This guide highlights the best laptops to buy right now across budget, premium, creator, programming, and gaming categories. These are the models we would actually recommend based on hands-on testing, real-world performance, pricing, and current deal quality.
Best Budget Laptop: MacBook Air M2 or Newer
Pros
- M4 CPU is very fast for a thin and light laptop
- Premium built laptop - chassis, speakers, keyboard, trackpad
- Sky Blue color looks good
- Improved webcam
- Price is good for what you get
Cons
- M4 chip throttles a little in the MacBook Air's chassis
- Display is out dated. 60 Hz IPS panel
- 256 starting storage is disappointing
- Keyboard feels a little low travel
Best for: Shoppers who want the best budget laptop around $700 or less
Why we like it: The best budget laptop right now is not necessarily the newest cheap laptop. It is often a previous-generation MacBook Air with an M2 chip or newer. The M2 MacBook Air still gives you strong everyday performance, a larger display than Apple’s cheaper entry-level models, a great haptic trackpad, backlit keyboard, better ports, and excellent battery life.
If you can find an M3 or M4 MacBook Air with 16GB of memory at a good price, that is even better. The extra memory makes the laptop feel more future-proof and opens the door to more demanding multitasking.
Drawbacks: The best deals are often on older, returned, or refurbished models, so availability changes quickly.
Not ideal for: Buyers who need Windows-only software or want a brand-new current-generation laptop at all costs.
▶️ Watch our full MacBook Air review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Cheap New MacBook Alternative: MacBook Neo
Pros
- Looks great
- Fantastic value
- Built very well, feels premium
- Very good display for the price
- Good speakers
- Excellent trackpad
- No fan noise, as it is fanless
- The chassis stays cool even under load.
Cons
- Very basic performance only. A18 Pro chip and 8GB
- No keyboard backlight
- Fingerprint sensor only available in more expensive model
- Ports are lacking, only 2 USB C and a headphone jack. One port is very slow
- Battery life is not that long due to its small battery
- Storage is limited and slow for a modern laptop
Best for: Light users who want a premium-feeling laptop around $500 to $700
Why we like it: The MacBook Neo punches above its price when it comes to build quality. It feels much more premium than most cheap Windows laptops, with a sturdy chassis, comfortable keyboard, strong display, and reliable trackpad.
For basic tasks like web browsing, email, schoolwork, writing, and office apps, it can be a good fit. It also looks and feels like a more expensive laptop, which is rare in this price range.
Drawbacks: Performance is limited. This is not the laptop to buy for demanding workloads.
Not ideal for: STEM students, creative users, gamers, or anyone who depends on specialized software.
▶️ Watch our full MacBook Neo review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Budget Windows Laptop: Acer Aspire 14
Pros
- Decent port selection
- Very affordable and gives you decent specs for it's price below $600
- Battery life is quite good.
Cons
- Bland and basic laptop.
- Chassis feels a bit cheap and has quite a bit of flex on the keyboard.
- Screen colors are way off.
Best for: Budget shoppers who need more performance than a cheap MacBook-style laptop can offer
Why we like it: The Acer Aspire 14 has been showing up at excellent sale prices. Around $600, you may be able to find it with 16GB of memory, 1TB of storage, and an Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 processor.
That gives you enough performance for everyday work, school, browsing, light creative tasks, and some very light gaming. For the money, the specs can be much stronger than many other budget laptops.
Drawbacks: The Aspire 14 looks and feels cheap, and the display colors are not great.
Not ideal for: Buyers who care most about premium build quality or accurate screen color.
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Premium Laptop for Most People: MacBook Air M5
Pros
- Excellent value and one of the laptops we would recommend to most people that are ok with Apple’s operating system.
- Very strong performance for light use, with a snappy everyday experience.
- Excellent real-world battery life for typical office and writing use.
- Completely silent because there is no fan.
- Both 13-inch and 15-inch versions are highly portable for their size.
