You don’t need to spend too much to get a capable laptop, and that includes Windows models and Apple MacBooks. It’s possible to find a decent laptop for under $1,000, even with RAM prices on the rise. With years of experience, I’ve reviewed enough budget laptops to know a good one when I see one. A cheap laptop is one that avoids the common budget laptop pitfalls of using outdated technology that leads to poor performance and a design that is cheap, clunky, boring, or all three. A cheap laptop offers modern components in a sleek, well-assembled chassis. Keep reading to see my current favorites.
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What is the best cheap laptop overall?
My favorite budget laptop is Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air. When Apple updated it with its latest M4 processor earlier this year, the price also dropped by $100. In the era of tariffs and high prices, this is a very welcome decision. Best of all, you can almost always find the 13-inch Air at a discount at Amazon, between $799 and $849making it even better value for money thanks to its sleek, elegant and robust design; excellent display; high performance and long battery life. (And while it’s true that you can still get the old MacBook M1 first released in 2020 for $599 at WalmartI think the extra $200 or so you’ll spend on the current M4 model is a wiser investment.)
For an ultraportable Windows machine that rivals the MacBook Air in terms of design and battery life, check out the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7. Built with an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon And I came away impressed, especially with the battery life. Windows laptops have lagged behind MacBooks in battery life since Apple launched its Arm-based M1 processor nearly four years ago. The Surface Laptop 7 not only closed the battery life gap between a Windows laptop and a MacBook, but surpassed it. It starts at $1,000 but can often be found for less.
The Acer Aspire 14 AI features even less of Intel’s latest AI chip and is the cheapest Copilot Plus PC we’ve reviewed. You can usually find it for under $600 on Amazon. And I love his big brother even more. The Acer Aspire 16 AI only costs $700 on Amazon and offers a spacious screen while being very portable at less than 3.5 pounds. Both Aspire models also offer all-day battery life.
Using my decades of experience testing and reviewing laptops, I’ve compiled an overview of the best budget laptops below. For more, check out my recommendations for the best Asus laptop, best Dell laptop, best HP laptop, and best Lenovo laptop. Gamers on tight budgets should check out my list of the best cheap gaming laptops, and Apple fans can also find a few budget options among my picks for the best MacBook. Finally, budget laptop buyers should consider a Chromebook – especially if much of what you do is done on the web – and check out my list of the best Chromebooks.
Best Cheap Laptops of 2026
Benefits
- Significant performance gains thanks to M1s and Intel MacBook Airs
- Excellent design, features
- Support for two external displays simultaneously with MacBook display
- 12 megapixel central camera
Disadvantages
- The 256GB SSD could fill up quickly
- Expensive upgrades
For Apple’s latest MacBook Air, the bigger news than the move from Apple’s M3 silicon to M4 chips is the drop in price.
Why we love it
Starting at $999, the MacBook M4 Air is $100 cheaper than the entry point for previous M3 models. In addition to a slight performance improvement over the previous generation, the M4 Air adds a Center Stage webcam, better support for external displays, and a new Ice Blue color option.
Who is it best for?
The M4 chip refresh is a good, if minor, update to an already fantastic lightweight laptop, now more affordable for students and those on a tight budget. With its combination of high overall performance, long battery life, and sleek design, it’s no wonder this is such a popular laptop among students.
Who shouldn’t have it
Anyone buying a MacBook Air to carry around the house rather than around campus will appreciate the 15-inch Air’s roomier screen. Additionally, graphics professionals who need the power of a Pro will have to spend more for a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Benefits
- Beautiful and durable design
- Industry-leading battery life
- Strong performance
- Impressive and precise haptic touchpad
Disadvantages
- No OLED option
- Upgrades are getting expensive and don’t include a dedicated GPU
- Your Arm-on-Windows compatibility mileage may vary
The Surface Laptop 7 model we reviewed is a high-end model that sells for around $1,500 on Amazon, but you can get the entry-level model for less than $1,000.
Why we love it
We love it for its sleek design and top-notch battery life. Our test model ran for almost 20 hours on a single charge, and you can expect similar battery life from the entry-level unit. The Surface Laptop 7 undoes previous Arm-on-Windows efforts that were plagued by poor performance and limited compatibility, with many x86 applications unable to run on an Arm-based system. This time around, performance has improved, as has compatibility.
