Quick List
1. Best overall
2. Best on a budget
3. Best for students
4. Best for gaming
5. Best for creatives
6. Most powerful
Q&A
MacBooks are some of the most desirable laptops around — smothered in sumptuous aluminum shells that contain some seriously powerful hardware and software. Loved the world over by students, programmers, writers, and creative professionals alike, there really is a MacBook for everyone.
Whether you want to create incredible art, write out college papers, or make some apps and programs, there is a MacBook in the line that suits your needs. Which Mac, however, is the best Mac? The most well-rounded laptop that gives you everything the average user could want, and more on top? We've tested every single MacBook, and put our experience and expertise to good use to find out which MacBook is a cut above the rest.
Of course, the best MacBook might not be the best MacBook for you — so we've also worked out which MacBook will be best for different use cases. No matter what you need your MacBook for, we'll show you the perfect machine for your needs.
It's also worth noting Apple has recently revealed the M3 MacBook Air which is available from Friday March 8 2024, starting from $1,099. This guide will be updated as soon as we try the latest Mac for ourselves.
Quick list
The MacBook Pro with M3 Pro is a portable powerhouse with some super powerful chips on offer. It might not have the insane power configurable as it's larger 16-inch cousin, but there are loads of options to make this more portable option an absolute beast. With specs to make the most powerful desktops blush, this is our pick for the best overall MacBook.
the MacBook Air M1 is the cheapest that you can get your hands on — but don't be fooled. This is a perfectly powerful little laptop, with a great 13-inch screen and a punchy M1 chip under the hood. You get tremendous bang for the buck here, especially when you buy on sale.
The upgraded MacBook Air M2 is an incredible portable machine, with a wicked sleek shell and stunning 13-inch display. The 13-inch variant is perfect for students who want a laptop to take to college seminars with them, with loads of power from the M2 for all those chrome tabs and research papers they'll have open.
The base model M3 MacBook Pro is an excellent machine for those playing some games on the go. While you might want the extra power of the M3 Pro or the M3 Max, you only really need the power of the M3 to really get a solid gaming experience.
For artists and photo editors, the 15-inch MacBook Air is perfect. It's got plenty of power on tap with its M2 chip, and that 15-inch screen makes all the difference when you're trying to get some serious work done on the go. Video editors might want something a little beefier, like the MacBook Pro.
If you want the most MacBook that you can buy, then the MacBook Pro 16-inch with M3 Max is the one to choose. That's the biggest screen, the most RAM, and the best processor all in one portable package. You'll pay thousands of dollars, but if you're a software engineer or video editor then this is the way to go.
Best overall
The best MacBook around isn't necessarily the most powerful, but arguably the best when power and price are balanced — as such, the best MacBook in our eyes is the MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 Pro. That's not the most expensive Mac by any stretch of the imagination (although it is not cheap, do not be fooled), but it takes a top-quality processor in the M3 Pro and puts it in the now expected svelte and attractive MacBook Pro chassis.
For anyone looking for plenty of power, the M3 MacBook Pro has it in spades. The M3 Pro chip features 11 CPU cores, divided up into 5 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores. You can boost that up to M3 Pro chips with 12 CPU cores and 18 GPUs, but you'll have to pay a lot more for the privilege.
Display duties are handled with a 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR panel, and it's an absolute stunner. Color is handled with aplomb, and the ProMotion runs everything along at a slick 120Hz. For the display nerds, there are 1 billion colors here running on P3 Wide color, and TrueTone color keeps everything looking good no matter the environmental light. There's Apple's XDR high dynamic range as well, giving a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,000 nits peak brightness across the whole screen.
Display duties are handled with a 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR panel, and it's an absolute stunner.
Battery life is wicked as well — on a full charge, the 14-inch MacBook Pro will last you 18 hours, and that only drops to 12 when you start doing loads of hard work like photo or video editing. It's all kept cool with an active cooling system in it's aluminum shell, and just like the previous models, you're only going to hear those fans turn on if you run the machine super hard.
Why is this the best MacBook overall? Because it gives everything you could ever actually need out of a MacBook, and means you don't have to spend through the nose to own one. This model, if you head to the Apple Store sets you back $1999. Sure, there are cheaper MacBooks, but this won't break the bank quite as much as some of the really powerful models.
Best on a budget
The MacBook Air M1 is not the newest machine out there, but it is the cheapest of the MacBooks that you can currently buy at the Apple Store. For $999, you're still getting a hell of a computer — and you're not paying the most to get it. While it might not satisfy those who are looking for a MacBook with bucket loads of power on tap, it is more than adeqaute for users who want a MacBook for the lowest price possible.
