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Summer break always seems to end much more quickly than we'd like it to. Just like that, we're approaching back-to-school season once again, and that often means it's time for a new PC. As learning becomes increasingly reliant on technology, it's essential for students to have a good laptop. That's even more true now that remote and hybrid learning has become much more prominent. Finding a laptop that works well now and for the next few years can be tough, but we're here to help. We've selected some of the best laptops you can buy for students ahead of the upcoming school year to make your choice easier.
Good laptops are abundant nowadays, but it can be hard to find something that's just right. We've tried to cover a wide range of use cases and price points, so you're very likely to find something you'll like here. There are also devices with different operating systems so you can choose whichever you prefer.
Best overall: HP Spectre x360 13.5
The HP Spectre family has long been one of the most recognizable brands of Windows laptops, and the latest iteration of the Spectre x360 is naturally better than ever. It comes with top-tier processors that are still efficient, and it refines the premium Spectre design to make it a little more subdued. For its versatility, build quality, and everything else, this certainly deserves to be considered one of the best laptops for students.
For starters, in terms of performance, the HP SPectre x360 is powered by 12th-generation Intel Core processors, specifically from the U15 series. These models has a 15W TDP and they come with up to 10 cores and 12 threads, with the Core i7-1255U also reaching boost speeds up to 4.7GHz. It's one of the fastest laptop CPUs available right now, but it's still fairly efficient, so it won't chew through the battery as some other Windows laptops might. The processor also includes integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, and this is all backed up by up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage, so you're getting a premium experience across the board.
The display is another highlight, being a 13.5-inch panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio. This first debuted with the Spectre x360 14 in 2020, and it's still fantastic. This tall aspect ratio is fairly uncommon in laptops, but it's great for productivity since the extra vertical space makes it easier to read without having to scroll as much. The base model here comes in Full HD+ (1920 x 1280) resolution, but you can also upgrade to a 3K2K (3000 x 2000) OLED panel, which is extremely sharp and has the typical OLED benefits like vibrant colors, true blacks, and a high contrast ratio. That's completely optional, though, and the base configuration is already great for any student (and better for battery life).
One of the best things about the HP Spectre x360 is that it comes with a fantastic webcam, using a 5MP sensor capable of 1080p video. Not only that, but this camera has smart features like auto framing and lighting correction, so it's great for video calls. That's a big part of what makes this one of the best laptops for students, since it can also be very useful in remote learning. Plus, the webcam supports Windows Hello facial recognition, so it's very easy to unlock the PC.
Design-wise, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 comes with a sleek new look, with surfaces that curve towards the edges for extra comfort. It's available in three colors: Natural Silver, Nightfall Black, and Nocturne Blue. The first is a plain silver color, but Nightfall Black and Nocturne Blue feature different-colored accents. The Nightfall Black model has bronze-colored edges (as seen above), while the Nocturne Blue variant is accented by a lighter shade of blue, which is a bit more subdued but still looks great. The laptop comes in at 3.01lbs of weight, so it's not the lightest around, but it's still fairly portable. It also measures 17.02mm in thickness.
Finally, in terms of ports, the HP SPectre x360 13.5 is one of the better premium laptops of this size. It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. Some may have liked to have a traditional display output like HDMI, but it's probably not a big use case for students, and you can always buy an adapter if you really need it.
Between the high-end performance, the fantastic display, one of the best webcams around, and premium design, there's very little not to love about the Spectre x360 13.5. This is easily one of the best laptops you can buy for students right now.
HP Spectre x360 13.5
The HP Spectre x360 13.5 is a premium convertible laptop with high-end performance and a great display.
Best clamshell laptop for students: MacBook Air
Of course, we couldn't talk about the best laptops for students without talking about the MacBook Air, one of the most popular laptops in the world, especially for college students. The 2022 iteration of the MacBook Air comes more powerful specs and a brand-new design, and it's definitely one of the best laptops you can buy today. You can still buy the 2020 model if you want something a bit cheaper, but this is a big improvement in a few ways.
First off, the MacBook Air is powered by the new Apple M2 chip, which is the second generation of Apple Silicon for Macs. This new processor delivers up to 18% more CPU performance and 35% more GPU performance compared to the M1, all while still being incredibly efficient. That means this is not only one of the fastest processors on any laptop, but battery life will also be stellar on this machine. On top of that, the MacBook Air can be configured with up to 24GB of unified memory and a 2TB SSD for storage, which makes this a premium laptop through and through. We do recommend getting at least 512GB of storage, though, because the 256GB model can be noticeably slower.
