If you don’t have much money but need a new laptop, now is a great time to buy one. Until recently, cheap laptops had many problems like poor screens, uncomfortable keyboards, and slow processors. But things have changed. Nowadays, you can find good Windows laptops or Chromebooks with fast processors, lots of memory, speedy storage, and high-quality screens for less than £500.
See also: Apple: lots of reasons to buy Watch Series 9 even though it doesn’t have the banned feature
We tested seven top Windows laptops and Chromebooks to find the best affordable ones. While you can get a much better laptop if you spend more money, you don’t need to spend a lot to get a decent experience anymore. Prices are currently low because manufacturers are selling off their current stock, but they might go up in the summer. So, it’s a good time to make a purchase.
Dell Inspiron 14
The Inspiron 14 has all-day battery life, enough power to chew through schoolwork or office tasks, an excellent keyboard and trackpad and a good (but dim) screen. It even includes nice-to-haves like a webcam cover and a more-useful USB-C port (it supports both charging and video out) than its competition
KEY SPECS (AS TESTED):
- OS: Windows 11 Home
- Form Factor: Clamshell
- Display: 14-inch 1920 x 1080, anti-glare, non-touch WVA panel
- Processor: Intel Core i3-1125G4
- RAM: 8GB DDR4/3200
- Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Size and weight: 12.65 x 8.4 x .71 inches, 3.22 pounds
- Ports: 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm combo audio, microSD
Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54-501Z)
The Aspire 5 has a faster processor and more ports than the Dell, and its screen is brighter, but it’s bigger, heavier, doesn’t feel as nice to type on and lacks convenient features like USB-C charging and USB-C video out, among other things.
KEY SPECS (AS TESTED)
- OS: Windows 11 Home
- Form Factor: Clamshell
- Display: 14-inch, 1920 x 1080, anti-glare, non-touch IPS panel
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 with Iris Xe graphics
- RAM: 8GB DDR4/3200
- Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Size and weight: 12.9 x 8.8 x .71 inches, 3.75 pounds
- Ports: 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), USB-A 2.0 (480Mbps), power, Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, combo audio
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i (13-Inch)
The Flex 5i’s Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM make it more powerful than most budget Chromebooks, and it has a 360-degree hinge, a great keyboard and trackpad and decent speakers, though it only got about 5.5 hours of battery life in our testing.
KEY SPECS:
- OS: Chrome OS
- Form Factor: Laptop (360 hinge)
- Display: 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS, glossy, touchscreen
- Processor: Intel Core i3-1135G7 (i3-1011U tested)
- RAM: 8GB DDR4 (4GB DDR4 tested)
- Storage: 64GB eMMC (tested)
- Size and weight: 12.2 x 8.4 x .66 inches, 2.97 pounds
- Ports: 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), 3.5mm audio, microSD, Kensington lock slot
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 (13-Inch)
Chromebooks don’t generally make good tablets, but the Duet 5 has a bright, beautiful OLED display and more than 10 hours of battery life. It only has USB-C ports, though, and its Snapdragon processor can’t handle multitasking as well as the Intel-based Chromebooks we tested.
KEY SPECS:
- OS: ChromeOS
- Form Factor: Detachable
- Display: 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 OLED touchscreen
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180
- RAM: 4GB DDR4
- Storage: 265GB eMMC
- Size and weight: 12 x 7.4 x .62 inches, 2.6 pounds (with keyboard cover and rear cover)
- Ports: 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1
