Best laptops for business: See where the MacBook Pro ranks on our list

These laptops won’t let you down during that big meeting or presentation.

Best PC

Huawei MateBook X Pro

A total MacBook Pro copycat, the Huawei MateBook X Pro has a sleek and sexy design that will turn heads, while also making it easy to get work done.

When it comes to business, working from home, and working on the go, a good laptop can make or break your work day. While you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to your laptop, that doesn’t mean that you should only look toward big-ticket computers (we see you, ). 

Here’s what you need: A machine that offers enough battery to get you through conference sessions and long meetings, a CPU that’ll deliver great performance even with a (couple) dozen tabs open, and something light enough to easily stash in a carry-on or tote. Everything else? That’s kinda up to your own personal preference. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for a new laptop: 

Consider the battery life

You don’t want a laptop that’ll give out halfway through a long flight while you’re finishing a report, delivering a presentation, or . You need a reliable battery that’ll deliver. While there are still some laptops with a short battery life of around six hours or so, a little more money can sometimes get you up to 10 or more. Think about how and where you work, and find a machine with a battery life that aligns with your ideal needs. 

Opt for something lightweight

While you might be sitting at your desk with this laptop most of the time, it doesn’t mean that’s where you’ll stay. Look for a machine that isn’t packing too many pounds — you want to be able to throw it in a backpack, tote, or carry-on without it making your bag dig into your shoulders. 

Don’t get overwhelmed by sticker shock 

It’s one thing if your employer is springing for the tab, but if you’re self-funding this laptop, price can be an important consideration. (Remember to ask your accountant if you can write it off!) While top-of-the-line machines might run above $1,000, you can get great laptops under a grand too — and we’ve included a range of prices below. 

Now, read on for our favorite picks. 


Really good build • Amazing and high quality display • Long battery life

Expensive • Keyboard has a learning curve • No USB-A ports • The laptop runs loud and warm with heavier workloads

The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is a sexy and powerful laptop that just gets work done in a compact and thin presentation.

Dell XPS 15 2-in-1

Here’s the lowdown: The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is one of the best laptops for getting serious work done in a business and office environment.

  • Storage:
    512GB PCIe SSD
  • Memory:
    8GB/16GB
  • Features:
    four USB-C ports (two Thunderbolt 3, two USB-C), microSD slot, FHD 1920 x 1080 touch screen, Intel Core i5-8305G, Radeon RX Vega M GL Graphics with 4GB HMB2 Graphics Memory
Armed with the new Intel Kaby Lake G-series CPU, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 packs a punch when combined with the Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics card for serious computing power and stamina. However, while the laptop displays high performance starting with 8GB of RAM, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is also a world class tablet running Windows 10, which is designed for both functions. Without a doubt, this machine is built for multi-tasking and app switching.
Applications load with ease, while the laptop’s display features sharp detail on its FHD 1920 x 1080 “Infinity Edge” touchscreen. It should last you through the day with a whopping 15-hour battery life in a sleek and impossibly thin presentation that gives you the best “bang for your buck” among business laptops. The hybrid is made from premium materials like aluminum and carbon fiber with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 that’s damage resistant and tough.
The laptop has an assortment of ports for expansion, including the new USB-C and microSD slot reader, though it’s lacking a USB-A port. The keyboard may take some getting used to and the laptop can run a bit loud (and warm) when it’s overworked, but its high quality display and excellent build — not to mention its flexibility as a tablet — more than makes up for that.
The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is priced at $1,499.99 from Walmart.

Luxurious keyboard • Long battery life and fast charging • Brilliant display

Tinny audio • Expensive • Webcam is so-so • Fingerprint magnet

With hardly any trade-offs in design, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is one of the best business laptops with strong performance and power with a whopping 15.5 hours of battery life. The laptop is a workhorse that will keep you busy and productive at the office or on the road.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

With hardly any trade-offs in design, the powerful Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a whopping 15.5 hours of battery.

  • Storage:
    256GB PCIe SSD
  • Memory:
    8GB/16GB
  • Features:
    two USB 3.0, two USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), HDMI port, microSD slot, 14-inch 2560 x 1440 pixels IPS anti-glare touchscreen display, Intel Core i5-8350U, Intel HD Graphics 620
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a powerful workhorse that will get you through the work day with ease. The laptop features up to 15.5 hours of battery life, while it can quickly charge to up to 80% in just an hour. This means you can get a fast charge during your lunch break or during an airport layover — that’s a major win.
The laptop is made with  a four-layer carbon-fiber reinforced chassis and a magnesium alloy roll-cage, so it’s as tough as it is powerful, especially with its Intel Core i5-8250U Quad-core processor and Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card. It has 8GB of memory and 1TB of solid state storage. The Lenovo also features a wide array of ports, such as USB 3.0 port, USB-C (Thunderbolt), microSD slot, and a full HDMI port, so hooking your laptop up to any display screens during a presentation should be a cinch.
While you experience the full power of this workhorse machine, you can also enjoy its luxurious 14-inch full HD IPS anti-glare touchscreen display at a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and its best-in-class keyboard for fast and comfortable typing.
Amazon customer Mukul Sawant writes:

