Opinionated picks for laptops. Apple Silicon dominates for most use cases, but Windows still has its place.
| Laptop | Why |
|---|---|
| MacBook Air M3 ~$1,100 | Best laptop for most people. Fanless, all-day battery, plenty fast. Get 16GB RAM minimum. |
| MacBook Pro 14" M3 Pro ~$2,000 | For heavier workloads. Better display, speakers, ports. The sweet spot for pros. |
| MacBook Pro 16" M3 Max ~$3,500 | Video editors, 3D artists, ML engineers. Overkill for most, perfect for some. |
| MacBook Air M2 15" ~$1,300 | Bigger screen Air. Same great efficiency, more real estate. |
| Framework 16 ~$1,400+ | Modular and repairable. Swap GPU, ports, everything. The anti-disposable laptop. |
| ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 ~$1,500 | Best keyboard on a laptop. Light, durable, great for typing all day. |
| Dell XPS 15 ~$1,300 | Beautiful display, solid build. Good for creative work on Windows. |
| Surface Laptop 6 ~$1,300 | Clean design, great display, best trackpad on Windows. |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 ~$1,600 | Portable gaming powerhouse. RTX 4060/4070, great battery for a gaming laptop. |
| Razer Blade 14 ~$2,200 | Premium build, powerful GPU. The MacBook of gaming laptops. |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 ~$1,500 | Best value gaming laptop. Great thermals, good display, no bloat. |
| ASUS ProArt Studiobook ~$2,500 | For creators who need Windows + GPU. Color-accurate display, powerful. |
| Framework 13 ~$850+ | Repairable and upgradeable at a reasonable price. Build it yourself. |
| ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 ~$700 | Budget ThinkPad. Still gets the great keyboard, solid build. |
| MacBook Air M1 ~$750 refurb | Still excellent in 2025. Get Apple refurb for warranty. |
| ASUS Zenbook 14 ~$800 | OLED display at a reasonable price. Good all-rounder. |
| CalDigit TS4 Dock ~$400 | The best Thunderbolt dock. 18 ports, 98W charging. Buy once. |
| Anker 737 Charger ~$90 | 120W GaN, 3 ports. One charger for everything. |
| Studio Display ~$1,600 | If you're in the Apple ecosystem. 5K, great speakers, webcam. |
| LG 27" 4K USB-C ~$350 | Best value external monitor. USB-C single cable setup. |
20 of 20 laptops