Quality laptops at a price you can afford
In today’s world, laptops are practically indispensable, whether you’re working from home, watching movies in bed or doing classwork. Luckily, you don’t need to spend a huge amount of money on one — there are plenty of excellent budget laptops to choose from.
The trouble is choosing a budget laptop that’s reliable and has all the features you need — you can’t expect it to rival a high-end model, but it should perform decently.
To help get you started, we’ve compiled a guide with some of the best budget laptops on the market.
What you need to know before buying a budget laptop
There are lots to consider before buying a budget laptop because even an affordable model costs a fair chunk of change and you don’t want to make the wrong decision.
Amount of RAM
Random access memory (RAM) is an important factor in how quickly a laptop will run. Budget laptops on the lower end of the price spectrum usually have either 4GB or 8GB of RAM. Unless you only use your laptop for extremely basic tasks, we recommend the 8GB option, otherwise, it will feel sluggish. If you’re willing to go up to the higher end of the price spectrum, some models have 16GB of RAM, which makes them significantly speedier.
Screen size
Consider the screen size of your chosen laptop, as well as the impact this will have on the size of the keyboard. Most budget laptops have screens between 13 and 16 inches. Anything smaller than that and the keyboard can be so small that it’s tricky to use.
Which features are most important to you
You normally need to make some sacrifices when choosing a budget laptop, as you’re unlikely to get all the features you’d like to have within your price range. Therefore, it makes sense to consider what you can do without. For instance, if you don’t play games on your laptop, you don’t need a high-end graphics card, or if you don’t listen to much audio on your laptop or have external speakers you can use, then speaker quality isn’t paramount.
Everyone has a different idea of budget, but we count budget laptops as any that cost between roughly $200 and $650.
Budget laptop FAQ
Q. What is an SSD?
A. An SSD is a solid-state drive, which is an alternative to a standard hard disk drive (HDD). Without moving parts, SSDs have the capacity to be significantly faster than HDDs. You can find some budget laptops with SSDs, which we recommend over those with HDDs if their other specs are similar.
Q. How long will my budget laptop last?
A. There’s no guarantee how long a laptop will last. When well taken care of, your budget laptop could physically last for 5 to 10 years, but it won’t take as long as that for it to be noticeably slower compared to newer models, since computing technology improves so quickly and budget laptops are already using lower-end technology compared to more expensive models. Realistically, you’ll probably want to upgrade your budget laptop for a newer model within 3 to 5 years.
Best budget laptops
Top budget laptop
What you need to know: This lightweight laptop works quickly and efficiently on a budget. Thanks to cloud storage, your files are safe, even if your laptop gets broken, lost, or stolen.
What you’ll love: This nifty Chromebook features a touchscreen, allowing you to use it as a tablet as well. It also has an impressive battery life of up to 10 hours.
What you should consider: It has very little internal storage and only 4GB of RAM.
Top budget laptop for the money
What you need to know: With this laptop, you get some great specs considering the low price, such as a 2TB SSD and 12GB of RAM. It’s a solid choice for anyone on a budget who doesn’t want a Chromebook.
What you’ll love: The 15.6-inch screen is large enough for most and allows for a fair-sized keyboard with a separate number pad. It has decent specs considering its affordable price.
What you should consider: The battery life is poor, so you may want to travel with a power cord just in case.
Worth checking out
What you need to know: This feature-packed laptop offers an ideal balance between features, performance and price.
What you’ll love: It has an AMD Ryzen processor, allowing it to run smoothly for everyday tasks and streaming. It has 8GB of memory, which is great for multitasking, and 256GB of internal storage. The 15.6-inch Full HD screen offers stunning visuals for the price.
What you should consider: Some people have had issues with inconsistent Wi-Fi connectivity speeds.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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