“Sharp, comfortable, and portable. The display is much better than in the pictures. Has a fingerprint scanner, sharp display and comfortable keys. Body is really good ; made of carbon fiber! Looks very professional and handy to carry around because it’s the right size and weight. Battery is about 10 hours so i don’t need to worry about charging it often.”

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon retails for $1,299.99 on Amazon.


Lightweight and ultra portable • Very inexpensive • Clever design, 2-in-1 laptop/tablet hybrid

Underpowered Atom processor • Lack of traditional keyboard

The Lenovo Yoga Book experiences the best of both worlds as a laptop and tablet. Its unique and clever design allows you to quickly take notes or draw diagrams with ease because of the laptop’s special second screen used for sketching and annotations with a stylus and real pen and paper.

Lenovo Yoga Book

With its clever design and second screen, the Lenovo Yoga Book is useful and versatile machine at a very inexpensive price point.

  • Storage:
    64GB/128GB SSD
  • Memory:
    4GB
  • Features:
    one USB 2.0, one Micro USB, one Micro HDMI, 10.1-inch full HD IPS touchscreen display, Intel Atom x5-Z8550, Intel Atom
The Lenovo Yoga Book is an interesting 2-in-1 laptop. While it’s lightweight and compact for easy portability, the laptop has a special folding screen that makes it possible to use as a notebook or sheet of paper. No joke. The Lenovo Yoga Book is the best solution to quickly jotting down notes and messages in your own handwriting, but on a digital surface. This feature comes in handy when drawing up charts and diagrams on the fly, especially in a business and office setting like a meeting or presentation. The laptop even comes with a real pen and a real book pad with 15 pages that’s used in conjunction with the Lenovo Active Pen 2.
The hybrid laptop comes in two variants with different operating systems: either Android or Windows 10. While it would be great if both were available in one model, Windows 10 is the best option for business with its suite of productivity applications like Office 365. Since Windows 10 is built for tablets too, the Lenovo Yoga Book can be converted into a slate with its world-class hinge system that lets you arrange the hybrid in any position.
However, there are some downsides with the Yoga Book, namely it’s on-screen keyboard. The laptop doesn’t have a traditional keyboard, but rather its second screen turns into a virtual keyboard with a push of a button in laptop mode. While it has some haptic feedback and vibrations when you use it, there’s no substitute for the real thing. But for the laptop’s versatility and price point, the Lenovo Yoga Book is a great solution, especially if you’re looking for a combination laptop, tablet, and digital paper in one device. 

Ease of use • Stylish and powerfully fast • True tone display

Controversial keyboard design • Expensive • Give or take TouchBar • You have to buy a dongle for older expansion ports

If you’re an iPhone user, then the Apple MacBook Pro is the laptop for you. The machine perfectly integrates with MacOS and iOS, which makes for a seamless experience. With its 10-hour battery life, you’ll have juice and power for most of the day before you need to recharge. Make no mistake about it, the Apple MacBook Pro is still a workhorse and the gold standard.

Apple MacBook Pro

A stylish and sleek laptop that’s considered the gold standard for professionals and creatives alike.

  • Storage:
    128GB/256GB SSD
  • Memory:
    8GB
  • Features:
    two USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 LED-backlit display with IPS technology display, Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Apple is considered the best at making high-end laptops that run their own powerful operating system. The new Apple MacBook Pro continues the tradition with a trusty laptop that just works for any type of work you can throw at it.
In a traditional 9-to-5? The Apple MacBook Pro can run the latest office applications from Microsoft and Google like Office 365 and Google Suite. Do you work in the arts? The laptop can run just about any application from the Adobe Creative Suite with ease. Do you edit video? The machine is powerful enough to render raw 4K video footage in minutes with Apple’s own Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere editing suite. This laptop is a beast, with its Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz processor and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 graphics card with 8GB of RAM, which might seem underpowered, but works brilliantly on this machine.
The laptop features Apple’s Touch Bar, a display meant to replace the upper function keys, which is configurable and personalized to whatever applications you need at a moment’s notice. The vivid, backlit Retina Display is clear and crisp across the 13-inch screen.
However, while the Apple MacBook Pro is considered one of the best of the best laptops out there, it does have some shortcoming that might turn people off, namely its lack of ports. The laptop comes with only two USB-C ports. This means you’ll need a dongle to use any of your older peripherals. It might not be a big deal to some people, but considering the high price, it would’ve been nice if Apple included one in the box. 
The Apple MacBook Pro is priced at $1,989.00 on Amazon.

