Your laptop will be the most essential equipment for running your Virtual Assistant business. In this post, I share some of the best laptops for Virtual Assistants, taking into consideration what type of services you’ll be offering and some specs that may be favourable to you.
As a Virtual Assistant, you need a reliable laptop with the right features to perform your VA tasks. And you also need a laptop that will suit your lifestyle.
Laptop shopping can be overwhelming due to the countless choices out there.
Don’t worry, though. I’m here to make your life a tad bit easier by listing the things you need to look for in a laptop as well as some popular options for remote workers.
Affiliate Link Disclosure:
As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a commission if you click on affiliated links in this post, at no additional costs to you. Hope you find the information beneficial! You can read my full Disclaimer and Disclosure here. Thanks for visiting.
What to consider before buying a laptop for your VA business
Before you dive into Amazon and browse through a sheer amount of lists, you first want to think about the services you’ll be offering and what laptop functionalities you may need.
For example, not all laptops are suitable for video editing and graphic designing. Not only do they need a sufficient RAM space and powerful CPU processor to run the programs (such as Adobe Photoshop and Premiere), but things like colour accuracy are also important for your graphic design clients.
I have Acer Aspire 3 (the version currently discontinued and replaced with newer versions) and I can’t rely on it for either of these:
- RAM is small and running Adobe programs takes an immense amount of RAM space. So work that could have been done in under an hour took me several painful hours!
- The colour accuracy of Acer Aspire 3 is horrible. I’d need to review the design on my phone and tablet to check if it’s okay.
However, as I’m not a graphic designer (just testing the hobby) it didn’t matter to me so much.
How to rock your laptop choice as a Virtual Assistant
Let’s get into more detail about the things you want to factor in when choosing a laptop for your VA business.
1# Battery life
One of the most important aspects of choosing a laptop is its battery life.
What happens if you have a power outbreak?
Or you prefer to work in one part of the house but it doesn’t have a power plug?
Having a laptop with disappointing battery life can be so limiting and can affect your motivation and productivity.
I didn’t factor this with my first work laptop, and it was my greatest regret. Later I had to save more money to buy one that has longer battery life.
Don’t rely solely on the product’s features on the product page. Read customer reviews about how usage and time affects the quality of the battery.
#2 Speed and performance
General admin work such as email management and writing doesn’t require much, but graphic designing and video editing take a lot of RAM space. Without the right CPU processor and RAM space, you can expect lags and slow performance.
I tried to use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere for editing product images and editing high-resolution videos on a laptop with RAM of 4 GB. It lagged so bad I was reading a book waiting for it to stop lagging so I can do the next step.
You want to avoid anything below 4 GB RAM, even if you don’t plan to use complex programs. I highly suggest not going below 8 GB RAM.
#3 Colour accuracy and display
If you’re a creative VA that does a lot of design work (social media content creation, branding, etc.), you want to choose a laptop that accurately displays the designs you create (for reasons mentioned earlier).
You also want one that has a bright screen so you don’t strain your eyes when it comes to working on designs for long periods of time. The same goes for long writing tasks such as blogging and content writing.
#4 Weight and size
Sometimes, size does matter when choosing a laptop. If you’re always on the go, you might want to pick a laptop with a lightweight design to be able to easily carry it around.
Or you might want to compromise the size for a bigger keyboard and screen. It’s easier to navigate through your work when you have a bigger screen rather than switching between tabs and windows on a smaller screen.
#5 Operating system
Something else you want to consider is the operating system of the laptop you’re buying. The most well-known are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Android.
Depending on your VA tasks it’s essential to choose one that you’ll be happy with.
Mac OS is one of the most secure operating systems, but because it doesn’t allow just any application to make it to the Apple store your app choice can be very limited. If you mainly operate on web browsers for all your VA tasks then you wouldn’t be bothered by this so much.
If you like to use MS Windows applications such as MS Word and Excel, then you’ll be more comfortable with the MS Windows operating system.
If you mainly operate on Chrome, then you might want to consider Chrome OS.
Best laptops for Virtual Assistants in these niches
I’d be fighting a losing battle if I were to list every niche in the VA industry. That’s why for this section, I’m going to cover a specialised VA niche: graphic designing.
I’ll cover more once I do more research on other niches.
It’s important to cover these niches, because if for example, you do a lot of graphic design or video editing work you want to choose a laptop that can handle those tasks.
Let’s get into it in a little more detail.
Laptops for Graphic Design / Video Editor VAs
For heavy tasks such as graphic designing and video editing, you want to choose a laptop that has:
- 16GB RAM and above
- At least 6-core and 8-core CPUs
- Excellent screen displays such as Retina Display, AMOLED, etc.
MacBook Pro
There’s a reason why MacBooks don’t come cheap. The MacBook Pro is indisputably the best laptop for graphic designing and video editing. Its speed and performance are top-notch.
If your VA services and your long-term goal revolve around graphic designing and creating video content, then certainly MacBook Pro will be a worthy investment. You can find more affordable prices if you go for the older models.
It’s also lightweight and has long battery life, making it easy if you’re always on the go.
