Ever since finding my very first PC that fit my budget (and need for power) back in 2009, I've been on the hunt for the very best budget laptops that offer all the bang for your buck. Now, after reviewing hundreds of value laptops over the years, I can bring my search expertise to help you find one yourself.
Budget doesn't have to mean bare minimum, and you may be surprised to find that productivity notebooks for work or studying and even gaming laptops with impressive specs won't have to empty your wallet. Whatever your calling, I'm here to point you toward the ones worth investing in.
My top picks
I recommend the Acer Aspire Go 15 the most because it's a good Windows 11 laptop that can be yours for just over $300/£300. It gives you a comfy keyboard, decent performance for writing and editing and 10+ hours of tested battery life. The speakers suck, however, and the webcam isn't great either.
Yes, the M1 MacBook Air is the oldest entry on our list. But not only is Apple breathing new life into this system with Apple Intelligence this fall, but there are a few more years of OS support and you can grab it for well under $700/£700! In fact, you'll likely find one for around $500/£500 these days.
The $999/£999 MSI Cyborg 15 is the most expensive laptop on this list, but we included it because gaming laptops run more expensive than most and this is the cheapest one we recommend since it comes with a cutting-edge Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, a 13th Gen Intel CPU and a solid 144Hz 15.6-inch display.
To make sure you're saving cash without sacrificing too much, think about the following:
What will I use my laptop for?
Depending on what you generally do on a laptop, one may be more suited to you than others.
Studying or Work: If you're looking to work on documents, answer emails or head into video calls while you're jumping between work spaces, you'll want a lightweight, portable notebook that has the power to multi-task and last you more than just a couple of hours. That's where the Acer Aspire Go 15 (for Windows 11) and MacBook Air M1 (for macOS) come in handy, as they offer decent performance, great battery life and great value for the money.
Casual use: If you prefer to have a laptop for browsing websites, binge watching your favortie shows or jotting down a few notes, the good news is you won't have to pay a pretty penny for them. But you'll still want a decent display or even a touchscreen to interact with them far more easily. Chromebooks excel at this, and the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus or the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 are fantastic options. The former is more premium (but great for watching shows), while the latter is a 2-in-1 that offers versatility.
Gaming: If you don't want to break you bank account on a gaming laptop but still want enough power to run popular PC games, especially when it comes to multiplayer titles, getting a machine that offers a strong enough CPU and GPU, along with enough RAM, is essential. Budget laptops won't offer maxed out graphics in AAA games, but they can still deliver excellent gameplay with smooth visuals. That includes the MSI Cyborg 15 and Acer Nitro V 15, which boast RTX 40-series GPUs and surprisingly good performance — for the price, that is.
How much should I spend on a laptop?
This is entirely depending on your budget, but anything around $500/£500 is considered an excellent price for a laptop. Although, those numbers are a tad different for gaming laptops, as anything under $1,000/£1,000 is what you can expect a budget gaming machine can be.
Now, not all budget laptops are worth their low price. Some lean too hard on lackluster components to make up for their cheaper cost, but if it can barely open a Chrome tab or two without stuttering or, even worse, crashing, then there isn't much point in spending money on it.
Still, there are several laptops that offer a great price-to-performance ratio, and you can find some for around $300/£300 while offering commendable power. If you're only looking for an entry-level machine to get everyday tasks done, then a budget laptop will help you save while also giving you the performance you require.
About the author
I'm a big fan of budget laptops, specifically the ones that offer incredible value for what you pay for. I'm a firm believer that not everyone needs a notebook that will set you back over $1,000, as you'll find many laptops offer more than enough performance to handle everyday tasks. Besides, if there are premium features you won't end up using, what's the point of paying for them? Save you're hard-earned cash instead with our hand-picked list
The best budget laptops you can buy
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.
The best budget laptop overall
Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
Battery life | 10:15 tested battery life | ★★★★☆ |
Performance | Not the best, but well worth the price | ★★★☆☆ |
Design | Comfy keyboard and plenty of ports | ★★★★☆ |
Price | Amazing value | ★★★★★ |
In my time using the Acer Aspire Go 15, my mind was completely flipped on whether a cheap laptop could be good. At $299, you get a solid basic laptop that can comfortably do the basic day-to-day tasks, has surprisingly good ergonomics, great 10+ hour battery life and a utilitarian design that feels good in the hands. Just be ready for your standard cheap notebook trade-offs like slow performance, a bad webcam and a washed-out screen.
Read the full review: Acer Aspire Go 15
Who is this for?