Great design • Brilliant display • Comfortable keyboard • Amazing performance

Unflattering webcam • No SD slot • Laptop fans can get loud

The Huawei MateBook X Pro is one of the best Windows 10 laptops out there. While it has some flaws with its webcam, the machine is a great alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro with its wonderful display and reliability when it comes to productivity and entertainment.

Huawei MateBook X Pro

A total MacBook Pro copycat, the Huawei MateBook X Pro has a sleek and sexy design that will turn heads, while also making it easy to get work done.

  • Storage:
    512GB SSD
  • Memory:
    8GB/16GB
  • Features:
    one USB 3.0, one USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), one USB-C 3.1, HDMI port, VGA port, 13.9-inch 3K 3,000 x 2,000 LED with touch panel display, Intel Core i7-8550U, Intel UHD Graphics 620, Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics
We are really impressed with the Huawei MateBook X Pro. Yes, it’s an Apple MacBook Pro clone (it even comes in Space Gray), but the laptop is one of the best Windows 10 machines for business and personal use. In fact, it runs Windows 10’s Signature Edition, which means there’s no free trial software or bloatware that you will never use and will only bog down the laptop. It delivers the best and cleanest Windows experience inside of a sleek and sexy design that might actually make you convert from Mac to PC. 
The laptop is one of the most powerful around with its Intel Core i7-8550U processor and Intel UHD Graphics 620 and Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card working together to give you the best performance to get work done (or watch some Netflix to unwind). The machine features an immersive 13.9-inch 3K touchscreen with a resolution of 3,000 x 2,000 in an almost bezel-less display. Moreover, Huawei achieves this 91% screen-to-body ratio with a clever design choice that removes the laptop’s webcam from the top of the display to inside a pop-out in its keyboard. While it’s very astute, it makes for odd viewing angles when in use. It’s a minor flaw, but something that should be pointed out if you are always in video meetings and conference calls.
Overall, the Huawei MateBook X Pro is one of the best laptops for business with its compact and lightweight design at just under three pounds. The laptop also features many ports, including one USB 3.0 port, one USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) port, one USB-C 3.1 port, an HDMI port, and VGA port for presentations. Although it’s battery life is on the average side with up to eight hours of usage time, the laptop is still recommended for travel thanks to its design and durability. The machine  looks really good and will have random people coming up to you to ask “Is that a MacBook Pro running Windows?,” which is not a bad icebreaker or conversation starter for networking and professional mixers.
The Huawei MateBook X Pro starts at $1,169.99 on Amazon.

Lightweight and compact • Powerful performance • Great keyboard and touchpad

Webcam placement • Touchscreen is not standard

With different configurations, the Dell XPS 13 is built for business in mind, whether you work from home, the office, or on the road. The laptop is refined for ease of use, durability, and outstanding performance.

Dell XPS 13

A stellar laptop that’s designed for business with its ultraportable build and powerful performance with Windows 10 Pro.

  • Storage:
    256GB PCIe SSD
  • Memory:
    8GB/16GB
  • Features:
    two USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), one USB-C 3.1, microSD slot, 13.3-inch, Ultra HD 3,840 x 2,160 UltraSharp InfinityEdge display, Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
The Dell XPS 13 is a powerful laptop that’s designed for business thanks to its ultraportable build and powerful performance with Windows 10 Pro as its operating system. The computer company designed the laptop for people who want to remain productive with its nearly 22 hour battery life (!!!) and suite of productivity applications like Microsoft Office 365 built-in. Rest assured that every app running on the laptop will look great on the Dell XPS 13’s Ultra HD and UltraSharp InfinityEdge at a 3840 x 2160 resolution with an option to go full 4K.
Although Dell placed the laptop’s webcam at the bottom of the display — seriously, why do computer companies keep doing this — at elast it’s centered, rather than off to the side like past models. 
The ultraportable computer is considered the benchmark for business due to its assortment of ports, brilliant display, and performance power with its Intel Core i5-8250U processor and Intel UHD Graphics 620 graphic card working together to deliver a top-notch experience.
Amazon customer Alfa_Q writes:

“I am a programmer and a student. I typically almost always select dark or silver. Black laptops, dark phone cases, dark tablet case, dark modes across all my software, … you get the idea. But this time, I decided to try something new by going with the Rose Gold XPS. If you are debating between the XPS Silver and the XPS Rose Gold, I ultimately recommend the XPS Rose Gold. I have tried both of the variations and I believe that the Rose Gold primarily wins due to the keyboard material which is infinitely better than the XPS Silver for cleaning! It’s awesome design also stands out quite a bit more compared to the XPS Silver due to it’s white keyboard and bezels. Regardless of which variation you select, the New 2018 XPS 13 performs well, small/portable, lightweight. It’s pretty much the ideal student laptop.”

