Everyone who doesn’t want a super colorful and expensive gaming laptop will always prefer buying cheap laptops.
Whether you are a student who wants to buy one for studies (and some Netflix and Spotify) or a corporate who wants to manage databases or write code, you don’t need an expensive laptop to do the job.
However, what cheap laptops can you buy in the market right now that don’t pinch your pocket? Well, you have come to the right place!
Therefore, read this post to learn about some of the best budget laptops you should consider buying now!
Top 10 Cheap Laptops You Can Buy Right Now!
After careful consideration, here are my picks for the ten best cheap laptops you may consider buying now! Some of them even help you with generating invoices online. However, there might be a need for advanced technology like Zintego.com.
1. Acer Aspire 5 (2023)
Price: $549.99
Acer Aspire 5 Specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 15.6” IPS touchscreen display (1920 x 1080 resolution) |
Processor | 13th Generation Intel Core i5 – 1335U (10 cores @4.6 GHz) |
Graphics | Integrated Intel Iris Xe |
Storage | 8GB LPDDR5 RAM |
Storage | 512GB NVMe SSD |
Weight | 3.9 lbs (1.8 kg) |
Undoubtedly, the Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best cheap laptops on the market. This laptop looks fantastic and has decent specifications that provide excellent performance for your price.
It has a good 15.6” 1080p screen with perfectly adjusted contrast and brightness, which makes your Netflix and chill sessions vivid. In addition, the latest 13th gen Intel Core i5 processor makes performance pretty great, which provides a decent gaming performance paired with the integrated Intel Iri Xe graphics card.
2. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i 14”
Price: $614.99
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i 14” Specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 14” IPS touchscreen display (1920 x 1200 resolution) |
Processor | 13th Generation Intel Core i5 – 1335U (10 cores @4.6 GHz) |
Graphics | Integrated Intel Iris Xe |
Storage | 8GB LPDDR4X RAM |
Storage | 512GB NVMe SSD |
Weight | 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) |
If you want good, cheap laptops with decent specs and smaller, compact sizes, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i 14” will be an excellent choice.
Powered with the latest 13th Gen Intel i5 133U processor, Intel Iris Xe processor, 8GB RAM, and 512GB SSD storage, you are all set to use the power of this laptop at a very low price!
In addition, at this price, you are getting a flexible touchscreen laptop with a fluid and vivid display! Therefore, this is a steal that you must go for!
3. Apple MacBook Air M1 (2020)
Price: $849.99
Apple MacBook Air M1 (2020) Specifications:
OS | macOS |
Display | 13.3” IPS Retina display (1680 x 1050 resolution) |
Processor | Apple M1 (8-core CPU) |
Graphics | Apple M1 (8-core GPU) |
Storage | 8GB Unified RAM |
Storage | 256GB NVMe SSD |
Weight | 2.8 lbs (1.3 kg) |
I get it. If you are a member of the Apple ecosystem and own an iPhone SE 2023 or an iPhone 14 Pro Max, you may also wish to buy an Apple MacBook Air.
But, if you want the cheapest Apple laptop on the market, I recommend getting the Apple MacBook Air M1 2020. However, I recommend this budget MacBook for its super-fast M1 processor, macOS, and its crystal-clear retina display. Moreover, since it’s an Apple product, it’s not a cheap laptop.
While it’s not a gaming laptop, it boasts enough speed to make every other work easier, thanks to macOS. However, its 256GB SSD storage might be less for some. Therefore, it’s a lightweight laptop with a small screen and snappy performance that you can carry around easily.
4. HP Laptop 17
Price: $649.99
HP Laptop 17 Specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 17.3” IPS display (1920 x 1080 resolution) |
Processor | 11th Generation Intel Core i7 – 1355U (10 cores @5 GHz) |
Graphics | Integrated Intel Iris Xe |
Storage | 16GB LPDDR4 RAM |
Storage | 256GB NVMe SSD + 1TB SATA HDD |
Weight | 4.6 lbs (2.1 kg) |
If you want cheap laptops that provide a lot of power for your price, the HP Laptop 7 should be your priority.
If you love watching movies on a bigger laptop screen, its 17” screen will easily satisfy your eyes. Additionally, you can expect to do everything pretty smoothly with an 11th-gen i7 processor, 216GB RAM, and 256GB SSD (and an extra 1TB HDD).
5. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 4
Price: $688.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 10.4” IPS display (1920 x 1080 resolution) |
Processor | Intel N200 |
Graphics | Integrated Intel Iris Xe |
Storage | 8GB LPDDR4 RAM |
Storage | 128GB SSD |
Weight | 1.15 lbs (521 g) |
The COVID-19 pandemic hit us hard, giving rise to online classes for young students. Therefore, as a parent, you would want your child to have a bare-bones laptop with basic functionalities so that your child can study with the least amount of distractions.
