The best laptop for writers: the 10 best laptops for authors and journalists

If you’re a writer, or if you’re a liberal arts student looking for the best laptop for the Back to School 2018 season, then you’ve come to the right place.

With this guide, we’ll go over all the best laptops for writers, with special consideration given to the specific needs that writers and journalists have when looking for their next laptop. Of course, this will include the best keyboards – you’ll be doing a ton of typing – trust us, we know – so you should probably be comfortable while doing it. That’s not all though, an easy-to-read display, compact design and long battery life are all important, as well.

You don’t need one of the most powerful laptop to do some writing and research, so the best laptops for writers will put value above all else. Also, even if you think you don’t do a lot of writing for your job, the best laptops for writers will make emails, reports and presentations so much easier and less painful for your fingers and eyes.

What's more, our funky price comparison tools will show you where you can buy each one for the absolute cheapest price, so you won't have to trawl through the web comparing prices. If you want to see a more comprehensive list of prices and retailers, simply click the 'view all prices' link on each widget.

The best laptops for writers:

Thinkpad X

Lenovo took an existing form factor and refined it to deliver the new ThinkPad E470. Powered by 7th-generation Kaby Lake processors, this laptop has a 14-inch FHD anti-glare display, powered by discrete Nvidia GeForce 940MX 2GB GPU. While a discrete GPU may be overkill for some writers, it does mean you can do some light gaming in your downtime – the best laptops for writers will let you take a break, as well.

Equipped with a spill resistant keyboard, a TrackPoint and a 3+2 buttons click pad, the E470 has more than enough ports and expansion capabilities to keep the average user happy. Shame that it doesn't do DisplayPort, so no 4K output.

Sometimes you just need a sleek machine that’s powerful and portable – and the Asus Zenbook UX310UA is a prime example of this. It’s one of the best Ultrabooks for writers – you’ll get a brilliantly performing notebook that you won’t need to upgrade for years. And, thanks to its ultra-slim design it’s easy to carry around, which will be great if you do a lot of writing while travelling. The keyboard is a decent size which makes writing on it a breeze. Like most laptops fo this kind, you can spec it out to be as cheap or as beefy as you need it to be. Whatever you go for, however, you’re getting one of the best laptops for writers.

Read the full review: Asus Zenbook UX310UA

A Chromebook doesn't run Windows, Android or Apple's Mac OS. Instead it's powered by Google's Chrome OS - a super lightweight operating system based on the Chrome web browser. It's a great way to save money on a laptop, and if you're buying a laptop to use primarily for writing, it's a great choice, as Google Docs can be used as a word processor, and you of course also have the Chrome browser for research. The Chromebook Flip is the best Chromebook out there at the moment, offering truly premium build quality, a fabulous touchscreen and keyboard and excellent performance. All while offering great value for money too.

Read the full review: Asus Chromebook Flip C302
See more like this: The best Chromebooks 2017

If you’re after a cheap laptop for writing that’s a bit on the unique side, you should take a look at the 2017 Lenovo Yoga Book. As with all Yoga devices, the screen folds flat so you can use it either as a tablet or a laptop. To add even more versatility, Lenovo allows you to buy it with either Windows 10 or Android 6.0 – the OS you choose will drive how you’re likely to use it. The screen on this thing defies the cheap asking price and the keyboard and capacitive touch keyboard are both sublime as well. The built-in Wacom digitizer stylus allows you to hand-write notes on the touchscreen, and then save them to the web – or convert them to text, which makes it the perfect device for quickly jotting down notes.

Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga Book
See more like this: The best 2-in-1 laptops 2018

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is 2017's best laptop for you if you're looking for the perfect cross between a nimble Windows tablet and a fully functional laptop. The base version of the Surface Pro 4 is just a tablet - you get the main unit itself with kickstand but if you want the Surface Pen or the fantastic Type Cover keyboard you'll need to pay extra for a bundle or buy it separately. Again, this is a great laptop for writers who can use a stylus to jot down their notes to later turn into editable text. If you are buying the Surface Pro 4 as a device to use as a writer, then we strongly recommend buying the Type Cover keyboard, which adds a comfortable to use keyboard that also doubles as a protective cover for the screen.

Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Pro 4
See more like this: The best 2-in-1 laptops 2017

The HP 255 G5 is an entry-level business product, but don’t let that fool you, this is one of the best laptops for writers. It features respectable specs, while keeping the price extremely low. If you want a similar laptop, but with a better Intel CPU, then the HP 250 G5 is also worth looking into. There are various configurations of both the 255 G5 and the 250 G5, so you can get a laptop that is perfectly tuned to what you need to do throughout the day.

This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of this writing. Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Lenovo Yoga Book

If you’ve got the cash, the 2018 MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops for writers that we’ve ever used. Not only does it feature an improved keyboard that cuts down on noise and is more reliable, it’s also incredibly powerful. You can spec the 2018 MacBook Pro with a 6-core Core i9 processor and up to 32GB of RAM to power through anything you might think to throw at it. Though, for most writers, even the base model is going to be more than powerful enough to handle any workload you can throw at it.

Read the full review: Macbook Pro
See more like this: The best Macs

If you have your eyes on a Surface Pro, but you don’t want to spend that much money, the Acer Switch 3 is definitely up your alley. It’s designed around the same basic concept as the Surface Pro and it’s only a little less capable. However, for most tasks, especially if you’re a writer, it’s a brilliant little machine. What’s more, to add further value, this 2-in-1 laptop/tablet comes with the keyboard upgrade which means little extras to pay for. As usual, it comes in several different versions, with USB Type-C, 8GB RAM, an IPS display and an Intel Core i3-7100U processor coming with the more expensive option.

Read the full review: Acer Switch 3
See more like this: The best 2-in-1 laptops 2017

The Acer Chromebook R11 is probably the best cheap laptop around at the moment, and it's a great laptop for wirters. Like the Acer Chromebook Flip higher up this page, this laptop runs Chrome OS so does away with all the overheads that Windows brings. Consequently it's able to run nice and fast on less powerful components, which means a very cheap price! Its touchscreen is decent, though it's only HD, and it will flip to become a tablet too. What's more, it'll run practically all day thanks to its excellent battery life. So if you're looking for a capable but very cheap laptop that you can whip out and begin writing on, then this one is your best bet.

Read the full review: Acer Chromebook R11
See more like this: The best Chromebooks 2017

If you’re looking for a laptop that you can fold up and play with when you’re done writing for the day, look no further than the HP Spectre X360. Not only is this one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy today, but thanks to the keyboard’s stiff force curve, you’ll find typing is a breeze for any touch-typist. And, thanks to its long battery life, you’ll be able to write all day on this comfortable keyboard without having to worry about scrambling for your charger.

Read the full review: HP Spectre X360