GoKawiilCompare Top 8 Budget Laptops
Other Budget Laptops to Consider
I've tested hundreds of laptops over the years, and here at WIRED, we never recommend products we haven't tested ourselves. Many laptops were left off this list that didn't make the cut, whether due to price or quality. While I stand by the recommendations above, there are a few that I've tested that make sense for a particular use case that I think are still worth buying.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1. Photograph: Luke Larsen
Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 for $500: 16-inch laptops tend to be more expensive than smaller options, making them hard to find under a certain price. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 (6/10, WIRED Review) is a 16-inch laptop that manages to squeeze out just enough quality to make it worth the price. While the display has typical deficiencies (such as poor color coverage), I do appreciate that it doesn't have a matte finish, which brings out more clarity in the panel. I also thought the keyboard was tiresome to type on.
Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 for $280: Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet Gen 9 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) quickly became one of my favorite gadgets of 2024 despite its small size. That’s the whole point of this 11-inch detachable laptop, which is incredibly fun to use around the house and throw in a bag when it’s time to go. The keyboard detaches from the screen, so it makes for a nice tablet when paired with ChromeOS's Android apps, and then you can get some work done when you attach the keyboard. At nearly 10 hours on average, its battery life will easily get you through the day, too.
Asus Chromebook CX15. Photograph: Luke Larsen
Asus Chromebook CX15 for $159: You shouldn't buy a Windows laptop under $300. Don't even bother. The good news is that some solid Chromebooks come in under $300, which increasingly have good specs. The Acer Chromebook CX15 is the best example of this trend. Despite costing under $300, this 15-inch Chromebook comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The 15-inch screen goes up to 300 nits of brightness, and even though the colors are a bit off, it's a 1080p resolution. The Intel Celeron CPU inside won't blow you away, but for the price, it certainly gets the job done. There's also the Asus Chromebook CX14 (6/10, WIRED Review), a 14-inch version of this same laptop, which has a slightly sharper screen and an overall smaller chassis.
HP OmniBook 5 16 for $900: The HP OmniBook 5 16 shares a lot in common with the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 16. It has right around the same size chassis and comes with the same Intel processor. It's also dinged by a similar budget display that isn't very color-accurate. It's decent, but the discount on the $550 IdeaPad 5i above makes it the better option. I haven't tested the Snapdragon X Plus version of the OmniBook 5 16, but based on my other reviews, if you can find it at its current selling price of $500, that is a crazy-good deal.
Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook for $550: Chromebooks have a reputation for being underpowered. To change that, Google launched Chromebook Plus in 2023, an umbrella category for a new class of devices from various manufacturers. The “Plus” stands for better performance—faster processors, more memory, more storage, and better video cameras. One of my favorites is Lenovo's Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It's among the fastest Chromebooks we've tested at this price, featuring an Intel Core i3-1315U CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of flash storage.
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