Who is it best for?
People who like the look and long runtime of the MacBook Air but want a Windows laptop. And if you lower the specs, you can get it for about the same price as the M4 Air. For $1,000, the Surface Laptop 7 has a Snapdragon With the freedom to leave the charger at home for several days at a time.
Who shouldn’t have it
Anyone concerned about possible Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues should avoid Qualcomm-based laptops and choose an Intel or AMD model. The Surface Laptop 7 is also not the choice if you want an OLED display on your next laptop.
Benefits
- Incredible battery life
- Robust, stylish and compact design
- OLED display delivers deep blacks and vibrant colors
- Generous RAM and SSD for the price
Disadvantages
- The OLED screen is not the brightest
- Slow USB-C ports
Just a few weeks after ceding the autonomy throne to Lenovo in our tests, HP takes back the crown with the OmniBook 5 14.
Why we love it
For starters, it works and works (and works and works). It’s the current battery life champion, with a test time of over 28 hours. In addition to record-breaking battery life, the OmniBook 5 14 offers a simple, elegant design and easy-to-carry weight, as well as an OLED display that delivers stellar contrast and vibrant colors. It also provides 32GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB SSD, which isn’t obvious in a laptop that costs less than $1,000.
Who is it best for?
For students and others who are constantly on the go, the OmniBook 5 14 is a fantastic choice at a great price.
Who shouldn’t buy it
If you’re concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, you should skip the Snapdragon X-based OmniBook 5 14 and opt for an Intel or AMD-based laptop.
Benefits
- Optimal balance between screen size and system weight
- The M4 processor offers a good balance between performance and battery life
- Lower starting price of $1,199
Disadvantages
- The 256GB SSD is too small for the price
- An extra $200 for more RAM or storage is steep
- Smooth ProMotion display still exclusive to MacBook Pro
The 15-inch MacBook Air is proof that you don’t need a Pro to get a bigger screen. It provides a larger screen that was once only found on the more expensive Pro models. If you’re looking for the 14- or 16-inch Pro models primarily for the extra screen size, the MacBook Air 15 is the more affordable option you should choose, especially at its new lower starting price.
Why we love it
The spacious 15.3-inch display is powered by Apple’s M4 chip and 16GB of unified RAM. The M4 update adds incremental improvements – and a new sky blue color – to an already fantastic laptop that sits in the Goldilocks zone of Apple’s MacBook lineup.
Who is it best for?
People looking for a large-screen MacBook who don’t need the power of a MacBook Pro. With its spacious screen, sleek design, and new lower starting price, the 15-inch MacBook Air M4 should be considered the default Air, while its cheaper, smaller 13-inch sibling is a good alternative for students and others with tighter budgets and busy, on-the-go lifestyles.
Who shouldn’t have it
Students who need a more affordable and portable laptop will be better off with the Air 13-inch. Creative types who need more graphics punch will have to spend more for the extra power of a MacBook Pro.
Benefits
- Optimal balance between screen size and laptop weight
- Incredible battery life
- Comfortable keyboard and keypad spacious touch screen
- Crisp 1440p webcam
- Excellent external expansion options
Disadvantages
- The design cannot be described as “exciting”
- So-so speakers
Weighing less than 3.5 pounds and boasting incredible battery life, the Acer Aspire 16 AI is a 16-inch laptop that’s easy to take with you.
Why we love it
The Aspire 16 AI offers an optimal balance between screen size and system weight, making it a unique laptop: the rare 16-inch ultraportable. Plus, its battery life is fantastic, allowing you to further lighten your load by leaving the power cord at home. If you’re looking for an affordable and portable productivity machine, the Aspire 16 AI ticks a lot of boxes.
Who is it best for?
Budget laptop buyers who don’t want to choose between screen size and light weight. The 16-inch Aspire 16 AI doesn’t weigh much more than an average 14-inch laptop, giving you extra screen space without sacrificing too much portability.
Who shouldn’t buy it
Students and others who are constantly on the move will be better off. equipped with a smaller 14-inch laptop, more compact and even lighter than the Aspire 16 AI.
