The 14-inch laptop has a small — but noticeable — screen size upgrade over even the best 13-inch laptops, making them better choices for entertainment, gaming, or professional design while still being slim and portable enough to carry anywhere with you.
If this seems like a good fit for your busy life, we have the best 14-inch laptops you should check out, beginning with the excellent all-rounder Apple MacBook Pro 14. The brand-new machine has some of the best performance and battery life around to go with an excellent display. We also have picks for gaming, extra power, and affordability, so there should be something for everyone.
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
MacBook Pro 14
The best 14-inch laptop
Pros
- Space Black is the new king
- GPU performance gets big upgrade
- XDR display is even brighter
- Speakers are fantastic
- Decent webcam
Cons
- Storage and RAM is soldered on
- M3 model only supports one external display
Why you should buy this: It offers the best combination of performance, efficiency, and display quality in a 14-inch laptop.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants an incredibly fast laptop that also offers superior efficiency.
Why we chose the Apple MacBook Pro 14:
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 takes over as the “low-end” Pro model with Apple’s discontinuation of the MacBook Pro 13, and it rivals the 16-inch model for sheer power. It now offers a base Apple Silicon chipsets, namely the base M3, which is offered at a lower price. But, it can be configured to share much more in common with the larger machine, including running Apple’s new M3 Pro or M3 Max chipsets. On the MacBook Pro 14, the base M3 comes with eight CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, while the M3 Pro offers 11 or 12 CPU cores and 14 or 18 GPU cores, while the M3 Max has 14 or 16 CPU cores and 30 or 40 GPU cores. RAM can be configured from 8GB all the way up to 128GB, depending on the chipset, and storage can be ramped up to an 8TB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD). Not only are the M3 Pro and M3 Max incredibly fast chips, but they’re also efficient, meaning the MacBook Pro 14 should get superior battery life as well.
The laptop’s display is also top-notch, utilizing Apple’s 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED ProMotion panel that’s brighter in the latest iteration. This display offers incredibly wide and accurate colors, inky blacks thanks to deep contrast, and a 120Hz refresh rate. Apple has finally incorporated thin bezels in the MacBook Pro 14, making it a smaller laptop as well. And finally, Apple provides solid connectivity, adding an everything from an HDMI 2.1 port and SD card reader to USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wireless connectivity is as almost fast as you can get today with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 too, although some recent laptops have started offering Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
MacBook Pro 14
The best 14-inch laptop
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Razer Blade 14
The best 14-inch gaming laptop
Pros
- Fantastic gaming performance
- Relatively cool and quiet
- Solid IPS screen
- Great battery life and portability
Cons
- Bulky charger
- More expensive than the previous model
Why you should buy this: It’s the best 14-inch gaming laptop by a country mile.
Who’s it for: Gamers who want all the power but not all the weight.
Why we chose the Razer Blade 14:
Many gaming laptops are massive affairs, with aggressive venting and angles that make them embarrassing to use in conference rooms. That’s definitely not the Razer Blade 14, which adheres to Razer’s conservative yet elegant aesthetic with its all-black chassis with simple lines and a single Razer logo on the lid. It’s a gaming laptop you can proudly use anywhere.
Inside, you’ll find a powerful beast centered around the ultrafast AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU with an option for the latest Ryzen 9 8945HS. GPU choices include up to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, meaning you can pack a real powerhouse into that svelte chassis.
The Razer Blade 14 goes head-to-head with the best 15-inch laptops you can buy, including Razer’s own Blade 15. And it does so in a chassis that’s remarkably thin at just 0.70 inches and light at 4.05 pounds.
Razer Blade 14
The best 14-inch gaming laptop
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11
The best business-class 14-inch laptop
Pros
- Solid build quality
- Dizzying array of display options
- Excellent keyboard
- Above-average battery life
- Good business support
Cons
- Touchpad is too small
- Expensive for the performance
Why you should buy this: It’s the best 14-inch business laptop you can buy.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a solid business performer with great battery life and solid build quality and support.
Why we chose the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11:
The current version of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 line offers plenty of portable power with a laptop that’s a good fit, no matter what tasks you have in mind. The 14-inch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) display we reviewed is a taller 16:10 aspect ratio for better productivity, and there are a full seven displays to choose from up to a 2.8K OLED display. The base model comes with a 13th-generation Intel Core Core i5-1335U processor with vPro, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive (SSD). Ports include HDMI, two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, and two USB-A 3.2 ports. Battery life is strong, and we also like the slim, spill-resistant keyboard with backlighting.
While you can upgrade a few different specs, including RAM and storage (new versions also include brightness and resolution upgrades), the base model of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 makes for an ideal 14-inch laptop that’s ready for the long haul. However, the integrated graphics card is somewhat limited, and gamers in particular may want to look for something a little more specialized. We’re currently reviewing the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 that updates to Intel’s 14th-gen Meteor Lake chipsets, and we’ll update this list accordingly.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11
The best business-class 14-inch laptop
Image used with permission by copyright holder
HP Elite Dragonfly G4
The lightest business-class 14-inch laptop
Pros
- Incredibly light at 2.2 pounds
- Solid build quality
- Strong business-oriented security and management
- Intel 13th-gen CPUs
- 13.5-inch 3:2 OLED display
Why you should buy this: It’s a fully-featured, business-class, 14-inch laptop that’s also the lightest available.
Who’s it for: Business users who need all the important business features without additional weight.
