The best laptops for graphic design (2024)

While few laptops perfect for graphic design come cheap, they do make for excellent and highly capable machines. However, shopping for them can be a minefield; that's where our expert testing and review process comes in.

If you're running the best graphic design software, you'll need ample power and an excellent display to render your creative works, and that's exactly what we look for when we test laptops for graphic design. We've tested every model included in this guide ourselves, running extensive benchmark tests, cross-referencing specs like the battery life and screen brightness against the manufacturer's claims and completing graphic design projects to see how well each device stacks up.

Right now, our top choice is the MacBook Pro (M3), as Apple's new M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips set yet another benchmark for other laptop makers to follow, combined with a fantastic screen and familiar, easy-to-use ergonomics. However, there are other considerations beyond a traditional, powerful laptop, such as needing a 2-in-1. Whatever your needs, you should find an option for you in the list below. If you prefer to consider a desktop device, see our pick of the best computers for graphic design.

For full information on our process check out our guide to how we test laptops.

Quick list

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The best laptops for graphic design in full

Best laptop for graphic design overall

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Design:Apple didn't stray far from the previous design, which we don't mind at all – the Pro is sleek, streamlined and hides its power well. While the new Space Black colour is much appreciated, more exciting is the tremendous Liquid Retina XDR display, which is one of the best things about this laptop. It's big and bright, with a peak brightness of 1,600 nits if working in HDR (compared to 1,000 average) – plus the gloss finish doesn't create issues thanks to how bright it is.

Performance:Our testing of the MacBook Pro Max showed it eats up creative tasks, we were able to run multiple heavy-duty apps at once without any fuss at all. For lighter users, we recommend the Pro, which will sit nicely in the right spot for most professionals. If you're a hobbyist or have a light workflow, as an alternative we recommend looking at the MacBook Air M3, or even the previous iteration of the MacBook Pro.

Battery life:Apple suggests a lighter workload should allow you 24 hours of juice. We got an impressive 10 hours out of the MacBook Pro whilst using Cinema 4D to complete a heavy project, which is double the battery life of the best Windows pick, the Asus ProArt Studiobook when using its full feature set, and is comparable to the HP Spectre x360 2-in-1.

Price:Starting at $1,499/£1,499, we think the Pro offers good value for money given its high-end feature. But this isn't a budget option, and you will need to pay more if you want the maximum it has to offer, including the M3 Max chip.

Read more: MacBook Pro M3 review

Best graphic design laptop for portability

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See Also

Best Laptops For Adobe Creative Cloud In [CurY] | NetBookNewsTop 13 Laptops For Adobe Creative Suite in 2024The Best Laptops for Adobe Suite: A Comprehensive Guide to High-Performance Computing - TopTenReviewedBeste laptop 2024: onze toplijst laptops van dit jaar

What you need to know

Since the MacBook Air M2 was superseded by the M3, it has been subject to some stellar price cuts. Taking into consideration the performance jump from the M2 to the M3 chip (ranging from 17% to 21%) we think the significant price difference makes the M2 a great value option.

Design: Apple introduced a beautiful aluminium finish and bigger, brighter, almost bezel-less screen with this redesign. The display comes in 13.6 or 15.3-inches, and the larger is ideal for design work. Despite the increase, the laptop is thinner and lighter than before, at 11mm thick the 13.6-inch model weighs only 2.7 pounds.

Performance:Coming close to the M2 MacBook Pro 13-inch in performance, this MacBook Air confused the range when it came out because of its excellent power. Our testing found it edited 4K video with ease, and had no issue with Photoshop AI tools, but if you're planning on a sustained heavy workload the temperature could be an issue as there's no fan.

Battery life: This model's battery life was a big jump from the M1 – we got five hours more in our tests. We rain a looped 1080p video for 16 hours before it died, so longevity is definitely a standout feature of the M2 Air – unsurprisingly given its portable credentials, but still beating out every other laptop on this list except the MacBook Pro.