The display also received a couple of significant upgrades from the previous generation. It's taller now, so it measures 13.6 inches diagonally, with a slight increase in resolution (2560 x 1664) to accommodate that. It's also a brighter panel now, reaching up to 500 nits so it's more easily visible outdoors, and it still supports P3 Wide Color and True Tone. There aren't any configuration options for this screen, but what that means is that no matter your configuration, you're getting a really good display. The only potential downside here is the notch, which Apple is slowly bringing to most of its laptops.
However, that notch houses a new and improved webcam, which is a very welcome upgrade. Apple is now using a 1080p sensor, which delivers far better quality compared to the 720p camera of the previous MacBook Air model. Plus, using artificial intelligence in the Apple M2 chip, image quality is improved even further. Unlike on the iPhone, though, the notch doesn't mean the laptop supports Face ID. You need to use Touch ID to log in, which is still pretty convenient, to be fair.
Apple also redesigned the MacBook Air this year with some big changes. Instead of a wedge shape, the laptop now has a completely balanced design, measuring just 11.3mm in thickness across the whole chassis. It's an incredibly thin laptop, and with 2.7lbs of weight, it's also pretty light. That's not all, though, because there are also some new colors. In addition to Silver and Space Grey, the new MacBook Air comes in a new soft gold color called Starlight, and a nearly black shade of blue called Midnight. These new colors are beautiful, and a big improvement over the options we had before.
The redesign also comes with some welcome changes to the ports. The latest MacBook Air comes with two Thunderbolt / USB4 ports just like before, but now MagSafe charging is back (and it supports up to 67W charging). Plus, the headphone jack has been amped up to support high-impedance headphones. Not many people will need that, but it's certainly a welcome addition if you want to get into more high-end audio. However, this laptop still doesn't have a ton of ports, which some people may not like.
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular MacBook, and with the latest iteration, it's better than ever. If you're a college student and you can afford it, this is one of the best laptops you can buy today.
Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
The MacBook Air is one of the most popular laptops for college students, and the 2022 model is the best one yet thanks to its new design and powerful specs
Best budget laptop for students: Surface Laptop Go 2
Not everyone is willing to spend over $1,000 on a new laptop for school, and if you're looking for something a bit more affordable, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is an excellent choice. The original Surface Laptop Go was already a solid choice for students on a budget, and while the second-generation model doesn't make a lot of changes, the one it does make is big.
We're talking about performance, which has received a big boost with the Surface Laptop Go 2. This laptop is powered by an Intel Core i5-1135G7, and while it's true that this isn't the newest processor around, it's still a fantastic one. This is a quad-core, eight-thread CPU and it can boost up to 4.2GHz, so it can handle all kinds of tasks from web browsing to writing without breaking a sweat. Plus, this model includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, so if you want to play some very light games, it can handle that, too. The base configuration includes 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD; which isn't a bad combination for a budget laptop, though we'd definitely recommend springing for 8GB of RAM if you can afford it.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a fairly unique display. It comes in a 12.4-inch size and it has the same 3:2 aspect ratio every other Surface device usually has. It's great to see that taller screen on a budget device like this, since it does help with productivity. The resolution of the panel is somewhat unconventional, at 1526 x 1024, but it's sharp enough for a screen of this size, and the screen also supports touch input (but no Surface Pen). It's not a high-end display, but it's definitely tailor-made for the size of this laptop, and it does the job well.
Webcam quality is one of the first things to go with budget laptops like this, and the Surface Laptop Go 2 does have a 720p sensor, like many others in this price range. Microsoft does say it improved the image quality compared to the previous Surface Laptop Go, though, so this is one of the better 720p webcams. There's no Windows Hello facial recognition, either, but you can get a fingerprint sensor if you buy one of the configurations with 8GB of RAM.
The Surface design language is pretty iconic, despite being very simplistic, and it's definitely well represented in the Surface Laptop Go 2. The laptop has an aluminum lid and a plastic base, giving it something of a dual-tone look, but it looks just as clean as you'd expect a Surface to look. It comes in a handful of colors, too, including Platinum, Matte Black, Ice Blue, and the all-new Sage, a faint shade of green. This is also a fairly thin and light laptop, measuring 15.7mm and weighing 2.48lbs.
Finally, for ports, the Surface Laptop Go 2 makes do with one USB Type-C port, one USB Type-A port, Surface Connect, and a headphone jack. This isn't the most varied setup, but it does cover a few basic needs for students, including a Type-A port that might come in handy for peripherals like a mouse. Surface devices typically don't have a ton of ports, so this is about what you'd expect.
While it's far from a perfect device, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is a great budget laptop for any student, and one of the best you can buy.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
For students with a tighter budget, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is a great laptop that delivers solid performance in a very portable package.