- Trackpad remains best-in-class with excellent palm rejection.
Cons
- M5 is only a modest upgrade over M4 in many workloads.
- Sustained heavy performance is limited by the fanless design.
- The display is still just a 60Hz IPS panel, which feels disappointing in a premium laptop in 2026.
- The keyboard feels a bit low travel, especially on the 15-inch model.
- Ports are still limited to two USB-C ports, both on the left side.
Best for: Students, everyday users, and anyone who wants a premium laptop around $1,000
Why we like it: The MacBook Air M5 is one of the easiest laptops to recommend. It is fast, thin, quiet, well-built, and has no major deal-breaking flaws. For most people, it delivers the best balance of performance, battery life, portability, and build quality.
It can handle everyday tasks easily, and it is also capable of moderate creative work, programming, and light gaming if your games run on macOS.
Drawbacks: The MacBook Air does not have a fan, so it can get warm during sustained performance-heavy tasks.
Not ideal for: Users who need Windows software, heavy 3D performance, or long sustained workloads.
▶️ Watch our full MacBook Air M5 review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Premium Windows Value: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x
Pros
- Excellent battery life
- Extremely lightweight and portable
- Fantastic keyboard with deep key travel
- Beautiful high-resolution OLED display
- Premium soft-touch chassis feels luxurious
- Very quiet during light workloads
- Strong performance on higher-end X chip models
- Excellent value compared to competing premium Ultrabooks
Cons
- No USB-A or HDMI ports
- No 3.5 mm headphone/audio jack
- Glossy display can cause reflections outdoors
- White keyboard backlight can be difficult to see on lighter models
- Limited upgradeability and difficult internal access
Best for: Windows users who want a premium thin and light laptop for everyday use
Why we like it: The Yoga Slim 7x is a surprisingly strong value if you find it around $900. It has a beautiful high-resolution 14.5-inch OLED touchscreen, strong build quality, good performance for everyday tasks, and solid battery life.
It is especially good for people who mostly use office apps, web browsing, email, video calls, streaming, and collaboration tools.
Drawbacks: It uses a Qualcomm processor, so some apps may have compatibility limitations.
Not ideal for: Users who rely on niche Windows apps, older software, or specialized professional tools that may not run well on ARM.
▶️ Watch our full Yoga Slim 7x review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Thin and Light Windows Laptop: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra
Pros
- Extremely light for a 14-inch laptop.
- Accurate and responsive trackpad with good palm rejection.
- Beautiful, high resolution OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and over 500 nits in brightness.
- Very long battery life
Cons
- Only three Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports; one will be used for charging
- Thunderbolt 4, not Thunderbolt 5
- No 3.5 mm headphone jack
- White keyboard backlight on a white keyboard (with the Seashell color option) makes it harder to see the keys.
Best for: Buyers who want the best premium Windows ultraportable
Why we like it: The Yoga Slim 7i Ultra is one of the best thin and light laptops you can buy. It feels incredibly premium, with a soft-touch finish, lightweight design, comfortable keyboard, sharp display, fast refresh rate, and touch support.
The higher-end versions with Intel’s newer chips offer excellent performance for a thin and light laptop. If you want maximum portability without giving up too much power, this is one of the strongest options available.
Drawbacks: It only has USB-C ports, and the best configurations are expensive.
Not ideal for: Buyers who want the best value or need built-in HDMI, USB-A, or other legacy ports.
▶️ Watch our full Yoga Slim 7i Ultra review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Large Screen Premium Laptop: ThinkPad X9 15
Pros
- Fantastic 4k Webcam
- Great screen options
- Effective anti-reflective coating on the display
- Accurate haptic trackpad
- Great speakers
- Good port placement
Cons
- Missing the red Trackpoint
- Pricey
- Port selection is limited
- Its performance is at the lower end for similar laptops
Best for: Users who want a large-screen Windows alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Air
Why we like it: The ThinkPad X9 15 gives you a beautiful large OLED display, comfortable ThinkPad keyboard, haptic trackpad, premium build, and long battery life. It is one of the best large-screen Windows laptops for everyday productivity.
