The Best Business Laptop

We analyzed 6,643 reviews from 18 websites to find the best business laptop. Sources included:
WalmartBest BuyDigital TrendsNeweggB&H Photo Video
+13 More

Top Business Laptops

Best for Most People
Best Business Laptop Lenovo ThinkPad T490 Business Laptop
$1,299 from 3 stores
View All
Why Consider This:
The ThinkPad T490 is a top-shelf business laptop with impressive quality and security, although its battery life doesn't excel by today's standards. Also, Lenovo laptop keyboard's are some of the best on the market, and this is no exception.
People Like:
  • Reasonably priced.
  • Available ThinkShutter to hide webcam.
  • Charges with USB Type-C.
People Dislike:
  • Just one year of standard warranty coverage.
  • Some fan noise under stress.
  • Not a leader in battery life.
91
Owner Score
255 Reviews from 3 Sites
75
Media & Critic Score
2 Media Reviews
Buy On Amazon.com
Why Consider This:
Lenovo's 14-inch ThinkPad E490 is a bit hefty but delivers durability, and all-day battery life budget business buyers. Also, Lenovo laptops are some of the best on the market, and this one is no exception.
People Like:
  • Great keyboard
  • Solid battery life
  • Decent performance
People Dislike:
  • Poor display
  • Unreliable touchpad
  • Poor speakers
91
Owner Score
87 Reviews from 2 Sites
70
Media & Critic Score
2 Media Reviews
Why Consider This:
With a sturdy, lightweight carbon-fiber exterior, an excellent keyboard, and plenty of security and manageability features, Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 is the best laptop you can buy for your business. This is the productivity laptop to beat, if you can afford its high price.
People Like:
  • ThinkPad-typical comfortable keyboard.
  • Good battery life (with 1080p screen)
  • Thin, light, and very sturdy.
People Dislike:
  • Small touchpad.
  • Mediocre webcam with IR camera
  • Awkward power button
93
Owner Score
1,063 Reviews from 5 Sites
85
Media & Critic Score
2 Media Reviews
Buy On Amazon.com

How Critic.ly Saves You Time

When it comes to reviewing the best business laptop, critic.ly is different than other sites. How?
Unbiased & Unsponsored: Critic.ly aggregates and analyzes reviews from real owners and industry critics. We remove spam, sponsored reviews, and other forms of bias to make sure you get the best possible sense of what people actually think about products.
Our reviews of the best business laptops were based on 6,643 reviews from 18 websites.
Get the Best Deal: Critic.ly aggregates sales from around the web, so you can get the best deal from a seller you actually trust.
Find the Right Product: Critic.ly lets you search and compare products from thousands of sites in one place.

How to Find the Right Business Laptop

Most people who want a Windows laptop will be best served by a thin and light ultrabook. But these systems are difficult to open up, repair, and upgrade. Worn-out batteries and low-capacity solid-state drives typically aren’t too difficult to replace yourself, but the memory is usually soldered to the motherboard, limiting the laptop’s future usefulness if you didn’t pay for extra memory you didn’t need at the time. Other parts, like the battery, may be held in with glue or simply difficult to access without tearing the entire computer apart. That’s what makes business laptops appealing, even if you’re buying a laptop for yourself and not for an actual business. To appeal to corporate IT departments, the majority of these systems still have memory, SSDs, and batteries that are easily replaceable, and they’re often quick and easy to access with nothing but a standard Phillips head screwdriver. Replacing other parts that commonly wear out over time, like the keyboard and the hinge, is also usually possible. Business laptops are for people who want upgradability and lots of ports, and who don’t mind paying a little more or carrying something that’s a bit heavier. As far as performance, most people will be served will with a business laptop.

Business Laptops We Eliminated

We research and analyzed 7 business laptops. Here's what we concluded about the ones that didn't make the cut.
Apple 16-Inch Macbook Pro Laptop Computer
Runner Up
Highly rated (94 owner score, 90 expert score), but a slight notch below the best.
Apple 13-Inch Macbook Pro Laptop Computer
Runner Up
Highly rated (95 owner score, 80 expert score), but a slight notch below the best.
Dell Latitude 7490 Business Laptop
Eliminated - Not Enough Reviews
Owner score of but hard to properly evaluate with only 0 owner reviews.
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s Business Laptop
Runner Up
Highly rated (91 owner score, 70 expert score), but a slight notch below the best.

Sources & Methodology

Critic.ly uses a combination of machine learning and human editors to help you find the best products.
We start by aggregating and analyzing reviews from real owners and industry critics. We remove spam, sponsored reviews, and other forms of bias to make sure you get the best possible sense of what people actually think about products.
We convert every review to a weight average score from 0 to 100.
For this article, we analyzed 6,643 reviews from 18 sites to find the best business laptop.