Benefits
- The 2.5K OLED display is sharp, bright and fast
- Snappy keyboard is fast for gaming
- Thin and light for its size
- Free M.2 slot to add a second SSD
Disadvantages
- Short battery life
- No biometrics for easy and secure logins
- Lack of fast Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 ports
- Power button LED always on is annoying
The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is overkill for most budget gaming laptop buyers, both in terms of price and features. But if you think of it as two laptops in one: a competent gaming laptop with a reasonably large 15.1-inch screen, and a general-purpose laptop that’s thin and light enough to carry around more than occasionally – then its price starts to look like great value.
Why we love it
It offers excellent performance for the price and the 2.5K OLED display is exceptional. The Legion 5i Gen 10’s OLED wins the triple crown for displays: high resolution for crisp text and images, a fast refresh rate for smooth motion, and high peak brightness that lets colors pop. This is one of the best laptop screens I’ve ever seen.
Who is it best for?
It’s a great choice for gamers, but it’s much more than just a gaming laptop. Creators engaged in color-accurate work will love the bright, high-resolution OLED display and the laptop’s portability compared to other gaming laptops.
Who shouldn’t buy it
If you need a laptop with good battery life, most gaming laptops, including this one, are not a good choice.
Benefits
- Extremely long battery life
- Competitive performance for the price
- Useful port selection
Disadvantages
- Dull display
- Dull design
This recent version of Acer’s budget Aspire range is based on an Intel Lunar Lake processor. Its Intel Core Ultra 5 226V features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for local AI processing, which happens to be the minimum requirement for Microsoft’s Copilot Plus PC platform. The Aspire 14 AI is on sale for $619 at Amazon and just $500 at Costco, making it by far the cheapest Copilot Plus PC I’ve reviewed.
Why we love it
The Aspire 14 AI is a great choice among budget laptops. Its performance and battery life exceed what you might expect for the price and the design is almost the same as Acer’s more expensive Swift models. You’re forced to sacrifice display quality to achieve such a low price, but it’s an item that isn’t typically high on a budget buyer’s priority list. The most important thing is to have a modern processor that provides enough performance for everyday use, while also being efficient in allowing for long battery life, as well as a bit of future-proofing thanks to its AI capabilities.
Who is it best for?
With the long battery life we’ve come to expect from Copilot Plus PCs and with app and AI performance competitive with more expensive models, the Aspire 14 AI offers excellent value for money for buyers on a budget looking for a Copilot Plus PC.
Who shouldn’t have it
If you care about the overall look of your next laptop and have the money, you can find more interesting models. By spending more, you’ll also get a brighter screen with better color performance.
Benefits
- Solid build quality
- Excellent performance for the price
- Long battery life
- Comfortable and quiet keyboard
- Good selection of ports
Disadvantages
- A little heavy
- Clicky touchpad
- Uninspired audio output
With its excellent build quality, adequate display, strong performance, and long runtime, the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 offers a ton of value and is a great choice as a versatile machine for home or student use.
Why we love it
It’s a bargain at its $900 price from Best Buy and an even better deal at its regularly discounted price of $800 directly from Lenovo. We love its solid all-metal chassis and the power and efficiency you get from its AMD Ryzen 7 8000 series processor.
Who is it best for?
Anyone looking for a flexible two-in-one at a great price, including students who want to take notes in tablet mode. It lacks some of the refinement and extras you get with Lenovo’s flagship Yoga 9i 14, but the mid-range Yoga 7 14 is much more affordable. We think this is the best option for most people.
Who shouldn’t have it
Laptop buyers who want a lighter two-in-one with a better OLED screen and better speakers – and are willing to spend more to get those extras – should consider the Yoga 9i 14 instead.
Benefits
- Same great Surface Pro design at a smaller price and size
- Good size for tablet mode and light laptop use
- The IPS screen is crisp and bright
- Good overall performance for the price and exceptional battery life
Disadvantages
- Necessary accessories are added to the invoice
- Seriously, the charger costs $70 more?
- The 12-inch screen can feel cramped in laptop mode
- External connectivity limited to a pair of USB-C 3.2 ports
The smaller 12-inch version of Microsoft’s detachable two-in-one laptop sacrifices some elements to achieve a lower price, but retains many of the good points of its 13-inch bigger brother.
