The best laptops for writers

Let’s be straight. The top pick of laptops for writers don’t need to be expensive. They don’t need  to have a beautiful OLED screen and enough power under the hood to create a AAA game. Ultimately, the best laptops for writing need a really great keyboard; they need to turn on and be ready to take your words immediately; and they need a great battery that you don’t have to worry about. 

Of course, it’s highly likely that you will also want a beautiful screen that’s easy on the eyes when tapping away for several hours at a time. And let’s also presume that you’ll want to move about this it, so portability is important as well. Well, we’ve considered all these factors, in order of importance, to bring you a pretty solid list of possibilities. For me, if all you need to do is writing, and you’re on a budget, the Acer Chromebook 314 is the one to go with for around $200. It’s cheap, portable, is fast and the 14-inch screen and keyboard are pretty good. 

If you want the next level, the MacBook Air (M2) offers an excellent keyboard, a lovely design, probably more power than you’ll need for just typing, and excellent screen and battery life. This is our best overall pick, as it excels in all the important areas (apart from its relatively big price tag or $999). 

Note that when we review a laptop, we make sure to look beyond the pure specs or raw benchmarks, and get a feel for how it is to work and live with the machine over a prolonged period of time. We’ve done it for all our laptop guides – from the best laptops for graphic design to the best laptops for watching movies.

Quick list

Best overall

1. MacBook Air M2 (15-inch, 2023)

Money to spare? This ticks all the boxes if you’re looking for a laptop for both writing and other, more processor-intensive tasks. It has a fine keyboard, a great design, an excellent screen and includes a super-fast M2 chip (cheaper than the M3), great webcam and excellent battery life.
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Best budget

This Chromebook is a great choice for writing and happens to be one of the cheapest options here. Slimming everything down, Chrome OS is perfect for those that want to avoid any extra fuss in their laptop. It’s got amazing battery life and supports the major word-processing apps.
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Best Windows

3. Surface Laptop Studio 2

If you’re looking to for a premium Windows machine that’s nicely future-proof, here’s our top pick. This 2-in-1 device can be used as a tablet or laptop for greater flexibility. It also has one of the best keyboard-screen-stylus-support combos around right now.
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Best mid-range

If you’re in between budget and premium and want to maximise value, the Acer Aspire 5 is a great pick. It’s solid and dependable, won’t cost you a fortune and performs well in terms of performance and for every day writing.
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Best 3:2

A 3:2 aspect ratio can be great in a laptop for writing since it offers more vertical space, so more space for writing. The Huawei Matebook X Pro complements that with a great keyboard, nice touchscreen and capabilities for creative work.
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Best Android 2-in-1

Offering excellent bang-for-buck value, the Lenovo Pad P12 is a good pick at the budget end of the hybrid machine spectrum. It has superb battery life and an optional detachable keyboard. portability and durability are strong points here.
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The best laptops for writers in full

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The best laptop for writers overall

(Image credit: Future)

The best laptop for writing if money’s no object.

Specifications

CPU: Apple M2 chip with 8‑core

Graphics: Integrated 10-core

RAM: 16GB

Screen: 13.6-inch 2560 x 1600 Retina display

Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+

Larger screen

+

Great new design

+

Excellent battery life

+

Very good performance

Reasons to avoid

–

Expensive

–

May be overkill

If all you want to do is write on your laptop, it doesn’t need to be a particularly powerful one. However, you may want to do other things that are more processor intensive, whether that be watching films, editing photos, or playing games. That’s why I’ve chosen the MacBook Air (not Pro) with M2 (not M3) chip as the overall top laptops for writers.

With the ultra-fast M2 chip and a bigger, beautiful display, it could be the perfect option for running creative software. It sports the latest M2 chip, making it super fast. Our reviewer found it coped brilliantly on everything from day-to-day tasks like browsing the web and writing up documents to editing 4K video and using Photoshop’s AI tools. Battery life was great too, lasting an entire day, even when performing creative tasks. Apple claims up to up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback, which is just one hour more than our testers squeezed out of the device in our looping movie test.

The 1080p FaceTime HD webcam is also great for writers who need to make a lot of video calls (these days that’s most of us), and you also get a fantastic Retina display which, in combination with MacOS, makes for just about the crispest, cleanest font rendering that we have witnessed on a laptop. If you’re writing for long periods of time, that’s going to make it more comfortable on the eyes than a lesser display.

Overall, then, this is overkill if all you’re going to do is writing. But if your writing workflow also requires a lot of web research and watching videos, or if you also want a laptop for other things like creative work or gaming, then you’ll certainly see the difference for the extra spend. See our full MacBook Air (M2, 2022) review for more details.

