The best budget laptops of 2024

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Finding the perfect laptop without breaking the bank isn’t as difficult as you might think. These days, the best cheap laptops still pack a lot of punch, offering great features without a premium price tag. Whether you need a laptop for work, school, streaming or staying connected, there are plenty of affordable options that can handle your everyday needs. You don’t have to deal with outdated technology, either — many budget laptops now come with decent processors, long battery life and sleek designs that won’t stifle your style.

Of course, not all budget laptops are created equal. That’s why we’ve put together a top pick to help you get the most bang for your buck. From student-friendly Chromebooks to Windows laptops for light productivity, there’s something for everyone.

What to look for in a budget laptop

First, we at Engadget consider anything under $1,000 to be “budget” in the laptop space. The reason for this is twofold: even the most affordable flagship laptops usually start at $1,000 or more, and the further you go down than that (say, $500 or less), that’s when you’ll start to see compromises in performance. You’ll usually find the best cheap laptops that strike a good balance between power and price in the $500 to $1,000 range. But in this guide, we’ll cover the top picks at a range of prices – there are plenty of great options at the low and high end of the budget spectrum.

Arguably the biggest thing to look for in a cheap laptop is build quality and a decent sheet. You may be able to find configuration options with the latest generation CPU chipsets, or you may have to go for one with a slightly older processor. We recommend looking for models with solid state drive (SSD) storage instead of a standard hard drive, as SSDs provide faster performance. And if you can get a PC with the latest internals, it’s worth the investment. However, going with a CPU that is one generation behind is unlikely to make a noticeable difference in performance.

Along with processors, you also have to consider the amount of memory and storage you need for a daily driver. For the former, we recommend laptops with at least 8GB of RAM; anything less than that will have a hard time multitasking and managing all those web browsing tabs. The latter is more personal: how much on-board storage you really need depends on how many apps, files, photos, documents and more you’re going to save in the space. As a general rule of thumb, try to get a laptop with at least a 256GB SSD (this goes for macOS and Windows machines, as Chromebooks are a little different). That should give you enough space for programs and files, as well as room for future operating system updates. And if you need a simple productivity machine or Android emulation, some laptops even support Android apps natively, which can add more flexibility.

After determining the best performance you can get while sticking to your budget, it’s also worth checking out a few different design elements. We recommend a laptop with an IPS display for better viewing angles and color accuracy, although premium models with OLED displays are becoming more common and can offer deeper blacks and brighter colors. Pay attention to port selection, too – most budget models offer multiple ports, while high-end ones tend to prioritize minimal features with fewer connections. If connectivity is important to you, look for options with USB-C, USB-A, HDMI and an audio jack.

And speaking of practical features, always keep an eye on GPU performance when shopping for a budget-friendly gaming laptop. While integrated graphics are fine for casual users, a dedicated GPU will enhance gaming and creative work. We also recommend checking the screen refresh rate, as a higher rate will make a noticeable difference in both games and heavy scrolling applications.

A note about refurbished laptops

Refurbished laptops are another option to consider if you need a new machine and don’t want to spend a ton of money. Buying refurbished technology can be tricky if you don’t know the product or vendor’s policies regarding what they define as “refurbished.” But it is not possible – for laptops, we recommend that you go directly to the manufacturer to get refurbished devices. Apple, Dell and Microsoft all have official refurbishment processes that their devices go through before they are returned to the market which ensures that the devices are working properly and in good condition. Third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart also have their own refurbishing programs for laptops and other gadgets.

The best cheap laptops of 2024

Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Read our full Apple MacBook Air M2 review

The launch of the M3 MacBook Air saw the retirement of the first Air with an M-series chipset. Apple is no longer officially selling the M1 MacBook Air (although you can still get it from some retailers for now), but it has dropped the starting price of the M2 Air to $999. The M3 MacBook Air is the best Windows alternative for those looking for a small and light laptop, but the M2 is an unbeatable value for those on a budget. In our battery test, the M2 performed very well, delivering good battery life compared to the new M3 model. The main difference between them is that the M3 models support Wi-Fi 6E and drive up to two external screens when the lid is closed.

So when it comes to buying a new laptop and spending only $1,000 or less, the MacBook Air M2 is the notebook we would recommend to most people. Not only do you get a revised air design that is thinner and more square than before, but you also get a beautiful 13.6-inch display, a strong quad speaker group and, most importantly, stellar performance thanks to the M2 chip. For personal and professional tasks, this MacBook Air should have more than enough power and speed for most people (we’d even recommend it over the 13-inch MacBook Pro for many). For under $1,000, the MacBook Air M2 offers excellent value with a sleek design, plenty of ports, and a powerful M2 chip. The fact that it’s now $200 less than before just because it’s moved places in Apple’s lineup makes it a great opportunity for those in need of a new daily driver to find our previous top pick for the best laptop at its new low price.

Benefits

Slim and light design
A beautiful 13.6-inch screen
Great quad speaker setup
Good performance of the M2

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No Promotion
A certain speed of the speed of the extended works

$899 at Amazon

Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

Read our full HP Pavilion Aero 13 review

If you like the conventional aesthetics of machines like Dell’s XPS 13 but don’t want to pay $1,000 or more, the HP Pavilion Aero is your best bet. We gave it 87 points in our review and compared it to Dell’s flagship laptop. It’s not as sleek as that machine, but it comes pretty close with its angled profile, 2.2-pound weight and its 13.3-inch anti-glare display. Despite its keyboard being a bit small, it’s a solid typing machine and we appreciate its port selection: one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI connector and a headphone jack. You can currently pick up the Aero 13 for as low as $900, but it’s already sold out for even less. All of the pre-built base models available from HP come with Ryzen 5 processors directly, and you can customize the laptop with a Ryzen 7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

Benefits

Attractive design
Many ports
Strong performance for the price

$880 at HP

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Our favorite Chromebook is Lenovo’s Flex 5 Chromebook, which packs a punch with build quality that feels more premium than its price suggests. Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham praised the Flex 5 for offering great value. The 14-inch touchscreen and backlit keyboard are great additions for those who multitask or use Android apps. The latest model has an upgraded 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which when paired with a Core i3 CPU, makes for a fast, capable machine. It’s also nice to see one USB-A and two USB-C ports, six hours of battery life and a 360-degree hinge that makes it easy to use the Flex 5 as a tablet. This would be the perfect laptop for Chrome OS fans who spend a lot of time browsing the web, and it will hit the sweet spot for many other consumers out there, offering a level of quality and performance that is very rare to find around here. price point.

Benefits

Excellent performance for the price
Great display
Solid keyboard and trackpad

Evil

Average battery life
It’s a little hard and crunchy

$479 at Amazon

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Acer’s Aspire 5 family is a solid choice for Windows if you have less than $500 to spend on a new laptop, offering solid day-to-day performance and plenty of ports. The most recent models hit the sweet spot for most people, using Intel 11th-gen CPUs and supporting up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Of course, the higher the specification you get, the more expensive the machine will be – not all Aspire 5 laptops come in under $500. The Aspire 5 comes with a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display, which delivers clear viewing for streaming or web browsing. The number pad is a useful addition for productivity, and the port selection includes USB-A, USB-C, and Ethernet ports, making it a practical choice for those who need to connect multiple devices. Acer’s latest models also include Wi-Fi 6 for faster connectivity, and our battery tests confirmed up to 10 hours of good battery life—more than enough for a day’s work or entertainment.

Benefits