The best ThinkPads attract many business users and corporate IT departments thanks to their strong build quality, industry-leading keyboards, hyper accurate pointing sticks and simple black aesthetic. The ThinkPad line has a number of mainstays that Lenovo fans won't do without, which is why the best ThinkPads are considered the best laptops around.

Even if you've already got your heart and your budget committed to a ThinkPad, you've got a lot of choices. Lenovo currently sells over a dozen ThinkPad models across several different lines. The laptops all have the same basic aesthetic, but vary greatly when it comes to size, price, screen quality, performance and battery life. Some even have snappier keyboards than others. There are options for the average business user, artists who need a professional tablet or even users who need a beast of a workstation.

Once you've made a decision, check out our roundup of the best ThinkPad accessories to bolster your productivity, but if you're more interested in the best Lenovo laptops in general, we have a page for that, too. We recently reviewed the Lenovo Flex 5G, which is the first laptop with Verizon 5G, but those blistering wireless speeds are counterbalanced by sluggish performance and compatibility issues. Check out the best back-to-school laptop deals to save on Lenovo products.

What are the best ThinkPads?

In the world of laptops, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon is a masterpiece. With a lightweight yet durable chassis, the X1 Carbon is an excellent option for business users who are frequently on the go. But the ThinkPad X1 Carbon isn't just an enterprise notebook: We don't hesitate recommending this machine to everyday consumers, too, who will appreciate the laptop's bright, vivid 14-inch display, long battery life, fast performance and immaculate build quality.

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga proves that ThinkPads don't need carbon fiber to compete. Made from CNC aluminum, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga's chassis is now thinner and lighter yet just as durable as ever. Combine that sleek frame with a gorgeous 1080p display, a best-in-class keyboard and all-day battery life, and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is easily one of the best 2-in-1 laptops around.

Taking a page from its consumer laptop twin -- the ThinkPad X1 Extreme -- the workstation-class Lenovo ThinkPad P1 offers powerful performance in a thin and lightweight chassis. The optional 4K display pops with rich, vibrant colors, and the P1's wonderfully comfortable keyboard might just be Lenovo's best yet. On top of that, the Xeon CPU and Nvidia Quadro P2000, available on the pricier models, offer outstanding performance. It’s a great machine if you’re doing more than plugging numbers into a spreadsheet.

Need something more portable? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet is a durable and secure 2-in-1 business detachable that's also powerful enough to let you dominate noobs in Overwatch on the device's vibrant, 13-inch, 3K display.

The best ThinkPads you can buy today

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Gen) Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th Gen) Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Lenovo ThinkPad T480 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Lenovo ThinkPad E580

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Gen) is the best ThinkPad of the bunch thanks to its lightweight design, long battery life and vivid display. (Image credit: Laptop Mag)

1. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Gen) Best overall ThinkPad you can buy CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 | RAM: 8GB/16GB | Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD | Display: 14-inch (1080p/4K) | Size: 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches | Weight: 2.4 pounds $1,599 View at Amazon Slim, lightweight design Bright, vibrant 1080p and 4K display options Class-leading keyboard Fast performance Weak graphics

Pros: Lenovo took the best business laptop and beefed it up with 10th Gen Intel CPUs. You still get the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's attractive, slim and durable chassis. Business users who travel frequently will appreciate the 10+ hours of battery life offered by the 1080p version. The 4K model wasn't too bad either, at 7:23. Speaking of which, the optional 4K panel on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is absolutely gorgeous, offering a bright and vivid picture. The 1080p screen isn't too shabby, either. And in typical ThinkPad fashion, the latest 8th Gen X1 Carbon has a best-in-class keyboard that you'll love typing on. It's easily at the top of the best ThinkPads.

Cons: There are really only two things we don't like about the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (apart from its lofty price tag). First, the laptop looks great until you touch it and leave behind smudgy fingerprints. And finally, Lenovo doesn't offer any good graphics card for the X1 Carbon. Even a baseline Nvidia GPU would be a boon for X1 Carbon users.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Gen) review.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th Gen, 2019) comes in second as best ThinkPad, but it's basically as good as its clamshell alternative due to slim aluminum chassis, great battery life and awesome keyboard. (Image credit: Laptop Mag)

2. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th Gen) The best 2-in-1 laptop CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 1TB | Display: 14-inch, 1080p | Size: 12 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches | Weight: 3 pounds Bright, vivid 1080p display Slim, durable aluminum chassis Best-in-class keyboard Not available in carbon fiber No SD card reader

Pros: Lenovo took a risk crafting the X1 Yoga out of metal, but it paid off. The X1 Yoga is the perfect alternative to the X1 Carbon for people who want the versatility of a tablet but aren't feeling the detachable thing. It even lasts longer on a charge, netting an excellent runtime of 10 hours and 18 minutes on our battery test. The X1 Yoga is available with up to a 4K screen but we were perfectly happy with the 1080p panel, but is both bright and vivid. You also get the classic ThinkPad keyboard, which is still better than anything else on the market. But what really sets the X1 Yoga apart are all the extra features it offers, which includes a stylus garage, a webcam cover and a pointing stick.

