11.6″ vs 13.3″ vs 14″ vs 15.6″ Laptops: Which Size Is Right for You?

For most people, 13.3-inch and 14-inch laptops are the best all-round choice. They are portable enough to carry regularly while still being comfortable to use. Smaller 11.6-inch laptops suit students and highly portable use, while 15.6-inch laptops offer more screen space and usually include a numeric keypad, but are noticeably less convenient to carry.

One of the most common questions we get asked at NZ Laptop Wholesale is:

“What size laptop should I buy?”

Unlike processor, RAM or SSD capacity, laptop screen size isn’t really about performance.

It is about how the machine physically fits into your day.

A laptop that spends its life on a desk has very different requirements from one being carried between classes, customer sites, meetings or home and work every day.

The most common laptop sizes we deal with are:

• 11.6-inch — compact student and highly portable machines
• 13.3-inch — very portable business and personal laptops
• 14-inch — the traditional all-round business laptop
• 15.6-inch — larger screen, usually with numeric keypad

There are other sizes, but these make up the majority of the refurbished and ex-lease laptops we see.

What does laptop screen size actually mean?

Laptop screen size is measured diagonally from one corner of the visible display to the opposite corner.

A 14-inch laptop therefore has a screen that measures approximately 14 inches diagonally.

It is important to remember that this measurement describes the screen, not the overall physical size of the laptop.

Two laptops with the same screen size can have noticeably different dimensions depending on:

• Screen bezel thickness
• Keyboard layout
• Chassis design
• Battery size
• Cooling requirements
• The generation of the laptop

Modern business laptops generally have much thinner bezels than older machines.

This is why a newer 13.3-inch or 14-inch laptop can feel surprisingly compact compared with an older machine with the same nominal screen size.

11.6-inch laptops: ideal for students and portability

11.6-inch laptops are all about portability.

They are small, light and easy to carry, which makes them particularly well suited to students.

For younger students, there is another practical advantage:

Smaller hands generally suit the smaller keyboard.

An 11.6-inch laptop can fit easily into a school bag without taking up too much room or adding unnecessary weight.

These machines can be an excellent fit for:

• Primary and intermediate school students
• Secondary students who mainly use web-based applications
• Chromebook users
• People who travel frequently
• Field staff needing a compact device
• Secondary or occasional-use computers

The trade-off is obvious:

Everything is smaller.

The keyboard is more compact, the screen has less physical working area and the machine may feel cramped if you intend to work on it for eight hours every day.

What resolution do 11.6-inch laptops usually have?

Smaller and lower-cost laptops are where we most commonly see 1366 × 768 displays.

That resolution is perfectly workable for schoolwork, browsing and simple applications, but it gives less desktop space than a Full HD display.

For a student laptop, this isn’t necessarily a problem.

Portability, durability and price may matter more than fitting multiple windows side by side.

NZ Laptop Wholesale currently stocks refurbished 11.6-inch student-oriented machines alongside larger 12-inch and 13.3-inch models.

13.3-inch laptops: the new 14-inch

We sometimes describe the 13.3-inch laptop as:

“The new 14-inch.”

There really isn’t a huge practical difference between a good modern 13.3-inch laptop and a traditional 14-inch business laptop.

Both are extremely portable.

The development of thinner screen bezels has allowed manufacturers to fit larger displays into smaller chassis, so modern 13.3-inch laptops can offer a very comfortable working area without taking up much physical space.

For someone who carries their laptop regularly, 13.3-inch is an excellent size.

Typical users might include:

• Business travellers
• Sales representatives
• University students
• People moving between home and office
• Users who regularly work from cafés or shared spaces
• Anyone wanting a genuinely portable everyday laptop

You are still getting a proper business laptop, just in a smaller package.

Is 13.3-inch too small?

For most users, no.

A modern Full HD 13.3-inch screen can provide plenty of usable desktop space.

The physical text and interface elements will naturally appear slightly smaller than they do on a 15.6-inch display, but Windows scaling can also help compensate for this.

If your eyesight is good and portability is important, 13.3-inch is a very easy size to live with.

If you prefer physically larger text and interface elements, or spend the whole day working directly from the laptop screen, you may prefer 14-inch or 15.6-inch.

14-inch laptops: the all-rounder

14-inch remains our safe all-round recommendation for most users.

There is a reason so many business-grade laptops are built around this size.

It gives you a very good balance between:

• Portability
• Keyboard comfort
• Screen space
• Weight
• Desk space

If somebody simply tells us:

“I want a decent laptop for home or work.”

A 14-inch business laptop is usually a very sensible place to start.

It is small enough to carry regularly but large enough that most people can comfortably use it as their main computer.

