The 5 Best Monitors For MacBook Pro And MacBook Air - Spring 2025

The best monitor for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air is the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. It's a 27-inch, 4k monitor that's versatile for different uses. Also, it often goes on sale, and it's worth getting when it does. It's easy to connect your MacBook to it thanks to its USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, and its 90W of power delivery is enough to charge your laptop while you're using it. Plus, because it has two USB-A ports, you can connect your mouse and keyboard directly to the monitor, leaving the ports on your laptop free to connect to other devices.

What makes this fantastic to use no matter what you need it for is its great picture quality. The high resolution delivers sharp images, and it has a decent local dimming feature that helps improve the picture quality. It also helps it display deep blacks next to bright highlights, which is great if you're a content creator, especially with HDR content. Plus, it comes with an sRGB mode that makes colors accurate without any sort of calibration. Lastly, you can use a MacBook up to 144Hz on this monitor, and there aren't any compatibility issues.

While the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx is a fantastic monitor to use with your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, if you want an Apple-specific monitor to complete your ecosystem, then check out the Apple Studio Display. There are a few advantages to getting it, like the fact that it supports Thunderbolt 3, which makes full use of your laptop, and it has a higher 5k resolution for even sharper text. Plus, it has a few features that you can only access with a macOS device, like its extremely accurate sRGB mode, and you can change its settings directly from your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

However, there are still a few drawbacks to getting it over the Acer, namely the price increase. Its stand also has much worse ergonomics, but you can get a variant with a VESA-mount adapter. Besides that, it doesn't support HDR at all, which is disappointing if you need something for editing videos in HDR. Apple offers the Pro Display XDR, which is a 32-inch, 6k monitor that supports HDR, but it also costs a lot more.

If you don't need an Apple-specific monitor and want the most screen space possible to work with your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, then the Dell U4025QW is a fantastic option. While it's considered a 5k display like the Apple Studio Display as it has an ultrawide 5120x2160 resolution, it has lower pixel density, so text isn't as sharp, but it's still fantastic. Plus, it has worse HDR picture quality than the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx because it has a terrible local dimming feature, so blacks look gray and highlights don't pop against the rest of the image.

That said, the main advantage is its 40-inch screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio, so there's plenty of space to open multiple windows at once. It also has a massive USB hub that includes five USB-A ports and five USB-C ports, so you can easily connect various devices, which is great if you don't have ports available on your laptop. It supports Thunderbolt 4 for fast data transfer, and you can even use this to daisy chain a second monitor if you want even more screen space. If the U4025QW is beyond your price range, consider the less-expensive Dell U3425WE. It's similar to the U4025QW but has a smaller screen and lacks HDR support.

If you find that the monitors mentioned above are too expensive for your needs, there are some great work-friendly 4k monitors you can get for cheaper. One of those is the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV, which is a 4k, 27-inch monitor like the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. However, the main trade-off for the lower cost is the fact that it has a low contrast ratio and a terrible edge-lit local dimming feature, so it has worse picture quality in HDR. On the plus side, it's a good choice for editing SDR content as it comes with modes for various color spaces that you may work with, from sRGB to Rec. 2020.

On top of that, it's excellent for productivity as text looks sharp, and it comes with an ergonomic stand that's easy to adjust. It even comes with three USB-A ports and two USB-C ports, so you can connect a variety of devices. However, if you feel like that isn't enough, the Dell U2723QE is also a great alternative with more ports. It has a KVM switch, too, making it easy to switch between sources and use the same devices, but it costs more than the ASUS.

If you're looking for something on a budget, check out the AOC Q27G3XMN. It's different from the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV as it has a lower 1440p resolution, so images aren't as sharp and detailed, and it doesn't have a USB hub. This means you need to connect your laptop over HDMI or get a DisplayPort adapter. It works well once you do, but the max refresh rate is 144Hz over HDMI. However, the AOC has even better picture quality than the ASUS, as it uses Mini LED backlighting, similar to the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx. Its local dimming works well, so it displays deep blacks next to bright highlights, which is great if you want to use it in a dark room.

It's even a good choice if you're a content creator, thanks to its good picture quality. It has an accurate sRGB mode, but there are some issues with a red tint, depending on which combination of settings you use. If you can't find this monitor available, or you simply prefer something cheaper, the Acer Nitro XV275U P3biipx is another good choice with Mini LED backlighting, but it has worse accuracy before calibration.