Best lightweight laptop in 2024 – our top picks
If you are looking for the best lightweight laptop, then we have you covered right here.
Laptops were introduced as a portable solution to desktops, but sometimes, they weigh a ton. Notably, laptops with bigger screens and gaming-oriented laptops are known to be heavy and are often a hassle to carry around.
The best lightweight laptops weigh less than 4 pounds, have a great battery life, and do not compromise on performance. And much like some of the best laptops for travel, a few of these laptops even come with military-grade durability.
With that being said, there are a lot of laptops that deliver great performance and don’t weigh a lot. To help you with shopping, we have rounded up what we think are the best lightweight laptops.
Products at a Glance
How we picked the best lightweight laptop
For this guide, we looked at several lightweight laptops from different brands, compared them, and then selected the ones we thought were the best. These laptops have been picked based on specs like processor, battery life, weight, and more. Further, we are always updating our guides with new products to stay fresh – so check back here again for new updates.
Product Reviews
- Powerful M2 Pro chip
- 18-hour battery life
- Lightweight and portable
- Expensive
If you want the best lightweight laptop without compromising on performance, then you should check out the 14-inch Apple Macbook Pro.
The 2023 version of the Macbook Pro comes equipped with the powerful M2 chip that has 2 CPU cores and up to 19 GPU cores – so you can expect a smooth experience even with some of the demanding tasks.
The variant we have selected comes with 16GB unified memory along with 512GB SSD, which should be enough if you want to execute not-so-demanding tasks. However, you can upgrade to 32GB unified memory and up to 1TB SSD.
Further, you get a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display that has a 3024 x 1964p resolution, which should deliver stunning, detailed visuals. Plus, you get 1,000 nits of brightness and 1,600 nits of peak brightness, which should make the screen viewable even in well-lit rooms.
Coming to portability, the MacBook weighs around 3.5 pounds, which is quite lightweight. To add to it, the Macbook has a battery life of 18 hours, which makes it one of the best battery life laptops.
- 14-inch FHD display
- Intel Core i7 12th Gen i7-12800H CPU
- RTX A1000 GPU
- Expensive
If you want a lightweight high performance laptop, then we think the Dell Precision 5470 is a great choice.
The laptop sports a 14-inch display with FHD plus (1920 x 1200) resolution, which should produce slightly better picture quality than FHD resolution.
On the inside, the laptop comes equipped with Intel Core i7 12th Gen i7-12800H processor, which should handle tasks efficiently. It promises to provide great speeds for even the most resource-intensive tasks.
The variant we picked has 32GB RAM, which should be sufficient for loading apps faster and giving you an overall boosted performance. Plus, you get 512GB of SSD, which should be sufficient storage for most users.
As far as portability is concerned, the laptop weighs 5.5 pounds, which should be portable for most people.
- Intel Core i3-1215U Processor
- 15.6-inch FHD display
- 40GB RAM
- Mediocre display
If you want an affordable, lightweight laptop for general use, then the new Asus Vivobook 15 might check a lot of boxes for you, and we think it’s one of the best budget laptops.
The laptop comes with an Intel Core i3-1215U Processor, which should handle your daily tasks efficiently. And for smoother graphics, the CPU comes with Intel UHD graphics, so you can expect better performance during media consumption.
The variant we have selected comes with 40GB RAM, which should be enough for faster performance and should cut down on loading times. Plus, you get 1TB SSD, which should be enough storage space for most users.
On the outside, the laptop sports a 15.6-inch FHD display, which should deliver clear, detailed visuals. Plus, this is a touchscreen, so you should be able to control the device more intuitively.
Now, if you want to lug it around, this laptop weighs only 3.75 pounds, which should be portable for most users. Plus, this laptop has a really slim profile – it’s 0.7 inches thick, which means you can slide in your backpack easily.
- NVIDIA RTX 4050 graphics card
- Intel Core i7-12650H processor
- 144Hz refresh rate
- Mediocre battery life
If you want a lightweight laptop for gaming, then you should check out the MSI GF63 Thin, which we think is one of the best MSI gaming laptops.
The laptop comes with an NVIDIA RTX 4050 graphics card, which, with its advanced ray tracing capabilities and DLSS 3.0, should give you a better gaming experience.
Further, the laptop comes with an Intel Core i7-12650H processor, which, much like some of the best gaming laptops, so you can expect the laptop to handle AAA games.
On the outside, the MSI laptop sports a 15.6-inch screen with FHD resolution, which should deliver clear visuals. Plus, you get a 144Hz refresh rate, which should give you a smooth experience with fast-paced games and movies.
Much like the name suggests, this laptop is thin and lightweight. It weighs only 4.12 pounds, which is quite light for a gaming laptop.
- Intel Core i7-1365U vPro Processor
- Military-grade durability
- 14-inch touchscreen display
- Expensive
If you want a light laptop for your business, then we think that the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 is a solid choice.
The laptop runs on the Intel Core i7-1365U vPro Processor, which is a powerful processor and has enhanced security features as well. The laptop locks itself automatically when it doesn’t detect your presence. Plus, you get a fingerprint scanner, ThinkPad privacy alert, as well as a Kensington Nano security slot, which should provide you with sufficient security.
On the outside, the laptop sports a 14-inch display with a WUXGA resolution, which should deliver slightly better visuals than an FHD laptop. Plus, the display has a 100% sRGB color gamut, which should come in handy for creators. Further, this is one of the best touchscreen laptops, so it should give you more intuitive controls.
As far as portability goes, the laptop weighs 1.4 pounds, which is really lightweight and should be portable for most people. Plus, much like some of the best travel laptops, you get military-grade durability, which should make it suitable for traveling.
How to pick the best lightweight laptop
Here’s what you should consider before you start shopping –
Processor
If you want a laptop for your everyday tasks like emailing and browsing, then you go for an entry-level CPU, like the Intel Celeron series processors. However, if you are looking to get more out of your laptop, then you can go for more powerful options like Intel 12th-gen or 13th-gen CPUs. For example, if you want a laptop for video editing, then some of the best Intel 13th gen laptops will allow you to run those demanding applications effortlessly.
Battery Life
Having a good battery life will not only give you peace of mind when using your laptop, but it will also give you flexibility and freedom. It is always wise to look for a solid and ideally all-day battery life that will allow you to work from any location. For instance, some of the best battery life laptops come with batteries that last for at least 12 hours.
Display
Screen size dictates the size of the laptop – so the larger the screen size, the heavier your laptop will be. However, we also have options that have bigger screens but they do not weigh a ton. With that being said, depending on your preference, you can get a laptop as small as 13 inches and as big as 18 inches.
Is 1.4 kg heavy for a laptop?
When it comes to the weight of a laptop, 1.4kg is not heavy at all. Even though you are able to find a few laptops lighter than this, a device with this weight is portable and light enough to take around with you.
Our Verdict
If you want a lightweight laptop for general use, business, or work, then we think the 14-inch Apple Macbook Pro (2023) is a solid option. The laptop runs on the powerful M2 Pro chip, which should perform most tasks efficiently. Plus, you get a stunning 14-inch display with high brightness levels, so you can expect it to work well even in well-lit environments. Further, along with being lightweight, the laptop also packs 18 hours of battery life, which should last you all day and more.