Best gaming laptop for students: Razer Blade 14
If you're anything like I was back in high school and college, you probably spend almost as much time gaming as you do working on school projects. Okay, I'll admit it, I probably spent more time gaming. And back then, I would have loved to have something like Razer Blade 14 to do both my school work and handle all my gaming needs. Today, you can do that, and if you have the money for it, it's definitely a fantastic option with its balance of power and portability.
The 2022 model of the Razer Blade 14 is powered by the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, one of the most powerful laptop CPUs out there right now. It has 8 cores, 16 threads, and it can boost up to 4.9GHz, so it's a beastly processor, no doubt. That's backed up by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 in the base configuration, though if you have money to spend, you can go up to an RTX 3080 Ti with 100W of total graphics power. That's a very powerful combination that ensures just about any game you want to play, you can play. There are also 16GB of fast DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD, which should be enough to run all your games and store them without much of an issue.
The display is a 14-inch panel and it comes in a more traditional 16:9 aspect ratio compared to the laptops we've looked at so far. That's not as good for productivity, but it's still the most popular aspect ratio for gaming, so this makes sense. The GeForce RTX 3060 model comes with a Full HD panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, and it covers up to 100% of sRGB, which is definitely good enough for a student gamer to get a great experience. If you upgrade to the RTX 3070 Ti or 3080 Ti, though, you get a Quad HD panel with a 165Hz refresh rate and 100% coverage of DCI-P, which is even better. We imagine most students don't want to spend that much, but the option is there.
Many gaming laptops tend to overlook the webcam, but part of the reason we went with the Razer Blade 14 here is that it's one of the exceptions. This laptop has a 1080p webcam, which makes it that much better if you want or need to take classes remotely, or even if you want to stream yourself playing a game. Plus, there's Windows Hello facial recognition support, too, so this is a really good camera.
Despite being a very powerful laptop, the Razer Blade 14 still manages to weigh just 3.92lbs and measure 16.8mm in thickness. Sure, that's one of the largest laptops on this list, but considering what's inside it, this is very impressive. It's a sleek-looking laptop, too, with an all-black design with smooth surfaces and clean lines. There's a green Razer logo on the lid, but that's really the only thing that would make this laptop stick out in public. The keyboard is RGB backlit, though, so you can customize it to your liking.
And for ports, Razer packed a lot in here, too. There are two USB Type-C ports, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and a headphone jack, all evenly distributed on both sides of the laptop, which is always nice to see. There's no Thunderbolt support on account of this being an AMD laptop and THunderbolt being Intel technology, but really, you probably won't need any extras when you have this many ports built in. This is a really good setup overall.
We can't work around the fact that the Razer Blade 14 is a very expensive laptop, starting at $1,999. But if you can afford it, this is definitely one of the very best laptops you can buy for gaming as a student, since it's both powerful and portable. You can check out the higher-end models below, or the base model on Razer's website.
Razer Blade 14
If you're a student that loves gaming and you have money to spare, the Razer Blade 14 is a powerful and compact gaming laptop you can take anywhere.
Best for gaming on a budget: Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
Let's face it, as much as I would have liked to have the Razer Balde 14, I definitely wouldn't have been able to afford such an expensive laptop at that time, and many other parents probably can't spend that much on a laptop for their children. If you want a gaming laptop for a more reasonable price, then the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i might just be the machine for you. There are a few solid budget choices for gaming, but at writing time, the IdeaPad Gaming 3i has a discount that makes it a no-brainer.
That's because this model is already packing the Intel 12th-generation processors, specifically the Core i5-12500H, which gives you 12 cores, 16 threads, and boost speed up to 4.5GHz, resulting in very solid performance for entry-level gaming and just about any other task you could want to do. On top of that, it comes with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 85W of power. Sure, it's not the most powerful GPU out there, but this can handle any modern game just fine, as long as you tweak some settings here and there on more demanding titles. Plus, this model includes 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD - an entry-level setup, to be sure, but it's good enough to get started, and you can always upgrade later.
The display on the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i is about what you could expect for a budget gaming laptop, too. It's a 15.6-inch panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and it comes in Full HD resolution. Plus, it has a 120Hz refresh rate, so you can still get smooth frame rates on a lot of games, even at this budget price. It's actually very nice to see that on a laptop at this price, though it bears repeating that this seems to be thanks to a discount.
Of course, it still is a more budget-oriented laptop, and that means some sacrifices have to be made. The webcam here is only a 720p camera, so it won't be the best for video calls. It also doesn't support Windows Hello facial recognition, and in fact, there's no form of biometric authentication on this laptop, which is a bit of a bummer, but not uncommon for affordable gaming laptops.
