Best 13-inch laptops in 2025

Laptops are incredibly useful devices, and buying a new one can be very exciting, but also daunting. There's so much choice nowadays that finding the right laptop for you can be tough, but we're here to help. We already have a round-up of the best laptops overall, but what if you specifically want something that's lightweight and easy to carry around? In that case, 13-inch laptops may be exactly what you're looking for.

While some users prefer bigger screens, 13-inch laptops are some of the most popular out there. Laptops are meant to be portable, and with this compact size, you can have something that's easy to take with you to school or work. Because it's such a popular segment, there are tons of great 13-inch laptops, and we've rounded up what we consider to be the best ones you can buy today.

Our top picks for a 13-inch laptop in 2024

We waited for years to get Windows laptops that truly achieved the perfect balance of efficiency and performance, but the latest Dell XPS 13 is the first to deliver it in two different models.

Right now, this is the only laptop that's available with either Intel Core Ultra series 2 (also known as Lunar Lake) or Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processors, and both versions are absolutely outstanding. These new processors offer a mix of performance and battery life that you couldn't get on any Windows laptop until just a few months ago. The Qualcomm variant is actually faster and has better thermals, but the Intel version has the benefit of perfect app compatibility, so there's less friction if you want something that just works all the time.

Aside from that, these two models are basically identical. You get a 13.4-inch display in three configuration options: Full HD+ IPS with a 120Hz refresh rate, Quad HD+ IPS with a 120Hz refresh rate, or a 2.8K OLED panel that's limited to 60Hz. In terms of the vividness of the colors and the overall visual experience, the OLED model is probably still better, but the higher refresh rate of the IPS panels is also a great selling point.

Design-wise, the Dell XPS 13 continues to feel like the most modern laptop on the market, despite using a two-year-old design. This seamless look with its invisible touchpad and zero-lattice keyboard still looks fantastic, plus it's a fairly thin and lightweight laptop. The downside is that it also drops all kinds of ports you might be used to having like USB Type-A and even the headphone jack. All you have is USB-C and Thunderbolt 4.

Regardless, this is easily the best the Dell XPS 13 has ever been, and arguably the best laptop on the market right now.

No list of 13-inch laptops could go without mentioning the MacBook Air, and that's especially true with the latest model, which delivers some very welcome improvements in performance, design, and the webcam.

Focusing on performance first, the latest MacBook Air is powered by the Apple M3 with eight CPU cores, and it's a big upgrade from the M2 model specifically in terms of GPU performance, which now includes things like hardware-accelerated ray tracing. It's not a gorundbreaking evolution, but the Apple M2 was already one of the best chips on the market, so this new version is even better. In our review, Ben Sin said the M3-based Macbook Air is "so powerful, I am tempted to give up the Pro". Our review focused on the 15-inch model, but this is essentially the same laptop in both sizes.

Aside from the processor, the latest MacBook Air is identical to the M2 model that came before. You get a 13.6-inch Retina display with a very sharp resolution and an approximately 16:10 aspect ratio. It's a little taller than that, because a section at the top of the screen is where the cutout for the webcam is. It's a great display overall, and the 500 nits of brightness make it fairly easy to use in bright environments.

The design is also unchanged, but still great. This is a very light laptop, starting at a mere 2.7 pounds, and it's just over 11mm thick. Plus, it comes in four color options, which is always nice to see. The port situation ahsn't changed much, but at least now you can use two external displays if you close the laptop to turn off the built-in display. It's still an annoying limitation, but it's an improvement over previous models.

The MacBook Air is arguably the quintessential laptop, and it remains one of the best you can buy.

Microsoft's Surface PCs are often some of the most popular out there, but with the Surface Laptop 7, that popularity is more justified than ever before. Between the brand-new processors and the refined design, this is one of the best laptops on the market.

Inside the Surface Laptop 7 you'll find the new Snapdragon X series processors, with your choice of a Snapdragon X Plus 10-core or a Snapdragon X Elite. Both are fantastic processors that deliver a mix of battery life and performance you could never get before on a Windows laptop, and it's fantastic to see. App compatibility may still be an issue in some cases, especially gaming, but this is the best Windows on Arm has ever been, and arguably the best experience you can get on a Windows laptop. In fact, when we reviewed it, our editor-in-chief Rich Woods said it plainly: "I think this is the best Surface Laptop ever".

On top of the new processor, Microsoft also refined the Surface Laptop 7 with a new and improved display. The 13-inch model now has a 13.8-inch panel (up from 13.5 inches), even though the laptop itself is actually a bit smaller than its predecessors. The pixel density is the same, but now it has much better color reproduction, covering nearly 100% of DCI-P3, plus the screen is less reflective. The visual experience is just way better all around.

To top it all off, the design as a whole is entirely refined. The bigger screen and smaller chassis is all thanks to this new design, which has much smaller bezels and feels way more modern. There's also more of a roundness to this design, which looks great. It has a great supply of ports, too, including two Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB Type-A, a Surface Connect port, headphone jack, and a microSD card reader.

This all makes the Surface Laptop 7 one of the very best laptops money can buy, and for some people, it may be even better than the Dell XPS 13.

Gaming usually requires pretty beefy hardware, but Asus managed to squeeze some gaming laptop power into a portable machine with the ROG Flow X13, one of my favorite laptops ever.

The 2023 iteration of the ROG Flow X13 comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, and that's paired with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, delivering very impressive performance for such a small laptop. It also comes with up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. If you want more graphics power, you can also hook up an Asus ROG Xg Mobile external GPU, with options up to an RTX 4090.

