Laptops are getting thinner and lighter with each generation these days. The hardware is getting faster and smaller, to the point where the actual processor, memory and all the other chips only occupy a small fraction of a modern computer, leaving more room for battery cells.
All these advances lead to a new trend in the world of mobile computing: fanless laptops and ultrabooks, or in other words laptops with a passive cooling solution that does not require a spinning fan. You’ll find quite a few models available in stores already and this post lists all of them based on screen size, weight, the hardware inside, and, of course, price.
There’s one important reason why you’ll want a fanless laptop: it’s going to be perfectly quiet, especially if the passively cooled hardware is paired with an SSD. There are exceptions, though. Fanless machines, especially among the more affordable options, may come with spinning HDDs, but even those can be upgraded in order to deliver what the fanless consumer desires: a quiet laptop, similar to what tablets or phones have been offering for years.
You do however have to understand that fanless laptops are mostly built on low-power hardware platforms and will handle everyday tasks well, but won’t be able to cope with multitasking or the more demanding chores you might want to perform on a modern laptop (editing videos and photos, running programming software or modern PC games, among others). At least for the time being.
We’ll talk a bit more about the platforms available at this very moment towards the end of the post, so you’ll understand exactly what to expect from each of them. In few words though, if you’re reading this article in 2018/2019, Amber Lake-Y builds are primarily the ones to check out, although there are also a handful of faster Core U implementations to consider, as well as some lower-end Pentium/Celeron variants if you’re shopping on a budget (but don’t expect much in terms of either performance or features from these ones).
No fans and no spinning HDDs equals no noise
For now though, these are the available fanless laptops and ultra-portables. Click the links on each product’s name for more details and reviews, as well as the links in the Prices column for the latest offers and discounts on the products you’re interested in.
Full size fanless laptops
This section is reserved for the full-size everyday machines with 14+ inch screens. There aren’t many such options, simply because most fanless laptops are also compact and highly portable, while these large-footprint devices are not. I do have a selection of the best 14 and 15 inch ultrabooks you can find right now, in case you’re interested.
| Model | Type | Screen | Hardware | Weight | Start Price |
| Acer Spin 7 | convertible | 14.0″ IPS FHD touch | Kaby Lake Core Y | 1.2 kg / 2.64 lbs | $1199 |
| Acer Swift 7 | clamshell | 14.0″ IPS FHD touch | up to Amber Lake Core Y | – | – |
| Acer Chromebook 514 | clamshell | 14.0″ IPS FHD | up to Amber Lake Core Y | – | $349 |
| Acer Chromebook 15 | clamshell | 15.6″ IPS FHD | Apollo Lake Celeron/Pentium | 3.95 lbs / 1.8 kg | $299 |
| Acer Swift 1 | clamshell | 14.0″ IPS FHD | Apollo/Gemini Lake Pentium | 1.4 kg / 3.1 lbs | $349 |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 | convertible | 14″ TN HD or IPS FHD touch | Apollo Lake Celeron/Pentium | ~3.3 lbs / 1.5 kg | $399 |
| HP Stream 14 | clamshell | 14.0″ TN HD | BayTrail Celeron | 1.54 kg / 3.4 lbs | $199 |
| Venom BlackBook Zero 14 | clamshell | 14″ IPS FHD matte | Kaby Lake Core Y | 3.1 lbs / 1.4 kg | $999 |
Fanless Ultrabooks and ultra-portables
This section is reserved for the portables ultrabooks and thin-and-light laptops with screen sizes between 12 and 14-inches.
That includes the popular 12.5 and 13.3-inch categories, where you’ll mostly find the best balanced mix between an ergonomically sized workspace, a comfortable keyboard, a fair selection of ports and a fair-sized battery. Here’s where you’ll also find most of the premium fanless offers.