If you want a bigger display for office work, web browsing, writing, and multitasking, this is a great option when it is on sale.
Drawbacks: Many sale configurations use a lower-power Core Ultra 5 processor, which is fine for basic tasks but not ideal for heavier work.
Not ideal for: Creators, engineers, or users who need strong GPU performance.
▶️ Watch our full ThinkPad X9 15 review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best for: Buyers who want a premium 16-inch Windows laptop with strong performance for less than ultra-premium competitors
Why we like it: The Acer Swift 16 offers a strong mix of performance, portability, and value. It gives you good CPU performance, very good integrated graphics, a solid screen, and a lightweight design for a 16-inch laptop.
It is especially interesting if you want something close to a high-end large-screen Windows laptop but do not want to spend close to $3,000.
Drawbacks: The trackpad is very large and can have serious palm rejection issues.
Not ideal for: Users who hate carrying a mouse or are sensitive to trackpad problems.
▶️ Watch our full Acer Swift 16 review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Laptop for Programmers and Creators: MacBook Pro 14 or 16
Pros
- Excellent performance
- Very long battery life
- All round premium laptop
- Exceptionally quiet and mostly feels cool to the touch
- Very premium - Great speakers, webcam, trackpad, keyboard, dsiplay
- Extremely fast storage
Cons
- An incremental update that doesn't change much from the M4 version
- No Wi-Fi 7
- Not good for gaming
- No Thunderbolt 5
Best for: Programmers, creators, engineers, video editors, and professionals who need serious performance
Why we like it: The MacBook Pro remains the best performance laptop for many professional users. Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips deliver excellent performance and efficiency while competing Windows laptops have become much more expensive.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro is better if you want portability and a lower price. The 16-inch MacBook Pro is better if you want a larger display, better productivity, and longer battery life.
For most programmers, the M5 Pro models are the sweet spot. For video editors, the M5 Max is worth considering because of the extra media engine. For 3D work, prioritize GPU cores. For AI work, prioritize memory.
Drawbacks: The base M5 MacBook Pro is not a huge performance jump over the MacBook Air. The Max chip in the smaller 14-inch chassis can run hotter and lose some battery life.
Not ideal for: Buyers who need Windows-only software or want gaming performance as a top priority.
▶️ Watch our full MacBook Pro buying guide
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Windows Creator Laptop: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i
Pros
- Tandem OLED display is absolutely stunning
- Keyboard is very comfortable
- Performs very well for a somewhat portable 16 inch laptop
- Speakers sound great
- Doesn't feel too warm to the touch
Cons
- When pushing the laptop for an extended period of time the battery drains while plugged in
- Fan noise is very audible on highest performance mode
- Trackpad is not as good as the rest of the laptop
- Shorter battery life than competitors
- SD card reader is slow
Best for: Creators who want a premium Windows laptop with dedicated graphics
Why we like it: The Yoga Pro 9i is a premium 16-inch Windows laptop with strong CPU performance, up to an Nvidia RTX 5070 12GB GPU, a stunning tandem OLED display, and one of Lenovo’s excellent keyboards.
Because it has a dedicated GPU and runs Windows, it is also a strong option if you want to game in your downtime.
Drawbacks: Creator performance and battery life are still not as strong as the MacBook Pro 16, especially when doing demanding work unplugged.
Not ideal for: Users who want maximum battery life or the best possible creator performance per watt.
▶️ Watch our full Yoga Pro 9i review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Large Screen Programming Laptop: Asus Zenbook A16
Pros
- Stronger CPU performance than most competitors
- Lightweight for a 16-inch laptop, thereby making it easier to carry than comparable laptops of this size.
