MacBooks are undoubtedly top-of-the-line laptops, and as great as their lightweight, compact form factor is for portability, it’s not always ideal for your posture while working at a desk. A laptop stand, however, can help prevent you from hunching over and provide an ergonomic solution for correcting that desk-slouching posture many of us know too well. Additionally, many stands come equipped with holes for air ventilation, which can improve airflow for when your MacBook gets a bit heated and give you a place to rest your machine on a surface other than your bedsheets or couch cushion – where, for safety reasons, it should never be.
Paired with monitors and multi-screen set-ups, laptop stands can also elevate your workspace – both literally and fashionably. With many having brushed aluminum or real wood finishes, the stand itself looks nice on a desk and may even help reduce some clutter – providing a space to collect papers under the stand instead of flooding your trackpad. Whatever the reason, we’ve done our research considering what we’d like to hold our MacBooks and collected the best laptop stands for Mac.
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Rain Design mStand
Editor’s Choice
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Twelve South / Pocket-lint
Twelve South HiRise
Best premium stand
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HumanCentric / Pocket-lint
HumanCentric Vertical Laptop Stand
Best design
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obVus / Pocket-lint
obVus Solutions Adjustable Laptop Stand
Best adjustable stand
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Mount It / Pocket-lint
Mount It Laptop Desk Arm
Best adjustable arm stand
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Rain Design mStand
Editor’s Choice
$40 $45 Save $5
The Rain Design mStand is a good overall choice for most use cases. It’s not adjustable, but it looks great and comes in the same colors as Macs, so you can buy one that matches your MacBook. Rain Design also sells a variant of this that spins 360-degrees for folks who want to go that route. It’s made out of a single piece of machined aluminum, just like your Mac.
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Twelve South / Pocket-lint
Twelve South HiRise
Best premium stand
The Twelve South HiRise is an official accessory that you can buy directly from Apple. It’s an aluminum stand with a silicone lining to help keep your MacBook from moving. It’s also adjustable via its spring-loaded post, and that should offer enough adjustability for just about anybody. It’s compatible with MacBooks of all sizes as well. You’ll pay a pretty penny for the privilege, though, as it is quite expensive.
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HumanCentric / Pocket-lint
HumanCentric Vertical Laptop Stand
Best design
$80 $90 Save $10
The HumanCentric Laptop Stand is a good overall stand. It features a cylindrical base and a wood top that adds a touch of flair to the proceedings. It’s not adjustable, so if it’s one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for you, you’ll need to look elsewhere. It’s definitely functional, but it’s a decent mix of fashion and function. You can get it with a black walnut or maple top depending on your preferences.
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obVus / Pocket-lint
obVus Solutions Adjustable Laptop Stand
Best adjustable stand
$75 $100 Save $25
The obVus Adjustable Stand is a good choice for adjustability. It supports MacBooks of any size, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility. It employs a folding mechanism to raise and lower the laptop. It even folds entirely flat. In addition, there is an integrated phone holder built into the base that you can put under the stand for added functionality. The only downside is that it’s quite expensive.
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Mount It / Pocket-lint
Mount It Laptop Desk Arm
Best adjustable arm stand
The Mount It! Laptop Desk Arm is a great solution if want an arm instead of a stand. The arm mounts to the back or side of your desk. It then holds your laptop in place while you do your thing. The adjustability is mostly horizontal, so you can move the MacBook in and out of your reach as needed. There is also a variant with a monitor arm as well.
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SUPERJARE / Pocket-lint
SUPERJARE Dual Monitor Stand Riser
Best multi-monitor stand
$38 $40 Save $2
The SUPERJARE Monitor Stand Rise is a good choice if you intend on using a full home office setup. You can put your MacBook on one side, your second monitor on the other, and interact with them using an external mouse and keyboard. This turns your desk into a home office setup with minimal effort, and you don’t have to buy a whole new desk to do it. It’s also not that expensive.
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Nnewvante / Pocket-lint
Nnewvante Adjustable Laptop Desk Table
Best lap desk
The Nnewvante Laptop Desk is an adjustable laptop desk that lets you use your Mac in bed, on the couch, or in other places without a flat surface. The stand part is adjustable, so you can set it to your ergonomic preferences. There is also a variant with a fan if you want more cooling. When not used as a laptop stand, you can use it to eat , draw, or whatever else you want.
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Tonmom / Pocket-lint
Tonmom Laptop Stand
Best budget laptop stand
The Tonmom Laptop Stand is a cheap, simple, and effective stand. It’s essentially just a few pieces of metal bolted together in a stand configuration. The nice part is that it’s actually quite adjustable, and it can be folded down if you want to take it with you somewhere. These go for $10 and, while they may not look amazing, are more than functional enough for your Mac.
The best laptop stands for Mac: Which one is best for you?
As always, the best one for you is the one that fits your use case base. If your desk is the proper height, and you don’t need a huge amount of adjustment, the Rain Design laptop stand is a good-looking option. Those who need more adjustments can try out the Twelve South HiRise, Tonmom, and obVus laptop stands. If you have a maple desk, the maple HumanCentric stand is a good option.
Ultimately, all the stands perform the same task of getting your Mac off of the table where you can more easily see it and use it. It also helps you avoid putting it on a bed, carpet, or other material where it might affect cooling. From there, choose the one you want. Be yourself.
Why should I buy a laptop stand?
There are several good reasons to own one. It helps you use your Mac in a more comfortable and ergonomic way. Laptop stands can also assist with cooling, help complete your home office setup, and even help with posture. Even the laptop arm stand works great for creatives who need to push their laptop out of the way to draw or create something on their desk. Some folks may not need the additional ergonomics, but many people can benefit from it.
Can I use these laptop stands for other laptops?
Yes, there is nothing about a laptop stand that makes it intrinsically for MacBooks. The selections we made above are there because they suit the MacBook better. For example, the Rain Designs laptop stand comes in colors specifically to match the MacBook color lineup while the Twelve South is sold directly from Apple. You can certainly buy these products for other types of laptops and they’ll work fine. At the end of the day, a laptop stand is just a stand that holds a laptop.
