If you’re looking to get organized for this upcoming year, a laptop might be your most important tool. Here are the best business laptop recommendations to take you into the new year (and beyond).
Hey y’all! Since we spend a lot of time helping other Craftpreneurs grow their business we get a lot of business-related questions such as “What is the best laptop for business?”
Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of requests for suggestions on business laptops. We certainly have our favorites, so we compiled them all into a list to help you choose one for yourself.
We put together this list with two different types of people in mind.
- One group is the user who will be browsing the internet, checking social media, writing blog posts, etc. This group will benefit from a laptop in the “General Use” Section of this post.
- The other group is those users who need a more powerful computer as they are using webcams, streaming software, microphones, etc. to stream online. These users should check out the “Streaming/Gaming” Section of this post.
Let’s jump right in.
Best Business Laptop Recommendations
Here are our top picks for the best laptops for business use. If you’re looking for a new laptop to improve your business and make life easier, check out our recommendations!
Our Favorite General Use Business Laptops
This first group of recommendations for laptops for business is really geared towards the everyday or “light” user. Most of them are 13.3″ – 15.6″ in size.
These are good, solid, basic laptops that you can use for everyday business needs such as:
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc)
- Web browsing
- Writing blog posts
- Watching videos
Note: The links below are affiliate links.
Acer Aspire 5
Cheap Acer with good specs for the price and a 1080p display.
- $360
- AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 4GB ram
- 128GB SSD, AMD Vega 3 iGPU
- 15.6″ 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 7 hr battery
Lenovo Ideapad 3
Moderate 15″ with powerful specs, decent integrated GPU, and a 1080p display.
- $450
- AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, AMD Vega 8 iGPU
- 15.6″ 1080p display, 4.2 lbs, 6 hr battery
Acer Swift 3
Extremely light 14″ with powerful specs and a long battery life.
- $675
- AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, AMD Ryzen 7 iGPU
- 14.0″ 1080p display, 2.65 lbs, 10 hr battery
Lenovo Thinkpad E15
Decently well built consumer-grade Thinkpad with decent specs and good port selection. Or, consider a $900 model with higher-end specs.
- $740
- Intel 10th gen i3 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Intel G1 UHD iGPU
- 15.6″ 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 8 hr battery
2020 Macbook Air
Refreshed 2020 MacBook with a new scissor-switch keyboard and a larger 256GB base storage.
- $950
- 10th gen i3 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Intel Iris plus iGPU
- 13.3″ 1600p display, 2.8 lbs, 12 hr battery
Asus Zenbook 15
Slim 15″ with 4K display and great GPU but a weaker 15W processor.
- $1150
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6″ 4K display, 3.7 lbs, 6 hr battery
Lenovo Thinkpad P53s
Bit lighter weight P-Series ThinkPad with 25W U-Processor and strong build quality.
- $1350
- 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Nvidai Quadro P520 dGPU
- 15.6″ 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
Dell XPS 15
New XPS 15 with a slight redesign, decent dedicated GPU, long battery life, and great display.
- $1700
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650Ti dGPU
- 15.6″ 4K display, 4.3 lbs, 9 hr battery
Macbook Pro 16
Apples updated larger MBP with a new keyboard and much better thermal performance.
- $2200
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Radeon 55x dGPU
- 16″ 3k display, 4.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
Recommended Streaming/Gaming Laptops
Generally speaking, desktop computers will always be more powerful than laptops simply due to their size. However, here are our picks for good gaming laptops which can be used for streaming.
You going to want one of these business laptops if you do much streaming. Check out these suggestions for:
- Webcams
- Streaming software
- Microphones, etc. to stream online.
Acer Aspire 5
Slim and light laptop with MX350 dedicated GPU (comparable to GTX 1050 mobile) — fine for moderate gaming.
- $650
- Intel 10th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia MX350 dGPU
- 15.6″ 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 7 hr battery
Nitro 5
Well priced 15″ with good specs and GTX 1650 GPU but only a 60Hz display.
