Best student laptops to suit all ages and budgets

The best student laptops nail three key things: they need to be fast enough to keep up with a frantic workload, light enough to lug between lectures and, crucially, affordable enough not to completely obliterate your student loan.

Not sure where to start? If your university life will mostly revolve around writing essays, firing off emails and surviving endless Zoom calls, I'd say a simple Chromebook or a good-value Windows laptop will serve you perfectly well. But if you’re tackling a more demanding course – think video editing, 3D design, or coding – you’ll need a bit more muscle under the hood. For that, I’d recommend looking for a machine with at least 16GB of RAM and a powerful, modern processor to avoid any deadline-day meltdowns.

Of course, there's the ever-present allure of the MacBook. If you’re an Apple fan, the latest MacBook Air continues to hit that sweet spot between performance, portability, and price – especially if you look at refurbished models. To help you find the right one, I’ve put the top contenders from every category through their paces. Here is my definitive guide to the best student laptops for every need and budget.

How I tested

I spent weeks testing all of these laptops, treating each one like it was my own student companion. I considered not just their raw specs, but how well they handle the specific needs of university life. My primary focus was value for money, but I also looked at performance for different types of students.

• Value: I assessed the overall value of each laptop, keeping the student budget front of mind. For those needing a basic laptop, I prioritised models that were reliable and affordable, while ensuring higher-priced machines offer genuine performance benefits rather than unnecessary features that push up the price.
• Performance: I tested how well each laptop handled a typical student workload, including juggling multiple Google Docs, researching online and video calling. For more specialised courses like graphic design or coding, I ran demanding applications and rendered 4K video to see if they offered the performance needed for intense projects.
• Display and speakers: I took into account the quality of display and speakers when streaming movies and TV. I also tested their capability for light gaming, assessing whether they could handle popular titles after a long day of lectures.
• Portability and battery life: I took each laptop to the office and back to assess portability, and measured battery life at the beginning and end of a full day of mixed-use.

Why you can trust IndyBest reviews

Steve Hogarty is a tech writer with more than a decade’s experience in the technology industry. His round-up of the best student laptops is the result of hundreds of hours of reviewing laptops for IndyBest – his opinions are unbiased, honest and based on real world testing, so you can trust his verdict. Our IndyBest experts also offer a range of opinions and verdicts on other work and office-related topics, from standing desks to the best office chairs to use for good back support.

The best laptops for students in 2025 are:

• Best overall – Asus Vivobook S14: £799, Currys.co.uk
• Best budget buy – Asus Chromebook Plus CX34: £269, Currys.co.uk
• Best for performance – Dell XPS 13: £1,149.99, Amazon.co.uk
• Best MacBook – MacBook Air M3, 2024: £949, Johnlewis.com
• Best ultrabook – Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: £979, Amazon.co.uk

Asus Vivobook S14

Rating: 4.5/5

Best: Overall

Display: 15in, 3K OLED, 120Hz

CPU: Snapdragon X Plus

RAM: 16GB

Storage: 512GB

Why we love it

• Great value
• Superb OLED display
• Premium design

Take note

• Snapdragon chip has some compatibility issues

The Asus Vivobook S14 is one of the best laptops around today, and is perfect for students in need of a laptop that doubles as an all-in-one entertainment device. The speedy Intel Core Ultra processor – similar to the fast chip found in the MacBook Air – coupled with a generous 16GB of RAM gives the Vivobook S14 excellent all-round performance and an impressive all-day battery life.

But it’s the OLED display that sets the Vivobook S14 apart from other laptops in this price range. The 14in screen is outstanding, delivering rich contrast and vibrant colours thanks to the OLED panel tech, while the Full HD+ resolution makes it a joy to work on for long hours, giving you plenty of on-screen real estate for multi-tasking without eye strain. Even the speakers sound decent, a rarity for laptops.

Round that off with a premium-feeling and lightweight metal chassis, discreet branding throughout and a full-size keyboard with number pad, and the Vivobook S14 makes the ideal laptop for students – or anyone looking for an excellent general use laptop.

Asus Chromebook Plus CX34

Rating: 3.5/5

Best: Budget buy

Display: 14in, Full HD, 60Hz

CPU: Intel Core i3

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 128GB

Why we love it

• Durable design
• Comfortable keyboard
• Affordable

Take note

• Chrome OS software can be limiting

If you’re a student in search of a cheap laptop for writing and taking notes, you should consider a Chromebook over a traditional Windows or MacBook laptop.

The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is the best Chromebook we’ve tested and, like all Chromebooks, it runs on Google’s Chrome OS operating system. That means it can’t run traditional Windows software, but instead uses browser-based apps and Android apps. If your work mostly happens inside a browser tab – like research, emails, video streaming, editing docs and spreadsheets – it will do everything you need it to. Chrome OS is simple to use, starts up almost instantly, keeps itself up to date and is highly secure, so expect zero fuss and maintenance in exchange for a more limited software selection.

