1. Best overall
2. Best Windows
3. Best budget
4. Best 14-inch
5. Best 15-inch
6. Best workstation
7. Recently reviewed
8. How to choose
9. How we test
10. FAQs
Ditch the lag! Unleash your creativity with our best video editing laptops and say goodbye to choppy edits and sluggish rendering.
The most affordable video editing laptop on our list is the MacBook Air M2, which you can still snag for $999. Our top choice is the most expensive MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max with 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage, costing you a whopping $7,199.
If you prefer working within Windows, solid video editing used to require a discrete GPU, which drove up the cost and devoured battery life. However, thanks to the launch of the Intel Core Ultra, with Integrated Arc GPU, this is no longer the case. You can pick up an MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo for $1,399 and edit videos to your heart's content for hours on end, unplugged. It's powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc GPU, 32GB of RAM, and rounds things out with 1TB of SSD storage.
Compiling this list took a great deal of time, and it will change, grow, and be updated as we review newer laptops. Let's jump into which laptops are the best for video editing.
The Quick List
Don't have the patience to scroll through the whole list to find your next video editing laptop? No worries, here's a quick look at all the laptops on our best video editing laptops list complete with a link that will take you directly to a review.
Best overall video editing laptop
Unleash your inner editor with the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2023). Unparalleled M3 Max performance combined with ridiculous 18+ hour battery life ensures your creativity can flow uninterrupted.
Best Windows video editing laptop
The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo is meant to be a document-pushing business laptop, which it is, but it is also a fantastic video editing laptop, wielding an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc GPU, and 32GB of RAM.
Best budget video editing laptop
For under $1,600, the MSI Creator Z16P, with its massive 16-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio display, potent Intel Core i9 CPU, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080Ti GPU, will get the job done and save you money.
Best 14-inch video editing laptop
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip is a compelling choice for most users. It starts at $1,599 and offers impressive performance along with a long battery life. If M3 Max is overkill, look no further.
Best 15-inch video editing laptop
The HP ZBook Studio G8 boasts a potent Intel Core-i9 CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU. Add slick styling, 32GB of RAM, and a large 2TB SSD and you have a damn good content-creator laptop.
Best video editing workstation
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen1 is a beast with an Intel Core-i9 12950X CPU, an Nvidia RTX A5500 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. You can edit and render just about anything with it.
Best video editing laptop overall
Forget the editing cave, wield the Infinity Gauntlet of video editing: the MacBook Pro M3 Max 16-inch. This powerhouse isn't just a laptop, it's a mobile weapon of mass creation. With Apple's M3 Max chip at its core, 36GB to a staggering 128GB of RAM, and up to 8TB of storage, it pulverizes the competition and even eclipses previous MacBook Pros.
Unmatched performance is just the start. The battery life stretches to a mind-blowing 18 hours and 5 minutes, so say goodbye to editing sessions cut short by a low battery. But the magic doesn't stop there. A gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display brings your work to life, while a dream-like keyboard ensures every edit feels effortless. This is a laptop miles ahead of anything else on the market.
Of course, with great power comes a hefty price tag. Starting at $3,999 and reaching a jaw-dropping $7,199 for the maxed-out configuration we tested, this MacBook Pro makes even seasoned reviewers flinch.
So, is it worth it? For professional video editors who demand the absolute best, absolutely. But for everyone else, the price might be a reality check. The MacBook Pro M3 Max 16-inch is the undisputed king, but be prepared to pay the royal ransom
See our full MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2023) review.
Best Windows video editing laptop
You can unleash your content creative genius with the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo. It's a fast machine packing an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU that features the game-changing integrated Intel Arc GPU, an NPU, and 32GB of RAM. You'll find yourself fearlessly editing on the stunning 16-inch OLED 3,840x2,400 display, boasting vibrant colors and impressive brightness. The comfortable keyboard ensures a smooth editing flow.
Unlike the previous-generation Intel-powered laptops, the Core Ultra packing Prestige can edit your 4K, 6K, and 8K videos for hours on end, unplugged.