Being a powerful gaming laptop on a budget does mean this is a chunky laptop, however. It comes in at 5.1lbs of starting weight and it's 21.8mm thick, making it a positively heavy machine to carry around. This is also why the Razer Blade 14 is so impressive, but for an affordable laptop, this is about what you'd expect. The laptop comes in a black colorway, though a white model is also planned. Both models are adorned by light blue accents, which make this laptop stand out a bit more, but there's no RGB lighting here.
The port selection here is solid, as you'd expect for a gaming laptop. Most of the ports are on the back, including a Thunderbolt 4 port, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, and a proprietary power connector. You also get a USB Type-A port on each side of the laptop for your peripherals, along with a headphone jack on the left for wired audio. This covers all the basic needs you might have, and having a Thunderbolt port means you could eventually buy an external GPU if you need more power for gaming in the future.
For the going price of just under $800, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i is a phenomenal gaming laptop, and an easy recommendation if you want something that can handle school work and gaming. It does have its downsides, but it's not bad at all for the price.
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i
The lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i is a great budget-oriented gaming laptop with powerful specs and a 120Hz display.
Best for portability: Surface Go 3
On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of portability, we have Microsoft's Surface Go 3. This isn't the most powerful PC out there, but this tiny size makes it perfect for a younger student to carry around school, and it still makes the right choice to deliver a great experience overall. It's a fairly cheap tablet, but if you just want to browse the web and work on some school documents, it's one of the best laptops you can get for students.
Performance-wise, the Surface Go 3 features low-power Intel processors, with your choice of the Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y or the more powerful Intel Core i3-10100Y. Neither of these is going to be crazy fast, but for basic tasks, they'll do fine. The base model also includes 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage, and if you can, we definitely recommend upgrading to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD if you can. It may seem small, but these are huge upgrades, and you'll get a much smoother and faster experience this way.
The display on the Surface Go 3 is one of the smallest out of any device on this list, which is why the device itself is so light and portable. This is a 10.5-inch panel and it comes with the typical 3:2 aspect ratio that Microsoft always uses. It comes in Full HD+ (1920 x 1280) resolution, and for this size, that's a very sharp screen that looks great. You don't see such sharp screens that often on devices this cheap, which is part of why this is a great tablet. Of curse, since it's a tablet, it also supports touch and the Surface Pen (though the pen is sold separately).
And there's more good news above that display, too. The Surface Go 3 has a 5MP camera with 1080p video, just like the more premium Surface Pro. That means you're going to look great in video calls, and you can even take pictures or record videos. The webcam also supports Windows Hello facial recognition, another rarity on a device this cheap. Plus, there's another camera, this one with an 8MP sensor, on the back for taking pictures and videos in a pinch.
This all comes in a tiny package, with the Surface Go 3 by itself weighing 1.2lbs and measuring just 8.3mm in thickness. This is a device that can easily slip into a backpack or handbag and go just about anywhere. A downside of it is that the keyboard and the Surface Pen are sold separately, and they will add a bit to the size, but it's still a very portable machine. The bigger concern is that they'll add to the total cost of the device, so it becomes a little less budget-friendly.
Finally, for ports, you get one USB Type-C port, Surface Connect, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. It's not a very varied setup, but it makes sense for a tablet that's all about portability. The Surface Go 3 is also one of the few laptops here that can be configured with LTE support if you need to stay connected to the internet from wherever you go. It adds a lot to the price and it's not necessary for most people, but the option is there.
Looking at just the performance, this may not seem like an amazing product, but it's clear that the Surface Go 3 is more about offering a great experience. It has a very good display, great webcams, and a super portable design, and it's a fantastic choice for younger students who just need a small device to keep up with school work.
Microsoft Surface Go 3
The Surface Go 3 is a small lightweight tablet that's perfect for carrying around wherever you go, and it has a great display and webcam.
Best Chromebook for students: Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Acer's Chromebook Spin 713 was constantly one of our top picks among Chromebooks for just about any use case. Now, the company has come out with the new Acer Chromebook Spin 714, with upgraded specs and a bigger display, making a great device even better. If you're buying a laptop for a student and they don't need Windows, this is probably your best option.
Starting with performance, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is packing 12th-generation Intel processors, specifically the Core i5-1235U. This is a 15W processor with 10 cores, 12 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.4GHz, and it's a phenomenal CPU for Chrome OS, which is a notoriously lightweight operating system. You'll no doubt have a great experience with this one, and on top of that, it has Intel iris Xe graphics, so it can handle some more GPU-focused tasks like games, too. Plus, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, you have everything you could want for solid performance on Chrome OS, especially with this being a heavily cloud-focused OS.
