Choosing a laptop for college doesnt need to be stressful. Whether youre dealing with back-to-back lectures, editing videos for a media course, or coding late into the night, having something that actually works for you makes a huge difference. The trick is understanding which specs matter and not blowing your hard earned moolah on fancy extras youll never use.
Thats where we come in. We break things down without all the technical word vomit, so you can quickly find the best machine for your lifestyle. From featherlight models that disappear in your bag to laptops with marathon battery life, weve got you covered.
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED Best overall
If you want a laptop that delivers fast performance, long battery life, and a screen thats genuinely good, this is the one to go for. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED checks all the right boxes. Its got an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS CPU, 16GB RAM, and a speedy 512GB SSD, so it can easily handle essays, Zoom calls, and all those open browser tabs. Plus, its light enough to carry around campus without being a pain in the (literal) neck.
The 14-inch 1920�1200 OLED touchscreen really steals the show, though. Movies, photos, and even spreadsheets look sharp and colorful. And with a 75 watt-hour battery, youll easily get a full day (approx. 16 hours) of use without hunting for an outlet in the library.
This laptop isnt built for heavy gaming or 3D work, but does great with pretty much everything else. The keyboard is fine, but not mind-blowing. It doesnt have tons of ports, but covers what you really need USB-C with DisplayPort and power delivery, HDMI, and a headphone jack.
The real win here is the balance. Long battery life, gorgeous screen, decent build quality, and smooth performance all wrapped up neatly in a portable package. At around $850, its tough to beat, which is why its our best overall laptop for students this year.
Read our full Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review
Acer Aspire Go 15 Best budget laptop for students
If youre on a limited budget and just need a laptop that gets your homework done without any fuss, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is the right pick. Its not the most premium laptop out there, but it works great whether youre streaming lectures or typing up papers.
The hardware is pretty good for the price, too. You get an Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, which is plenty for most students. The battery lasts about 12 hours, so you wont be stuck hunting for an outlet all day. The 15.6-inch screen is actually pretty roomy, so its great for cranking out essays or just kicking back with a Netflix show.
This laptop keeps things simple, and thats its charm. No touchscreen, no backlit keyboard, and the screen is just okay. But you get good performance, reliable battery life, and a laptop that can handle most college tasks without headaches.
Read our full Acer Aspire Go 15 (2024) review
Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 Best Chromebook for students
If youre heading to college and want a Chromebook that looks good and runs well (as long as you dont mind Googles ecosystem), this ones it. The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is fast enough to keep up with your daily stuff think Zoom, Google Docs, Spotify and it wont freeze up when youve got a bunch of tabs open. (I see you, serial tab opener.)
Its got a 14-inch 1080p screen that looks pretty clear. The webcams actually really solid too, so you wont look like a blurry mess on video calls. And yeah, the whole laptop looks great. Its got that clean, modern vibe that doesnt scream budget.
Now, its not perfect. The battery lasts around 13 hours, which is fine, but other laptops in this class go longer. Theres also no touchscreen, so if youre a big fan of tapping around instead of mousing, youre out of luck. And if youre trying to do anything like video editing or heavy design work? This probably isnt the machine for you.
But for school notes, research, and lectures? Its exactly what you need.
Read our full Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 review
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition Best battery life
If you need a laptop with ridiculously long battery life, the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 simply blew us away. We got 25 hours on one chargethats insane! Thats a full day of study sessions and classes right there. Its also fairly lightweight at just under 3 pounds so it wont weigh your backpack down, and the 360-degree hinge lets you use it like a tablet and take handwritten notes. Plus, the keyboard is comfy enough to type on for hours, which is awesome for cranking out papers.
Its definitely on the pricey side. Our review model was over $2,000, though prices vary by configuration. Youre paying for things like premium build materials and future-proof connectivity like Wi-Fi 7. Also, it doesnt have a built-in SD card reader, so if youre into photography, youll need a dongle. While this is a good machine for day-to-day tasks like writing essays and streaming, we noticed the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chip struggling with heavier stuff like intensive multitasking.
Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition review
MacBook Air (M3) Best MacBook for students
If you want something with crazy-good battery life and a gorgeous Liquid Retina display, the MacBook Air M3 is a fine choice. Its got an 8-core M3 CPU and a 10 core GPU, plus two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 66.5 watt-hour battery. Performance is pretty much on par with the MacBook Pro M3, so it can handle all your school stuff and everyday use, no problem. The big bonus here is that the Air doesnt have any fans, so it stays super quiet and it lasted 19 hours on a single charge in our tests. Thats awesome if your days are packed and you dont want to be hunting for outlets.
If you prefer MacOS, this ones for you. Its light too, just a bit over 3 pounds, so its easy to carry around. The $1,299 price feels fair for what you get. Just remember 8GB RAM is on the lighter side compared to some Windows laptops.
Read our full Apple 15-inch MacBook Air (M3, 256 GB/16 GB RAM, 2024) review
Microsoft Surface Pro (2025) Best ultraportable for students
If youre always on the go (running between classes or working from coffee shops), the Surface Pro 2025 is kind of perfect. Its super light (barely over 1 pound), so you can toss it in your bag and forget that its even there. It handles all the usual stuff like Zoom, notes, email, and watching shows. The Snapdragon chip inside keeps things running smooth, and you can use it like a laptop or flip it into tablet mode if you like doodling or taking notes by hand. Its great if you hate carrying a heavy laptop, but still want something that feels like a real computer.
