By Mike Szostech Last updated
We have done a ton a research to try and find the best laptops in Canada, and what we’ve found is that most people are looking for an informed suggestion. If you know what you want from a laptop, then this roundup of the best laptops won’t be the most helpful.
If, however, you’re looking for a good deal on a laptop for school, or for work, etc, then we hope this will be useful as you make your decision.
We tried to find the best laptops in Canada by getting everything to similar specifications, and then comparing the extra features and the price, but it’s a really difficult thing to do.
Instead, we’ve created this overview of the best laptops in Canada, and then we did some more specific comparisons. If you need a more specific laptop, then check out our guides:
- Choosing a lightweight laptop Canada for ultraportable work or play
- The Best gaming laptops under 1000 in Canada
Best Laptops in Canada in 2023 Comparisons:
Hey Canada! This section helps you compare the features of these products to help you choose the best option for you! Click on the product name to jump down to that specific review.
Laptop Weight
As technology improves, computer components get smaller and smaller. This year's heaviest laptops weigh what the lightest laptops did just a few years ago!
If laptop weight is very important to you, check out our round-up of the lightest of the lightweight laptops in Canada
Processor
Generally speaking, the higher the GHz rating of the laptop processor, the faster the computer will be. Aside from computing speed, the newer processors typically use less energy as technology improves. Less energy usage means that the laptop will be able to run longer on a similarly sized battery.
Hard Drive
The size of hard drive you will need in your laptop depends on what type of work you are going to be doing, what types of programs you use, and where you will be storing your data. If you will be running programs like Photoshop or Microsoft Office, or installing games on your laptop, you will need a larger hard drive than if you simply use Google Docs and GMail. If you want to store lots of photos or videos on your laptop, you will need a larger hard drive than if you plan to use OneDrive or DropBox. And of course, the larger the hard drive, the more expensive the laptop tends to be. And, if you need a large hard drive, then the Google Chromebook is not a choice for the best laptops in Canada for you - they are designed as a portable laptop that that uses online programs like Google Docs and stores data in the cloud.
Memory
The more memory (RAM stands for random-access-memory), the more expensive the laptop will be. The more memory, generally the faster the laptop will be as well. It's a pretty direct relation between paying for more RAM and getting a faster laptop.
Other Features
How to choose the best laptop for you?
There are literally hundreds of different laptops you can buy, so how do you decide what laptop is best for you?
Take some time to consider what the purpose of your laptop is – is it going to be used mainly for emails and social media (like a Smartphone with a keyboard), or is this a laptop for taking notes during college classes or at the office? Or are you planning to use it for editing videos for your YouTube channel, or graphic design of some sort?
Perhaps you’re a gamer and you want a portable computer to take to friends houses for multi-player games.
Will you want to use it as a media device where you can stream movies, or where you can play DVDs? Many laptops don’t come with a DVD drive so it’s an important consideration when choosing the best laptop for you.
Or, maybe you want it to be able to do all of these things!
Here are some quick tips for buying the best laptop for you:
- Screen Size – Smaller screens like a 12 inch or 13 inch are more portable, and work better for kids. Large screens (17 inch) are better for games or presentations at the office. The middle of that is the 14 to 15 inch laptop size. Touchscreens are also another option to consider.
- Battery Life – Longer battery life costs more, but if you can afford it, it’s something you’ll never regret. What I regret is having to get up and find my power chord in the middle of a task.
- 2-in1 laptop – If you aren’t sure if you want a tablet or a laptop, look at getting a 2-in-1, it’s the best of both worlds. It’s a laptop with a full keyboard, but if you want, you can fold it up and use it as a tablet.
- Operating System – Do you have a preference for Apple iOS, do you have a program that will only run on Windows, or do you want something cheaper and more basic functionality like a Chromebook?
- If you want to be able to play DVDs, ensure the laptop you buy has a disc drive!
Don’t let anyone tell you what is the best laptop for you, it’s a personal decision to make, and no 2 people have the same requirements. That’s why there are hundreds of options for the best laptops in Canada!
Overall Best Laptop Canada - Dell XPS 13
The XPS13 comes in many different configurations, which can make the price vary considerably! Typical price is around $1350 for an XPS 13 with a slower processor and smaller hard drive, up to almost $4000.
This is the newest version of Dell XPS 13 Canada! (you can tell by the display that has a very small border at the bottom, vs the larger black border and the DELL logo on the previous version).
It's an upgrade in every way over the 2019 model, and even though it's been out for a year, it's still the most popular laptop in Canada right now.
