Tired of lugging around a heavy laptop? These thin and light picks make work, travel, and streaming way easier.

I was getting ready for a months-long backpacking trip and knew I had to swap out my laptop. My old Dell did its job back in college, but it was bulky and annoying to carry around. Since I mostly needed something for writing and watching shows, I didn’t need anything super powerful. That’s what led me to pick the M3 MacBook Air. But if you’re on the hunt for the best thin and light laptops and don’t feel like jumping into the Apple ecosystem, don’t worry. That’s where ultrabooks come in.

Here’s the thing—even if you don’t travel much, having a lightweight laptop just makes life easier. I work remotely most days, but every Thursday I head to TCF, and my laptop makes that commute way smoother.

I’m all about portability, and ultrabooks totally deliver. They’re slim, easy to carry, have solid battery life, and pack enough speed for work, streaming, and even some light gaming. So whether you’re after a budget pick, a reliable work laptop, or the most premium one out there, I’ve rounded up some solid ultrabook choices for you.

1. Best portable Windows laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12

Lenovo’s been a go-to name in the business laptop game for a long time. Their ThinkPad and ThinkBook lines are big hits with professionals—mainly because they’re reliable, powerful, and easy to carry around. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 is one of their best yet. It’s got a 14-inch display, but the overall size stays nice and compact. Compared to the Zenbook UX3405, it’s about the same in dimensions (0.59″ H x 12.31″ W x 8.45″ D), only lighter at just 2.47 pounds.

Thin laptops sometimes give off a fragile vibe. Maybe that’s just in my head; however, thicker models tend to feel sturdier in hand. That’s one reason I appreciate the X1 Carbon Gen 12. The durable design meets MIL-STD 810H standards, so you know it’s built to handle everyday wear without falling apart.

You’ll also enjoy excellent battery life, a top-notch keyboard, and a fingerprint sensor for extra convenience. The downside? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 ($1,789) is on the expensive side. So if you’re on a budget, you can find a solid ultrabook for a few hundred bucks less.

2. Best budget ultrabook: Acer Swift 3 OLED

The Acer Swift 3 packs a couple of standout features that make it worth a look—the OLED screen and a powerful processor.

Running the show is the Intel Core i5-12500H, one of the stronger mobile chips from the Alder Lake lineup. It came out in early 2022, built on a 10-nanometer process, and it handles multitasking with ease. Still, I wouldn’t call the Acer Swift 3 OLED ($699.99) a full-blown workstation. It’s much sleeker and more compact than you’d expect from that category—only 0.7 inches thick and just over 3 pounds.

The OLED display? It’s gorgeous. You get a 16:10 aspect ratio, 400 nits of brightness, and a sharp 2880 x 1800 resolution. OLED screens have been dropping in price, which is great to see, but I hope brands stay focused on battery efficiency as they keep pushing these screens into budget-friendly devices. Sadly, battery life is one of the Swift 3’s weak points. That’s the trade-off you deal with for the strong multimedia performance of an H-series chip.

3. Best ultrabook for work: ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED

The ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED weighs just 2.87 pounds, so it’s super easy to carry around—whether you’re heading to a coffee shop or spending the day at a coworking space. It’s pretty compact too (12.22″ L x 8.74″ W x 0.55″ ~ 0.63″ H), so it won’t take up much room in your bag.

Battery life is solid—reviewers usually get around 10 to 12 hours with a mix of work and downtime like streaming or writing. That’s plenty for a full workday without constantly hunting for an outlet.

The HD webcam looks surprisingly clear, even in dim lighting. That’s a win, especially since most built-in webcams tend to struggle when the lights aren’t perfect.

The Vivobook S 14 OLED ($1,299.99) doesn’t try to be a show-off. It’s not chasing top-tier performance or flashy looks. But it nails the basics and keeps things simple, which makes it a solid pick if you just want a laptop that works well and won’t break the bank.

4. Best ultrabook for gaming: Razer Blade 14

Razer laptops don’t come cheap, and the Blade 14 ($2,795) sticks to that trend. It’s over $2,000, and you’re not even getting the top-tier specs you’d expect at that price. So what makes it worth it?

Well, for one, it nails the design. It’s sleek and minimal—more like a MacBook than your typical flashy gaming laptop. It’s got the performance and features you’d want packed into a compact size. Sure, the price is steep, but performance plays a huge role when you’re buying a gaming machine.

The Blade 14 runs games smoothly. It has a sharp 14-inch QHD+ display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The keyboard feels great too, with a nice bit of RGB lighting—not too much, just enough.

And at 12.6 x 8.7 x 0.66 inches, it’s super portable—perfect for gaming on the go. In fact, it’s one of the few premium gaming laptops that’s still this compact, especially since the Blade 16 got bulkier for more power. If you’re always on the move, the Razer Blade 14 is a solid pick.

Final thoughts on the best thin and light laptops

At this point, I can’t see myself using anything other than a thin and light laptop. Ultrabooks just make everyday stuff—like working from a café or moving between meetings—way less of a hassle. They’re easy to carry, don’t skimp on performance, and honestly, they look pretty sleek too. If you’re in the market for something portable and reliable, any of these picks should do the job.