| Model | Type | Screen | Hardware | Weight | Start Price |
| Acer Swift 1 | clamshell | 13.3″ IPS FHD | Apollo/Gemini Lake Pentium | 1.3 kg / 2.9 lbs | $349 |
| Acer Switch 7 Black Edition | detachable | 13.5″ IPS touch | Kaby Lake-R Core U | 1.13 kg / 2.5 lbs | $1699 |
| Acer Aspire Switch 12S | detachable | 12.5″ IPS touch FHD | Skylake Core M | 1.5 kg / 3.3 lbs (w/ dock) | $1199 |
| Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 | detachable | 12.5″ IPS touch | Skylake Core U | 1.3 kg / 2.85 lbs (w/ folio) | $599 |
| Acer Chromebook R13 | Convertible | 13.3″ IPS FHD | Mediatek | 1.5 kg / 3.3 lbs | $329 |
| Apple MacBook 12 | clamshell | 12.0″ IPS retina | Skylake Core M | 0.90 kg / 2.0 lbs | $1199 |
| Asus Chromebook Flip | Convertible | 13.3″ IPS FHD | Kaby Lake Core Y | 1.2 kg / 2.65 lbs | $399 |
| Asus Transformer Book Chi T300 | detachable | 12.5″ IPS touch QHD | Broadwell Core M | 1.40 kg / 3.1 lbs (w/dock) | $699 |
| Asus Transformer 3 T305CA | detachable | 12.5″ IPS touch | Kaby Lake Core M | 1.14 kg / 2.5 lbs (w/dock) | $699 |
| Asus Zenbook UX305 | clamshell | 13.3″ IPS FHD and QHD+ | Skylake Core M | 1.27 kg / 2.8 lbs | $699 |
| Asus Zenbook UX330CA | clamshell | 13.3″ IPS FHD and QHD+ | Kaby Lake Core M | 1.2 kg / 2.65 lbs | $799 |
| Asus Zenbook Flip UX360CA | convertible | 13.3″ IPS touch FHD and QHD+ | Skylake Core Y | 1.3 kg / 2.86 lbs | $699 |
| Dell Latitude 12 7000 | detachable | 12.5″ IPS touch FHD or UHD | Kaby Lake Core Y | 1.66 kg / 3.7 lbs (w/ dock) | $1199 |
| Dell XPS 12 9250 | detachable | 12.5″ IPS touch FHD or UHD | Skylake Core Y | 1.27 kg / 2.8 lbs (w/ dock) | $999 |
| Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 | convertible | 13.3″ IPS FHD/QHD+ touch | up to Amber Lake Core Y | 1.24 kg / 2.7 lbs | $999 |
| Eve V | tablet | 12.3″ IPS 2k | Kaby Lake Core Y | 1.33 kg / 3 lbs (w/ keyboard) | $799 |
| HP EliteBook Folio 1020 | clamshell | 12.5″ IPS FHD or touch QHD | Skylake Core Y | 0.97 kg / 2.13 lbs | $1099 |
| HP Spectre X2 12 | detachable | 12″ IPS touch FHD | Kaby Lake Core Y | 1.22 kg / 2.68 lbs (w/ dock) | $899 |
| HP Elite x2 | detachable | 13″ IPS touch 2K | Kaby Lake Core U | 1.16 kg / 2.56 lbs (w/ dock) | $1599 |
| Lenovo Miix 710 | tablet | 12″ IPS FHD+ | Kaby Lake Core M | 0.77 kg / 1.7 lbs | $749 |
| Lenovo Yoga 900S | convertible | 12.5″ IPS FHD+ | Skylake Core Y | 0.99 kg / 2.2 lbs | $1099 |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet | tablet | 12.0″ IPS touch | Kaby Lake Core Y | 0.77 kg / 1.7 lbs | $949 |
| Huawei Matebook | tablet | 12.0″ IPS FHD+ | Kaby Lake Core Y | 0.64 kg / 1.41 lbs | $899 |
| Huawei Matebook X | clamshell | 13.3″ IPS retina | KabyLake Core U | 1.05 kg / 2.31 lbs | $899 |
| Microsoft Surface Pro | tablet | 12.3″ IPS FHD+ | Kaby Lake Core Y | 0.77 kg / 1.7 lbs (without keyboard) | $799 |
| Samsung ATIV Book 9 NP930X2 | clamshell | 12.2″ IPS touch WQXGA | Broadwell Core M | 0.95 kg / 2.1 lbs | $1199 |
| Samsung Chromebook 2 13 | clamshell | 13.3″ IPS FHD | Samsung Exynos 5 Octa | 1.38 kg / 3.06 lbs | $399 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S | tablet | 12.1″ IPS FHD+ | Skylake Core Y | 0.69 kg / 1.53 lbs | $999 |
| Toshiba Chromebook 13 CB35 | clamshell | 13.3″ TN HD | Celeron BayTrail | 1.33 kg / 2.95 lbs | $249 |
| Toshiba Portégé Z20t | convertible | 12.5″ IPS touch FHD | Broadwell Core M | 1.59 kg / 3.5 lbs (w/ dock) | $1299 |
| Xiaomi Mi Notebook 12 | clamshell | 12.5″ IPS FHD | Skylake Core U | 1.1 kg / 2.4 lbs | $899 |
Fanless Mini laptops
Finally, we list here the smallest options, usually built on very low power hardware and thus only meant for basic daily tasks.
