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Still balancing your laptop on a stack of old books? It's time to upgrade. Having the right laptop stand can make life more comfortable, so you can stop craning your neck while you work.
The best stands raise your laptop's screen (or external monitor!) close to eye level, which is better for maintaining a healthy posture. Some can even fit into a backpack for easy travel or switch configurations from sitting to standing. These are our favorites.
Need more options for your home office? Read our guide to work-from-home gear.
Updated August 2023: We've added the Lone Birch Flex Stand, Twelve South's Curve Flex Stand, and the Nexstand K1. We've also removed both of our recommended sit-stand converters, which are no longer available. We'll test new ones soon.
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Snagging one of the laptop stands below is one of many ways you can improve your posture when sitting at a desk for long periods. Connecting your laptop to a separate computer monitor is another. You'll be able to multitask more easily with two screens, and you won't have to strain your neck as much.
Some of these laptop stands are best paired with a separate keyboard and mouse. These peripherals mean you can set your laptop farther away and at various heights, and you won't need to stretch your arms in awkward ways to type. The right mouse can prevent muscle strain and wrist problems, so check out the picks in our Best Keyboards and Best Gaming Mouse guides. (You don't need to be a gamer to use a gaming mouse!)
No matter how many stands I try, I keep coming back to the ObVus Solutions Tower. It's sturdy, light, and sleek (as far as office supplies go). I love that it can be raised to various heights and positions, so it should work for most people's home or work setups. You can flatten it out to throw in your bag, and you may even be able to stand for a little bit with it (unless you are particularly tall).
It does take some muscle power to change the height and angle. That's probably a good thing, as it won't collapse while you're working. I've been using it consistently since 2020, and it has stayed just as sturdy, with no issues. It's also often on sale.
Despite being made of thin aluminum, this simple Rain Design stand is sturdy. Type away without worrying about it buckling, and take it from your office to your living room or a coffee shop. It's a set height, raising a laptop about 5 inches at an angle. My colleague now has two of these, so he doesn't have to worry about toting it back and forth between home and the office—but you can, because it folds up to just 9.5 x 6 inches, so it fits into any bag you'd also put a laptop in. It also weighs less than a pound.
The mBar Pro Plus holds 9.7-inch (and up!) iPads if placed horizontally. There's also the mBar ($25) stand, which raises a laptop 3 inches and doesn't fold up, and the mBar Pro ($55), which raises it the same amount but folds.
★ Another portable stand: The Nexstand K1 Carbon Fiber Laptop Stand ($80) raises your laptop with its seven height options, and it folds into a very small, compact rectangle that will fit in just about any moderately sized bag. I don't find it to be very intuitive to use at first, though—I had to read the directions to figure out I had it upside down.
I've been using this Superjare laptop stand on and off for a few years, and even after testing all the others for this guide, it's still one of my favorites. It's made of particleboard, but it's strong enough to hold my monitor and laptop. It's a nice break from industrial-looking metal stands. It's also really affordable!
There are three sections—one middle piece and two adjustable sides—and you can collapse the sides into the middle or remove them entirely. Sometimes I use just the middle for my monitor, or I use the entire thing to hold my laptop slightly angled on the left side for a better two-screen setup (with the ObVus stand too). The best part? There's space underneath for storing notebooks, a keyboard, and other stuff that tends to clutter my desk. If you occasionally want to stand up and work, this isn't a good option. Plus, it's not easy to tote from room to room. But if you're mostly going to sit at a desk, it'll do the job.
I've been working from home since 2018, and even though I love my desk (and my computer monitor), sometimes it's too hard to leave my bed in the morning or make it off the couch in the afternoon. The Nnewvante, which is also in our Home Office Gear guide, is a great stand for those lazier days. You can't adjust the stand's height, but you can raise the base to an angle suitable to whatever you're doing—sketching, watching a movie on a tablet, eating breakfast, or typing on a laptop—and the built-in stopper keeps things from sliding off into your lap.
The smaller surface on the right stays flat and is a good place for your morning coffee. There's even a cute, small drawer for storing knickknacks! And when you're done with it, you can fold up the legs for slimmer storage. Even better, it's made of bamboo and feels very nice.
★ Aluminum alternative: We also like the Uncaged Ergonomics WorkEZ Best Laptop Stand ($40). By pressing each button on the leg joints, you can adjust and tilt it to work on a flat surface or while you're lying down. It also comes with a removable mouse pad. It's not as sturdy as the Nnewvante, though, and we don't recommend using a separate keyboard on either. Feverish typing on a separate keyboard makes the stands shift around a bit, but you're probably not working that hard from bed anyway.
The Nnewvante is great and affordable, but a lap desk is another good option for occasional work away from a regular desk. It even works in the car. Yogibo's lap desk has a squishy pillow bottom that's comfortable against your legs—not surprising from a company known for its pillows and bean bags—and a bamboo top. Most important, the entire tray stays still as you type, because there are no legs to wobble.
There's also a slot to hold up a tablet or phone for watching movies or video chatting. When you're done working, you can ditch the computer and use the lap desk for drawing or writing comfortably.
If you’d like your home office to match your other decor, Grovemade’s Walnut Laptop Stand might do the trick. WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu recommends it in his Home Office Gear guide, saying it's best suited for a desk or table to make room for a separate keyboard and mouse, though you can use it on a couch too. There's a stainless-steel stop to keep your laptop from sliding off, and the stand's feet are made of cork to prevent it from moving around. The American black walnut base is gorgeous, and it supports up to 200 pounds. Just be prepared to spend a little cash.