- Beautiful and sharp OLED that is both a touch screen and has a 120Hz refresh rate.
- Supports pen input.
- 48GB of RAM at the current MSRP is a major spec advantage.
- Good overall build quality with minimal flex.
Cons
- Still runs Windows on ARM, so app compatibility remains a concern.
- Hard to recommend for basic users over the MacBook Air 15, which is a better all-round experience for a lower price.
- Glossy display with not enough brightness to overcome reflections when outdoors or under harsh lighting.
- No charging support on the right side.
- Beige color and styling will not appeal to everyone.
Best for: Programmers who want a lightweight 16-inch laptop with lots of memory
Why we like it: The Zenbook A16 is extremely interesting for software developers who use apps that run well on Qualcomm hardware. It is light and portable for a 16-inch laptop, has a beautiful display, includes 48GB of memory, and offers strong CPU performance.
For programming workflows that are compatible with ARM, it can feel like a dream laptop at the right price.
Drawbacks: It uses an ARM processor, so compatibility is the big question. Not every app works, and some tools may not work well. Linux support is also a concern.
Not ideal for: Developers who rely on Linux, older development tools, virtual machines, or specialized apps that may not support ARM properly.
▶️ Watch our full Zenbook A16 review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Laptop for Techies: Framework 13 Pro
Best for: Developers, Linux users, and tech enthusiasts who care about repairability and modularity
Why we like it: The Framework 13 Pro is one of the most interesting laptops for technical users. It is modular, upgradeable, repairable, and has excellent Linux support. It is also one of the more reasonably priced laptops with Intel’s newer Series 3 CPUs.
If you like the idea of owning a laptop you can maintain and upgrade over time, Framework is still the company to watch.
Drawbacks: The screen is small, and the single-fan cooling system limits performance.
Not ideal for: Users who want a larger coding display or maximum sustained performance.
▶️ Watch our full Framework 13 Pro review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Value Gaming Laptop: Lenovo Legion 5i 2025
Pros
- Very comfortable keyboard
- Excellent OLED display
- Compact and portable
- Well built
- Fast current gen CPU
- Powerful GPU (full wattage)
- Pricing is very competitive
Cons
- Ports are far forward and may get in your way
- Speakers aren't great
- No fingerprint reader or facial recognition
- No Advanced Optimus
Best for: Gamers who want the most performance for the money
Why we like it: The 2025 Legion 5i is one of the best gaming laptop values right now because it is often much cheaper than the 2026 model. You can get configurations with a powerful Intel HX processor, a full-wattage GPU, and a premium-feeling 15.1-inch chassis.
Some models also include an OLED display, which makes games look excellent.
Drawbacks: Battery life is rough, even by gaming laptop standards.
Not ideal for: Students or travelers who need all-day battery life.
▶️ Watch our full Legion 5i review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Midrange Gaming Laptop: Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S
Pros
- Pricing is excellent for a thin powerful gaming laptop
- Very fast CPU for a thin and light gaming laptop
- Light and compact for the performance it offers
- Keyboard is good. Very quiet to type on with large arrow keys
- 2.5 Gbe Ethernet
- Replaceable Memory, Storage, Wi-Fi, Battery
- Keyboard is comfortable
Cons
- Bad battery life
- Feels warm
- Loud fan noise during performance use
- Lid picks up fingerprints
- Not as premium feeling as the Blade 16 or Zephyrus G16
- Ports far down the laptop, may get in your way
Best for: Gamers who want strong performance without paying ultra-premium prices
Why we like it: The Predator Helios Neo 16S with RTX 5070 Ti is a strong gaming pick if you want high performance without spending a ridiculous amount. It is powerful enough for most modern games at good settings on its native display, and the 16-inch OLED panel looks excellent.
At the right sale price, it offers a lot of gaming laptop for the money.
Drawbacks: It does not feel as premium as more expensive gaming laptops, and battery life is poor.
Not ideal for: Buyers who want a luxury chassis or strong unplugged use.
