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While premium laptops have gotten more expensive over time, cheap and budget options have improved significantly in quality. You can easily find great devices that perform just as well as more costly models, from dirt cheap under-$300 Chromebooks to budget gaming laptops with a dedicated GPU costing up to $1,200. Naturally, there are always compromises when it comes to budget and cheap laptops. Some have a lower-quality display, less processing power, or lack features like biometrics, so knowing what matters to you most and what you can compromise on is essential.
We'vetested over 105laptops, and below, you'll find our recommendations for the best cheap and budget laptops you can get. You can also check out our recommendations for thebest laptops under $300,the best student Chromebooks, and the best budget and cheap gaming laptops.
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Best Budget Laptop
Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) 2
Portability
8.9
Brightness
6.7
Typing Quality
7.0
Touchpad
6.8
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.8 hrsThermals And Noise
7.7
See all our test results
The best budget laptop we've tested is the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020), a 14-inch Windows ultraportable. Acer's Swift laptops aren't exactly budget models, but because this one was released in 2020, the price has decreased considerably, so you're getting a lot for your money. It has a sturdy build, a thin and light design, and all-day battery life. The display looks sharp and gets reasonably bright; it's fine for most indoor use but not outdoors in broad daylight. Ports include two USB-As, one USB-C/Thunderbolt 4, a full-size HDMI, and a headphone jack.
Spec-wise, this laptop is available with an Intel 11th Gen CPU. These processors are two generations behind Intel's current offerings, but they're still more than adequate for general productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, and video playback. The keyboard deck has a fingerprint sensor, so you can log in quickly and get straight to work. Our only major issue is that the webcam's video quality is bad; the image looks underexposed, and the microphone sounds staticky.
Another option is the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021), one of the best budget laptops we've tested.Like the Acer, it's a Windows ultraportable but with a slightly larger 15.6-inch display. It has a better webcam and a Numpad; however, it doesn't support Thunderbolt 4, and the display looks a tad washed out. Its AMD Ryzen CPU performs well, and while its battery life isn't as good as the Acer's, it still lasts long enough to get you through a typical workday.
See our review
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Best Budget 2-In-1 Tablet
Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021) 0
School
7.3
Multimedia
7.8
Workstation
4.3
Business
6.4
Portability
9.6
Brightness
7.6
Typing Quality
7.5
Touchpad
7.0
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
7.2 hrsThermals And Noise
9.7
See all our test results
If you like the 2-in-1 tablet form factor, get the Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021). At 10.5 inches, this tablet PC is incredibly compact, making it easy to carry. It has a sharp IPS display with stylus support, an excellent 1080p webcam that puts pricier laptops to shame, and a Windows Hello facial recognition camera for quick logins. You can use it without the keyboard attached to save space and pop it back on when you need to type something out. The keyboard is surprisingly comfortable to type on; the downside is that you have to buy it separately, and the same goes for the stylus.
You can get this tablet with an Intel Pentium Gold or Core i3 CPU. Both are fine for simple tasks like web browsing, emails, and video playback, but don't expect to do anything remotely intensive. We recommend getting a model with 8GB of memory, as you'll get a much smoother experience with fewer slowdowns when multitasking. The battery lasts about seven hours of light use, which isn't great but not bad for such a small device. Unfortunately, the port situation is grim; you only get one USB-C, a proprietary charging port, and a headphone jack.
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 (2021) is a better option if you only need a device for media consumption. It sports a gorgeous OLED display with full DCI P3 coverage, and its battery lasts nearly eight hours of video playback. It's a little bigger at 13 inches but still compact and lightweight. The keyboard isn't nearly as good, and Chrome OS is more limited in the type of applications you can install, so you need to ensure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or Android app.
See our review
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Best Budget Gaming Laptop
ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022) 10
School
7.4
Gaming
7.9
Multimedia
6.7
Workstation
8.7
Business
7.8
Portability
7.0
Brightness
6.3
Typing Quality
8.0
Touchpad
8.4
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
6.7 hrsThermals And Noise
6.2
See all our test results
Our best budget gaming pick is the ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022), a 15.6-inch model. For around $1,000, which is pretty affordablefor a gaming laptop, you can get a configuration with an Intel 12th Gen Core i5 or i7 CPUpaired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti or 3060 GPU. These GPUs can deliver a solid 60 fps at 1080p in graphically intensive games, albeit with a few tweaks in the graphical settings. Memory and storage max out at 16Gb and 1TB, respectively, and they're user-replaceable, so you can get a cheaper configuration to start and upgrade later if you're on a strict budget.
