Being away from the office means working on my laptop—and with that comes productivity slipping away into oblivion. The problem, for me at least, is the screen, or rather, the lack of them. A portable monitor solves this dilemma handily, working just like an external monitor setup does in the office, but with mobility also in mind. While larger portable monitors (especially multi-panel ones) may require a dedicated power connection, most can use your laptop’s USB port for all the juice they need.
The portable monitor category is a very large one, occupied by both name-brand producers of laptops and desktop monitors as well as plenty of companies you’ve never heard of. For this buying guide, I evaluated 20 portable monitors from a wide range of manufacturers that represent price points ranging from $70 to nearly $700. I’m splitting my top recommendations across four major categories, with runners-up available for most of them.
The Best Overall Portable Monitor
Photograph: Luke LarsenSave to wishlistSave to wishlistArzopa
Z3FC Portable Monitor
$170 $145 (15% off)Amazon
If you are simply looking for a single extra screen to have alongside your laptop and don’t need touch features, Arzopa’s Z3FC is the best pick for most users. This spacious 16.1-inch display costs just $136, but it’s absolutely loaded with features. Resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels offers ample detail for any type of task whether work or leisure, and the screen unusually offers a whiplash-fast 180 Hz refresh rate. It’s got one of the brighter displays available across all portable monitors -- and an outstanding color gamut rating, with a measured 99% of the sRGB space covered in my tests. Color quality is equally solid, with a 1.10 average accuracy rating measured.
The hardware is simple but effective, with the monitor held up by a slim arm that flips out from the back of the display and connection options that include mini-HDMI and two USB-C ports. Because it draws just 13 watts, you don’t need an external power adapter if you connect via USB to your laptop. (Note that since HDMI connections don’t carry power, you’ll need to use one of the USB ports to connect to a power source if you choose that option.) The second USB port can be used to charge a phone or connect other USB peripherals, and the monitor even includes dual 2-watt speakers which, while not altogether useful, are at least better than nothing.
Best of all is how portable the screen is: At just 1.64 pounds, it’s one of the lightest portable monitors on the market, especially at this display size.
Also consider:
Espresso Lite 15 for $249 - What’s great about this monitor isn’t its portability or its price but rather its unique stand, which attaches magnetically to the back of the screen and allows you to position the display in any orientation on your desk -- or raise it up so that it hovers above your laptop’s screen. It’s also got incredible color gamut and solid brightness while drawing just 5 watts of power.
The Best Portable Monitor With Touch
Photograph: Luke LarsenSave to wishlistSave to wishlistViewSonic
2K Touch Portable Monitor TD1656
$380ViewSonic
If you need your second monitor to do double-duty as a drawing tablet or simply want to be able to tap on icons instead of relying on a mouse, the ViewSonic TD1656-2K offers the best bang for your buck. The 2K in the name evokes the monitor’s most impressive feature, 2560 x 1600 pixels of resolution across its vast, 16-inch, 16:10 widescreen display. Brightness is exceptional, and contrast is very rich for a standard LED-backlit screen, but the unit’s colors are even more impressive. The 99% sRGB color gamut coverage is outstanding, and the unit’s average 0.79 color accuracy rating is the second best I’ve measured to date.
The screen itself is largely free of frills, with two USB-C ports available: one to connect to your laptop, the other providing supplemental power if needed, though since the screen only pulls 12 watts of juice, you shouldn’t run into trouble without an additional adapter. Note that I was unable to use this second USB port for charging my phone or other peripherals.
The touch features work great, either with a fingertip or with the responsive, included stylus. I was less enamored with the tinny 2-watt speakers -- these could have just as well been jettisoned altogether -- and didn’t love the convoluted and origami-like case-stand combo. While reasonably protective when wrapped around the screen, it’s difficult to fold the right way and, once you do have it configured properly, it offers only a couple of minimally adjustable viewing angles. It’s not exactly lightweight at 2.92 pounds (with the cover), but you are getting a very spacious view for the weight. At $380, it’s actually on the low end of the price spectrum for portable touchscreens.
Also consider:
Espresso Pro 15 for $748 - The pro version of Espresso’s Lite, highlighted above, features an amazing 15.6-inch screen with 3840 x 2160 pixels of resolution and breathtaking 10-bit color. It’s even brighter than the ViewSonic, offers wonderfully deep and accurate hues, and weighs about the same despite the added heft of Espresso’s bulky but versatile magnetic stand. The price is the only real dealbreaker.
The Best Multi-Screen Portable Monitor
Photograph: Luke LarsenSave to wishlistSave to wishlistAsus
ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD)
$599Amazon
$599B&H Photo
$599Walmart
If you didn’t know any better at first glance, you’d guess it was a laptop, but flip the device open and you’ll see that Asus’s ZenScreen Duo offers two 1920 x 1200-pixel 14-inch monitors, connected via a hinge. To deploy, just unfold, extend the slim kickstand, and plug in a single USB-C cable to your laptop. Yeah, that’s it: Unlike most multi-panel monitors, the ZenScreen doesn’t require additional power, and its combined 13-watt power draw is easily managed by the USB-C port on most laptops. (An extra power port is available if your computer doesn’t have the juice.)