Here comes the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 4. By looking at its specifications, it’s made primarily for students. It has weak power in terms of performance, but it is purposely built so that your child studies using this laptop, not playing games or surfing social media.
Additionally, it has an excellent Silver color and weighs only 1.15 lbs – which makes it almost as light as a smartphone!
6. Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
Price: $369.99
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 Specifications:
OS | ChromeOS |
Display | 11” 2K IPS Touchscreen (2000 x 1200 resolution) |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7C Gen 2 Processor (2.5 GHz ) |
Graphics | Integrated Qualcomm Adreno Graphics |
Storage | 4 GB LPDDR4X RAM |
Storage | 128 GB eMMC |
Camera | 5MP Fixed-focus + 8MP Auto-focus |
Weight | 1.2 lbs (516 g) |
Technically, this should not fall under the list of “best cheap laptops” for one reason – it isn’t one. It’s a ChromeOS-based tablet where you can attach a small keyboard to make it function like a laptop. Get it?
It supports the same ChromeOS you see in a Chromebook laptop, with a smaller screen. Moreover, it has an impressive 11” 2K screen with remarkable resolution and image clarity.
Therefore, if you want cheap touchscreen laptops for light use, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 costs $370 and works well.
7. Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 Gen 6 AMD
Price: $829.99
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 Specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 15.6” IPS Screen (1920 x 1080 resolution with 144 Hz refresh rate) |
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 5500H Processor (6 cores @ 4.2 GHz) |
Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 (4GB) |
Storage | 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM |
Storage | 512GB SSD |
Weight | 4.8 lbs (2.2 kg) |
I get it – cheap gaming laptops are pretty expensive. But, to all pour gamer readers out there – this one’s for you. If you want cheap laptops better suited for gaming, I recommend the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptop instead of the expensive Asus TUF Gaming F15.
This laptop has a fluid 144 Hz display – perfect for competitive gamers playing Counter Strike 2 and Valorant. In addition, its Ryzen 5 processor, RTX 2050 graphics card, and 8GB RAM are sufficient to do high-end gaming at low and medium settings with Xbox Cloud Gaming!
8. Asus Zenbook 13 OLED
Price: $599.99
Asus Zenbook 13 OLED Specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 13.3” OLED screen (1920 x 1080 resolution) |
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Mobile Processor (8-core @ 4.3 GHz) |
Graphics | Integrated AMD Radeon graphics |
Storage | 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM |
Storage | 512GB NVMe SSD |
Weight | 2.5 lbs (1.2 kg) |
If you want a compact laptop with an impressive 13” OLED display, the Asus Zenbook 13 OLED will be a great choice.
While its screen is its main selling point, it also has decent features that make multitasking smoother. In addition, cheap laptops like this are ideal for movie watchers as they can now see their favorite actors and impressive landscapes in the most extraordinary detail!
9. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2
Price: $449.99
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Specifications:
OS | ChromeOS |
Display | 13.3″ QLED Touchscreen (1920 x 1080 resolution) |
Processor | Intel Celeron 5205U Processor @ 4.3 GHz |
Graphics | Integrated Intel UHD graphics |
Storage | 4 GB LPDDR3 RAM |
Storage | Expandable MicroSD card slot (upto 64GB) |
Weight | 2.7 lbs (1.3 kg) |
If you want an ultralight and super-portable cheap laptop with Google’s ChromeOS, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 with Intel Celeron processor will be your best bet.
This laptop is lightweight and has a smaller compact design to fit easily inside your bag. Therefore, this Chromebook will serve you well whether you take it to school or your office.
10. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5
Price: $554.99
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 Specifications:
OS | Windows 11 |
Display | 16″ WUXGA screen (1920 x 1200 resolution) |
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 7530U Processor (8 cores @4.50 GHz) |
Graphics | Integrated AMD Radeon graphics |
Storage | 16 GB DDR4 RAM |
Storage | 512GB M2 PCIe SSD |
Weight | 4.1 lbs (1.9 kg) |
If you want cheap laptops that provide fast and snappy performance for all your corporate pressure, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 will be an excellent buy.
It has an impressive 216” display with a fast Ryzen 7 7530U processor and 16GB RAM. Therefore, no matter how many apps you open in one go, your performance will never drop.
Final Verdict: Who Said Cheap Laptops Are Bad?
If you have a maximum budget of around $700, the ten best cheap laptops presented here will be your best bet.
While you may have to cough out some extra bucks for the cheapest MacBook or gaming laptop on this list, the others are excellent choices for all your daily needs!
If you bought one or wish to buy one, let me know in the comments below!
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