I edited 6K videos over a weekend of content creation and didn't realize I had been doing so unplugged. Not only didn't I need to be tethered to an outlet, but there wasn't the obvious drop in performance I have experienced for years when using a PC laptop unplugged for a couple of hours its CPU and discrete GPU would alow for.
You will be happily surprised by the battery-sipping MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo.
See our full MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo Review
Best budget video editing laptop
Content creators, rejoice! The MSI Creator Z16P is a content-gobbling beast, packing a 12th Gen Intel CPU, an RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and a stunning 16:10, 165Hz touch display. This machine screams creativity, especially with its unique touchscreen advantage over MacBooks.
Unleash Your Inner DaVinci: Adobe Suite? Easy. Color grading in Resolve? A breeze. The Z16P devours creative tasks, letting you sculpt your vision without a hitch. Plus, it doubles as a decent gaming rig!
While easily portable for a workstation, the sleek Z16P comes with a hefty price tag. Be prepared to invest – literally, as this might require a loan!
The star of the show is the immersive, vibrant touch display. This unique feature unlocks creative possibilities unavailable on MacBooks, making it a tempting choice for certain workflows.
For creators seeking unrivaled power, a beautiful touch display, and portability (with deep pockets), the Z16P is a dream come true. But for the price-conscious, other options might be more wallet-friendly.
See our full MSI Creator Z16P review.
Best 14-inch video editing laptop
The MacBook Pro M3 14-inch offers familiar sleekness and portability thanks to a design that hasn't changed since Obama was in the office, weighing a mere 3.5 pounds and fitting seamlessly into your camera bag. But its true highlight lies inside power and portability in perfect harmony.
With an average of 17+ hours on or off the grid, this laptop caters to creators on the go, ensuring uninterrupted workflow wherever your travels take you.
Upgrade to the M3 Max chip for a 14-core CPU and 30-core GPU, boosting performance even further. It also comes with 32GB RAM (expandable to a whopping 96GB!), ideal for demanding tasks.
The base model starts at $1,599 (M3 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD) while the M3 Max configuration sets you back $3,199. Though lacking a flashy design revamp, pure performance sets this MacBook Pro apart.
Whether you go with the base model or the pimped-out Max M3, you can't go wrong with the MacBook Pro M3 14-inch as it combines portability and performance like few others.
See our full Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, 2023) review.
Best 15-inch video editing laptop
The HP ZBook Studio G8 isn't just a laptop; it's a content creator's statement piece. This $4,727 beauty retains the G7's award-winning style but packs a serious punch with an 11th Gen Intel Core i9, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD, and an RTX 3070 GPU.
It's a Creative powerhouse that will allow you to conquer any project, from Adobe Suite to video editing, with seamless performance. This machine is built to handle even the most demanding tasks.
Stunning visuals will have you Immerse yourself in your work with the breathtaking OLED 4K touchscreen. Vivid colors and brightness bring your creations to life.
This MIL-SPEC tough laptop can handle the bumps and bruises of creative life on the go. The Price of Beauty: Be prepared to splurge. At $4,727, the ZBook Studio G8 is an investment, not just a purchase.
If you demand peak performance, stunning visuals, and rugged durability, the ZBook Studio G8 is a dream come true. But its hefty price tag might make you think twice.
See our full HP ZBook Studio G8 review.
Best video editing workstation
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 isn't for the faint of wallet – originally $4,663, although you can find it for less now. However, unless you're a high-roller professional or a Fortune 500 baller, it's still probably prohibitively expensive.
Sure, it boasts a gorgeous 16-inch 4K display, a keyboard that sings to your fingers, and enough grunt (Core i9 processor, RTX A5500 GPU) to tackle any project, from editing Godzilla movies to building virtual spaceships. But here's the rub: Is the design as exciting as a beige office wall, and is the battery life? Let's say you'll be tethered to your desk more often than not.
Don't get me wrong, this is a powerhouse machine, one of the best workstations and video editing laptops I've tested. But the price tag and lackluster battery life leave a bit of a bitter taste. So, is it worth the splurge? If you're rolling in dough and need the absolute best, maybe. But for everyone else, there are plenty of other fish in the (more affordable) sea.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 review.
