I’ve been reviewing laptops for well over a decade, sometimes testing over 30 devices per year. As you can probably guess, they aren’t all winners, and many should be avoided—no matter how cheap the discount is. Good news—it’s my job to recommend laptops that fit your budget and won’t make you regret your purchase six months later.

When friends or family ask what laptop to buy, I always start with the MacBook Air. This little laptop is far more powerful than most people realize. With the update to the M5, its GPU is now as powerful as the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, speeding up everything from games to video renders. That's not at all what the MacBook Air is designed for, but the performance is there when you want to dabble.

There might be a tempting price on the new MacBook Neo, but if you work in front of a computer for eight hours a day, the performance, extra memory and super-fast storage speed make the MacBook Air the right option. Like with the Neo, you’ll never have to stop and wonder if you’ve got the right computer for the job.

If you’re not a Mac person, or maybe there are specific applications you rely on that require Windows, then the Surface Laptop 13.8 is your best bet. It’s almost as good as the MacBook Air in many ways, and it even surpasses it in others. My favorite aspect of the Surface Laptop 13.8? The screen—offering a touchscreen, a 120-Hz refresh rate, and a taller 3:2 aspect ratio.

Lastly, if you want something that’s stunningly designed, the Asus Zenbook S 16 is worth considering. With its all-white aesthetic, oversized trackpad, and thin bezels, it truly stands out. It’s only 0.48 inches thick, which is very close to as thin as the MacBook Air. The price has finally dropped, making this a much more accessible option.