Notebook or laptop: is there still a difference?

Written on 18 September 2026

Anyone hesitating between laptops and notebooks is not really hesitating about anything. The two words describe exactly the same device, and no manufacturer draws a technical line between them.

Is there a difference between a laptop and a notebook?

No. A laptop is a portable computer with a screen, a keyboard and a battery in a housing that folds shut, and a notebook is exactly that too. The same hardware, the same processors, the same RAM.

You see it in what manufacturers actually do. HP sells models called HP Notebook and models called HP Laptop, with comparable parts inside. Lenovo calls almost everything a laptop, Dell alternates per product line.

Search for laptop and notebook computers, for laptop or notebook, or for computer notebook laptop, and you get the same devices back. The difference is in the word, not in the product.

Where does the word notebook come from?

From the eighties and nineties, when it did mean something. A laptop back then was a device you could only just get onto your lap: five kilos, a small screen and a battery that lasted an hour.

Notebook became the term for a new, smaller class: roughly the size of an A4 pad, hence the name. Thinner, lighter, and meant to actually be carried around.

That distinction disappeared as soon as almost every portable computer became thin and light. A modern 14 inch machine of just over a kilo fits both old definitions, so there was nothing left to distinguish. The word stayed, the meaning did not.

Where can you still see the distinction?

In two places, and both have to do with language and not with hardware. The first is the model name: HP runs a whole range literally called HP Notebook, with a size indication after it such as 14 or 15.

The second is language itself. In German, Notebook is still the more common word, while in the Netherlands and Flanders laptop is used far more often. Someone searching in Dutch for a notebook often comes from corporate IT, where the term stuck around longer.

With us it makes no difference. If you are looking for a notebook, you find the same range as someone searching for a laptop.

So what should you look at?

At the series, and that is by far the most important. Every manufacturer has a consumer line and a business line, and between those two sits the difference you notice after three years.

A business model has a metal or carbon-fibre housing, a keyboard that survives years of typing, replaceable parts and a TPM chip for encryption. Manufacturers test those models for shocks, dust and temperature. An entry-level model from the high street is built to a sharp price and flexes if you lift it by one corner.

Then look at the generation of the processor. An Intel Core i5 from a recent generation easily beats an i7 from six years ago, so the number on its own says little. There is more about that in which processor suits you.

Third, the RAM. For email, Office and browsing 8 GB is workable, but 16 GB is the calmer choice and costs little extra refurbished; how much you really need is in how much RAM you need.

And finally the screen size, because that decides whether you actually carry it every day. A 14 inch weighs around a kilo, a 17 inch closer to three. With the ports, check that there is HDMI and USB-C so you can connect an external screen without adapters.

And what about a Chromebook or a desktop?

Those are different devices. A Chromebook has the shape of a laptop but runs ChromeOS instead of Windows, which means many Windows programs do not work on it. For someone who only works in the browser that can be enough; for someone running Office or specialist software usually not.

A desktop sits fixed on a desk, with a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse. It is cheaper per unit of computing power and easier to expand, but it goes nowhere with you.

We sell neither. At DSL Tech you will find only laptops from Dell, HP and Lenovo, all from the business series and all with Windows 11 Pro.

In brief

Laptop and notebook are two words for the same device, and which word you use makes no difference to your choice. The distinction existed in the nineties, when notebook meant the thinner class, and disappeared once everything became thin. When choosing, look at the series, the processor generation, the RAM and the size. To see what that means in practice, start with all refurbished laptops or with the laptop advisor.

Why refurbished at DSL Tech?

Every laptop at DSL Tech is checked on more than 30 points and comes with a 2-year warranty. Customers rate us 9.0 on average, you pay securely by iDEAL or in three instalments with in3, and order before 12:00 and your laptop arrives tomorrow.

This article is part of our complete guide buying a refurbished laptop, with grades, warranty, the right specs and the brands set out side by side.

Sources

• HP: Notebook models in the product overview
• Lenovo: ThinkPad product documentation (PSREF)