Tom’s Hardware is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
By published
These are the best portable monitors to consider if you’re looking to expand real estate for your laptop.
If you’ve got a large, permanent desk at your home or office, it’s cheap and easy to connect your laptop to one or more external displays. However, if you’re on the go, you can’t lug a 27-inch monitor in your bag nor can you likely fit it on a tiny hotel or coworking table. That’s where the best portable monitors come in.
Portable monitors typically range from 14 to 17 inches and most come with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, though some can hit 4K and the cheapest models may be just 1366 x 768. These monitors weigh just a couple of pounds and most of them can draw power directly from your laptop’s USB ports, meaning you don’t have to carry yet another power brick in your bag.
Most portable monitors are designed for productivity work, providing a helpful second screen for your laptop that’s often the same height as its built-in display. However, people also use portable monitors for console or PC gaming, with some operating at up to 144 Hz. You can even connect one that uses HDMI to your Raspberry Pi.
Below, we’ve listed the best portable monitors you can buy right now. If you want to stay productive on the road, don’t leave home without one. For your permanent desk, check out our lists of best gaming monitors, best 4K gaming monitors and best budget 4K monitors.
For more guidance picking a monitor of any resolution – gaming or otherwise – check out our PC Monitor Buying Guide and list of the Best Computer Monitors. 
The ROG XG16AHPE measures 15.6 inches diagonally and has the typical 1920×1080 resolution. Thankfully, the IPS panel provided excellent viewing angles in our tests, but it features a rather odd kickstand that cuts diagonally across the back of the monitor. However, we found that this unorthodox design allows the ROG XG16AHPE to easily transition to portrait mode.
The aforementioned built-in battery’s capacity is 7,800 mAh and is rated for 3 hours when operating at 144 Hz. In our testing at 144 Hz, our runtimes managed to come in right around Asus’ factory estimate.
The Asus ROG ROG XG16AHPE doesn’t come cheap at $399, but its gaming and color performance are commendable. The built-in battery also comes in handy if you want to cut down on the number of cables needed when operating out in the field.
More: Asus ROG Strix ROG XG16AHPE Review
It supports a 144 Hz refresh rate like the ROG XG16AHPE, and backs that with AMD FreeSync Premium Adaptive-Sync technology. Not only could you pair the VX1755 with a laptop to expand your workspace or simply provide a larger screen to game on (versus, for example, a laptop’s built-in 13-inch display), but you could easily use it with an Android smartphone (via USB-C) or with an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 console.
When it was time to hit our benchmark stand, color performance was similar to the VD1655, which is below average. We measured 64.2 percent of the sRGB color space and just 45.5 percent of DCI-P3. On the plus side, we measured 250.6 nits for brightness, which is dead-on with ViewSonic’s 250-nit claim.
Despite its larger screen and 144 Hz refresh rate support, the ViewSonic VX1755 is priced identically to the TD1655 at $299. We’d consider that a bargain for a gaming-centric portable monitor with solid build quality.
More: ViewSonic VX1755 Review
Lenovo boasts 300 nits brightness with the ThinkVision M14t, although on our light meter, it peaked at 250 nits. One of the standout features of the monitor is support for 10-point multi-touch input. A stylus is also included if you’d like to draw or write text on the screen. The stylus has multiple sensitivity levels when drawing, and the built-in handwriting recognition in Windows 10 and Windows 11 can convert your handwriting into ASCII text.
When it comes to connectivity, we should mention that the only way to connect the ThinkVision M14t to a laptop is by using USB-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode), which is a limiting factor. Many monitors in this price range (and cheaper) at least offer HDMI connectivity as an alternative.
If the $449 price tag is too high for you, Lenovo also offers the ThinkVision M14 priced at $200 less.
More: Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Portable Monitor Review
If you thought that the Asus ROG Strix ROG XG16AHPE was brawny, you haven’t seen anything yet. Its overachieving sibling, the ROG Strix XG17AHPE dives deeper into enthusiast gamer territory with a larger 17.3-inch IPS display.
The monitor has two USB-C ports (DisplayPort Alt-Mode supported) and Micro-HDMI for connectivity, features a 3ms response time, boasts a maximum 300 nits brightness, and a contrast ratio of 1,000:1.
Given its size, the Strix XG17AHPE is a bit on the hefty side, weighing in at 2.3 pounds. However, that added weight includes a 7,800 mAh battery, which recharges over USB-C with Power Delivery 3.0 support.
In our testing, the monitor lasted roughly 2 hours per charge when running full-bore at 240 Hz at 80 percent brightness, with the speakers blaring at full volume. On the opposite end of the spectrum, pegging the refresh rate at 60 Hz with 50 percent brightness saw runtimes extend to four and a half hours.
If you’re looking for a portable monitor that can handle output from a laptop, gaming console or even a Raspberry Pi, the ROG Strix XG17AHPE is an excellent choice.
More: Asus ROG Strix XG17AHPE 240Hz Portable Monitor Review
On the connectivity front, you’ll find one HDMI 2.0 port and a single USB-C port. Two speakers are onboard; there’s even 10-point multi-touch for those that like navigating through the Windows 10/Windows 11 user interface using your fingers. This is truly a portable monitor that won’t disappoint when it comes to color performance and features.
However, no monitor is perfect, and the Zion Pro gets some demerits for its icon-based OSD and tedious adjustments needed for proper calibration. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the price, which comes in at a hefty $600. But if you’re looking for a beautiful display that can match (or exceed) the color performance and clarity of the best built-in laptop monitors, the Zion Pro is hard to ignore.
More: Zion Pro AMOLED UHD Portable Monitor
Whether you’re shopping for one of the screens that made our list of best portable monitors above or something else, you may find savings by checking out our best monitor deals page, along with our lists of Dell coupon codes, Lenovo coupon codes, LG coupon codes, HP coupon codes, Monoprice coupon codes and Newegg promo codes.
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: How We Test Monitors
MORE: All Monitor Content
MORE: HDMI vs. DisplayPort: Which Is Better For Gaming?
Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom’s Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.
Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips.
Thank you for signing up to Tom’s Hardware. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Tom’s Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
