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If you’re like me and travel alot, finding the best lightweight laptop for video editing on the go is a must! For too long I’ve been trailing a heavy 3kg 16″ laptop around, while a bigger laptop does have it’s benefits, it’ definitely gets tiring after a while. In order to have a fair judgement on figuring out which is the best lightweight laptop for video editing on the go, we’re going to seperate low priced models and higher end models. Of course, the more you spend the better machine you can get but that’s not always the option for everyone.
By the way, if you’re not bothered about portability but need a laptop for video editing, you should definitely check out our other article on the best video editing laptops here!
What to Look for in a Lightweight Video Editing Laptop
In order to find the most suitable laptop, we first need to identify exactly what we need and want from the model. A travel-friendly video editing laptop should tick the following boxes:
- Lightweight & Portable
Carrying a 3 kg+ laptop through airports, trains, and coffee shops quickly becomes tiring. We’ll aim for something under 2 kg for better portability without sacrificing durability. - Strong Performance for Editing Tasks
Whether you’re cutting clips in Adobe Premiere Pro or putting together social media content in Canva, you’ll need a processor and RAM combo that can handle multiple layers, transitions, and exports smoothly. Ideally, go for a modern Intel i5/i7, AMD Ryzen 5/7, with at least 16 GB RAM for 4K editing. - Accurate & Vibrant Display
Colour grading on a poor screen is a recipe for disaster. Look for high-resolution displays (at least Full HD, ideally 2K or 4K) with good colour accuracy (100% sRGB or better). An OLED or Retina panel can make a huge difference. - Long Battery Life
Editing on the go often means you won’t be near a charger. A laptop that lasts at least 8–10 hours under light use is ideal to give it enough stamina to get through a good chunk of an editing session without panic. - Decent Port Selection
You’ll want enough connectivity to work without carrying a bag full of dongles. USB-C/Thunderbolt for fast file transfers, plus options like HDMI, SD card readers, and extra USB-A ports are a big win for video editors.
Best budget laptop for video editing on the go
Acer Aspire 5 Slim (i7-1355U / RTX 2050)
Perhaps, one of the most difficult things to find in a budget laptop for video editing is good performance to weight ratio. But I was surprised to find this model of the Acer Aspire 5 weighing under 4 pounds and packing an RTX 2050. I think that’s amazing in this price range for a new laptop. It keeps things compact while bringing dedicated GPU performance, all without going refurbished.
This model comes with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 GPU, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a huge 1 TB Gen 4 SSD for fast project storage. At under 4 pounds, it’s noticeably lighter than most laptops with similar power, while still keeping decent cooling and build quality. You could even do light gaming on this laptop if you wanted but don’t expect high end gaming performance, this one is better suited for someone who needs the performance and practicality on a budget. Let’s review this laptop in full:
Why the Acer Aspire 5 Slim Stands Out
- Value – Strong all-round performance with a big SSD for under the typical “pro laptop” price point.
- Performance – The i7-1355U paired with the RTX 2050 is capable of smooth 1080p and light-to-medium 4K editing, especially for Premiere Pro and canva projects.
- Display – 15.6″ Full HD IPS panel offers decent, sharp visuals, though colour accuracy is average (good for general edits, less ideal for fine colour grading). This one is noted to have some screen clare as well so if you need better colour accuracy you may require an additional screen.
- Connectivity – Excellent: USB4/Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, multiple USB-A ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and even Ethernet: perfect for creators juggling drives, monitors, and fast file transfers.
- Portability – At under 4 pounds, it’s not ultrabook-light, but far easier to carry than most laptops with a dedicated GPU.
- Lighter than most performance laptops in its class.
- Strong CPU/GPU combo for editing on a budget.
- Large 1 TB SSD—ideal for storing active projects.
- Great port selection including Thunderbolt 4.
- Colour accuracy and screen could be better for professional grading work.
- DDR4 RAM instead of DDR5.
- Battery life is decent but won’t match an ultrabook for all-day use.
Bottom line:
If you want a laptop that’s more travel-friendly than a chunky gaming model but still delivers dedicated GPU performance, the Acer Aspire 5 Slim is a fantastic value pick. It’s a strong choice for budget-conscious editors who want storage space, speed, and portability without sacrificing too much power. That being said, if you want something with a bit more power and you don’t mind it being slightly heavier, you’ll want to see the next option.
Affordable best lightweight laptop for video editing on the go & gaming
Finding a new laptop for video editing on the go within the lower tier budget is tricky. If you don’t mind getting a refurbished one your options for high performance open up significantly. But for the purposes of this review, we’ll be sticking to new options on the market. Now, for a quality video editing laptop on a budget, we’ll have to make some comprimises in terms of weight since we can’t skip on performance. And the best option that we could find, that has a good balance of performance, price and practicality is the Acer Nitro V with the 13th Gen Intel i5-13420H processor, a surprising RTX 4050 GPU and 16 GB of RAM.
Realistically, this is a budget gaming laptop but with that kind of power it’s exactly what you’ll need for a good quality video editing machine. A bonus if you like gaming too! This laptop weighs around 4.7 pounds which is very light for a gaming laptop of this spec. The reason why it’s hard to find a good quality video/gaming laptop under that weight is because they need good cooling components which usually make the laptop bulky and weighty.
Let’s check out what else the Acer Nitro V (i5-13420H / RTX 4050) offers:
- Value: High performance at a modest price—especially for editors needing GPU support on the move.
- Performance: Nearly desktop-grade with a modern Intel CPU and dedicated RTX 4050—great for real-time editing in Premiere Pro.
- Display: 15.6″ FHD IPS at 144 Hz, though colour accuracy (~45% NTSC) is average—fine for rough edits, but less ideal for final grading.