Why we love it
With build quality superior to most laptops at its price, the Surface Pro 12-inch offers great value and versatility thanks to its sleek aluminum chassis and detachable design.
Who is it best for?
Anyone who wants a secondary device to browse the web, watch shows, and play casual tablet games on a larger screen than your phone.
Who shouldn’t buy it
People who want a detachable two-in-one as their primary everyday laptop should consider the larger and more powerful 13-inch Surface Pro.
Benefits
- Features an OLED display at a great price
- Excellent haptic touchpad
- Great battery life
Disadvantages
- Poor performance
- Keyboard does not meet ThinkPad standards
- Heavier than it looks
- The Aura Edition stuff is more marketing than anything actually useful.
ThinkPad traditionalists who might cringe at the idea of a ThinkPad that’s missing the little red button in the middle of the keyboard will have to give up on the ThinkPad X9. But if you can do without the pointing stick, this 14-inch business laptop offers the complete package at an affordable price.
Why we love it
I love that I can spend a little over $1,000 and get a high-resolution OLED display powered by a modern Intel processor in a thin, sturdy chassis that also has a responsive, customizable haptic touchpad.
Who is it best for?
Small offices and individual buyers who can’t afford Lenovo’s flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon will find a lot to like in the cheaper ThinkPad X9.
Who shouldn’t have it
Long-time ThinkPad users who can’t live without a pointing stick will have to keep shopping.
Comparison of the best budget laptops
See how our favorite cheap laptops compare.
| Initial price | Display size/resolution | Weight | Processor tested | GPU tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Air (M4, 2025) | $999 | 13.6 inches, 2560 x 1664 | 2.7 pounds | 10-core Apple M4 processor | Apple M4 10-core GPU |
| Microsoft Surface 7 Laptop | $1,000 | 13.8 inches, 2304 x 1536 | 2.96 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| HP OmniBook 5 14 | $510 | 14-inch OLED display, 1920 x 1200 | 2.85 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) | $1,199 | 15.3 inches, 2880 x 1864 | 3.3 pounds | 10-core Apple M4 processor | Apple M4 10-core GPU |
| Acer Aspire 16 AI | $700 | 16 inches, 1920 x 1200 | 3.45 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1-26-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 | $1,569 | 15.1-inch OLED display, 2560 x 1600 | 4.3 pounds | Intel Core i7-14700HX | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 |
| Acer Aspire 14 AI | $750 | 14 inches, 1920 x 1200 | 3.05 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 5 226V | IntelArc 130V |
| Lenovo Yoga 7 14 generation 9 | $900 | 14 inches, 1920 x 1200 | 3.6 pounds | AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS | AMD Radeon 780M |
| Microsoft Surface Pro (12-inch) | $600 | 12 inches, 2196 x 1464 | 2.23 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition | $1,231 | 14 inches, 2880 x 1800 | 2.84 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 5 226V | IntelArc 130V |
Dell 14 Premium: Dell’s designer laptop is rock solid.
Acer Aspire 16 AI: Weighing less than 3.5 pounds and offering a With incredible battery life, it’s the rare 16-inch laptop that’s easy to take with you.
Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition: This premium two-in-one is a near-perfect package with a fantastic OLED display and record-breaking battery life.
Lenovo LOQ 15: This budget gaming laptop has an outdated design but offers modern components and good 3D performance for the price.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1: This business convertible offers excellent build quality and battery life, but the screen disappoints.
HP Omen 16: This Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 rig delivers good looks and competitive 1080p performance, along with surprisingly long battery life and a nice touch to the four-zone RGB keyboard backlight.
Alienware Aurora 16: I tested two Alienware Aurora gaming laptops, and this isn’t the one for you.
Alienware Aurora 16X: This is the Aurora to get.
Acer Nitro V 16S AI: This budget gaming laptop offers a big screen and great value.
MSI Katana 15 HX: I liked its 1080p performance but little else.
HP OmniBook
Microsoft Surface Laptop (13-inch): It’s compact, solidly built, and great for traveling, but the 13.8-inch version is the better choice as a daily driver.
Dell 14 Plus: Skip the two-in-one and go with the clamshell laptop I reviewed – as soon as it goes on sale.
