These are the best laptops for students in 2023

Students searching for a laptop that'll last them are hardly unique in their technical needs, but the stakes are often slightly higher than they are for the average consumer.

If you're studying full-time, chances are you'll only get one shot at buying the right machine. More likely than not, you won't get a do-over. What you get is what you're going to be stuck with for the foreseeable future.

Thankfully, the field for uni student laptops is much broader than it used to be. There are a lot more options to choose from, and some are pretty good. If you're a student looking to buy a laptop in 2023, finding the right one is all about picking your battles. You might not be able to find a laptop that's the best at everything, but smart shoppers should be able to find one that's good at the things they need it to be good at.

If you're unsure of where you should start, let us help arm you for academic excellence with this round-up of the best student laptops (and student laptop alternatives) you can buy in Australia.

While those who can afford the more recent MacBook Air should spring for it, cash-strapped students may be hard-pressed to find a better option than the 2020 version of Apple's iconic MacBook Air.

While this older model is synonymous with an older processor and a more traditional design, these details are hardly going to be dealbreakers when it comes to the demands of students. So long as you're not planning on any gaming, the M1 processor found inside the older MacBook Air still more than holds its own in 2023.

There’s a consistency and balance to the 2020 MacBook that's hard to find at price points that lean towards affordability. It's not quite as cheap as something like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 or Acer's Swift X, but when you factor in Apple's own student discount and the reality that what's here is better equipped to go the distance than most of the alternatives, the pros of stretching your budget that little bit further begin to outweigh the cons.

The MacBook Air won’t cover all the bases, but it’ll probably do a great job at almost all of your computing essentials if you're a student looking for an easy solution to laptop confusion.

Ever since Huawei got its name notched on the US government’s infamous Entity List, the Chinese tech giant has been losing ground in Western markets. However, their desperation can sometimes be to the benefit of students looking to pick up a laptop that doesn't feel or look as cheap as it is.

If that's the brief, then the Matebook D14 is a solid pick. With a sleek form factor that’s designed to be a dead-ringer for Apple’s MacBook, this particular Matebook comes powered by an 11th Generation Intel Core i5 processor and armed with a gorgeous 14" FullView display.

With up to 512 GB of SSD storage, thinner 4.8 mm bezels, fast charging via USB Type-C and a fingerprint sensor for added security, the Huawei Matebook D14 comes with many of the premium perks of a luxury laptop at half the price.

Huawei’s fast depreciation in Western markets might be bad news for them, but it leaves the Matebook D14 looking like a steal for students on the hunt for a budget-friendly laptop in 2023.

While there are plenty of options available for those who want to go even cheaper, Microsoft’s own Surface Laptop Go 2 is hard to beat as far as budget-friendly options go for students.

It’s not difficult to find the limits of the humble hardware here, but there’s plenty to like about the simple aesthetics and decent battery life offered up by Microsoft's entry-level laptop. It’s probably not going to cut it was the last laptop you'll ever need to buy, but if you want something that can reliably handle the basics at an affordable price, it may be exactly what you’re after.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 knits together a tighter 12.4-inch PixelSense display, an 11th-generation Intel Core processor and up to 256 GB of SSD storage. That being said, there aren’t that many ports and some might come away irked by the size and brightness of the display. If you can afford to spend a little bit more, it'll probably be worth that.

On the other hand, penny-pinching students looking for an affordable laptop that nails the basics and delivers plenty of bang for their buck will find that the Surface Laptop Go 2 delivers exactly that.

ASUS has been steadily gaining ground in the wider laptop ecosystem for a few years now, and the Vivobook Flip 14 is solid sign that this is more of a long-term trend that a short-term triumph. It’s got a spec-sheet that promises compelling performance and a price tag that puts it well below most of the competition.

If you're student seeking out a laptop with the flexibility and versatility that comes with a 2-in-1 form-factor, it's hard to ask for more. The Vivobook Flip 14 doesn’t offer up all that extras or unique riffs on the established, but when all you're asking for is solid fundamentals that's far from a bad thing.

If you’re a student looking for an easy way to save money on the laptop you know you need to buy, it might be worth your while to seriously think about whether an alternative like the latest iPad Mini might be able to cut it.

Yes, you’ll probably have to invest in a keyboard and an extra accessory or two to get the most value out of it. However, if your workflow can play nice with or fit within the lines and limits of what a modern iPad can do, then it might just work out.

There are plenty of things that a proper laptop can do that an iPad simply can’t match. But if all you’re doing is answering and writing emails, editing documents and reading required texts, then one of Apple’s tablets might be able to do the job better and at a cheaper price. 

Apple’s iPads continue to be the default tablet for good reason, and if you can get away with using one for your studies, they can be an option worth investigating. 

When it comes to picking and choosing the best laptops on the market, the easiest place to start is with the similarities that each brand brings to the table. This helps give us a basis for what the "meta" of laptops looks like at any given time.

The next phase in our analysis specifically looks into the details. Where do the different laptop designs brought to market by hardware manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell, HP and ASUS differ, and why? What additions or twists on the formula are novelty versus necessary? How much value do these niche features really provide end consumers?

We then weigh the findings of this process against the price expectations market segment attached to the category involved. While the overall category assumes you're a consumer who isn't looking to cut corners, neither does it act like your budget is unlimited. This helps us determine which laptops are providing the best bang for our buck and value for money.

The limits of student laptops

There’s a knack for finding a student or budget laptop that works for your needs. However, in order to get there, you’re inevitably going to have to accept some level of compromise. The trick to making that sacrifice work in your favour is to calculate it ahead of time rather than at the till. 

Ask yourself what you’re planning to use your budget laptop for, work you what specs matter the most for that purpose, and rank your potential picks accordingly. If you’re only planning to use your budget laptop for streaming or social media, then maybe a bigger or better screen matters more than additional hard drive space or RAM. 

It’s rare to find a budget laptop that does it all, but if you know what you’re looking for, it’s much easier to find one that does what you need it to do. 

Try last year’s stock

Looking for online deals or clearance sales for last year’s laptops can be a great way to expand your options when it comes to shopping for a new laptop on a budget. 

One of the biggest mistakes that many budget shoppers make when it comes to laptops is exclusively looking at the most recent ranges from major brands like Acer, HP and Dell. While you can go awry by rewinding the clock back too many years, there’s a good chance that a depreciated laptop from last year will serve you just as well as its successor. 

Try to make a "budget buy" last

If you’re buying a budget laptop but want it to last a bit longer, it can be worth spending that bit of extra cash for the model with a better CPU, more RAM or SSD storage. 

Even if doing so doesn’t feel like it makes a massive difference in the short term, it could help you eke out an extra year or so of usage before you eventually have to upgrade. No laptop is going to last forever, but the version of a budget laptop that’s best positioned to go the distance is usually a good investment.