While multiple display options exist, the RTX 3050 Ti and 3060 configurations typically come with a 144Hz FHD panel. The display's high refresh rate provides a responsive gaming experience; however, its response time is on the slower side, so expect to see some ghosting. Unfortunately, it doesn't support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing. For online gaming, it has a Wi-Fi 6 wireless adapter and an Ethernet port to ensure a reliable internet connection. Speaking of ports, you get two USB-As, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, and a full-size HDMI. This laptop isn't overly bulky or heavy, so it's still portable, but you'll have to bring the charger with you, as the battery lasts only a little over an hour when gaming.
See our review
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Best Cheap Laptop
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023) 8
School
7.6
Gaming
4.1
Multimedia
7.6
Workstation
5.3
Business
7.1
Portability
7.8
Brightness
7.7
Typing Quality
6.5
Touchpad
6.1
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.3 hrsThermals And Noise
9.1
See all our test results
The best cheap laptop we've tested is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023). It's a great option for younger students or anyone needing a simple device for web browsing and video playback. Although there are many configuration options, we recommend the Core i3 model paired with an FHD touch-sensitive display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, which you can regularly find on sale for $400 to $500 USD onLenovo's website. The cheaper configurations are fine if you have an extremely light workload; just know they'll stutter or slow down more quickly when multitasking and have a lower-quality screen.
The display of the Core i3 model mentioned above is bright enough for use in well-lit settings and is reasonably color-accurate. The keyboard feels spacious but a tad mushy, and unfortunately, the touchpad is small and not always responsive. Its 1080p webcam is surprisingly good, and its battery life is outstanding at around 13 hours of light use. If you're unfamiliar with Chrome OS, know that this operating system is limited in the type of applications you can install, so you must ensure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or Android app.
See our review
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Best Cheap Gaming Laptop
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 (82K200XXUS) 3
School
6.6
Gaming
7.7
Multimedia
6.0
Workstation
8.4
Business
7.3
Portability
6.7
Brightness
6.0
Typing Quality
8.0
Touchpad
7.8
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
5.3 hrsThermals And Noise
5.9
See all our test results
If you want to spend as little as possible, get the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 (2021). Though entirely plastic, this 15.6-inch model feels surprisingly sturdy for its price range. For around $800 USD, you can get a model with an FHD 120Hz display, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. This configuration is powerful enough to provide a relatively solid 60 fps in demanding titles at 1080p, albeit with medium to low settings.
Of course, 8GB of RAM isn't ideal for gaming. If you're comfortable doing so, you can upgrade it yourself. You can also get a 16GB model upfront, which might cost you more. The SSD is user-replaceable, too, if you want more storage space. The display's response time is on the slow side, but it supports VRR to reduce screen tearing. If you play online games, there's Wi-Fi 6 wireless connectivity and an Ethernet port to get the best internet connection possible.
See our review
Recent Updates
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Feb 08, 2024: Minor text edits for clarity. No changes in product picks.
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Jan 10, 2024: Replaced the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) with the ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022) because the G14 is discontinued and hard to find.
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Nov 28, 2023: Verified that all picks are valid and available. No change in recommendations.
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Nov 02, 2023: Replaced the Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2023) with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023) because the C340 is near its end-of-life (OS support).
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Oct 06, 2023: Replaced the Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 6 15 (2021) with the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) because the ASUS performs better and is almost the same price. Added the Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 6 15 (2021) as a Notable Mention.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best cheap and budget laptops you can get. We factor in the price (a cheaper laptopwins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no laptops that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you prefer to make your own decision, here’s the list of all of our laptop reviews, sorted by price from low to high. Keep in mind that most laptops are available in various configurations, and the table only shows the results of the model we tested, so it’s best to see the full review for information about other variants.
