If you're looking for the best laptop for work, your best bet is an ultraportable one that's easy to carry around with a battery that lasts long enough to get you through the day. You'll also want to look at the display, keyboard, touchpad, and webcam quality, as they can significantly impact the overall user experience. A wide port selection will allow you to connect multiple peripherals or external displays without needing a separate dock. Of course, you'll want enough processing power to handle your tasks. We've compiled a list of recommendations to help you with your purchasing decision, including options for different operating systems and form factors, so you can find the laptop to suit your needs.
We've tested over 180 laptops, and below, you'll find our recommendations for the best laptops for work you can buy. See our recommendations for the best laptops at Best Buy, the best lightweight laptops, and the best laptops for graphic design.
Since 2021, we've tested dozens of laptops every year. We buy our laptops to avoid bias and, following a rigorous methodology, test nearly every part of the laptop so we can deliver results you can rely on. We use a wide range of equipment to perform our tests, including a colorimeter, a Mecmesin MultiTest-i System Test Stand, and various performance benchmarking suites.
Want to know more? Check out our How We Test Laptops article, where we give you a broader overview of our review process, from the moment we purchase the product to the final review.
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Best Business Laptop
BusinessWorkstationBuild Quality:Portability:Keyboard:Touchpad:Webcam & Microphone:See all our test resultsPorts:The best business laptop we've tested is the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025). This 15-inch premium ultraportable has nearly everything to let you work comfortably and efficiently. Its full-aluminum build feels remarkably sturdy, giving you peace of mind when traveling, and its thin and light design makes it easy to carry. Battery life is outstanding at around 15 hours of light use, and you can charge the device easily via USB-C should you need a quick top-up. You get a wide port selection for peripherals and external displays, including a USB-A, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, and an HDMI.
This laptop sports a 120Hz 2.8k OLED screen (with or without touch input) that displays sharp text and images. The panel is bright enough for use in most indoor settings and even outdoors, as long as direct sunlight isn't shining on the screen. You also get an amazingly comfortable keyboard, a large haptic touchpad, and an excellent 1440p webcam with infrared facial recognition for Windows sign-in. Performance is great; its Intel Lunar Lake chip can easily handle general productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and presentations.
If you want something smaller and lighter, the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is very similar overall. However, it has a significantly smaller 55Wh battery and lacks the 15-inch model's USB-A port, so the larger model is a better choice if battery life and connectivity are priorities.
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Best Mid-Range Business Laptop
General ProductivityWorkstationBuild Quality:Portability:Keyboard:Touchpad:Webcam & Microphone:See all our test resultsPorts:The HP OmniBook 5 16 (2026) is one of the best mid-range business laptops we've tested. Its large 16-inch display provides plenty of workspace, and it has a comfortable keyboard, good webcam, long battery life, and a useful selection of ports for peripherals and external displays. There are plenty of configurations around this price point with 16GB of RAM and capable AMD or Intel processors, providing enough performance for everyday office work, demanding multitasking, and many professional applications.
One of the OmniBook's biggest advantages is its flexibility. The OmniBook 5 family is available with a wide range of processors, up to 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage, as well as several display options, including a sharp 2880x1800 120Hz OLED. This lets you scale the laptop to your business needs without moving to an entirely different model, though higher-end configurations can overlap with more premium laptops like the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025), which has a sturdier build and provides a more polished overall user experience.
If you spend more time working on the go, consider the Dell XPS 13 (2026) with 16GB of RAM instead. It's considerably smaller and lighter, has a more premium build, and lasts even longer on battery. However, its smaller display provides less workspace, and its two USB-C ports make it less convenient for a desk setup or businesses that rely on several peripherals, as you'll need to rely on dongles.
