The Best MacBook Alternatives You Can Buy in 2025

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 is the hands-down best alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro today, and especially if you need a larger screen. It's super thin and super light, but also a processing powerhouse that's more than up to the task of everything from productivity to demanding creative tasks like 4K video editing. It's also hands down one of the most gorgeous laptops I have ever reviewed.

The heart of the system is its processor. ASUS has outfitted it with the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 CPU. It's the company's highest performance AI processor (as of this writing). It features 12 cores and 24 threads and a maximum clock speed of 5.1GHz to offer peak performance in a multitude of tasks. Coincidentally, this also includes gaming as the same processor is used in many of the highest caliber Windows gaming handhelds (again, as of this writing).

Doesn't offer quite the same level of efficiency as Apple's M3 or M4 chips — few devices do — but it's still able to offer fantastic battery life. By running the screen to 50-60% brightness (bright enough to use comfortably indoors), I measured right around 15 hours of battery life . This will, of course, depend on what you're doing, but it's safe to say that you can count on the Zenbook S 16 to see you through the day and then some.

The design of the laptop is stunning. It features the company's new Ceraluminum lid, which combines ceramic and aluminum to create an extra durable, fingerprint-resistant finish. There are many small touches that really emphasize that this is a premium product. Above the keyboard, the ventilation area is composed of more than a thousand tiny, individually milled holes. Is this necessary? Probably not, but it looks beautiful.

Connectivity is also better than the MacBook with dual USB Type-C ports, a full-size USB Type-A, and an SD card reader. Both Type-C ports are capable of transferring video and powering the laptop. There is also a headphone jack and an HDMI-out port to connect to an external monitor.

Rounding out the experience is its stunning screen. It comes with a bright 500-nit OLED display with a 2.8K resolution (2,880 x 1,880). The screen supports multi-touch, so you can choose whatever input feels best to you in the moment. It's also able to dynamically change between 60Hz and 120Hz for smooth motion while also maintaining its great battery life.

If the Zenbook S 16 has an Achilles heel, it's that its surface temperatures tend to get hot. It was the first model that Asus used this new ultra-premium design with, and it's the one area you do have to bear in mind as a drawback compared to the MacBook. Still, setting it on a desk completely alleviates this concern, and it's an acceptable trade-off for all that this laptop has to offer. It's fantastic.

At well under $1,000, the Acer Swift Go 16 OLED is a budget-friendly alternative to the MacBook Air that offers a great screen and all-day battery life in an exceptionally portable form factor.

Weighing in at only 3.53 pounds, this laptop won't weigh you down through the day. Despite its low weight, it features a 16-inch screen with an impressive 3,200 x 2,000 resolution. I'm more than a little surprising to see a display of this caliber on a laptop at this price, but that's exactly what you're getting here.

It also doesn't lack in processing power. It comes with Intel's Core Ultra 5 125H CPU. It's a generation old at this point, which accounts for some of its budget-friendly pricing, but still has more than enough performance for day-to-day productivity tasks and light creative work. It also features a built-in neural processing unit (NPU) for improved AI functionality and support for Microsoft Copilot.

The other part of its budget pricing comes from its memory and storage configuration. This laptop comes with 8GB of memory and 512GB of system storage. While the storage is fine if you're not working with a lot of big files, only 8GB of memory limits its multitasking ability and how well it will work with more demanding tasks like video editing.

If you're not planning on doing that and will only be working in a program or two at a time, it's a trade-off that allows you access to its excellent screen and ultra-portable form factor.

Yes, the Asus Zenbook S 14 appears to be a smaller version of the Zenbook S 16 leading off this list, and I have no qualms about recommending both models as MacBook replacements. While the two share a lot of similarities, the S 14 is distinct in a number of ways and makes a fantastic MacBook Air replacement.

While the larger S 16 uses an AMD CPU, the S 14 instead uses the latest generation Intel Core Ultra. It's high performance and surprisingly great for gaming. When I reviewed it, I was impressed at just how high performance it was; it didn't matter whether I was working in Adobe Premiere Pro, in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or even if I was just browsing social media or YouTube, it was snappy and fast and never once missed a beat. On top of that, it's noticeably cooler than the S 16 and is more lightweight and portable (though neither suffer in that regard).

At only around 2.5 pounds and less than a single half inch at its thickest point, it's incredibly portable. So much so that more than once I forgot I was even carrying it and had to double-check my bag to be sure I hadn't left it on my desk at home. While I was initially concerned that its 14-inch screen may be too small, its portability really won me over.

