✦ SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARE

MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) vs XPS 13 Plus: which is better?

MacBook Air M5 13-inch, MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) and XPS 13 Plus compared side by side across 107 specs and 15 scored categories — every winner highlighted, so the right pick is obvious.

3 PRODUCTS · 107 SPECS · 15 SCORED CATEGORIES · LIVE RE-RANKING

COMPARING

3 / 4

LAPTOPS

Add or remove products — every chart and spec row re-ranks live.

APPLE

MacBook Air M5 13-inch

$1,199

BEST VALUE

← TOP PICK

APPLE

MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro)

$1,999

BEST OVERALL

DELL

XPS 13 Plus

$1,199

STRONG CONTENDER

Add product

1 AVAILABLE

⚡ COMPARZONE VERDICT

The MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) takes the overall win.

Highest composite at 9.3/10 — 0.1 ahead of the MacBook Air M5 13-inch. Tightest race: battery, just 0.1 apart. Scroll for the category-by-category breakdown.

View best price →

CATEGORY WINS · 15 SCOREDTIES SHOWN GREY

BATT

CONN

DESI

DISP

FEAT

MISC

PERF

VALU

BENC

PERF

DISP

BATT

BUIL

CONN

DESI

MacBook Air M5 13-inch×10

MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro)×5

XPS 13 Plus×0

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inchBEST VALUE

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)BEST OVERALL

Dell XPS 13 PlusSTRONG CONTENDER

01 · SCORE RADAR

Performance profile

CLICK A PRODUCT TO ISOLATE ITS SHAPE

LARGEST GAPFEATURES — MacBook Air M5 13-inch leads by 9.5

TIGHTESTBATTERY — only 0.1 between the top two

02 · CATEGORY BREAKDOWN

Category showdown

13 INCHM4 PRO13 PLUS

BATTERYiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.1

13 INCH9.5

M4 PRO9.4

13 PLUS7.8

CONNECTIVITYiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.5

13 INCH9.5

M4 PRO9.0

13 PLUS0.0

DESIGNiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.5

13 INCH9.6

M4 PRO0.0

13 PLUS9.1

DISPLAYiMacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) · +0.3

13 INCH8.0

M4 PRO9.6

13 PLUS9.3

FEATURESiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +9.5

13 INCH9.5

M4 PRO0.0

13 PLUS0.0

MISCELLANEOUSiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +9.5

13 INCH9.5

M4 PRO0.0

13 PLUS0.0

PERFORMANCEiMacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) · +0.7

13 INCH8.7

M4 PRO9.5

13 PLUS8.8

ValueiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.4

13 INCH8.5

M4 PRO7.8

13 PLUS8.1

BENCHMARKSiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +7.4

13 INCH7.4

M4 PRO0.0

13 PLUS0.0

PerformanceiMacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) · +0.7

13 INCH8.7

M4 PRO9.5

13 PLUS8.8

DisplayiMacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) · +0.3

13 INCH8.0

M4 PRO9.6

13 PLUS9.3

BatteryiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.1

13 INCH9.5

M4 PRO9.4

13 PLUS7.8

Build QualityiMacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) · +9.3

13 INCH0.0

M4 PRO9.3

13 PLUS0.0

ConnectivityiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.5

13 INCH9.5

M4 PRO9.0

13 PLUS0.0

DesigniMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.5

13 INCH9.6

M4 PRO0.0

13 PLUS9.1

03 · VALUE MAP

Price vs performance

TOP-LEFT IS THE SWEET SPOT

SCORE PER $100 · RANKED

01MacBook Air M5 13-inch0.77BEST DEAL

02XPS 13 Plus0.72

03MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro)0.47

Map shows current starting prices · trends show tracked street prices. Check live deals before deciding.

04 · THE FULL SHEET

Full specifications

107 SPECS · ALL SHOWN

SPECS

MacBook Air M5 13-inch$1,1991W9.2

MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro)$1,9996W9.3

XPS 13 Plus$1,1992W8.6

Battery Typei

Lithium battery

—

Battery CapacityMAHi

4,660 mAh

—

Battery VoltVi

11.55 V

—

Included Adapter PowerWi

35 W

—

Charging Typei

USB-C, MagSafe 3

—

Fast Chargingi

Yes

—

Battery Replaceablei

—

Battery EnergyWHi

52.6 Wh

—

Charge TimeHRSi

2.5 hrs

—

Has sleep-and-charge USB portsi

Yes

—

Has a MagSafe Power Adapteri

Yes

—

Geekbench 6 Result (Single)iSAME

—

Battery LifeHRi

18 hr← TIED BEST

12 hr

USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (USB-C)i

Yes

—

Supports WiFii

Yes

—

USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (USB-A)i

2x Thunderbolt / USB 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm headphone jack

3x Thunderbolt 5, HDMI 2.1, SDXC, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm

