Business

Best Dell Laptops 2026

August 1, 2026

If you’re shopping for a new laptop, Dell is likely on your radar. As tech journalists who’ve tested dozens of laptops (and researched many more), we’ve looked at every model in the company’s lineup—comparing performance, storage and battery life to pinpoint the best Dell laptops available today. We also spoke with four IT professionals to break down the specs that make a notable difference in efficiency. Ultimately, the Dell 14 stood out as the best Dell laptop overall, thanks to its powerful processor, plentiful storage and a wide range of ports. Ahead, see the five best Dell laptops you can use for work, gaming and more.

We consulted IT experts and rounded up the best Dell laptops for working, gaming and streaming.

ILLUSTRATION: FORBES / PHOTO: RETAILER

Our Top Recommendations

Best Dell Laptop Overall: Dell 14
Best Value Dell Laptop: Dell 16

Best for:

Its fast processing power, which can handle most tasks
Plenty of ports that accommodate external hardware

Skip if:

You want better screen resolution
You want better battery life

The Dell 14 has a 10-core Intel Core 7-150U processor and comes with 16GB RAM, so it can handle multiple power-hungry work applications with ease. The laptop also offers 1TB of SSD storage—plenty to store scores of documents and photos as well as some larger files, like video clips or other media.

The Dell 14 uses an Intel Graphics card that is integrated with the processor rather than being a dedicated separate graphics card. This arrangement isn’t powerful enough for the heaviest of video editors or for gamers, but if you’re doing very light work in Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, it suffices. The laptop also comes with plenty of ports if you need to connect peripherals, including one USB-C, one HDMI, two USB-A, one headphone jack and a power port. It’s also worth noting that while the 14-inch display isn’t a touch screen, it offers FHD+ resolution and gets up to 300 nits brightness. It’s not the brightest screen, but unless you’re heading outdoors with this device, it should be sufficiently bright. The battery life could also be a bit longer, but it should last through your workday.

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Best for:

A large screen suitable for two windows
A good combination of 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage
The touch screen, which is useful for light tasks

Skip if:

You want more storage space
You want a lighter and more portable computer

The Dell 16 is a larger laptop, weighing over 4 pounds, but it features a 16-inch screen that is useful for multitasking. There’s plenty of processing power tucked into this laptop: Its Intel Core 5-120U CPU is useful for most home and standard work tasks and it’s paired with 16GB RAM and plenty of SSD storage. “A fast SSD storage with 16GB RAM makes for smoother everyday use than a marginally quicker processor,” says Steven Athwal, CEO and founder of The Big Phone Store. He adds: “You don’t need a workstation if your work is primarily in a browser, like email, docs, video and so on.” Which is not to say the Dell 16 can’t handle running programs itself; aside from the most demanding projects, like 3D rendering or gaming, this computer is up to most everyday tasks. You can also opt for 1TB of SSD storage.

The Dell 16’s display reaches up to 300 nits of brightness, which is fine for most indoor conditions, and its touch screen is responsive and precise. The battery life of this laptop is lacking; while others we recommend can last nearly 24 hours away from a power socket, this one can only get about nine hours on a single charge. Still, nine hours is plenty of time for most students or for a standard workday, so don’t let the battery life sway away from this model. You can also connect plenty of external hardware, as it has one HDMI port, two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an audio jack and a power port.

Best for:

Its advanced processing power thanks to its CPU and RAM
The screen, which is visible even in bright light
Its high-quality speakers

Skip if:

An HDMI port is critical to your workflow

There are several configurations you can opt for when customizing a Dell 14 Premium laptop, but don’t think you need to choose the most powerful model. “Dell often offers multiple configurations, and the biggest priorities are the processor, memory, storage and the display,” says Mark Vena, CEO and principal analyst with SmartTech Research. The configuration we chose uses the Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, which can easily handle advanced tasks like video editing, 3D modeling and rendering and more. While the configuration we chose features 1TB of storage, you can opt for 512GB, 2TB or 4TB of storage. The biggest draw to this laptop is its use of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card, which can help you run intense graphics applications.

The screen reaches up to 400 nits of brightness, so you can use it in bright rooms or outdoors. It has three USB-C/Thunderbolt ports as well as a 3.5mm audio jack and a Micro SD card reader, but no HDMI port.

Best for:

Its ultra fast processor that can handle demanding, fast-moving programs
Its immersive, bright display
Impressive speakers

Skip if:

You want more than three hours of battery life
You want a lightweight, portable device

Our tech team panel tested and found the Alienware 16 Area-51 to be the best Dell gaming laptop. The configuration we chose offers 64GB RAM, one of the strongest Intel Core processors on the market and a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card, so you can enjoy playing any AAA title. “It offers a massive display that is beautiful for watching videos and gaming,” said one tester, who also felt the laptop’s display showcased dark sequences in the game Borderlands 3 nicely. Our testers were also impressed by the speakers. “I think this was probably the strongest audio quality of all the laptops I tested,” shared one tester.