Why we chose the HP Elite Dragonfly G4:
For shoppers searching for a good business laptop, try HP’s 13.5-inch Elite Dragonfly G4 series, which is one of HP’s best featherweight laptops. Yes, the display is technically less than 14 inches, but its 3:2 aspect ratio gives it a similar viewing area. And at 2.2 pounds, it’s the lightest business-class 14-inch laptop you can buy.
One of the main priorities for this laptop is its security: HP’s security software suite is automatically included. The computer supports several other standout features, like NFC compatibility, which ultimately helps your files transfer efficiently. The Elite Dragonfly G3 also comes with two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 and legacy connections including USB-A and HDMI.
The Elite Dragonfly G4’s base model comes with a 13th-gen Intel Core i5-1335U processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It can be configured with up to a Core i7-1365U with vPro, and it also offers a host of display options including HP’s Sure View privacy screen. The Elite Dragonfly G4 provides great productivity performance, solid business features, and long battery life.
HP Elite Dragonfly G4
The lightest business-class 14-inch laptop
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Asus ZenBook 14 OLED
The best affordable 14-inch laptop
Pros
- Excellent OLED display
- Solid build quality
- Fast productivity performance
- Very good keyboard
- Attractive aesthetic
Cons
- Mediocre creativity performance
- Limited configurations available
Why you should buy this: It’s an affordable laptop that offers something for everyone.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a laptop that can handle anything you throw at it.
Why we chose the Asus ZenBook 14 OLED:
The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED has been one of the best, affordable 14-inch laptops around. The latest version updates to Intel 14th-gen Meteor Lake chipsets, and current is available in just a $1,300 configuration with a Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It remains to be seen if and when Asus offers a lower-priced version, but even in its current configuration it’s one of the best 14-inch laptops you can buy for hundreds less than the competition.
The laptop provides good productivity performance, above-average battery life, and a quality build with an excellent keyboard and touchpad. You’ll struggle to find a laptop for the same money that provides such a value. In fact, the ZenBook 14 OLED would be a competitive laptop even if it cost a lot more.
Asus ZenBook 14 OLED
The best affordable 14-inch laptop
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
HP Spectre x360 14
Best 14-inch 2-in-1
Pros
- Attractive aesthetic
- Very good productivity performance
- Good to great battery life
- Excellent haptic touchpad
- Superb 120Hz OLED display
- Superior audio quality
Cons
- No discrete GPU option
- A bit expensive
Why you should buy this: It’s the best convertible 2-in-1 you can buy and one of the best laptops, period.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a laptop or convertible 2-in-1 with a luscious OLED 16:10 display and gorgeous design.
Why we chose the HP Spectre x360 14:
We are huge fans of HP’s Spectre convertible 2-in-1s, compact and versatile laptops that pack plenty of power to handle even more demanding business situations. This 2-in-1 is no exception, portable enough to take anywhere and powerful enough to serve as a desktop replacement on business trips or in similar situations. The excellent configuration options also let you scale this laptop to exactly where you need it based on your software demands.
Inside, this 14-inch with 16:10 aspect ratio version equips up to a 14th-gen Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 16 GB or 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. There are also two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports with USB4 support that are ready for all your upcoming connection upgrades, along with a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port. And the OLED display runs at up to 120Hz at a sharp 2.8K resolution.
HP Spectre x360 14
Best 14-inch 2-in-1
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you buy a 14-inch or 15-inch laptop?
To be precise, 15-inch laptops typically equip 15.6-inch displays, which are considerably larger than 14-inch displays and provide quite a bit more room to work. That also makes 15-inch laptops themselves significantly larger, even given today’s minimal display bezels, which is one tradeoff. Another is that the larger the display, the less sharp it will be at a given resolution. So, while Full HD (1920 x 1080) might be fine at 14 inches, it can be less sharp than you want at 15.6 inches. You’ll want at least 2.8K (2880 x 1600) resolution to ensure that text and images remain sharp. Another tradeoff is in battery life, where the larger the display, the less longevity — which is why 15-inch laptops tend to have larger batteries, which contributes to their usually heavier weight.
So, the question of whether you should buy a 14-inch or a 15-inch laptop comes down to how you feel about those tradeoffs and how important the increased screen real estate is to your workflow. If you tend to open a lot of windows and keep them side by side, then you’ll benefit from a 15-inch laptop. If you tend to single-task, then a 14-inch laptop might provide a good compromise between chassis size and weight, screen size, and resolution.
Is a 14-inch laptop better than a 13-inch laptop?
Most 13-inch laptops tend to be 13.3 inches, making less of a difference between display sizes in a 13- and a 14-inch laptop. At the same time, the 14-inch chassis sizes have decreased as manufacturers manage to pack 14-inch displays into ever-smaller laptops. Therefore, there’s less of a tradeoff in laptop size and weight than there is between 14-inch and 15-inch laptops. You’ll also probably find Full HD to be sharp enough on 14-inch displays, meaning you don’t have as much of a need to jump up in resolution. In addition, battery life isn’t as impacted, and 14-inch laptops often get better battery life than 13-inch laptops given the increase in available space for battery capacity. Finally, manufacturers are more likely to include discrete graphics in 14-inch laptops, making them better for creative types and gamers.
For many people, then, a 14-inch laptop will indeed be a better choice than a 13-inch laptop. You’ll get a slightly increased display size in a laptop that’s still small enough to be highly portable, and it might be more powerful as well.
Looking for something a bit different? Check out our list of the best laptops we’ve tried and tested for more options.
Editors’ Recommendations
