We’ve rounded up the best laptops for working from home (or WFH, as the cool kids put it).
If hybrid working is en vogue in the startup you work at, and if you want to get a laptop that fits your lifestyle, then we’ve got you covered. Whether you want something powerful and big, entrenched in the Mac ecosystem, something very portable, or something in between, there’s a working-from-home laptop to fit the bill right now.
Remember that your business laptop may need matching accessories (business keyboards and mice, a best business monitor, best standing desk, printers, and office chairs) and matching services, which we’re particularly attuned to in this listicle.
The best laptop for working from home
The best laptop for working from home right now (June 2023)
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Apple continues to push the boundaries of speed and efficiency with its silicon chips, and this machine offers its latest and best M2 chipsets. With an incredible 20 hours of battery life, you could go without needing a charge for a couple of days worth of work.
This machine is a refinement instead of redesign of the MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021) model. You’ll find 3 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port that now supports 8K at 60 Hz, an SDXC card slot, and an audio jack. The best-in-class Liquid Retina XDR 16.2-inch screen with 120 Hz ProMotion adaptive refresh rates is stunning.
The base model M2 offers plenty of power at a decent price point for what you’re getting. Like many Apple products, there are options to add extra horsepower but expect to pay a pretty penny for those performance increases.
Read our full MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) review
While it may not offer high-end gaming specs, you can plow through a day's work comfortably and in style. The Dell XPS 17 is a beautiful machine offering a massive 17-inch screen. But it’s not just a sleek-looking machine, it packs power under the hood with 12th and 13th Gen Intel processor options and up to 64 GB of DDR5 RAM.
It’s not as portable as some other options in our lists but it isn’t otherwise unwieldy, and with an aluminum chassis and frame, ultra-slim bezels, and carbon fiber palm rest, this machine looks and feels great. The large trackpad is also one of the best on a Windows laptop for those times you’re away from a desk and doesn’t have your mouse with you.
Battery life is quite impressive, coming in at 10+ hours for lighter workloads, especially when you consider what it’s powering. Along the edge, you’ll find 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a full-sized SD card slot, and an audio jack. We’d love to see ports for USB Type-A, HDMI, and maybe LAN connections, but Dell chose to sacrifice these additional ports to keep this machine as thin and sleek.
Read our full Dell XPS 17 review.
The newest addition to Lenovo’s ThinkPad T series of laptops, the T16 offers an enjoyable work experience with a beautiful display, long-lasting battery, great keyboard, and durable design.
The ThinkPad T16 will be a favorite for those who need to view and work with large amounts of data. Its large 16-inch 16:10 display provides an extra bit of screen real estate that provides a few extra rows of viewing space in spreadsheets and documents. Pair that with a full keyboard and numpad, and you have a machine built for data entry, accountants, and those needing to interact with large quantities of data simultaneously.
Made for durability, the T16 passed MIL-STD 810G durability testing and is ready for expeditions beyond your desk or couch. Lenovo has also built great security features such as ThinkShield, camera shutter, fingerprint scanner, and Windows Hello for facial recognition and Self-Healing BIOS.
Well-balanced in size and weight and offering a rich feature set, the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 will meet the needs of many looking for a great Work from Home laptop.
Read the full Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen1 Laptop review.
Not everyone needs Windows, and if you’re in the market for an enterprise-grade machine, the HP Elite Dragonfly has plenty to offer that makes it worth considering. By offering 12th Gen Intel vPro processing options, HP provides IS/IT departments the ability to provide multi-layered security for employees’ hardware.
With up to i7-1265U processing power, 32 GB of RAM, and Iris Xe graphics, the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook offers plenty of computing power for all-day work. HP includes a year-long subscription to Parallels for Chrome OS for those still needing to run legacy Windows apps.
While this laptop gets pricey at the top end of the SKUs compared to its Windows counterparts, it has plenty of reasons to consider it a viable work-from-home laptop.
Read our full HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook review.
Newly released for 2023, the Asus ROG Strix SCAR G834JY boasts an incredible array of specs that promise to make this machine rocket to the top of wishlists. While built with gamers in mind, we can see this machine used by 3D designers, video editors, and other graphics-intensive workloads to rip through a day’s worth of work and not break a sweat.
