Ive used a MacBook for 15 years, but Id gladly swap it for any of these alternatives

Haley Henschel

The latest Zenbook A14 is a close-to-perfect pick for most Windows users who want an ultraportable that's just as snappy and fairly priced as a MacBook Air, but much longer-lasting. It's especially great for frequent travelers and commuters.

The 2026 Zenbook A14 overachieves on performance and battery life. It runs on Qualcomm's peppy new Snapdragon X2 Elite chip, which I can't hype enough. It's just 10 percent slower than the M5 Air in single-core tasks (so they're effectively equals there). In multi-core workloads, it's 20 percent faster than the M5 Air — a difference you're more likely to feel in practice.

Stamina-wise, the Zenbook A14 is an endurance sprinter. It was able to loop a video for 27 hours and 36 minutes straight before dying, surpassing the M5 Pro, our reigning battery life champ among Apple computers, by 6.5 hours. (Compared to the latest Air, it offers 10 extra hours of battery life.) It's the fourth-longest-lasting laptop we've ever tested in our decade-plus of reviewing them.

The Zenbook A14's chassis is made from Asus' proprietary "Ceraluminum" material, which is smudge-proof and ultra-light yet rigid. It weighs only 2.4 pounds, which makes it 0.3 pounds lighter than the Air. It comes in a tan finish with gold accents and a matte texture that reminds me of pottery. (I think it's refreshing in a world of boring silver laptops — it looks unique without being obnoxious.) Its crown jewel is its bright 14-inch OLED screen, which is more colorful than a MacBook Air's display, if not quite as crisp. Its keyboard is another standout feature: It has a pleasantly smooth, "creamy" feel. It comes equipped with an HDMI port, two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and an audio jack, so it offers way more connectivity options than the Air.

The stellar new Dell XPS 13 is the top MacBook Neo alternative for Windows users with limited budgets and simple workloads, including younger students. It's the better cheap laptop if a backlit keyboard, smooth touchscreen, and/or long battery life are high on your priority list. Its ideal user also likes using wireless earbuds or headphones.

Just like the Neo, the XPS 13 is a 13-inch laptop that offers elite build quality at the lowest price point. It has the same refined, all-aluminum design as Dell's vastly more expensive XPS laptops, like the XPS 14 below. (It also swaps their lattice keyboards for an island-style one that I think is more universally appealing.) Impressively, Dell didn't ditch keyboard backlighting or a 120Hz touchscreen in paring it down for the budget market — you won't find those features on the Neo, by the way. It weighs half a pound less than the Neo, too, making it easier to carry around in a tote bag or backpack.

The XPS 13 isn't quite as speedy as the Neo, which is freakishly fast in the single-core department. (The Intel Core 5 320 "Wildcat Lake" chip in the base XPS 13 I tested was 35 percent slower in single-core tasks and 17 percent slower in multi-core workloads compared to the Neo's A18 Pro chip.) Still, its performance is decent for an entry-level PC. It's important to note that the XPS 13 is way more upgradable than the Neo: It starts with the same 8GB RAM/256GB SSD configuration, but you can kit it wth up to 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage, plus a peppier Intel Core Ultra "Panther Lake" chip. Those spec enhancements make it way more expensive than the Neo, of course.

In terms of battery life, the Neo can't hold a candle to the XPS 13, which lasted 18 hours and 56 minutes in our video rundown test. The Neo died more than four hours sooner. (The XPS 13 also outlasts the M5 MacBook Air by over an hour, FWIW.)

The 2026 Dell XPS 14 is a stylish investment for aesthetic-forward power users — I'm thinking content creators who might also be occasional gamers. You're probably wishing the 14-inch MacBook Pro was even sleeker and a little more portable, and you may be getting impatient waiting for Apple's touchscreen OLED upgrade. You're definitely open to carrying around dongles.

