If the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that the best 13-inch laptops can do everything that their larger-screened brethren can. In fact, the top 13-inch laptops are many times more portable and compact than larger 15-inch variants, while still being more visually appealing than 11 or 12-inch laptops. Most 13-inch laptops truly strike the perfect balance between portability and power, and the best 13-inch laptops are certainly earning their unparalleled popularity.

Either way, wherever your next laptop lands on the 13-inch scale, just make sure to pick up one of the best 13-inch laptops. Now, while this list is going to cover a large amount of 13-inch laptops, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all going to do the same things. For instance, some are simple and conventional notebooks with premium features, like Ultrabooks. Others are far more versatile in their use, like 2-in-1 laptops that are focused more on balancing between being both a tablet and a laptop rather than any raw throughput or out-of-this-world battery life.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what type of person you are or what kind of things you need to do with your laptop – you can count on the best 13-inch laptops to get you through whatever task lies ahead of you. With this list, we will show you some of the best laptops that we have reviewed over the last year or so, and have ranked them in order of awesomeness. 

1. Dell XPS 13

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i3 – quad-core Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 – Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 4GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) | Storage: 128GB – 1TB SSD

Incredible performance

Amazing battery life

Webcam orientation still a bother

Poor speaker placement

Not a lot has changed year over year, but the refinements made to the Dell XPS 13 this year are definitely noticeable. On the high end, the XPS 13 now offers up to 1TB of storage, letting you download more movies than you can watch. Don’t let this apparent lack of innovation distract you, however – the beautiful design, lengthy battery life and even the SD card slot are still there – but now it’s got beefier internals that put it head-to-head with the MacBooks and HP Spectres of the world. Better yet, the full-size processor and 13.3-inch display are still packed into an 11-inch frame made possible by Dell’s own nearly bezel-less InfinityEdge display technology.

Read the full review: Dell XPS 13 

2. Razer Blade Stealth

CPU: Dual-core – quad-core Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 – Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) LED-backlit IGZO touchscreen | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

Larger, brighter display

Subtler aesthetics on gunmetal version

Shorter and shorter battery life

No 4K display option in sight

You wouldn’t expect a laptop made by one of the biggest names in PC gaming to be thinner and lighter than a MacBook Pro, and yet here we are. The Razer Blade Stealth – in its all-new gunmetal finish – boasts not only a gorgeous and practical aesthetic, what with its 400-nit display brightness and full-size USB 3.0 ports, but it also has a few tricks up its sleeves to make it perform faster. At long last, the 8th-generation Intel Kaby Lake Refresh have made it into the newly 13.3-inch version of the Razer Blade Stealth. Though it received a ding on the battery life, an Ultrabook this fast is worth a 16-minute shorter use time on a single charge.

Read the full review: Razer Blade Stealth

3. Asus ZenBook Flip UX360

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core M3 – Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 515 – 620 | RAM: 4GB – 8GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – QHD+ (3,200×1,800) | Storage: 128GB – 512GB SSD

Thin and light

All-day battery life

Lacking multitasking performance

Sacrifices to build quality

There’s a new entry to Asus’s Zenbook lineup with the UX360, featuring a lot of the same specs as its predecessor but with the flexibility of a 2-in-1 laptop. While the ability to bend over backwards may diminish the build quality somewhat, it allows for new levels of functionality for computer consumers who want a laptop and tablet all in one. Thanks to an all-day battery, the Zenbook Flip UX360 really can go with you for everything you do. And, with a wide variety of internal customization, you can deck out the Zenbook Flip UX360 for your own personal needs, saving you some cash or boosting its performance. 

Read the full review: Asus Zenbook Flip UX360

4. HP Spectre x360

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i3 – Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 – Nvidia GeForce 940MX 2GB | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch, FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – UHD (3,840 x 2,160) IPS UWVA LED-backlit multi-touch display | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

Ultra-thin and light styling

Long-lasting and quick-charging battery

Lacks SD card reader

Especially thick bottom bezel

The HP Spectre x360 is the laptop that you show to your parents. It’s beautifully well-crafted, featuring a chrome design that makes it every bit as cutting-edge on the outside as on the inside. With the option between a 7th-generation i5 or i7 Ultrabook-class CPU and a 1080p or 4K Display, HP allows for plenty of room for customization. It’s not underpowered, nor does its battery life suffer from overcompensation. In fact, in our own movie test, the HP Spectre x360 lasted a surprising 8 hours and 45 minutes. The only real catch is that, like a lot of its competitors, the Spectre x360 also lacks an SD card slot, opting instead for a pair of USB Type-C ports. 