The Acer Aspire Go 15 is our favorite budget laptop because it is a solid workhorse with enough power for all your basic productivity needs. If you need something for the classic office work alongside some binge watching, this is a solid choice.
Why is it the best overall budget laptop?
It comes down to this offering the best balance across three key elements that make a good laptop. First, the port array with USB-A, USB-C and HDMI makes it easy to plug into any setup wherever you are. Second, the keyboard is comfortable to type on for hours on end. And third, with 10 hours of battery life, there's impressive longevity here too.
What do we like?
👍 Comfortable keyboard: It's rare that you see a good keyboard in a budget laptop, but Acer has pulled out the stops here with a well-spaced board with a nice comfortable, tactile impact on each key press.
👍 A whole lotta ports: Connectivity is key to the success of this laptop. With a pair of USB-A ports, a USB-C socket, HDMI out and a headphone jack, this is a good suite of ports that you can count on to plug into a TV for binge watching and your whole range of peripherals/accessories.
👍 Strong battery life: Longevity is normally an afterthought in cheap laptops, but with over 10 hours in our battery life testing, this is sure to last you a full day of work.
What don’t we like?
👎 Weak performance: With the N-series Intel Core i3 and UFS storage, this isn't going to be able to do anything beyond your casual productivity and gaming via Nvidia's GeForce Now.
Bottom line
The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a cheap laptop that doesn't really feel that cheap in use. There are of course some cutbacks like the weak speakers and potato of a webcam. But for what you need a laptop for, Acer absolutely delivers.
The best cheap MacBook
Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
Battery life | 14:41 tested battery life | ★★★★★ |
Performance | Still incredibly fast | ★★★★☆ |
Design | Thin and lightweight (but not as modern-looking) | ★★★★☆ |
Price | Now better than ever | ★★★★★ |
Apple's M1 MacBook Air came out at the end of 2020... so why am I still recommending it? In fairness, you can also pick up the M2 MacBook Air for less than $1,000 too! Well, it comes down to three key things. First, for a four-year-old laptop, this is still a strong performer with its M1 power being great for most of your productivity needs, and a nice, long battery life to boot. Second, Apple is continuing to support it with a few more years of OS updates — including Apple Intelligence features coming this fall. You can find it at retailers like Walmart for as little as $649, making this one of the cheapest, best value MacBooks you can buy.
Read our full review: Apple MacBook Air (M1)
Who is this for?
The M1 MacBook Air is the cheapest way to get an Apple laptop with all its macOS goodness (including all the Apple Intelligence features. This one is for the casual user who wants the perfect companion to their iPhone and AirPods.
Why is it the best budget MacBook?
MacBooks are typically some of the most expensive laptops you can buy. But with performance and a premium construction that still stands up to this day, the $649 M1 Air is a fantastic low cost choice.
What do we like?
👍 M1 is still going strong: How is a four-year-old chip still capable of feeling zippy in terms of multitasking performance? I'm not sure what witchcraft Apple has pulled off here, but whether it's multitasking, basic productivity or even some video editing, the M1 chip in the MacBook Air continues to impress.
👍 Battery life continues to shock: There are notebooks in 2024 that are still paling in comparison to the 14 hours and 41 minutes we achieved when putting the M1 MacBook Air through our grueling battery life test.
👍 A great keyboard and trackpad: Apple knows how to do good ergonomics, and these are on full show with the slick multi-touch trackpad and great-feeling chiclet keyboard.
What don’t we like?
👎 Just two USB-C ports: Where the Acer Aspire Go 15 thrives, the MacBook Air falls. With just two USB-C ports (one of which will be used for charging), you're out of luck when it comes to plugging in more than one accessory unless you have a dongle
👎 You can feel the age: I know I'm talking up a big game on the M1 Air, and it still is pretty impressive to this day. But let me repeat — this is four years old. It's well on the way to not receiving software updates, and you can feel it slowdown in intense moments of multitasking.
Bottom line
In 2020, we called the M1 MacBook Air "shockingly good" for its combination of speed and endurance. While it's not so shocking anymore (we're on M4 Macs now to surprise us with performance and power efficiency), this is still a stellar budget buy.
The best budget gaming laptop
Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
Battery life | 5:05 tested battery life | ★★☆☆☆ |
Performance | Mid to high settings in games | ★★★★☆ |
Design | Slick, well-sized and Cyberpunk-inspired | ★★★★☆ |
Price | Great price-to-performance ratio | ★★★★☆ |
The MSI Cyborg 15 changed my mind about budget gaming laptops due to its solid performance and cyberpunk-inspired design. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom Eternal can run smoothly at medium graphical settings and 1080p resolution, matching or exceeding what you get on consoles. And unlike a console, you can use this device for everyday work. Though battery life isn’t great, the sub-$1,000 price and overall awesome gaming experience make up for that deficiency. Even with the new MSI Cyborg 14 currently available, the MSI Cyborg 15 is still an excellent choice if you’re budget-conscious.