We also like Grovemade's Desk Shelf, which is just as nice to look at (it ranges from $160 to $380), and the Walnut Laptop Riser ($180).
★ Style on a budget: If you're going for aesthetics but don't want to shell out the big bucks for Grovemade, consider the HumanCentric Laptop Riser ($80). Its cylindrical aluminum base mixed with black walnut–veneered plywood gives it a minimal and modern but still stylish feel. Against my dark wooden desk, it looked gorgeous and kept my laptop steady.
This stand from Lone Birch is another pretty wood option, available in walnut or oak. The advantage of this one over Grovemade—as well as saving $50-ish—is the flexible arm that holds the platform up. You can have it straight up or bend the arm for an angled view, raising your laptop about 7 to 9 inches. It works on its own or with a separate keyboard and mouse.
There are small and large sizes. I tried the large, which is better for 15-inch or larger laptops—it felt slightly too big for my 13-inch MacBook.
The Moft Z 5-in-1 stand can be easily configured into five different positions. At its tallest 10-inch height, you can comfortably stand for a little while. If you're standing for most of the day, go for the ObVus Solutions Tower, which can go higher and is more likely to reach eye level for most people. But what I really like about this one is that it's light and folds down to just half an inch thick, so you can take it anywhere without adding much bulk.
Moft is known for its origami-based designs, which you can tell by looking at this folding desk mat. It's a convenient work companion—at just shy of 20 inches long and magnetic, it can balance your laptop with room to snap on your phone to the wireless charger and keep a to-do list in view with its memo holders.
There are three bundles to choose from, each with different accessories. The Digital Kit ($158) comes with a tablet holder—I had to watch this video to figure out just how to fold it—cable organizers, and a wireless charging pad with a sticker to make any phone magnetic. The Smart Paper Kit ($128) has book and memo holders, and the full kit goes for $187. All kits include an extremely nice wrist rest (the best I've tried) that doubles as a leg cushion if you attach it to the bottom of the mat and work from the couch. You can add an Apple Watch holder for $14.
There are also two NFC hot spots embedded in the mat, which you can customize to your liking using the Shortcuts app on iPhones. If you have an Android, you'll need to download the NFC Tools app, then go to Settings → Connected Devices → Connection Preferences, and you should see an NFC option. (I used it to automatically set timers for a more structured workday.)
This stand is made from one sheet of recycled stone paper (made from stone waste from the mining industry), and it's meticulously folded to give it an accordion-like design. Unfurled, it holds your laptop steady—I was surprised it didn't buckle under the weight—with a nice viewing angle. You can then fold it down to an inch thick to take it anywhere. And it's waterproof! I purposely spilled my coffee on it and was able to wipe it clean without a wrinkle or stain left behind.
WIRED writer and reviewer Brenda Stolyar raves about this Twelve South stand after using it for the past few months. You can push it down or stand it up to 22 inches high, so you can adjust it depending on your setup. When using an external monitor, Brenda says she can align the MacBook at the proper height alongside it; if she's working solely off the MacBook, she can place it at a comfortable viewing angle.
It’s also super compact and portable, so if you need a stand that can go into your bag, this one works. Her only gripe is that it can be a little wobbly for typing on, especially when adjusted to an angle. She uses hers with an external keyboard at home.
More from Twelve South: I also tried the new Curve SE ($40), which isn't adjustable, but it raises up my MacBook to the right level for comfortable side-by-side working. It's like the original Curve, but this one clicks together for easier mailing. It's also a little wobbly, however, if you aren't using an external keyboard.
Twelve South also makes some of our favorite accessories for iPads, and the ParcSlope is another win. It's a minimal stand that raises your device by 18 degrees. If you're using a laptop, it angles it into a slightly nicer typing position—but this stand is more suitable if you regularly draw or work on an iPad (or another tablet). It keeps it angled just enough to comfortably work on a touchscreen.
If you don't have the space to set up an entire desk area, Victor's mobile standing desk might be a worthwhile investment. It still costs the same as many full-size desks, but you get portability and a relatively small footprint. And you can raise it easily enough to a standing position at 44 inches. Unlike some other portable desks I've seen, this one has a keyboard tray.
It was kind of a pain to assemble—the directions were a little oblique, and I accidentally screwed certain pieces on backward. But truthfully, I'm not the handiest person. I eventually put it together, so I'm confident anyone else can too.
Apple recently brought back ports—thank goodness—but that doesn't help those of us who can't drop $2,000 or more for a new device when we have a perfectly good MacBook Pro at home. If you're in the same boat, the Lention 11-in-1 docking station corrects the frustrating lack of ports.
It keeps everything plugged in while staying tucked away beneath your laptop, instead of dangling off the side. It's not much of a stand, but it offers a slight lift, which is better than nothing. You can also pair it with another laptop stand. (I use it with the ObVus.)
Simple Laptop Stand This dock includes ports for HDMI, VGA, and DisplayPort; SD and Micro SD card readers; one USB-C port, two USB 3.0, and one USB 2.0; Ethernet; and a 3.5-mm audio port. You can see a list of compatible (and incompatible) devices on the company's site. For more options, check out our guide to the Best USB Hubs and Docks.