The 10 Most Reliable Laptop Brands Ranked From Worst To Best – BGR

When shopping for a new laptop, there are several factors to consider. You obviously need to check whether the specifications will meet your needs and whether the price fits your budget (check out four of the best cheap laptops you can buy). You should never forget to check for laptop brands with the best reliability though, as the perfect device on paper will only bring frustration if it breaks down after a few months.

In three years of Consumer Reports surveys among its subscribers, reliability surfaced as the most important consideration when buying a laptop, with 56% of respondents ranking it above performance and affordability. The organization defines reliability as the likelihood that a laptop is still working as well as it should after three years of ownership. Of course, there are many external factors that can affect this — including how well you take care of your device — but some laptop brands simply outshine others in this metric. 

In this ranking of laptop brands from worst to best, we took into account the reliability scores from Consumer Reports and PCMag’s Readers’ Choice 2025 survey. We gathered reviews from around the web to support the results. Additionally, the rankings feature each brand’s best laptop (according to Consumer Reports) to showcase their capabilities.

Dell, established in 1984, has a lot of history in the computing space. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate in its reliability ranking, placing last with Consumer Reports and in the bottom half for PCMag. Alienware, a gaming-focused brand that’s owned by Dell, wasn’t included in this ranking because it didn’t receive a score from PCMag, but its score from Consumer Reports is even lower than Dell’s.

Dell’s scores appear to have been affected by its wide range of products. According to Reddit user Timfountain4444, the brand’s Vostro and Inspiron devices are not as durable. However, those from its high-end consumer XPS lineup, which is being rebranded along with the rest of Dell’s offerings, are generally reliable. The Redditor said that the business-oriented lines of Dell are much better, going on to describe the Latitude laptops as rugged and claiming the Precision laptops as “built like tanks.”

The highest-rated Dell laptops from Consumer Reports are the Dell Inspiron Plus 16 and the Dell Latitude 7000, both with 32GB of RAM. The Dell Inspiron 16 has a 16-inch screen and is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor while the Dell Latitude 7000 features a 14-inch display and runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100 processor. However, the latter will be the more reliable laptop, if you consider this Redditor’s comments.

HP is the oldest company in this ranking with roots that date as far back as the 1940s, and it rolled out its first personal computer in 1968. However, just like Dell, its experience in the industry doesn’t necessarily mean that its laptops are reliable — its average score from Consumer Reports and PCMag only give it ninth place on this list.

Also similar to Dell, HP’s multiple lines of laptops appear to be working against it in terms of its reliability score. According to Reddit user R4LRetro, nine out of 10 laptops they repair are HP products, usually from the Pavilion line or the unbranded devices that are available from retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart. They recommend only buying an HP laptop from the ProBook, Elitebook, or ZBook lines. There are several replies on that Reddit thread on issues with the hinges of the brand’s laptops, with several Redditors claiming that HP stands for Hinge Problems.

The HP OmniBook X Flip — the brand’s highest-rated laptop from Consumer Reports — sneaks into the top half among the devices featured in this ranking, though. The convertible laptop makes up for HP’s low reliability score with the performance from its Intel Ultra 9 288V processor and 32GB of RAM.

Acer is in an interesting position. It’s ranked in the middle of the bottom half in terms of reliability, with relatively low scores from both Consumer Reports and PCMag. However, when looking at Reddit threads, the general consensus appears to be mixed. In a thread created by Reddit user Shubarashu, there are overwhelmingly positive comments on the brand’s reliability. However, in a different thread started by Reddit user The_solopreneur, various issues were raised, with Reddit user Coldypewpewpew claiming that Acer laptops had “a knack of failing” right when their warranty expires. This is possibly the reason for Acer’s low score from Consumer Reports, as it has a three-year period for its reliability metric. 

Further splitting the opinion on the Taiwan-headquartered brand is the Acer Swift Go 14. It’s the brand’s highest-rated laptop on Consumer Reports, with the device also receiving impressive scores from Rtings.com and TechRadar. The 14-inch laptop with the Intel Ultra 7 155H processor and 16GB of RAM has great build quality and an outstanding hinge, according to Rtings.com, and it’s a solid computer for its price, according to TechRadar.

Asus is another Taiwanese laptop manufacturer with a disconnect between its comparatively low reliability scores from Consumer Reports and PCMag and the reviews that we’ve found online. In a Reddit thread started by Reddit user Future_Jeweler_4669, comments on Asus laptops are generally positive, though Reddit user Mx-Adrian claimed that the hinge on his Asus Vivobook laptop started to break in less than three years with minimal activity. LaptopOutlet, meanwhile, claims that many Asus laptops can last for more than five years if properly cared for.

Like HP, Asus is in the bottom half of the rankings according to its average reliability score. However, its highest-rated laptop on Consumer Reports — the Asus Zenbook S 14 — just slips into the top half among the devices that we’ve highlighted. The laptop comes with a 14-inch screen, the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, and 32GB of RAM for performance that attempts to compensate for the mixed perceptions on the brand’s reliability.

MSI completes a trifecta of Taiwanese brands in this ranking, and it’s the most polarizing among the three. It has the second-lowest reliability score from Consumer Reports but the third-highest from PCMag. A peek at Reddit threads like this one started by Reddit user Ok_Paper9137 tells the same story as Acer and Asus with mixed reviews on the reliability of MSI laptops. But like other brands with a lot of different lineups, you’ll get a better experience from higher-end devices. This is echoed by Reddit user UnionSlavStanRepublk on MSI’s gaming laptops, who flagged mediocre builds and hinge issues for the cheaper models.