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Best Budget Business Laptop
General ProductivityWorkstationBuild Quality:Portability:Keyboard:Touchpad:Webcam & Microphone:See all our test resultsPorts:The Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 2026) is the best budget business laptop we've tested, though a MacBook won't be the right choice for every workplace. Windows remains much more common in corporate environments, and some specialized business applications, peripherals, security tools, and other software only support Windows. If your workflow is largely platform-agnostic, though, like for web apps, Microsoft 365, video conferencing, and other software available on macOS, a MacBook is an excellent work machine.
The Neo is an especially solid option if you want to keep costs down. Its CPU provides smooth performance for typical office work, web browsing, video calls, and multitasking, while macOS makes efficient use of its 8GB of memory. It also delivers excellent build quality for the price, a long battery life, a sharp display, a great webcam, and an excellent haptic touchpad. For many freelancers, small businesses, and other users with straightforward productivity needs, it's likely all the computer you'll need.
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Best Cheap Business Laptop
General ProductivityWorkstationBuild Quality:Portability:Keyboard:Touchpad:Webcam & Microphone:See all our test resultsPorts:The HP OmniBook 3 14 (2025) is the best cheap business laptop we've tested. It's a reasonably well-built and portable Windows laptop with a good keyboard, long battery life, a useful port selection, and enough performance for basic office work. However, the cheapest configurations only have 8GB of non-upgradeable RAM, which is quite restrictive on Windows. It's best suited to working on one task at a time or doing light multitasking with only a few browser tabs and applications open; anything heavier than that can quickly make the system feel sluggish.
If your workflow supports macOS, consider the Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 2026) instead, even if it's more expensive than than the HP. It also has 8GB of memory, but macOS makes much more efficient use of it than Windows does, so the Neo handles everyday multitasking considerably better and provides a more polished overall experience. If you need Windows, consider a 16GB configuration from the OmniBook 3 family. The 16-inch models are particularly worth considering if you want a larger screen, as they're often available with 16GB of RAM at an affordable price. However, if you specifically want a 16-inch Windows laptop and can spend more, the HP OmniBook 5 16 (2026) is a better-rounded option, with a more premium build, nicer display options, and greater configuration flexibility.
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Best Workstation For Business
General ProductivityWorkstationBuild Quality:Portability:Keyboard:Touchpad:Webcam & Microphone:See all our test resultsPorts:The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is the best workstation for business we've tested, especially when configured with an M5 Pro or M5 Max chip. These chips provide tremendous CPU and GPU performance for tasks like 3D rendering, video editing, software development, and other intensive work, while the M5 Max can be configured with up to 128GB of unified memory for particularly large or memory-intensive projects. You also get excellent battery life, a bright 120Hz Mini LED display that's well-suited to color-critical work, Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, and remarkably quiet operation for such a powerful laptop. It's available in both 14- and 16-inch sizes; the 14-inch model is significantly easier to carry, while the 16-inch has a bigger battery and better sustained performance with the highest-end configurations, as its bigger chassis handles heat better than the 14-inch model does.
The main thing to check before buying is software compatibility. While many professional applications run natively on Apple silicon, some engineering, CAD, and other specialized applications either don't support macOS or have features that require Windows or NVIDIA GPUs. Make sure that all the applications, plugins, renderers, and other tools your workflow relies on are fully supported. If they aren't, consider the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024) instead. Its conventional x86 Windows platform and NVIDIA GeForce RTX or professional RTX Ada graphics provide broader compatibility with professional software, including CUDA-dependent workloads, and its RAM and storage are user-replaceable. The ThinkPad is also available with professional NVIDIA GPUs for applications that benefit from certified drivers. However, if your entire workflow is fully supported on macOS, the MacBook Pro is what you should be buying. See our recommendations for the best Apple laptops.