This is why the 14-inch category remains one of the main parts of our refurbished laptop range.

13.3-inch vs 14-inch: is there much difference?

Not really.

For most buyers, we wouldn’t make this decision purely from the number on the specification sheet.

The physical chassis, weight, bezel size, screen quality and keyboard are often more important than that small difference in diagonal screen measurement.

If we put a modern 13.3-inch business laptop beside a 14-inch model, many customers are surprised how similar they feel.

So if you’re choosing between the two, we’d look at the complete laptop rather than automatically assuming 14-inch must be better because the number is larger.

15.6-inch laptops: almost a desktop replacement

A 15.6-inch laptop is a noticeably bigger machine.

The jump from 14-inch to 15.6-inch may not sound dramatic on paper, but the overall footprint of the laptop becomes considerably larger.

For many users, a 15.6-inch laptop starts to behave more like a portable desktop replacement.

You can still carry it around, of course.

But compared with a 13.3-inch or 14-inch laptop, it is:

• Larger in a bag
• Heavier
• More awkward to use in tight spaces
• More likely to spend most of its time on a desk

In return, you get a physically larger screen and usually a larger keyboard.

Why do 15.6-inch laptops usually have a numeric keypad?

This is one of the biggest practical differences.

Most 15.6-inch business laptops have enough physical room for a dedicated numeric keypad on the right-hand side of the keyboard.

For some customers, this is the main reason they want a larger laptop.

If you spend a lot of time working with:

• Excel
• Accounting software
• Invoices
• Stock systems
• Financial data
• Numeric data entry

A proper numpad can be extremely useful.

You can use an external USB numpad with a smaller laptop, but if numbers are a major part of your daily workload, having one permanently built into the keyboard is convenient.

Can a 15.6-inch laptop be easier to see?

Yes.

A physically larger screen can make a 15.6-inch laptop more comfortable for users who prefer a larger display.

This may include people with poorer eyesight or anyone who simply dislikes working on a smaller screen.

It is important to distinguish between screen size and screen resolution, though.

A larger screen doesn’t necessarily show more information.

It simply displays that information across a physically larger area.

Windows scaling settings also influence how large text, icons and applications appear.

What laptop resolution should you choose?

Screen size and screen resolution are two different things.

The physical size tells you how large the display is.

The resolution tells you how many pixels are available to display information.

The two common resolutions we see in refurbished business laptops are:

• 1366 × 768
• 1920 × 1080 — Full HD

Smaller and cheaper machines are where 1366 × 768 remains most common.

Most mainstream business laptops we deal with now are Full HD 1920 × 1080.

For a normal everyday laptop, Full HD is our preferred choice where available.

Why Full HD can matter more than an extra inch of screen size

If we were comparing a good 14-inch Full HD laptop with a lower-resolution 15.6-inch laptop, we wouldn’t automatically choose the larger machine.

The Full HD display provides more working space on screen and can make applications, websites and documents look sharper.

For users who regularly have several windows open, screen resolution can have more impact on usability than simply adding another inch or two to the physical display.

As always, the right answer depends on the user.

Which laptop size is best for students?

For younger students, 11.6-inch can make a lot of sense.

They are small, light, easier to fit into school bags and generally well suited to smaller hands.

This is also why many education-oriented Chromebooks use an 11.6-inch format.

For older students, particularly university students, we’d often move up toward 13.3-inch or 14-inch.

You still get excellent portability, but there is more screen and keyboard space for longer assignments and more demanding applications.

Which laptop size is best for working from home?

That depends on whether you work directly from the laptop screen.

If you sit at the laptop all day with no external display, a 14-inch or 15.6-inch screen may be more comfortable.

If you connect the laptop to an external monitor or docking station, we’d often favour a 13.3-inch or 14-inch machine instead.

You get a smaller laptop when you need to travel and a large desktop working area when you’re at your desk.

Does laptop screen size matter if you use external monitors?

Much less.

If your laptop spends most of its working day connected to one or two monitors, the built-in display is no longer your main workspace.

In that situation, carrying around a large 15.6-inch laptop can be unnecessary.

A compact 13.3-inch or 14-inch business laptop connected to a docking station can give you the best of both worlds:

• A portable laptop when you’re away from the desk
• Full-size keyboard and mouse at your workstation
• One or more large external monitors
• Power and peripherals connected through the dock

NZ Laptop Wholesale stocks refurbished business laptops alongside docking stations and external displays, making this a very common setup for work-from-home and office customers.

Is bigger always better?

No.

This is a common theme when buying computers.

The biggest number isn’t automatically the best answer.

A 15.6-inch laptop gives you more physical screen area, but it also gives you a larger computer to carry.