Read our full review: MSI Cyborg 15
Who is this for?
As you can probably guess by the name, this is for the gamer on a budget — the MSI Cyborg 15 gives you enough power for some solid 1080p gaming here while coming in at under $1,000!
Why is it the best budget gaming laptop?
The MSI Cyborg 15 deserves this moniker for the horsepower under the hood (including that RTX 4050 giving you access to Nvidia's stellar DLSS tech), while also paying attention to the things that matter like giving you a fluid 144Hz display and a great keyboard to boot.
What do we like?
👍 The most powerful laptop on this list: Pairing 13th Gen Intel Core i7 with RTX 4050 graphics leads to some surprisingly impressive gaming performance. I know there are stronger GPUs out there for far greater prices, but for the lowest cost you can find, this can do more than you think — especially with DLSS turned on effectively doubling frame rates in a lot of your favorite AAA titles.
👍 Great keyboard: Sometimes, to invest more in the internals, you'll get the keyboard equivalent of a wet sponge on a lot of cheap gaming laptops. Not here, though, as MSI has paid attention to the tactile impact of every key press.
👍 Large and in charge design: Some people may not appreciate this aesthetic, but I kind of dig it. The Cyberpunk-inspired design gives it a cool, edge look that is both gamer in feel but also utilitarian enough to not look weird on a desk.
What don’t we like?
👎 Mid display: It's great to get a 1080p panel with 144Hz refresh rate, but you can feel the cheapness in its color and light blooming. Make sure you save up for a monitor for some better-looking gaming at home.
👎 Runs hot while gaming: It's always good practice to use a gaming laptop on a desk, as they can get hot. That goes doubly so for the MSI Cyborg 15, which can hit a peak of 112 degrees Fahrenheit
Bottom line
If you're keen to game on the go without breaking the bank, you can't go wrong with the MSI Cyborg 15. There are a lot of strengths here from its internals to the keyboard and general gaming performance, that it's easy to look past the naff webcam and surface temps.
The best budget Chromebook
Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
Battery life | 11:09 tested battery life | ★★★★☆ |
Performance | Suitably fast for ChromeOS | ★★★★☆ |
Design | Thin and lightweight metal styling | ★★★★☆ |
Price | Slightly premium, but worth it | ★★★☆☆ |
Chromebooks excel at being brilliant value machines, but they often get some flak for their online-focused useability and performance. I say point those naysayers towards the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, as it even made me believe in Google's laptops once again. With its Gemini AI features onboard, great AMOLED display and great compact design, it's a fantastic laptop to get for its sub-$700 price.
Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus
Who is this for?
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is a great choice for students, workers who mainly use online documents and apps or anyone who needs a reliable notebook for everyday tasks. It’s an easy-to-use notebook that’s snappy, portable and simple to sync with Android devices.
Why is it the best Chromebook on a budget?
Considering its compact design (despite being a tad wide), the Galaxy Chromebook Plus does wonders to make this 15-inch laptop as portable as it is. Even with room for a number pad on the keyboard and fitting a 15.6-inch AMOLED display, it’s still lighter than other Chromebooks — and even a MacBook Air. That means you’re getting all the size with none of the weight, all for a decent price.
What do we like?
👍 Excellent Chromebook performance: While its Intel Core 3 100U CPU may not sound like much, it still blows away other Chromebooks in terms of power. It can handle multi-tasking, juggling dozens of Chrome tabs and even play Andoird games without breaking a sweat. Expect this to run any Chromebook app you throw at it.
👍 Beautiful AMOLED display: With its sizeable 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) AMOLED display, expect vibrant colors and smooth visuals in its brighter-than-most screen. Whether it's scrolling through websites or watching shows, this display nails what’s on display.
👍 Battery that lasts: Coming in at over 11 hours, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is one of the longest-lasting Chromebooks we’ve tested. That’s more than enough charge to get through a full workday, and to have a little leftover before it needs to be plugged in again. If anything, this shows how good its efficiency is.
What don’t we like?
👎 Strange “Plus” key placement: As helpful as its Gemini AI features are, the quick-access “Plus” key to use many of those tools is placed on the Caps Lock key. This means that every time it’s pressed, you’ll have to click on the option that comes up that actually turns it on. It’s odd placement, seeing how many will generally want to quickly press a Caps key to, you know, turn it on.
