Best by the numbers

Best 14-inch laptops

Fourteen inches is the size most buyers settle on: enough screen to work on, small enough to carry every day. These are the 14-inch-class machines we track, ranked by our hand-scored average across the six categories.

Top 10 of 108 that qualify, ranked by our hand-scored average. How we score.

Some "check price" links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never moves the ranking. How we make money.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro, 2024)

The M4 Pro step up from the base M4: a 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24 GB unified memory and three Thunderbolt 5 ports in the same 1000 nit 120 Hz ProMotion mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR chassis.

€ 2.499 9.0/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 10Screen 10

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025)

The October 2025 base M5 14 inch keeps the 1000 nit 120 Hz ProMotion mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR panel and 14 hour battery and now starts at 16 GB unified memory and 512 GB for 1599 dollars.

€ 1.799 8.8/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 10Screen 10

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4)

The best laptop here for battery, screen and quiet performance, and the worst for Linux: Asahi does not support M4 and will not for a while.

€ 1.899 8.8/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 10Screen 10

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5 Pro, 2026)

The new 15-core M5 Pro with a 16-core GPU starts at 24 GB unified memory and 1 TB for 2199 dollars and pushes battery to 24 hours of video, in the same 1000 nit 120 Hz ProMotion mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR chassis.

€ 2.549 8.8/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 10Screen 10

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4)

Apple finally killed the 8 GB base and cut 100 dollars, making this the best-value Air in years, but Linux on M4 barely boots.

€ 1.199 8.3/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 9Build 9

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023)

Apple's first 14 Pro with a base, non-Pro chip, 1.55 kg, the same 1000 nit 120 Hz ProMotion mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR panel as the M2 Pro and a 70 Wh cell good for roughly 13 hours.

€ 1.799 8.3/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Screen 10Battery 9

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 2026)

The new M5 keeps the 1.23 kg fanless body, 13.6 inch 500 nit Liquid Retina panel at 60 Hz and 18 hour video runtime, with 16 GB unified memory and 512 GB now standard from 1099 dollars.

€ 1.299 8.2/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 9Build 9

Check price on Amazon See review
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3)

Outstanding battery and build for macOS users; a poor pick if Linux is the goal.

€ 1.299 8.2/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 10Build 9

Check price on Amazon See review
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (13.8 inch, Snapdragon X Elite)

On Windows this is one of the best thin-and-light laptops going, with real 15-hour battery and a great keyboard.

€ 1.299 8.2/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 9Build 9

Check price on Amazon See review
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x 14 Gen 9 (Snapdragon X Elite)

A 14.5 inch 3K 90Hz OLED and roughly 16 real hours of battery make this one of the best Windows-on-Arm ultrabooks, but on Linux it is work-in-progress with no speakers or webcam and firmware you must pull off Windows first.

€ 1.115 8.0/10 Linux not supported

Strong on Battery 10Screen 9

Check price on Amazon See review

Best 14-inch laptops

The picks

Narrow it down