▶️ Watch our full Predator Helios Neo 16S review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Premium Gaming Value: Lenovo Legion Pro 7i
Pros
- OLED screen is very bright
- Keyboard is incredibly comfortable, 1.6mm key travel
- Looks cool with customizable RGB on the lid, vents, light bar, and keyboard
- Outperforms similar 16-inch laptops- makes great use of its components.
- Fan noise is quiet during light tasks
- Understated black design with some gamer elements
Cons
- Weighs over 8.5 lbs with its charger
- Mediocre trackpad
- Poor battery life
- Gets a bit warm when under load
- Ports may get in your way
Best for: Gamers who want high-end performance without jumping to the most expensive laptops
Why we like it: Last year’s Legion Pro 7i is still one of the best premium gaming laptops to buy when it is on sale. It has a full-wattage GPU, strong cooling, premium build quality, and excellent gaming performance.
The RTX 5070 Ti model can be a great value when discounted, and the RTX 5080 model is worth watching if you want a bigger performance jump.
Drawbacks: Like most high-performance gaming laptops, it is not ideal for battery life or portability.
Not ideal for: Buyers who want a thin, light, everyday laptop first and a gaming laptop second.
▶️ Watch our full Legion Pro 7i review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Gaming Laptop Around $1,500: Asus ROG Strix G16
Pros
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor is fantastic
- Excellent GPU performance due to high wattage
- While gaming doesn't get overly warm or hot
- Upgradeable memory
Cons
- Thick laptop
- Slippery palm rest material
- Expensive when not on sale
- Blows warm air on the back left and right of the laptop
Best for: Gamers who want maximum performance around the $1,500 range
Why we like it: The Strix G16 is a great pick if you care most about raw gaming performance. Some configurations include a powerful AMD HX processor and a full-wattage RTX 5070 Ti, giving you excellent gaming results for the price.
It also has a large cooling system, which helps it stay cool during long gaming sessions.
Drawbacks: It is more performance-focused than portable or subtle.
Not ideal for: Buyers who want a sleek, lightweight laptop for school or work.
▶️ Watch our full Strix G16 review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
Best Thin and Light Gaming Laptop: Lenovo Legion 7i
Pros
- Very comfortable keyboard
- Fast full size SD card reader (UHS-II)
- Stunning display
- Portable for a gaming laptop
- Glacier White version looks cool
- Upgradeable memory
Cons
- Maxes out at an RTX 5070 8 GB
- Gets warm under load
Best for: Gamers who want strong performance in a more premium, portable design
Why we like it: The Legion 7i is a better fit if you want a stylish thin and light gaming laptop that still performs well. It has a full-powered RTX 5070 in some configurations, a bright and vibrant OLED display, and one of the most comfortable keyboards in its class.
It is a strong option if you want gaming performance but do not want a bulky gaming laptop.
Drawbacks: You may give up some cooling headroom compared with thicker gaming laptops.
Not ideal for: Buyers who only care about maximum gaming performance per dollar.
▶️ Watch our full Legion 7i review
📊 See full test results, pricing history, and current deals
How to Choose the Right Laptop
Start by thinking about what you'll actually do with your laptop. For everyday tasks, schoolwork, and web browsing, a premium thin-and-light like the MacBook Air M5, Yoga Slim 7x, or ThinkPad X9 15 is all most people need. If you're programming, editing videos, or doing other demanding work, step up to a MacBook Pro, Yoga Pro 9i, Zenbook A16, or Framework 13 Pro. Gamers should prioritize GPU performance and focus on models like the Legion 5i, Predator Helios Neo 16S, or Legion Pro 7i.
Final Recommendation
The best laptop isn't always the newest one. Many of the strongest deals right now are on last year's models, which often deliver nearly the same experience for hundreds less. Before buying, compare prices, check price history, and focus on finding the right laptop for your needs rather than simply the latest release.
