Best laptop for kids 2024: our top 5 picks covering different age groups

We take a look at the best laptops for kids of elementary school age all the way up to high schoolers, discussing the pros and cons of each

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There is no single ‘best laptop for kids‘ as ultimately ‘kids’ is a very broad category: the needs and capabilities of children change rapidly as they grow, so picking the right laptop depends on the age of the child in question, as well as the usual consideration of the budget you have to play with.

With all this in mind, we’ve listed below our selections for the best laptops for kids of high school age (c.14-18 years), middle school age (c.11-13 years), and elementary school age (c.5-10 years). You may want to skip ahead to our Things to consider when buying a laptop for kids section for more information, or just dive right into our selections. The below are primarily non-gaming devices meant for schoolwork and homework, as well as web browsing and watching online media or playing non-demanding web-based games or interactive games designed for small children. If you’re after something that will run graphically demanding titles and software then we’d recommend checking out our main best gaming laptop page instead, or the various price guides for them in the dropdown menu above. If you’re looking for something for a bigger kid on their way to college, then also have a look at our best laptop for students page or best laptop for working from home guide.

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Best laptop for kids 2024

Best laptop for kids of high school age (14-18 years old)

Dell XPS 13 (Intel i5-1135G7)

CPU

Intel Core i5-1135G7

Graphics

Intel Iris Xe

RAM

8GB/16GB

Storage

256GB/512GB SSD

Screen Size

13.3”

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• Nice, bright 16:10 screen
• Good quality keyboard & trackpad
• Decent to great battery life, depending on the model
• Looks great
• Terrific build quality
• Micro SD card reader

Cons

• overall port coverage could be better
• Newer models can be pricey

For older kids of high school age, they want something that is a bit more capable, a bit more sleek and refined looking, but something that still needs to be somewhat durable. The Dell XPS 13 fits these criteria well, and though it won’t survive significant shocks if being thrown about in a school bag, if you get yourself a padded cover for it it should withstand the occasional knock and bump thanks to its excellent build quality. This is a Windows laptop so is the most versatile option, but if your high school kid’s workload allows them to use the Mac operating system then an older gen Apple MacBook Air would be an equally good pick.

The keyboard and trackpad are both good quality and a pleasure to use. As a fairly slimline 13-inch laptop, it’s nice and portable, fitting easily into a schoolbag. All variants of the XPS look stylish, which might be appealing to fashion-conscious teenagers. While they may not match the peak brightness of MacBooks, they still exceed the average brightness found in other Windows laptops in the same price range. The 16:10 aspect ratio provides more vertical headroom when reading documents or scrolling through web pages. The number of ports is a bit on the low side, but should still be sufficient for school use, plus can always be expanded using a separate USB dock.

The latest models of this laptop can be a bit on the pricey side, though you can pick up older gen renewed models, which are still very capable and reliable, for a cheaper cost. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, newer full-priced options will provide greater processing power. If the renewed variants are still a bit steep for your budget, see below for some more affordable picks.

Best affordable laptop for kids of high school age (14-18 years old)

Lenovo 2023 IdeaPad 14″ (Intel i5-1135G7)

CPU

Intel Core i5-1135G7

Graphics

Intel Iris Xe

RAM

20GB DDR4 RAM

Storage

1TB SSD

Screen Size

14″

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• Ample storage and RAM options
• Light, slimline & portable
• Respectable brightness
• Good aray of ports & sockets
• Respectable build quality for the price

Cons

• Battery life could be better

This 14-inch Lenovo IdeaPad powered by the Intel Quad Core i5-1135G7 processor is a great affordable laptop for kids of high school age. This laptop offers ample RAM and storage options. You can opt for a configuration with 12GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB SSD, which should be quite sufficient for any high school student’s needs – the 20GB and 36GB RAM options are pretty excessive and likely a waste of money for your typical student’s workload.

