Using a laptop on the couch is comfortable and all, but it's not good for your back or wrists. Working, gaming, reading, and writing on the sofa or in bed is easier on your body when using a lap desk. The best lap desk overall is the LapGear Home Office. Not only is it comfy, but it has all you need to fit most 15.6-inch laptops. It's not the only portable desk worth your money. Whatever your needs, we have solutions. These are the best lap desks of the year.
Best overall: LapGear Home Office
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LapGear is billed as The Original LapDesk Company. They've been making portable desks that balance on your lap since 1974, so they know a thing or two about how to help others remain productive while working from home, a hotel, or their car. The Home Office includes added features not found in other models, which is what pushed it to the top of our best lap desk list this year.
The LapGear Home Office has plenty of desktop real estate. It can fit up to a 15.6-inch laptop, your treasured MacBook, most tablets, and a mouse. At the top right, you'll find a phone slot. Slid your iPhone in the slot where it will stay upright and secure and keep notifications and a second screen at the front and center of your flow. The LapGear Home Office has dual-bolster cushions on the underside. They conform to your thighs while still allowing maximum airflow for you and ventilation for your electronics. There's also a device ledge to prevent your tablet or laptop from slipping off the desk.
What could use improvement? There's no built-in wrist guard. If you don't have perfect typing form, you could find yourself resting your hands on the hard edges of this lap desk. The device ledge mostly prevents this, but you'll need to keep proper form in mind as fatigue sets in. For most, this is one of the best lap desks on the market. It's lightweight, sturdy, and has an affordable price tag.
This is an affordable lap desk with an abundance of room, a device ledge, and a slot for your phone.
Best value: Mind Reader Adjustable Desk
The Mind Reader lap desk is a budget-friendly offering with a few expensive-feeling surprises making it one of the best lap desks to choose from. This desk adjusts to eight positions for optimal viewing from a chair, the couch, a table, or even a bed. There's a pop-up lip at the front (nearest your body) to hold your MacBook Pro or another laptop, tablet, or craft supplies in place and prevent them from sliding off.
Space is abundant on the desk's top surface. You'll have room to support a laptop up to 15.6-inches in size. Thanks to the pop-up lip, the Mind Reader desk can be useful as a platform to hold a book, a space for arts and crafts, or a more ergonomically friendly tablet stand. On the bottom, you'll get dual-bolster pillows. They're overstuffed with microbeads that mold to any shape. Super comfortable on your lap! There's also a carry handle at the top for moving this from place to place.
If you use a mouse while computing, this isn't the desk for you. While the Mind Reader is large enough to support a 15.6-inch laptop, even when used with a smaller 11-inch laptop, there's not enough extra space to slide your mouse around. If you're a trackpad user or you need a book or notebook stand, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this budget lap desk.
The Mind Reader is a large lap desk that supports big laptops and eight viewing positions. At this price, it's a steal.
Best portable: Honey-Can-Do Portable Desk
This good-looking desk from Honey-Can-Do is the ultimate in portability. A built-in handle at the top makes it a breeze to take from the office to the couch to your car. If you're a traveler or work from home full-time, this is an excellent option for you.
Available in six colors, the Honey-Can-Do lap desk comes with a removable foam pad on the bottom. Use it when working on your lap or disengage it and use the desk as a smooth, flat surface on which to draw, write, or move your mouse around. We love the cord protector at the back of the cushion. It prevents cords from tangling and keeps them out of the way so you can focus on the task at hand.
Best of all, this model does not absorb heat. Because of that, it's healthier for your electronics and your legs. The Honey-Can-Do does have some issues with optical mice. They simply don't track as well as they should. If you can live with that, this model is highly portable, supports a 13-inch laptop, and is worth every penny.
The no-frills Honey-Can-Do can support a 13-inch laptop, has a cord protector and removable cushion, so it packs down small.
Best for kids: ECR4Kids Surf
The ECR4Kids Surf is a mobile desk geared toward those ages six and up. This intuitively designed desk is lightweight enough for kids to carry on their own from place to place, and individual units can be stacked together to save space. Smart! With this desk, kids can construct work or play space in any room of the house or even outside.
The flat surface at the top of the desk offers more than enough room for creative activities and studies. The unit functions as both a seat and a desk. Kids must sit on the chair for the attached desk to remain upright. That's both genius and its downfall because this model cannot stay upright without someone seated on the base.
The ECR4Kids Surf comes in 12 colors. It's Greenguard Gold Certified, so you can be assured it's designed from non-toxic materials and is safe for children. This is a fun seating arrangement for kids that also provides needed work areas when space is at a minimum, making it one of the best lap desks for kids today.
This versatile unit is a great combination of lap desk and seat. It can be positioned on a bleacher, the floor, or even a chair.
Best for the bed or couch: LapGear Media Bed Tray
This clever desk from LapGear works just as well as a breakfast tray as it does as a work center. The Media Bed Tray fits up to a 17.5-inch laptop. A small lip at the back of the tray prevents your computer hardware from slipping around as you adjust your body position or resituate the tray. Made of sustainable natural bamboo, a renewable resource, this all-wood model comes with folding legs. It works with the legs extended or with the legs folded closed.
Two handles at the side of the desk's top help you to move this tray from one place to another. When the legs are extended, they can sit on a couch or bed on either side of your own legs, where they provide a stable platform on which to eat or work. A media lip at the front of the trap helps gadgets like smartphones and tablets stay upright for reading or storage.
The only shortcoming with this tray is that it's not adjustable. It's a flat surface. Period. The front legs are slightly lower than the legs in the back, so it has a slight tilt, but it's hardly noticeable. If you need to work at a more wrist-friendly angle, you'll need to buy additional equipment. That said, if what you desire is a table that can serve breakfast and be a platform for your laptop and iPad, this is a smart desk that will do that and more.
This desk works well on the bed or the couch with enough room for a 17.5-inch laptop and long legs.
Final thoughts
We have years of experience working from home and on the road, and we're a tad picky about the accessories we use. When extra room and comfort are at the top of your list of needs, we recommend the Home Office Pro from LapGear. This is the lap desk that most closely mimics your actual office desk.
The Home Office lives up to its name, featuring an impressively large workspace. There's enough room for a 15.6-inch laptop, a tablet, a mouse, and your phone. We adore the phone slot, and you will, too. Your smartphone stays vertical and safe inside the slot, never sliding from its cradle when you adjust the angle of the desk. The underside of this portable desk uses twin bolter cushions to stay on your lap. They're comfortable and do not retain heat.
Our only complaint is the lack of built-in wrist support. Some sort of cushioned wrist guard would help cushion joints, especially when you're logging long hours behind the keyboard. Overall, this model from LapGear has ample room for your equipment, has superb airflow for your body and your devices, and provides a generous amount of room to buckle down and work.
