There's a best MacBook Pro for every user. Luckily, Apple has us covered – while the selection might not be as extensive as what Windows have on offer, the manufacturer has something for every need and, to an extent, budget.
Now that there are different Apple offerings on hand, fans can now choose the best MacBook and Mac that's most ideal for them. Better yet, they'll have more options and configurations to choose from, especially if they have their mind set on a laptop from Apple.
Creative professionals who need one with the most powerful internals and perhaps even a bigger screen, for example, have the MacBook Pro 16-inch. Other pros who care less about screen real estate but still need a whole lot of power will be happy with the MacBook Pro 14-inch. For the rest, the MacBook Pro 13-inch will more than suffice. That's not to mention all the older models that some online retailers still sell and for less than their original price.
And, while the upcoming Apple Far Out September event will launch any new MacBook Pros, Apple never shies away from rolling out new models or updates. So, we won't be surprised if we see more options before the year is up.
Whether you want the best laptop for photographers, the best MacBook for students, or the most affordable MacBook for your productivity needs, we're here to help. We've tested and reviewed every single MacBook Pro that hit the shelves, and we've gathered our recommendations for every user.
Of course, if you are looking for excellent desktop options, one of the best Macs might suit you better. Otherwise, our best MacBook Pro guide below, complete all the best MacBook deals available to help you save money.
The breathtakingly powerful MacBook Pro 14-inch is the laptop for creative professionals, especially the jet setting and nomadic types. It has all the power of a proper workstation without being as big and bulky thanks to those M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that power its configurations. During our testing, we found these boosted specs of the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) to be ideal for doing heavy-duty creative work, including 3D animation and music production. They should see you through the most involved 8K editing workflows, the most elaborate music score productions, and the most complex coding tasks.
That’s while touting a whopping 17-hour battery life – though in our own battery benchmark test, our test unit lasted us just shy of 16 hours – and a stunner of a screen with a huge 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It isn’t as portable or as affordable as the 13-inch model, but if you’re a content creator, programmer, or digital artist who needs the absolute best without sacrificing portability, it’s well worth the money.
Read our MacBook Pro 14-inch review
If you're looking for an affordable MacBook Pro that delivers impressive performance and power, then the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) is a brilliant option. It keeps the same price as the M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch while touting Apple’s brand-new M2 chip that certainly makes up for the fact that Apple hasn't given its design and look a proper refresh. That makes this the best budget MacBook Pro to get right now if you don't want older internals.
Although this new model may look and feel a bit redundant to M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch owners, they'll appreciate that noticeable boost in performance. In our tests, it achieved better performance in both single and multi-core CPU tests, which means it's much better at multitasking than its predecessor and around twice as powerful as the Intel Core i7-1185G7-powered Surface Laptop 4. It's even more power-efficient as well, giving us two more hours of juice than the M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch in our battery life test.
Read our in-depth MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) review
If you’re looking for the most premium MacBook Pro that money can buy, then it’s the M1 Pro or M1 Max MacBook Pro 16-inch you’re seeking. This is Apple’s top-of-the-line laptop, boasting power, battery life, and features that content creation machine legends are made of – and you’ve only dreamed about. It’s not just that 21-hour battery life and brilliant performance that professionals are getting here. We found that big Liquid Retina XDR display to be the absolute best screen we’ve ever used on a laptop. The plethora of ports has proven to be indispensable as well.
Of course, this being a professional’s tool, it won’t come cheap. But, seeing as how it’s overkill for most people, you’ll only really invest if you can take full advantage of its raw power, at which point, it’s worth every cent. As long as you’re ok with the fact that it’s bulkier than the usual MacBook Pro form factor you’re used to.
Read our MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 review
The M1 Pro/Max-powered MacBook Pro 16-inch may be much more powerful, have a longer battery life, and come with a whole lot of ports for professionals. However, the original MacBook Pro 16-inch, released in 2019, can still hold its own in performance, offering more than enough for demanding creative workflows. It makes short work of the benchmark tests we threw at it. We found it to be impressively quiet and cool, even when performing the more demanding tasks. Meanwhile, it lasted just under 12 hours during our battery test, giving you enough juice for a full day’s work.
Most importantly, it’s got something its successor cannot match – portability. This model is thinner and lighter than the 2021 version, which means it’s ideal for creatives who are constantly on the go. Better yet, it was much cheaper at release, and it’s much cheaper now being an older model that’s heavily discounted at the biggest online retailers.
Read our MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019 review
