After putting in more than 90 hours while researching budget laptops, surveying hundreds of budget laptop readers, going hands-on with 12 laptops, and testing five of them in depth, we still don’t have a firm recommendation for a laptop under $500. Laptop makers introduce and discontinue new budget models without notice, the spec lists remain hard to decipher for non-techies, and prices change overnight. We’ve found a few sub-$500 laptops we really like, and we know what you should look for, but we can’t guarantee that these particular models will always be cheap.
The Acer Aspire E5-573G-52G3 offers the best combination of features, performance, and price given the many trade-offs inherent to cheap laptops. It’s well-designed, and it has everything your primary PC should have. Its biggest fault is that it’s full of bloatware, which takes time (or a fresh Windows installation) to clean up. If you click that link and the total price is close to $500 for a Core i5-5200U CPU, 8 gigabytes of RAM, 1 terabyte of storage, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, it’s one of the best budget laptops you can get.
To get a laptop that can do everything reasonably well and last for several years, you should expect to spend at least $450. A laptop at this price level should have an Intel Core i3 or i5 CPU or better, more than 4 GB of RAM, and at least a 500GB hard drive. The vast majority of laptops that meet these criteria also have 15.6-inch screens—you can go smaller, but you’ll either have to pay more or suffer worse performance.
We know better than anyone else how hard it is to shop for a budget laptop, and we’re here to help. To make sure you get the best deal, we’ve prepared a list of the minimum requirements you should look for in a best laptop under $200, as well as some tips for when you start shopping. We also have a few laptops that you should compare against our pick when you’re ready to buy. All of these models could be great budget laptop choices if our pick isn’t available (or gets too expensive), if the manufacturers tweak their specs a little, or if their prices drop significantly.
Bargain-hunting is great when you’re shopping for a new computer, but don’t try to get by with a $100–$200 laptop that can barely do what you need it to do, frustrating you from the day you take it out of the box. Spend a few hundred dollars more on a laptop that’s powerful enough to do almost everything well for at least a few years. We still recommend saving up for an HP ultrabook if you need a laptop that offers faster speeds, much more portability, and better battery life, but a great budget laptop will give you strong performance and pretty good features for half the price.
A decent sub-$500 laptop is good for casual Web browsing or simple spreadsheet work, but a great one can also handle heavier tasks like photo editing or gaming. (Don’t expect to be able to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A strong budget laptop, however, will do well with many other popular games like League of Legends, Minecraft, or DOTA 2.)
A laptop isn’t as convenient as a tablet for watching Netflix around the house, but it has a much bigger screen that’s better for watching movies and television with a group. And it’s a great choice for students who need a single system that can handle everything from multiple simultaneous Web apps to video-editing software reasonably well. It won’t be as pleasant to carry (or as blessed with long battery life) as a more expensive ultrabook, but you can still lug it to class when you need to.
To keep laptop prices low, manufacturers have to make compromises. A laptop priced less than $500 can’t be both powerful and portable, nor does it typically have a high-res screen or all-day battery life. If you need a thinner and lighter laptop with better battery life, or a more powerful one for frequent video editing, graphic design, or heavy gaming at top quality settings, you’ll have to spend at least $700 and typically closer to $1,000. If you can’t spend that much but need a computer that’s strong enough to not slow you down on most of your everyday tasks, a budget laptop like the ones we recommend represents the perfect mix of power and price.
There are many devices you can buy that might make more sense than a budget laptop: a Chromebook, a tablet, a two-in-one convertible laptop, or an ultrabook. Which you should get depends on what apps and games you use, what you need your device to do, and how much you’re willing to spend. A budget laptop is a great, general-purpose device that covers a lot of scenarios, but you should take a few minutes and read our What Laptop Should I Buy? guide—even if you think a budget laptop is the best fit for your needs—to make sure you’re getting the right device.
You’ll never be able to find the perfect budget laptop. Because budget laptops are so inexpensive, they’re all about trade-offs. A great budget laptop mixes the best benefits with the fewest drawbacks, but we can still list a few minimum requirements you shouldn't compromise on when buying one:
Intel Broadwell Core i3 or i5 CPU
More than 4 GB of RAM
500GB or larger hard drive
802.11ac Wi-Fi
1366×768 or better screen resolution
You should expect to pay around $450 for a budget laptop with those specs (unless you find a great deal). If you go cheaper, you’ll get an underpowered CPU or 4 GB (or less) of RAM, which isn’t enough for a primary computer that you’re expecting to use for a few years.
Plenty of laptops still use Intel’s older Haswell processors, but Broadwell laptops give you slightly better performance and battery life. Laptops using Intel’s latest Skylake processors (which offer even better performance and battery life) are starting to hit the budget price range, too. Laptops with AMD processors can be cheaper than those with Intel CPUs, but in our tests we found that AMD A8 Kaveri–based laptops couldn’t keep up with Broadwell laptops. A10-series Kaveri CPUs are better, but those found in cheaper laptops are slower than the best Broadwell CPUs (and not that much cheaper).