👎Wider than most: While only a small quirk, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is a wide notebook to use. It makes it a tad awkward when placing it on a table behind a seat on a flight or train, or even a small coffee tablet.
Bottom line
If there was ever a premium Chromebook to get on board with (without that actual "premium" price tag), the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is it. Besides its odd “Plus” key placement and wider chassis, it’s hard to beat its snappy performance, fantastic AMOLED display, extended battery life and even its seamless connectivity to Android phones, wireless earbuds and more. Add on its sleek, lightweight design, and this Chromebook really shines.
The best budget 2-in-1
Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
Battery life | 10:30 tested battery life | ★★★★☆ |
Performance | Snappy for light browsing | ★★★☆☆ |
Design | Sharp display in a 2-in-1 form factor | ★★★☆☆ |
Price | Excellent price | ★★★★★ |
To me, the Chromebook Duet 3 is the dirt cheap Surface I always wanted — stacked with a bright, crispy display, over 10 hours of battery life and a great keyboard cover for typing hours at a time with no wrist strain. There are some frustrations here, such as the lack of a headphone jack and the cameras being pure potatoes, but at $359, you could do a lot worse than this mini workhorse for all the basics.
Read our full review: Lenovo Duet 3 Chromebook
Who is this for?
If you need something super lightweight for quick note taking and casual productivity, you can't go far wrong with the Chromebook Duet 3. Ideal for students and workers on-the-go.
Why is it the best budget 2-in-1?
Windows 2-in-1s at this price usually suck, but in the Chromebook space, you can get a lot more for your money. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 is a fantastic convertible with a bright display, a surprisingly good keyboard cover and over 10 hours of battery life.
What do we like?
👍 Lovely display: Packing an 11-inch 2K display with multitouch, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 is rather nice on the eyes and responsive to interact with too — great for work and entertainment.
👍 Solid design: The construction with its black aluminum chassis feels impressively premium to the touch. The detachable keyboard also has a nice travel to every key, and when all folded up, it's sturdy and lightweight to carry around.
👍 Great battery life: In our battery life testing, the Duet 3 lasted 10 hours and 30 minutes — thanks to the lower intensity of that Snapdragon chip. This means that for your all-day usage, this will stick right there with you.
What don’t we like?
👎 No headphone jack: No option to be wired in here! Luckily, there is bluetooth, but the lack of a headphone jack is always going to be frustrating in any kind of laptop.
👎 Webcam = potato: Yes there are compromises, and for the Duet 3, it's the webcam that takes a big hit with grainy pictures that look like they were taken on an early 2000s camera phone.
Bottom line
For a cheap 2-in-1, the Duet 3 focuses on the things that make this recipe work — a good display, nice-feeling keyboard, and long battery life. ChromeOS continues to go from strength to strength with regular updates from Google, to the point that you'll completely forget the webcam is naff here.
The best budget gaming laptop alternative
Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
Battery life | 5:41 tested battery life | ★★☆☆☆ |
Performance | Respectable gaming performance | ★★★★☆ |
Design | Stylish and efficient for cooling | ★★★★☆ |
Price | Not too expensive for gaming | ★★★★☆ |
Sure, while the Acer Nitro V 15 doesn't deliver the best performance when it comes to gaming laptops, it offers just enough for anyone on a budget to try out the most popular PC games around. To me, that makes it a brilliant entry-level gaming laptop, especially seeing as it won't set you back anything more than $750. Plus, that 144Hz display will come in handy for plenty of PC games.
Read our full review: Acer Nitro V 15 (2024)
Who is this for?
For anyone looking to get into PC gaming but doesn't have the budget to dish out for the latest and greatest gaming laptops around. With its 144Hz display and solid gaming performance, it's great for casual gamers looking to try out popular PC titles.
Why is it the best budget gaming laptop alternative?
Since it doesn't come back with Nvidia's RTX 40-series GPU, it's understandable why some may want more of a modern gaming laptop with more up-to-date specs (such as the MSI Cyborg 15). However, for those after something even more affordable, and aren't fussed about RTX numbers, it's hard to go wrong with this Acer Nitro V 15.
What do we like?
👍 Stylish design: From its compact chassis to its subtle but sleek looks, this gaming laptop is a looker. Even better, it isn't too big or heavy to lug around.
👍 Smooth visuals: Having a 15.6-inch FHD (1980 x 1080) with a 144Hz refresh rate on a laptop this affordable is a bargain. Plus, it's big enough to take in small details in games and videos.