The Dell XPS 13 starts at $1,519.99.


Great design • Excellent performance • Feels wonderful to type • Very good battery life

Limited ports • Windows 10 S is limiting • Small trackpad

The Surface Laptop is a powerful machine that features a single USB port and a mini DisplayPort for conference room presentations. Its slim body and premium build will turn heads, while the laptop’s nearly 15-hour battery life will get you through the workday with ease.

Microsoft Surface Laptop

The Microsoft Surface Laptop is a reliable machine that will keep you focus-oriented and productive during your workday.

  • Storage:
    256GB
  • Memory:
    8GB/16GB
  • Features:
    one USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 PixelSense display, Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 620
The Microsoft Surface Laptop seems intentionally limited to keep you focused and productive. While this might seem like a bad thing for users who want to use their laptops for everything, this is a very good option for others who just want to get work done with no distractions.
First up, the Surface Laptop is not a touchscreen device like other Microsoft devices, so it will feel like a very traditional experience when you’re doing work. This is a good thing though because the keyboard and trackpad, however small, are a joy to use with accurate navigation and precision keystrokes. 
The laptop is powered with the Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM out of the box. Microsoft included a sharp 13.5-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2256 x 1504. This machine just screams reliability and focus with the Window 10 S operating system, which only allows users to download apps from the Windows Store. If there’s a piece of software you need that’s not available, then you’d have to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. However, this laptop is still recommended for its design, portability and travel, and impressive battery life of a productive 14.5 hours.
Amazon customer Herman M. writes:

“I am an intense user and the Surface Laptop is the best laptop I owned so far. Upgraded it to Win 10 Pro since I need a wide variety of software on the machine for professional use (Image processing, CAD, etc.). The upgrade was free and easy. The keyboard is very precise and comfortable, allowing for fast typing. Mouse and touch screen very accurate. The display is crisp with natural colors. Processor and SSD performance is ample. Beautiful detail solutions like the power supply plug and the additional USB charging port in the power supply add to the appeal. And the design is clean, minimalist, beautiful. I hope I will have this laptop for a very long time!”

The Microsoft Surface Laptop starts at $715.00 on Amazon.


It’s very durable • Very good battery life • Bright display • Comfy keyboard

Touchpad needs to work better with Windows 10 • Expensive • Bulky and heavy

The Dell Latitude 7212 is a reliable workhorse that’s battle tested for extreme jobs and the worst conditions on the planet. While the laptop is pricey and thick, it’s a powerful machine that runs Windows 10 Pro for all your work needs.

Dell Latitude 7212

The Dell Latitude 7212 is built for rugged environments and extreme durability on the job. While you might not be able to take it to the boardroom, the laptop is capable of completing tasks at a construction site, the dock, and in the field.

  • Storage:
    128GB/256GB SSD
  • Memory:
    8GB/16GB
  • Features:
    two USB 3.0, one USB-C, microSD slot, 11.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 Full HD LCD WLED touchscreen display, Intel Core i5-7300U, Intel HD Graphics 620
The Dell Latitude 7212 is built for rugged environments and extreme durability on the job. While it might be too big and bulky for the boardroom, the laptop is more than capable of completing tasks at a construction site, the dock, and in the field — no matter the rough conditions. Dell designed the laptop to withstand essentially any weather condition, like miserable rain, extreme heat or ice cold, and unforgiving sandstorms, while making the Dell Latitude 7212 tough enough to survive a four-foot drop at any angle.
The waterproof laptop features an 11.6-inch full HD touch display with a resolution at 1920 x 1080 that can even be used if you’re wearing thick gloves or in the rain, while its Intel Core i5-7300U processor is powerful enough to help you complete your daily tasks and provide you with up-to-the-minute information while you’re in the field. The five-pound laptop works with a durable keyboard and tough cover, along with Dell’s Active Stylus Pen (sold separately). 
The Dell Latitude 7212 is a great choice for businesses that aren’t exclusively based in an office setting. If you’re an architect at a construction site, a police officer on the beat, or an Army  soldier on the frontlines, then this is a dependable and tough laptop that you can take in any rough condition to get work done. 
The Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme is priced at $1,993.73 at Walmart.

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