Students from secondary school all the way to graduate school need a laptop for their studies. Tablets are handy for taking notes in class, but when the real work starts, such as typing a thesis, a laptop is still the tool you reach for.
There are so many models on the market that choosing one can be overwhelming. Which one is right for a student? Here are the factors to weigh before you buy.
Portability
Student life is mobile. When you move from one class to another, you do not want to carry something big and heavy. Choose a laptop that is small enough to carry all day but has a screen that is not too cramped to work on. A good approach is to try a 13-inch model first and see whether you can live with it, going up to 14 inches if you need more space. Laptops in that range are easy to carry and fit in almost any bag.
Durability
It is tempting to buy the cheapest laptop you can find. The problem is that cheap laptops usually cut corners, and build quality is one of the first things to go. That might be fine for a machine that never leaves a desk, but a student laptop gets carried, dropped and occasionally has coffee spilt on it. Check the body carefully in the shop: press on the lid and the keyboard deck and listen for creaks. A metal body, such as aluminium, offers extra protection and tends to last longer.
Specifications
Laptops get more powerful every year. Think about the software your course actually uses. An art or design student running Photoshop or video software needs a faster processor and more memory. A student who mostly writes essays does not need the most powerful machine available. If your budget allows, buy a little more than you need today, so the laptop is still usable several years later.
Battery life
This is probably the most important factor of all for students. You do not want your battery to die in the middle of a lecture, and the plug sockets in most lecture halls are always taken. Back in 2014 the best laptops managed around ten hours on a charge, and we suggested at least five as a minimum.
Update (October 2026): Battery life has improved dramatically. Many current laptops built on efficient ARM-based chips, including Apple's MacBook Air and a growing number of Windows models, now advertise well over 15 hours, and a full day of classes is a sensible minimum. For memory, treat 16 GB as the comfortable baseline for a new laptop, and choose an SSD of at least 512 GB if you store media. Check your university's student discounts and refurbished stores before paying full price: the savings can be substantial.
A budget rule of thumb
Work out what the laptop costs per year of use. A machine that costs a little more but lasts four years is cheaper than a bargain that needs replacing after two. The same cost-per-year thinking works for any big purchase, including your phone: see our student budget tips for buying a phone.
Student laptop checklist
- Screen size
- 13 to 14 inches for carrying all day
- Build
- Metal body, firm hinge, no creaks
- Memory
- 16 GB recommended for a new laptop
- Storage
- SSD, 512 GB if you keep photos or video
- Battery
- A full day of classes on one charge
- Price check
- Education discounts and certified refurbished