Acer Swift Go 16 (2025): Built around a beautiful 16-inch OLED display, the latest Swift Go 16 improves on its predecessors without significant price inflation.
Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1: This large mini-LED screen convertible laptop definitely has some positives, but there are a few too many negatives to give this Plus a full recommendation.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition: This is a great business laptop, but it can quickly become expensive with upgrades.
Acer Swift 14 AI: This mid-range Copilot Plus PC offers incredible battery life but is missing one key feature.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 Gen 10: It’s ultra sleek and ultra compact but maybe don’t hide the camera behind the screen next time?
Acer Chromebook Plus 516: The 16-inch screen offers plenty of room to work, but Acer offers a similar model that offers more for less.
The laptop review process includes two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in CNET labs and in-depth hands-on use by our reviewers. This includes evaluating a device’s aesthetics, ergonomics, and functionality relative to its price. A final review verdict is a combination of objective and subjective judgments.
We test all laptops with a core set of tests, including Primate Labs Geekbench 5 and 6, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10, a variety of 3DMark tests (depending on which ones can run on the laptop), UL Procyon Photo and Video (if supported), and our own battery life test. If a laptop is for gaming, we’ll also run tests of Guardians of the Galaxy, The Rift Breaker (CPU and GPU), and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Here I’m running a throughput test near the router.
Adam Breeden/CNETBudget laptops tend to have components that don’t lend themselves to more advanced content creation – like a discrete GPU with enough memory – so we generally don’t run intensive graphics performance tests on this class of laptop.
For practice, the examiner uses it for their work during the examination period, evaluating how well the design, features (such as screen, camera and speakers) and software provided by the manufacturer work as a cohesive whole. With budget laptops, in particular, we focus on how well they work given their cost and what compromises the manufacturer has made to achieve the price point.
The list of benchmarking software and comparison criteria we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve.
You can find a more detailed description of our testing methodology on our How We Test Computers page.
There are a ton of models under $1,000 on the market at any given time, and a large portion of them are under $500. As long as you manage your expectations for options and specifications, you can still get a lot from a budget laptop model, including good battery life and a reasonably lightweight laptop body. (If you’re replacing an old Windows laptop that’s no longer capable of running Windows, consider upgrading it to a Chromebook.)
Price
If the stats Intel and PC makers are throwing at us are correct, you’ll keep this laptop for at least three years, so don’t skimp if you can afford to stretch your budget a bit for better specs.
Better yet, consider a laptop with a replaceable battery (if you can find one), upgradeable memory (although the memory is usually soldered to the motherboard), graphics card and storage, or all of the above. If you do, go through user reviews and comments to learn about people’s experiences with upgrading a particular model. Sometimes they require proprietary parts or require access to hard-to-reach locations in the system.
For a cheap gaming laptopyou’ll still need to exceed the $500 cap to support most games. The cheapest budget laptops geared toward a solid gaming experience — those with moderately powerful discrete graphics processors — will cost you closer to $700. Here are our recommendations if you’re looking for the best gaming laptop under $1,000. If you like living on the cutting edge of technology, cloud gaming services like Nvidia GeForce Now and Microsoft’s Cloud Gaming Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will let you play games on laptops with specs that reach under $500.
The good thing is that you don’t have to settle for a traditional clamshell laptop with a fixed screen and keyboard. You can also get a convertible laptop (i.e. a two-in-one), which has a screen that flips to turn the screen into a tablet, positioning it for comfortable streaming or giving a presentation.
You can also try to extend the life of your current laptop. If you need something to tide you over for a few months, look for possible places to purchase refurbished machines and explore nonprofit or educational discounts if you qualify.
Windows, Mac or Chromebook
You won’t find cheap laptop prices for a MacBook or any other Apple laptop. At best, you can get the current entry-level model of the MacBook Air for $999. On sale, you might be able to get it for less than that, but it’ll never reach truly “budget” territory. Even an iPad will cost you over $500 once you purchase the optional keyboard (although it may cost less if you’re looking for sales on the tablet or keyboard), which is more than our budget here. A basic iPad with a cheap Bluetooth keyboard and a cheap iPad stand might be enough.
