10 Of The Best Budget Laptops For College Students, Ranked
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Late-night cram sessions, a whirlwind of new experiences, your first taste of complete independence — this thrilling chapter in your life is titled college. It's also the part where schedules and learning environments become more autonomous, lockers are nowhere to be found, chunky textbooks are replaced with laptops, and pen-and-paper workbook exercises make way for research papers and online assignments. In short, if you don't already have a laptop or see signs indicating your laptop is getting too old, you're met with the undeniable need to buy one, preferably something that doesn't result in you living off instant ramen for the foreseeable future.
The significance of having the right laptop can't be overstated, which is why we've handpicked some of the best budget-friendly laptops you can buy for under $500, offering insights and details to help you make an informed decision. There's a lid for every pot, and no matter what your majors, preferences, or purposes are, there's a laptop in this list with your name on it.
10. Lenovo Flex 3i Chromebook
For those pinching pennies — as one often is in college — the Lenovo Flex 3i Chromebook is a great choice. It's the cheapest Chromebook on this list and rides the middle ground between budget-friendly and decent specs. It's a 2-in-1 just like its snazzier sibling, the Flex 5i. Both feature a backlit keyboard and touchscreen, but that's pretty much where the similarities stop. The Flex 3i has a smaller 12-inch screen, an Intel N100 processor, 4 GB RAM, and 64 GB of total storage, earning a 3.5 from PC Magazine's 2023 review.
Now, are these specs the epitome of excellence? Not exactly, but they've got enough oomph to handle everyday tasks and get the job done. The chip may not be the flashiest one on the block, but it will offer you basic productivity like word processing and web surfing without breaking a sweat. The 4 GB RAM has enough muscle to prevent multiple browser tabs from collapsing into a heap unless you're deep into the abyss of research. Plus, if you're into some doodling and handwriting, this laptop comes with a stylus. We'll even give it a couple of bonus points for looking pretty, even if it's its plastic hardware isn't the sturdiest.
A solid battery life and portable size make it the perfect companion to take to a long day of lectures without ease and worry. Plus, there's one important thing that outweighs everything above — it's less than $300 on Amazon. If you're looking for a reliable, loyal friend for daily lightweight work, the Flex 3i has your back — and your wallet.
9. HP Stream 14
HP is more popular for its selection of mid to high-end laptops, so it's rare to find a good HP laptop that comes dirt cheap. The HP Stream 14 is under $300 on Amazon, and can often be found even cheaper if you wait for the right days in the year to buy a laptop. That said, it's got a configuration that might leave you scratching your head. Before we indulge further, it's important to know right off the bat that a laptop in this budget will be a formidable companion for schoolwork and schoolwork alone, much like the Lenovo Flex 3i above, so it's best to keep your expectations in check.
This laptop combines an ultra-thin design with an Intel Celeron N4120 to give you an inexpensive, portable laptop with a large screen. It may not be the thinnest or sleekest laptop we've ever seen, but it's still up there with the rest. The catch? It's not a touchscreen, despite being specifically oriented towards students, and users have complained of subpar performance levels despite the 16GB RAM. In addition, the touchpad can be a little awkward. It's on the smaller side of things, so scrolling can be a pain.
Don't be so quick to judge though, because HP has tried to trade off some of the disappointing aspects of this laptop with some specific features to cater to students, including a year-long Microsoft 365 Personal subscription and Windows 11, ensuring you have the right tools to dominate your assignments. It may not be a race car, but it's definitely no snail either.
8. Acer Chromebook Spin 514
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Chromebook parade. If the Lenovo Flex 3i doesn't suit your needs, then consider the Acer Chromebook Spin 514, which has a 4.3 rating on Amazon and earned a score of eight out of 10 from CNET. This bad boy's got some pretty good specs on paper, but do they hold up just as well in real life? You've got to examine both sides of the coin before you reach a decision, so let's look at the best and worst aspects of this device.
Starting with the former, an AMD Ryzen 5 processor with 8GB DDR4 RAM is a great start when considering good laptops for college students. It provides great speed and efficiency and offers strong performance. It's got an excellent selection of ports, including HDMI, saving you a lot of hassle. With a respectable battery life and a durable metal chassis, we've got a worthy candidate on our hands.
On the other side of the spectrum, the device comes with 128GB eMMC instead of SSD, a choice not favored by many due to flash storage's limitations in comparison to solid-state drives. Its 3.4 pounds weight also makes it a little strenuous to use as a tablet, the relatively dull display isn't winning any awards, and the fact that the Chromebook does not support Wi-Fi 6 might throw off more than a few people.
