The best MacBook for students 2024
If you’re considering investing in the best MacBook for students then you’re in the right place. Whether you’re off to college for the first time or you’re looking for an upgrade, you’ll find our hand-picked and thoroughly tested picks below spanning all three generations of MacBooks featuring Apple’s silicon.
To get things straight from the offset, MacBooks are among the best laptops you can buy right now. If you’re looking for a quick and easy recommendation for most people then we can wholeheartedly suggest the MacBook Air M3. We gave it a perfect 5-star review in our in-depth write-up for its best-in-class performance and aggressive price point considering all the hardware packed in. With that said, it’s not going to be the ideal choice for every user.
That’s why you’ll also find some of the most powerful MacBooks aimed at students with a little more cash to burn, including the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max) with its massively improved CPU and GPU performance. It’s very much at the upper end of the pricing spectrum, so it too isn’t going to be the choice that the bulk of students flock to because use cases are different. A literature or science student inside going to need the grunt of a 40-core GPU for instance.
We also need to touch on the fact that MacBooks can be expensive even for an entry-level model, and we’ve considered this, too. That is why you will find older (but still excellent) MacBooks running older Apple silicon such as the M1 and M2 chips. We’ve seen huge discounts on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro machines from a generation or two ago, so you could save a good chunk of change by investing in an older model which is typically well below the $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$2,000 mark. The best MacBook deals can take you a step further, too.
If you’re looking to cast an encompassing net then we’re also rounding up the best Windows laptops as well as the best gaming laptops and the best Chromebooks. Portable hardware is an investment after all, and it never helps to shop around before putting money down. We’ve tested and reviewed every MacBook below, but fully understand how hard it can be to choose a laptop for you.
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Best MacBook for students overall
Released earlier this year, the MacBook Air M3 isn’t just the best MacBook for students, but one of the best laptops of all time. It intelligently innovates on its predecessors, the M1 and M2 Air models, with best-in-class performance at a starting price point that’s hard to argue against. What’s more, depending on when you’re considering investing, you can save a fair chunk of change off the MSRP, especially around the back-to-school season.
While little has changed on the outside from its predecessor, it’s what’s inside that counts, because the M3 chipset in this year’s MacBook Air is an absolute beast. This is evident with impressive new single-core and multi-core scores, rivalling chipsets made by AMD and Nvidia, combined with the refined integrated graphics baked onto the silicon which is capable of light gaming, but also more intense video and photo editing.
Starting at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799, the MacBook Air M3 is cheaper than its predecessor was at launch, but that’s without factoring in common discounts. Depending on the size of the unified memory and SSD, you can tailor your M3 machine to your use case. If you want the most power without splurging on the Pro model then this one has all you need and more.
Read our in-depth MacBook Air (M3, 2024) review
Most powerful MacBook Pro for Students
Let’s get one thing straight about the Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max laptop, it certainly doesn’t come cheap. In fact, it’s at the premium end of the scale even by the manufacturer’s usual standards, but that’s all due to the hardware inside. Pushing the current-generation silicon to its limits, you can dial things up to as much as a staggering 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU provided you need all that power; there’s even enough horsepower to game on if you wanted the functionality.
With a bigger chassis comes a notably larger display and accommodating battery. Speaking to the latter, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max impresses with a leading 24-hour battery in our testing; meaning it literally lasts all day. Compared to the older M1 variant, you’re getting up to 45% faster performance with the processor and around a 20% per-core lead for the GPU. Put together, you’ve got the most powerful MacBook ever made for those with deep enough pockets.
Apple kept the pricing identical to the previous 16-inch Pro model but that won’t help your wallet much. Starting at $2,499 / £2,599 / AU$4,299 and going up as high as $3,999 / $4,099 / AU$6,899, all that power comes at a price. However, if you’re someone thinking of a laptop for intensive video editing, 3D modelling, rendering, and content creation then there’s nothing better from the manufacturer right now.
Read our full in-depth Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max) review
Best value MacBook for students
While the MacBook Pros have the sheer performance suitable for power users and content creators, for the rest of us, there’s the MacBook Air (M2, 2022). That isn’t to say that it’s not powerful in its own right. On the contrary, we found its performance to be exceptional during testing, tackling 4K video editing and music production workflows fast and in silence (thanks to its fanless design). In some benchmark tests, its single-core performance is even on par with the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022).
It isn’t just its specs that saw an upgrade over its predecessor. Its battery life got a 5-hour uptick, giving it 16 hours of use on a single charge, while its screen is bigger and its design is better. We may not have gotten those full colors that the iMac 24-inch is sporting, but you’re getting a far more modern design here. It’s even thinner and smaller while offering a bigger screen size.
Just keep in mind that this is an expensive. If you’re on a tighter budget, then there are other cheaper options on this list.
