GoKawiilCompare Top 7 Budget Laptops
OS Screen Size Resolution CPU RAM Storage HP OmniBook 5 Windows 14 inches 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz (OLED) Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus 16 GB 256 or 512 GB Apple MacBook Neo MacOS 13 inches 2408 x 1506 at 60 Hz (IPS) Apple A18 Pro 8 GB 256 GB or 512 GB Dell XPS 13 Windows 13.4 inches 2560 x 1600 at 120 Hz (IPS) Intel Core 5 320 8 GB or 16 GB 512 GB HP OmniBook 3 Windows 16 inches 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz (IPS) Qualcomm Snapdragon X 16 GB 512 GB MSI Cyborg A15 Windows 15.6 inches 1920 x 1200 at 144 Hz Intel Core Ultra 5 210H / RTX 5060 16 GB 512 GB Asus Chromebook CX15 Chrome OS 15.6 inches 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz (IPS) Intel N50 4 GB or 8 GB 128 GB Framework Laptop 12 Windows/Linux 12.2 inches 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz (IPS) Intel Core i3-1315U N/A N/A
Other Budget Laptops to Consider
Here at WIRED, we never recommend products we haven't tested ourselves—and I’ve tried hundreds of laptops over the years. I left many laptops off this list due to price, quality, or both. While I stand by my top-pick recommendations above, there are a few additional laptops I've tested that are still worth buying for a particular use case.
Photograph: Luke Larsen
Lenovo LOQ 15 for $1,400: This fantastic gaming laptop used to sell for $900, despite coming with an RTX 5060. And unlike so many other affordable gaming laptops, this one comes with a solid IPS panel that has not only a fast refresh rate but also great image quality. So no, it's not extremely cheap, but it's worth considering because it remains the best value in gaming laptops right now.
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 for $479: Chromebooks are really at their best when they cost less than $500. They thrive as cheap laptops that don't feel cheap. The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 has one primary advantage over other laptops around this price: its touchpad. I care a lot about touchpad quality, as it's an area where budget laptops tend to make compromises despite being a component that can impact day-to-day laptop use. Poor touchpad quality can make simple things like drag-and-drop or text selection frustrating. The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 has a really nice touchpad with a smooth surface for your finger to swipe or drag across. It makes a huge difference.
Acer Nitro V 16 for $900: No gaming laptop selling for this price is going to be perfect. Far from it. The Acer Nitro V 16 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) has a big compromise that I need to warn you about up front: its 135-watt power adapter. It's just not enough to keep the Nitro V 16 fully powered during many of the GPU-heavy games I tested, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong. That means even if the laptop is plugged in, it'll start to drain the battery when you tax the GPU hard enough. That sounds awful, and it is. Acer could have easily sold the Nitro V 16 with a larger adapter. But the battery only drains in certain games and only when playing in Turbo or Performance modes. Stick to Balanced mode, and you'll be fine, as it only drops performance by around 5 percent. All said, I still think the MSI Cyborg A15 is the better laptop for this reason.
Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 for $379: 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. With the keyboard attached, you can get some work done. At nearly 10 hours on average, its battery life will easily get you through the day, too.
Cheap Laptops to Avoid
... continue reading