The best HP laptops are well worth checking out, whether you want a reasonably priced device for casual use, a business-oriented device for work, or a full-on workstation for creative professional tasks such as 3D modelling and animation. Founded in 1939, Hewlett-Packard is a company associated with trust, reliability and quality. But its naming conventions aren't very illustrative or helpful, so it can be confusing to try and work out which is the right model for you.
To help you out, we've carefully curated a selection of the very best HP laptops, based on our own experience, expertise and hands-on reviews, as well as those of our sister sites and wider network of contacts.
We’ve looked at a variety of factors, including specs, power, display, features and value for money. And based on our findings, we've picked the best HP laptop for a range of different purposes. (If you want to find out more about our review processes, you can read more about how we test laptops.)
Of course, HP isn't the only trusted laptop brand, so note that we also have guides to the best Dell laptops and the best MacBook for students, as well as more general guides to the best laptops for graphic design and the best laptops for video editing.
The best HP laptops available now
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Need a good all-rounder for working from home? The HP Envy 13 should do the job nicely; it's compact and capable, and while it's unlikely to provoke actual envy, it certainly has enough power for both creative work and day-to-day business stuff. With options going up to an Intel Core i7 it isn't exactly a powerhouse, but it'll happily handle most design apps with ease.
It comes in a sturdy aluminium build with a nicely comfortable keyboard and crisp 13.3-inch display. And as we noted in our review, it's a capable machine where you don't have to compromise. The only thing we're not too keen on is its plastic touchpad.
Read more in our full HP Envy 13 review (opens in new tab).
Want a cutting-edge laptop that doubles as a tablet? Then let us present the HP Spectre x360 16 2-in-1, updated for 2022. This thing is loaded. And it’s all wrapped up in a slim all-alloy chassis, and remarkably reasonably priced for what you get.
The 16-inch OLED touchscreen is nothing short of stellar, you get a bundled input pen with Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0 support, a decent 12th-gen Intel CPU, Intel’s Arc graphics, and great battery life, all for a surprisingly appealing price. With 1TB SSD storage, you're well set for local storage too. Granted, the sound quality isn't great, and HP needs to improve its basic software configuration a bit. But there’s too much to like for those details to spoil what is a really appealing value proposition.
Read more in our full HP Spectre x360 16 2-in-1 (2022) review.
The HP Envy x360 is sleek, compact and doubles up as a tablet thanks to its 360-degree hinge and touchscreen capabilities. It's got a smaller (13.3-inch) screen than the HP Spectre x360, above. But that makes it lighter and more compact, so that may be preferable depending on your needs.
This laptop comes with the latest Intel Core i7 processor and has a generous 16GB of RAM. It’s a great choice for students and business professionals alike since you get the power of a laptop but the convenience of a tablet.
This model also combines an impressive build quality with a strong performance that is ideal for everything from day-to-day computing through to sitting back and watching a movie, so it's an excellent choice for people who want a little bit of everything, and want that everything to perform well while looking good.
Read more in our full HP Envy x360 review.
If you're looking for a top-level HP laptop that's ideal for creative professionals, may check out the HP ZBook Firefly G9, upgraded and uprated from its G8 predecessor. It can handle the majority of creative tasks with ease, and it's a pleasure to use too.
This laptop comes with HP's Wolf Security, which is a great help to pros who want to keep their stuff safe, along with a fingerprint scanner and physical webcam shutter, along with an inbuilt Tile, which lets you track your device should it go walkabout at any point. The only real downside we discovered in our tests was that the fan may kick in early and a little too often. Read more in our full HP ZBook Firefly G9 review.
The HP Elite Dragonfly G3 (below) is the best HP business laptop overall right now. But it is expensive. So if you don't need 4K resolution or completely stellar specs, the HP EliteBook 840 G9 offers excellent value.
With a powerful Intel Core i7 processor, everything runs nice and fast, and the laptop scored well in our benchmark test. The 14-inch display offers a pixel density of 162 PPI, which is more than enough for regular photo-editing and digital artworking. Unusually these days, there are lots of ports too, which if you're anything like me, you'll find very welcome for plugging external keyboards, mice, portable hard drives and other peripherals into.
I found the battery in this laptop lasted an impressively long time, and was impressed by how the business-spec security software was nicely unobtrusive. And the fingerprint sensor and the Windows Hello-enabled webcam add extra layers of protection too.
Read more in our full HP EliteBook 840 G9 review.
When you're editing photos you don't always need a stack of power. But every now and then you'll find yourself working with a huge image and a stack of filters, and in need of all the grunt you can get. So if you're after the best HP laptop for photo editing, we'd suggest the ZBook Studio G8.
Even in its basic configuration, it has more than enough oomph for everyday photo editing, and if you go for pricier setups you'll find it can deal with the most demanding creative apps. It's light and slimline with a sharp and bright 15.6-inch display, as well as Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers for top audio quality.
The HP Chromebook x2 11 is a Chromebook to convince you Chrome OS has a place in your life. It's 11-inch screen is just right for viewing on the go, and its bright edge-to-edge glass finish feels classy in your hands.
The battery life is fantastic and inside, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c processor handles everything you can throw at it, which admittedly is limited by Chrome OS – there's no full version of Photoshop on Chrome, for example. Yet, the HP Chromebook x2 11 proves adaptable and flexible; a tablet for sketching, browsing and games and a laptop for work.
Also, if you are looking for a budget alternative to the iPad Air, this is a great shout (and one where you don't have to pay extra for a keyboard...).