2x Thunderbolt 4

USB 4 20Gbps Portsi

—

USB 4 40Gbps Portsi

—

Thunderbolt 5 Portsi

—

Thunderbolt 4 Portsi

—

USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (USB-C)i

-1

—

USB 3.2 Gen 1 Ports (USB-A)iSAME

—

Thunderbolt 3 PortsiSAME

—

Has an HDMI Outputi

—

Has USB Type-Ci

—

Has WiFi Versioni

—

Has an External Memory Sloti

—

Bluetooth Versioni

Yes

—

RJ45 Portsi

—

USB 2.0 PortsiSAME

—

Display Port Outputsi

Yes

—

Has AirPlayi

Yes

—

Mini Display Port OutputsiSAME

—

Has a VGA ConnectoriSAME

—

Portsi

—

3x Thunderbolt 5, HDMI 2.1, SDXC, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm

2x Thunderbolt 4

Webcami

1080p FaceTime HD

12MP Center Stage

1080p + IR

Warranty Periodi

1 year

—

Has a Backlit Keyboardi

Yes

—

Uses a Fanless Designi

Yes

—

VolumeCM³i

738 cm³

—

WidthMMi

304.1 mm

—

HeightMMi

215.9 mm

—

ThicknessMMi

11.3 mm

—

French Repairability IndexiSAME

—

Maximum Operating Temperature°CiSAME

—

Minimum Operating Temperature°CiSAME

—

Weather Sealed (Splashproof)iSAME

—

Is a Rugged BuildiSAME

—

Screen SizeINCHi

13.6 inch

—

Pixel DensityPPIi

224 ppi ppi

—

Display Typei

Liquid Retina

—

Has a Touch Screeni

—

Refresh RateHZiSAME

—

Contrast RatioiSAME

—

Has Anti-Reflecting CoatingiSAME

—

Supported Displayi

—

WeightKGi

1,240 kg

1.6 kg

1.19 kg← 26% lighter

Display SizeINi

13.6 in

14.2 in← BEST +4%

13.4 in

Resolutioni

2560x1664

3024x1964

3456 x 2160 OLED

Panel Typei

IPS LCD

Mini-LED (Liquid Retina XDR)

OLED touch

Refresh RateHZi

60 Hz

120 Hz← BEST +100%

60 Hz

BrightnessNITSi

500 nits

1,600 nits← BEST +220%

400 nits

Release Datei

03/11/2026

—

Has Stereo Speakersi

Yes

—

Has a Socket for a 3.5 mm Audio Jacki

Yes

—

Megapixels (front camera)MPi

2.1 MP

—

Has Front Camerai

Yes

—

Supports Ray TracingiSAME

—

Supports DLSSiSAME

—

Has a Dolby AtmosiSAME

—

Stylus IncludediSAME

—

Has a Fingerprint Scanneri

Yes

—

Number of Microphonesi

—

Uses 3D Facial RecognitioniSAME

—

Has Voice Commandsi

Yes

—

Has S/PDIF Out PortiSAME

—

Has a GyroscopeiSAME

—

Has GPSiSAME

—

Has an AccelerometeriSAME

—

Has a CompassiSAME

—

Has an Optical Disc DriveiSAME

—

Laptopi

Laptop

—

CPU Namei

Apple M5

—

Has an Unlocked MultiplieriSAME

—

Maximum Memory BandwidthGBiSAME

—

Supports ECC MemoryiSAME

—

Uses HMPi

Yes

—

Has TrustzoneiSAME

—

Has NX BitiSAME

—

RAMGBi

8 GB

24 GB← BEST +50%

16 GB

StorageGBi

256 GB

512GB SSD GB

512GB / 1TB SSD GB

Semiconductor SizeNMiSAME

—

Battery HealthiSAME

—

Has Xess(XMX)iSAME

—

Uses Flash Storagei

Yes

—

CPU ThreadsiSAME

—

CPU speedGHZi

4 GHz

—

Is a NVMe SSDi

Yes

—

Uses For Multithreadingi

Yes

—

Maximum Memory AmountGBi

24 GB

—

DDR Memory Versioni

LPDDR5X

—

Turbo Clock SpeedGHZi

4 GHz

—

Supports 64-Bitsi

Yes

—

Processori

Apple M5

Apple M4 Pro

Intel Core Ultra 7 155H

CPU Coresi

16← BEST +14%

Geekbench 6 (Multi)i

14,000

22,500← BEST +61%

12,800

Graphicsi

Yes

Apple M4 Pro 20-core GPU

Intel Arc integrated

ROW WINS

05 · WHICH ONE IS FOR YOU

Pick by persona

RE-RANKS LIVE AS YOU ADD OR REMOVE PRODUCTS

THE ALL-ROUNDER

Best overall

MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro)APPLE9.3

ALL GROUPSEQUAL WEIGHT

Best total score across weighted category factors.

RUNNER-UP · MacBook Air M5 13-inch (9.2)

FOR VALUE SEEKERS

Best bang for buck

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.2

SCORE ÷ PRICELIVE PRICES

Strongest score-to-price ratio from the available price data.

RUNNER-UP · XPS 13 Plus (0.7)

PRIORITY · FEATURES

Best for features

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.5

FEATURES WEIGHTEDCONF 91%

Best visible score in the features category group.