Moving on to the display, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 features a new 14-inch panel, and instead of the 3:2 aspect ratio, it now comes in a 16:10 format. It's not quite as tall, but it's still taller than a typical 16:9 aspect ratio, and this format is more popular on laptops. Plus, with the bigger size overall compared to the Spin 713, this is still a fantastic display. It comes in Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution, which isn't quite as sharp as its predecessor, but that model was always sharper than it needed to be, and this is still a great resolution for this size. And since it's a convertible, touch and pen support is still here, and there's even a pen built right into the laptop so you're always ready to start taking notes.
This model also addresses one of the bigger downsides of its predecessor, which was the webcam. Now, you get a 1080p camera that's much more suited for video calls and remote learning. Chrome OS doesn't support facial recognition just yet, so that's not available here, but you do get a fingerprint reader to make it easier to unlock the laptop.
Design-wise, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is still solidly built with MIL-STD-810H certification for durability, and it comes with Acer's antimicrobial coating to keep the surfaces of the laptop clean over time. It's a metal laptop that comes in a sleek Slate Blue colorway, and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, adding to the overall premium feeling. All of that comes in a 3.09lbs of weight and 18mm of thickness, which is still fairly portable for a 14-inch convertible.
As for ports, you get two Thunderbolt 4 connections, USB Type-A, HDMI, and a headphone jack, which covers all the basic needs you should have as a student. There's solid variety here, and Thunderbolt 4 ports can always expand that further if you need more.
It was hard for Acer to improve on the Chrome Spin 713, but this model is in fact better in a couple of ways, and it costs roughly the same. This is the Chromebook to get right now, and one of the best laptops you can buy for most sudents.
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is one of the very best Chromebooks you can buy right now, delivering top-tier performance along with a solid display and great webcam.
Best for young children: HP Chromebook 11MK G9
Most laptops are kind of a big investment, and if you're being for a very young child, there's a good chance you're going to want something that can withstand a beating, as well as something that's not too expensive in case it still breaks. That's where the HP Chromebook 11MK G9 comes in. It's not the most elegant or appealing of Chromebooks in terms of performance, but it has a specific job, and it does it well. This is clearly aimed at younger children who tend to be clumsy or careless.
For performance, the HP Chromebook 11MK G9 is powered by a MediaTek MT8183 processor, which is based on the Arm architecture. It's an 8-core processor, and it's obviously aimed at the low-end of devices, but it should still deliver solid performance in that price range. You also get 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage, and of course, that's not super impressive, but it's par for the course for a budget device. Considering Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system, it works well enough.
The display is a small 11-inch display, which makes sense for a laptop for younger children, and it comes in the typical 16:9 aspect ratio. The resolution is 1366 x 768, which is lower than other laptops on this list, but it's still fine for a screen of this size. It's obviously not a premium device, but it gets the job done well enough for a young child.
There's also a 720p webcam right above that display, which does the job. It's not going to be the best webcam out there, but it's exactly what you'd expect from such a cheap device.
Design is a big part of a device like this, specifically because it needs to be durable to withstand the abuse devices usually suffer at the hands of children. The HP Chromebook 11MK comes with a rubber bumper all around the chassis so it can handle some hard falls, and the keyboard is tamper-resistant so kids can't pull out the keys when they're playing around. Looks-wise, it's not exactly the most compact laptop, but it's under 19mm thick and weighs 2.94lbs, so it's still very portable.
Finally, for ports, the HP Chromebook 11MK G9 has a pretty solid setup for its size. There's a USB Type-C port, one USB Type-A, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot, which covers all the basic needs a young child should ever have, and then some. It's not mind-blowing, but for this use case, it does the job just fine.
It's obviously not a device that will be interesting to everyone, but the HP Chromebook 11MK G9 is a great little laptop for very young children, and it's cheap enough that you won't lose a lot if it breaks.
HP Chromebook 11MK G9
The HP Chromebook 11MK G9 is an extra affordable laptop that's meant to survive drops and other damage that usually comes from young children.
And that's about it for all the laptops we recommend for students across a variety of budgets and form factors. For older students who know a bit more about what they want and the workloads they have, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 is an absolutely phenomenal laptop with great performance, a premium design, and a fantastic webcam, and so it earns a place at the top of this list. The MacBook Air is a great alternative if you don't care about the convertible form factor. And if neither of those seem right for you, there are some other great options to choose from on this list.
If you're looking for something a little more specific, you can also check out the best laptops for college students to see our choices for more mature users. Or, maybe stop by the best laptops under $1,00o if you want to see some great options are a relatively affordable price.