They are especially designed with either budget or long battery life in mind (most of them check both these boxes), but if you’re a demanding user or type for a living you might find them either too small or too slow for your needs.
| Model | Type | Screen | Hardware | Weight | Start Price |
| Acer Aspire ES11 | clamshell | 11.6″ TN HD | Celeron Braswell | 1.27 kg / 2.8 lbs | $229 |
| Acer Aspire R 11 | convertible | 11.6″ TN touch HD | Celeron / Pentium Braswell | 1.58 kg / 3.50 lbs | $249 |
| Acer Aspire Switch 10 2015 | detachable | 10.1″ IPS FHD | Atom BayTrail | 1.2 kg / 2.64 lbs (w/dock) | $399 |
| Acer Aspire Switch 10 E | detachable | 10.1″ TN HD | Atom BayTrail | 1.28 kg / 2.82 lbs (w/ dock) | $279 |
| Acer Aspire Switch 11 V | detachable | 11.6″ IPS touch FHD | Skylake Core M | 1.55 kg / 3.5 lbs | $499 |
| Acer Spin 1 | clamshell | 11.6″ IPS FHD | Pentium Apollo Lake | 1.50 kg / 3.31 lbs | $249 |
| Asus EeeBook X205 | clamshell | 11.6″ TN HD | Atom BayTrail | 0.95 kg / 2.10 lbs (w/ dock) | $199 |
| Asus Transformer Book Chi T100 | detachable | 10.1″ IPS WUXGA | Atom BayTrail | 1.08 kg / 2.38 lbs (w/ dock) | $399 |
| Asus Transformer Book T100HA | detachable | 10.1″ IPS HD | Atom CherryTrail | 1.14 kg / 2.52 lbs (w/ dock) | $299 |
| Asus Transformer Book T101HA | detachable | 10.1″ IPS HD | Atom CherryTrail | 1.08 kg / 2.38 lbs (w/ dock) | $299 |
| Asus Transformer Book T102HA | detachable | 10.1″ IPS HD | Atom CherryTrail | 0.79 kg / 1.74 lbs (w/ dock) | $349 |
| Asus Transformer Book Flip TP200SA | convertible | 11.6″ TN touch HD | Celeron / Pentium Braswell | 1.20 kg / 2.65 lbs | $349 |
| HP Pavilion 360 11 | convertible | 11.6″ touch HD | Skylake Core Y | 1.4 kg / 3.1 lbs | $399 |
| Dell Venue 11 Pro 5000 | detachable | 10.8″ IPS touch HD or FHD | Atom BayTrail | 0.71 kg / 1.57 lbs (without dock) | $699 |
| Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 | detachable | 10.8″ IPS touch FHD | Broadwell Core M | 0.72 kg / 1.59 lbs (without dock) | $699 |
| Dell Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 | convertbile | 11.6″ IPS touch FHD | Kaby Lake Core Y | 1.39 kg / 3.1 lbs | $399 |
| HP Stream 11 | clamshell | 11.6″ TN HD | Celeron BayTrail | 1.27 kg / 2.8 lbs (w/ dock) | $199 |
| Lenovo Yoga 710 11 | convertible | 11.6″ IPS touch FHD | Kaby Lake Core M | 1.03 kg / 2.3 lbs | $599 |
| Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10 | tablet | 10.1″ IPS touch FHD | Atom BayTrail | 0.63 kg / 1.38lbs | $699 |
| Lenovo Miix 3 10 | tablet | 10.1″ IPS touch WUXGA | Atom BayTrail | 0.55 kg / 1.21 lbs | $399 |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Helix 2 | detachable | 11.6″ IPS touch FHD | Skylake Core Y | 1.36 kg / 3 lbs (w/ dock) | $999 |
| Microsoft Surface Go | tablet | 10″ IPS | Gemini Pentium Gold | 0.52 kg / 1.15 lbs (without keyboard) | $399 |
| Panasonic Let’s Note RZ4 | convertible | 10.1″ IPS touch FHD | Skylake Core Y | 1.83 kg / 4.05 lbs (w/ dock) | $1499 |
| Panasonic Let’s Note Z6 | clamshell | 10.1″ IPS FHD | Kaby Lake Core Y | 0.72 kg / 1.6 lbs (w/ dock) | $1199 |
There are a couple of other small-factor fanless tablets and mini-laptops out there, but it would be a huge chore to include them all in here. I do talk about them in my list of 10.1 inch hybrids, this selection of 11.6 inch Mini-laptops or ultrabooks, as well as this list of all the best Chromebooks available these days.