Read our in-depth Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) review
Best budget MacBook for students
Apple rolled out their much-talked-about M1 silicon chip that’s so far been a real game-changer. And, the first laptop to receive it is the company’s thinnest and lightest, putting it on the list of the most exciting Apple laptops of recent years.
The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) came impressively close to the performance of the more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1, 2020) during our testing, and despite its fanless design, we didn’t notice any major incidents of throttling. It also lasts around four hours longer than its predecessor.
Even with the launch of the new MacBook Air (M2, 2022), the M1 MacBook Air is still plenty powerful and also much less expensive, especially if you can get it on sale. Touting excellent performance alongside brilliant battery life while staying reasonably priced, the M1 MacBook Air is hands-down overall the best MacBook for students in 2022.
Read the full Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) review
Best budget MacBook Pro for students
The MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) may not have gotten a massive design overhaul, but what it lacks in that department, it makes up for big-time in performance and battery life. Thanks to Apple’s groundbreaking M1 chip, the 2020 MacBook Pro 13-inch delivers excellent performance and exceptional battery life.
Its performance is so impressive, in fact, that it can easily handle 4K – and even 8K – videos. It kept up admirably with Final Cut Pro, allowing us to scrub through the footage while showing a preview of the video at the same time. And, while it’s true that the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is comparable in performance, the fact that the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) has fans means it can work harder and longer.
As for its battery life, it lasted 13 hours and 22 minutes during testing, offering users a 5-hour bump over its Intel counterpart. Whether you’re in high school or in college, this is the best MacBook for students if you’re looking for a powerful laptop that keeps things small and lightweight. This
Read the full Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) review
Best14-inch MacBook Pro for students
Its 2021 predecessor may have been an almost perfect laptop, but the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023) blows it out of the water in terms of power. It may have cemented the line’s status as the mobile workstation for content creators, but it’s also great for photography, film, and graphic design students with a more flexible budget.
During testing, it handled everything we threw at it from editing videos in 8K to recording numerous instruments at the same time and editing multi-track audio projects in Albeton Live 11. Meanwhile, its Liquid Retina XDR and mini-LED technology display delivered vibrant colors and rich, deep contrast, making our creative experience incredibly immersive.
It keeps the same design as the 2021 model, but given its solid build quality, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is eye-watering expensive, however, so only invest if you can justify the price with your demands and you won’t be forced into living off of instant noodles until you graduate.
Read our full in-depth Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023) review
Best value MacBook Pro for students
The MacBook Pro is now its truest self with the launch of the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) and its 16-inch counterpart. Armed with the new M1 Pro and M1 Max, MacBook impresses with breathtaking power and equally breathtaking battery life – just what every professional needs and deserves.
It really shines when it comes to heavy duty professional-grade creative work, allowing us to create complex 3D scenes in Cinema 4D and to edit 8K video in Final Cut Pro seamlessly during testing. Apple then rounds it all out with its XDR display with 1600 nits of peak brightness and a wide color gamut. It’s one of the most impressive displays we’ve seen in a laptop.
There’s also an SD card slot, an HDMI port, and three Thunderbolt 4 ports, all of which can stay available thanks to MagSafe charging being back. It’s among the most expensive MacBook Pros ever launched, but it’s also certainly among the best.
Read our in-depth Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) review
Most affordable MacBook Pro for students
The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) might not come with a new design update, which makes it look and feel a bit redundant, especially because the M1 version is pretty impressive in its own right. However, while there’s nothing exciting about its outside, Apple’s brand-new M2 chip certainly makes up for it in a massive way.
If you already have the M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch, this might not be worth an upgrade – unless, of course, you need a bit more power. In our tests, this 2022 model achieved better performance in both single and multi-core CPU tests. That means a noticeable boost in its multitasking capabilities, allowing users to open and utilize various applications open at once.
It also scored around twice as much as the Intel Core i7-1185G7-powered Surface Laptop 4, and lasted almost two hours longer than the M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch in our battery life test. That’s while keeping the same price tag as before.
Read our in-depth Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) review
Best MacBook for Students – FAQs
Which Mac is best for studying?
If you’re just after a fast and versatile machine for studying on then you’re going to be in good hands with the MacBook Air M3. The latest in the line of entry-level computers features aggressive price-to-performance factoring in the excellent chipset inside for nimble performance and an all-day battery life.
Which Macbook is best for students – Air or Pro?
The MacBook Air M3 is considerably cheaper than the MacBook Pro M3 while featuring a similar level of performance. However, if you’re looking to study an arts degree (such as photography, video editing, game development etc.) then you will want to consider the more powerful of the two thanks to the added GPU power and faster CPU.
Is MacBook Pro or Air cheaper?
The MacBook Air line is cheaper than MacBook Pro computers. That’s traditionally been the case for as long as the two families have co-existed. However, in 2024, the lines between the line have blurred more as Apple’s silicon means the performance gap isn’t as big as it once was.