Cons: As much as we like the new metal chassis, we still wish the ThinkPad X1 Yoga was available with the traditional carbon-fiber finish. It also lacks a card reader of any sort, which could be a deal-breaker for photographers and videographers. Our biggest reservation, however, is that the ThinkPad X1 Yoga we reviewed is powered by last-gen processors, so you might want to wait for the models with 10th Gen chips.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th Gen, 2019) review.

If you need a workhorse version of a ThinkPad, then the best ThinkPad for you is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme, as it boasts a discrete GPU, a 4K HDR panel and a luxurious design. (Image credit: Future)

Pros: Whether you're a video editor or even a gamer, the 15-inch ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2 is an excellent multimedia business laptop that suits your needs. Armed with a Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, this beast can get you through rigorous programs as well as a select few games. It ran the Hitman benchmark on Ultra at 1080p at a solid 47 frames per second. At only 0.7 inches thick and roughly 4.5 pounds, the X1 Extreme is seriously portable for a laptop this size. We were blown away by the system's 4K display, which reproduced 163% of the sRGB color gamut and averaged 384 nits of brightness. It also happens to have a cushy keyboard, and offers the same durability and security features as the Lenovo X1 Carbon. It's one of the best ThinkPads for performance.

Cons: Regardless of all that power and beauty, a battery life of only 5 hours and 28 minutes is a major buzzkill. The fact that the storage is limited to only 1TB is also nuts, considering that laptops like the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro offers up to 8TB of storage.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) review.

Need something detachable but still want that great Lenovo keyboard? The best ThinkPad for you is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet.

Pros: If you need to be versatile in your line of work, the ThinkPad X1 Tablet serves as an excellent, durable and secure 2-in-1 detachable. Artists in particular will appreciate the ThinkPad Pen Pro, which has a full metal body and a elastomer pen tip that supports up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Our review unit had a Core i5-8250U processor, which scored 12,772 on the Geekbench 4 overall performance benchmark, flying past the premium laptop average (10,586) at the time of the review. What's also unique about this machine is that its detachable keyboard maintains Lenovo's quality standards: Its keys have a good 1.3 millimeters of travel and require 61 grams of force to actuate. Additionally, its 13-inch, 3K display will lull you into a trance, covering 118 percent of the sRGB spectrum and unleashing a whopping 415 nits of brightness. It has an impressive pair of cameras: The rear has an 8-megapixel resolution while the front has a 2-MP shooter. It adds a lot of variety to Lenovo's best ThinkPads.

Cons: While it's physically portable, the slate's battery lasts only 5 hours and 59 minutes (below the 8:18 average), so you won't be able to survive a typical workday. And if you usually listen to music while you work, it's going to be difficult to jam out with the X1 Tablet's quiet speakers.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet review.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T480 is the best ThinkPad you can buy if you want to prioritize battery life, as it can last 17:19 with an extended battery.

Pros: With the ThinkPad T480, you never have to worry about your laptop dying during your workday -- or even two. Its six-cell, 72-watt-hour battery lasted a ridiculous 17 hours and 19 minutes on our battery test. You can top that off with a speedy 8th Gen Core i5 processor and an Nvidia MX150 GPU, which is strong enough to take on some light gaming like Dirt 3 (117 fps). In addition, you get a snappy keyboard with 1.7 millimeters of travel and 72 grams of actuation force. For a mainstream business laptop, the ThinkPad T480 actually sounded pretty good. When we played AC/DC's "Back in Black," the music was free from tinniness.

Cons: Unlike other ThinkPads, the T480's 14-inch, 1080p panel is not very colorful, reproducing a bland 77 percent of the sRGB color gamut and averaging 269 nits of brightness.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad T480 review.

Need a laptop that has a gorgeous 2K screen? Then the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is the best ThinkPad for you.

