Best laptop for college students: Best laptops for school in 2026

There are many laptops on the market that may be suitable for students, and almost all of these models are available in multiple configurations to suit performance needs and budget constraints. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the overwhelming number of options, we’re here to help with advice on what to consider when shopping for a school laptop.

price

For most people, the search for a new laptop starts with price, especially for cash-strapped college students. In order to end up with a laptop that will last you at least four years of study, I would advise against choosing a low-priced entry-level model. Plus, you can get away with spending less upfront in years past and focus on upgrading memory and storage in the future. Laptop makers are increasingly moving away from making components easily upgradeable, so it’s best to get as many of your laptop’s capabilities as possible from the start.

In general, the more you spend, the better the laptop. This could mean better components for faster performance, a nicer screen, sturdier build quality, a smaller or lighter design made of higher-quality materials or even a more comfortable keyboard.

Right now, a reliable laptop that can handle average school assignments costs between $700 and $800. For arts and STEM students who need to run graphics or STEM apps (or those looking for a little gaming, after they’ve finished their homework of course), you’ll need to spend around $1,000 or a little more. The key is to look for discounts on models in all price ranges so you can get more laptop capacity for less.

measuring

If you plan to take your laptop to class every day, you’ll want a lighter, thinner laptop. I recommend a model with a 13- or 14-inch screen for most students. The larger 15- and 16-inch models offer more screen real estate to get work done and handle multiple windows, but you’ll likely get tired of dragging them across campus.

Specifications

If you’re targeting a 14-inch laptop for school, the basic display resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels should be enough to create crisp text and images. Image sharpness will improve as resolution increases, but you don’t need a 4K display for such a small screen. If your budget allows, look for an OLED screen with a resolution of 2240 x 1400, 2560 x 1600, or 2880 x 1800 pixels. Not only will the increased number of pixels improve the image, but the superior contrast ratio and color performance of OLED displays will be evident compared to IPS LED displays.

As for internal hardware, Intel and AMD are the two main CPU manufacturers for Windows laptops, with Qualcomm as a new third option with their respective companies ARM-based Snapdragon. Intel and AMD offer an amazing range of mobile processors. Making matters more complicated, both manufacturers have chips designed for different styles of laptops, such as power-saving chips for ultraportables or faster processors for gaming laptops. Their naming conventions will let you know which type is used. You can go to Intel or AMD Explanation sites until you get the performance you want. In general, the faster the processor and the more cores it has, the better the performance.

Apple makes its own chips for MacBooks, which makes things a bit clearer. The entry-level MacBook Air uses an M1 chip, and the latest Air models feature an M3 chipset.

Battery life is crucial for student laptops, and it’s less about the number of CPU cores and more about the CPU architecture, Arm vs. x86. Apple’s Arm-based MacBooks and the first Arm-based MacBooks Copilot Plus PCs We’ve tested better battery life than laptops based on x86 processors from Intel and AMD.

If you plan to study art and your studies will involve the use of graphics-intensive creative applications, you’ll need a Windows laptop with a dedicated Nvidia GPU or a more powerful MacBook Pro. The same can be said for STEM students who will be using powerful science applications as well as any student who may want to play computer games on their laptop. However, costs add up quickly when you move from integrated graphics to an Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU or from a MacBook Air to a MacBook Pro.

For memory, I highly recommend 16GB of RAM, with 8GB being the absolute minimum. RAM is where the operating system stores all the data for currently running applications, and it can fill up quickly. After that, it starts switching between RAM and SSD, which is slower. I suggest at least 16GB of RAM for a Windows laptop, but most students should be fine with the standard 8GB that Apple offers on the basic MacBook Air. Additionally, Apple charges a hefty amount for 16GB.

For storage, get at least a 256GB SSD and a 512GB SSD if you can. If you need to use a smaller drive, you can always add an external drive down the road or use cloud storage to back up a small internal drive. The only exception is gaming laptops: I wouldn’t recommend using an SSD with less than 512GB unless you like uninstalling games every time you want to launch a new one.

Operating system

Choosing an operating system is part personal preference and part budget. For the most part, Microsoft Windows and Apple’s MacOS do the same things (except in gaming, where Windows is the winner), but they do them differently. Unless there is an operating system-specific application that you need, choose the application that you feel most comfortable using. If you’re not sure, head to an Apple Store or local electronics store and test it. Or ask friends or family to let you test them for a while. If you have an iPhone or iPad and like it, you’ll probably like MacOS too.

When it comes to price and versatility (and PC gaming), Windows laptops win. If you want MacOS, you’ll get a MacBook. Apple’s MacBooks regularly top our best-of lists — and they’re expensive, though the original M1 MacBook Air is still available for just $649.

Windows laptops can be found for a few hundred dollars, and come in all sizes and designs. We’d certainly be hard-pressed to find a $200 laptop that we’d give a full recommendation for, especially if you need it for four years of school.

If you’re on a tight budget, consider a Chromebook. ChromeOS is a different experience from Windows; More streamlined and easier to use. It’s limited, as everything runs through the Chrome browser. Just make sure your school or course doesn’t require you to use apps that only work on a Windows or Mac machine.