Investing in a portable monitor instantly expands your screen real estate and gives you the flexibility of using it in your home office or on the go. Portable monitors are great for extending your laptop display, but are also excellent companions for tablet, smartphone, or camera.
Creators, photographers, and business pros will benefit from the convenience portable monitors offer. These add-on displays make it possible to multitask from anywhere. Whether you’re video editing, touching up photos or working with documents, an extra screen helps streamline your productivity.
If you want a compact display that easily fits in a backpack or small workspace, here are the best portable monitors you can get.
What is the best portable monitor?
The Asus ProArt Display PA148CTV is the best portable monitor available today, despite the cumbersome name, it is a sleek 14-inch multi-touch 1080p display that delivers superior image quality to many of the other options on the market. If you’re a creator looking for some extra screen real estate without sacrificing too much in the way of color accuracy or color gamut, the Asus ProArt is the clear choice.
If you are looking for the best value for screen size the Viewsonic VG1655 delivers an unbeatable deal with its $179 price point for the cheapest 15.6-inch model. Creatives that want a stylus to use with their portable monitor should consider the Lenovo ThinkVision M14t, giving you a budget Cintiq experience with its included active stylus.
On-the-go gamers could benefit from the 144Hz 15.6-inch IPS display offered by the Asus ROG Strix XG16AHPE. It’s a rare high-performance portable monitor that with Nvidia G-Sync compatibility could be the perfect add-on to your gaming laptop.
If you want something that feels integrated into your laptop then you might want to consider the SideTrak Swivel HD. Available in either 12.5-inch or 14-inch display sizes, it clips onto your laptop and can then be maneuvered with its hinge in portrait or landscape mode.
Here’s a closer look at the best portable monitors available right now.
The Asus ProArt Display PA148CTV is one of the best portable monitors for creators. Photographers, video editors, and graphics designers will benefit from its useful pro-grade tools.
It features a 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) anti-glare 10-point touch screen and is pre-calibrated to meet Calman verification standards. With a 100% sRGB wide color gamut and Delta E < 2 color accuracy, this ProArt display ensures rich, life-like reproduction of every hue.
One feature that makes this ProArt Display stand out from competing portable monitors is Asus Dial. This rotary mechanism works in conjunction with Adobe creative apps. It enables precise, on-screen control of color balance and tone, time axis adjustment, brush smooth modification, and more.
The ViewSonic VG1655 is suitable for travelling professionals and remote workers alike. It sports a 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) anti-glare IPS panel with 250 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. Depending on the specific options you choose the display offers touch screen support in mirroring mode only.
The portable monitor’s built-in stand allows for portrait or landscape mode viewing.
Although we didn’t test this monitor, ViewSonic VG1655 reviews on Amazon (opens in new tab) average 4.5 out of 5-stars. Feedback from well-pleased owners praise its lightweight design, bright panel, and touch screen support for Samsung Dex.
Port-wise, you get a Mini HDMI, two USB Type-C ports, and a headphone jack. And with 2-way powered USB-C connectivity, the VG1655 can be powered by the connected laptop. The VG1655 works with just about every operating system including Android, Apple iOS, Chrome OS, Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Lenovo’s ThinkVision M14t combines flexibility and style into an ultra-portable display. It’s a great tool for designers, animators, presenters, and anyone else who wants a compact extra screen. The included pressure-sensitive Active Pen allows for precise sketching.
It features a 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 10-point touch screen with 300 nits of brightness for picture-perfect clarity even when you’re outdoors. The display’s barely-there bezels, tilt function and great viewing angles ensure comfortable viewing.
In our ThinkVision M14t review, we gave it a 4 out of 5-stars, citing its color-rich display, lightweight design, nifty stylus, and sturdy stand.
At just 1.5 pounds 14.8 x 10.5 x 2.7 inches, the ThinkVision M14t easily fits into a travel bag or backpack and won’t hog up too much workspace. Two built-in USB-C ports on either side of the portable monitor connect to USB-C-compatible laptops and phones.
Read our full Lenovo ThinkVision M14t review
If you are looking to boost your gaming performance on the go, rather than just your productivity, the Asus ROG Strix XG16AHPE is the best portable gaming monitor around. The 15.6-inch IPS display features a 1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate with Nvidia G-Sync compatibility.
The built-in battery should give you up to 3 hours on a single charge at 144Hz, which is probably more than you’re gaming laptop will get on a charge while playing any of the best PC games. The built-in kickstand handles portrait or landscape alignment, but it doesn’t allow for different angles, so hopefully you’re happy with the default tilt.
The $399 price tag is not bad considering the high-end performance you are getting from this display and Asus even tosses in a handy carrying case to keep it protected in your laptop bag. Ports include USB-C for power delivery, micro-HDMI and a headphone jack.
SideTrak’s appropriately named Swivel HD swivels and rotates 360 and 270 degrees, respectively. It features a 1920 x 1080 panel with 300 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate.
Sidetrack offers this display in 14-inch and 12.5-inch screen sizes for anyone looking to invest in a smaller-sized portable display. Whereas many of today’s mobile monitors are freestanding, the Sidetrack Swivel HD securely affixes to the back of your laptop.
At just 1.3 pounds and 12 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches, the SideTrack Swivel HD is one of the lightest portable monitors out there. It works with Windows, Chrome OS, and macOS laptops via Thunderbolt USB-C or USB-A and HDMI connectivity.
Asus ZenScreen MB16AMT is the best portable monitor for power users. It packs a built-in high capacity 7,800mAh battery so it doesn’t sap juice from connected devices.
It features a 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 10-point touch screen at 60Hz with 250 nits of brightness. Automatic screen orientation switches to portrait or landscape mode while connecting to your laptop. This ensures comfortable viewing whether you’re presenting, viewing documents, books or browsing the internet.
Hybrid-signal USB-C and micro-HDMI connectivity lets you display content from a range of devices. It connects to laptops, tablets, phones, cameras and game consoles like the Nintendo Switch.
Incorporated into the ZenScreen MB16AMT’s design is a foldable smart case to protect it from dust, dirt, dings and scratches. And when you’re not using the case, a unique smart pen hole lets you prop the display up on a flat surface.
With a weight of 2 pounds, the MB16AMT is slightly heavier than competing portable monitors. It’s a small trade-off if you prefer a portable monitor with its own power source.