Pros: If you need the versatility of a tablet but you aren't feeling the whole detach-and-reattach thing, then the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a great choice. It's a slim, lightweight 2-in-1 (3.1 pounds, 0.7 inches thick) that features a dockable ThinkPad Pen Pro, which has 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity and two shortcut buttons. While the other ThinkPads have lovely displays, the X1 Yoga's 14-inch, 2K panel beats them all. This baby reproduced 201 percent of the sRGB gamut and gleamed with 477 nits of brightness. And in terms of speed, its 8th Gen Core i7 processor notched a solid 14,517 on the Geekbench 4 test. It's military-durable and has privacy features like the rest, but what's notable is that it has an integrated privacy slider within the glass of the display, which looks much more subtle than the giant shutter on competing systems.

Cons: The X1 Yoga lasted 7 hours and 42 minutes on our battery test, and while that may not seem that bad, it still isn't reliable enough to get you through the workday, and it falls below the 8:32 premium laptop average. And despite its keys measuring 1.4 millimeters of travel and requiring 65 grams of actuation force, we didn't find this keyboard to be all that great to type on.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga review.

The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 excels as a workstation, so if you need the power, this is the best ThinkPad you can buy.

Pros: The P1 is an absolute powerhouse of a ThinkPad. Our machine boasted a Xeon processor with 32GB of RAM, which ripped apart Geekbench 4, scoring 17,893 and beating the workstation average (17,172). On top of that, its Quadro P2000 GPU ran Dirt 3 at a wild 190 fps. And all of that power is packed into a 0.7-inch slim frame that weighs just 4 pounds. Its 15.6-inch, Dolby Vision 4K display covered 179 percent of the RGB spectrum. This speed demon also features an unbelievably comfortable keyboard, with keys that got a deep 2.2 mm of travel.

Cons: While its display is colorful, it's not very bright, averaging just 285 nits. Not to mention that you'll basically be tied to your desk all day -- the battery lasted just 4 hours and 16 minutes on a charge. It's also worth mentioning that this machine gets a little warm. We measured the underside at 119 degrees Fahrenheit after we played a 15-minute HD video at full screen, which is above our 95-degree comfort threshold.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad P1 review.

If you're on a budget but you still want that sweet keyboard, the best ThinkPad for you is the Lenovo ThinkPad E580.

8. Lenovo ThinkPad E580 The best budget laptop CPU: Intel 7th Gen Core i5/8th Gen Core i5 | GPU: Intel HD 620 | RAM: 8GB/16GB | Storage: 256GB/512GB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch (768p/1080p) | Size: 14.5 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches | Weight: 4.7 pounds $689.99 View at Office Depot No price information Check Amazon World-class keyboard Solid performance Attractive design Dim screen Below-average battery life

Pros: Your average ThinkPad isn't very wallet-friendly, but the E580 goes against the grain. For less than $1,000, this machine offers speedy 8th Gen Core i5 performance, a sexy silver aluminum lid and even a select few security features like dTPM encryption and an optional fingerprint reader. Despite the price, Lenovo doesn't skimp on the keyboard. Its keys felt super responsive, registering 1.8 mm of travel and requiring a solid 72 grams of force to actuate.

Cons: The E580's affordable price requires a few compromises: namely, the display. Its 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 panel covered 80 percent of the sRGB spectrum and averaged 243 nits, which isn't optimal for any art design or photo editing. And while its battery lasted a respectable 8 hours and 19 minutes, it landed below the premium laptop average at the time (8:51).

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad E580 review.

How to choose the best ThinkPad for you

Choosing the best ThinkPad for you really depends on your needs. If you’re looking for a vanilla clamshell laptop, you’re more than likely to find everything you want in the Thinkpad X1 Carbon. However, if you’re looking for something more flexible, then the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is the next best bet.

Artists might want to check out the ThinkPad X1 Tablet, while users who need their laptop to have a little more kick, whether it be for video editing or photo editing, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is a great choice. If you want to go beyond that, the most powerful ThinkPad you can buy is the Lenovo ThinkPad P1, which is great for all kinds of high taxing work. If you want to prioritize battery life, you could probably find the Lenovo ThinkPad T480 still one sale, but keep in mind that it’s a little old, using an 8th Gen Intel CPU.

How we test the best ThinkPads

We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers and heat management.

In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and sRGB color gamut of the laptop's display. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is the Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.

We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For MacBooks and premium Windows 10 laptops, a runtime of over 9 hours is considered a good result whereas gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered for longer than 5 hours deserve praise.

These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop's materials to the feel of its touchpad.