The best business laptops of 2021 are essential purchases as more professionals adjust to working remotely. Make no mistake; this is not a new type of laptop. However, although most consumers have been moving to more lightweight Ultrabooks or cheaper alternatives over the last few years, the new breed of work from home professionals now require this type of more robust notebook.
Business laptops should be powerful, versatile, relatively portable for work trips, and most importantly, designed to have a very robust security system. In other words, it’s just the right tool for every business professional, especially one who is dealing with sensitive files.
Whether you’re looking for the most premium option you can find or hunting for a great laptop deal, we’ve got the best business notebooks we’ve handpicked below.
1. Dell XPS 15 (2020)
All-powerful laptop for creative students
Specifications
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
RAM: 8GB – 64GB
Screen: 15.6″ FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit – 15.6″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display
Storage: 256GB – 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe
Reasons to buy
+Amazing speakers+Beautiful display+Comfy keyboard
Reasons to avoid
-GTX 1650 Ti is a little weak
Combining staggering power in a stylish thin and light chassis, this laptop doesn’t hold back when it comes to internals and features that improve your computing experience overall, making this one of the best business laptops around. Among those amazing features are a gorgeous bright display with 500 nits of brightness, an extremely comfortable keyboard, impressive speakers, and a terrific trackpad. We’re not saying that this laptop is perfect, but our coveted 5 out of 5 rating should speak for itself.
Read the full review: Dell XPS 15
2. MacBook Pro 16-inch
The best Apple laptop
Specifications
CPU: 2.6GHz 6‑core Intel Core i7 to 2.4GHz 8‑core Intel Core i9
Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 to AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6
RAM: 16-64GB 2666MHz DDR4
Screen: 16-inch 3072×1920 at 226 ppi
Storage: 512GB – 8TB SSD
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Reasons to buy
+Powerful configurations+Best MacBook to date+Big and beautiful screen
Reasons to avoid
-Expensive
If you don’t want a Windows laptop and you want only the best Mac laptop you can get, then the MacBook Pro 16″ is truly the best laptop from Apple you can choose. Aside from its large and beautiful 16″ screen, the technical specifications make this probably the most powerful laptop on this list, and should provide many years of excellent use.
There’s a choice of 6-core or 8-core processor, and for RAM the base model comes with 16 GB with the option to expand to 64 GB. There’s also a choice of graphics cards available, allowing this laptop to handle even the most demanding applications. All in all this is a beautiful and powerful machine, but as you’d expect, it comes with the biggest price tag of all of the laptops featured here. If you want only the best, then the MacBook Pro 16″ should probably be at the top of your list.
3. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
Lenovo improves upon a classic
Specifications
CPU : 11th gen Intel Core i5 – i7
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
RAM: 8GB – 32GB
Screen: 14-inch, 16:10 (1920 x 1200p) – (3840 x 2400), touchscreen
Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD
Reasons to buy
+Incredible performance+Fantastic battery life
Reasons to avoid
-Integrated graphics struggle with creative workloads
The Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 9 is among the best Lenovo laptops for good reason. Just like the previous versions of this laptop, the X1 Carbon offers a lot in performance as well as features in a slim, portable package. Its battery life is about as good as it gets so professionals who need something to take on the road will appreciate all the extra juice. And, while it isn’t a top pick for creative projects, it will handle productivity tasks with aplomb, thanks to that 11th gen Intel Core CPU and Intel Iris Xe graphics, not to mention at least 8GB of RAM (upgradable to 32GB). On top of that, it’s Evo-certified so you know it’s serious business, as well as chock full of security features.
Read the full review: Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 9
4. Huawei MateBook X Pro
A stunning business laptop
Specifications
CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 , Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 13.9-inch 3K (3,000 x 2,080)
Storage: 512GB SSD
Reasons to buy
+Beautiful design+Fantastic display+Terrific battery life
Reasons to avoid
-No SD card slot-Webcam not great
Huawei may not be the first name you think of when looking to buy a new business laptop – whereas Dell and Lenovo are two names you’d more likely associate with notebooks for work, but the Chinese company has proved to be an excellent laptop manufacturer with its new MateBook X Pro. It has a beautiful design that will get appreciative looks in the boardroom, it’s light enough to carry around with you, and it has powerful components and excellent battery life. It’s also one of the cheaper ultrabooks on the market.
Read the full review: Huawei MateBook X Pro
5. Dell XPS 13
New and improved
Specifications
CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – 4k (3840 x 2160)
Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Reasons to buy
+Centered webcam+Battery life better than ever+Beautiful optional 4K display
Reasons to avoid
-Update isn’t huge-Expensive
If the Dell XPS 15 is a little large or expensive for your needs, then the Dell XPS 13 makes for an excellent second. This ultraportable laptop – as Dell puts it – punches above its weight with Windows 10 Pro across the entire range as well as a rather attractive pricing.
This award-winning laptop (it won the best laptop of the year from us and many others) manages to pack a 13.3-inch display into the chassis of an average 11.6-inch model. It was also refreshed in 2019 with even better components, for a much improved business laptop experience.
The laptop can be upgraded to 16GB of RAM and a 1TB M2 SSD drive. Battery life is exceptional as well with almost 22 hours of continual use when using productivity applications.
Dell has once again given the Dell XPS 13 a boost when it comes to components, and the webcam is now placed above the screen for better video calls, which helps make the Dell XPS 13 once again one of the best business laptops money can buy.
