Best laptop stands Windows Central 2020

Sitting up straighter or standing is a great way to improve your posture when using a laptop, but this can sometimes result in your device feeling uncomfortable to use. Laptop stands are a fantastic way to solve this problem, as they allow you to elevate your computer above your desk. The laptop stand market is wide, but among the competition, we think the standout winner is the AOOU Laptop Stand as it maintains a fantastic balance between versatility, durability, and price.

Best overall: AOOU laptop stand

The AOOU Laptop Stand is the best overall laptop stand you can get on the market right now, as it offers pretty much everything you could ever want in a laptop stand for an excellent price. The best thing about it is its triple-jointed legs that can both rotate 360 degrees and also extend and retract fully, allowing you to adjust its height up to 19 inches and angle it into any configuration you want.

The stand is made up of hard plastic, which isn't the strongest material, but it's fine for what you're going to be using it for. In addition, the flatbed has two miniature fans (the power supply is included with the purchase) in it that help keep your laptop cool, and it also comes with a mini mouse table on the right side. When you consider just how much value you get for the price, it's clear why this desk is an amazing choice.

Pros:

  • Very versatile
  • Adjustable legs
  • Mouse table
  • Miniature fans
  • Amazing price

Cons:

  • Hard plastic not as durable

Best overall

AOOU laptop stand

Incredible value

AOOU's laptop stand is an awesome balance of quality and price, making it our top pick.

Best portable: Roost laptop stand

This portable stand is a work of magic that can completely fold up into a frame small and thin enough to fit into a pocket. When you extend everything out, though, you'll have a fully functioning, height adjustable (6–11 inches) stand, which makes this product extremely useful for travelers. It's extreme compactness makes it a pricey option, though.

Pros:

  • Amazing for travel
  • Height adjustable
  • No flatbed means maximum airflow

Cons:

  • Pricey
  • Hard plastic not as durable

Best portable

Roost laptop stand

Take it anywhere

This laptop stand can fold up incredibly tightly, though the supreme compact design makes for a pricey purchase.

Best durable: Rain design mStand

The Rain Design mStand trades height adjustment and overall versatility for a very durable build, as the entire stand is made out of sturdy aluminum that both resists damage and acts as a heat sink for the laptop. As long as you don't want to raise your device higher than six inches, this stand will be an excellent choice.

Pros:

  • Extremely durable
  • Aluminum cools off laptop
  • Good price

Cons:

  • No height adjustment

Best durable

Rain design mStand

The tough stuff

This stand from Rain Design may lack height adjustment, but its durable aluminum frame ensures you'll never need to worry about damage.

Best elevator-style: Griffin elevator laptop stand

If you'd prefer something with an "elevator" type of style, look no further than Griffin Technology's offering. It stands at 5.5 inches tall and is constructed out of aluminum for high durability, but it uses two prongs instead of a full flatbed design to hold your device. This means that your laptop will have much more airflow than many other stands in this list.

Pros:

  • Very durable
  • Plenty of airflow for laptop cooling
  • Great price

Cons:

  • No height adjustment

Best elevator-style

Griffin elevator laptop stand

Air flow for the win

This stand trades some durability for a high amount of airflow, which is ideal if you want to use air to cool your laptop.

Best thin: UPERGO laptop stand

UPERGO's laptop stand isn't very tall, coming in at 3.7 inches, and you can't adjust the height, either. However, its aluminum frame is incredibly thin and you can fold the stand's brace into the flatbed for great portability as well. The thinness of the metal means it won't absorb heat as well as the Rain Design mStand will, but if you want a strong balance between portability and durability, UPERGO's solution is for you.

Pros:

  • Pretty durable
  • Very portable
  • Great price

Cons:

  • No height adjustment
  • Laptop may get hot after extended use periods

Best thin

UPERGO laptop stand

You can almost see through it

This laptop stand is constructed out of thin aluminum, giving it a nice balance between portability and toughness.

Best budget: AmazonBasics laptop stand

This 7.2-inch mesh stand from Amazon is incredibly affordable, and it can be adjusted a small amount between 12 and 35 degrees. It's not super durable, but the mesh design does mean that it gets a lot of airflow. For the low price, it's an excellent value pick if you're on a budget.

Pros:

  • Mesh design is great for airflow
  • Small amount of angle adjustment
  • Most affordable

Cons:

  • Not nearly as durable

Best budget

AmazonBasics laptop stand

Affordable awesomeness

AmazonBasics is out to prove low price doesn't mean low quality, as this stand offers awesome value for the cost.

Bottom line

Laptop stands are an incredibly efficient tool that will allow people to elevate their devices so that they can comfortably use them with a better posture, or even while standing. They're also not terribly expensive either (most of the time), which makes purchasing one an awesome investment if you're interested in using your laptop in a healthier way in the long run.

All of the laptop stands on this list are excellent, and each one is sure to appeal to someone based on what they're specifically looking for. However, in the end, we feel that the AOOU Laptop Stand is the king of the hill in the laptop stand market since it offers an incredible amount of value for a fantastic price. The other options are going to be better for people looking for specific things, like very high durability or tons of airflow, but the AOOU Laptop Stand is a phenomenal jack-of-all-trades pick that does it all and does it well.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's relatively new to the writing scene, but he counters that lack of experience with a rock-solid work ethic and a desire to improve at every opportunity. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.

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