I tested two configurations of the handsome XPS 14. The one I recommend as the best MacBook Pro alternative is an upper mid-tier model with an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H processor and a dazzling tandem OLED touchscreen. It's no battery life champ, but it keeps pace with the base Pro in multi-core workloads, and its integrated GPU is excellent for demanding creative software and casual gaming.

The XPS 14 is easily one of the most elegant laptops I've ever encountered. Dell trimmed down its all-aluminum design for 2026, making it a touch thinner and nearly half a pound lighter than a 14-inch Pro. It's available in two MacBook-y finishes: graphite and shimmer (coming later this year). Its lattice keyboard takes some adjusting to if you're used to regular island-style keyboards, but it translates to a modern, minimalist look. Its seamless glass haptic touchpad looks equally clean. Its speakers are above-average for a Windows laptop — they're just a little more echoey than a MacBook's.

The XPS 14's 2.8K OLED display is a $150 upcharge that I can endorse. It's not as bright or crisp as a MacBook Pro's Liquid Retina XDR display, but it's more vibrant and just as smooth. (The standard IPS version is much duller in comparison.) Keep in mind that OLED won't be a thing on a Mac until late 2026 at the soonest.

The Core Ultra X7 chip is a close rival of Apple's M5 chip when you work it hard. It doesn't feel as snappy in single-core scenarios, but trails the current MacBook Pro by only four percent when used for multi-core tasks. (That's nothing.) What's more, the Core Ultra X7's Intel Arc B390 iGPU is comparable to an entry-level discrete graphics card. It's perfectly capable of running graphically taxing titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with the help of games' AI upscaling tech.

The XPS 14's stamina is lacking compared to the M5 MacBook Pro, though it really depends on what you're using it for. It held out for 10 hours and 19 minutes in our video rundown test, which is a full workday at least, but not great. (Its Apple counterpart ran for over 21 hours in the same test.) That said, its 120Hz OLED display dips down to just 20Hz when you're viewing static content, so it should last much longer when it's not looping a video.

If you want an XPS 14 with MacBook-beating battery life in almost any scenario, look into the $1,999.99 base model with a Core Ultra 5 325 chip. It lasted 22 hours on the dot in our video rundown test, and its refresh rate can drop to a mere 1Hz for static content. Just know that you'll sacrifice a good chunk of power: It offers 35 percent worse multi-core performance than the Core Ultra X7 version. Speed-wise, it's most akin to an M2 MacBook Air from 2022. (The cheaper Dell 14S with the Core Ultra 7 355 chip performs slightly better and lasts even longer, FWIW.)

The new HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is my upgrade pick for MacBook Air coveters with more wiggle room in their budgets and an eye for style.

HP's premium Windows laptop comes in Intel and Qualcomm configurations; I tested a model with the new Snapdragon X2 Elite chip. It performs just as well as the Asus Zenbook A14 (above), which has the exact same CPU. As a refresher, that means it nips the heels of the M5 MacBook Air and Pro in single-core tasks but blows past them in multi-core ones. It doesn't last quite as long as the Zenbook, but it has a better battery life than the MacBook Air with just over 20 hours per charge.

Why pick the OmniBook Ultra 14 over the Zenbook A14, then? I think its design is a bit more stylish and universally appealing — I can see some people disliking the Zenbook's slabby beige shtick. It's also equipped with some premium fixings than the Zenbook lacks.

HP redesigned the OmniBook Ultra 14 for 2026, making it significantly lighter and more streamlined than last year's model. It now weighs only 2.81 pounds and measures 0.42 inches thin, making it a tad heavier than a 13-inch MacBook Air but slightly slimmer. (Its tapered base makes it look even thinner than it actually is.) It gained a brushed metallic accent around its squared edges and nixed the odd corner cutouts that used to house its ports. IMO, it's such a good example of how to make a laptop look chic and modern and interesting without going overboard on flashiness.