- $700
- AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6″ 1080p display, 4.8 lbs, 7 hr battery
Lenovo Legion 5
Sleek 15″ with great specs including 144Hz display and GTX 1660Ti but a short battery. Also, consider the Acer Nitro 5.
- $1000
- AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 1660Ti dGPU
- 15.6″ 144Hz display, 4.85 lbs, 3 hr battery
Gigabyte Aorus 7
Larger 17″ with a good build quality, GTX 1660Ti GPU and a 144Hz display.
- $1100
- Intel 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti dGPU
- 17.3″ 144Hz display, 5.6 lbs, 4 hr battery
Acer Helios 300
Updated version of the Helios, still with great specs and good thermals.
- $1200
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2060 dGPU
- 15.6″ 144Hz display, 5.1 lbs, 5 hr battery
MSI GL65
Middle tier laptop with a decent build quality, RTX 2070, and 144Hz display; mediocre thermals. Also, consider the pricier Eluktronics Mech-15.
- $1400
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2070 dGPU
- 15.6″ 144Hz display, 5.1 lbs, 3.5 hr battery
MSI GP75
Larger 17″ with good performance and 240hz display but loud fans.
- $1600
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2070 dGPU
- 17.3″ 240Hz display, 5.66 lbs, 3 hr battery
Acer Triton 500
Higher end Predator with powerful RTX 2070 Super GPU and 300Hz display.
- $1800
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 16GB Ram, RTX 2070 Super dGPU
- 15.6″ 300Hz display, 4.75 lbs, 3 hr battery
Eluktronics Max-17
Slim and larger 17″ with great specs including RTX 2070, 144Hz display, and Thunderbolt 3 port. Also, consider the Alienware M17.
- $1800
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 16GB ram, RTX 2070 dGPU
- 15.6″ 144Hz display, 4.8 lbs, 5 hr battery
Eluktronics MECH-15
High-end gaming laptop with good cooling, a mechanical keyboard, and RTX 2080 Super GPU. Also, consider the GS66.
- $2600
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 32GB ram
- 2TB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2080 SUPER dGPU
- 15.6″ 240Hz display, 4.7 lbs, 7 hr battery
Best Laptops For Business: Final Thoughts
There you go, y’all! If you’re looking to get organized and take your business to the next level, check out these different business laptop options.
Now’s the time to start looking as sales and specials will be running so you can find the best price available!
Additional Business Resources
In addition to blog posts, we offer lots of resources to help Craftpreneurs reach new heights with their businesses and achieve their goals. Here are just a few of our offerings.
We offer lots of tutorials both on wreath-making and business help, and we’d love to see your beautiful wreaths! All this and more happens over at the How To Make Wreaths Facebook Group.
If you’re interested in learning how to make wreaths, where to buy supplies, and being in a community of like-minded crafters, check out our Creative Coaching Subscription Group.
Finally, Craftpreneuers will definitely want to check out our Makers Mean Business Podcast to learn simple tips for growing your business so you can reach your dream and lead a Maker’s life.
Additional Posts for Craftpreneurs
- Guide to Managing Imposter Syndrome
- Finding and Engaging Your Target Audience on Social Media
- How to Grow an Engaged Email List
I found this article really helpful. I just usually bought what I could afford at the time. I’m on my 4th laptop and I know that eventually I will need to upgrade. Guess I better start saving!
Thank you, Damon and Parker!
happy to help
Omgoodness I’m getting ready to purchase a laptop. Found this so informative. Decisions decisions
glad it helped!
Ok I use the adobe creative suite because I learned web design back in the day with Adobe Photoshop, illustrator, Dreamweaver and flash so you know I use Bridge and my system eats ram like it was popcorn. Is there a system that has enough ram to handle the creative suite. Is there a laptop out there for about a $1,000 that can handle Adobe and Microsoft without jumping up to $1,500+.
Thank you
it depends… if you are editing alot of photos and videos you will need a “stronger” computer. most of the 1k$ laptops will be able to do it but it just wont be “lightning” fast
Why no Mac mention?
because im not a mac person – I try not to talk about stuff i dont know much about.
I use a MacBook Pro. I love it. I hope it works out for my and my new business.