Best budget laptops for 2024

If you are looking for a laptop that can handle your everyday tasks without breaking the bank, you might be interested in some of the best budget laptops available in 2024.

These laptops offer decent performance, battery life, and design for a fraction of the cost of premium models. Whether you need a Windows 11 laptop, a Chromebook, or a 2-in-1 convertible, there is a budget laptop that suits your needs and preferences.

In this article, we will review some of the best budget laptops in 2023, based on customers' testing and reviews. We will also provide a comparison chart that shows the specs and prices of these laptops in US dollars.

Top 6 affordable laptops to buy

• Acer Aspire 5
• Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2
• Asus ZenBook Flip S OLED
• Gigabyte Aorus 15 BMF
• Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i
• Acer Chromebook Spin 514

The table below comprises the key specifications and prices of the laptops mentioned above.

Best affordable laptops

Acer Aspire 5

• The Acer Aspire 5 is our top pick for the best budget Windows laptop overall. It costs slightly less than $500, but it offers solid performance in productivity apps, thanks to its 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage.
• It also has a responsive keyboard, a fingerprint reader, and a decent selection of ports, including HDMI, USB-C, and Ethernet. The 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display is bright and sharp, with good viewing angles and colour accuracy.
• The battery life is also impressive, lasting for over 8 hours in web browsing. The only drawbacks are the mediocre webcam and speakers, and the plastic chassis that feels a bit cheap.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2

• The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is considered one of the best budget laptops. It costs $549 for the base model, which comes with an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage.
• It also has a stunning 13.3-inch QLED touchscreen display that delivers vibrant colours and excellent brightness. The design is sleek and premium, with an aluminium chassis that comes in two colours: Fiesta Red and Mercury Gray.
• The keyboard is comfortable and backlit, and the speakers are loud and clear. The battery life is decent, lasting for over 7 hours in our web browsing test2. The only downsides are the lack of a fingerprint reader and an HDMI port, and the limited storage space.

Asus ZenBook Flip S OLED

• The Asus ZenBook Flip S OLED is our top pick for the best budget OLED laptop. It costs $999 for the base model, which features an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage.
• It also has a gorgeous 13.3-inch OLED touchscreen display that offers stunning contrast, vivid colours, and wide viewing angles.
• The display supports stylus input and can flip 360 degrees to transform into a tablet mode. The design is elegant and slim, with a dark blue aluminium chassis that weighs only 2.6 pounds.
• The keyboard is comfortable and backlit, and the touchpad doubles as a number pad. The battery life is good, lasting for over 8 hours in our video playback test. The only drawbacks are the lack of an SD card slot, a headphone jack, and the noisy fan.

Gigabyte Aorus 15 BMF

• The Gigabyte Aorus 15 BMF is another one of The best budget laptops that is used for gaming. It costs $1,579 for the base model, which comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
• It also has a stunning 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display that supports a refresh rate of 240Hz and adaptive sync technology.
• The display delivers smooth gameplay, sharp details, and accurate colours. The design is sleek and sturdy, with a black metal chassis that has RGB lighting on the keyboard and logo.
• The keyboard is responsive and customisable, and the touchpad is large and smooth. The battery life is decent for a gaming laptop, lasting for over 5 hours of web browsing. The only downsides are the loud fan noise under load and the lack of a webcam.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i

• The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is our top pick for the best budget convertible 2-in-1 laptop. It costs $449 for the base model, which features an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage.
• It also has a 14-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen display that can rotate 360 degrees to switch between laptop, tablet, tent, and stand modes. The display is bright and clear, with good touch responsiveness and support for an optional stylus.
• The design is simple and solid, with a plastic chassis that comes in two colours: Graphite Gray and Platinum Silver. The keyboard is comfortable and backlit, and the touchpad is smooth and accurate.
• The battery life is excellent, lasting over 10 hours with web browsing. The only drawbacks are the mediocre webcam and speakers, and the limited port selection.

Acer Chromebook Spin 514

• The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is one of our top picks for best budget laptops that are convertible 2-in-1 Chromebook. It costs $418 for the base model, which comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage.
• It also has a 14-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen display that can flip 360 degrees to switch between laptop, tablet, tent, and stand modes. The display is sharp and colourful, with good touch responsiveness and support for an optional stylus.
• The design is rugged and durable, with a metal chassis that meets MIL-STD-810H standards for shock, vibration, temperature, and humidity resistance. The keyboard is comfortable and backlit, and the touchpad is smooth and responsive.
• The battery life is good, lasting for over 8 hours in web browsing. The only downsides are the lack of a fingerprint reader and an HDMI port, and the limited storage space.