Thinking of buying a Mac or MacBook for school, college or university? Choosing the best Mac as a student, or for a student, in 2026 isn’t as simple as picking the cheapest MacBook. Apple’s lineup includes lightweight laptops, powerful Pro models, and affordable desktops, all with different strengths that could benefit you depending on your major, workload, or budget.

Whether you’re writing papers, coding, editing video, or just need an all-day laptop to take to lectures or classes, we break down which MacBook or Mac makes the most sense for students – and which ones you should skip.

Here, in our best Mac for students guide, Macworld’s experts take a look at Apple’s current line-up and evaluate which Mac is best for students. We compare the MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro for college and examine whether a desktop Mac might actually be a better choice. And we’ll recommend which Mac to choose based on your needs as a student and the course you are taking.

Choosing the best Mac for college or university depends on what you are going to be studying as well as how much you have to spend. Luckily registered students can save money on a new Mac by shopping at Apple’s Education Store.

Students can typically save $100 to $200 in the U.S., in the U.K. the savings are from £100 to £200, Australian students can save between $150 and $330 and Canadian students can typically save from $130 to $270. Plus, during the summer months students can also get a free pair of AirPods or an Apple Pencil with a purchase of a new Mac (or iPad) in Apple’s Higher Education offer.

Despite Apple’s Student Discount and summer offer, our advice is to shop around for deals that may be even better. You may be able to get even more money off your Mac purchase if you go straight to a reseller and you can see the best offers right now below.

How to find Apple’s Education Store

Click on the links below to go straight to Apple’s Education Stores in the countries where most of our readers reside.

• Apple’s U.S. Education Store





• Apple’s U.K. Education Store (in the UK you will need to verify your student status via UNiDAYS before you can view the online store).





• Apple’s Canada Education Store





• Apple’s Australian Education Store

Just note that some resellers may offer a better discount than the one Apple offers students, so check the best prices right now shown below before deciding where to buy your new Mac.

Is MacBook Air or MacBook Pro better for students?

This is likely the question you are hoping to get an answer to: should I buy a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro for college? As you will see from the summaries below, the MacBook Air is the model we would recommend for most students, it’s light, has great battery life, and comes at a great price.

But there are reasons to choose the MacBook Pro, with its superior screen, extra ports, and 24-hour battery life possibly being essentials for your needs.

We also have a dedicated article where we compare the MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro in detail that you might find useful.

Best MacBook for students

Below we’ll evaluate the different MacBooks from the perspective of a typical student in the order that we recommend them for students, but here’s an at a glance summary of the best Mac depending on the kind of needs you have as a student.

• Everyday student work: MacBook Air (M4) – light, long battery life, great value.





• Creative majors: MacBook Air 15-inch – bigger screen and solid performance.





• Performance and heavy workloads: MacBook Pro (M5/Pro) – extra power and ports for demanding apps.





• Budget desktop option: Mac mini (M4) – best value if you don’t need portability

1. MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 2025): Best MacBook for students

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If you’re looking for a MacBook that doesn’t break the bank and offers the ultimate in portability and great battery life, then the MacBook Air is the perfect fit.

You might assume that the MacBook Air is low-powered in comparison to the MacBook Pro. Right now this is the case, but it isn’t normally. In October 2025 Apple introduced an M5 MacBook Pro which has a newer chip than the M4 MacBook Air. So if you are looking for the best specs the MacBook Pro beats the MacBook Air. However, in spring 2026 Apple is likely to introduce an M5 MacBook Air, at which point the gap will close between these two Mac laptops. But even when on paper they look the same, the differences are greater than you might think.

There are differences to the specs if you look closer. The entry-level MacBook Air costs $999, but i

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