This Intel-powered variant has a battery life of around 7 hours with battery-saving settings enabled, which isn’t great and will require charging partway through a day of solid use, but is still manageable. The display’s peak brightness reaches a commendable 300 nits, a notable feat for a more budget-friendly laptop, which should be fine for indoor use.

Weighing a mere 3.1lbs and boasting a slimline design, this laptop is remarkably lightweight and portable. The overall build quality of the device is surprisingly solid, considering how affordable it is. The array of ports is also good for a smaller device, and includes a HDMI port as well as a card reader. You also get a fingerprint scanner for added security. All-in-all, a solid pick from Lenovo.

Best budget laptop for kids of high school age (14-18 years old)

Acer Aspire 5 Slim (2023, 15.6″)

CPU

AMD Ryzen 3 3350U

Graphics

AMD Radeon Vega 6 iGPU

RAM

12GB LPDDR5

Storage

1TB SSD

Screen Size

15.6”

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• Ample storage and RAM options
• Light, slimline & portable
• Good aray of ports & sockets

Cons

• Battery life could be better

More affordable again is the Acer Aspire 5 Slim, specifically the 2023 version, which is of a larger 15.6-inch size, though it retains (as the name would suggest) a slender chassis. That being said you will want to make sure that the dimensions (14.3 x 9.9 x 0.71 inches) are small enough to fit in your child’s bag.

Assuming this is the case, you get the benefit of a 1TB SSD as standard for storage, a respectable array of I/O ports including an HDMI socket (plus fingerprint scanner), and 12GB of RAM – quite sufficient for your average high school kid’s needs.

Once again battery life is limited to around 7-8 hours, which is less than ideal but manageable. The 720p webcam is also pretty subpar, and the trackpad, whilst not bad, is a little on the small side (though if you’re using a mouse this isn’t a drawback).

The keyboard is of a decent standard though, the overall build quality is respectable, and it offers good value for money. All of this makes it our pick for best budget laptop for kids of high school age.

Best laptop for kids of middle school age (11-13 years old)

Acer Chromebook Spin 314 (14″)

CPU

Intel Pentium Silver N6000

RAM

8GB

Storage

128GB eMMC

Screen Size

14″

Resolution

1366 x 768

Refresh rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• Gorilla glass screen & tough build
• Excellent battery life
• Affordable
• Convertible 2-in-1 design

Cons

• Less than 1080p resolution
• Screen could be brighter

In our opinion, the best laptop for middle school students is a Chromebook, assuming that they’ll be in an environment with a decent internet connection. The majority of middle school kids won’t be needing a device with much in the way of processing power – they’ll likely be browsing the web most of the time, and a lot of their school work can be completed using web-based applications like Google Workplace and Google Classroom, including apps such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. If they need to access the Microsoft Office suite, they can easily sign up for Microsoft Office 365, which installs ‘Progressive Web App’ (PWA) versions of software like Word and Excel that can be used directly in the web browser.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 is our top pick, offering an affordable 2-in-1 design that allows it to transform between a conventional laptop form-factor and that of a tablet. This Chromebook comes with touchscreen functionality and a sturdy gorilla glass screen. Indeed the overall design is fairly robust, making it suitable for young users. 

The 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM should be sufficient for what a kid of this age is likely to be using it for and though the 128GB eMMC storage is pretty limited, most storing of files should be done via the cloud (e.g. Google Drive). At a 14-inch size it’s quite portable for your average middle school-aged human, yet still offers an adequate range of ports, including an HDMI port. Lastly, the battery life is impressive, providing around 11-13 hours on battery-saving settings, making it more than sufficient for a school day. The screen is below 1080p, making it lower resolution than the other picks on this list, plus isn’t the brightest in terms of peak volume, however it’s adequate for a child of this age using it for indoor use.

