Looking for the best business laptop to help hit your goals in 2024? Whether you are looking to save with a model from last year or want the latest laptops, we've got you covered. Consider us your outsourced team of dedicated laptop experts who review dozens of laptops annually to help you find the very best business laptops.
When it comes to business laptops you can't shortchange security and durability — the best business laptops typically come with fingerprint sensors, IR cameras, security chips, and many have military-grade durability. These are key components that differentiate business laptops from typical consumer laptops. The best business laptops from every major manufacturer are put through our rigorous lab and real-world testing so we can judge their blend of portability, performance, battery life, and more.
Intel recently announced the Intel vPro Core Ultra CPUs that will bring the AI boost that we've seen on some of the latest consumer laptops to the business market. We've seen some strong results from the consumer version of these chips with laptops like the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo, so they could be worth the wait.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 is still our current pick for the best business laptop, ticking all of the boxes above and offering a gorgeous display, solid productivity performance, and almost 14 hours of battery life!
However, if you prefer Acer, Apple, Dell, or HP there are compelling options at varying price points from them all.
Read on for a look at our top picks and we'll find the perfect fit for you.
Sean Riley has covered a wide variety of tech over his 13 years as a journalist, but found his home at Laptop Mag in 2020. As the managing editor he takes a part in every laptop review that is published on Laptop Mag, whether as reviewer or editor. Sean works remotely from home, but travels regularly for work, including trips to Laptop Mag's office, so he has ample opportunity to test the latest business laptops in many settings.
The Quick List
The best business laptop overall
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 11) is the best business laptop overall. 14 hours of battery life and Lenovo’s world-renowned keyboard are combined with a thin and durable chassis that makes it perfect for most business users.
The best budget business laptop
Lenovo strikes again. For under $1,000, the ThinkBook 14s Yoga delivers a durable 2-in-1 design, almost 10 hours of battery life, solid performance, robust security features, and a built-in stylus.
The best long-lasting business laptop
The HP Elite Dragonfly G3's is that employee that always goes the extra mile. Over 14 hours of battery life and one of the brightest displays we’ve seen; it's a frequent traveler's dream.
The best 2-in-1 business laptop
If you need a business laptop with the flexibility of a 2-in-1 then look no further than the Dell Latitude 9430. At just 0.54 inches thick it is still powerful and durable, while delivering over 12 hours and 30 minutes of battery life.
The best MacBook for business
MacBook Air M3 is a top-tier option for Mac-friendly businesses. You get over 15 hours of battery life, outstanding performance, a comfortable keyboard, and MagSafe charging.
The best workstation for business
Another 5-star laptop, the powerful Dell Precision 5470 may be overkill for some, but nearly 12 hours of battery life with a dedicated GPU in a 3.3-pound package is power user paradise.
Load the next laptop
The best ChromeOS business laptop
We called it the “corner office Chromebook” because the Elite Dragonfly offers the simplicity of Chrome OS with a striking design, strong performance, and a beautiful 13.5-inch display.
Best Business Laptop Overall
Lenovo’s X1 Carbon Gen 11 remains our top pick currently, after the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 disappointed with much weaker battery life.. The disappointing battery life of 2022 is gone, and it's back to the top serving up plenty of endurance and power in its lightweight frame. Weighing in at just 2.6 pounds with a thickness of only 0.6 inches, the X1 Carbon isn't going to overload your laptop bag when commuting or traveling. Plus, it’s MIL-SPEC tested so it'll hold up to any bumps or drops along the way.
Realizing that security is a top priority for many business users, the X1 Carbon Gen 11 has a fingerprint reader and a TPM 2.0 chip to encrypt sensitive data. Want to max out security and convenience? The Windows Hello-compatible IR camera is an affordable upgrade.
The X1 Carbon Gen 11 also has ports aplenty, so you shouldn't need to worry about a USB-C hub in your bag. The 14-inch panel is plenty bright and more vivid than the typical business laptop to keep those spreadsheets looking as colorful as possible. The world-renowned keyboard is just as comfortable as we’ve come to expect.
The X1 Carbon's 13 hours and 45 minutes on our battery test should keep it cruising through a full workday and beyond. We have only a few knocks against the X1 Carbon Gen 11 with its disappointing webcam and less than mind-blowing performance, but as far as specs business users care about, it is the best.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 review.
