The Linux operating system will run on just about any computer. I mean that literally. Remember the Intel Pentium 4 processor? It came out in 2000, and it’s still supported by Debian Linux. That’s probably not a machine you want to work on today, though, so while Linux can run almost anywhere, Linux runs better on some laptops than others.

But once upon a time, getting Linux working meant jumping through all sorts of hoops and dealing with frustrating experiences trying to get everything to work on hardware designed for Windows or macOS. Thankfully, those days are mostly behind us. I’ve installed Linux on every laptop I’ve tested since 2020. Almost all of them worked great, but some were easier to get running than others.

Beyond supporting older hardware, Linux offers other user benefits, like greater control over operating systems that run on the Linux kernel, better security and malware protection, no unwanted software (bloatware), and faster performance. It’s not just for developers; it’s for casual users too.

For most people, a laptop preinstalled with Linux is your best bet. Plenty of hardware makers now ship laptops running Linux right out of the box. This guide recommends the best of these.

If you’re in the market for a laptop, be sure to check out our other buying guides, like the Best Laptops, Best Cheap Laptops, Best MacBooks, and How to Choose the Right Laptop.

Updated September 2026: I’ve revamped this guide to include the new System76 Pangolin Pro, along with updates on the Tuxedo and Framework options.

Best for Most People

System76 recently updated its Lemur Pro with a new chip and a few other tweaks. I’ll be testing it very soon, but I don’t expect to change my recommendation here. The Lemur Pro has long been my favorite Linux laptop, and the latest model will likely continue that. It strikes the best balance between size, weight, power, and price, even with the price hike on the latest model.

At just over 12 inches wide and weighing 2.5 pounds, the 14-inch model is plenty portable. The 16-inch version is 14.1 inches by just under 10 inches. The 14-inch base model gets an Intel Core Ultra 5 325, with the option to upgrade to a Core Ultra X7 358H. The latter chip is the default for the 1-inch model. My one gripe with the new model is that the RAM is fixed at 32 GB. You can still cram up to 8 TB of storage into each of the two SSD slots.

The Lemur Pro offers very solid performance that’s plenty for all the things most people do every day. It can even handle light video editing and other intensive tasks, though it has no dedicated graphics card; for that, you’ll want the Pangolin Pro (see below). That said, I’ve been impressed with the Arc B390 iGPU in the Ultra X7 model. I’ll add more performance details after I’ve had a chance to test more.

The port selection is good, with two USB 3.2 Type-C ports—one of which is a Thunderbolt 4 port—a USB-A port, a 3.5-mm headphone/microphone combo jack, a MicroSD card reader, and an HDMI 2.0 port. Battery life is also fantastic, lasting all day in most use cases. The keyboard, while not my favorite, is pleasant enough to type on.

As with all System76 laptops, it ships with the company’s Pop!_OS Linux distribution preinstalled (you can also opt for Ubuntu, but I highly suggest trying Pop!_OS). Pop!_OS’s Cosmic desktop is based on Gnome, but unlike Gnome, Pop!_OS is very customizable and can be tweaked to your liking. Aside from Arch Linux, Pop!_OS is my favorite distro.

Best MacBook Replacement

Tuxedo’s InfinityBook Pro 14 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is a svelte, lightweight laptop that’s dedicated to the open-source world. Tuxedo is based in Germany (which is why the price is in euros), and like System76, it has a long history of providing excellent Linux support.

The InfinityBook Pro is Tuxedo’s everyday laptop, powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 H 255 chip. I haven’t tested Tuxedo’s AMD model, but I have tested the same chip in other Linux laptops and found performance very good. Note that the H 255 has no active NPU, so it’s not ideal for local AI, but it’s plenty for average to demanding workloads. I had no trouble playing back 8K video out of a GoPro, for example. The InfinityBook can be configured with up to 96 GB of RAM and 8 TB of storage per drive slot (there are two SSD card slots), though of course, with the price of memory and storage where it is, it will cost you.

The performance specs are solid, but the real highlight of the InfinityBook is the gorgeous 2,880 x 1,800-pixel-resolution matte screen. At 400 nits, it’s plenty bright enough to work anywhere, and the anti-glare matte finish means you can see it under bright sunlight. In my testing of the Intel model, the InfinityBook Pro had plenty of power for most tasks, and I expect the AMD chip to deliver the same. The battery life is solid and lasts all day, and the custom tools for fine-tuning the power settings are the best I’ve used. Tuxedo’s custom OS (based on Kubuntu) is a great Linux experience, and the website offers extensive documentation and help for new users.

Best DIY Linux Laptop

Framework’s Laptop 13 is my personal favorite. It’s not my top pick because it won’t be right for everyone (it’s lacking in ports and doesn’t have the premium feel of the Lemur Pro), but it does everything I need, has great battery life, and I happen to love the ability to swap the ports around in different configurations. I’m typing this on a Framework laptop running Arch Linux.

There are a few flavors of the Laptop 13. I tested the second release of the 13-inch model (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and loved it, but since then we’ve reviewed the newer 13-inch AMD Framework, the 16-inch Framework, and the smaller Framework 12. All of them make great Linux laptops because Framework officially supports Ubuntu and Fedora Linux, and also has a helpful forum of users who’ve made just about every Linux distro you can think of work on their Framework Laptops.

The current line of DIY Framework Laptop 13 can be configured with either an AMD or Intel processor (though Intel seems to be frequently out of stock). The AMD Ryzen model ships with AI 300 Series chips, starting with the Ryzen 5, with several upgrade options to the Ryzen AI 7 and even the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. An Intel configuration starts with the Core Ultra 5 125H, with upgrades to the Core Ultra 7 155 or even 165H available. Whichever processor you pick, you can upgrade to up to 96 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and choose a drive up to 8 TB.

I’ve tested Framework laptops with Ubuntu, which Framework supports, and Arch Linux, which is community-supported, and both worked great. My only gripe with Framework is the same as with many Linux laptops: battery life could be better. I get about seven to eight hours with casual use, and much less when editing video or doing other intensive tasks.

My other complaint is that the Framework’s build quality isn’t as nice as System76 or Tuxedo’s offerings, but that may change with the new Framework 13 Pro, which will be shipping soon; we’ll update this guide as soon as we get our hands on one.

A Sysadmin Favorite

System76’s Pangolin Pro is a 16-inch, AMD-powered laptop with enough ports to leave the dongle at home. The Ryzen 7 chip has plenty of power for most tasks; it didn’t even break a sweat playing back 8K video, though it did spin up the fans when it came time to export that video down to 4K. As you would expect, benchmarks on graphics-intensive tasks are behind any machine with a dedicated card—though you can plug in an eGPU via the OcuLink port—but the Ryzen AI 7’s overall performance is quite good.

You can configure your Pangolin Pro with up to 96 GB of RAM and 16 TB of storage should you have recently won the lottery, but the base model comes with a more affordable 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB of storage.

The battery life is good for the size—it lasted all day in most of my testing. The keyboard is quite nice to type on. The oversized trackpad sometimes got in my way, but it wasn’t a de