10 best student laptops to suit all budgets and studies

The 13in variant of Dell’s flagship laptop is a showcase of everything the manufacturer can pack into a single device. The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best Windows laptops you can buy, and pairs a minimalist, no-fuss design with top-level functionality and performance. The bright, crisp touchscreen is one of the best displays on any laptop, while, under the hood, the 12th-generation Intel processor packs more performance than the average desktop computer.

In our review of the 15in model, we said “if you’re in the market for a high-performance and productivity-focused Windows laptop with a spectacular next-generation display, the new Dell XPS 15 is the best you’ll find. This is about as close to perfect as laptops get.”

Laptops don’t get much more affordable than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i. Perfect for churning through written homework, watching the odd YouTube video and firing off emails, this Windows 11 laptop keeps things simple with a cheap and cheerful Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM. That means you won’t be playing Call of Duty on this thing – which could be a positive, depending on your perspective – but the slim design and 1.4kg weight make the Lenovo IdeapPad 3i perfect for chucking in a backpack.

The Acer Aspire 5 is a superb everyday laptop that’s ideal for working remotely and watching entertainment on the go. The Intel Core i7 CPU, dedicated GeForce MX550 graphics card and 16GB of memory gives this ultrabook plenty of performance even when running demanding software, while the 512GB SSD means you’ve got more than enough storage to juggle giant media files, no matter where you’re working from.

At less than £800 it’s also remarkably good value for money, with impressive specs that won’t become obsolete for years yet.

Apple’s thinnest, lightest MacBook transcended the tech world to become an instantly recognisable design icon, the profile of which many rival laptops have since followed. If you’ve ever held one of these machines, you’ll understand why it’s such an alluring device: the MacBook air is an elegant piece of engineering, weighing just 1.24kg and measuring 1.13cm thin. The 2024 model is powered by Apple’s latest M3 processor, an ARM-based chip that unlocks notable performance boosts and better battery efficiency over the older Intel CPU seen in previous generations.

The Acer Swift 3 is a lighter and more portable alternative to the Acer Aspire , but still manages to pack in all of the features you might need in a Windows 11 laptop. Weighing just 1.2kg and measuring 16mm thin, it’s straightforward to pop into and out of a bag when you’re working on the go. The Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of memory keeps performance fast, even while you’re juggling dozens of open Chrome tabs.

The mid-range processor isn’t the latest chip on the market, but it’s fast enough for this price range and more than capable of handling everyday tasks. The all-day battery life, the option to upgrade to a generous 512GB of SSD space and the plentiful array of connectivity options makes the Acer Swift 3 a versatile piece of kit.

Downtime is just as important as work, and a good gaming laptop for students can kill two birds with one stone. Powerful enough to run the latest games, the Asus TUF gaming A15 is also specced to handle more academic pursuits, such as video rendering, graphic design, audio editing and complex computational programming.

The Asus TUF range sports a 144hz screen for silky smooth framerates, while this particular model comes equipped with a high-performance GTX 3050 graphics card, an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and 8GB of RAM.

An affordable two-in-one from Lenovo, the IdeaPad Duet is a zippy little Chromebook-tablet that doubles as a laptop, thanks to its included magnetic keyboard cover and stand. Because it’s a Chromebook, it runs on ChromeOS software, meaning you can’t install Windows or MacOS applications on here. That’s fine for everyday use – word processors, spreadsheets, even photo editing can all be done in a browser window – but it could be an issue if there are any specific Windows applications you need to install as part of your work or study.

The crisp 1,920px x 1,200px resolution screen is pretty much unheard of at this price, and is excellent for getting some work done while on the go or watching Netflix shows in your downtime. We chose the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet as our best buy in our list of the best Lenovo laptops, where our reviewer described it as “a quick, sleek and versatile piece of kit.”

Asus consistently makes excellent mid-range Windows 11 laptops at affordable prices, and the Asus VivoBook 15 is no exception. The Intel Core i5 processor is designed to breeze through everyday use cases, such as taking notes, web browsing and researching, but is just about powerful enough to cope with more demanding tasks, such as photo editing, audio engineering and graphic design, when it needs to.

The high-definition screen and slim bezels also make the Asus vivobook 15 a superb device for streaming episodes of House of the Dragon while hungover in bed.

The MacBook Pro is synonymous with the creative fields, so any student working with high-end production tools, or video- and audio-editing software, will be well served by Apple’s powerhouse laptop.

Powered by the M2 Pro chip, the 14in MacBook Pro is desiged for people who need desktop-grade processing power in a compact and portable form factor. It has a luscious, colour-accurate 120Hz screen, it runs quietly and offers a decent selection of ports. It’s certainly not cheap, but the MacBook is the laptop of choice for most creative professionals, and will still be speedy by the time you graduate.

Read the full MacBook Pro 13in review

For the last few years, Lenovo has been quietly turning out laptops and tablets that offer smart design and decent specs without costing the earth, and this model is the culmination of the Chinese manufacturer’s best work. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 is a premium ultrabook without the premium price tag.

This super-thin laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 processor tuned for laptops, giving you enough grunt to handle CPU-intensive tasks, such as photo and video editing, and even some lower-end games. The Full HD screen has excellent colour reproduction and contrast, and the long-range microphones with active-noise cancellation are well-suited to Zoom calls.