RUNNER-UP · MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) (0.0)

PRIORITY · MISCELLANEOUS

Best for miscellaneous

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.5

MISCELLANEOUS WEIGHTEDCONF 91%

Best visible score in the miscellaneous category group.

RUNNER-UP · MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) (0.0)

06 · BOTTOM LINE

Why pick each

STRENGTHS · AND ONE HONEST TRADE-OFF

#2APPLE0.0

MacBook Air M5 13-inch

“The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is a highly portable and powerful laptop, perfect for everyday productivity and creative tasks with its adv”

DESIGN 9.6

BATTERY 9.5

Wins Battery Life

Wins Battery Capacity

TRADE-OFFLimited port selection

BEST VALUEFull review →

#1APPLE0.0

MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro)

“A compact pro workstation pairing the M4 Pro chip with a stunning mini-LED display and class-leading battery life.”

Display 9.6

Performance 9.5

Wins RAM

Wins Geekbench 6 (Multi)

TRADE-OFFHigh starting price and costly memory upgrades

BEST OVERALLBest price →

#3DELL0.0

XPS 13 Plus

“Futuristic compact Windows ultrabook with a stunning 3.5K OLED option and edge-to-edge keyboard.”

Display 9.3

Design 9.1

Wins Weight

Wins CPU Cores

TRADE-OFFBelow-average battery life

STRONG CONTENDERBest price →

Still deciding? The MacBook Pro 14 (M4 Pro) is the safest pick.

COMPOSITE 9.3/10 · WINS 5 OF 15 CATEGORIES

Buy the winner →

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) vs Dell XPS 13 Plus: which is best?

The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) is our overall pick, scoring 9.3/10 against 9.2/10 for the Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch — a 1% edge. Current starting prices span $1,199–$1,999. The score weighs category-specific laptops attributes, spec wins, price signals, and data confidence — not sponsorships.

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) leads overall with a 9.3 total score.
Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch wins 49 comparable specs with a 46% weighted win rate.
Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch has the strongest high-impact advantage in Battery Life.
Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch has the best visible score-to-price balance based on available starting price.

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch9.2/10

The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is a highly portable and powerful laptop, perfect for everyday productivity and creative tasks with its advanced M5 chip and stunning Liquid Retina display.

Pros

+ Exceptional M5 performance
+ All-day battery life
+ Sleek, fanless design
+ Vibrant Liquid Retina display

Cons

− Limited port selection
− No touch screen
− Higher price point

Best for: Students · Creative professionals · Everyday productivity

“<p><strong>Verdict:</strong> The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is poised to be an outstanding choice for those prioritizing a lightweight design, silent operation, and robust performance for daily tasks and creative work within the Apple ecosystem. Its…”

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)WINNER 9.3/10

A compact pro workstation pairing the M4 Pro chip with a stunning mini-LED display and class-leading battery life.

Pros

+ Excellent sustained CPU and GPU performance for its size
+ Reference-quality 1600-nit mini-LED HDR display
+ Outstanding battery life under real workloads
+ Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card, and MagSafe connectivity

Cons

− High starting price and costly memory upgrades
− Design and weight unchanged for several generations
− macOS-only, so limited for Windows-specific software

Best for: Video editors and content creators · Software developers running heavy builds · Photographers needing color accuracy

“If you need real horsepower for code, video, or 3D in a 14-inch body, the M4 Pro MacBook Pro is the one to beat. It is expensive and the design is unchanged, but the combination of sustained performance, display quality, and all-day battery is unmatched in…”

Dell XPS 13 Plus8.6/10

Futuristic compact Windows ultrabook with a stunning 3.5K OLED option and edge-to-edge keyboard.

Pros

+ Stunning 3.5K OLED option
+ Premium compact CNC build
+ Strong productivity performance
+ Excellent keyboard feel

Cons

− Below-average battery life
− Only two USB-C ports
− Can run warm under load

Best for: Design-conscious buyers · OLED-display seekers · Compact productivity

“A gorgeous, compact Windows laptop with a class-leading OLED and bold design. Battery life and the minimal port set are the trade-offs for that look.”

Frequently asked questions

Which is best: Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch, Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) or Dell XPS 13 Plus?

By ComparZone's weighted scoring of category-specific laptops specs, the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) scores highest overall (9.3/10, 0.1 points ahead of the Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch). It is the better all-round pick, but the right choice depends on your priorities — the spec table above shows exactly where each one wins.

What are the main differences between these laptops?

The biggest measurable differences are Processor, Battery Life, Resolution. The grouped spec sheet above marks the winner of every comparable spec.

Can I compare other laptops on ComparZone?

Yes — ComparZone supports dynamic comparison pages for any 2 to 4 laptops from the same category, with verified specs, transparent scores, and live prices. See the related comparisons below or build your own from the category page.

More laptops comparisons

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024, GA403)Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) vs ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024, GA403)Dell XPS 13 Plus vs Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 Dell XPS 13 Plus vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Dell XPS 13 Plus vs ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024, GA403)All laptops →Best laptops 2026