The CX34 pairs a sleek design, spacious trackpad and comfortable keyboard with decent specifications and excellent battery life. You also get 12 months of Google One AI Premium included, which includes the most advanced version of the Gemini large language model.

Dell XPS 13

Rating: 4.5/5

Best: For performance

Display: 13.4in, FullHD+, 120Hz

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5

RAM: 16GB

Storage: 512GB

Why we love it

• Great value
• Superb OLED display
• Premium design

Take note

• Snapdragon chip has some compatibility issues

The Dell XPS 13 is the best Windows laptop you can buy right now. While it’s certainly not cheap, it’s an excellent high-performance laptop that will last you well beyond your studies.

In our review of the best laptops, we called the Dell XPS “one of the best Windows ultrabooks you’ll find for productivity”. The entry-level model runs on the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor with 16GB of RAM and gets a great-looking display, a sleek aluminium chassis and a neatly designed full-width keyboard deck that’s comfortable to work with.

Port selection is limited to just a pair of USB-C ports, but Thunderbolt 4 enables power delivery and external monitor connections should you need to expand your workspace or plug into a hybrid desk setup.

MacBook Air

Rating: 5/5

Best: MacBook

Display: 13.6in, 2560 x 1664, 60Hz

CPU: Apple M3

RAM: 16GB

Storage: 256GB

Why we love it

• Fast, quiet performance
• Seamlessly integrates with Apple ecosystem
• Slim and lightweight

Take note

• Newer MacBook Air is due soon

A design icon that launched a thousand imitators, the MacBook Air is the thinnest and lightest laptop Apple offers. Despite an average price that would have most students eating beans on toast for months, the MacBook Air remains the default choice for many – and it helps that in recent years Apple’s sleek little laptop has become more affordable versus the competition.

In our review of the MacBook Air, we called it “the best general-use laptop you can buy, with gorgeous looks, weight and thickness that are the ultimate in portability, and deeply impressive performance.”

The M3 edition launched in early 2024 and delivered a significant step up in performance over the older Intel-based MacBook Air, enabling even the most processor-intensive work to be done on the go. The in-house Apple silicon offers much better thermal management, meaning the fanless MacBook Air can work harder for longer with less slowdown.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED

Rating: 5/5

Best: Ultrabook

Display: 14in, 2.8K OLED, 90Hz

CPU: Intel Core i5

RAM: 16GB

Storage: 512GB

Why we love it

• Rich and vibrant display
• Premium look and feel
• Excellent performance
• Decent port selection

Take note

• Expensive at full price

The Zenbook 14 OLED falls into the same category as the Asus Vivobook S14 featured elsewhere in our list: a slim and lightweight ultraportable Windows laptop with an exceptionally good OLED display. Both are regularly discounted, and I’d recommend either for students who want an affordable but powerful laptop.

The Zenbook 14 uses the more popular Intel chipset rather than the ARM-based Snapdragon used in the Vivobook, giving it better compatibility with older or less commonly used Windows apps. This can be important if your coursework requires the use of specialist software that might only work with mainstream Intel and AMD processors. On the flipside, the Vivobook’s chip gives it better battery life, but the Zenbook 14 is no slouch either, happily lasting a full working day with moderate use.

Easily one of the best looking laptops in any category, the Zenbook 14 sports a thin and compact design and a minimalist finish. The matte lid is crossed with glossy interlocking lines – it’s a muted design, but refreshingly stylised in the world of plain MacBook lookalikes.

Your questions about student laptops answered

What is the best laptop for students?

Our pick of the best laptops for students is the Asus Vivobook S14, particularly if you can find it at a discount. Fast, reliable and with an amazing battery life, it’s a smart all-rounder with a luscious and premium-looking OLED display perfect for watching entertainment in your downtime.

Want something cheap and simple? We’d recommend the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34. If you don’t need to install Windows software and do most of your work in a browser window, the Chrome OS powered laptop ticks all the boxes: it’s fast to boot up, secure, and has a decently sized screen for powering through workloads.

Can students get discounts on laptops?

Yes. Most of the big laptop brands offer discounts to current and newly accepted university students, as well as teachers and staff, so it’s always worth checking if the laptop you’re buying can be made cheaper with your student ID.

Apple’s discount is the best known and can be accessed through the Apple Education Store, where you can save up to 10 per cent on most Apple products. Other companies have also followed suit: Asus offers student discounts on some laptops; Dell offers students 10 per cent off electronics; and HP offers up to 40 per cent off a selection of its products.

From news to politics, travel to sport, culture to climate – The Independent has a host of free newsletters to suit your interests. To find the stories you want to read, and more, in your inbox, click here.