As for those aforementioned premium features: The OmniBook Ultra 14 has a haptic touchpad and a gorgeous 2.8K OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a maximum brightness of 1,100 nits. For what it's worth, I do like the Zenbook A14's keyboard and port setup better: The OmniBook's keyboard is a lattice-style one that's a little spongy, and it only has three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports with a headphone jack. (To be fair, that's one more Thunderbolt/USB-C port than the MacBook Air has itself.)

The Zenbook A14's newer, larger sibling is an impeccable buy for professionals (namely, remote workers) seeking a premium Windows laptop that outshines the 15-inch MacBook Air in many ways. You'll have a tough time finding a better option if you want a sturdy ultraportable with a big-and-bright OLED touchscreen — not to mention tons of RAM at a reasonable price for the current market.

The Zenbook A16 is the first laptop to market with Qualcomm's top-of-the-line Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip, and boy, does this thing cook. There's only a nine percent difference between it and Apple's M5 chip in single-core scenarios, which is negligible. It feels so snappy compared to most other Windows laptops I've tried. In multi-core tasks, it screams past the M5 MacBook Air and Pro by up to 38 percent. It's actually the second-fastest laptop we've ever reviewed when it comes to multi-core oomph. The only machine that beats it is the 16-inch, M4 Pro-powered MacBook Pro from late 2024, which cost $3,649 as tested. (We haven't tried the latest M5 Pro or M5 Max models, but they're almost certainly faster, too — and vastly pricier.)

The Zenbook A16 lasted 16 hours and 26 minutes in our battery life benchmark. It doesn't have as much stamina as the Zenbook A14, but that's a very good number for a mega-powerful laptop with a big, vivid display. It beats the 14-hour median for the Windows laptops in our current testing database. And compared to the MacBook Air, you only lose out on an hour and 20-ish minutes of usage.

The Zenbook A16's design is almost identical to that of the Zenbook A14, but it comes with a few upgrades that give it a more premium vibe. One is its OLED display: It's much crisper and brighter, and it has a 120Hz refresh rate plus touchscreen capabilities. Additionally, the Zenbook A16 has an extra SD card slot, and its speakers sound better. (They're not quite MacBook-tier, but they're good for a Windows laptop.) The Zenbook A16's Ceraluminum build also makes the Air feel heavy. At only 2.87 pounds, it's the lightest 16-inch laptop we've ever tried. It's lighter than a lot of 14-inch models I've tested, actually. For reference, the 15-inch MacBook Air weighs 3.3 pounds — almost half a pound more.

A Chromebook might make more sense than the MacBook Neo if you're a very casual user who mainly works in Google apps. The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is a premium hybrid model from late 2025 that's better-made and more power-efficient than most other options in its class. It can pull double duty as a tablet for those who like doodling or taking notes by hand.

Read Mashable's full review of the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514.

The 2-in-1 Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is one of the nicest (and most expensive) Chromebooks I've ever tried. Many of its kin have cheapo, all-plastic builds, but it only has a plastic keyboard deck — the rest is silvery aluminum. It's a very professional-looking machine. Additionally, its hinge is strong and doesn't creak when you rotate it. While its touchscreen display isn't as clear or bright as the Neo's Liquid Retina setup, it has an upscale 120Hz refresh rate. I'm also a fan of its clicky, comfortable keyboard.

Its MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip is one of the fastest processors you'll find in a modern Chromebook, but don't get your expectations too high. In multi-core scenarios, it's 18 percent slower than the Neo's A18 Pro chip. While we didn't record its single-core score, assume it's much worse — the Neo is a single-core speed demon. (Based on other publications' benchmarking, it looks like the Neo is about 40 percent faster in single-core workloads.) Still, the Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is a competent performer for what it is. It's particularly apt for cloud gaming when you factor in that 120Hz display.

The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 lasted 18 hours and 11 minutes in my testing, beating the Neo by three and a half hours. It's the longest-lasting Chromebook we've ever tried, leaving some fancier Windows laptops (and even the latest MacBook Air) in the dust. So, while it may not feel as zippy as a Neo, it won't die on you as fast.