Best Budget Business Laptop
A great budget business laptop has to mean great value, not just cheap, and the ThinkBook 14s Yoga knocks it out of the park in that regard. Starting below $1,000 for a durable 2-in-1 with a built-in Smart Pen, solid performance, and all-day battery life.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga won't have you crushing any AAA video games, but it will crush when it comes to churning out reports, spreadsheets, or any other productivity task that you toss its way. Coming up just minutes shy of 10 hours of battery life it should also power you through any reasonable business day.
The included Smart Pen won't get lost thank to the built-in silo that houses it in your ThinkBook. Whether you use it to sketch, take handwritten notes, or even just sign the occasional document, it's sure to come in handy. Built-in bonuses don't stop there, the solid webcam should prevent you from having to pack an external webcam with it in your laptop bag.
While you can find a laptop for under $500, most business users will be better served by stretching that budget to reach the ThinkBook 14S Yoga.
See our full Lenovo ThinkBook 14S Yoga review
Best Long-Lasting Business Laptop
The HP Elite Dragonfly G3 will earn you envious looks from coworkers, particularly as they search for a charging port while you cruise along with over 14 hours on a single charge. You'll also look your best thank to one of the best built-in webcams we've used.
The Dragonfly G3 has plenty of power to handle productivity and web browsing tasks and its efficiency over raw power is a worthwhile tradeoff for business users.
The productivity-enhancing 3:2 aspect ratio lets you get more done whether at the office or on the go. The comfortable clicky keyboard, spacious touchpad, and solid webcam should save you from packing accessories to stay productive on the road. Speaking of travel-friendly, I haven't mentioned its 2.2-pound weight, which is the last piece of the puzzle snapping into place.
Read our full HP Elite Dragonfly G3 review.
Best 2-in-1 Business Laptop
With a blend of flexibility and battery life, the Dell Latitude 9430 is the best 2-in-1 business laptop. It cruised to 12 hours and 39 minutes in our Laptop Mag Battery test. But that's hardly the only reason to choose it; the bright InfinityEdge display lets Dell squeeze a 14-inch display into a super slim 0.54-inch chassis.
Performance is more than enough to juggle all the browser tabs you forgot to close during the day along with every productivity app in your arsenal. The sleek, but durable build, and the flexible 2-in-1 convertible form factor make all help to extend its utility.
Add in excellent enterprise-grade security from its vPro processor, secure and convenient login via its FHD IR camera or fingerprint reader and you have a business laptop that justifies its admittedly high price.
See our full Dell Latitude 9430 2-in-1 review.
Best Apple Business Laptop
The MacBook Air M3 is a nearly perfect laptop, it's our current choice for the best laptop overall. However, in the business realm, it takes a backseat to some of the more purpose-built business laptops. With that said, if you or your business don't mind supporting macOS, it remains an excellent choice for business users.
The MacBook Air 13 M3 offers excellent performance that matches up with the latest Intel Core Ultra options on the Windows side, while boasting over 15 hours of battery life. Looking at the Air 13 M3 vs. the new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12, the MacBook scores a narrow win on Geekbench 6.2 (12,087 vs. 11,638) for multi-core performance, but the battery life difference is massive with the ThinkPad only reaching 9 hours and 27 minutes.
One of the only knocks against the MacBook Air is that it only offers a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports along with the MagSafe charging port. If an HDMI or USB Type-A port are critical to your setup you are going to need to pick up a USB-C hub or a docking station. If it's just the HMDI port or an SD card slot, you could also opt for the MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023), which adds both, along with a third Thunderbolt 4 port (sadly, still no USB-A).
See our full Apple MacBook 13-inch M3 review.
Best Workstation Business Laptop
With 5 out of 5 stars, how is the Dell Precision 5470 not higher on this list? It's simple, not everyone needs this much power in a business laptop. This is a workstation laptop with the Nvidia RTX A1000 GPU and Intel Core i9-12900H CPU to prove it. It can't go toe-to-toe with the best gaming laptops, but it will run circles around any typical business laptop.