Read the full review: Dell XPS 13
6. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)
Worth the upgrade at the highest configuration
Specifications
CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i5 – 10th-generation Intel Core i7
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
RAM: up to 32GB
Screen: 13-inch Retina display with True Tone
Storage: 256GB – 4TB SSD
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Reasons to buy
+Improved specs (on some models)+Larger capacity SSD for starting model+New keyboard is great
Reasons to avoid
-Entry-level model still has 8th gen Intel CPU-You still only get Thunderbolt 3 ports
The MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)’s entry-level model may miss out on some of the lineup’s new toys. However, going for the higher-end configurations will get you new (and powerful) Intel processors and improved RAM speeds for better performance, all packed in the 13-inch incredibly svelte body. Apple rounds it all out with that incredible Magic Keyboard from the new 16-inch, finally getting rid of that problematic keyboard. Even if you don’t go for the 10th-generation Intel Core configurations, you might still appreciate the fact that all models come with more storage capacity for the same price as their predecessors.
Read the full review: MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)
7. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano
Ultra light and surprisingly powerful
Specifications
CPU: up to 11th-gen Intel Core i7
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: 8GB – 16GB LPDDR4x
Screen: 13.0″ 2K (2160 x 1350) IPS, anti-reflective, anti-smudge, touchscreen with Dolby Vision
Storage: 256GB – 1TB PCIe SSD
Reasons to buy
+Sleek design+Incredibly light+Excellent display
Reasons to avoid
-Limited ports-Keyboard layout
Even its limited ports and small trackpad cannot hold the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano back. One of the best business laptops we’ve ever tested, this portable is not only the lightest laptop we’ve ever tested, but also surprisingly powerful considering how sleek it is. That makes it the most ideal choice for professionals who are always on the go. Excellent features abound as well, with the likes of a crisp 2K 16:10 touchscreen, a physical webcam shutter and advanced biometrics of the fingerprint scanner adding to its value and making it worth its steep price. At least if portability and performance are your top priorities.
Read the full review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano
8. MacBook Air (2020)
New and improved for 2020
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i3 – i7
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 Retina display (backlit LED, IPS)
Storage: 256GB – 2TB PCIe-based SSD
Dimensions: 30.41 x 21.24 x 1.61 cm
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Reasons to buy
+Lower price of entry+New 10th generation processors+Improved keyboard
Reasons to avoid
-Screen colors a little muted-Battery life only OK-Webcam still just 720p
Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook came back with a vengeance in 2020. Not only did it fix a lot of the complaints with its predecessors – namely, that problematic keyboard, replaced by a drastically improved keyboard. But it also came with new and more powerful internal components, even more storage space options, and a lower price of entry. There are a couple of things we’d do better, like the muted screen and the average battery life. However, all things considered, this model of the MacBook Air is better than anything we’ve seen from the line to date, and among the best business laptops for Apple fans who want to travel light.
Read the full review: MacBook Air (2020)
9. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch)
The most powerful 2-in-1 laptop in the world
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300U – Intel Core i7-8650U 1.9GHz
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620; Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB GDDR5 VRAM)
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 3,000 x 2,000 (267 ppi) PixelSense display, 3:2 aspect ratio
Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Reasons to buy
+Very good battery life+Powerful
Reasons to avoid
-Pricey-No Surface Pen included
The Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch) is another entry from Microsoft in our best business laptop list, and it’s worthy of its spot, as Microsoft has crafted one of the most powerful 2-in-1 laptops in the world. The Surface Book 2 has some powerful enough components to handle most day-to-day tasks, and even some light gaming and video editing if you go for a model with a dedicated graphics card. If you want a bigger screen, then there is also a 15-inch version of the Surface Book 2, which comes with more powerful components.
Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch)
10. Google Pixelbook Go
The best Chromebook ever made
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core m3 – Intel Core i7
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 615
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Screen: 13.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) or 4K LCD touchscreen
Storage: 128GB – 256GB eMMC
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Reasons to buy
+Incredible battery life+Amazing ‘Hush’ keyboard
Reasons to avoid
-Iffy pricing at mid- to- high-end-No biometric login
Google continues its tradition of making the best Chromebook in the world. This is a Chromebook that proves that these devices can be just as stylish and powerful as traditional laptops, and the Pixelbook Go brings a lot of the original Pixelbook’s premium features to a more affordable device. It also features a fantastic battery life and a brilliant keyboard that makes typing on a pleasure. This is among the best business laptops for professionals looking to save some cash.
Read the full review: Google Pixelbook Go
11. Ceneva F158G
A business laptop that won’t break the bank
Specifications
CPU: Intel Celeron J4125
Graphics: Intel UHD 600
RAM: 8GB
Screen: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080)
Storage: 512GB SATA SSD
Reasons to buy
+Aggressively priced+Windows 10 Pro+Fingerprint reader
Reasons to avoid
-Webcam location-Poor battery life
Newcomer Ceneva has created an affordable business laptop that includes a backlit keyboard, a fingerprint reader and ships with Windows 10 Pro. The Ceneva F158G also features a CNC-machined body with a brushed metal finish and weighs just over 1.5kg which makes it quite portable. The fingerprint reader is built in to the huge touchpad and the keyboard includes a numeric keypad for working with spreadsheets. The Ceneva F158G also features a large 15.6 inch FHD screen with a 5mm border and a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. This is because the webcam is built into the bottom bezel but some may find its placement off-putting while video conferencing due to the angle.
Read the full review: Ceneva F158G
Check out our laptop buying guide video below.
Round up of today’s best deals