The 2026 Acer Swift X 14 is an excellent desktop replacement for professional creatives who need the oomph of dedicated graphics for especially intensive software (and proper AAA gaming). I specifically recommend it for those who care more about MacBook-esque power than MacBook-esque looks.

After testing two configurations of the Swift X 14, I prefer the $1,999.99 model with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics. It's a top-tier performer with gaming prowess and good battery life, relatively speaking. If you can't find it in stock, the other model I tested was a Swift X 14 AI with an AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor and RTX 5060 graphics. It offers 21 percent worse multi-core performance and only lasted 6.5 hours, but costs $300 less.

While the Swift X 14 lags behind the M5 MacBook Pro in single-core workloads, they're peers when it comes to multi-core tasks. Its discrete GPU makes it better for raw performance in the heaviest of workloads compared to the MacBook Pro, including 3D rendering and PC gaming. It can run graphically grueling titles like Cyberpunk 2077 at super high framerates at 1080p without any AI upscaling tech turned on.

The Swift X 14 lasted 10 hours and 10 minutes in our battery life rundown test. That wouldn't be a great result if it were a regular Windows laptop, but it's excellent for one with dedicated graphics. Still, it lasts about half as long as the MacBook Pro.

Aesthetically, this is a very utilitarian laptop. It weighs about the same as a MacBook Pro, but it's boxier and a bit thicker, and it comes in a single "iron" finish. It packs plenty of ports, including two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, two USB-A ports, a microSD card slot, and an audio jack. Its keyboard has a lovely clickety-clackety feel, and its haptic touchpad is very satisfying to use. You can actually draw on it with the included stylus. (It's tricky to get the hang of it, but it functions like a built-in drawing pad.) The flashiest thing about the Swift X 14 is its 2.8K OLED touchscreen display, which has remarkably punchy colors and a buttery 120Hz refresh rate.

The Asus ExpertBook Ultra is a worthy investment for uncompromising Windows users who want the premium features and horsepower of a MacBook Pro in an ultraportable, MacBook Air-like form factor. If you want a lot of laptop in a little laptop, so to speak, I think you'll be very happy with it.

This luxe business laptop runs on the same Intel Core Ultra X7 385H chip as the Dell XPS 14, so it can also vie with the M5 MacBook Pro in multi-core scenarios. (A negligible seven-percent difference separates their scores there.) It doesn't have as much single-core oomph as a MacBook, but it's decently snappy for an x86-based Windows laptop. Like the XPS 14, it has the very capable Intel Arc B390 iGPU that gives it as much graphics power as an entry-level gaming laptop.

That's especially impressive when you consider the ExpertBook Ultra's leanness. It's 0.01 inches thinner than a 13-inch MacBook Air and 0.3 pounds lighter, yet I was able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on it above 100fps at 1080p with the game's AI upscaling tech turned on. It avoids thermal throttling with the help of a wind tunnel-shaped cooling system featuring big, slow-spinning (read: very quiet) fans — no small feat.

The ExpertBook Ultra beats the latest MacBook Air on battery life — and the XPS 14, for that matter — lasting 18 hours and 26 minutes in our video rundown test. The MacBook Pro has a slight edge over it there.

Asus managed to squeeze a bunch of premium features onto this ultraportable. It has a smooth haptic touchpad and a great mix of ports, even double-sided Thunderbolt/USB-C ports for easy charging. Its backlit island-style keyboard has a UV coating on it that prevents its keys from looking greasy (a common plight of MacBook users). It has a magnesium-aluminum body with a scratch-resistant "Nano Ceramic" finish and two color options: Jet Fog and Morn Gray. I especially love its display, a 2.8K OLED touchscreen with a 30 to 120Hz refresh rate, 1,400 nits of peak brightness, and a matte finish reminiscent of Apple's nano-texture option for the MacBook Pro. All of these features come standard on the ExpertBook Ultra, which explains its sky-high cost.

