17 Best Graduation Gifts That Aren't Totally Cringe (2026)

Featured in this article

• An Excellent Laptop Tote

  Troubadour

  Apex Everyday Tote

  The Troubadour Apex is our favorite laptop tote thanks to its lightweight, durable, and tear-resistant fabric, which just so happens to be made out of recycled plastic. There are plenty of organizational pockets, including dedicated spaces for laptops, water bottles, accessories, keys, and your phone. There's room for a 16-inch laptop and it's backed by a 5-year warranty.

• An Affordable, Well-Made Backpack

  

  Courtesy of The North Face

  This North Face backpack is roomy, but not oversize, and has space for a laptop, jacket, snacks, water bottle, and some other necessities. It's very lightweight and breathable. The bungee cord on the back can be used to stash shoes or jackets, and there are organizational pockets for items like your phone or wallet. It's available in dozens of color options, so there should be one your giftee likes. We have more backpack recommendations here.

• Luxury Headphones

  

  The Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless headphones are the best you can buy. They have industry-leading noise reduction, 30 hours of battery life, multi-device pairing, and clear, stunning sound. They're stylish and comfortable, with a folding design and a sleek case, and they'll last for years.

• An Electric Bike

  

  Electric bikes offer a lot of mobility around your grad's new city and campus. The Trek FX+ 1 is our favorite. It's backed by a lifetime warranty, has an extremely easy-to-use charger, and features dedicated turn signal buttons. The range doesn't quite hit the advertised 50 miles, but for a student getting to and from nearby places that doesn't want to rely on public transportation, this ebike is worth considering. We have more recommendations in our Ebike Buying Guide.

• An Electric Scooter

  

  Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  If your recent graduate doesn't know how to bike, we also love electric scooters. The Apollo Go is our top pick for most people since it strikes an impeccable balance between price and features. It's a little heavy and it doesn't charge as fast as we'd like, but the riding experience is just great. You can customize top speeds if the 28-mph maximum is too much, and there's solid LED lighting and turn signals too.

• A Coffee Upgrade

  • 

  • 

  If your grad loves their cup of joe, give them a coffee upgrade. This is our favorite beginner-friendly machine. It has a touchscreen that's intuitive to navigate, along with two nonpressurized baskets that let the machine know whether you're making an espresso or coffee-based beverage. Based on that information, it will then recommend the grind size depending on the previous drink's performance. It also has an integrated coffee scale that doses out the right amount of coffee grounds. And to top it off, there's an automatic steaming wand for frothing milk and milk alternatives. —Brenda Stolyar

• A Reliable Electric Kettle

  

  Beautiful by Drew Barrymore

  Electric Kettle

  We recommend an electric kettle for tea lovers, though they can come in handy for just about anybody, and this is one of our top picks. It has an insulated, double-walled body, four preset programs (for oolong, white, and green tea, along with a button for boil), along with an auto shutoff and “keep warm” mode. It also has a really cute look, with a matte finish that's available in adorable colors like cornflower blue and sage green. We also love that the buttons on the touch-activated display only appear when the kettle is in use, so it looks super sleek and unobtrusive on countertops when it's turned off. —Brenda Stolyar

• A Coffee Subscription

  

  Daily coffee runs can get expensive, especially for new grads living on that entry-level salary. Using a coffee subscription can make a difference. We love this one from Trade Coffee. You can personalize it to their taste and preferences via a questionnaire, and they can make notes about the coffees they like after trying them. Trade also has a huge selection, with over 400 coffees to pick from and more constantly being added. So, there's always plenty of variety. Check out our Best Coffee Subscription Services guide for more. —Brenda Stolyar

• A Tried-and-True Suitcase

  

  The Away Carry-On is great for any traveler. It's available in a huge array of colors, it's lightweight, it looks good, and it performs well. It has a built-in TSA-approved lock and it comes with a laundry bag too. Whether they're going on spring break or just visiting home for the holidays, it'll come in handy.

• A Smartwatch for iPhone Owners

  Fancy analog watches are nice, but smartwatches are full of features more useful than telling the time. The Series 11 is the best Apple Watch for iPhone users. The battery finally lasts a full day, and it has a full suite of health-tracking features including blood oxygen levels, hypertension notifications, fall detection, and the typical workouts and sleep. I personally didn't think I'd get much use out of my Apple Watch, and now I can't imagine life without it.

• A Smartwatch for Android Owners

  • 

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • 

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • 

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • 

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  If your grad has an Android phone, we recommend Google's Pixel Watch 4. We like the modern design and we love the fact that it's repairable. The performance is solid, the display is easy on the eyes, and there are all of the features your grad could want, including fitness and sleep tracking and long-lasting battery.

• Or a Smart Ring

  Smartwatches are great, but some people simply don't like the aesthetic. If your giftee falls under this category, a smart ring is a great alternative, specifically the Oura Ring 4. It's the top pick in our Best Smart Rings guide. As with a smartwatch, it tracks your heart rate, activities, blood oxygen levels, body temperature, and sleep. This model is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, with a wider size range and tougher finishes. It also comes with Oura's Smart Sensing platform that continuously tracks your data throughout the day. —Brenda Stolyar

• Distraction-Free Reading

  Amazon

  Kindle Paperwhite (2024, 12th Generation)

  Bookish grads will appreciate the Kindle Paperwhite—our favorite Kindle. This model has a 7-inch display, the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle (for sharp text and images), and up to three months of battery life. It's also the thinnest model yet. It comes in two versions: the standard and the Signature Edition. The Signature Edition comes with auto-adjust brightness, wireless charging, and double the storage at 32 gigabytes. The standard version should be more than enough, but if your grad listens to a lot of audiobooks, you'll want to consider the latter. You can tack on some fun Kindle accessories like a clear case and stickers or a cute sleeve. —Brenda Stolyar

• A Basic iPad

  • 

    Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

  • 

    Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

  The best thing about a tablet is its versatility. Most models can be used as a laptop, digital notebook, TV, and a gaming console all in one. The 2025 iPad is our favorite overall. It has a modern design with uniform, slim bezels around an 11-inch LCD screen, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, a USB-C port, and a 12-MP selfie camera with 1080p video quality. Thanks to the A16 chip, it's also great for both work and play. It can be used with a keyboard and mouse for basic tasks (with the ability to also use it as a secondary display) or to watch TV and play mobile games. It doesn't support Apple Intelligence, but that might be a boon for some people. —Brenda Stolyar

• A Setup for Success

  • 

  • 

  Roterunner

  Purpose Planner

  This affordable paper planner has monthly and weekly spreads, plus two blank pages per week, and it's undated which means it'll remain flexible if your grad takes a break or needs some more space. There are checklist sections for every month and week section as well, perfect for chronic to-do-listers.

• A Grown-Up Wallet

  • 

    Photograph: Louryn Strampe

  • 

    Photograph: Louryn Strampe

  Nothing says “adult” more than a wallet that actually works. The Ridge Wallet is that. It's essentially a metal sandwich for their cards. It's durable, stylish, and comes in a ton of different fun designs. Ridge also backs it with a lifetime warranty. They'll use this gift for decades, which is likely a lot longer than the countertop appliance you were considering purchasing instead.

• For House Parties

  This Bluetooth speaker is a beast and a behemoth, with intensely loud sound and a replaceable 40-hour battery. Maybe your grad is into music production, or maybe they like to host respectably large gatherings of their peers for beer pong competitions and tailgate parties. It'd make a good gift either way.