The best budget laptop for writers

(Image credit: Future)

Great value option if you just want to write.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Celeron N4000 1.1Ghz (dual-core)

Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 600

RAM: 4GB

Screen: 14-inch 1080p

Storage: 32GB

Reasons to buy

+

Excellent value

+

Great battery life

+

Lightweight and portable

Reasons to avoid

–

Not very powerful

–

Low storage capacity

If you’re looking for a cheap laptop for writing, a Chromebook is the way to go. At around $200, they cost less than Windows laptops, and much less than the MacBook Air above, but offer great battery life since they require little power. Just bear in mind that Chromebooks take their name from the fact that they run Chrome OS, not Windows, so you can’t use every Windows app you might be used to.

That isn’t a problem for writing since there are word processors available for Chrome OS, including both Microsoft Word and Google Docs. This Chromebook also has very little internal storage, so you’ll be saving work to the cloud. Unlike in the past, you no longer need to be connected to the internet to use a Chromebook though, so you can work pretty much wherever you want.

Some Chromebooks feel a little too small to be comfortable as laptops for writers but when we reviewed it, we found the 14-inch Chromebook 314 to be a nice size, and the keyboard is well laid out and comfortable to use. We found the screen to be good for writing too, with an anti-glare, matte finish. All in all, this is a solid top choice as the best laptop for writers on a budget, just be sure to option the 1080p screen; the standard lower resolution display isn’t great. See our hands-on Acer Chromebook 314 review for more details.

The best premium Windows laptop for writers

(Image credit: Paul Hatton)

Premium Windows laptop with a lovely keyboard

Specifications

CPU: 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H

Graphics: Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GPU

RAM: Up to 64GB

Screen: 14.4in 2400 x 1600p 3:2 touchscreen HDR 400

Storage: Up to 1TB

Reasons to buy

+

Comfortable keyboard

+

Beautiful screen

+

Flexible format

Reasons to avoid

–

Expensive

–

More ports would be nice

If you want to treat yourself to a truly premium Windows laptop for writing, then the Surface Laptop Studio 2 fits the bill. Newly updated from the the original Surface Laptop Studio with 13th Gen Intel CPUs, it offers a lot more power than you need for word processing – and costs a lot more than you really need to pay for a laptop for writing – but our reviewer found the keyboard to be a real pleasure to write on. On top of that, the touch screen is gorgeous, and has stylus support, which could come in handy for note-taking if you’re inclined.

This is a 2-in-1 device, which means it also converts into a tablet format, which we found could be useful for reading over and correcting writing when on the move, even on the train. It’s not the most portable 2-in-1, but you get great battery life and we found that it runs Windows 11 very well. For more details, read our Surface Laptop Studio 2 review.

The best mid-range Windows laptop for writing

(Image credit: Future)

An affordable Windows laptop for writing.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i5-1235U

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe

RAM: 8GB

Screen: 14-inch, 1080p, IPS LCD

Storage: 512GB SSD

Reasons to buy

+

Superb keyboard and trackpad

+

Very reasonably priced

Reasons to avoid

–

Not the most exciting design

If you’re waiting for that first novel advance before splashing too much cash, there are plenty of mid-range Windows laptops for writers. Our reviewer found this to be  a solid and dependable device for those who don’t want to spend a fortune. With a plastic body, it doesn’t exactly have a premium feel but it’s solid enough to carry around.

It also performs well considering the price, especially if you’re going to be sticking to word processing tools. We found that the keys don’t have the most travel, but the keyboard is well laid out for writing on. Overall, the Aspire 5 is a great affordable laptop for writers on a budget but feel that a Chromebook like number 2 on our list would be too restrictive. See our full Acer Aspire 5 review for more details.

The best 3:2 laptop for writers

(Image credit: Ian Evenden)

The best laptop for writing and design with a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Specifications

CPU: Intel i7-11370H

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics

RAM: 16GB DDR4

Screen: 14.2in touchscreen, 2520×1680

Storage: 1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+

Great design

+

Comfortable keyboard

Most laptops have a traditional widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9. That’s great for watching movies, but not necessarily the most convenient format for writing, which often requires scrolling up and down on vertically oriented documents. An aspect ratio of 3:2 gives you more vertical space, allowing you to see more text on the screen at once. And it also works better for graphic-design work, so is the perfect ratio if you’re a writer who also likes to or needs to work on more demanding visual software.

Huawei delivers all of that with the MateBook X Pro, and a very nice touchscreen it has too. It’s more than powerful enough for writers who also need to use design software regularly – and the keyboard is comfortable to work on. It’s nice and fast too, and our reviewer found opening apps and documents to be a nippy process.