On top of that, it offers outstanding battery life. This is a laptop that you could easily use for multiple days if your use is intermittent. In formal testing, it topped out with more than 15 hours of battery life, which is simply outstanding.

This also deserves kudos for its outstanding screen. The laptop comes with a 2.8K OLED display (2,880 x 1,800). It reaches up to 500 nits and looks amazing. This is especially true for HDR gaming. You'll need to lower the resolution and settings a bit to maintain playable frame rates, but given that it doesn't even include a separate graphics card, that's a very reasonable concession to be able to play Baldur's Gate 3 and other AAA games on the go with what's ostensibly a creative and productivity laptop.

Overall, this is an absolutely killer pick as a MacBook Air alternative and comes in at a surprisingly reasonable price.

The Asus TUF Gaming A14 is the go-to choice for replacing the MacBook Pro 14. It’s small, powerful, and quiet while also offering impressive battery life. And best of all, when it’s time to play games, its Nvidia RTX 4060 processor is more than up to the challenge. At 3.2 pounds, it even manages to be lighter than the MacBook Pro 14.

There are three versions of this laptop available, giving you the choice of an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS or AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and either 16GB or 32GB of RAM. The RAM is also faster than much of the competition, such as the MSI Stealth 14, giving it an edge in performance. We tested the entry-level version and were impressed by how fast it was. The Ryzen 7 8845HS is an extremely capable processor that frequently outpaces Apple’s M3 processor in multicore performance — exactly what you’ll be looking for if you’re a creative or power-user the MacBook Pro 14 is intended for. We weren’t able to test the HX 370 version, but it’s significantly faster, so we expect it to make the TUF Gaming 14 and even better fit.

MacBook Pro fans rightly stand by how quiet and power efficient it is. The A14 does have more fan noise, but compared to most other powerful laptops, it’s significantly quieter. In our review, we remarked that we didn’t know “what kind of black magic” Asus was pulling because it’s simultaneously cooler than most other gaming laptops too, so thermal throttling should never be a problem.

The fact that the A14 features a dedicated graphics card, which the MacBook Pro 14 lacks, does impact battery life but this can be mitigated by utilizing Advanced Optimus, allowing Windows to only turn on the 4060 when it needs to. On the processor alone, it lasts around ten hours, so depending on what you’re doing, it can easily last a full workday or more.

The biggest challenge this laptop faces is its pricing. While the entry-level model will suffice for many users, if you need 32GB of memory for apps like Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, you’ll need to buy the most expensive version. That bumps the price from $1,399 to $1,699. Still, if you can’t live without Windows and don’t want to sacrifice performance, weight, or size, the Asus TUF Gaming A14 is an excellent alternative.

If you're a creative professional, a traditional laptop just might not cut it. That's where the Microsoft Surface 11 comes in. It offers many of the same benefits as the Apple MacBook in a convenient 2-in-1 form factor that's perfect for digital artists. Even if you're not a creative, however, the versatility of its design makes it a stellar alternative for productivity and entertainment as well. I fell in love with it when I reviewed it earlier this year and still use it regularly when I need something portable and versatile for work and play.

Featuring the latest Snapdragon X processors, the Surface Pro 11 is one of the first systems to use an ARM processor similar to Apple's M-series chips. You can choose from the Snapdragon X Plus or Snapdragon X Elite processor for your choice of 10 or 12 CPU cores. They run fast and efficiently, offering great performance in creative apps like Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Illustrator. Their efficiency doesn't quite allow for all-day battery life, topping out at around ten hours, but it's enough for a full day of work or school. If you do happen to run it dry, the device supports fast charging and can replenish around 80% of its battery in around an hour with its charger.

The first generations of the Microsoft Surface tended to have modest hardware. That's just not the case this time around, making these systems veritable powerhouses if you want them to be. You can outfit them with anywhere from 256GB of storage all the way up to a terabyte, and anything from 16GB of memory up to 64GB. The storage is also expandable using an easy-to-access panel behind its kickstand. The display is available in LCD or OLED variants with a resolution of 2,880 x 1,920 in a 13-inch size. It's exceptionally crisp and looks great whether you're clinking away at spreadsheets or streaming a game from Nvidia GeForce Now.

The biggest challenge facing the Microsoft Surface is that it doesn't offer the same level of instant compatibility a normal PC. Because the Snapdragon processors use fundamentally different technology than so-called x86 processors such as those from Intel and AMD, ot all applications work with them. They run an app emulation layer that helps with this, and the compatible app library has expanded to include most of the major applications creatives and professionals typically use. However, it's not 100% yet, and it's worth keeping in mind before committing to a purchase.