13 is our best laptops for college students, best Ultrabook and best laptop overall. It’s all about options. So, even if your rigorous academic lifestyle doesn’t necessitate the high pixel density of a quad HD display, the XPS 13 gives you the freedom to opt for a lower-resolution 1080p screen as an alternative. The same goes for the processor, of which you can select between an i3, i5 and i7. To top it all off, the latest Dell XPS 13 can be dressed in Rose Gold, shielded by a stylish aluminum chassis that will make even Apple fans jealous.
Read the full review: Dell XPS 13 review
- Now, check out the best 2-in-1 laptops