Best Back-To-School Laptops: Grade-A Picks For Every Student And Budget

Remember when Billy Madison belted out, "Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool!"? Sincere apologies if that earworm is now stuck in your head, but the back-to-school season has arrived (so long, summer!) and this is your chance to show off some real savvy by picking just the right laptop for the semester ahead, and beyond.

Not sure where to start? We've got your back. Just like jeans or sneakers, there's no one-size-fits-all laptop. Different students have different needs and budgets, and the last thing you should stress about is wading through a sea of options, only to pick the wrong one. We've done the heavy lifting and rounded up top picks across a range of features and price points. Here are our recommendations so you focus on your studies and tackle the school year like a boss!

To kick things off, we're focused on less expensive models that are highly portable (all laptops are technically portable, but have fun lugging around a desktop replacement-class system!), offer long battery life, and above all, are relatively affordable. Books are not cheap, after all, so if you can find a suitable laptop at a great price, it means you can skip the ramen and splurge on a fancier meal once in a while.

Ace reporter Myriam Joire spent 27 days on the road with the MacBook Neo for us to see if Apple's most affordable MacBook to date is a worthy investment, especially since it only comes with 8GB of unified system memory that can't be user-upgraded. Spoiler alert: it's a great little machine for the money. Even with Apple's sweeping price hikes affecting the MacBook Neo, it remains a great option with its impressive build quality, an excellent display, solid performance, and great battery life. It also helps that Apple offers the MacBook in a variety of fun colors. It's not a perfect system—we'd like a backlit keyboard and more I/O—but it's more than serviceable for the money.

Not everyone is interested in a MacBook and if you're prowling for an affordable Windows laptop, Dell's retooled XPS 13 is fantastic option at a comparable price to the Neo. The latest configuration sports an Intel Core 5 320 processor based on Wildcat Lake, which is built on the same cutting-edge Intel 18A node as Panther Lake.

The newest variant is the lightest XPS 13 that Dell has ever released. It comes with the same amount of RAM (8GB) and storage (512GB) as the base MacBook Neo, but offers a nicer display with 3K (2560x1600) resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and touch support. You also get a pair of USB-C ports and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. The chassis and build quality are also excellent. Despite its low-power, efficient internals, this machine is worthy of its XPS branding.

If 8GB of RAM is not enough, you can grab the 16GB variant for $899.99 at Best Buy.

Another great option in the budget category is this ASUS Vivobook 14. This sleek and portable system features a 14-inch display (1920x1080) powered by an Intel Core 5 120U processor (10C/12T, up to 5GHz, 12MB L3 cache) based on Raptor Lake, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a 512GB solid state drive.

Note that this is being sold by way of a marketplace seller (PC Heaven), who is sweetening the deal by bundling a 7-in-1 docking station with 128GB of storage. Alternatively, you can find this same model but with a 1TB SSD and an 8-in-1 hub via a marketplace seller for $659.95 at Amazon. Either way, this is a solid machine for under $700.

Consider the Framework Laptop 12 an honorable mention in the affordable category. While not for everyone, geeks (like ourselves) and anyone who supports the right-to-repair movement (also like ourselves) will appreciate the modular nature of this system.

Know what else we appreciate? Framework just leveled up this convertible laptop with some sweet upgrades, including new Intel Core 3 304, Core 5 320, and Core 7 350 processors options based on Wildcat Lake. These chips are built on the same cutting-edge Intel 18A node as Panther Lake. Additionally, the CPU options are based on the same Cougar Cove P-cores, Darkmont LP-E cores, and Xe3 graphics found Framework's more performant and pricier Laptop 13, just in fewer numbers.

Outside of the new CPU options, Framework upgraded both rear expansion slots to support Thunderbolt 4 for external GPUs or dual 4K 60Hz display, while all four side slots retain USB power delivery.

Prebuilts start at $699 with a Core 3 304 and Fedora 44 KDE Plasma installed. For a $100 up-charge, you can select Windows 11 Home instead. Alternatively, the DIY Edition starts at $549, just bear in mind that you'll have to bring your RAM, storage, and OS.