Read the full review: HP Spectre x360

5. Samsung Notebook 9

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i5 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 13.3-inch, FHD (1,920 x 1,080) LED anti-reflective display | Storage: 256GB SSD

Thin, smart styling

Competitively priced

Micro-sized video ports

Short battery life

Samsung may not have made much of a dent in the laptop scene with much more than its Tab Pro S convertible, but Samsung’s follow-up to the 2012 Series 9 notebook doesn’t just feature impressive specs – it’s got a competitive price as well. Marketed as an Ultrabook, it’s certainly disheartening to know the battery life lasts only five hours, but given its sleek and sexy design, it almost doesn’t matter. What’s more, with the Samsung Notebook 9, you won’t have to deal with the bloatware that makes many other Microsoft the target of angry forum posts. 

Read the full review: Samsung Notebook 9

6. Surface Laptop

CPU: 7th generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 – Iris Plus Graphics 640 | RAM: 4GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.5-inch, 2,256 x 1,504 PixelSense display | Storage: 128GB – 512GB SSD

Gorgeous design

Well built

Windows 10 S is limited

No USB-C

The Surface Laptop is Microsoft’s first stab at a ‘traditional’ laptop, if you can even call it that knowing full well that its PixelSense touchscreen and Alcantara keyboard are anything but conventional. Featuring a full stack of U-series 7th generation Intel Core i processors, the Surface Laptop beats out Apple’s 12-inch MacBook any day of the week, and for a lower starting price at that. Despite the ports and operating system being limited, the Surface Laptop is appealing for its laudable design, beautifully vivid screen and impressive performance.

 Read the full review: Surface Laptop

7. Lenovo Yoga 910

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.9-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – UHD (3,840 x 2,160) IPS multi-touch | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

Substantially larger screen

Rocking speakers

Heats up (and gets loud) fast

Disappointing battery life

The Lenovo Yoga 910 is all about second chances. It throws away many of the signature design traits of the previous model, the Yoga 900, in favor of a more pristine outward appearance and a heavy duty Intel Core i7 processor as well as the option of a 4K display. Lenovo also managed to squeeze a larger, nearly 14-inch screen into the same 13-inch chassis of the Yoga 900 without compromise. Not to mention, even with the implementation of USB-C ports, the Lenovo Yoga 910 doesn’t completely neglect USB Type-A, dragging the precious connection standard of the past along with it.

Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga 910

8. 13-inch MacBook Air

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i5 – Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 6000 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 13.3-inch, LED HD (1,440 x 900) | Storage: 128GB – 512GB SSD

Fantastic battery life

802.11ac Wi-Fi

No Retina screen

Not easily upgradeable

In a market densely populated with slim-line laptops from a massive range of manufacturers, Apple’s MacBook Air fights on admirably – though it started showing its age on the outside a long time ago. It has Intel’s fifth-generation Core-series processors rather than the newest Skylake variants, but it’s still a capable machine; even more so since Apple made 8GB of RAM standard across the line.

Read the full review: 13-inch MacBook Air

9. 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i5 – Core i7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 – 650 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch IPS, 2,560 x 1,600 pixels | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

Faster processor

Superb battery life

Force Touch underdeveloped

Unchanged design

The latest iteration of Apple’s seminal MacBook Pro series is here, and as you would expect it makes a number of notable improvements over last year’s offering. While it might not exactly feature the strongest battery life in the game (scoring under an hour less than last year’s offering), it does offer increased performance by way of a new CPU and faster RAM. Add that to Apple’s continued dedication to simplicity and beautiful design and you have a laptop that is sleek, portable and reliable.  

Read the full review: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2017)

Joe Osborne and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article