Pros:
- Crisp graphic details (you can barely see a pixel)
- Durable design material
- Lightweight
- Long battery life
Cons:
- Ridiculously priced
- Limited hardware storage (unless you pay more for better storage)
- Limited software support (can’t run many Windows apps)
MacBook Air
If your work doesn’t require content video editing and spending hours on your laptop, then MacBook Air is a less expensive alternative to MacBook Pro for all your graphic design needs.
What makes Macbook Air less expensive is that it doesn’t have the superior cooling system that the Pro has, making it more susceptible to overheating if used for long periods. Also, it has less faster performance than Pro.
Nonetheless, Macbook Air is still superior to many other laptops out there. This is a better choice for you if graphic designing and video editing are not the majority of your VA tasks, but still a big part of your VA career.
Pros:
- Retina Display feature (crisp graphic details)
- Durable design material
- Lightweight
- Long battery life
Cons:
- Still pricier than many other laptops
- Limited hardware storage (unless you pay more for better storage)
- Limited software support (can’t run many Windows apps)
LG Gram 16
If you’re on a tighter budget and not much of an Apple fan, the LG gram laptop is another great choice for your creative tasks. It has a nice screen, great performance for graphic designing and it’s relatively lightweight.
Although not on par with the MacBook Retina Displays it still has amazing graphics with good colour sRGB coverage.
There’s also a laptop-tablet version of LG Gram.
Pros
- Excellent performance
- Good for travelling
Cons
- The screen is not suitable outside on sunny days
- Weak audio
Best Affordable Laptops for Virtual Assistants on a Budget
Your laptop will be the most important asset in your VA business, and choosing a ‘cheap’ laptop doesn’t always mean you’re saving money long-term.
For example, if you bought a laptop that cost under £190 and you found yourself having to buy a new one in 6 months. That’s not saving. And also, having a laptop that is slow and crashes a lot will cost you your time and productivity.
When you invest more money in a good laptop with excellent performance and quality build, you can expect a good return on investment:
- You’re getting a lot more done because your laptop doesn’t lag and takes a long time to load
- You won’t be replacing your laptop for several years
- You’re not spending to have it fixed all the time
Having said that, let’s look at some more affordable laptops for Virtual Assistants starting with the best.
MacBook Air (more affordable options)
Okay, hear me out! There are many versions of MacBook Air and you can find the more affordable series by compromising on size, memory space, and/or model age. I found some priced at around $600 and even $300.
MacBook Air is still on top of the list when it comes to one of the best laptops for productivity. Many people who get MacBook Air own it for many years due to the materials used to make it.
Acer Aspire (5 and Vero)
If you’re not an Apple fan and are on a tighter budget then Acer Aspire is another great choice.
I’ve read some very happy reviews from people who bought:
Personally, I own Acer Aspire and many of my family members use it, too. What I like about Acer is that the material is durable and unlike some brands, it doesn’t fall apart after many years of use.
Acer Aspire Vero offers amazing processor performance at the price it offers. However, unlike the MacBook Air, it doesn’t have the best screen (the light is quite dim) and the battery life is reportedly bad, even from my experience.
Pros
- Good performance
- Made from recycled materials (if you’re environmentally conscious)
Cons
- Disappointing battery life
- Limited brightness
Lenovo Chromebook – IdeaPad Flexi
Another much cheaper alternative is getting a Chromebook. I had one before when I was in college, and I found it very convenient. It’s cheaper than traditional laptops because of the low hardware requirements of Chrome OS
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex is a 2-in-1 Chromebook laptop. You can fold it to be like a tablet and it’s also touchscreen. The storage space starts at 64 GB up to 128 GBP. It also has a RAM memory of 8 GB.
Just make sure that if you’re going for a Chromebook you’re absolutely sure you don’t need to do your tasks beyond the Chrome browser. Because that’s what it is… Chromebook.
A friend once bought a Chromebook because she saw me using one, only to realise that it didn’t allow her to do much of anything else (she didn’t ask me)!
Save for later
My experience buying a laptop for remote work
When I first bought a laptop for online work I failed to factor in many of the things I listed in this post. As a result, my workflow suffered miserably.
The first laptop I bought was the Acer Aspire 3. It had a RAM space of 4 GB, which was extremely slow and for someone who likes to open multiple tabs, it was… unbearable.
Fortunately, my brother who worked in IT came to the rescue and installed an additional 4 GB RAM which improved the speed (drastically). It made a big difference to my productivity, but due to the short battery life, and the dim screen, I craved something that would make my work more enjoyable.
I ended up saving up buying a tablet that cost around £650 (Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+). I still use my old laptop for general use, but when it comes to research and taking my work to different parts of the house, and quickly replying to emails, the tablet served me much better.
Should you go over budget for a better VA laptop?
Buying a laptop that you can happily work with at the start is important to avoid costs (in time and money) that comes from an unreliable laptop. If you can afford some more time to put more money on the side to go over budget for the ideal laptop for you then please, by all means.
If you can’t, then settle for something that even at a low price is not too compromising when it comes to the functions, like the Chromebook. Then, as you get clients and have income coming in, save up for your dream laptop that will serve you for 4-8 years.
I truly hope that you find this list helpful. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave me a message or a comment!
Great information here!
Glad you found it useful!