As a side note, you should know that the Price column contains the starting MSRPs for each of the products above. That means that the higher configurations are going to be more expensive, but at the same time there’s a very good chance you can find pretty much all these products discounted by the time you’re reading this post. Click on the links on each price for details and up-to-date numbers.
Also, here’s a short glossary of the terms mentioned above:
- Types:
- tablet: a standard Windows running slate;
- clamshell: classic shaped computer whose screen closes on top of the keyboard and does not flip into any sort of tablet mode;
- convertible: 2-in-1 laptop whose screen rotates and converts to a tablet mode (or similar), but cannot be detached from the base;
- detachable: 2-in-1 laptop whose screen detaches from the base. These are mostly stand-alone tablets bundled with matching docking stations that most often include docking keyboards, ports, batteries and other features;
- slider: 2-in-1 laptop whose screen slides up and down on top of the body and usually reveals a keyboard hidden underneath.
- Resolutions: HD ( 1366 x 768 px), HD+ ( 1600 x 900 px), FHD (1920 x 1080 px), WUXGA (1920 x 1200 px) retina (2304 x 1440 px), QHD (2560 x 1440 px), WQXGA (2560 x 1600 px), QHD+ (3200 x 1800 px), UHD (3840 x 2160 px) – also see this post;
- Hardware:
- Intel Atom BayTrail – 22 nm platform (Silvermont) launched in 2013. There are different lines available for tablets (BayTrail-T), laptops (BayTrail-M) and desktops (BayTrail-D);
- Intel Atom CherryTrail – 14 nm platform (Airmont) launched in 2015;
- Intel Atom Apollo/Gemini Lake – 2nd generation 14 nm platform launched in 2017.
- Intel Celeron/Pentium Haswell – 22 nm platform based on Haswell hardware;
- Intel Celeron/Pentium Haswell – 14 nm platform based on Skylake hardware. Both can be found in low-power/affordable laptops;
- Intel Celeron/Pentium Apollo/Gemini Lake – 2nd generation 14 nm platform launched in 2017. Can be found in low-power/affordable laptops and replaces the Haswell/Braswell Pentium/Celeron lines;
- Broadwell Core M – launched in 2014 as the low-power version in Intel’s Broadwell family. Offers great balance between performance and battery life, part of the more premium fanless notebooks;
- Skylake Core M – 6th gen update, low power platform launched in 2015;
- Kaby Lake Core Y – 7th gen update, low-power platform launched in 2017;
- Amber Lake Core Y – the late-2018 8th gen update of the Core Y platform, motorizes premium devices.
OK. That’s about it for this post. I do hope you find it useful and if you’re looking for an ultrabook or any other ultraportable laptop, you should also check out the other lists on the site and my reviews.
I’m constantly working at keeping these selections and lists up-to-date, but if you spot anything that should be in here and it’s not, please leave a reply and tell me about it. In fact, feel free to get in touch in the comments sections if you have anything to add, anything to ask or need help choosing your next fanless mini-laptop, I’m around to reply and help.
Ron999
March 17, 2018 at 10:20 am
Acer Switch 7 Black Edition is coffee lake, not kaby lake.
Ann
March 29, 2018 at 9:47 pm
What about this one?Acer Aspire 5, 15.6" Full HD, 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U, GeForce MX150, 8GB DDR4 Memory, 256GB SSD, A515-51G-515J
It’s ssd, but I can’t tell if it’s completely fanless. I’m ready to throw my Lenovo against the wall. Can’t stand the noise, the keyboard or the poor volume. This Acer looks promising but am I missing a red flag?
Dominic
April 6, 2018 at 6:02 pm
Hello Andrei,
Thank you for this very comprehensive list, most appreciated! I tried to find the Asus UX330 and 305, but they don't seem to be sold anymore where I reside, and am looking for a French keyboard, which complicates things a bit.
My main criteria are : quiet (not necessarily fanless, but as long is the fan only runs occasionnally), light (1,35 kg or less), and with very good battery life. I find all these features in the MacBook Air, but looks dated with this huge bezels. I would certainly wait for the replacement of the MBA that would be coming up by this fall, according to 'rumors', but can't anymore, as my present old laptop is dying! Also, what I appreciate in the Mac is that the Safari browser blocks all those awful ads!
Shoudl I simply get a MBA, at the lowest possible price, or are there any equivalent options on the market now?
Thank you in advance!
Dominic
Jeff Mcneill
June 5, 2018 at 7:26 am
Pretty sure there will be no update on the MacBook Air. Certainly the current MacBook Air looks identical to the 2011 version. Why would they update this? Likely there will be perhaps another rev of the processor and ram options, but they will keep the form factor.