👍 Great gaming performance: Despite coming with a 13th Gen Intel Core i5 and an RTX 3050, this laptop still brings the heat, especially for the price it's set at. For less demanding games, this laptop shines, but it can even push the limits on some high-quality PC titles, too.
What don’t we like?
👎 Loud fans: Make sure to wear some headphones, as the Nitro V 15 can sometimes sound like a jet engine at full throttle.
👎 Small storage: For a gaming laptop, you'll need way more than just the 512GB of storage this laptop offers. It will mean having to install and uninstall games frequently, and that's not what any PC gamer wants.
Bottom line
For a cheap gaming laptop that offers up enough gaming performance to play many of the latest games, the Nitro V 15 does an admirable job. It may not pack the latest specs or offer a premium design, but its price gives it an edge over those with beefier specs. If you need is a decent system that offers good gameplay, the Nitro V 15 offers great value.
Battery life testing results compared
One of the things you should think about when deciding which laptop to buy is how long it lasts on a full battery.
That's why we run every laptop we review through a series of battery tests to see how long it actually lasts on a full charge, rather than trusting manufacturer claims.
Note that these tests don't reflect real-world use patterns since we have to set every laptop to the same settings in order to do fair comparisons. Thus, while the times listed here are accurate and useful as a comparison point, your own experience with a laptop's battery life will likely vary quite a bit.
That's because when we run our battery test we set the laptop display to 150 nits of brightness (which is on the dim side) and set it to endlessly browse the web via Wi-Fi until it dies. Then we repeat the process a few times and average the results.
However, when you use your laptop you're probably adjusting brightness on the fly, doing all sorts of different tasks at the same time and generally putting the machine through more of a workout than it gets in our test. So while I stand by our testing and the battery life results we compare in the chart below, I want to be clear that your own experience will vary!
Laptop | Battery life (tested) |
Acer Aspire Go 15 | 10:15 |
Apple M1 MacBook Air | 14:41 |
Lenovo Duet 3 | 10:30 |
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus | 11:09 |
MSI Cyborg 15 | 05:05 |
Acer Nitro V 15 | 5:41 |
How to choose the best budget laptop for you
There are some things to keep in mind when you're hunting for a good cheap laptop. Don't expect bleeding-edge performance, a super premium design or even the most colorful displays. However, there's no reason to compromise, as an affordable laptop can still take you far. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for a laptop.
What operating system do you prefer?
There are various types of operating systems, with some being simpler and others offering lots of customization. ChromeOS is the simplest option but limited in scope, whereas Windows has vastly more capability but can be a battery hog. macOS tries to find a sweet spot, but apps can be pricey here. Figure out your use case and you'll see how much you actually need your operating system to do.
How much battery do you need?
Will you be going long spells away from the plug outlet, or will you have charging capabilities wherever you go? There's a sliding scale on all of our choices between performance and power efficiency, and how important this is will dictate what you'll buy. If a laptop lasts around 8 hours (generally a working day), it's doing an adequate job, but they should last a little longer than this. For gaming laptops, though, don't expect long-lasting battery life, as these machines are made to be plugged in more often than not.
Are you a gamer?
This one is an easy one. If gaming is your primary concern, then a laptop like the MSI Cyborg 15 or Acer Nitro V 15 (2024) are the ones for you. If not, then you can turn your attention to others.
Seeing less than 1080p display quality?
You may see a lot of cheap laptops pack a less than full HD display. In the words of Admiral Ackbar: "It's a trap!" You'll be left with buyers' remorse when you see just how much resolution you lose by going down this road. Generally, you'll want a laptop that offers at least FHD (1920 x 1080) quality. Yes, they'll still be affordable.
How we tested these laptops
To find the best laptop, we run every machine through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use.
- Geekbench CPU performance testing: This app stresses the chipset inside the laptop with your average range of tasks from processing video to multitasking, to see just how effective it can be as a daily driver.
- File transfer tests: Just because a CPU is fast doesn't mean it'll transfer files quickly — that's on the built-in storage. We'll transfer a 25GB file to see how fast it can move big amounts of data around the computer.
- Game benchmarking: For the gaming laptop on this list, we'll open up a range of AAA games from Cyberpunk 2077 to GTA V, to see how well it will operate.
- Display testing: We've got the equipment to test the brightness and color accuracy of a display. This is important so you can actually see the screen in bright conditions and that shows are properly colored.
- Battery life testing: To do this, we have a custom battery life test that has every laptop browse the internet over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness until it runs out of juice. This is the closest we can get to a fair representation of your average daily use.
Today's best budget laptop deals