That's not to say it's not got any power — far from it. For some light computing, document editing and even rudimentary photo edition, the M1 that resides inside it's super slim shell is still a great performer for everyday computing. There are 8 CPU cores in there for all the computing stuff, and then a 7-core GPU that handles graphics duties. The M1 was a very powerful chip when it came out, and it's no-less powerful now — it's just it's sequels have upped the game.
The display is nothing to be sniffed at either, even if it does lack the Liquid Retina moniker of the newer models. It's plenty colorful for watching some YouTube videos, and the 2560x1600 native resolution makes text looks super crisp on a smaller display like this one. There's P3 wide color as well, and it gets plenty bright enough with 400 nits peak brightness.
The M1 that resides inside it's super slim shell is still a great performer for everyday computing.
Battery life is good, with a solid 18 hours of video playback. That means you can slip it in your bag and not worry about losing battery when you take it out and about — be that to class or to work. It'll be easy to slip into your bag as well, with its super slim chassis. In fact, at it's slimmest the MacBook Air M1 is a paper-like 0.41 inches, making it one of the thinnest MacBooks ever made. That makes the laptop super portable — more so than most of it's range mates.
The MacBook Air M1 is the best MacBook on a budget because it's so cheap. If you go beyond the Apple Store, you'll find that you can often save extra money on top of its already super low price. The best time to pick one of these up is during one of the many deals events throughout the year — that way you'll get the absolute best price possible.
Best for Students
Students need a little more power than your average person for all the research and work they do on a daily basis — but they also need a machine that is portable enough to put into a bag without any trouble at all. The MacBook Air with M2 is just the right laptop for a student studying at college, striking the perfect balance of price, performance, and portability.
Running things along in the background is the 8 CPU cored M2 processor, which also features 8 GPU cores to handle the graphics processing. That's not a top of the range processor, but a student doesn't need top of the range. Instead, this power option gives plenty of juice for all those chrome tabs you need open while you revise for tests, and runs productivity apps like Pages with aplomb so you can get those crucial papers written.
That's not to mention how the MacBook Air looks — after all, that kind of thing can be important to some young people. The slim MacBook Air has a new svelte design with more angles and smooth edges than its predessor, and its a look that we really like. It's slim too at just 0.44 inches thick. Portable and powerful: Just what a student needs.
This power option gives plenty of juice for all those chrome tabs you need open while you revise for tests.
The display on this one upped as well, now a Liquid Retina. More importantly, however, its also changed shape slightly — and it's a productivity godsend. Rather than 16:9 like most displays, the MacBook Air's screen is 16:10 which adds some vertical space, something you really notice when you're working on some writing in Pages or even in the likes of Numbers. It's bright and colorful to boot — perfect for when you've stopped working.
This is the best MacBook for students because, as said up top, it balances power with portability — something that's super important when you have to cart your laptop around a college campus while getting some work done. If you're a student on a budget, then grab an M1 MacBook Air — you'll get a slightly less impressive machine, yes, but a solid one nonetheless.
Best for gaming
Gamers might think they want the most powerful laptop they can find — they also will unlikely be looking for a Mac. If you're after a Mac for work reasons or personal choice and you want to do a bit of gaming, however, you should look no further than the base model M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch — and we'll tell you for why.
No, the M3 isn't going to run all the AAA games at 120FPS and 4K, but most of those games aren't available on Mac anyway. Instead, the kinds of games that you can run on a Mac are those directly ported over and optimized for use on a MacBook. Games like the Resident Evil 4 remake run very well on an M3 chip, and even the very new (and award-winning) Baldurs Gate 3 will be munched up by the latest base model Apple chip with no problems at all. Indie games? Indie games are no challenge for the extremely potent M3 at the heart of the MacBook Pro.
"What about my AAA games? I want to play Cyberpunk!" Worry not, there is a solution. There is a very limited number of those optimized games that will run natively on Mac — and those that you'll find on Steam don't always work very well as they rely on a compatibility layer, which isn't an issue that those monster M3 Pro and Max chips are going to solve. Instead, you're better off running those AAA games on a service like NVidia GeForce Now, which will stream games over the internet directly to you for a monthly fee. With these two things — the M3 running the ported, optimized games and GeForce now running those that wouldn't normally run on a Mac — you've got everything a gamer could want from a Mac.
The kinds of games that you can run on a Mac are those directly ported over and optimized for use on a MacBook.
The other bonus is that incredible screen — the same 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR from the more expensive models. That's a top quality screen, and its ProMotion refresh rate of up to 120Hz will make any games you run on the machine buttery smooth. Just remember to grab one of the best wireless mice for Mac — the trackpad isn't made for gaming.