If your productivity work ever dips into the realm of content creation, if you are like me and you just overload your laptop with a million seemingly small tasks, or you are frequently transferring large data files, the blazing performance of the 5470 will be worth its 3.3-pound weight in gold.
Lastly, I'll touch on the display, which is a gorgeous 14-inch anti-glare InfintyEdge touchscreen with a 2560 x 1600-pixel resolution and the ability to overpower any brightly lit environment with its 499 nit max brightness.
See our full Dell Precision 5470 review.
Best ChromeOS Business Laptop
Chromebooks...for business users? Yes, we mean it. The HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook Enterprise is the best option available today. Boasting Intel vPro security, a Titan C chip, and a fingerprint sensor the Dragonfly far surpasses the security of your average Chromebook. A free year of Parallels for Chromebooks gives you full access to any Windows apps you might still need.
The security and ease of management offered by the HP Elite Dragfonfly Chromebook are two strong selling points, but the rest of the hardware doesn't let down from there. The 13.5K 2K display with up to 400 nits of brightness looks outstanding. The 2-in-1 form factor, light 2.8-pound chassis, and optional 5G support make it a dream for frequent travelers.
At just over 9 hours in our Laptop Mag battery test the battery life could be better and the price makes it a tough sell if work isn't paying for it, but for businesses that will save considerable money on support, it is worth the investment.
See our full HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook review.
Recently Reviewed Business Laptops
We recently reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 and it fell a bit short of our high expectations for the successor to our current top pick for best business laptop. The biggest issue for us was a drop to 9 hours and 27 minutes in our battery life test, that's 4 hours and 22 minutes behind the Gen 11. The price was another factor, as you can find the Gen 11 for under $1,500, while the Gen 12 starts at around $2,300 and our review unit was an eye-watering $3,379 as we wrote the review.
While the new configuration we reviewed boasts a superior OLED display and improved performance, we did not find either was enough to offset the added cost and weaker battery life. We will look to review another configuration of the Gen 12 in the future to see if one of the more affordable options with a lower-resolution IPS display may be a better choice for prospective buyers.
You can read our full face-off for a closer look at how we broke down the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 vs. Gen 11.
How To Choose a Business Laptop
Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing the right model of business laptop for you or your company.
- Do you need Intel vPro or AMD Pro? Many business laptops are available with CPUs that have Intel vPro technology, which lets a support person log in remotely, even if the computer can't boot. However, unless you have a large IT department and a huge fleet of laptops that you need the ability to service remotely, you probably won't use this feature.
- How fast do you need it to be? While the kind of blistering performance you need in a gaming laptop isn't necessary, business users don't want to be bogged down while multitasking. RAM is one concern here, opt for at least 16GB and 32GB isn't ridiculous if you are a power user that likes to keep numerous apps and browser tabs open. For your CPU most will be fine with a Core i-5 or higher Intel P-series or U-series options from Intel 13th Gen or Intel 14th Gen, or an Intel Core Ultra 5 or higher.
- Long battery life: Nobody wants to run out of juice in the middle of a long workday or a cross-country flight. Unless you're getting a giant workstation, look for a laptop that gets at least 10 hours on a charge.
- The right ports: Nobody likes to carry a bag full of dongles. Consider which kinds of connections you or your employees will need the most. If you connect to a wired network a lot, make sure the laptop has an Ethernet port. If photography is a key part of the job, choose a laptop with a memory card reader. No matter what your needs, a Thunderbolt 4 port is a huge plus, because it will allow you to connect to a new generation of high-speed peripherals, universal chargers and powerful docks.
- A great keyboard: It almost goes without saying that every laptop should have a good keyboard. But with business systems, a comfortable typing experience is even more important. Look for snappy feedback, deep travel and absolutely no flex.
How We Test Business Laptops
We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers and heat management.
In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and DCI-P3 color gamut of the laptop's display. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including GeekBench 5 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.
To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 25GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test includes the Assasin's Creed Valhalla benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.
We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For MacBooks and premium Windows 11 laptops, a runtime of over 9 hours is considered a good result whereas gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered for longer than 5 hours deserve praise.
These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop's materials to the feel of its touchpad.
Why Trust Laptop Mag
Laptop Mag reviews over a hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming.
We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on.
Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it.
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