Couple things to know. The screens not huge, so if youre someone who operates in a sea of open tabs, it might feel a little tight at just 12 inches with an aspect ratio of 3:2. And yeah, it only has two USB-C ports, so if youre always plugging into peripherals like peripherals or storage, youll probably need a little dongle or dock.
Battery lifes kind of a mixed bag. If youre just typing or watching stuff with the brightness turned down, itll last a good while. But if youre cranking everything up and bouncing between apps, it could drain faster than you might expect.
Still, if most of your school stuff is in the cloud and you just want something super light that gets the job done, this laptop totally delivers in that regard.
Read our full Microsoft Surface Pro 2025 review
Acer Nitro V 16 Best gaming laptop for students
If youre after a gaming laptop that can handle those late night gaming marathons (schoolwork, too!), the Acer Nitro V 16 is an excellent pick. The 16-inch 1920�1200 IPS display is colorful, and the 165Hz refresh rate makes gameplay look buttery smooth. 4060 graphics also means you can run most games on Medium or High graphics.
Battery life isnt great though, youll get around four hours unplugged. Thats normal for gaming laptops, but just something to remember if youre going to be using it away from a charger.
This laptop is perfect if you want affordable gaming power and dont mind the plastic build. Its also good for heavy work stuff thanks to that GPU. Just know its not the lightest or fanciest-feeling laptop out there.
Read our full Acer Nitro V 16 review
A few laptops didnt make the above list, but theyre still pretty cool and worth considering. The Dell Plus 14 2-in-1 is a nice cheap pick ($599.99) with a touchscreen and decent hardware. The Asus ZenBook A14, on the other hand, boasts a featherlight build (2.16 pounds) as well as incredible battery life (24 hours!). Finally, the Framework Laptop 2025 is all about being easy to fix and upgrade, which is awesome if you dont want to buy a new laptop every couple years.
The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others weve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests.
For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out how PCWorld tests laptops.
Its in our name! PCWorld prides itself on laptop experience and expertise. Weve been covering PCs since 1983, and we now review more than 70 laptops every year. All of the picks below have been personally tested and vetted by our experts, whove applied not only performance benchmarks but rigorous usability standards. Were also committed to reviewing PC laptops at every price point to help you find a machine that matches your budget.
Who curated this article?
Hi, Im Ashley Biancuzzo, and I oversee all laptop and Chromebook coverage at PCWorld. While youll see me review Chromebooks on occasion, Im also really into the broader world of consumer tech. I spend a lot of time writing and thinking about where laptops are headed from AI and sustainable designs to long-term trends. When Im not deep in the world of tech, youll probably find me gaming, getting lost in a good book, or chilling with my rescue greyhound, Allen.
First off, think about your budget. Whats your actual limit here? If you dont have much wiggle room, a Chromebook might be the way to go. Theyre pretty cheap and can handle everyday tasks like writing papers, working on a Google Sheet, casual browsing, that sort of thing. You can find them anywhere from $200 to about a grand, it just depends on what youre going for.
If youve got a little more to spend, 2-in-1 touchscreen laptops are great because theyre so versatile. You can turn the screen all the way back and use it like a tablet or stand it up like a little movie screen. Thats great for Netflix or just zoning out with YouTube. The flexibilitys nice, especially if youre cramped in a dorm or carrying it around all the time.
As far as performance goes, if youre doing stuff like email, streaming, or having a bunch of tabs open, more RAM helps. 8GB is what Id recommend. Your laptop will run smoother and it wont feel like its constantly lagging. 4GB is fine if youre just browsing or writing papers, but it can feel restrictive if youre prone to multitasking and working with lots of open windows. Chrome and Spotify are memory hogs as well, and theyll slow things down if you dont have enough memory to work with.
Last thing, the keyboard. Youll be typing a lot in college, so this actually matters. Some people like keys that are clickier and have a little more bounce to them. Well, thats mechanical keyboards for you. Theyre louder, but they help you avoid accidental keystrokes, and they feel kind of satisfying to type on. Totally up to you, but dont ignore it. A bad keyboard gets old real fast.
1.If you just want something thats fast, lasts all day, and has a screen that actually makes Netflix look good, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is probably your best bet. Its light, powerful enough for school stuff (and then some), and the battery life is awesome.
2.If youre trying to keep it cheap and just want something that works, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is pretty much a perfect fit. Its got a big screen, decent battery, and handles all the basics like a champ. Nothing fancy, but it gets your school stuff done without drama.
3.Chromebooks are super simple and fast, perfect for stuff like browsing, writing papers, and streaming. The do everything within the Chrome OS. They usually dont cost much, either. Windows laptops can do a lot more like gaming or editing videos. They also support locally installed programs as opposed to being internet-based. So if you just need a basic laptop for school stuff, a Chromebook is cool, but if you want something that can handle more, go with Windows.
