Whether you are designing web graphics, altering photos, or just cranking out dank memes, you want your laptop hardware to be able to keep up with any photo editing program.

If your current laptop frequently slows down or freezes while touching up large image files, it’s time for an upgrade.

Want to keep the creativity flowing without interruption from sub-par hardware?

We’ve got you covered with a breakdown of the best laptops for photo editing under $1000!

1. Lenovo ThinkPad E595 – Affordable Photo Editing

Want to use top-of-the-line photo editing tools, but don’t have much to spend on your hardware? You will need to make some hard choices on what specs are most important to you for using a program like Photoshop.

A high-end display should be top on your list of priorities, and that’s what you get here. For a very low price, you get the full 1920 x 1080 resolution in 15 inches of full HD.

In terms of internal components, the Lenovo ThinkPad E595 has an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor, 8GB of RAM, a solid-state drive for faster loading times, and integrated AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics which will give you overall decent performance while editing images.

So… what’s the catch?

Well, the laptop only has 256 GB of storage which is on the low end for what you want when saving large image files. You may end up needing to buy an external USB drive, or be willing to shell out a bit more for a machine with a larger SSD.

This isn’t a top-of-the-line photo editing laptop so this is to be expected. However, you are getting more than you ask for with the prices that it’s being sold.

2. HP Envy – High-End Processor
Our top pick for image editing, in general, is the HP Envy. It has many amazing features but its two main selling points when it comes to photo editing are the processor and the screen.

It features a 10th Gen i7 processor with an 8MB cache that will power through any photo editing tool you use without skipping a beat. This processor is what makes the HP Envy a little pricey since it's one of the latest and fastest processors in its class.

You get a very nice display as well, with over 17 inches of full HD 1920×1080 resolution you’ll be able to quickly notice imperfections in your editing without having to zoom in that much. It simply makes the job much easier.

Now if 17 inches is too big for you, then you should consider taking a look at the LG Gram instead.

3. Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch – 4 Thunderbolt Ports
You had to know we’d be looking at a MacBook eventually, right?

For photo and audio editing, Apple still reigns supreme, even if Windows is catching up these days.

The cream of the Apple crop is of course the MacBook Pro, and that will be your best bet if you want a powerful, full-size laptop for photography.

Besides the high-end specs, there are three main reasons to go with the MacBook over any other device:

First up is the stunning “retina” quality display, offering better colors and darker blacks while editing images.

The second is the MacBook’s extremely high build quality, with an aluminum chassis built to last.

Finally, the Touch Bar is an extremely nifty feature, especially for photo editing, as it predicts what buttons you will need based on the types of programs you use.

The only downside is its price and the fact that you get a limited number of ports. And in older Macbook models you’ll need to get a hub to connect much of anything, since they don’t have any other ports than USB-C ports/Thunderbolt.

Thankfully, this latest version of the Macbook has at least one Gen 2 USB port so you don’t have to rely on a hub. Additionally, since it features 4 Thunderbolt ports, it also allows for easy file transfers which are useful for handling those very large image files.

Want to save yourself more than a thousand dollars? Older MacBook Pro models are available for cheaper, although you lose the Touch Bar feature and drop down to a 256GB SSD.

4. Dell XPS 15 7590 – High-End Display
There’s no question that 4k screens are the wave of the future, but at the moment they remain in “bleeding edge” territory. While they are worth every penny, you are going to pay a premium for this feature.

That being said, the Dell XPS 15 with this display is more than a thousand dollars cheaper than the latest MacBook Pro but offers better overall specs.

With 16 GB of RAM, you can expect to have multiple tabs and editing programs open at the same time without any lag.

The dedicated graphics card also means you can do some gaming on the side, or run memory-intensive video editing tools as well.

Note that the listed battery life is for idle web browsing at medium settings. A 4k screen with a dedicated graphics card will eat through battery life very quickly with any other user.

If you keep the screen brightness at full and are using high-end photo editing software, expect much, much lower battery life. You will probably be better suited just leaving the XPS plugged in most of the time.