Shop now for great deals on Dell laptops. If you're after more power and performance without hurting the hip pocket, you can't go past the stylish, value-packed L50. Compare deals on a huge range of laptops at low prices. Find offers on 17 inch widescreen laptops to ultra-portable and sub notebook computers.
The Acer Aspire E5-573G-52G3 offers the best combination of features, performance, and price given the many trade-offs inherent to cheap laptops. It’s well-designed, and it has everything your primary PC should have. Its biggest fault is that it’s full of bloatware, which takes time (or a fresh Windows installation) to clean up. If you click that link and the total price is close to $500 for a Core i5-5200U CPU, 8 gigabytes of RAM, 1 terabyte of storage, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, it’s one of the best budget laptops you can get.
To get a laptop that can do everything reasonably well and last for several years, you should expect to spend at least $450. A laptop at this price level should have an Intel Core i3 or i5 CPU or better, more than 4 GB of RAM, and at least a 500GB hard drive. The vast majority of laptops that meet these criteria also have 15.6-inch screens—you can go smaller, but you’ll either have to pay more or suffer worse performance.
We know better than anyone else how hard it is to shop for a budget laptop, and we’re here to help. To make sure you get the best deal, we’ve prepared a list of the minimum requirements you should look for in a best laptop under $200, as well as some tips for when you start shopping. We also have a few laptops that you should compare against our pick when you’re ready to buy. All of these models could be great budget laptop choices if our pick isn’t available (or gets too expensive), if the manufacturers tweak their specs a little, or if their prices drop significantly.
Bargain-hunting is great when you’re shopping for a new computer, but don’t try to get by with a $100–$200 laptop that can barely do what you need it to do, frustrating you from the day you take it out of the box. Spend a few hundred dollars more on a laptop that’s powerful enough to do almost everything well for at least a few years. We still recommend saving up for an HP ultrabook if you need a laptop that offers faster speeds, much more portability, and better battery life, but a great budget laptop will give you strong performance and pretty good features for half the price.
A decent sub-$500 laptop is good for casual Web browsing or simple spreadsheet work, but a great one can also handle heavier tasks like photo editing or gaming. (Don’t expect to be able to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A strong budget laptop, however, will do well with many other popular games like League of Legends, Minecraft, or DOTA 2.)
A laptop isn’t as convenient as a tablet for watching Netflix around the house, but it has a much bigger screen that’s better for watching movies and television with a group. And it’s a great choice for students who need a single system that can handle everything from multiple simultaneous Web apps to video-editing software reasonably well. It won’t be as pleasant to carry (or as blessed with long battery life) as a more expensive ultrabook, but you can still lug it to class when you need to.
To keep laptop prices low, manufacturers have to make compromises. A laptop priced less than $500 can’t be both powerful and portable, nor does it typically have a high-res screen or all-day battery life. If you need a thinner and lighter laptop with better battery life, or a more powerful one for frequent video editing, graphic design, or heavy gaming at top quality settings, you’ll have to spend at least $700 and typically closer to $1,000. If you can’t spend that much but need a computer that’s strong enough to not slow you down on most of your everyday tasks, a budget laptop like the ones we recommend represents the perfect mix of power and price.
There are many devices you can buy that might make more sense than a budget laptop: a Chromebook, a tablet, a two-in-one convertible laptop, or an ultrabook. Which you should get depends on what apps and games you use, what you need your device to do, and how much you’re willing to spend. A budget laptop is a great, general-purpose device that covers a lot of scenarios, but you should take a few minutes and read our What Laptop Should I Buy? guide—even if you think a budget laptop is the best fit for your needs—to make sure you’re getting the right device.
You’ll never be able to find the perfect budget laptop. Because budget laptops are so inexpensive, they’re all about trade-offs. A great budget laptop mixes the best benefits with the fewest drawbacks, but we can still list a few minimum requirements you shouldn't compromise on when buying one:
Intel Broadwell Core i3 or i5 CPU
More than 4 GB of RAM
500GB or larger hard drive
802.11ac Wi-Fi
1366×768 or better screen resolution
You should expect to pay around $450 for a budget laptop with those specs (unless you find a great deal). If you go cheaper, you’ll get an underpowered CPU or 4 GB (or less) of RAM, which isn’t enough for a primary computer that you’re expecting to use for a few years.
Plenty of laptops still use Intel’s older Haswell processors, but Broadwell laptops give you slightly better performance and battery life. Laptops using Intel’s latest Skylake processors (which offer even better performance and battery life) are starting to hit the budget price range, too. Laptops with AMD processors can be cheaper than those with Intel CPUs, but in our tests we found that AMD A8 Kaveri–based laptops couldn’t keep up with Broadwell laptops. A10-series Kaveri CPUs are better, but those found in cheaper laptops are slower than the best Broadwell CPUs (and not that much cheaper).
Shop now for great deals on Dell laptops. If you're after more power and performance without hurting the hip pocket, you can't go past the stylish, value-packed L50. Compare deals on a huge range of laptops at low prices. Find offers on 17 inch widescreen laptops to ultra-portable and sub notebook computers.
