About Rain Design
Rain Design is a San Francisco-founded laptop, tablet, and mobile-accessory maker that has been designing stands since 2003, when its award-winning iGo desk for the Apple iMac G4 first put the brand on the map. The company describes itself as "founded in San Francisco by friends who shared the same vision of creating cool and original products that bring comfort and style to your digital life," and today it operates from offices in California, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Taiwan alongside a network of distribution partners. Its catalog has grown from that original desk stand into full lines of MacBook-oriented laptop stands (mStand, mBar, iLevel, mTower), tablet stands, mobile stands, and iMac accessories.
The mStand featured below is machined from a single piece of forged aluminum rather than bent sheet metal or assembled parts, a construction choice the brand markets as a stability and durability advantage. Reviewers have agreed: iMore called it "an elegant laptop stand solution" that delivers an "instant fix for bad work posture," praising its built-in cord management and cooling airflow alongside its design. Recognition extends across Rain Design's broader lineup, too — The New York Times' Wirecutter named the company's iLevel its pick for best laptop stand after testing 20 competitors, and Macworld has separately given awards to the mBar pro+, iLevel, and mTower in its own laptop-stand roundups.
Brand website: raindesigninc.com
What Rain Design makes
Rain Design's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
mStand laptop stands
single-piece aluminum stands; the brand's award-winning, best-selling line — featured on DeskRated
mBar series
minimalist, lightweight, foldable laptop stands (mBar, mBar pro, mBar pro+)
iLevel, iLap & mTower
adjustable and vertical MacBook stands
mStand Tablet series
dedicated tablet stands, plus iRest and iSlider accessories
Mobile stands
mStand mobile, a portable smartphone holder
iMac accessories
mBase and mRest desktop stands built for iMac setups
Why we recognized Rain Design
The DeskRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Rain Design earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, used at a real desk, and judged on merit.
Rain Design products we rated highly
Rain Design 10032 mStand Laptop Stand, Silver
One of our top picks among laptop stands: a single-piece machined aluminum chassis with no joints or hinges to work loose over time, a rear cable-management slot that routes the charger and peripherals out of view, and a sculpted profile that matches the MacBook's own finish. Its engineered tilt lifts the screen 5.9 inches above the desk while angling the keyboard surface forward, a deliberate cue toward using an external keyboard rather than typing on the laptop itself.
Read the 8 Best Laptop Stands of 2026 guide →What earned Rain Design the recognition
- Rain Design has been designing laptop and tablet stands since 2003, when it launched the award-winning iGo desk for the Apple iMac G4, and now operates from offices in California, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Taiwan.
- The mStand line is machined from a single piece of aluminum rather than assembled from multiple parts, a construction choice the brand highlights as central to its stability and the reason the silhouette has stayed essentially unchanged for years.
- Rain Design's stand lineup has been independently recognized well beyond the mStand: The New York Times' Wirecutter named the iLevel its pick for best laptop stand, and Macworld has given separate awards to the mBar pro+, iLevel, and mTower.
- The mStand 10032 doubles as a passive heat sink and improves airflow under the laptop, with a built-in cable-routing slot that keeps the charger and peripheral cords out of sight.
- Nearly 7,000 verified Amazon reviews at a 4.8-star average back the mStand's reputation, one of the strongest review-to-rating profiles of any laptop stand at this price.