The best laptops you can buy in 2024 for work, school, and gaming

UPDATE: Jan. 12, 2024, 5:00 a.m. EST Mashable staff members are currently in the process of testing a slew of new PCs in our quest to find the best laptops, including the Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1, the HP Chromebook 14 Plus x360, the HP Chromebook Plus 15, the Acer Chromebook 516GE, and the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. We're also waiting to get our hands on some new models that debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024. Check back soon for these laptop reviews and see if any of them are worthy of spots on this list.

Let's get this out of the way up top: There is no such thing as a universally best laptop. Whether a laptop works well for you — and there could be several that fit the bill — is a largely subjective decision that comes down to your primary use case, your preferred operating system, and your budget.

Our job is to help you narrow down the pool of options based on those three points. We've spent countless hours reviewing popular laptops and identifying the specs that matter, so we know all too well that the sheer number of models out there is enough to make anyone's head spin. (To put things in perspective, Apple's lineup now includes three MacBook Airs and two MacBook Pros across three generations of M-something chips.) Picking the Goldilocks of laptops can be tough, but unless you're a masochist, you don't have to start from square one.

Keep reading for Mashable's guide to the best laptops for 2024, including two Apple MacBooks and several Windows models by Dell, Microsoft, and Lenovo.

Note: All listed specs and prices apply to each model's base configuration.