I love a good 13-inch laptop, but one critical feature is make or break for these perfectly portable notebooks

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo open on a white table at an angle with its lid facing the camera, highlighting the thinness of the laptop.

(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)

Back in my day, I wanted for nothing but a 13-inch laptop — okay, I know I’m not that old, but these new 13-inch laptops make me feel otherwise.

15-inch and 17-inch laptops were bulky, and as someone who traveled frequently, it was difficult to carry something like that around. So I usually opted for 13-inch laptops because they could fit in my bag and didn’t weigh me down. But when does an ultraportable become… too portable?

I asked myself that question while reviewing the MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo. This little business laptop comes in at 2.13 pounds and 11.77 x 8.27 x 0.67 inches. It’s so light it could fly out of my hands and I wouldn’t notice.

Now, while weight may be a concern for some, I’m actually more concerned about the size. A few numbers can make or break the keyboard and touchpad experience. Let me explain.

Excuse me, just squeezing past

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MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo open on a white table, highlighting the black keyboard against a gray deck. — (Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)

The size of a 13-inch laptop is critical to your comfort. At this display size, a few decimals can make all the difference, and I’m not talking about height. The key numbers you want to look at are the length and width.

For example, the Prestige comes in at 11.77 x 8.27 inches. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room to type, but because of the spacing of the keys and the size of the touchpad (4.7 x 2.9 inches), it was quite comfortable.

That doesn’t translate to the Dell XPS 13, which comes in at 11.62 x 7.84 inches. The width takes a major hit, impacting the space on deck, which you’ll notice above created an uncomfortable keyboard layout.

Then there are 13-inch laptops like the MacBook Air 13-inch (M3), which comes in at 11.97 x 8.46 inches. That’s the largest among the three I mentioned, and at this size, you have plenty of space to type.

Which 13-inch laptop is most comfortable?

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo open on a white table at an angle. — (Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)

best 1If you’re shopping for a 13-inch laptop and wondering, “Which one will be most comfortable?” Well, that’s not an easy answer. You might get an idea by taking a closer look at the display size. For example, the Prestige offers a 13.3-inch display, while the MacBook Air features a 13.6-inch display. However, that’s not always reliable, as the XPS 13 sports a 13.4-inch display despite it being the smallest of the group.

A bigger size usually means more space to type, but if you’re looking for the perfect comfort-to-portability ratio, I recommend taking a trip to your local laptop retailer to get your hands on some laptops.

While the numbers may give you some indication, and we certainly address this in the keyboard and touchpad section of our reviews, if you have particularly large or small hands, your experience could vary considerably. This isn’t wholly necessary with bigger laptops, but 13-inch laptops have gotten so small that hand size plays a critical role in whether or not these machines are comfortable.

Trust me, I don’t want to drag myself to a store to type on some keyboards (I mean, I do this for a living), but if you’re spending (potentially) thousands of dollars, then take the time and care when narrowing down your decisions.

Now, in our experience, the most comfortable keyboards aren’t on 13-inch laptops. So, if you’re really prioritizing the keyboard and touchpad experience, I recommend considering a 14-inch laptop or 15-inch laptop. As I’ve said, 13-inch laptops are smaller, but thanks to newer materials, you can still find even 16-inch laptops that weigh just over 3 pounds.

The MSI Prestige 13 actually does land as one of my favorite 13-inch laptop keyboards. But if you want to bump up, our resident chip expert Madeline Ricchiuto cataloged 3 laptop keyboards she can comfortably type on all-day.

However, if you find a laptop that’s the perfect size but doesn’t quite meet your comfort standards, you should take a look at our best keyboards page.

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Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He’s the best at every game and he just doesn’t lose. That’s why you’ll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.