Welcome to T3's best MacBook for students guide, written by our in-house experts and designed specifically for those studying and looking for an ideal Apple laptop.
If you're thinking of buying a new MacBook for school, college or university, this guide will help you choose the perfect pick. And don't forget about student discount (click for Apple's official 10% off page), which makes a real difference!
Apple definitely makes some of the best student laptops on the market, which double as some of the best lightweight laptops too – something that students will always appreciate when dragging your laptop to and from class.
T3's Top 3
Best overall student MacBook
It's not the newest, sure, but the older MacBook Air is still a master of many things: it's powerful, it runs silently, it's small and lightweight enough to carry around, and while it doesn't bring the next-gen design and more power of its follow-up models, it does cost a little less – which is why it's still number one!
Best premium MacBook for students
Apple does make even more premium MacBooks, but in terms of the best fit for students? It's this M4-powered Air that wins that ticket. Heaps of power, ease of portability, superb battery life, plus an updated design with better screen than its five-year-old sibling – an ideal option if you can afford that little extra.
Best pro student MacBook
If you don't need silent operation but do need extra power for processing tasks – data crunching, computer modelling, and so on – then the MacBook Pro line is a step up. It's also a lot more expensive, with the 14-inch model here being the best balance of modern design without the giant 16-inch model's price tag.
The best student MacBooks we recommend in 2025
Best overall
It's now the older of the MacBook Air models by far, but we still think the M1 MacBook Air that launched in 2020 remains the best choice for the vast majority of students, which is down to one key factor – price. That's if you can still find it, of course, as Apple no longer sells it new from its own store.
The M1 chipset that Apple launched with this laptop was such a step forward in terms of power and efficiency that it'll still comfortably cope with everyday computing tasks for years to come. If you don't believe us, ask anyone who already owns one of these machines.
It can handle 4K video editing, complex music production, raw photo editing and so on, with 8GB of RAM as standard (creative students should opt for 16GB). It packs all this power into a very thin, fanless design, which means it's perfect for using in the library. And, like all Apple laptops, it has huge battery life – around 15 hours in typical web browsing use.
The downsides to the MacBook Air are that the screen isn't as good as the MacBook Pro for creative work, it only has two USB-C ports (and a 3.5mm audio jack) as its total connectivity, and there's now a more powerful M2 version of this laptop available. However, for a lot of people those won't be major issues on balance to the price.
Best premium
For a large chunk of people this is going to be the best Apple MacBook for their student life: it's lightweight, it's still relatively affordable, and it looks fantastic thanks to the newer design format. However, it's a fair bit pricier than the five-year-old 2020 Air model, which is why we consider this the more premium purchase option right now.
This M4-powered model upgrades its internals considerably since Apple kicked off its M-series silicon, delivering more raw power and a faster SSD read/write speed. Small details, but still useful gains that might make that extra spend worth it. Other features, such as the ability to power two 5K monitors, may also be useful for your halls setup.
Of course, the MacBook Air is way cheaper than the Pro models on the market, which unless you're an engineering student looking to run hefty projection models, isn't likely something you're going to need.
The silent nature of the Air's fanless M-series setup is also better for day-to-day use compared to the fan-cooling of the Pro models (required as they can output even greater power for bigger tasks). The battery is brilliant, too, so you'll not need to lug a charger about necessarily either.
Best pro
The 14-inch MacBook Pro offers a huge number of positives for students looking for a MacBook: it's packed with power, it has a superb display, the battery will run and run, and then there's the stylish and compact design.
If you buy one of these, you won't be disappointed – and it's got the latest Apple silicon available for added raw power.
The most obvious downside is that the Pro models will cost you a substantial amount of money, especially if you upgrade the specification. But if you think about it as an investment then it's still good value – this is a laptop that will last you a long time.
The larger size of this laptop compared with the 13-inch MacBook Air means it offers plenty of ports and connection options for all your peripherals, but at the same time it's not going to weigh your bag down excessively.
It's one of the best laptops that Apple has ever made, and it's very customisable too. If you need even more power, however, then the 16-inch model is more customisable – but far pricier still.
Best big screen
For some students the prospect of a larger screen MacBook, but without the associated cost of the Pro-grade models, will be the most appealing of them all. And that's exactly what the 15-inch MacBook Air delivers in a powerful yet silently operating package.
That bigger scale doesn't cost it to excess in the small-and-light category, though, as Apple has somehow made the 15-inch MacBook Air barely much thicker or heavier than its 13-inch equivalent model. It'll cost you a touch more, though, so it's that balance of whether the additional screen real-estate will be worth that extra few hundred from your bank account.
As said in our review: "The 15-inch MacBook Air's sell is simple: it's a MacBook Air, embodying everything typically slim, light and portable about that, only it's got a bigger screen (and bigger sound as an added bonus).