- Connectivity: Very good: includes USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet.
- Portability: Weighing in at about 2.1 kg, it’s heavier than classic ultrabooks but still manageable.
- Even though it’s heavier than we’d like, it’s light for a laptop of it’s class.
- It’s affordable with real GPU power and great for playback and rendering.
- Good port selection minimizes need for dongles.
- Upgrade-friendly RAM and storage.
- Display colour accuracy may need calibration or external monitor for professional edits.
- Battery life likely limited due to gaming-class components and high-res display.
- Still a little too bulky for a travel setup.
Overall
This is a solid choice for a video editing laptop on a budget, especially if you like gaming too. Because it’s a gaming laptop, the batter life is limited, this might be one of the biggest limitations especially if you need to use outdoors often.
Best mid-range laptop for video editing on the go
So if you have a higher budget your options open up significantly, finding a video editing laptop for on the go use and ticking all the boxes we mentioned earlier becomes a lot more manageable. It opens the doors to laptops designed for workstations and ultrabook options from big brands like HP zbook, Acer, Lenovo and more.
After reviewing the lot, we’ve got two really solid options. the Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 and the MSI Cyborg 14 Gaming Laptop 14″ top our list for being the best laptops for video editing on the go.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 (Ultra 7-155H / RTX 4060)
When you want desktop-class performance without lugging a 16-inch brick, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 delivers serious power in a travel-friendly form.
This model comes with the Intel Core Ultra 7-155H, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a fast 1 TB Gen 4 SSD. The 14.5″ WQXGA IPS 120 Hz display offers sharp visuals with a 2560 x 1600 resolution—perfect for timeline work. At around 4.2 pounds, it’s not ultrabook-light, but it’s light enough to travel with without it being too heafty and the smaller screen size helps with that too. Let’s read more about what this laptop can do:
Why the Predator Helios Neo 14 Stands Out
- Value – Premium-level performance in a smaller, lighter package than most gaming laptops. The price is still really decent, just above the budget options.
- Performance – The Ultra 7 CPU and RTX 4060 GPU combo handles 4K timelines in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve with ease.
- Display – 14.5″ WQXGA 120 Hz panel with 16:10 aspect ratio gives you more vertical editing space.
- Connectivity – Decent but it does lack an ethernet port, you get: USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, USB-A ports, and microSD.
- Portability – Lighter than a traditional gaming laptop, yet still built with solid cooling for heavy workloads.
- Compact design at 14.5″ with serious editing power.
- Decent port selection if you don’t need ethernet, including Thunderbolt 4.
- High-resolution display with extra timeline space.
- Not the lightest on the list
- Speakers are only average.
- Battery life is decent but won’t match an ultrabook.
Summary:
If you need a small but mighty machine for editing on the go, the Predator Helios Neo 14 is a fantastic middle-ground—powerful enough for 4K, but still reasonably portable. The smaller screen size and lighter weight help it in being a better portable option than the Acer Nitro V model mentioned above. The price is slightly higher but still at a great price for a budget to mid-range video editing laptop.
MSI Cyborg 14 (i7-13620H / RTX 4060)
For editors who want something even more portable but still loaded with performance, the MSI Cyborg 14 is a surprisingly lightweight option.
It packs an Intel Core i7-13620H (10-core), an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, a huge 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1 TB SSD into a 14″ WUXGA IPS 144 Hz display with 100% sRGB coverage, excellent for colour-accurate work. At around 3.55 pounds, it’s one of the lightest laptops with this kind of power and that’s what makes this model so special. Let’s review more about this laptop:
Why the MSI Cyborg 14 Stands Out for traveling video editors
- Value – Lightweight yet equipped with high-end components that beat many heavier gaming laptops.
- Performance – RTX 4060 GPU plus 32 GB RAM means buttery smooth playback, rendering, and multitasking, even with 4K projects.
- Display – 100% sRGB colour accuracy makes it great for grading, and the 16:10 aspect ratio is perfect for editing timelines.
- Connectivity – Excellent options: USB-C, HDMI, USB-A, plus Ethernet—covers all the travel essentials.
- Portability – At around 3.55 pounds, it’s light enough for daily travel, while still packing a full cooling system.
- Excellent colour accuracy (100% sRGB).
- Large 32 GB RAM for heavy editing projects.
- One of the lightest RTX 4060 laptops around.
- Battery life is limited under heavy use.
- 14″ might be too small for some.
- Fans can get loud under load.
Bottom line:
If portability and colour accuracy are top priorities, the MSI Cyborg 14 is an easy recommendation, it’s lightweight, fast, and ready for serious editing work. It’s a little more expensive than the Acer Preditor Helios so it pushes it more to the mid-range. However, this is a solid gaming laptop that can handle video editing too.
And to summarize…
All these laptops are great picks for video editors who need a solid performing laptop, they all have GPU’s, they’re lightweight compared to traditional gaming models and they’re fit for both budget and mid-range depending on the model.
But which one’s the best lightweight laptop for video editing on the go? Well, while that does largely depend on the price, overall, we think the Acer Nitro V is a deal that’s hard to beat. In the lower price range you can get a solid entry gaming laptop, with a proper cooling system, enough RAM and it’s light for a gaming laptop. However, that being said, it’s still the heaviest on the list by a few points. With a larger budget, Acer again with the Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 provide a great value, portable and powerful machine that will handle gaming and video editing and be a great long term investment.
Thanks for reading, I hope this guide on the best lightweight laptop for video editing on the go helped you! By the way, make sure try our Laptop Finder Quiz to get laptop recommendations if you’re on the lookout for a new laptop. Otherwise, check out our similar tech reviews on the links below.