Beyond your gaming specs there's some extras that just make it a great machine for normal computing tasks. Up to 22 hours of battery life is exemplary, and will give you plenty of juice if you're looking to game on the go. An excellent laptop, and our pick if you're looking for the best MacBook for gaming.
Best for Creatives
If you're a traveling creative, a photographer, or an artist, then the 15-inch MacBook Air is the way to go. You'll still need plenty of power, but you don't need the ridiculous amounts of power that the MacBook Pro family will provide. You might, however, want more screen real estate so that you can get more of your work done on the go — and the MacBook Air 15-inch gives you everything you need.
The headline feature here for you is the 15-inch Liquid Retina display. It's gloriously colorful, and while it lacks the 120Hz refresh rate of the ProMotion displays in the Pro models, its still a very slick, smooth panel. Crucially, there's great color support here with P3 wide color, as well as support for 1 billion colors. The 500 nits peak brightness is a great bonus too, and you'll love how vibrant it is on the eye.
There's plenty of power on tap as well, with the M2 providing all the juice you need for the likes of PhotoShop or Procreate. With support of up to 24GB of RAM there's plenty of multitasking power there as well, so you won't have to worry about having multiple layers in a project at all. For the computer nerds, there are 8 CPU cores here, joined by 10 GPU cores that handle those all-important graphics. Curiously, that's 2 more GPU cores than the base model 13-inch MacBook Air gets — which is just more juice for you to use in your work.
There's plenty of power on tap as well, with the M2 providing all the juice you need for the likes of PhotoShop or Procreate.
Battery life is good for when you want to take your work on a train or a bus, or you fancy working at the local cafe — you'll get up to 18 hours which means far fewer trips to the power outlet. You won't worry about anyone tripping over the cable and yanking the power chord (and your laptop with it): MagSafe is back so the connector just pops out without taking the laptop with it.
Artists and other creatives will love the extra screen size of the 15-inch MacBook Air, and then they'll slip it into their bag super easily with its 0.45 inch belt line. It's the creme de la creme of ultimate portable laptops, giving you oodles of power on the go. Hook up a USB-C drawing tablet and you're away.
Most Powerful
If you want the most powerful MacBook you can lay your hands on then you won't need to go any further than the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max. That's an impressive $7199 worth of laptop if you go for the fully specced machine — a true desktop replacement for all but the most power-hungry of users.
That is for the most extreme version of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, however, with 128GB of memory and an 8TB SSD. The M3 Max is a monster too — there are 16 CPU cores on board, connected to an insane 40-core GPU. For those keeping track, that's an absolute beast of a processor, and will absolutely destroy pretty much any computing task you throw at it.
For some users, however, that's exactly what they need. If you're a video editor for movies, or another heavy editing load, a programmer or graphics specialist, then you'll need all the power that the most powerful MacBook can throw at you. Granted, you don't need to opt for all that RAM or SSD space — the base Max option with a mere 32GB of memory is only $3499. Still a lot of money, but you're still getting that incredible processor for a little less financial outlay.
If you're a video editor for movies, or another heavy editing load, a programmer or graphics specialist, then you'll need all the power that the most powerful MacBook can throw at you.
There's more than just the power here — that ProMotion equipped 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display is a stunner, with sumptuous colors and oodles of brightness on tap. The whole package is incredible, with all that power on tap in a deceptively slim chassis. The most powerful, most impressive MacBook Pro is the best if you want a laptop with everything — although you'll have to pay to get it.
Q&A
Should I buy an older MacBook?
If you want the most up-to-date machine, then no, you shouldn't. If you want to save some money, however, then an older MacBook is a great way of getting a great deal on yesterday's laptops. There is usually some stock of slightly out-of-date machinery to be found, although it can be thin on the ground — thankfully, they're not collector's items so you won't have to pay full price when you find them.
How about refurbished MacBooks?
A refurbished MacBook is another good way of saving some money, but you should be careful about where you go to find one. We'd recommend sticking with Apple-accredited refurbs, because they're reconditioned by Apple engineers with proper Apple parts. Amazon can also be good — although make sure the returns policy is good in case you're not happy with the product you get in the post.
Will I need a dongle with the best MacBook?
That depends on the MacBook that you've bought. If you've grabbed yourself a MacBook Air and want to connect multple USB devices, then you should look for one of the best USB-C dongles so that you can hook everything up properly. If you've bought a MacBook Pro, then you'll have more ports — including an SD card slot and HDMI port. You might not need a dock or a dongle with this laptop, although they are useful to have lying around just in case.
