Each have their own uses depending on your setup. And some stands hold the laptop vertically to save desk space. There are also stands that elevates and angles the laptop so you don’t need a monitor or external keyboard. Basic stands have space for the laptop to slide into and sit a monitor on top.

If you are using a separate display, depending on your laptop’s graphics capabilities, a laptop stand can also enable you to position your laptop to use as a secondary display, dramatically increasing your screen real estate (it’s great putting a movie on the laptop off to the side while you work on the main display). As an added benefit, these stands can be found for a low-cost on Amazon. A stand is essential, as it raises the entire laptop off the desk, and provides a solid base to use an external monitor, and hides cables away. Much depends on the desk you use, seat height, preferred ergonomics, and whether you use a computer monitor or not. A laptop stand is nice to have rather than essential.