"There are no significant compromises in opting for the 15.3-inch screen, except it'll inevitably cost you a little more and add some additional mass. For many, that'll make it the big-screen MacBook of your dreams... except now it's a reality."
Best maxed-out Mac
And so to the 16-inch MacBook Pro: in a lot of ways this is similar to the 14-inch model, because you get the same choice of internal configuration options. It touts the 'Pro' and 'Max' versions of Apple's silicon only, laying down the foundations for its super powerful abilities.
Another key difference in the 16-inch model, of course, is the extra 2-inches of diagonal measure you get on the display, which means more pixels as well. It makes the laptop bigger, heavier and more expensive than the 14-inch equivalent – but it also delivers better battery life. It's up to you whether you'd rather have a bigger screen or something more portable.
The extra size also means the speaker system has a bit more room to breathe, though it's the same six speakers here as you get in the smaller model. As with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, this laptop can get very expensive once you start ramping up the unified memory and the storage and everything else.
However, if you've got the budget for it, it's the biggest and the best MacBook that Apple makes right now – and ideal if you're doing, say, VFX or videography studies and need to throw a lot of weight behind processing tasks.
FAQs
Is there student discount?
Yes there is! The exact level of discount depends on the model you choose, and it's not anything as simple as saying that it's 10% around the whole world – but Apple has a specific section of its online store for education buyers, so you can see what discounts you qualify for there when you look at the products.
You can also get 20% off AppleCare+ as a student, the extended three-year warranty that also includes accidental damage protection. For students, who can struggle to get genuinely good contents insurance that covers laptops when out of the house, this can be an excellent buy. It doesn't cover theft, though.
In the UK, even browsing the Apple Education store online requires you to prove that you're a student using the UNiDAYS system.
• Visit the Apple Education Store UK
In the US, you can simply browse the models and see all prices, and you generally don't need to show any proof of being a student when buying.
• Visit the Apple Education Store US
In Australia, it's the same as the US – you can just browse all the prices.
Can you install Windows on a Mac?
MacBooks run Apple's operating system, macOS, but you can also load Microsoft Windows by installing it through Parallels Desktop for Mac. This is a pay-for upgrade, should it be necessary.
The majority of major applications available for Windows are also available on Mac, with some exceptions – certainly look into such availability if you're studying a specialist subject that requires specialist software, for example.
Are MacBooks worth it?
Apple products have long had a reputation for being high-priced, and while they're certainly not cheap, they're also not overpriced – a PC laptop that's similarly thin and light while also offering high performance and specs would cost just as much, or often more.
However, there is a hidden cost to consider: most of Apple's current laptops only use USB-C ports, which means you often need to buy adapters to attach regular USB hard drives or accessories. So that's an extra purchase – you'll need to factor in another £30/$30 to £100/$100 depending on how many ports you want this adapter to have (though students will generally be fine with a basic one).
Furthermore there are different charging speeds based on the power of the plug combination you buy. Check out our MacBook plug options explained feature to gather an understanding of what comes with which machine and whether you can upgrade.
On the flip side, though, there's something that adds a huge amount of value to Apple's machines: they're extremely reliable and easy to get repaired if anything does go wrong. Apple is the only big laptop maker with widespread stores that all have a repair presence, where you can literally take the laptop in a talk to someone employed by the same people who made the machine. In terms of speeds of repairs and peace of mind when deadlines are looming, the importance of this can't be overstated.
How we test the best MacBooks
Like with our best laptops guide, we review the models that go into those best-of lists by using each product as if it was our own daily driver.
There are key pillars we assess in reviewing the best MacBooks, of course, starting with the design and whether there's anything new generation-on-generation. This also involves assessing the display, with relevant context to the rest of the market.
Next we test the ability of a machine, through running benchmark tests, but also practical tests – the frame-rate in a AAA videogame, for example; or the processing time for a batch of 4K video processing – to get a real-world feel for how a machine will impact your life and productivity.
We also consider the affect that apps have on battery life, whether there are any limitations in relation to expected specifications, or compatibility limitations in given software owed to silicon choice at the heart of the machine (it's now always M-series for MacBooks).
Then we officially score the MacBook, using T3's 5-star system. We only score in full stars, no halves here, from 1 through to 5 – with 4 Recommended and 5 delivering T3's Platinum Award badge.
See T3's How We Test page for full information in our reviews process.
Reviewer Panel
I've been using Mac laptops for as long as I can remember, since their inception in 2006. I've used, reviewed and ranked every model tested on this page, too, so know the pros and cons regarding which one students should pick for their specific needs – whatever the budget.
Since taking up the helm at T3, Mat has been the brand's Apple advocate. All the best iPads, iPhones and, of course, MacBooks make their way to his test bench. Whether it's deep-dive briefings about Apple's latest M-series silicon, or T3's in-house testing, Mat has seen all the latest Mac laptops and is an expert in the field.
