3 Best MacBooks for Excel of 2024
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From this article, you will know what are the best MacBooks for Excel you can buy and use in 2024.
When we want to buy a MacBook, we might consider what activities will we use it for before picking a model. If we often use Excel daily, then we may decide to buy a MacBook that runs Excel the most optimally. This might even become a top priority for our MacBook purchase.
However, it can be difficult to find the best MacBook to run Excel between several MacBook models we can choose. This is why Compute Expert has created this list of the best MacBooks for Excel for your buying reference.
Want to know what MacBooks we recommend to run Excel and why we recommend them? Read this article until its last part!
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| Image | View on Amazon | Product |
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Apple MacBook Pro M3 16 | |
 
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Apple MacBook Pro M3 14 | |
 
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Apple MacBook Air M2 13 |
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Table of Contents:
What are the Best MacBooks for Excel?
Now, let’s see what MacBooks we recommend for you if you want to use a MacBook to run Excel. Using one of these MacBooks should help you get things done in your work more optimally.1. Apple MacBook Pro M3 16
Apple MacBook Pro M3 16 is the first MacBook we think should help you work in Excel more optimally. We like this model because of its large screen and M3 processor that can make its performance fast.
The M3 processor that empowers this MacBook makes its operations optimally handled. Running complicated Excel files should be done well by this MacBook model thanks to the capabilities of the processor.
You can choose between Apple M3 Pro or Apple M3 Max on this MacBook. Apple M3 Pro should be more than enough to run Excel. However, you can choose the Apple M3 Max if you want an even faster performance.
This model’s 36GB RAM should also help if you want to open many Excel files at once (you can choose this MacBook model with up to 128GB RAM if you want, although it is probably not necessary). Thanks to the M3 power efficiency, you get up to 22 hours of battery capacity from this MacBook. Working on your Excel files on the go should be no problem for 1-2 full days.
Its large screen should also help if you want spaces to view multiple windows for your Excel work. All in all, this Apple MacBook Pro M3 16 model seems to be the best MacBook model for Excel you can buy currently.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 16.2 inches, 3456 x 2234 pixels
- Processor: Apple M3 Pro with 12 cores and a speed of 4.05 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 36GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 22 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent performance in running Excel on a MacBook
- Large viewports for better viewing of your Excel worksheets
- Sleek design
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports and one HDMI port
- Long-lasting battery
- Excellent display and sound quality
- Excellent webcam and microphones
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- Heavier than many other MacBook models
- No USB-A ports
- Notched display
2. Apple MacBook Pro M3 14
Apple MacBook Pro M3 14 is the next MacBook model you should consider if you want to run Excel on a MacBook. It might have a smaller screen but its performance is still excellent.
The Apple M3 processor in this MacBook makes it able to run Excel optimally. As with the MacBook M3 16 inches, you can choose between Apple M3 Pro and Apple M3 Max. The battery in this MacBook is also great with up to 18 hours of usage capacity.
The 14-inch size makes it lighter, thinner, and more portable to bring along when you need to work with mobility. However, the trade-off is a smaller screen to view the things you need when you work in Excel. It is up to you to choose which one you like the most between this model and the 16 inches model.
However, if you have an external monitor, you can connect to it to this MacBooks it has Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI ports to help you do that (the 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 also has the ports). If you do, then the smaller viewing space in this MacBook shouldn’t be too much of a big deal.
Thus, if you prefer a smaller MacBook but still want a similar quality performance, consider this MacBook.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 14.2 inches, 3024 x 1964 pixels
- Processor: Apple M3 Pro with 12 cores and a speed of 4.05 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 18GB
- Storage: 1TB
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 18 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent performance in running Excel on a MacBook
- Sleek and quite lightweight
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports and one HDMI port
- Long-lasting battery
- Excellent display and sound quality
- Excellent webcam and microphones
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- No USB-A ports
- Notched display
3. Apple MacBook Air M2 13
Apple MacBook Air M2 13 is the most portable MacBook we have on this recommendation list. If you prefer mobility to a larger screen for your Excel work, you should take this model.
Unlike the two previous MacBooks, this MacBook Air is equipped with the Apple M2 processor. It is an excellent processor as well and should make this MacBook performance fast enough for the Excel tasks you need to work on. Its RAM capacity is 16GB to support you further in your work.
Moreover, as we mentioned, this MacBook is great if you are a person who often needs to move when you work. After all, MacBook Air is the thinnest and the lightest MacBook model that Apple has to offer.