Niki
May 18, 2018 at 11:10 am
Hello,
I'm looking to buy a laptop and I will need your advice.
It has to be 100% fanless, illuminated keyboard, 15 inch minimum, matte type of display the most powerfull cpu as possible, no Apple.
What will be your recommendation.
Thanks in advance.
Michael Beijer
July 22, 2018 at 7:59 pm
OK, so I finally managed to find one:
100% fanless, 14" screen, amazing keyboard (with standard layout), backlit, strong enough for work purposes, USB ports, etc. The Venom BlackBook Zero 14. I reviewed it over at proz.com/forum/hardware/325813-okay_finally_bought_myself_a_fanless_100_silent_laptop_4_work_venom_blackbook_zero_14_review.html
I use it daily for my work as a translator and everything else.
There was also a good Dell I almost bought (can't remember which one) when researching this topic recently, which had almost all of the same specs/features, and was also fanless.
Michael
Mario
July 25, 2018 at 12:24 pm
I'm wondering if there are any 17.3" fanless laptops on the market. I can't find any…
Andrei Girbea
July 26, 2018 at 5:17 pm
Not that i know of
Michael
August 20, 2018 at 8:02 pm
Are there 15 inch fanless convertibles (2in1) avaiable with new intel 8th gen cpu?
Andrei Girbea
August 21, 2018 at 11:44 am
No, there are no fanless 8th gen laptops as far as I know. Core U implementations use a fan in pretty much all cases.
Amedeo Borghi
September 16, 2018 at 9:46 am
These hardwares could support linux manjaro too?…
Andrei Girbea
September 17, 2018 at 12:22 pm
I don't know, I'm not familiar with Linux
Amedeo
September 16, 2018 at 10:25 pm
dell inspiron 15 3000 has fan! what do inspiron notice?????
Joseph
September 20, 2018 at 1:43 pm
Hi Andrei,
Does your last update mean there are finally 17 inch fanless laptops? Because I do not remember seeing Asus VivoBook Max 17″ on your list before.
But I also cannot find it on Amazon even though I followed the link. But maybe I am just bad at finding it. Could someone link the Asus VivoBook Max 17″ please?
Andrei Girbea
September 20, 2018 at 5:19 pm
Hi, no, there are no 17-inch fanless laptops that I'm aware of. OEMs don't put Pentium/Celeron low-power CPUs in 17-inchers, while the existing Core Y don't make sense either, as they're expensive. I've corrected the listings and removed the 17-inch variants, sry for the confusion.
geza
November 6, 2018 at 8:37 pm
Hi Andrei,
alcor snugbook Q1421 notebook
as far as i know funless
Thx Geza
Karen
November 9, 2018 at 9:13 am
Hi Andrei,I found a Dell Latitude E6430 dual core i5 3210M up to 3.1 GHz Processor, 8GB RAM,180GB, SSD, DVD, HD, Win10, Solid State hardware, 4 months old. I didn't see it on the list but he says it's fanless. Is 180GB enough with that SSD for a college student not doing much video editing etc.? Asking $240. What additional do you recommend if doing heavier use? Thank you! KM
Andrei Girbea
November 9, 2018 at 7:34 pm
It's definitely not fanless. Just google for "Dell Latitude E6430 interior" and you'll see the fan.
Otherwise, it's a basic laptop and I'd reckon it should do fine for everyday use. Battery life is probably limited, and I doubt that laptop is only 4 months old, the E6430 series was launched many months ago.
Keith White
November 22, 2018 at 6:47 am
I'm looking for a fanless 15 inch Windows with number pad and ssd. I see Dell Inspiron 3000, Asus Vivobook Max and Lenovo Ideapad 330. Those have a bunch of variations and THE MAKERS DON'T SAY WHICH ONES ARE FANLESS!!! Are they all or can someone give me a model number? Thanks.
Andrei Girbea
November 22, 2018 at 1:37 pm
The Pentium/Celeron configurations should be fanless, while Core models should be fan cooled. Hard to be 100% sure though. Should also consider the fact that Pentium/Celeron models are rather slow by today's standards, and usually paired with low amounts of RAM. I'd personally go with a Core i3/i5 build and read reviews in order to find which device keeps the fan inactive with daily use. There are also ways to force the fan off with software like Throttlestop, but ti's experimental and should only be used if you know what you're doing.
Amphin
November 26, 2018 at 12:16 am
Hello,
Thanks for this liste.
But I search only fanless laptop.
How can i know if ultrabooks are fanless, in this list :"Fanless Ultrabooks and ultra-portables"
Thanks, very good job :-)