The brand’s laptop with the highest score on Consumer Reports is the MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI, which just barely misses the cut for the top half of the devices that we’ve featured in this ranking. It’s powered by the Intel Ultra 275HX processor, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card, and 32GB of RAM. However, its large 18-inch screen increases the likelihood of running into the hinge problems that some owners of MSI laptops have experienced.

Lenovo, which is BGR’s top choice among all major PC brands, slides into the top half of this reliability ranking after just barely beating MSI for fifth place. The Chinese brand acquired IBM’s personal computer hardware business in 2005, including the ThinkPad line that is widely praised for its durability in Reddit threads created by users Technoskigoggles and Pizzaananas77. Reddit user Tohightotakedrugs even described them as “practically invincible,” telling an anecdote of his ThinkPad laptop that lasted for six years, including a full year after dropping from a third-story window ledge. LaptopOutlet also identified Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptops and Yoga 2-in-1 laptops as the devices that are known for their durability and build quality.

There are two Lenovo models that share the distinction as the brand’s highest-rated device on Consumer Reports, and they fall under the lines that LaptopOutlet recommended. These are the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, which is a 15.3-inch 2-in-1 laptop with the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor and 16GB of RAM, and the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, which is a 14-inch laptop with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E78100 processor and 32GB of RAM.

Samsung is a South Korean consumer electronics brand that’s better known for its TVs and smartphones, but like MSI, its presence in the laptop space is polarizing when it comes to the reliability of its products. It goes the opposite way, though, with a third-place ranking from Consumer Reports, but in last place per PCMag. We’ve found comments on the opposite sides of the spectrum, with this thread started by Reddit user Uncleraman filled with both complaints on cracked screens as well as praise from owners who have never had problems with their Samsung laptops. 

Consumer Reports gave the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 the highest scores among the brand’s laptops. They’re practically the same device with the Intel Ultra 7 256V processor and 16GB of RAM. The primary difference is the fact that the former is a traditional clamshell laptop, while the latter is a convertible laptop.

Microsoft sits firmly in third place in this ranking, with high scores from both Consumer Reports and PCMag. This is a reversal from 2017, when Consumer Reports removed its “recommended” designation for various Surface devices due to poor predicted reliability — it discovered that about 25% of Surface owners experienced issues after two years. Now, Microsoft’s Surface lineup is considered reliable, as most Redditors said in this thread created by Reddit user Mercidetonattention.

While Consumer Reports thinks highly of the reliability of Microsoft’s laptops, it’s apparently not impressed with the overall package. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is the brand’s highest-rated model, but among all the devices that we’ve featured in this ranking, it’s the one with the lowest score — it has middling ratings on its performance and ergonomics. gave it 8.4 out of 10 in its review, though, while praising its durable design and strong performance. Some Redditors have even recommended it over the Apple MacBook Air M4 in this Reddit thread started by Reddit user Realassx.

LG is another South Korean consumer electronics brand in this ranking. It comes in as the runner-up after getting second place from Consumer Reports and first place from PCMag, losing out on the top spot by just a few points. The LG Gram laptops are making waves as light devices despite their large screen, as mentioned by Reddit user JustBeLikeAndre. It’s the impressive build quality that sets them apart from the products of other brands.

LG beats the top brand in this ranking in one thing, though — the LG Gram Pro 16 and the LG Gram Pro 16 2-in-1 are the laptops with the highest scores from Consumer Reports. Both devices feature 16-inch screens and 16GB of RAM, with the LG Gram Pro 16 powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor and the LG Gram Pro 16 2-in-1 equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor. A review from Reddit user Mazeltiger on the LG Gram Pro 16 describes the laptop as “impressively sturdy” with a build quality that’s “sublime.”

Apple takes the crown in this reliability ranking, with a first-place score from Consumer Reports and a second-place score from PCMag. If you’ve checked out all the Reddit threads that we’ve linked so far, you probably saw a lot of recommendations for people to buy a MacBook if they want a reliable laptop. Redditor BluePenguin2002 summed it up nicely by saying that MacBooks are “the go-to for longevity” because these laptops age well, with high build quality that will keep them feeling premium even after several years of usage.

Apple’s top-rated laptop from Consumer Reports is the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro, with its namesake processor supported by 24GB of RAM. In BGR’s own review, we tagged the Apple MacBook Pro M4 as the best laptop ever made, with the M4 Pro processor perfect for photo editing and basic video editing. Forbes claimed that the Apple MacBook Pro M4 is the only computer that most people need, while Ars Technica thinks the significant performance improvement of the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro over the Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro and Apple MacBook Pro M2 Pro deserves a shout-out.

To determine the rankings of these laptop brands according to reliability, we calculated the average of their brand reliability score from Consumer Reports and the reliability score from PCMag’s Readers’ Choice 2025 survey. PCMag’s score is on a scale of 1 to 10, so we multiplied it by 10 to change it to a scale of 1 to 100, matching the scale of Consumer Reports’ scores. 

The rankings are supplemented by reviews from other reputable websites and comments from users on Reddit. We gathered these insights as a way to validate the calculated ranks of the laptop brands in terms of their reliability.

The highlighted laptops for each brand are their models with the highest scores from Consumer Reports, which rated their performance, display, ergonomics, versatility, and battery. The scores of these laptops were not considered in the rankings of the brands’ reliability.