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Best 2-In-1 Tablet For Business
General ProductivityWorkstationBuild Quality:Portability:Keyboard:Touchpad:Webcam & Microphone:See all our test resultsPorts:If you want a versatile work device that you can also use as a tablet for media consumption, get the Microsoft Surface Pro 13 12th Edition (2026). Unlike convertibles with a 360-degree hinge, this is a tablet PC with a detachable keyboard. Removing the keyboard makes the device easier to hold as a tablet and takes up less space on a table. The downside is that it's a bit more unstable when using it as a laptop on your lap. The new Flex keyboard feels spacious and comfortable, and it now works even when disconnected from the device, giving you more flexibility to position the tablet to your liking. It also has a new haptic touchpad that's larger and easier to use. Unfortunately, the keyboard is still a separate purchase; the same goes for the stylus.
An important consideration for business use is that this tablet uses an ARM processor. The Snapdragon chips are more than adequate to handle general productivity tasks, and they're quite power-efficient, giving you an all-day battery life. That said, make sure that the apps you use are compatible or run well enough on ARM to get your work done. As for configurations, the Surface is available with a Snapdragon X2 Plus CPU and an LCD panel or a Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU with an OLED display; both have a sharp 2880x1920 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The X2 Plus is already plenty fast for general productivity and performs fairly close to the X2 Elite in most tasks, so it's the better option for office use, unless you really want the OLED display.
Notable Mentions
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Dell XPS 14 (2026):
The Dell XPS 14 (2026) is a potentially more powerful alternative to the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025), especially in its pricier configurations. It's a better choice if you need more processing power or memory, but the Lenovo has longer battery life and a more practical port selection.
See our review -
Framework Laptop 13 (2025):
Consider the Framework Laptop 13 (2025) instead of the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) if repairability and upgradeability are priorities. Its modular design makes most components replaceable, though the Lenovo offers a more premium user experience and longer battery life.
See our review -
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 2026):
If your workflow supports macOS, the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 2026) is better than the HP OmniBook 5 16 (2026). It has a more premium and portable design, a sturdier build, a better touchpad, longer battery life, and stronger overall performance. However, the HP gives you a larger display and a much wider selection of ports and configurations.
See our review -
Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14 (2025):
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14 (2025) is a good alternative to the Microsoft Surface Pro 13 12th Edition (2026) if you prefer a conventional 2-in-1 with an attached keyboard. Its Intel processor provides broader software compatibility, but the Surface is more compact and easier to use as a tablet.
See our review -
Lenovo IdeaPad 5a 2-in-1 14 (2026):
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5a 2-in-1 14 (2026) is a cheaper alternative to the Microsoft Surface Pro 13 12th Edition (2026) if you want a conventional convertible. It's slower and has a less impressive 60Hz display, but it's more than capable of everyday productivity and has user-replaceable memory.
See our review
Recent Updates
Sep 23, 2026:
We updated several picks to better reflect current options, including the HP OmniBook 5 16 as our new 'Best Mid-Range Business Laptop,' the Apple MacBook Neo as our new 'Best Budget Business Laptop,' and the HP OmniBook 3 14 as our 'Best Cheap Business Laptop.' We also refreshed the alternatives and Notable Mentions throughout the article.
Nov 27, 2025:
Added the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) as an alternative to the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) for those who want the MacBook Pro features.
May 12, 2025:
We've replaced the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (2024) with the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) because the Lenovo has longer battery life and a wider port selection. We've also replaced the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) with the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) because the M3 model is discontinued. We've removed the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024) from the Notable Mentions because there are better options, and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) because it's no longer available. We've added the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14 (2025) as a Notable Mention.
Mar 25, 2025:
We've verified that our recommendations are available and represent the best options. We also made small edits throughout for clarity.
Feb 04, 2025:
Replaced the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) with the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (2024) because the OmniBook is a newer model that's easier to find. Added the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) and the Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 14 (2024) as Notable Mentions. Removed the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024) from the Notable Mentions because there are better options.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best laptops for work you can get. In addition to the test results, we factor in the price (a cheaper laptop wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no laptops that are too difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you prefer to make your own decision, here's the list of all of our laptop reviews. Keep in mind that most laptops are available in various configurations, and the table only shows the results of the model we tested, so it's best to see the full review for information about other variants.