The downside is that if you’re in a country like the US, which has blocked access to many Huawei devices and services, you don’t get the benefits of the wider Huawei ecosystem. However, if you don’t care for ecosystems and just want a premium laptop for writing and doing visual work on, we found the Huawei MateBook X Pro to be a decent option. See our in-depth Huawei MateBook X Pro review for all the details.

The best Android hybrid laptop for writers

(Image credit: Lenovo)

06. Lenovo Tab P12

The best Android tablet for writing

Specifications

CPU: Octacore Mediatek MT6877V

Graphics: Mali-G68 MC4

RAM: 4GB to 8GB

Screen: 12.7-inch IPS 1840 x 2944

Storage: 128GB or 256GB

Reasons to buy

+

Lightweight and portable

+

Long battery life

Reasons to avoid

–

Keyboard isn’t the most comfortable

The Lenovo Tab P12 is another great choice for those looking for the best laptop for writing on a budget. An optional detachable keyboard turns this tablet into a compact little laptop that we found very convenient to carry around. And as it’s an Android rather than Microsoft Windows device, it’s much cheaper than most laptops.

It also boasts a huge 10,200mAh battery that easily lasted all day with heavy use and multiple days with lighter use when we tried it. So you could comfortably take this away with you and write somewhere remote for a couple of days, and still have battery life left.

There are some downsides though. The keyboard is small and not as comfortable as other laptops in this list. We’d suggest using the Lenovo Tab P12 as option for quickly jotting down notes, rather than typing up pages and pages of text in one go. But, with the portability and long battery life, the Lenovo Tab P12 lets you note down your thoughts whenever inspiration strikes.

How to choose the best laptop for writing

We’ve whittled the options above down to the six best laptops for writing available right now, but the right one for you will depend on your budget and needs. Setting a budget is important in light of the increased cost of living, so we’ve included laptops at a variety of price points to cover all bases to help you choose the right model for you.

Sure the Apple MacBook Air (M2) is a wonderful laptop that is more than capable than offering the best writing experience around. But the far more reasonably-priced Acer Aspire 5 or Chromebook 315 might give you everything you need. Thinking about which value-adding features you’ll actually use is key, too. For example, a touch screen is nice to have, but if you’re unlikely to make use of it, it’s not worth the extra investment.

FAQs

What makes a good laptop for writing?

As we mentioned in our introduction, some of the key factors in choosing the best laptop for writers include comfortable screens and keyboards, battery life and portability. If you can find a laptop that delivers in these areas, you’re on to a winner. There are some other nice to have features to look out for, too. For example, anti-glare screens if you work outside often. You might also value having a touch screen or writing pad if you’re an avid note-taker.

Historically, storage has also been a consideration, but with the rise of cloud storage, many writers only worry about this if they don’t have regular WiFi access. Plus, USB storage is a perfectly viable option.

Should I get a MacBook or a Windows laptop?

Ultimately, this is a question of preference, but there are a few differences between MacBooks and Windows laptops for writers. While many writers have more experience with Microsoft Word, the software will set you back financially whereas the slightly less sophisticated Pages on Mac comes free. Of course, you could also just use Google Docs if you’re regularly connected to WiFi and confident in its Offline Mode. 

MacBooks are generally more pricey, as are Mac-compatible peripherals, but can last longer than more budget-friendly Windows laptops. We can’t definitively say Mac or Windows is better for your personal writing preferences, but we will say that the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is at the top of our list for a reason.

How we tested the best laptops for writers

We tested our picks of the best laptops for writing during our full reviews of each product. When we reviewed each laptop, we performed a series of benchmark tests in order to evaluate their performance, display brightness, speed and colour accuracy and battery life. However, writing doesn’t make particularly heavy demands on a laptop so performance benchmarking isn’t hugely revealing in this context, but we still consider those test results to ensure that every laptop delivers the performance you would expect given its specifications.

The one benchmarking area that we paid specific attention to when compiling this guide is battery life, since this does make a diffeence if you’re writing in different locations. We test battery life under both light loads, which is what writing text amounts to, as well as watching video and more intensive tasks to build a picture of how long a laptop lasts in various usage scenarios.

Screen quality is another area worthy of attention in a laptop for writing, including brightness, contrast, resolution and refresh rate. Ergonomics, and in particular keyboard quality, are also important considerations. We also consider build quality and connectivity in coming to an overall evaluation of each laptop.

Most importantly, our reviewers use each laptop over a period of at least two weeks to get a real feel for what it’s like to live and work with the machine. We also take into consideration customer reviews and feedback from our contributing writers, many of whom write on the machines that we recommend above every day as part of their work.

For options for other uses, see our picks of the best laptops for video editing and the best laptops for game development.

Originally Appeared Here