5. Lenovo Yoga C940 – Powerful Convertible
Several of our contenders above also feature touch screens, so there’s no shortage of options when picking a laptop specifically for photo editing.

The Lenovo Yoga is easily the best overall touch display machine with a wide range of features, however.

First off, this model is a hybrid machine built with Windows Ink in mind. If you use a stylus for editing often, this is a great option.

Even if you don’t care about a stylus, you still get very high-end specs with the Yoga. Between the i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, large SSD, and dedicated graphics card, your laptop will be ready for anything.

Want to know the best part?

This is also a beast, meaning you get crisp and clear images whether you are using Photoshop or streaming Netflix movies.

There’s also one big feature often mentioned by reviewers. This is less important for photo editing, but it’s worth noting that the speakers are positioned on either side of the machine, rather than the bottom.

That means you get better sound quality no matter what configuration you are using — tablet, 90-degree angle, tent mode, etc.

6. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon – Compact But Powerful
One of the biggest advantages of laptops is their mobility however powerful specs tend to come at the price of being a little heavy or bulky. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is an exception to this though.

Thanks to its ultra-durable carbon fiber chassis, this laptop is able to have a compact design without sacrificing durability. It also makes as light as 2.6 lbs which makes it the lightest laptop on this list.

Despite this lightness, it still features powerful specs like the latest 10th Gen Core i7-10510U processor, 16 GB of RAM, and an Intel HD Graphics 620 card.

Lastly, it has a high standard resolution of 1920 x1080 but it can even go higher with the UHD display featuring 3840 x 2160 pixels of quality photos and videos.

7. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo – Super High Specs
The Asus ZenBook Pro Duo is one of the most powerful laptops on this list.The laptop features a 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H Quad Core Processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card. Being so powerful, this laptop isn’t cheap and it’s a little overkill if you’re only using this for photo editing.

It also has a 15-inch display that has a 4K HD resolution as well so you can enjoy watching movies, playing games, and of course editing photos quite easily in this high resolution.

Its display is also touchscreen as well which makes it really convenient for a lot of people. People who prefer using a stylus will love this laptop as well thanks to the added sensitivity of the screen.

Lastly, it has tons of other convenient features as well, like split windows displays, ergonomic design, and an optimized cooling system preventing you from hearing noisy fans.

8. Razer Blade Stealth – 100% RGB Coverage
Razer is primarily a brand known for its gaming laptop and the Razer Blade Stealth is no exception. This laptop has everything you expect from a gaming laptop, powerful specs, a nice display, and impressive benchmarks.

However, this also means that the Razer Blade Stealth is more than capable of editing photos with its 16 GB RAM, 10th Gen i7 processors, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics. Still what makes this laptop suitable for photo editing is its display.

It features a 15 inch 4K display that shows gorgeous resolutions, its main selling point as a photo editing laptop is its 100% RGB Coverage that covers over 16. 8 million colors as well as multiple preset profiles to make things easier for the user.

Lastly, despite being a gaming laptop, the Razer Blade Stealth has over 10 hours of battery life making it really handy for traveling or in using a laptop when you don’t have a socket to use.

9. MSI Prestige 15 – Flip And Share Mode
The MSI prestige 15 is a powerful gaming machine that’s also meant to serve content creators and editors. It has the latest 10th Gen CPU and 16 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX1650 that renders high-quality images with ease.

Its main attractive feature is its flip and share mode that allows its users to quickly show their works to other people that are near them. Aside from this neat feature, the MSI Prestige 15 also has an amazing display that features 4 K resolution as well as 159% of the sRGB gamut.

Despite being advertised to have 16 hours of battery life, our tests show that it only has 8. This is probably because its powerful specs and 4K resolution eat a lot of battery.

10. LG Gram- Long Battery Life
The LG Gram is a direct competitor of the Lenovo X1 Carbon. They both have powerful specs and they’re both extremely light. And although the Lenovo X1 Carbon is lighter, the LG Gram has a longer battery life than any of the laptops on this list.

With over 19.5 hours of battery life, the LG grams can be used for a long time without having the need to charge.