1. The list in brief
2. Best Overall MacBook
3. Cheapest MacBook
4. Best Affordable Big-Screen MacBook
5. Best Cheap MacBook Pro
6. Best Video Editing MacBook
7. FAQs
8. How to Choose the Best MacBook for You
9. How We Test MacBooks
10. Why Trust Laptop Mag
Finding the best MacBook is harder than it seems. Since the move to Apple Silicon powering these laptops in 2020, Apple laptops are consistently among the strongest choices across multiple categories. So the challenge isn't avoiding a bad MacBook; there isn't one in Apple's current lineup; it's finding the best MacBook for your needs and budget.
We're here to help. At Laptop Mag we have reviewed and tested every current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, so we are armed with the knowledge and hands-on experience to guide you to the right MacBook with the perfect configuration for you.
The MacBook Air 13 M3 currently reigns atop our best laptop page, so it should come as no surprise that it is also our pick for the best MacBook overall. It’s easily portable while offering enough power and battery life to meet the needs of students, professionals, content creators, and more.
With the departure of the Air M1 earlier this year, all MacBooks sold by Apple now feature restored features like MagSafe charging on the Air models, while the Pro line also offers an HDMI port and an SD card reader. The MacBook Pro models were refreshed in November 2023, so the MacBook Pro M4 is expected soon, while the MacBook Air M4 models shouldn't arrive until early 2025.
Read on for our full thoughts on each Apple laptop, and we'll help you choose the MacBook you should buy today.
The Quick List
The best MacBook for most people
Our pick for best overall laptop is the MacBook Air M3, so no surprise it is also the best MacBook for most people. Starting at $1,099 you get an excellent mix of performance and portability with over 15 hours of battery life.
The cheapest MacBook
With the M1 Air discontinued the M2 is the budget Apple laptop, typically available for under $899 this is a great choice to save money while still getting solid performance, the current Air design, and over 14 hours of battery life.
Affordable big-screen MacBook
The MacBook Air 15 is the answer for prospective MacBook buyers who want a larger display without spending over $2,500. It offers the same benefits as the 13-inch model with a slight performance boost for tasks like video editing.
Cheapest MacBook Pro
Whether you’re editing photos or videos, creating music, or just working on a massive spreadsheet, the MacBook Pro 14 is the way to go. The M3's power and endurance are off the charts.
Best Video Editing MacBook
There's no task the MacBook Pro 16 with M3 Max can't handle. Whether it's the larger display, higher peak performance, or over 18 hours of battery life, the Pro 16 earns its premium price.
Sean Riley has covered a wide variety of tech over his 13 years as a journalist, but found his home at Laptop Mag in 2020. As the managing editor he takes a part in every laptop review that is published on Laptop Mag, whether as reviewer or editor. Sean has used MacBooks since the unibody plastic days and most recently reviewed the MacBook Air M3 models, so he has a wide breadth of experience with Apple laptops.
Best MacBook Overall
The MacBook Air M3 is a perfect laptop for a wide variety of users thanks to its thin and light design married with outstanding performance and battery life. While the display notch may take a moment for new users to acclimate to, rest assured it will disappear for you faster than the iPhone notch as it is effectively integrated into the OS.
The Apple M3 chip is more than up to most tasks that you are likely to throw at it. Whether you are a professional, a student, or just someone that wants an outstanding laptop for around the house the Air 13 M3 will juggle apps and browser tabs without a stutter. Just consider bumping up to 16GB of RAM if you don't like remembering to close some of those apps or tabs.
While content creators would be better served by at least the MacBook Air 15 M3 and best served by one of the MacBook Pro models, the Air M3 can certainly do light duty there if you aren't doing photo and video editing constantly.
What else are you getting with the Air 13 M3? A bright display, a quad-speaker array and a solid 1080p webcam. These make it a great match for users that are regularly on the go as you can work in any lighting, enjoy your audio if you are watching or listening to content on the Air, and don't need to bring an external webcam. MagSafe charging keeps your two Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports available for other purposes.
The biggest consideration with the Air M3 is the price if you need to upgrade much from the $1,099 base model. If you find yourself cresting the $1,500 mark for your configuration then you may want to consider the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, which I cover later in this list and starts at $1,599.
See our full MacBook Air (M3, 2024) review
Click to view data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air 13 M3 | Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 | Acer Swift X 14 (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 12087 | 10828 | 12118 |
| Handbrake time (Lower is better, (MM.SS)) | 6.32 | 9.45 | 7.46 |
| Battery life (HH.MM) | 15.13 | 10.24 | 7.26 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 77.80% | 142.10% | 138.10% |
| Display Brightness (Nits) | 476 | 353 | 359 |
Cheapest MacBook
While the MacBook Air M3 is the new hotness, budget-conscious buyers shouldn't ignore the MacBook Air M2, which remains available at a more affordable $999 price point. It features the same design as the M3 including MagSafe charging freeing up those two Thunderbolt 4 ports for other purposes, so you are just trading a little performance and battery life for a more palatable price.
