The best student laptops in 2025: top tested picks for college and school
Picking the best student laptop can be difficult, whatever level of learning you’re at. Balancing value, performance, and battery life is vital, since you’ll need a laptop that can handle a full day of classes and study sessions but won’t break the bank.
A new laptop is often the single biggest expenditure for a student heading off to college or university for the first time, so I’m putting TechRadar’s collective experience reviewing more than 1,300 laptops over the past two decades to good use, helping you find the perfect student laptop for your needs and budget.
We’ve rigorously tested every laptop in this guide for our in-depth review process, including synthetic benchmarks, graphical performance, battery testing, and general real-world use. If a laptop has made it into the list below, you can be confident that it’s been carefully selected by yours truly as a worthwhile inclusion.
Our current number one pick is the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) – since the release of the M4 models, you can often find this one at a discounted price, but that M3 chip is no slouch, so you’re still getting plenty of bang for your buck. If you’d prefer something even more affordable, the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is a stellar choice. Whichever laptop you decide on, know that you can buy in confidence with TechRadar’s combined expertise at your back.
