The 4 Best Laptops For Video Editing of 2025

The best laptop for editing videos we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2024). This exceptionally well-built model delivers an outstanding user experience and can handle even the most demanding video editing projects. Its Mini LED display looks sharp, bright, and color-accurate, with full coverage of the DCI P3 color space. You also get a wide port selection, including an HDMI 2.1 and a full-size SD card reader. While all models can handle video editing, we recommend one with an M4 Pro or Max SoC (the M4 Pro model starts at $1,999 USD), as the base M4 chip will quickly hit its limits in highly complex projects.

This M4 model features a couple of notable upgrades and new features, including a brighter display (up to 1000 cd/m² in SDR when viewing content outdoors), a nano-texture display that further cuts glare, a 12 MP webcam with Center Stage support, and Thunderbolt 5 (Pro and Max models). If you want more screen space and don't mind a bulkier, more costly device, get the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2024). It's the same device but with better-sounding speakers.

For Windows users, we recommend the ASUS ProArt P16 H7606 (2024). Sporting a stunning OLED display, a powerful AMD Ryzen CPU, and a discrete NVIDIA 40-series GPU (RTX 4060 or 4070), this 16-inch model is well-equipped to handle any video editing projects. What makes it stand out is its touch-sensitive dial, which you can program to quickly access various tools and settings, making your workflow more efficient. Its main drawback is its terrible battery life, which averages around five hours of light use, so you'll have to keep the charger close by. Also, keep in mind that its OLED display flickers at 120Hz, which can bother people sensitive to display flicker.

Our best mid-range pick is the HP OMEN Transcend 14 (2024), a gaming/content creator laptop. This model is available with an Intel Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9 CPU and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 discrete GPU, all capable hardware for video editing. It sports an excellent 2.8k OLED display with full sRGB and DCI P3 coverage, making it suitable for producing SDR and HDR content. While the display's brightness is fine for most indoor settings, it doesn't get nearly as bright as the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2024) in HDR. Also, its glossy finish doesn't handle reflections all that well. You get plenty of ports to connect peripherals and external displays, including two USB-As, two USB-Cs (one Thunderbolt 4), and an HDMI 2.1. Its battery life also falls short, lasting only around six hours of light use.

Another worthy mention is the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024). It's very similar to the HP OMEN Transcend 14, as it also sports a 120Hz OLED display with full DCI P3 coverage and is available with NVIDIA 40-series GPUs, up to an RTX 4070. The main difference is that it's an AMD Ryzen system. The Ryzen CPUs perform well, but some programs, like Adobe Premiere, work better on Intel/NVIDIA systems, so the choice really comes down to which apps you use. Also, this laptop gets hotter and louder under load.

The best budget laptop for video editing we've tested is the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023). You can configure this laptop with a Ryzen 7 7735HS or Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU paired with an AMD Radeon RX 6700S or Radeon RX 7700S discrete GPU, giving you plenty of processing power for intensive video editing tasks. RAM and storage max out at 32GB and 1TB, respectively—you can add more later, as both are user-replaceable. As for the display, you can choose between an FHD+ or a QHD+ panel. We recommend the latter; it has a higher peak brightness to combat glare and full DCI P3 coverage (the FHD+ display only has 100% sRGB), and its increased sharpness will allow you to see finer details more clearly.

This laptop feels very well-built, considering the price. It isn't overly bulky for a 16-inch device, but it's a 16-inch device nonetheless, so you'll need a fairly big bag to carry it. Port selection is great; you get two USB-As, two USB-Cs, an Ethernet, and a true HDMI 2.1 port. Unfortunately, there's no Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 support. Also, this laptop gets hot and loud under load, and there are no biometrics, like a fingerprint sensor or facial recognition camera.

If you have simpler projects or only edit videos once in a while, consider the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025). Although its Retina display isn't as impressive as its Pro sibling's Mini LED, it's still well-suited for video editing, as it has full DCI P3 coverage and superb factory calibration. You get the same premium build quality as the Pro, as well as the same keyboard, touchpad, and 12MP webcam. With the M4 chip, you can now configure this laptop with up to 32GB of RAM, which should be more than enough for most people. The downside is that RAM and storage upgrades are incredibly expensive, bringing it close to or exceeding the price of a base Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2024).

Performance-wise, the base M4 SoC can handle most video editing tasks. However, it'll struggle in intensive projects with multiple high-resolution streams, causing frame drops and stutters. This is because the base M4 only has a 10-core GPU, and there's no fan to keep the chip cool under load, resulting in thermal throttling. If your work is highly complex, you're better off getting a MacBook Pro with a more powerful M4 Pro/Max SoC. Port selection is another weak point; you only get two USB-Cs and a MagSafe charging port. Thankfully, Apple has upgraded the MacBook Air's external display support, as you can now connect up to two 6k @ 60Hz monitors while using the built-in screen.