The 5 Best Laptops for Excel and Microsoft Office (2024)

Dell XPS 13 is a luxury no matter what you’re using it for – let alone using it for spreadsheet work!

Its Excel performance is through the roof – and of all the laptops we’ve reviewed, it’s probably the most reliable laptop in the top 5 for Excel laptops – ever.

It does run a little hot and the fan can be a bit noisy. Make sure to put it on a table from time to time so it can properly ventilate and cool down.

Score on review parameters

• Performance: Absolutely fantastic performance in all aspects. Use multiple Excel files, along with other applications at once with no problem.
• Battery life: At ~12 hours of battery life, this laptop lasts an entire work day – maybe more.
• Build quality: Great build quality. This laptop will be outdated before it breaks (not that it’s going to be outdated anytime soon with those specs!)
• Ports: 2x USB C Thunderbolt, 1 MicroSD card slot, 1 headset jack. Would’ve been nice with more USB C ports, and maybe even a USB A.
• Design: Very nice design, especially for a laptop that powerful. Very portable laptop and is insanely thin compared to its great performance.
• Value-for-money: It’s not a cheap laptop but you get what you pay for. Definitely good value for money for a business laptop.

Overall Spreadsheeto rating: 💚💚💚💚💚💚 (6/6)

Now, if the XPS 13 is powerful, wait ’till you meet its (much) bigger brother.

The Dell XPS 17.

Now, this is a powerhouse with a big screen.

17″ is too much for many – but for Excel work on the go (when you don’t have an external monitor) the extra screen space is most welcome.

The extra screen size also allows the creators to fit in more performance-enhancing specs.

Score on review parameters

• Performance: Insane. You almost can’t get any better. 32GB RAM is more than enough for almost anything, 1TB is plenty of space, and the i9-12900 processor is a beast. Large Excel files, multiple tasks, and even gaming – this laptop can do it all.
• Battery life: ~7 hours of battery life.
• Build quality: Great build quality, great screen quality. Very sturdy.
• Ports: 4x USB C Thunderbolt(!), SD card reader, 1 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, Would’ve been nice with more USB C ports, and maybe even a USB A.
• Design: Very nice design, especially for a laptop that powerful. At this size, it’s not super portable anymore – but still looks great.
• Value-for-money: Well, you get a lot of performance, screen size, and whatnot – but Dell’s making sure you pay for it. It’s a stretch to call this one good value for money.

Overall Spreadsheeto rating: 💚💚💚💚💚💚 (6/6)

Let’s move on from Dell products, shall we?

This time, we’re looking at a more affordable laptop – that has plenty of bang for the buck.

The HP Pavilion series is almost as old as I can remember – and it’s still a staple among business laptops today.

Great performance, sleek design, large screen at 15″, good price – what more can Excel users ask for?

Score on review parameters

• Performance: Great performance.
• Battery life: ~8 hours of battery life.
• Build quality: Good build quality.
• Ports: 2x USB A (superspeed), 1x HDMI, USB C with displayport, headphone/microphone jack. Quite good for a laptop!
• Design: Pretty nice design but nothing special in my opinion.
• Value-for-money: At $800, this is great value for money.

Overall Spreadsheeto rating: 💚💚💚💚💚🤍 (5/6)

In another dimension, and with another reviewer, this could’ve been the best overall laptop for Excel.

Although a bit expensive, the Microsoft Surface Laptop is one of the best laptops out there, with an impressive battery life.

And it’s super pretty!

It comes in a 13″ and 15″ version and you can modify its specifications to your demand.

Score on review parameters

• Performance: Great spreadsheet performance.
• Battery life: Up to 18 hours – really impressive battery life.
• Build quality: Solid build quality, no flimsy parts.
• Ports: 1x USB C Thunderbolt, 1x USB A, 1 headset/microphone jack, 1x Microsoft Connect port (used for charging and connecting to ports). Would’ve been nice with more USB C ports!
• Design: I like the design a lot. Looks stylish and premium.
• Value-for-money: At $1500, it’s on the high end of the price range especially compared to the specs. So, the value for money on this one is not so good.

Overall Spreadsheeto rating: 💚💚💚💚💚💚 (6/6)

This is not the best laptop for Excel on its own – but as the price is also a parameter for our review – it’s the best Excel laptop for people on a tight budget.

The value for money with this one is simply out of this world.

With specifications good enough for most Excel tasks – students and light pc/Excel users won’t need much more than this Lenovo IdeaPad 3i.

We reviewed the 14-inch version of this laptop which also comes in a variety of other configurations.

Score on review parameters

• Performance: Decent performance. Good for its price.
• Battery life: At ~10 hours of battery life, this laptop lasts an entire work day depending on what you use it for.
• Build quality: Decent built quality.
• Ports: 1x USB C, 2x USB A, 1x HDMI, 1 headset jack. Quite good but missing Thunderbolt options and more USB C.
• Design: Decent design.
• Value-for-money: At $450, this is a very low price compared to what you’re getting.

Overall Spreadsheeto rating: 💚💚💚💚💚🤍 (5/6)

If this was a Windows laptop, it might rank #1.

The reason it doesn’t is, that for advanced Excel users, some pivot table and especially VBA features are different from Windows to Mac.

You gotta have Windows to have the full range of options available.

But if your colleagues are using Mac, or if you just prefer Mac over Windows, you won’t find a better laptop for Excel than the Macbook Pro.

Score on review parameters

• Performance: One of the best spreadsheet performances money can buy.
• Battery life: At ~20 hours of battery life, this is the best battery life on the market (for a powerful laptop).
• Build quality: Fantastic build quality. Macbook Pro’s are known to last for many years.
• Ports: 2x USB C Thunderbolt, 1 headset/microphone jack. When missing USB A and HDMI, more USB C ports would have been nice.
• Design: Very nice design, especially for a laptop that powerful.
• Value-for-money: At $1900, it’s not a cheap laptop but you get what you pay for. Definitely good value for money for a business laptop. It comes in cheaper configurations.

Overall Spreadsheeto rating: 💚💚💚💚💚💚 (6/6)