Price: The starting price for the M2 is $999/£999, which is only $100 under that of the M3. However, the almost-constant deals from third-party retailers is what makes this our value pick – it's currently available for $849, for example. When it came out it wasn't as competitively priced as the M3 model is now, but the deals that can be had now make it a great value option at its price point.If price isn't such a consideration but you like all the qualities of the Air range, and need more power, we recommend its successor, the MacBook Air M3.

Read more: MacBook Air (M2) review

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Best budget laptop

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What you need to know

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 has some features not usually found in a Chromebook, so if you're happy to work in the cloud this is an excellent budget option. With 2-in-1 functionality, it has a glorious Full HD touchscreen, lovely build quality and powerful processor (for a Chromebook).

Sure, there are compromises with a Chromebook such as needing Wi-Fi and cloud apps not always being replicas of desktop versions. But if price is truly a deal break, this is an option worth considering for excellent value.

Design:We love the aluminium chassis, which gives a premium feel not always found in a Chromebook. It's weighty and smooth, and the spin function turns it into a capable tablet. The screen is bright, in 16:10 aspect ratio and has the benefit of being touchscreen, and our testing found it to be responsive and easy to use.

Performance:The basic model comes with a 12th-generation Intel i5 processor, which is plenty powerful enough for creative tasks if you're working on cloud apps – our testing had around 30 tabs open and the machine didn't blanch. If you're planning on using it as a tablet, you'll need to buy a decent third-party stylus.

Battery life:We got around 11 hours in tests streaming video, and managed four hours after just 30 minutes of charge. While it's no MacBook, this is extremely decent performance – and surprising for a Chromebook with this power.

Price: The starting price is $599, but this is frequently reduced further. We'd struggle to recommend anything much cheaper than this if you want a laptop that's suitable for graphic design work. There are slightly cheaper Chromebook options available if you forgo the touchscreen, the power and build quality, but we wouldn't recommend them for graphic design if you can stretch to this option.

Read more: Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2023) review

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Best Windows laptop

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What you need to know

The Asus ProArt Studiobook is a beast of a laptop, perfect for creators thanks to the beautiful OLED screen, power and handy customisable dial. Much like the MacBook Pro M3, it can handle any creative task you throw at it so the higher specced models will be perfect for power users. Though there are other features that will be appreciated by all types of graphic designers, if you have a lighter workflow you may not need all the power it has to offer.

Design:This is a thoughtfully designed laptop on the whole, with a customisable dial you can program for different apps. This can be used for scrolling through brushes or a timeline, or changing through different modes. The keyboard is an oddball, it's a slightly altered version of a full size keyboard, so keys won't always be where you think they are. The star of the show is the OLED display, which is among the best we've seen – we highly rated the colour accuracy.

Performance:The model we tested was on par with the MacBook Pro M2 in performance, with our benchmarks showing it will be more than capable of handling heavy workloads in Affinity Photo or Blender. It's power for professionals. However, the fans are noisy and you need to manage the cooling profiles in the ProArt app – though they do a good job.

Battery life:All that power means Battery life is a letdown. We got about four and a half hours out of it before it died a death. You can extend it by dimming the screen but we recommend planning to be near a power source.

Price: With a starting price of $1,999, you can pay up to $2,999 for the highest specs so this isn't cheap by any means. But the amount of features and power, plus that screen, explains the price. If you're a pro or power user, you can't do much better than this.

Read more: Asus ProArt Studiobook OLED review

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Best 2-in-1 laptop

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What you need to know:

This is the best 2-in-1 laptop for graphic design because of its fantastic screen, power and portability. It will run your creative apps without fault, and actually has its own HP suite of creative software (though it won't compete with others you're likely already using). You can also swap out the graphics card, which is great for designers with varying workloads.

