No single computer can do everything well, but when you’re looking for the best laptop for photo editing, you can begin by prioritizing the features that matter most to photographers. Power and graphics performance are a given, but do you want a 4K display? Is a lightweight laptop a must for you? What about durability? And do you want a traditional clamshell laptop, or would your workflow benefit from a versatile 2-in-1 design?

These are all things you’ll want to consider when searching for the best laptop for your photo editing workflow.

You’ll need a high-resolution color-accurate screen
Most people can get away with skimping on the quality of their laptop display, but not photographers. If you’re going to buy a photo editing laptop, a high-resolution display with great advertised color accuracy is a must.

In terms of resolution, all modern laptop displays break out into three categories: 4K, QDH (also known as 2K), and Full HD. The smaller your screen, the less you need to worry about resolution, but a 4K laptop is always best when you’re looking for the best laptop for photo editing.

When it comes to color accuracy, you’ll want to pay attention to the advertised color space coverage. Creator laptops will usually list color accuracy as a percentage of three different color spaces: sRGB, DCI-P3, and/or AdobeRGB. The higher the percentage the better, but you’ll want your photo editing laptop to cover at least 99 to 100% of sRGB. The best laptop for photo editing will go above and beyond this, boasting 95% to 100% coverage of the more extensive DCI-P3 or AdobeRGB color spaces.

What is the best laptop for photo editing in terms of performance?

The performance core of every computer is its CPU, and if you’re looking for the best photo editing laptop, you want to make sure you don’t cut corners on performance.

Raw CPU performance is measured in clock speed (GHz), the higher the better, and the number of “cores” that it has at its disposal. Most laptops will use either an Intel Core or AMD Ryzen CPU, with Apple’s latest MacBook Pro and MacBook Air featuring their own Apple Silicon M. But no matter who makes the processor, you can usually judge overall performance by looking at the maximum clock speed and the number of cores that your processor offers.

The most powerful photo editing laptops will use the latest 6- or 8-core CPUs from Intel, AMD, and Apple. Clock speeds start around 2.3GHz but can “boost” under certain conditions to as much as 5.3GHz. These are usually paired with a great laptop graphics card, like NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX or RTX cards, which helps the CPU on graphics-intensive tasks like heavy-duty photo and video editing.

Always on the go? Get a lightweight laptop

All laptops are portable in theory, but there’s a huge difference between a 13-inch ultra-portable and a 17-inch desktop replacement. If you haul your computer with you everywhere you go, you’ll want to consider a lightweight laptop that will save you back-ache without slowing you down when you’re using your favorite photography tools like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.

Most modern laptops range in size from 13 to 17 inches (measured diagonally), and are classified by a variety of buzzwords. If you’re looking to save weight, you should be looking for a lightweight laptop that’s marketed as “ultra-lite” or “ultra-portable,” and you probably want to favor 13- and 14-inch models over the heftier 15-inch and 17-inch options. Fortunately, there are some surprisingly powerful lightweight laptops out there that won’t skip a beat during an intense photo editing session.

Don’t forget about durability

A lot of photographers take their laptops on location to dank, dusty, or dangerous places all over the globe. If that describes you, then finding a rugged photo editing laptop is crucial. This goes beyond the typical definition of a “well-built” laptop.

To be clear, we don’t recommend getting caught in the rain with any laptop, but some brands are tested to comply with “military-grade” standards and can handle everything from humidity and dust, to vibration and drops, to extreme cold and extreme heat. If you’re busy surviving arctic conditions to capture the perfect wildlife photo, the last thing you need is your photo editing laptop sputtering out on you.

For versatility, nothing beats a 2-in-1 laptop
Most laptops come in the traditional “clamshell” design that we’re all familiar with, but if you want a more versatile photo editing experience, you should definitely consider a 2-in-1.

The 2 in “2-in-1” refers to the ability to use these computers as both a traditional laptop and as a tablet. These photo editing laptops feature touchscreen displays, sometimes with stylus support, that can be removed or folded in various ways so that the keyboard is out of the way. Once in tablet mode, you use them the way you might use an Apple iPad or Microsoft Surface Pro, allowing you to take notes, have a more immersive video experience, or interact directly with your photos.

The benefits for photographers are obvious, since photo editing is so tactile. In moments, you can go from typing up a report to editing your photos in Photoshop using a pressure sensitive stylus.

Best laptop for photo editing on a budget: What you can get for under $900
It’s hard to find the laptop for photo editing on a budget that still delivers great specs. There’s always a trade-off, usually in terms of CPU performance, screen quality, and/or build quality. The good news is, you can definitely still get a great photo editing laptop without breaking the bank, you just have to know which corners to cut.

If you drop the discrete graphics card, opt for less built-in storage, and choose a Full HD screen, you can save a lot of money without sacrificing too much in the way of performance.