Recently reviewed
We review new laptops every week, but we don't make the best laptop for video editing selections lightly, so there aren't weekly changes to our picks. Here's a look at our recently reviewed laptops that didn't make the cut for this page, some were still excellent, while others missed the mark completely.
How to choose the best video editing laptop
Choosing the best video editing laptop for you depends on several factors. One is your budget — how much are you willing to spend? And another is what you’ll be using it for — of course you’re video editing, but are you simply trimming small clips in 1080p? Or are you editing massive projects in 6K or 8K? Your answer will determine what kind of system you need.
If you want to get into video editing as a hobby, we recommend starting out with a cheap gaming laptop or a MacBook Air. It’ll offer you a decent amount of power and you’ll get a feel if you want to stick with video editing for the future. If you’re a professional that needs a top-of-the-line video editing laptop, the sky is basically the limit on pricing, so we need to hone in one your specific needs a little more.
In general video editing leans heavily on the CPU, so that is where you want to make sure you aren't skimping. Looking at one of the latest Intel Core Ultra, Apple M3, or AMD Ryzen 8000 series chips will be ideal, but if you need to step back a generation for the sake of affordability it's just going to be adding a little more time to your rendering.
While you can get by without a dedicated GPU in a video editing laptop, it can dramatically cut render times depending on the software that you are using. If you are doing video editing for fun or just starting out, a few minutes longer to edit likely isn't a big deal, if this is a profesional undertaking for you that could be crucial. Laptops with discrete GPUs aren't cheap, so you can save a lot of money if this isn't a must-have for you.
Don't skimp on RAM or storage. You need at a minimum 16GB of RAM to edit video comfortably and professional users should be looking for 32GB or more. While external storage is great, ideally you want to be able to edit your projects on your laptop without needing to plug into an external SSD, which will mean at least 512GB for hobbyists and 1TB or more for professionals.
FAQs
Does video editing require a discrete GPU?
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If you're looking to buy a laptop that's two years or older, the answer is generally "yes," video editing does require a discrete GPU. The more modern you get with a laptop, the less true that becomes. Intel's Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake processors, for example, are pretty decent for video editing with their Intel Arc integrated graphics.
That doesn't change that video editing is still best done with discrete graphics, but for those on a budget, or don't want to have to deal with the downsides of a discrete GPU like lesser battery life, greater heats, and louder fans, integrated graphics is currently at a pretty solid point.
MacBooks are also famously excellent at video editing, even without a discrete GPU, which is a big part of why one is at the top of our list.
How much RAM is recommended for video editing?
The more RAM, the better. If you're planning to professionally video edit, 24GB of RAM should be your minimum. If you only intend to do it casually or are on a really tight budget, 16GB is doable, but it's not the best.
Every laptop we recommend on this list has a minimum of 32GB of RAM, excluding the Apple MacBook Pro, which can feature anywhere from 8GB to 24GB of RAM at its base M3 chip, but with M3 Max, that can go as high as 96GB of RAM.
Overall, 24GB to 32GB of RAM should be what you aim for, but as always, more is better for particularly intensive professional video editing.
How we test video editing laptops
When testing the best video editing laptops, our standards are much higher than the average productivity machine. After all, we're looking for lots of RAM, extremely powerful processing power, and capable integrated or discrete graphics.
On the processor side, there’s a number of tests that we run on video editing laptops to make sure they’re up to par with our standards, such as Geekbench, which measures the overall performance of the CPU, and the HandBrake video editing test, which determines how long a laptop takes to transcode a video from 4K to 1080p. Oftentimes times we also push systems by editing and rendering 6 and 8K videos down to 1080p. To test the GPU, we use synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited and 3DMark Fire Strike.
Performance isn’t the only thing you have to worry about when you’re looking to buy a video editing laptop. We also take into account the display, specifically the resolution, the sRGB color gamut coverage and average number of nits that its panel can produce. Considering that content is frequently consumed on phones with OLED screens or giant colorful TVs, you need to make sure you’re able to see what your users will be seeing when you’re editing videos.
Battery life is especially important, as just because you plan to video edit on it (which can result in the inclusion of a discrete GPU), doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to take it on-the-go and expect it to last a full workday. We run these laptops through our Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over wifi at 150 nits, and determine how long it lasts before running out of juice.