An 11.6-inch laptop is extremely portable but may feel cramped for full-time office work.

A 13.3-inch laptop may be technically smaller than a 14-inch machine, but modern designs mean there can be very little practical difference between them.

It’s about choosing the size that suits how you actually use the laptop.

What laptop size should I choose if I travel a lot?

We’d generally favour 13.3-inch or 14-inch.

If portability is absolutely critical, an 11.6-inch or 12-inch machine may make sense.

For everyday business travel, however, 13.3-inch and 14-inch give you a particularly good balance between usability and portability.

The difference becomes noticeable when you’re carrying the laptop every day rather than moving it from one room to another occasionally.

What laptop size should I choose if it stays on a desk?

If the laptop rarely leaves your desk, 15.6-inch becomes much more attractive.

You get the bigger screen and often the dedicated numeric keypad without having to worry much about carrying the extra size.

Alternatively, a smaller laptop connected to external monitors can provide an even better workstation.

This is why we normally ask customers how they intend to use the laptop rather than simply asking which screen size they want.

Should eyesight affect your choice?

It can.

If you find smaller laptop screens uncomfortable, don’t buy a tiny machine simply because it is lighter.

A 15.6-inch screen can provide a more comfortable physical viewing area.

Windows also allows you to increase display scaling and text size, so a Full HD screen doesn’t mean everything needs to appear tiny.

For users with specific visual requirements, it is worth considering both the physical screen size and Windows display settings.

What about touchscreen and 2-in-1 laptops?

Touchscreen and convertible laptops introduce another consideration.

A 13.3-inch or 14-inch 2-in-1 can be particularly versatile because it is small enough to handle easily when folded into tablet or presentation mode.

Larger convertible machines can become cumbersome when held in the hands.

If touchscreen capability is important, consider how you actually intend to use it rather than choosing purely on screen size.

11.6 vs 13.3 vs 14 vs 15.6: our quick recommendation

Screen size	Best suited to	Main advantage	Main compromise
11.6″	Students, highly portable use	Small and easy to carry	Smaller screen and keyboard
13.3″	Travel, business, university, everyday use	Excellent portability	Less physical screen area
14″	Most home and business users	Best all-round balance	No built-in numpad on most models
15.6″	Desk-based users, accounting, larger-screen preference	Large screen and usually a numpad	Less portable

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 14-inch the best laptop size?

For many users, yes. A 14-inch laptop provides an excellent compromise between portability, keyboard comfort and screen size, which is why it remains so common in business laptops.

Is a 13.3-inch laptop too small?

For most users, no. Modern 13.3-inch laptops are compact but still provide a comfortable keyboard and display. We often think of 13.3-inch as the modern equivalent of the traditional portable 14-inch business laptop.

Is 15.6-inch too big for a laptop?

Not if it mainly stays on a desk. A 15.6-inch laptop becomes less convenient if you carry it regularly, but the larger screen and built-in numeric keypad can make it an excellent desktop-replacement machine.

What is the best laptop size for school?

11.6-inch laptops can be ideal for younger students because they are lightweight, compact and suited to smaller hands. Older students may prefer 13.3-inch or 14-inch for additional screen and keyboard space.

Does a 15.6-inch laptop have a number pad?

Most 15.6-inch business laptops include a dedicated numeric keypad because the wider chassis provides enough room for it. Always check the specific model if a numpad is essential to you.

Is 1920 × 1080 better than 1366 × 768?

Full HD 1920 × 1080 provides more pixels and greater desktop working space than 1366 × 768. Most mainstream business laptops we sell now use Full HD screens, while 1366 × 768 remains more common on smaller or lower-cost machines.

Should I buy a bigger laptop if I have poor eyesight?

A physically larger display can help some users, making 15.6-inch worth considering. Windows scaling and text-size settings can also make interface elements easier to read regardless of screen resolution.

Choosing the right laptop is about more than screen size

Screen size is only one part of choosing a laptop.

You also need to consider processor generation, RAM, storage, portability and how the machine will actually be used.

Our other buying guides can help:

• Intel i3 vs i5 vs i7: Which Processor Do You Actually Need?
• 8GB vs 16GB RAM: How Much Do You Really Need?
• 256GB vs 512GB vs 1TB SSD: How Much Storage Do You Need?
• Are Refurbished Laptops Worth Buying in NZ?

You can also browse our current refurbished laptop ranges:

• 12-inch and 13.3-inch laptops
• 14-inch laptops
• 15-inch laptops and larger
• View all refurbished laptops

If you’re still unsure which laptop size is right for you, contact NZ Laptop Wholesale and tell us how you intend to use the computer.

We’ll help you choose a machine that fits the job rather than simply selling you the biggest laptop on the shelf.