And with that said, it's not a slouch in either regard, the Air M2 will handle most workloads including photo or video editing and it lasted for 14 hours and 6 minutes in our battery life test. The fact that it does all this while staying whisper quiet and cool without fans is astounding.
The list of upgrades over the M1 model from 2020 also includes a brighter display, a quad-speaker array, and a new 1080p webcam. That first will be particularly welcome to those who are using the Air M2 on the go and may be faced with less-than-optimal lighting conditions. These factors should all keep you from picking up a deeply discounted MacBook Air M1 instead in 2024, the M2 Air will give you a superior experience and last much longer.
If you need a lot of storage or extra RAM the M2 is a great way to save versus the comparable M3 Air as well. Given the now discounted pricing, you can find an M2 Air with 16GB of RAM or 512GB of storage for the price of a base M3 Air.
See our full MacBook Air M2 review
Click to view data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air 13 M2 | Dell XPS 13 9310 (2022) | Lenovo Slim 7 Carbon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 5 (Higher is better) | 8919 | 5365 | 6241 |
| Handbrake time (Lower is better, (MM.SS)) | 7.52 | 18.33 | 8.51 |
| Battery life (HH.MM) | 14.06 | 7.32 | 9.56 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 75.90% | 76.90% | 139.30% |
| Display Brightness (Nits) | 489 | 442 | 369 |
Affordable big-screen MacBook
On one level, yes it is just a bigger MacBook Air M3, but that alone wouldn't be a bad thing and the reality is that it does get a couple of additional boosts due to its larger size.
The larger screen makes the Air 15 M3 a better option for those who need to work with data or any content that benefits from a little more screen real estate. The larger size also gives the Air 15 M3 slightly better sustained performance due to superior thermal management, so sustained tasks like photo or video editing will go much quicker on the 15-inch Air.
While battery life is roughly flat with the smaller model, at just over 15 hours no one is going to be complaining. Apple also isn't taxing you too hard for the larger display with the Air 15 M3 starting at $1,299 compared to $1,099 for the 13-inch model.
That's a solid value, particularly when you consider getting a MacBook with a 15-inch+ display has historically cost you $2,500 or more. While it's still not cheap, it's affordable by Apple standards while delivering all of the performance the average user needs for work, school, or general use.
See our full Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024) review.
Click to view data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air 15 M3 | MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo | Acer Swift Edge 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 12052 | 13310 | 10682 |
| Handbrake time (Lower is better, (MM.SS)) | 6.3 | 5.17 | 6.04 |
| Battery life (HH.MM) | 15.03 | 13.04 | 7.18 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 77.50% | 137.90% | 139.20% |
| Display Brightness (Nits) | 482 | 368 | 387 |
Cheapest MacBook Pro
Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 arrived in late 2023 and finally gave MacBook Pro fans a more affordable option with the current MacBook design, for $1,599 this is every inch a MacBook Pro.
That base M3 offers plenty of performance for most users and the laptop still boasts incredible longevity with 17 hours and 16 minutes of battery life in our testing. , the hardware is otherwise largely the same excellent laptop we got 2 years ago. Now if you are a content creator, a power user, or dare we say it even a gamer then the M3 Pro or M3 Max models may be calling to you. While Apple still isn't challenging the best gaming laptops, it is making a meaningful plunge into gaming after just dipping its toe in for years.
Our complaints with the 14-inch MacBook Pro are nothing new, the notch still isn't our favorite design choice and it still stings that they are using up all that display real estate without giving us Face ID. However, these are minor quibbles regarding an outstanding laptop that is now available for a more affordable price.
See our full 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3, 2023) review.
Click to view data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Pro 14 M3 | Acer Swift X 14 (2023) | Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 11870 | 12118 | 10525 |
| Handbrake time (Lower is better, (MM.SS)) | 5.38 | 7.46 | 8.14 |
| Battery life (HH.MM) | 17.16 | 7.26 | 6.2 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 81.30% | 138.10% | 80.50% |
| Display Brightness (Nits) | 558 | 374 | 359 |
Best Video Editing MacBook
We called the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max the "new king of MacBooks" and while you might think that means it belongs at the top of this list, the price makes it a choice you need to carefully consider despite how phenomenal it is.