The panels can be deployed vertically -- one atop the other -- or horizontally -- standing upright in portrait mode, and an extra USB-C port and mini-HDMI port mean you can actually connect the two panels independently to different sources, so each panel mirrors a separate device (useful, say, for connecting both a computer and a smart phone).
Beyond its versatility, what really makes this monitor shine is its screen quality. The OLED-powered display offers dazzling 10-bit color with insane brightness (the brightest of any monitor I tested for this story) and off-the-charts contrast. I measured 100% sRGB color coverage, with a solid average color accuracy rating of 1.35. The only downsides I’ve experienced were some early hiccups with Windows drivers (eventually resolved) and a slightly weak hinge that, when deployed upright, sees the top monitor getting a little wobbly. The $599 price tag is far from cheap, but there’s worse on the market.
Best of all, the monitor weighs a svelte 2.28 pounds, so most users should have no trouble packing it into a laptop bag alongside their PC.
Also consider:
KYY X90G Quad Portable Monitor for $479 - This is a rare three-panel display (with 17.3-inch screens) that turns your laptop into a veritable four-screen command center. The KYY X90G is possibly overkill for some users, and at a whopping 6.4 pounds, it’s probably not destined to travel far from your desk.
Xebec Tri-Screen 3 for $699 - This unique two-panel setup clips right on to the back of your laptop with a spring-loaded design, featuring an integrated cable that slips into a single USB-C port. Like the Asus, it doesn’t need external power to run, making it incredibly convenient -- but the $699 price tag is a doozy.
The Best Portable Monitor for Headless PCs
Photograph: Luke LarsenSave to wishlistSave to wishlistElecrow
CrowView Note 15.6
$210 $199 (5% off)Amazon
Don’t be confused by the clamshell design, complete with keyboard and trackpad, on the Elecrow CrowView Note. This isn’t a laptop but rather a portable monitor, keyboard, and mouse system all in one. Why would you need such a thing? Because it’s mainly designed for use with headless compact PCs like the Raspberry Pi or the Mac Mini -- or you can connect it to your cell phone to turn your handheld into a keyboard-equipped erstwhile computer.
The specs are admittedly not all that exciting. The 15.6-inch screen supports standard 1920 x 1080 pixels of resolution, and while Elecrow claims 100% sRGB color gamut, I only achieved 83% coverage in my testing. Color accuracy is good, however, and the 2-watt speakers were considerably better than I encountered on competing devices. While the keyboard is also acceptable, the touchpad is very jumpy. Clicks invariably caused the pointer to jerk away from whatever it was I was trying to click on, a problem I ultimately had to fix by keeping a finger on one hand firmly on the touchpad while a finger on the other hand clicked the pad.
The device includes all manner of connectivity options, including three USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and a mini-HDMI connector, not to mention an internal 6000 mAh battery that allows you to work completely disconnected from a power source for up to 3 hours, depending on usage and brightness settings. (The included 45-watt charger is otherwise required to keep it running.)
At 3.4 pounds its weight is on par with many 15- and 16-inch laptops. But at just $160 (plus a few extra bucks if you need to bridge the connections to a Pi or Jetson Nano), its price is certainly far more approachable.
What To Consider When Buying a Portable Monitor
AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronPortable monitors may seem simplistic, but just like in the laptop world, what’s “best” depends on what you need. Before you start pricing out gear, answer these questions to help narrow down the search.
Touch or no? Touch-sensitivity features add an extra layer of productivity for many users, especially artistic types, but if you rarely plan to interact with the screen directly, you’ll save a substantial amount of money by forgoing touch.
What about wireless? A small number of wireless monitors let you connect to them without a cable (and most contain a battery that allows them to work untethered). This is a tiny, costly sub-category of the portable monitor space that, for my money, makes little sense for most users -- in part because the only wireless monitors I’ve received for evaluation require a special transmitter dongle which is no more convenient than simply plugging in a cable. I don’t have a recommendation for any product in this segment for now.
How much room do you need? Don’t just consider the size of the screen, also consider its resolution, which lets you cram more stuff on the LCD. Size also means heft, so consider how much extra weight you’re willing to haul around -- and whether that screen will realistically fit in your travel bag.
Do you need hyper-accurate color? Color fidelity may not really matter as much if you’re just working on spreadsheets and word processing documents all day, but even casual users may find wildly inaccurate color quality to be distracting.
How I Test Portable Monitors
AccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronA good portable monitor should work right out of the box by simply plugging it into your laptop and waiting a few seconds for the screen to come alive. This of course isn’t always the case, so my hands-on testing always begins by spending time integrating the secondary screen with my standard workflow, using it as a second screen alongside my primary work laptop.
A key part of my evaluation includes benchmarking color, brightness, and contrast with a range of devices. This starts with a standard handheld light meter to test the maximum brightness at a standardized distance from the screen. I also test contrast level and D65 white point accuracy with a Calibrite Display Plus HL. Finally, I measure color gamut coverage in both the sRGB and NTSC color space and take an average score of color accuracy using a DataColor Spyder Pro. (Note that lower numbers are better on color accuracy tests.)