These cons may seem trivial to some but significant to others, so it's up to you to look before you leap. You can find the Lenovo Flex 3i for $485 at Walmart.
7. Dell Inspiron 15 3525
Dell has garnered a reputation as a leader in the tech industry over many decades, earning the trust of consumers worldwide due to their consistent quality and endurance. It might be hard to find a dependable friend in college, but at least it's easier to find a reliable laptop, right? There's a strange comfort in sticking with familiarity, and if you're a college student who prefers that, the Dell Inspiron 15 3525 is a fantastic choice for you.
The majority of its construction is plastic, which keeps things lightweight and portable even if it doesn't boast premium durability. It's essential you handle it with care (especially if you're on the move) but it should hold up just fine otherwise. Amidst the plastic, you will find a great camera and a well-thought-out layout of numerous ports. USB, HDMI, card reader — you name it, it's got it.
It also has an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, a hefty 16GB of RAM, a whopping 1TB SSD, and a sweet 120 Hz refresh rate that offers a smooth and cohesive experience for all college students — even the ones who'd like to use their laptop for a bit of lightweight gaming. It can definitely hold its own, and then some. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold, as this laptop has a somewhat below-par display and mediocre battery life.
6. Lenovo Duet Chromebook 3
Great performance, good speed, and a price that will make your wallet sigh in relief, this two-in-one laptop has a detachable keyboard. This 11-incher device weighs only 1.14 pounds, making it a breeze to fit it into a small purse or backpack to carry around the campus, bring along for a quick study date at the coffee shop, or set up at the library. The keyboard is spacious and the display features a 2K IPS touchscreen with 400 nits brightness, ensuring a crisp, sharp, and vivid visual experience ideal for college students. You can get up to 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage for under $500 on Lenovo's website, so it's easy to pick out an option that aligns with your budget.
The Duet Chromebook 3 is a trusty piece of equipment to take with you to college. That said, if you're juggling a full-time side hustle with heavy-duty apps and constant meetings — or are pursuing a major that necessitates persistent use of your laptop — you might be better served by something a little more powerful, which is typical for a laptop of this caliber and size. Another little problem with this laptop is the lack of a headphone jack and a stylus in the box. You'll have to stretch your dollars for a pair of wireless headphones and stylus separately, although a positive review from The Verge indicates that these cons are negligible for the value you're getting.
5. HP Envy x360
We placed HP at the top of our list of the best major laptop brands, and the HP Envy x360 has models with displays ranging from 14 to 16 inches with various configurations and price points. We've picked out one on Amazon that's available for under $500 with all the bells and whistles, and it's one of the most popular of its kind.
Starting off with the juicy bits, this bad boy sports a 15.6-inch screen, which is on the larger side of the spectrum. Coupled with a dedicated AMD Radeon Graphics, the display is a bang for your buck, offering crisp visuals through long hours of lectures, Netflix, and gaming. The performance and battery life are as good as the display, and inside you'll find an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. It may not be the most impressive laptop on campus, but it is robust, dependable, and resilient.
There's a drawback to having such a large display, though -– with great size comes great backache, and carrying it around feels like you're lugging a small brick in your backpack. This also makes it a little too heavy to pick up and use in tablet form. Moreover, the 16:9 aspect ratio is on the conventional side of things, since users now prefer the 16:10 ratio due for more vertical space and productivity. CNET gives the HP Envy x360 a seven out of 10 due to this, but hey, if you can roll with the punches, then it's a solid competitor for your college companion.
4. Asus Vivobook
The Asus Vivobook isn't a run-of-the-mill laptop; it's an absolute powerhouse, with features as big as its size and an Amazon's Choice pick to show for it. All ambitious scholars who require a device to carry more than the average technical workload and are in the realms of multimedia, computer science, engineering, and beyond, would do well to pay attention — this laptop may just be what you're looking for. It's not exactly lightweight at 4.14 pounds, but that's not unexpected with its large 16-inch display and high-end configurations. It's certainly the belle of the ball with its premium chassis and aesthetic design, which were praised by The Verge.
Another highlight is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS processor that is paired with 12GB RAM and 512GB SSD, which is a pretty solid use of a $500 budget. Gamers and streamers will be excited to learn that it comes with AMD Radeon Graphics and Wi-Fi 6, providing a sharp and vivid display and easy connectivity for hours of play. It doesn't quite have the specs to qualify as one of the best affordable gaming laptops, but it's still good enough for a little bit of leisure. It's even got an external mouse in the box, so that sweetens the deal too.