Design:It's not lightweight, but reasonably portable – and the build quality is great. The 16-inch OLED screen is a solid performer (smaller options are available), if a little dimmer than we'd like. Our testing found the the colour spectrum was accurate and vibrant, and the 16:10 aspect ratio gives you a bit more vertical space than the standard 16:9, and it comes with a stylus.

Performance:The performance is punchy enough for most graphic design workflows, including image editing and digital art work. We found it a little sluggish when installing apps, but this didn't translate to actually working on the machine. If you need power for big assets, you'll need to look at the highest specs and Nvidia graphics cards.

Battery life:Our tests got 15 hours out of one charge, which brings it in line with the impressive MacBook Air range. It's tons more battery than other Windows options on the list, such as the ProArt Studiobook.

Price: This is a mid-range 2-in-1, which is why it's nudged out the Microsoft Surface Studio 2 (which is more expensive). Starting at $1,599, it's frequently subject to deals. For such a capable hybrid laptop, this is a reasonable price.

Read more: HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 (2022) review

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Best dual-screen laptop for graphic design

Do you dream of having a second screen to speed up your graphic design work? Then check out the ASUS Zenbook Duo OLED 2024. Its main 14-inch OLED display can be propped up and joined by a second 14-inch OLED screen positioned below the detachable keyboard, giving you incredible flexibility in the way you work.

They're very nice screens too, offering 2.8K resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and touchscreen functionality. In our testing they hit 395 nits of brightness at 100%, and displayed 97% of sRGB, 73% ofAdobe RGB and 72% of the P3 colour gamuts.

You also get a powerful Intel Core Ultra processor paired with integrated graphics, and over 12 hours of battery life when utilizing the main screen. The laptop also supports stylus input with pressure sensitivity. The only real drawbacks are the high pricing and some decreased battery life when using both screens simultaneously. RRead more in our Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED 2024 review.

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Also tested

While the laptops above get our ultimate nod of approval as fantastic laptops for graphic design, there are more laptops worthy of your attention. If none of the above quite tickle your fancy, we've also tested all of the below laptops and will happily recommend them as great laptops for graphic design, whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out.

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FAQs

How to choose

When choosing a laptop for graphic design, you’ll want a laptop with a lot of power. Graphic design work can be pretty intensive and so you’ll need a laptop that can properly support that and run your host of creative tools.

If you’re frequently on the go and do your work outside the home, you’ll want to strike that proper balance between power and portability. You may have to sacrifice some power to get a laptop that is thin and light enough to throw in your backpack. If you plan to rarely or never tote your computer then we recommend focusing on purchasing a heavier, more powerful laptop.

The next thing you’ll want to consider is what operating system you prefer. MacOS used to be the staple of creative professionals, but nowadays it really doesn’t matter if you use Mac or Windows - both can do the job for graphic designers just fine. It’s up to personal preference, and that shows among the Creative Bloq team, where some of us prefer Mac laptops, while others lean towards Windows.

Finally, budget can be a huge factor in laptop purchases. Many of the laptops in this guide can be quite expensive. If budget is no constraint we recommend the MacBook Pro (M3), but if you’re a student or just starting out, the the MacBook Air (M1) will give you the most bang for your buck.

How we test

When it comes to testing laptops for graphic design, we look for a good, high resolution screen, assessing pixel density, colour accuracy, contrast and more, to decide how well it performs for graphic design. We also test for both CPU core and graphics performance to make sure you'll get the performance you expect from the latest processors and GPUs.

We also run real projects on real graphic design software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Cinema 4D, Adobe Illustrator and more, depending on the reviewer, their specialism and the laptop's intended user base.

Storage is arguably a little less critical, as well-specified laptops now come with fast PCIe SSDs. But we still test sequential throughput and random access to make sure that nothing unusual is going on. We also assess ergonomics, build and usability, including keyboard quality, chassis rigidity, trackpad response and more to build up a practical picture of how well a laptop performs in the real world rather than merely benchmarks.

Finally, battery life is important for any laptop and it's also a metric by which different models can differ dramatically, both from each other and from the manufacturer claims.

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