Budget laptops are great for covering the basics (and then some) at affordable price points, but if you need more horsepower for heavier lifting, there's just no substitute for spending more on a burlier configuration with more memory and CPU resources. The good news is, there are still good bang-for-buck options that will offer great multitasking performance.

Once again, we're leaning into marketplace seller territory (Poly Molly), so keep that in mind. That said, we looked around and could not find another laptop with comparable specifications for under two grand.

The star of the show here is the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor (8C/16T, up to 4.75GHz, 16MB L3 cache) based on Zen 3+ (otherwise known as Rembrandt R), but what's really appealing is the amount of system memory. This configuration comes with a generous 64GB of DDR5-4800, along with a capacious 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. Given the current AI-driven shortage of RAM and storage that is driving up prices on these key components, it's nice to see you can still splurge on specs without breaking the bank. The 8-core CPU and integrated Radeon graphics are plenty powerful for just about any everyday workload, even some light gaming.

Short and simple, this is a multitasking beast that doesn't need a discreet GPU, which helps to keep the price from ballooning.

If you are an AI developer, gamer, or both, then give serious consideration to this Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI. This thing is an absolute beast with desirable specs from top to bottom. It starts with the premium OLED display, which features a 2560x1600 resolution, a fast 240Hz refresh rate, and G-SYNC support. It also gets decently bright at 500 nits.

Underneath the hood, it's packing an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor (24 cores, up to 5.4GHz, 36MB L3 cache) based on Arrow Lake with a dedicated NPU delivering up to 13 TOPS for AI workloads, a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. Yeah, there's not much you won't be able to do on this machine.

Alternatively, you can find a version of this laptop with an IPS display (2560x1600, 180Hz), Ryzen AI 9 365 processor (10C/20T, up to 5GHz, 24MB L3), 32GB of RAM, 2TB SSD, and GeForce RTX 5070 Ti for $1,999.99 at Amazon. It's got a downgraded display, but you get twice the storage, and the Ryzen chip features an NPU with a hefty 50 TOPS for AI workloads.

You know what they say about all work and no play, right? It stinks (or something like that). One of the most balanced laptops with high-end gaming chops is this MSI Vector 16 HX AI. Notably, this is the least expensive configuration on Best Buy to rock a GeForce RTX 5080 GPU.

That Blackwell chip gives it some serious gaming chops, but it's also a well-rounded machine for the money. It boasts a 16-inch display with a 2560x1600 resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor Arrow Lake processor with 24 cores running at up to 5.4GHz, 36MB of L3 cache, and a dedicated NPU with 13 TOPS of AI muscle.

It's a potent one-two combo of graphics and compute, aided by 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory (expandable to 64GB when and if the market ever calms down) and a 1TB SSD. The icing on the cake is Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.

If money is no object—maybe your school grants and loans were higher than you were expecting—and you want the best discrete GPU in the consumer space available, then this Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 is ready to skip to the front of the class.

It's equipped with a GeForce RTX 5090, and unless you delve into professional graphics, this is the best GPU available. This configuration pairs it with a Core Ultra 9 275HX processor (24 cores, up to 5.4GHz, 36MB L3 cache), 32GB of DDR5 memory, and a 2TB SSD, all wrapped in a 16-inch form factor. The display, meanwhile, sports a 2560x1600 resolution and 240Hz refresh rate.

If you're spending this much on a laptop, you might also want to consider the version that comes with 64GB of DDR5 for $4,399.99 at Best Buy. It doubles the RAM while keeping the rest of the specs the same, for just $100 more.

Within Apple's ecosystem, the polar opposite of the MacBook Neo is the MacBook Pro and the latest-generation models offer up some serious grunt for creators, developers, and AI enthusiasts.

Sitting near the top of the stack is this 16-inch model with a burly M5 Pro (18-core CPU, 20-core GPU), 48GB of unified system memory, and a 1TB SSD in sleek Space Black trim. And though it's a powerful machine, it's also highly efficient, which is one of the strengths of most Arm-based silicon.

You can also find the same laptop but with 64GB of RAM at Amazon (via Adorama) for $3,999. That's a sizable price gap, but a viable option if you truly need or want twice the amount of RAM to run larger AI models.

Otherwise, you can find an assortment of MacBook Pro models starting at $1,849 at Best Buy as part of its 60th anniversary sale.