Get the best price Dell XPS 13 in Canada from:
Overall Best Laptop Canada - Dell XPS 13 review details:
Read our full review of the Dell XPS 13 CanadaBest New Gaming Laptop - Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Canada is dubbed as the world's most powerful 14-inch Windows 10 gaming laptop. That's because of its 8-core Ryzen CPU and GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, all packed into a small laptop that is portable, and has superb battery life.
Get the best price Asus Zephyrus G14 in Canada from:
Best New Gaming Laptop - Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review details:
Read our full review of the Asus Zephyrus G14 CanadaBest compact laptop for a reasonable price - Acer Swift 3
The Acer Swift 3 is a tiny little laptop that comes with an impressive lightweight magnesium-alloy case, and yet it's still packed with enough battery life to last you through a whole work day. With a 10th-gen CPU and integrated GeForce MX350 graphics, it has the computing power needed to handle any school or work tasks. It's almost the smallest and lightest laptop we've listed, and it's almost the cheapest too!
Get the best price Acer Swift 3 in Canada from:
Best compact laptop for a reasonable price - Acer Swift 3 review details:
Acer Swift 3 Reviews
TechRadar ranked it as the #5 on their list claiming it was the 'The best budget laptop in the world' in their product review. [June 2020]
Looks plain but has plenty of power for work and study
Laptop Mag ranked it as the #3 on their list claiming it was the 'Amazing performance at a jaw dropping price' in their product review. [June 2020]
Served up surprising power on our benchmarks and has over 11 hours of battery life
T3 ranked it as the #7 on their list claiming it was the 'One of the best compact and lightweight laptops around' in their product review. [June 2020]
Bright, sharp screen, and appealing design.
Best 2-in-1 laptop for Canada Business - HP Elite Dragonfly
The HP Elite Dragonfly Canada provides security for on-the-go work. From a webcam shutter that can be closed, to a screen "Sure View" mode that makes the screen unreadable by those around you, this is a great choice for the business professional.
With the 2-in-1 laptop it can convert to a tablet and it even supports the HP Active Pen so you can jot down notes on the go.
It all comes in a sleek blue magnesium case that makes it a super lightweight and one of the best 2-in-1 laptops in Canada.
Get the best price HP Elite Dragonfly in Canada from:
Best 2-in-1 laptop for Canada Business - HP Elite Dragonfly review details:
HP Elite Dragonfly Reviews
TheVerge ranked it as the #5 on their list claiming it was the 'A business laptop with solid security' in their product review. [June 2020]
If you're a business professional and money is no object, you can't do better
TechRadar ranked it as the #10 on their list claiming it was the 'The best 2-in-1 laptop' in their product review. [June 2020]
Incredible design and gorgeous screen, packed with brilliant features and powerful components
Tom's Guide ranked it as the #16 on their list claiming it was the 'The ultimate business laptop' in their product review. [June 2020]
This is that rare laptop that comes along and sets a new standard for the entire category
High Performance 2-in-1 Laptop - HP Spectre X360
Get the best price HP Spectre X360 13" in Canada from:
High Performance 2-in-1 Laptop - HP Spectre X360 review details:
HP Spectre X360 13" Reviews
The Verge ranked it as the #7 on their list claiming it was the 'Our Favorite 2-in-1 Laptop' in their product review. [June 2020]
Premium level 2-in-1 with a vibrant touchscreen and more port options than other laptops
TechRadar ranked it as the #2 on their list claiming it was the 'The best 13-inch laptop' in their product review. [source]
If you care about aesthetics as much as you do performance and quality, this is the laptop for you
Laptop Mag ranked it as the #9 on their list claiming it was the 'The king of 2-in-1 laptops' in their product review. [source]
Smaller and prettier than ever, lighting fast SSD and a 4K OLED display.
CNET ranked it as the #1 on their list claiming it was the 'Best 2-in-1' in their product review. [source]
HP outdid itself with this latest updated premium 2-in-1
Best Chromebook in 2021 - Google Pixlebook Go
Get the best price Google Pixelbook Go Chromebook in Canada from:
Best Chromebook in 2021 - Google Pixlebook Go review details:
Google Pixelbook Go Chromebook Reviews
Tech Radar ranked it as the #12 on their list claiming it was the 'The Best Chromebook' in their product review. [source]
Best chromebook money can buy right now
Tom's Guide ranked it as the #5 on their list claiming it was the 'A solid chromebook with great battery life' in their product review. [source]
It's better than the original Pixelbook in almost every way
T3 ranked it as the #18 on their list claiming it was the 'One of the best for Chrome OS fans' in their product review. [source]
Stylish, lightweight, and great specs that are customisable
Best 17 inch laptop - LG Gram 17
You can get smaller packaged laptops with better performance for the same price. But, if you're set on a large display in a light package, you can't do much better than the Gram 17. Plus it comes with decent performance for a reasonable price, with a large choice of ports considering how thin of a case it's all stuffed into.