Best laptop for kids of grade school / elementary school age (5-10 years old)

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook (10.1″)

CPU

MediaTek Helio P60T

Graphics

Integrated ARM

RAM

4GB/8GB LPDDR4X

Storage

64GB/128GB eMMC

Screen Size

13.3″

Resolution

1920 x 1200

How We Review

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Pros

• Very light, compact & portable
• Detachable keyboard 2-in-1 design
• Superb battery life

Cons

• Weak CPU
• Limited ports & sockets

If you’re looking for a small, child-friendly device that resembles a traditional laptop, the 10.1-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is an excellent option. Obviously, the small size means a smaller screen, though for younger kids of this age group it should be fine. You’re limited also in terms of the number of ports and sockets, but again this is less of a concern for your children.

The IdeaPad Duet is a touch screen 2-in-1 laptop in the style of a Surface device, which means you can detach the keyboard and use it as a tablet or attach it to use it as a laptop, offering the versatility of two devices in one. Running on ChromeOS instead of Windows, this Chromebook requires a consistent internet connection, so if you don’t at your house then this might be a problem, however most schools in the US should be catered for in this area. ChromeOS is well-suited for tasks like web browsing, using web-based software like Google Workspace, and other online activities.

Overall, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook offers a portable and versatile computing solution for grade school students, providing the convenience of a tablet and the functionality of a traditional laptop in one device.

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Things to consider when buying a laptop for kids

Which operating system is best for kids?

For older children, Windows is the operating system with the most versatility – being able to run by far the most software applications and being the most widely used. MacOS however offers a more user-friendly, streamlined experience, with a few unique applications that are compatible with it. Apple MacBook laptops however are quite pricey, and generally aren’t suitable for school kids, though older gen Apple iPads (running iPadOS) can be bought for a more affordable price and are often nice alternatives for younger kids.

For younger children, Google Chrome OS, the operating system of Chromebooks, is in many ways the best option. Although they rely on a good internet connection for full functionality, they don’t require the same hardware so can be bought more cheaply, plus are fairly streamlined and user-friendly.

Is touch screen functionality required?

For younger children in particular, having a touchscreen display can help for a more kid-friendly experience when using the device, as they can be more tactile with it and play the various interactive games designed for children that require a touchscreen device. High school kids using their machine for studies and watching YouTube will probably have less of a need for it, though if they have an interest in art or graphic design, then a convertible 2-in-1 laptop with a stylus for drawing/sketching could be useful for them in their creative pursuits. See our best touch screen laptop guide for some examples or alternatively, take a look at our best drawing tablet guide.

What’s the ideal size for a child’s laptop?

The standard size for a laptop is 15.6-inches, however, even for some adults, this is a bit too big to be convenient if you’re looking for a portable, slimline device. 13″ or 14″ is probably the ideal size for most bigger kids, although some could prefer the 15.” size for the greater screen immersion and screen real estate for manipulating different application windows. Smaller 10.5″ to 12″ devices will likely be more suitable for small children.

Laptop for kids FAQs

Is a Chromebook better for kids?

A Chromebook may be the better option for younger children who will only be using their laptop for browsing the web, watching videos, and typing up schoolwork on GoogleDocs and other applications in the Google Workspace.

For more heavy-duty software applications, particularly for older children, a Windows laptop may be the better pick, especially if the available internet connection is limited.

What laptop should I buy for 10 year old?

For a 10 year old we’d either recommend a touchscreen Chromebook device like the Acer Chromebook Spin 314, or if you’re looking for something a bit more powerful with greater versatility that they can use into Middle School, a Windows laptop like the Lenovo 2023 IdeaPad would be the better option. Read within/above for more detail on these two picks.

Best laptop for kids 2024: Final Word

We hope that the above guide has been somewhat illuminating, and has helped you find the best laptop for your kid(s), however old they may be. Do also take a look at our various tablet guides if you think this might suit your child’s needs more, or take a look at our myriad best gaming laptop pages if you think you want something with a bit more power.