Get an iPad Air if you desperately want to stay within the Apple ecosystem, but don't necessarily need a full-fledged MacBook. It's a smarter pick if you really care about portability, or if you'd like a device that's optimized for drawing and note-taking.

Read Mashable's full review of the 11-inch Apple iPad Air (M4).

iPadOS 26 introduced a "windowing" feature that lets you resize and open multiple apps at once, making iPads work as laptops. The 11-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip is our current favorite iPad for most people because it's fast and beautiful, but not as overly fast and expensive as the iPad Pro.

The current iPad Air has a pared-down version of the M4 chip that powered the 2025 MacBook Air, yet our testing showed that their performance differences are basically nonexistent. In basic single-core tasks, the 11-inch iPad Air is just one percent slower than last year's 15-inch MacBook Air. In more demanding multi-core workloads, it only scored 12 percent worse. There's a slightly bigger gap between the iPad Air and the latest MacBook Air, which makes sense because it has a newer chip. Compared to the Neo, though, the iPad offers 50 percent better multi-core performance. This is all to say that Apple's tablet can hold its own against its computers. It has more than enough power for the average user in almost any scenario.

The main thing separating the iPad Air and MacBook Air here is the type of software they support. Some iPadOS versions of apps have fewer features than their macOS counterparts.

We didn't measure the M4 iPad Air's battery life ourselves, but it lasted seven hours and 44 minutes for our sister site, PCMag. It can't match any MacBook on stamina, but it'll almost get you through a full workday away from an outlet.

Let's talk design. The iPad Air is basically one big Liquid Retina display. It's just as bright, smooth, and pretty as the screen on an Air or Neo, but it has bonus touchscreen capabilities. (You can draw or take notes on it using an Apple Pencil.) It has the same elite aluminum construction as any MacBook, and it's available in four colors, including two pretty pastel shades of blue and purple. It's incredibly lean, coming in at just 0.24 inches thin and 1.02 pounds. It's almost half as thick as a 13-inch MacBook Air and over half as light. You do forfeit some connectivity there — it only has a single USB-C port; there's not even a headphone jack. But it manages to squeeze in the same great 12MP FaceTime camera as the MacBook Air and Pro.

Know that this is not the most cost-effective MacBook alternative. The iPad Air starts at $749 as of mid-2026, and the base model only has 128GB of storage (or half of what you get with the cheapest MacBook Neo). Plus, its keyboard costs an extra $269, putting you at $1,018 before any storage upgrades you might need.

The MacBook Neo has the same all-aluminum build as Apple's other laptops, but costs less because it has a weaker processor and only 8GB of RAM. It also lacks most of the premium features you'll find on the MacBook Air and Pro, including keyboard backlighting, a haptic touchpad, a 12MP webcam, and True Tone display technology.

It's a similar story for budget MacBook Neo alternatives like the Dell XPS 13 and Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. They look and feel as nice as pricier PCs, but their performance, features, and future-proofing pale in comparison.

The laptops we review get put to work as our primary computers. This includes trying any unique software or use cases they support. We also subject all of our loaners to a multi-app/tab stress test and Primate Labs' Geekbench CPU benchmark, which measures their performance in common tasks. Gaming laptops get put through additional graphical benchmarking.

To gauge a laptop's stamina, we conduct a battery rundown test that involves playing a looped 1080p version of "Tears of Steel," a short open-source Blender movie, at 50 percent brightness and 50 percent volume. Ideally, we hope to get at least 17.5 hours of battery life from MacBooks, 16.5 hours from Windows laptops, and 11 hours from Chromebooks.

As we're using a laptop, we zero in on certain components to evaluate its build quality. These include the display, keyboard, touchpad, webcam, speakers, and ports. We also assess its overall aesthetic and portability.

We determine the ultimate value of a laptop by comparing its performance, design/build quality, and battery life to other laptops with similar pricing, specs, release dates, and use cases. We consider any accessories it comes with, any upgrades from its predecessor(s), and its future-proofing.