Get the best price LG Gram 17 in Canada from:
Best 17 inch laptop - LG Gram 17 review details:
LG Gram 17 Reviews
The Verge ranked it as the #9 on their list claiming it was the 'Great laptop with a large screen' in their product review. [June 2020]
One of the best 17-inch laptops you can buy, weighing less than 2.95 pounds
T3 ranked it as the #5 on their list claiming it was the 'The best 17-inch laptop - unless you're a gamer' in their product review. [June 2020]
Capable of taking on most tasks, with a gorgeous 17-inch display
How we chose the best laptops in Canada
As we explained at the top of this article, there are so many different options in laptops that it’s very difficult to compare them across the board without having a specific requirement – such as finding the lightest laptop, or the cheapest laptop, or the best laptop for gaming or for presentations at work etc.
In this overview, we spent a few hours scouring user reviews, product launch articles, and tried to get a feel for the most anticipated and most popular and best laptops in Canada right now.
If you really aren’t sure what you need in a laptop, then go with one of the picks from this list.
How much should I spend on a laptop?
I think too many people spend too much money on a laptop – if you’re honest with yourself about what you will actually use your laptop for, you may realize you don’t need that shiny new laptop – you simply need something that performs well and is reliable.
That’s why the Google Chromebooks have become so popular – and there was even a niche called a NetBook (read about them on wikipedia) for a while that may have birthed the Chromebook.
It is simply a basic laptop that was used to browse the internet – basically like a smartphone with a larger screen and a keyboard for typing.
If you only need a computer for those types of tasks, then the best laptop for you is probably a cheaper, simpler, Chromebook model.
I’m so excited for the new laptops coming out in 2022! I can’t wait to see what the best laptops in Canada are!
The HP laptops are on sale right now until August 1, and the ones you have listed here as the best laptop in Canada are on sale for a good deal. The 12th gen intel i3 processor is also available which makes these screaming fast for the price!
Hi to all, I waited until the laptop I wanted was on sale. If you can be patient you can get a great laptop deal in Canada.
We’re looking for laptops for our 13 year old and 15 year old. They mostly use a device for school work (e.g., Google Docs), web browsing, Netflix, YouTube. They have experience with both laptops and Chromebooks, but we don’t know which is a better option – Chromebook or laptop? We need something fairly lightweight, able to fit in a backpack, not too expensive (we don’t want them worrying too much about it), that can be used for the purposes described above. Oh, and it would be nice if it lasted a couple of years (my experience with Chromebooks from the school I work at is that they often crash out after a couple of years). Any thoughts?
Laptops for school don’t need to be very expensive. For those uses, a Chromebook would meet your requirements.
If you are wanting something that lasts longer, then you’ll have to look at more expensive (more than $500) – full fledged – laptops. I’d stay away from the entry-level Celeron processor – they’ll be too slow and won’t have the longevity you want.
On the other hand, if you can get something for only $250-$300 then you could afford to replace them in 2 or 3 years with another entry level laptop, and that’s the option I would lean towards – especially with kids carrying them back and forth to school!
I am a 73 year old with an Apple IPad Pro 12.9…I do daily tons of of research, emails, read news, watch favorite shows, really anthropology..ancient peoples…former accountant…
Thinking of switching from apple to windows…used to use many years ago…AND want a larger screen!!!
Apple has become so expensive for my light use…so wondering if. The switch will end up being a nightmare…like the new LG..but 1.3 GHZ??? Slow???
Comments please….like your reviews..
Hi Bev, for light use any of those laptops will work great. Without getting too technical, the LG laptop with the 1.3 GHz i7-1065 achieved similar benchmark test results to the Ipad Pro 12.9
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I’m glad you found our review of the best laptops helpful!
Many laptops are grossly overpriced, especially Lenovo and Huawei who use ridiculous prices and then provide huge savings or lower hardware in order to sell and maximize sales and profits. Anyone who buys into a 4000 to 5000 or more is dumber than a sack of rocks especially when they come with a one year warranty ! Suffice to say, they can keep their products until they find a CEO who isn’t looking for another ridiculous bonus for dreaming these schemes up.
What brand and price point of laptop would you recommend?