The display on the ROG Flow X13 is a 13.4-inch panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, with options up to a stunning ROG Nebula display with Quad HD+ resolution, 100% coverage of DCI-P3, and a 165Hz refresh rate. It's fantastic for gaming and everything else. It supports touch and pen input, too. Above that display is a 1080p webcam with Windows Hello support.

On to the design, the Asus ROG Flow X13 is very sleek with an all-black chassis that's just 18.7mm thick at its thickest point and a mere 2.87 pounds of weight, very impressive for these specs. It also has a solid supply of ports, with two USB Type-C ports (one integrated into the ROG Xg Mobile interface), USB Type-A, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. That's very good for this size.

This is a very impressive 13-inch laptop, and if you're interested in gaming while still having a lightweight design, it's one of your best options.

When you think of Lenovo business laptops, your mind may jump immediately to a ThinkPad, but the ThinkBook lineup is home to a few gems, too, and the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is a fantastic example of exactly that.

This is a business laptop powered by Intel Core Ultra series 1 processors. It may not have the latest and greatest, but this is still a great lineup of processors that delivers strong performance. We reviewed the base model with a Core Ultra 5 and it still did pretty well, so you can expect even better things if you upgrade to a higher-tier model. You can configure the laptop with up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, which isn't mind-blowing, but still pretty good.

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 packs a 13.5-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is a bit of a rarity outside of Microsoft's Surface lineup. It's great for getting work done, and with 100% coverage of sRGB, it's a pretty good panel, though it's not meant for something like photo editing. Our reviewer called it "bright and vivid", plus the 2.8K resolution is plenty sharp.

The most unique aspect of this laptop is that it supports an ecosystem of accessories using a set of pins at the top of the screen, called Magic Bay. The Magic Bay lets you attach accessories like the Magic Bay Light, which can illuminate your face in darker environments so you look much clearer during video calls. Aside from that, you have three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack, so the connectivity options are a bit limited without a dongle.

Regardless, the Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is a fantastic business laptop that looks and performs great. It is a bit pricy for what it offers in terms of specs, but that's typical for business laptops.

It's true that there aren't a lot of Windows tablets out there, and it's probably because Windows isn't the best operating system for tablets. But if you do want a Windows tablet, the Surface pro 11 is by far the best there has ever been, and it's not even close.

Like other top-tier laptops on this list, the Surface Pro 11 features the excellent Snapdragon X series processors from Qualcomm, resulting in great battery life and performance. This is important because while lap[tops have historically had poor battery life, there are plenty of tablets with great battery life in the Android and Apple worlds, so this means Windows tablets are finally catching up, and in some ways, even pulling ahead. It's a big leap forward that was overdue at this point. Plus, with up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, this is one of the most capable tablets out there. After all, you can use it as a laptop, too.

The display here has also been upgraded from previous models. For one thing, Microsoft has greatly reduced the reflectiveness of the panel, so outdoor visibility is much better. But to sweeten the deal, there's even an OLED panel option now, with the same 2.8K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate as the IPS model. You're getting a treat for the eyes with this tablet, especially the OLED model.

The design of the Surface Pro 11 hasn't changed a lot from its predecessor, but the 1.97 pounds of weight make this the most portable device on the list, which is the big appeal of a tablet. You can add the Surface Pro keyboard or the Flex Keyboard to use it as a laptop, though it will add to the weight. The Flex Keyboard is very interesting in that it can be attached or used wirelessly, so you have a bit mope flexibility with how you can use it. Otherwise, for ports, you get the typical Surface Connect port and two Thunderbolt ports, which is pretty good for a tablet.

This is easily the best Windows tablet you can buy today, and there's not much you can do to argue otherwise.

Finally,we have something for the more experimental user. Dual-screen laptops have started to pop up here and there, and the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is one of the best if you want a 13-inch display.

In this design, you have a sort of typical convertible design, except instead of one half having a screen and the other half having a keyboard, both halves have a 13.3-inch screen. These are stunning OLED displays, too, with a very sharp 2.8K resolution, making for a fantastic visual experience. This means you have a dual-monitor setup everywhere you go, and that's huge for productivity.

But you do get a physical keyboard in the box that works via Bluetooth, so you can use it as a laptop. The keyboard attaches magnetically to the bottom half of the device, so you can make it feel more like a traditional laptop, except you use the screen itself as a touchpad. It's not a perfect solution, but you're still getting a kind of productivity boost that's not possible with any other laptop unless you buy a portable monitor, and those tend to be not as good.

Aside from the inque form factor, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i comes with Intel Core Ultra Series 1 processors, which deliver solid performance for day-to-day tasks, though these are U-series processors, and not as impressive as the glaship H-series models. Still, it's more than enough to get work done across two screens.

This is certianly not a laptop for everyone, but the unique form factor may just be enough to win you over. You'll definitely see a big boost in productivity, as long as you have the right accessories.

Choosing the best 13-inch laptop

13-inch laptops used to be everywhere, but it seems like, in many cases they're being replaced with 14-inch models these days. Despite that, we have some phenomenal choices here, and our top pick has to go to the Dell XPS 13 because it offers that excellent combination of performance and battery life across both Intel and Qualcomm versions, it has an ultra-modern design, and it also has a great display with various configuration options. You can't really go wrong with this one.

That being said, every laptop on this list is fantastic in its own right, so you might be more interested in one of the other options. Personally, I'd probably pick the Surface Laptop 7 for myself, since I'm a big fan of the design language and the additional ports it has.