Of course, nothing's perfect, and the ASUS Vivobook does come with its share of cons, the biggest of which is the battery life. It's fairly decent, but let's just say it's not its strongest suit, and it takes away a major chunk of the good that the laptop brings to the table.
3. Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook
Lenovo has the budget-laptop market wrapped around its finger, and that's evident with the introduction of the third Lenovo Chromebook on our list, sporting a stellar 4.6 rating on Amazon and a 4.0 from PC Magazine. The 2023 Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i comes in two fantastic colors, and color is not the only place it expresses duality, as the model is a compelling two-in-one laptop plus tablet, with two 360-degree hinges allowing great mobility. In addition, Lenovo has struck a good balance with a 16:10 aspect ratio that provides ample workspace along with portability.
Inside, it features a 13th gen Intel Core processor with 8GB RAM which is more than sufficient for everyday browsing and is typical for budget models. A 1080p webcam, an interactive touchscreen, and a backlit keyboard make it a fantastic option for modern computing needs. What's great about this laptop is that it offers a range of connectivity options, including USB-A and USB-C ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.1, making it compatible with various accessories. Since it runs on Chrome OS, you can use cloud services to interact with your friends and classmates.
Perhaps the biggest drawback that one faces with this laptop is meager battery life and lackluster display, falling short in terms of vibrancy and color accuracy. While it's definitely an improvement from the 2022 variant, college students who have battery life high on their priority list and frequently use multimedia or enjoy gaming may want to look at other options. Despite all this, it's still a great option that provides reliable performance for other students.
2. Gateway 14
Once a major player in the U.S. computer industry, Gateway has had a long, tumultuous journey over the last three decades. Jack of all trades, master of none, the company faced a major decline after the '90s. From rags to riches and back again, the classic cow spots have returned to send you on a quick trip down memory lane.
The exterior of the Gateway 14 is quite pleasant — slim with a 14-inch display available in an exquisite set of color options, a durable and sturdy chassis, and a plethora of ports, including two USB Type A, a Type C port, an HDMI, and one for your headphones. The configurations are even better, as it sports an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor with 16 GB RAM and four SSD options: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB, all for a steal of a deal from $380 to $450 on Amazon.
Pretty great budget find, isn't it? CNET thinks so, too. For less than $500, you're getting a laptop that boots up swiftly to bring up a crisp and precise display, handles a modest amount of workload with rapid speed, has massive storage, a good battery life, and a fingerprint scanner. However, there are a couple of things that may trouble you, though, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. The speakers are quite crude, and the touchpad is a bit of a letdown. Thankfully, those extra ports aren't for show. A trusty mouse here, a decent pair of headphones there, and voilà! You're back in business.
1. Acer Aspire 5 Slim
We're going to round this up with our pick of the lot — the Acer Aspire 5 Slim, a staple in every list of affordable laptops. True to its name, this laptop has a thickness of only 0.71 inches and weighs around 3.97 pounds, contributing to its portability and allowing students to easily slip it into a backpack to carry around the campus. Just because it's slender doesn't mean it's little by any means, since it sports a 15.6-inch display coupled with anti-glare IPS technology, making it the perfect option for longer study sessions and reviewing large amounts of content.
It's equipped with a robust AMD Ryzen 3 3350U Quad-Core Processor, 20 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD. The numbers are enough to tell you that you don't need to be worried about performance, speed, and efficiency because this is a laptop that can definitely hold its own. You'll rarely find a good laptop in a similar price range for these specs, and you'll have to shell out a few more bills to get these features with brands like HP and Dell. PC Magazine has given the slightly larger Acer Aspire 5 a 4.0, praising its solid performance.
There are a couple of other noteworthy features, including a backlit keyboard to facilitate use in dimly lit environments — perfect for that late-night study session, along with pretty decent integrated graphics that are great for basic video editing and casual gaming. The Acer Aspire 5 also has a fingerprint sensor for a swift and secure login, which is pretty cool and all, but not very foolproof — don't be surprised if it mistakes your morning coffee spill for your finger.
How we chose the best budget laptops
Our selection for the best budget laptops focused on models strictly below the $500 benchmark. We considered portability, battery life, longevity, and performance along with budget. Along with personal use of a handful of models, we curated our choices based on professional reviews from well-reputed websites like TheVerge, CNET, and PC Mag. Additionally, we factored in Amazon user reviews and Amazon's top picks for comprehensive insights and general user consensus, ensuring you have the best list at your disposal.