The average laptop isn't really enough if your work involves lots of video, so if you need a machine that won't give up the ghost when faced with a stack of 4K footage, the HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 is the way to go. It's not the most exciting-looking laptop, granted, but this portable workstation looks extremely impressive in terms of power, especially when you start spending on more heavyweight specs.
Big performance is going to cost you, of course, and you'll also find that this isn't one of the most portable laptops. It's big and heavy and you won't want to rely on it when you're not near an electrical socket, as the battery life isn't particularly long.
The HP Omen 17 is an absolute monster of a gaming laptop, and you know what that means: not only can it cope with all the latest games in maximum detail with as many frames per second as you need, it'll also be great for eating the most demanding design apps alive.
The basic configuration isn't exactly cheap, but with the mobile version of the GeForce RTX 3070 under the hood it's a proper graphical performer. For serious performance, however, you can spend quite a bit more on a model with an extra 16GB of RAM as well as the top-end RTX 3080, which should see you able to easily outpace the average desktop PC.
'Cheap' is a relative term here, but if you don't have a fortune to spend but need good build quality and great performance, you'll be happy with the HP Pavilion Aero 13. Unlike most of the HP laptop line it's powered by an AMD chipset providing plenty of power, and it's super-lightweight thanks to a magnesium alloy chassis.
Its 13.3-inch display is sharp and bright, and if you have lots of peripherals you want to plug in you'll be delighted by its generous array of ports. There's even a fingerprint sensor for instant logins. Of course there are some compromises; the webcam isn't really up to much and the trackpad's made of plastic, but these are minor gripes.
If you're looking for one of the best laptops from HP for business, and you've got money to spend, the HP Elite Dragonfly is the best in show right now. Updated for 2022, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3, drops the 2-in-1 functionality for a purer premium ultraportable approach. We like the taller 3:2 aspect screen in this compact 13.5-inch form factor. The combination of the slim chassis and great connectivity, including USB4, USB-A and full-sized HDMI is an added plus.
It’s well specified, too, with a 12th Gen Intel CPU, a large, remarkably long-lasting battery for this device class, and much better connectivity than you might expect given the ultra-slim chassis.
There are some extra little details like a fingerprint scanner for logging into Windows – some people will find that gimmicky while for others it will provide a welcome security enhancement. The keyboard is very pleasant to use too. It's fairly expensive and does suffer from sluggish performance at times. But all in all, this is a very solid business laptop choice. Note that its successor, the G4, was announced at CES 2023, but we don't have a release date yet.
How should I choose the best HP laptop for me?
Before you decide which is the best HP laptop, you should establish what you need the laptop for. HP is a reliable brand, but each machine will have different strengths (and weaknesses) that could make all the difference to your experience.
HPs ranges cover everything from general consumer laptops to business laptops, gaming laptops and devices aimed at creatives, so make sure to look at the key specs and features you need in your new laptop. If you’re just looking for something to boost productivity and for general browsing, your needs may be fairly basic; a reliable machine with decent battery life and a simple design, like the HP Chromebook.
Or, if you need something a bit more suitable for work environments, you could look into the EliteBook range; the HP EliteBook 840 G9 will give you enough battery to power through the day and then some. If you’re looking for a device that can support your creativity, you’ll need something with dedicated graphics and a lot of power like those found in the Envy and Zbook ranges.
Who are HP's different laptop ranges aimed at?
With such a wide variety on offer, HP’s laptop ranges can be overwhelming at first, but there are clear distinctions between the kinds of users each line targets. Once you’re familiar with these, shopping for an HP laptop becomes a lot less daunting.
At the top of the range are HP Spectres and Zbooks, the most premium laptops – the latter being portable workstations. These are designed to be the ultimate all-rounders, packing power, battery life and portability into one robust and reliable machine.
The next step down would be the HP Envy range, which connects the professional and consumer markets. Featuring a number of x360 2-in-1 laptops, the Envy range is premium but with more accessible prices than the Spectres and Zbooks, as well as some impressive specs.
Then, there’s the EliteBook range, which is directed towards business users, the HP Omen for gamers, and lastly, the HP Pavilion, which is suited best for the general consumer and family market. Beyond these main ranges, HP also produces a number of small, lightweight Chromebooks, which run Chrome OS rather than Windows; so don’t expect all of the desktop apps you’re used to.
How much do HP laptops cost?
HP laptops span pretty much the entire range of price points, thanks to the wide range of different-spec laptops available. If you're on a tight budget, you can get HP entry-level laptops or HP Chromebook laptops for as low as £200/$250. Then you can work your way upward through the 130 or so models and variants available until you get to the beefiest HP Omen laptops, kitted out with all the processing power you'll need and the latest-generation graphics cards, which will set you back over £3,000/$2,500.
Are HP laptops good?
HP is one of the most experienced maker of laptops in the world, and has achieved that status on the back of making high-quality, reliable laptops for decades. HP is perhaps best known for its business laptops and computers, but with over 130 models available at the time of writing this, you can find anything from ultra-cheap laptops for school through everyday work and business models to creative powerhouses and specced-out gaming rigs capable of giving dedicated gaming brands a run for their money - if you know how to get the most out of them, that is.
I say that because HP is also known in recent years for downtuning its machines, in the name of battery life and durability. That means that creative professionals and gaming aficionados may sometimes find themselves a little disappointed with the top-level performance of HP laptops that they use. Thankfully, you can manually change those settings, if you know what you're doing, or alternatively take it to a computer expert who will do it for you. However, if you want optimum performance over battery life or long-term durability out of the box, you may need to add other brands to your shortlist.
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