The primary issue with the Alienware 16 Area-51 is that this laptop is bulky and heavy. It’s nearly twice the thickness of most other Dell laptops we tested, and it weighs 7.5 pounds. Also, almost all ports are located on its back, which can be annoying for swapping in and out external hardware. Still, as this gaming laptop is really intended to replace a desktop computer, the size and port placement aren’t critical flaws. If you’re using it as a desktop replacement, you may not be bothered by its very short battery life of only two or three hours, as you’re unlikely to use this laptop away from a desk and a charger.

Best for:

Converting from a laptop to tablet
A good selection of ports
Its crisp FHD webcam

Skip if:

You want a more responsive keyboard and touchpad
You want better color and contrast when screen is dimmed

If you can’t choose between a tablet and laptop for your next computing device, consider the Dell 14 Plus 2-In-1, a device that doubles as both. With a solid AMD processor and 16GB RAM, this versatile laptop can handle most applications and everyday work tasks. You also get 1TB SSD storage, which is plenty for taking your files with you. There’s also a great selection of ports, including two USB-C, one HDMI, an audio jack and one USB-A.

The 14-inch screen is highly responsive to a finger or the Dell Pro Plus Active Pen stylus, so in tablet orientation, the Dell 14 Plus 2-In-1 is well-suited to drawing or drafting. In laptop mode, the keys and touchpad could be more responsive and have a better tactile feel. If you’re in the market for a laptop rather than a 2-in-1, we recommend sticking with a traditional laptop build, though this is a great choice for someone who also likes to work on a tablet. When the display dims, some users noted that the colors and contrast look a bit muted, too.

How We Chose The Best Dell Laptops

We compared key features, interviewed experts and (in some cases) performed hands-on testing to find the best Dell laptops for various budgets and needs, from gamers and students to casual browsers.

Compared key features: We reviewed Dell’s most popular laptops and compared their specs, looking closely at the processor, graphics card, RAM and more to identify the best experience.
Interviewed IT experts: We interviewed a Dell representative to learn about the company’s offerings and intended users. We also spoke to unbiased computer experts to learn about the benefits of certain specs and features.
Hands-on testing: We panel-tested two of the laptops in this guide, the Dell 14 Premium and Alienware 16 Area-51.
Customer reviews: We made sure that all of the laptops on this list have outstanding customer reviews, with an average rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars.

What To Consider When Shopping For The Best Dell Laptop

You may want to prioritize processing power so you can accomplish all of your work tasks, but it’s not just about the CPU. There’s more to consider before deciding on your next Dell laptop. Here’s what to know:

Performance

Performance refers to how well a laptop’s processor, or CPU, tackles different tasks. If you regularly multitask or work with data-heavy applications, a powerful processor is crucial. Dell offers two different brands of processors, Intel and AMD. “Intel and AMD are neck-and-neck these days, and you’d have to be doing some pretty intensive computing to start fretting over the nuances between each,” says Jake Turner, cofounder and CFO of Cosmistack, Inc. For Intel, look for the Intel 14th-generation or the Core Ultra. As for AMD, most shoppers should opt for an AMD Ryzen Series 7 or higher, especially for multitasking or playing video games.

Graphics

Graphics power determines how your games and applications look and perform, and it’s directly tied to your graphics card (GPU). This chipset makes sure your games and creative tools run smoothly and lag-free. In Dell laptops, there are three main brands: Intel, AMD and Nvidia. For web browsing, streaming and light creative tasks, Intel Graphics offers a nice balance of performance and price. However, an AMD Radeon or Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU is preferred by gamers and creatives because they can handle more data-heavy applications.

Display

When you’re looking at a screen for several hours at a time, a bright display can make a big difference. Most of the Dell laptops on our list have FHD displays, which are a type of LCD. LCDs are known for bright backlighting, so they’re ideal for working at any time of day. That said, there are a few in this guide that have OLED displays, which are excellent for reproducing high-contrast images with vivid colors and are preferred by many video editors and photographers.

Battery Life

With a long battery life, you don’t have to worry about always being near an outlet. A laptop’s battery should last eight hours (though gaming laptops can last as few as four hours), but some laptops can last significantly longer.

Connectivity

If you connect accessories—like a mouse, webcam, extra monitor or keyboard—to your laptop, you need plenty of ports. Most Dell laptops include multiple input options for your peripherals, including USB-C, USB-A, HDMI and an audio jack. Some, like the Dell 14 Premium, also come with a microSD card reader, which can be helpful for transferring photos and videos to your laptop.

Why Trust Forbes Vetted

We’ve spent years covering laptops, desktops and everything in between. We’ve published a library of tech and electronics guides that are based on our hands-on testing and research. This includes dozens of articles on the best computers, tablets and accessories from popular brands like Dell, Apple and more.

The author of this guide, Rebecca Isaacs, is Forbes Vetted’s consumer tech and electronics editor. Over the past six years, she’s personally tested many Dell laptops and can speak to benchmarking, build quality and more. Isaacs also oversees all of our laptop-testing efforts.
Because Dell periodically releases new laptops, we frequently revisit this guide as older models are superseded and go out of stock. It was last updated in July 2026 by commerce writer Alexandra Garrett, who also has experience testing laptops.