Starting at $2,499 for the M3 Pro model and $3,499 for the M3 Max model, the 16-inch MacBook Pro isn't for everyone. However, if you are a creative professional or someone who just wants the biggest and best without concern over cost this belongs on your short list.
The notebook’s design is still virtually identical to the 2021 and early 2023 models, but that's not a complaint just yet. That means the new model retains the blessedly returned full HDMI and SDXC card reader. Battery life is mind-boggling for a laptop this powerful at just over 18 hours on a charge in our test, it also delivers that show-stopping Super Retina XDR mini-LED display, a super comfortable keyboard, and an excellent audio system.
I still would recommend a gaming laptop with a discrete GPU for those who want the best overall gaming experience, but the 16-inch MacBook Pro is finally good enough to meet the needs of more casual gamers and there is evidence that things are only going to improve.
Overall, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops on the market and the only real hurdle a buyer needs to clear is that price.
See our full 16-inch MacBook Pro (M3 Max, 2023) review
Click to view data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max | Dell XPS 17 | Lenovo Slim Pro 9i |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 20863 | 13214 | 8351 |
| Handbrake time (Lower is better, (MM.SS)) | 2.36 | 5.1 | 4.35 |
| Battery life (HH.MM) | 18.05 | 9.06 | 6.12 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 81.80% | 80.50% | 111.20% |
| Display Brightness (Nits) | 560 | 523 | 637 |
FAQs
- Q: Should you buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?
A: For a deep dive into this question, please read our MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro buying guide, but at a very basic level, it breaks down to three things: budget, portability, and performance.
You can buy a MacBook Air for under $1,000, and even a higher-end configuration should stay below $2,000. The 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 starts at $1,599, and you can spend up to $7,200 for the top configuration of a 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Max.
While the MacBook Pro line has gotten lighter, the 13-inch Air at 2.7 pounds is still far more portable. Things get muddier with the 15-inch MacBook Air at 3.3 pounds, which comes close to the 3.5 pounds of the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The 16-inch naturally sits at the top at 4.8 pounds.
Last but not least, we have performance. The Air models deliver excellent performance for fanless thin-and-light laptops, which will be enough for most typical use cases. With that said, both the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch are capable of far more with up to the M3 Max chip. We still have yet to see a laptop on the Windows side match the level of power and efficiency available on the MacBook Pro. - Q: Why are MacBooks so expensive?
A: There are a couple of ways to look at this. The biggest difference is that Apple doesn't have a budget MacBook. The closest thing you get is that Apple continues to sell the previous generation (currently the MacBook Air 13 M2). If you compare a MacBook to the premium tier from Windows laptop makers, the value is at least relatively close and, at times, tips in the MacBook's favor. Where you see things start to separate is when you want to buy a MacBook with dramatically upgraded storage and RAM, as Apple charges quite a bit to upgrade both. Typically, you'll find the best value in either the entry model or the first notch up from the entry-level, and by all means, check out our best MacBook deals, as while Apple rarely discounts its laptops, you can find great deals on them elsewhere.
How to Choose the Best MacBook for You
The MacBook Air 13 M3 is an easy choice for most people. It comes in at $1,099 (on the rare occasions when it isn't on sale) while offering a blend of performance, efficiency and portability that are on the envy of most of its Windows counterparts in this price range. The 13.6-inch display strikes a nice balance of screen real estate while retaining a form factor that will fit in almost any laptop bag. If you need a larger display, just look to the Air 15 which wraps all of that same goodness in a slightly larger package.
If you need either more endurance or sustained performance for tasks like video editing, graphic design, etc, consider the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3. It lasted for a remarkable 17 hours and 16 minutes on a charge in our Laptop Mag battery test and scored benchmark numbers that blow away much of the competition. It also gives you an SD card reader and HDMI output, which could save you from having to invest in or carry a MacBook USB-C hub or docking station.
Those three options should cover at least 90% of users. However, if you need either a larger screen or vastly more power for professional apps then the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro with either the M3 Pro or M3 Max are outstanding, if expensive, options.
How We Test MacBooks
We put MacBooks through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate everything from speed and battery life to display brightness, speaker volume, and system heat.
We use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and DCI-P3 color gamut of a laptop's display. For performance benchmarking, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 6 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.
To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 25GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics tests include Borderlands 3, Sid Meier's Civilization VI, Total War: Warhammer III and Shadow of the Tomb Raider with 1080p or higher resolution when the display supports it.
We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. We consider everything over roughly 10 hours to be a good result. All of these tests are complemented with hands-on testing from our reviewers.
Why Trust Laptop Mag
Laptop Mag reviews over a hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming.
We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on.
Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it.
Our editorial trustworthiness is enforced by one of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.