It’s easier to find cheap Chromebooks than cheap Windows laptops, making them one of the most popular budget laptops on the market, although we’re also seeing a lot more Chromebooks in the $500 to $1,000 range and more Windows laptops in the $500 range. These Windows systems are frequently reused Chromebook setups that really aren’t capable of running Windows comfortably.
Google’s ChromeOS isn’t as power-hungry as Windows, so you can get away with a lower-end processor, slower storage, and less screen resolution or RAM; some of the components that make a laptop expensive. The downside is that Chrome and Google apps are more memory intensive than expected, and if you go too low with the CPU or skimp on memory, the system will still feel slow.
Although Chromebooks can run ChromeOS and Android-specific apps, some people need the full Windows operating system to run heavier apps, such as video editing suites. This requires a faster processor with more cores, more memory (8 GB of RAM is the bare minimum, although 16 GB is preferable), and more storage for applications and the operating system itself.
ChromeOS also offers a very different experience than Windows; make sure the apps you need have a Chrome app, Android app, or Linux app before taking the plunge. Since Chromebooks are cloud-focused devices, you don’t need a lot of built-in storage.
This also means that if you spend most of your time browsing the web, writing, streaming videos, or playing Android games, they’re a good fit. If you’re hoping to play Android games, make sure you have a touchscreen Chromebook.
Size
Don’t forget to ask yourself whether it will be important for you to have a lighter, thinner laptop or a touchscreen laptop with good battery life in the future. The size is mainly determined by the screen, which in turn takes into account the battery size, thickness and weight of the laptop.
Ultraportable laptops, usually 13 inches or smaller, are rare under $700. It turns out that making things smaller doesn’t always mean cheaper. Generally, you will find budget laptops in sizes 14, 15.6 and 17.3 inches. Additionally, because of their low prices, 11.6-inch Chromebooks are attractive. We only recommend this size for younger students.
In the budget price range, you need to be careful about screen terminology when it comes to specifications: an “HD” screen is not always a truly high-definition screen. HD, which has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, is called “Full HD,” so marketers may refer to lower resolution displays (1280 x 720 pixels) as HD. In Chromebooks, HD generally refers to a screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. On the plus side, the 14-inch laptop boom is trickling down to this price range, allowing for more FHD options in this size.
A common complaint we see is “washed out” screens with poor viewing angles. Unfortunately, this is one of the compromises: many of them had x use TN (Twisted Nematic) screen technology, which is cheap but good. Look for IPS (in-plane switching) LCDs which are better in off-angle viewing, brightness and color.
Processor, memory and storage
Many Windows laptops in this range use AMD Athlon and low-end A-series or Intel Celeron and Pentium processors to achieve lower prices. We don’t recommend opting for an Athlon instead of a Ryzen or a Celeron/Pentium instead of a Core: Windows is too heavy for them, and in conjunction with the 4GB of memory many of them have, you may find them painfully slow at best.
SSDs can make a big difference in the speed of Windows performance compared to a spinning hard drive, although fortunately older hard drives have become much rarer. Not all SSDs are equally fast, and cheaper laptops generally have slower drives. If you need to opt for a smaller drive – they tend to max out at 256GB in this price range – you can always add an external drive or two (or five, for some of us) at some point or use cloud storage to beef up a small internal drive.
For memory, we strongly recommend 16 GB of RAM (8 GB absolute minimum). RAM is where the operating system stores all data from running applications, and it can fill up quickly (for example, Chrome currently takes up 7 GB of my memory). After that, it starts switching between RAM and SSD, which is a bit slower. Many laptops under $500 have 4GB or 8GB, which, coupled with a slower drive, can make the Windows laptop experience extremely slow and frustrating. Additionally, many laptops now have the memory soldered onto the motherboard. Most manufacturers disclose this, but if the RAM type is LPDDR, it is soldered and cannot be upgraded. Some PC manufacturers solder the memory and also leave an internal slot empty to add a RAM module. You may need to contact the laptop manufacturer or find the laptop’s full specifications online to confirm.
Setting a budget is a good place to start when looking for the best laptop for yourself. High-end components like Intel Core i-series and AMD Ryzen processors and premium design touches like thin screen bezels and aluminum or magnesium bodies have made their way to laptops priced between $500 and $1,000. You can also find touchscreens and two-in-one models that can be used as a tablet or laptop – and a few other positions in between. In this price range, you’ll also find faster memory and SSD storage – and more of it – to improve performance.
