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 doingsketching, watching a movie on a tablet, eating breakfast, or typing on a laptopand 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 Alternatives: The Uncaged Ergonomics WorkEZ Best Laptop Stand [$43] and the very similar Smart Universal Laptop Stand [$80] are other options to take from your desk to bed or the couch. The leg joints are easily adjusted by pressing each button [they lock again when they snap into place]. They both work on a desk or can be shimmied and tilted for working while you're lying down. The Uncaged stand also comes with a removable mouse pad. Neither is as sturdy as the Nnewvante, so we don't recommend using a separate keyboard on either of themfeverish typing detached from a laptop might cause them to shift around a bitbut you probably wouldn't do that from bed anyway.
Despite being simple and made of thin aluminum, this Rain Design stand is sturdy. You can type away without worrying about it buckling and take it from your office to your living room or a coffee shop. It folds up to just 9.5-by-6 inches, so it fits into any bag you'd also put a laptop in. It also weighs less than a pound. It's a set height, raising a laptop about 5 inches at an angle.
The mBar Pro Plus holds 9.7-inch iPads [and up!] if placed horizontally. There's also the mBar [$25] stand, which raises a laptop 3 inches and doesn't fold up, and mBar Pro [$55], which raises it the same amount but folds.
More From Rain Design: This brand offers a ton of stands for tablets and iMacs too, including this robot-esque iGo stand. I tried and liked the mStand 360 [$55], which swivels on a Lazy Susan-like disc. I also liked the iLevel [$60], which has a slider for easily adjusting the height while your laptop is on it. All are designed with Apple products in mind, but most should work with other laptops too; just be sure to check the measurements and description.
There are many laptop stands out there, and most of them do the job just fine. We didn't love the ones below as much as our other picks, but they're worth considering.
- Monoprice Universal Riser for $25: This stand involves some assembly, and the result is a bit dull, but it can hold the weight of a monitor. Plus, it's cheap.
- Moft's Slim stand for $25 and Universal stand for $27: The Slim stand sticks to the bottom of your laptop so it's there whenever you need it, giving you the ability to raise the laptop's keyboard at different angles. The Universal version doesn't have an adhesive, so it's a better choice if your laptop's air vents are on the bottom.
- Twelve South HiRise for $74: The HiRise's aluminum build is durable, and the nonslip arms mean your laptop won't slide off. It offers a small range of heights to choose from, and it's best used in conjunction with a separate keyboard and mouse. It's expensive for what it offers, but the price often dips.