The best modular laptops, according to hackers
3 modular laptops were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended modular laptops with the badge. Each figure is 25 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Repairable and user-upgradable
Recommended for repairability and upgradability, letting owners swap parts and mainboards instead of replacing the laptop; critics cite weaker battery life, especially on Linux, and quality glitches.
Easy to repair and upgrade
Recommended as a repairable, upgradeable laptop with swappable ports and good Linux support, though many find it expensive and report firmware bugs and reliability issues.
All 3 modular laptops, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Framework Laptop 13 | 336 | 158 | 68% | 12 | 2 yrs46 owners | Approved |
| 2 | Framework Laptop | 241 | 103 | 70% | 12 | 2 yrs11 owners | Approved |
| 3 | Framework Laptop 16 | 93 | 93 | 50% | 9 | 1 yr12 owners | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same modular laptop in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to modular laptops that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.