The G834JY has a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU. RAM tops at 64 GB of DDR5-4800 MHz memory and comes equipped with 2 TB of PCIe 4x4 configured in RAID 0.
As if that’s not enough, Asus has added an enormous 18-inch QHD+ 16:10 (2560 x 1600, WQXGA) Dolby Vision HDR screen with a 240 Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and Pantone Validation. Paired with a screen you’re likelier to find on a desktop model. This machine also boasts a 4 speaker Dolby Atmos sound system.
Users might find the Asus ROG Strix SCAR G834JY lacking in its connectivity. There’s only 1 x Thunderbolt 4 port and 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. It offers 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1 FRL, 2.5G LAN, and a 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack.
What you gain in speed and an incredible viewing experience, you lose in portability. Weighing in at 6.83 lbs for the laptop and close to 2.5 lbs for the 330W power brick, this machine beast totals over 9 lbs. If you’re leaving it at a desk, no problem, but some might find it unwieldy to port around town.
For those looking at the latest and greatest to power their next creative project, the Asus G834JY makes a pretty compelling case to climb to the top of the best Work from Home laptops to consider.
At the time of this writing, Asus shows this to be out of stock on their site, and you can sign up for a waiting list.
We’ll post a full review of the Asus ROG G834JY when we’re able.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What makes a great Working from Home laptop?
The flexibility to work from literally anywhere makes Working from Home an incredibly attractive proposition. Your home workspace may be a dining room table, a standing desk, or a lounge chair by the pool, and the machine you choose could be the difference in your productivity.
While the best Working from Home laptops aren’t any different than the best business laptops, there are a few things you’ll want to consider to help you make the right decision. First and foremost, the type of work will dictate the machine's specs. Are you replying to emails, writing articles, and doing data entry, or does your work require graphics and processing intensive power such as compiling code, 3D modeling, 4K video editing, and graphic design?
Your usage needs will dictate CPU, graphics card, RAM, screen size, and storage space requirements, along with considering your connectivity options based on what peripherals you’ll need to connect such as monitors, keyboards, external storage drives, and networking. Additionally, IT departments may require certain security features only specific laptops offer.
The best Working from Home laptop will provide the right balance of processing power, battery life, viewing experience, operability (think typing and port location), and connectivity.
How we test business laptops
We know that choosing the best Working from Home laptop for your company and employees can be a daunting task. That’s why we do the hard work for you and report back on what makes smart, cost-effective, and productive choices for you.
Our team of experienced reviewers uses a thorough and objective approach when testing to ensure that our reviews are comprehensive and accurate. We aim to give our readers the information they need to decide which business laptop is right for them.
For more on how we test business laptops, check out our in-depth how we test page.
Are there other operating system options besides Windows?
Of course! Besides Windows, other options exist, such as Mac OS, Chrome OS, and Linux. There are others available as well that run modified mobile OS systems. Be mindful that while many business applications offer various builds to run on different operating systems, some are limited to only running on certain systems. We recommend compiling a list of required software and checking the developers’ websites to ensure each application is supported on the laptop(s) you’re looking at.
Can business laptops be used for working from home?
In short, absolutely. Business laptops these days have been used for working from home in many cases or a wide range of different jobs. Everything from accounting to journalism, graphic design, or project management. Fundamentally, nothing is challenging about using a business laptop to work from home, especially if it is to work for the business that gave you the laptop. The one issue could potentially be accessing a secure network, but even that is not a limitation of the laptop but rather a limitation put in place by the business. Part of the beauty of a laptop is the ability to bring it with you anywhere.
What makes a great Work From Home Setup?
There's a lot to consider when setting up your home office space. You’ll want to first choose the setting for you to do your best work. Is that your dining room table, a standing desk in a room with a door you can close, or do you need to move from location to location? You’ll also want to consider lighting, both natural lighting from windows and room lighting, to create an optimal workspace and viewing experience. Also, consider how you’re connecting to the internet. Do you have a powerful enough Wi-Fi router or need to hardwire via ethernet? What about adding a second or third, monitor? Is your setup ergonomic and functional for a full day’s work? Taking time to consider all your requirements upfront will help you create the optimal work-from-home space that offers all the benefits of working remotely and keeps you productive.