Above $1,000 you’ll find premium laptops and two-in-ones. If you’re looking for the fastest performance, best battery life, thinnest and lightest designs, and top-notch display quality with adequate screen size, expect to spend at least $1,000.
You can spend $500 or less on a laptop if you’re buying it to perform basic tasks like browsing the web, using web apps like Google Docs, and streaming YouTube videos and shows to Netflix. At this price, the components won’t allow you to do much more. And the design is unlikely to excite you, the display will be average at best and the storage will be meager. If you spend a little more — say $650 for the MacBook Air M1 — you’ll get a sleeker design, a higher-resolution screen, and better performance where you can do a bit of photo and video editing with the laptop slowing down to a crawl.
For many people, the choice between macOS and Windows laptops will come down to personal preference and budget. Apple’s base laptop model, the MacBook Air M1, starts at $999. You can sometimes find it at a discount or get educational pricing from Apple and other retailers. Typically, it will cost at least $1,000 for a new MacBook, and prices will only go up from there.
For your money, you get great hardware from top to bottom, inside and out. Apple has recently switched to using its own processors, which has resulted in overall performance improvements over older Intel models. The company’s most powerful laptop, the 16-inch MacBook Pro, still hasn’t been updated to Apple silicon.
Once again, this excellent material comes at a price. Additionally, you are limited to only Apple laptops. With Windows and Chromebooks (more on that below), you get an incredible variety of devices at a wide variety of prices.
Software between t Both are plentiful, so unless you need to run something that’s only available on one platform or another, you should be able to choose one or the other. Gaming is definitely a plus for a Windows laptop.
MacOS is also considered easier and safer to use than Windows, especially for people who want their computer out of the way so they can get things done. Over the years, Microsoft has done its best to follow suit, and with Windows 11 here, it is trying to remove all barriers. Additionally, even though Macs have a reputation for being more secure, with the popularity of the iPhone and iPad helping to drive Mac sales, they have become bigger targets for malware.
Yes, they are, but they aren’t for everyone. Google’s Chrome OS has come a long way in the 10 years since its arrival, and Chromebooks (laptops running Chrome OS) are perfect for people who do most of their work in a web browser or through mobile apps. They are safe, simple and – more often than not – a good deal. What they can’t do is run Windows or Mac software natively.
The pandemic has changed how and where many people work. The small, ultraportable laptops favored by people who travel regularly may have suddenly become woefully inadequate for working from home. Or maybe instead of needing a long battery life, you’d rather have a larger screen with more graphics power for gaming.
If you plan to work on a laptop and don’t need more mobility than moving it from room to room, consider a laptop that’s 15.6 inches or larger. In general, a larger screen makes work life easier and more enjoyable for entertainment, and it is also better to use it as an extended screen with an external monitor. This usually means you also get more ports, making it easier to connect a display or external storage or a keyboard and mouse without requiring a hub or docking station.
For traveling, opt for 13- or 14-inch laptops or two-in-ones. They will be the lightest and smallest while offering excellent battery life. The good thing is that PC makers are moving away from 16:9 widescreen displays in favor of 16:10 or 3:2 aspect ratio displays, giving you more vertical screen real estate to work on without significantly increasing the footprint. These models generally do not have discrete graphics or powerful processors, although this is not always the case.
You can play games and create content on any laptop. That said, the games you play and the content you create – as well as the speed at which you create them – vary greatly depending on the laptop’s internal components.
For casual browser gaming or using streaming game services like Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming, you don’t need a powerful gaming laptop. Likewise, if you’re trimming video clips, cropping photos, or streaming live video from your webcam, you can get away with a modestly priced laptop or Chromebook with integrated graphics.
For something more demanding, you’ll need to invest more money in discrete graphics like Nvidia’s RTX 30 or 40 GPUs. Increased system memory of 16GB or more, a fast SSD of at least 512GB for storage, and a faster processor such as an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 will also help you get things done faster.
The other element you will want to consider is the display. For gaming, look for displays with a high refresh rate of 120Hz or faster to make games appear smoother while playing. For content creation, look for displays that cover at least 100% of the sRGB color space or, better yet, 100% DCI-P3.
