We’ve picked the MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 (2023) for the overall best laptop for graphic design because it’s one of the most powerful laptops on the market right now. For the best software to install on your laptop of choice, you should check out our guide to the best graphic design software, or the best video-editing software, and check out our guide to the best graphics cards.

Here, we've included the best laptops for graphic design for beginners and students as well as professionals, but students may also want to see our guide to the best student laptops for other options. We ran extensive benchmark tests, checked key specs like battery life and screen brightness, and completed projects that helped us understand exactly how they would handle demanding graphic design workflows. Put together, that helped us decide what makes a machine the best laptop for designers. For more on our process, check out our guide to how we test laptops. We've tested all these laptops ourselves, whether it's an Asus or an Apple machine. Consider going for an OLED screen, which are now widely available in moderately priced laptops, and tend to offer excellent colour accuracy. Ideally, high resolution beyond 1080p is desirable. Wide colour coverage with at least a claimed 95% of the DCI-P3 gamut is a good starting point. In particular, you'll want to look out for laptops with exceptionally good screens.

We know what makes a brilliant laptop because we've tested a lot of them, and because we know what is needed for graphic design, we are able to help you pick with confidence. You'll need deep pockets for some of the best laptops for graphic design, but many of the machines on our list have power without costing the earth.

Slot machine graphic design