The Best Laptop for Most Students (2025 Edition)
Each year, we help thousands of students find the right laptop. But this year, we’re going even further. We are releasing three student buying guides. This one is for the majority of students. These are laptops priced around $1,000 or more, that are as close to perfect as possible, and deliver performance suitable for 90% of students.
Coming soon: our follow-ups on budget laptops and high-performance models for students who game, edit videos, or run on-device AI.
If you're ready to buy now, check out our laptop finder tool for personalized picks.
What Students Actually Need
To better understand what matters to students, we visited a college campus and interviewed dozens of them. Here’s what they told us:
- Battery life matters. No one wants to rely on having a charger with them or being near an outlet.
- Performance is important but misunderstood. Many students had laptops that were too slow. Some assumed that more memory would solve their issues but it was actually due to their processor. Some students end up with outdated, underpowered CPUs like a 12th Gen Intel U-series chip—which is very slow by today's standards.
- Portability is key. Students want a laptop that’s easy to carry but has a screen large enough to get real work done.
- Screen quality counts. Brightness, clarity, and touch support came up often, especially for those working in cafés or outdoors.
- Ports still matter. HDMI is still essential for students who connect to TVs, projectors, or budget external monitors.
What Specs Should You Look For?
Memory
Most students will be fine with 16GB of RAM. Unless you're editing large video files, using VMs, or training AI models. In this case more is better.
Processor
This is where most mistakes happen.
Our top recommendations:
- Apple M4 – Outstanding performance, battery life, and power efficiency.
- Intel Lunar Lake (Core Ultra Series 2 with a “V”) – Great for battery and thermals; good for light gaming.
- Intel Arrow Lake H or AMD Ryzen 9 (Zen 5) – High-performance chips suitable for heavier workloads.
❌ Avoid Qualcomm Snapdragon processors unless you're on a strict budget. They run the ARM version of Windows, which lacks compatibility with many specialized apps and games.
Our Top 5 Picks for Students
Best for: Maximum CPU performance in a compact Windows laptop
- Why we like it: Features AMD's Ryzen 9 for serious performance in a 14” frame—usually found in much larger, pricier machines.
- Typical sale price: Around $1,000 with 32GB of memory
- Downsides: No HDMI port, only a 60Hz display, and it’s slightly heavy
Alt pick for non-US buyers: Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14 – A similar performer with a larger 14.5” display
Best for: Lightweight with great battery life
- Why we like it: Available in both 14" and 15" sizes, both powered by Intel’s Lunar Lake. Comfortable keyboard and solid port selection, including HDMI.
- Pros: The 14” model has unbeatable battery life; the 15” model offers a large crisp high resolution screen in a very light and portable chassis.
- Cons: The trackpads feel a bit cheap, and only the 14” version gets an OLED display.
Best for: Versatility and all-around value
- Why we like it: A 2-in-1 with pen support, a high-quality OLED touchscreen, and a haptic trackpad. A near-perfect blend of portability and functionality.
- Downsides: No HDMI port, and occasional palm-rejection issues on the large trackpad.
Best for: Students who want a no-compromise laptop
- Why we like it: It does everything well—premium build, beautiful display, class-leading speakers, and ports galore. The M4 Pro chip offers serious performance and efficiency.
- Drawbacks: Price. Our recommended spec (M4 Pro 14-core, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) can run you ~$2,000 on sale.
- Not ideal for: Students who don’t need high-end specs or those tied to Windows apps
Best for: Most students, most of the time
- Why we like it: Apple dropped the price and increased base RAM this year, making the M4 MacBook Air the best overall laptop for students. Lightweight, premium, and plenty powerful.
- Choose the 13” if portability is your top priority.
- Choose the 15” if you want more screen space for multitasking.
Minor drawbacks: No fast refresh rate display, fewer ports, and no fan—so an M4 MacBook Air is less powerful under sustained load than a MacBook Pro with the same chip.
Honorable Mentions
- Dell XPS 13 – Stunning design with a compact premium build. But limited ports, no function row on the keyboard, and a quirky trackpad/palmrest combo hold it back.
- ASUS Zenbook S 14 – Extremely compact and lightweight for a 14inch laptop. Has an OLED fast refresh rate display and HDMI. Best used indoors due to the very glossy reflective finish on the screen.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re shopping for school, college, or university, these picks represent the best balance of value, performance, and student-friendly features. For even more help:
- ✅ Use our Laptop Finder Quiz
- 💸 Watch for student discounts—but always check our website's price tracker to make sure it’s really the best price you can get
- 📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel for deeper dives and future buying guides
Good luck at school!