This MacBook model only has 0.44 inches of thickness and 2.7 pounds of weight. Plus, its battery capacity is up to 18 hours of usage so you can work anywhere and anytime easily.
Looking for a MacBook that is highly portable to support your work in Excel? Consider buying this MacBook Air M2 model.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 13.6 inches, 2560 x 1664 pixels
- Processor: Apple M2 with 8 cores and a speed of 3.5 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 16GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 18 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent performance in running Excel on a MacBook
- Sleek and lightweight
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
- Long-lasting battery
- No fan noises as this MacBook is fanless
- Excellent display and sound quality
- Excellent webcam and microphones
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- No USB-A, HDMI ports, and SD card reader slots
- Notched display
What are the Things We Should Consider When We Buy a MacBook for Excel?
Here are the things we think you should consider when you want to buy a MacBook for Excel.- Processor. Processor is an important consideration as it determines the performance quality of your MacBook when it runs Excel. Thus, your MacBook should have a good processor for fast performance. We recommend a MacBook with an Apple silicon chip for this
- RAM capacity. Excel can take up a lot of memory space on your MacBook when you work on it. Thus, your MacBook should have a large enough RAM capacity to anticipate that. We recommend a MacBook with 16-32GB RAM for this
- Storage. You may need to store some files related to your work in Excel internally on your MacBook so you can access them much easier later. Thus, the MacBook you buy should have adequate storage space to accommodate those files. We recommend a MacBook with at least 256GB SSD storage space for this
What are the Minimum System Requirements for Excel on a MacBook?
Here are the minimum system requirements to run Excel (and Office) 2021 on a MacBook.- An Intel processor or an Apple silicon chip
- 4GB RAM
- 10GB of available hard disk space
- 1280 x 800 screen resolution
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I Use Excel on a MacBook?
Yes, you can. Otherwise, we won’t be making this article :)Is a MacBook Good for Excel?
Now, that is a perspective question. Excel does seem to work better on Windows than on Mac. However, the difference in performance shouldn’t be that great if you are not a power user of Excel.However, there are indeed some differences between using Excel on Mac compared to using it on Windows. You can learn more about the differences in the next part of this article. However, just to sum it up a bit for you, if you are not a person who:
Then, there shouldn’t be much problem for you if you use a MacBook to work on your Excel tasks.
Are There Any Differences Between Running Excel on Windows and Mac?
Here are the things we notice are different between running Excel on Windows and Mac.- Different interface for some dialog boxes
- Different codes to summon specific characters
- Some different shortcuts
- No ribbon shortcuts on Mac
- Some VBA limitations on Mac (doesn’t have property windows, user forms, and codes collection import/export)
- Cannot use Power Query, Power BI, and Power Pivot add-ins on Mac (some third-party Excel add-ins also don’t have a version that works for Excel on Mac)
What Are Some Best Excel Alternatives for a MacBook?
Here are some alternatives for Excel that you can use on a MacBook.- Numbers
Obviously, as this is the Mac version of a spreadsheet program - Google Sheets
Online spreadsheet program by Google. Probably the most popular spreadsheet program after Excel currently - Zoho Sheet
Online spreadsheet program from Zoho with AI data analysis and data cleaning features - Apache OpenOffice Calc
Popular free and open-source spreadsheet application - LibreOffice Calc
Another good free and open-source spreadsheet application
Wrap up
When we want to buy a laptop for work, a MacBook is often a name that comes to mind. After all, it is well-known to have one of the best laptop performances for work-related activities. If we often do our work in Excel, then buying a MacBook that can run Excel optimally is a logical choice.However, it can be difficult to pick the best MacBook for Excel from several MacBook model choices we have. This is why we have created our list of the best MacBooks for Excel for your buying reference.
To summarize, if you like a bigger screen to view more windows, you should buy a MacBook Pro M3 16. However, if you like a smaller screen with similar excellent performance, you can consider a MacBook Pro M3 14.
If you value portability much more than screen size, a MacBook Air M2 13 can be your choice. All these MacBook models have an Apple silicon chip as their processor, so their performance should be the best to run Excel currently.
We hope our list can help you determine the best MacBook to support your work in Excel!
Additional Note
Numbers, the native Mac spreadsheet program, is a compatible software with Excel. You can save your Numbers work to an Excel file and also edit an Excel file in Numbers.Excel tutorials/articles you might want to read:
