Laptop is the big gun for most bloggers. It offers mobility and a relaxing way to write especially the long-form posts. On one hand it seems like there isn’t much of a difference what laptop you’ll choose. Blogging isn’t a performance-hungry task; it doesn’t rely on a specific platform. You can get a a PC, a Macbook™ or even a Chromebook™. But the lack of a clear guideline makes it that much harder separating the wheat from the chaff. There is no one best laptop for blogging, but I have selected 5 great picks for a blogging laptop according to your budget, your lifestyle and the type of blog you are running.
What is essential for a good blogging laptop?
As light as you need it to be
The lightest of laptops start off from 2.2 lbs (1 kg) but still feel feather-light up to 3 pounds (1.4 kg). For comparison – 11 inch MacBook Air weighs 2.4 pounds and 13-inch one hits just below 3 lbs. These are extremely light laptops so don’t worry about weight up to ~5 lbs if it is not your priority. You should take this into consideration depending on what type of blogger you are. Are you a travel blogger? Do you blog a lot on a go? Then lean towards ~3 lbs. Do you write almost exclusively from home or don’t care about a few of extra grams in your bag? Don’t restrict yourself too much.
Clear and vivid screen
Unless you’re planning to write exclusively indoors make yourself a service – get a laptop with a decent screen. Look for screens that have IPS (In-plane switching) and intense back-lighting. Glossy or matte finish? Whatever you prefer.
Superb battery life
This might not be important if you are a home-blogger or you write only in office. Despite that, a nice energy bank is a great bonus even if you don’t move your laptop too much. Moreover, the latest achievements in hardware technologies should allow you to write for hours even on a budget laptop.
Do you need a notebook with a lot of juice in it? Consider getting a chromebook! They’re best suited for online work with their almost trademark characteristics – long battery life and low price tag. What more could you ask for?
MacBook Air
- Light (under 3 lbs)
- Great choice for light users
- Great for Mac savvy users
Macbook Air is the one that introduced ultrabook class of laptops. It’s great for writing on the go. Though, if you plan to work with a lot of video clip but would still like to get a Mac – choose a MacBook Pro.
Toshiba Chromebook 2
- Great battery life
- Great choice for light users
- Great for Mac savvy users
As someone who writes a lot, the keyboard is a joy to use. The keys have a nice little spring to them, and it feels natural and comfortable.
Chromebooks are designed for online work and entertainment. They are essentially well designed basic laptops. And this is probably the best Chromebook at its price point. It’s a great fit for someone looking for a laptop for daily tasks and blogging. Will it work as a primary work machine? Not quite yet. In that case you may need a more well-rounded workhorse. I’ll list these later on in the article.
What makes a laptop the best laptop for blogging?
Quality keyboard
A decade ago a good laptop keyword was an exception. Only a few companies managed to make comfortable keyboards. A few examples would be Lenovo, HP and Apple. I’m happy to announce these times are (mostly) over. Most of laptop keyboards right now are pretty good and neat looking. Even non-business class brands as Dell and Acer started to offer well tuned keyboards in their models.
I know that it is hard to distinguish a bad keyboard from a good one online. So just to be safe, I only included laptops with positive keyboard reviews.
You can also find a lot of compact shallow keyboards in smaller laptops. These keyboards are usually the least favorite of all types. They tend to have no feedback while typing and result in more typos and accidental presses.
SSD
Finally SSD storage is becoming a standard. Once you go SSD, you never go back. And why would you? It makes the whole experience of using a laptop a lot more delightful. For those still living under a “hard drive rock” – SSD is a type of storage that is a lot faster, consumes less energy, makes no noise and is more resistant to damage. It is not ubiquitous since it costs significantly more compare to the more usual hard disk drive setup. Though due to progress in materials and technology getting a SSD won’t break your bank anymore. That’s why all laptops included in this post have a SSD.
External mouse and/or keyboard
External mouse for a laptop is almost a must (unless you’re getting a Macbook – they pretty much nailed it with a trackpad). External keyboards are a less common laptop peripheral but it is still a very much so recommend add-on for writers. External keyboards especially work well with most tablet-type laptops. Then you can get the best of both worlds – a small portable tablet with a comfortable keyboard whenever you need it. What is more, if you get an external mechanical keyboard, you’ll be able to enjoy (and annoy you s.o.) with the clicky and mesmerizing sound of mechanical switches.
What else should I consider?
What type of blogger are you?
If you are a travel blogger – prefer lighter laptops with good battery life. Are you a vlogger (video blogger)? Then consider how heavily you process your videos. If you mostly shoot and upload – don’t worry about extra horsepower for your laptop. However, if you use a green screen, a lot of jump-cuts and simple effects in your vlog, best laptop for blogging for you would have at least 8 GB of RAM and Intel i5 processor. Anything below that will put your patience and nerves on a stress test every time you’ll try editing HD footage.
I think it goes without a question that if you use motion graphics, color grading and special effects, you’ll need a high-end machine. It will need over 8 GB of RAM, dedicated video card (AMD/Nvidia) and an i7 processor or equivalent.
Do you have current preferences?
Do you prefer large keyboards or small? Do you like small and neat devices or large desktop-replacement class laptops? Unless you have no strong feelings one way or the other, take that into consideration. What were your previous experiences with laptops? Are you an avid PC or Mac user? Take these things heavily into consideration. At the end, you’re searching not for best laptop for (video) blogging but for the best laptop for you.
Dell XPS 13
Best compact laptop this year
- Sharp looking edge-to-edge screen
- Great all around specs
- Comfortable keyboard
One of the hottest 2015 releases named as the best 2015 laptop by LaptopMAG. Dell has really worked hard on this to make it an instant classic – great clean design, edge-to-edge screen, great specs all around with the latest generation parts.
ASUS Zenbook UX305FA
A sleek well-rounded laptop
- Bright matte anti-glare screen
- Fanless design (quiet)
- Long battery life
This laptop truly sticks to its` name – fanless design allows it to run without making any noise. It is one of the few ultrabooks that still has a matte screen – yay, less glaring! Finally, what can come at surprise – you can get this flagship ultrabook for $700 or lower.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Best tablet/laptop hybrid out there
- Business-friendly
- Best typing experience for a tablet keyboard
- Very portable
Microsoft took on challenge to remove the need for a tablet and a laptop by merging them into a single device. They might have struggled with their first attempts but the latest release finally got the most things right. If you can extra a few extra bucks on having one device instead of two – look no further.
Table of Best Laptops for Blogging
| Laptop | Price (approx) |
| MacBook Air | |
| Toshiba Chromebook 2 | |
| Dell XPS 13 | |
| ASUS Zenbook UX305FA | |
| Microsoft Surface Pro 3 |
At the end you might find a laptop outside these suggestions that perfectly fits your needs. Nevertheless these recommendations are good picks if you do not have special needs or preferences.
I hope this post answered you the question “What is the best blogging laptop (in 2015)?”. I will regularly update these posts with new laptops since there are many new releases, especially in budget price range. You can explore more laptops here. Also, check out laptops for video blogging!
With the touch screens windows 8 is ought to have to more fun and immersive, but if laptop is not hybrid with a bendable or rotatable screen, you can probably live without it. The difference in price is similarly configured systems with and without touch.
laptop
Not sure about the necessity of long battery life, but a good keyboard is a must, and with good I mean durable. In modern laptops keyboards have been the weakest components in our use, and for some models replacement keyboards can cost 10-20% of the price of the laptop which is often more than its value. Not to mention the pain when it breaks on the road as those keyboards are often available locally only.
Here I’m introducing another stunning laptop form RDP in budget price and Perfect for light work on the Web.
RDP Thin Book -1430a comes with 14″ inch screen & windows 10 based laptop is powered by Intel quad core processor
with 2gb ram & 32gb storage (expandable upto 256 GB). Graphics are provided by an integrated Intel HD Graphics and the system also includes a web camera and connectivity is supported by Bluetooth 4.1 and integrated
802.11a/b/g/n/ac. The laptop is backed by a 10000 mAh 3.7 v battery as well. it gives long battery life up to 8 hours.
Hey Žygimantas, Thanks a ton for helping bloggers like us in choosing the right laptop. This is what we do all the time and even while traveling sometimes. We can’t compromise in the quality and features that every bloggers needs in his/her laptop. The list is very accurate and helpful.
Thanks for this useful article!!!
Now, I am going to buy a laptop for my work as a blogging. This article is really helpful to know about the latest features and specifications of laptops.
Thank you so much for this comprehensive post. I devoured it, being a completely non -techie person that is about to embark on blogging. EG, Creativity in spades, but clueless about laptop specs! I feel much more confident now to go in to stores and discuss what I need. Now, I just need you to post review the best PC cleaner and optimizer software on a budget and I’ll be away laughing! You’ve saved me a lot of time and frustration :)
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