Attending Zoom meetings has become a common part of everyday life as of late, and whether you need to attend online classes or collaborate with your co-workers, having a device with a good webcam and microphone for Zoom video conferencing is important. Thankfully, there are plenty of affordable, yet capable laptops on the market that fit the bill. Our pick for best laptop for Zoom meetings is the HP Pavilion 15 since it features great specs, a nice display, and an excellent design, but there are several other strong alternatives as well.
If you’re looking for a Zoom-friendly laptop that offers the best balance between specs, design, and price, you’ll be hard pressed to find something better than the HP Pavilion 15. The webcam looks good, the microphone is clear, its 11th Gen i5-1135G7 CPU performs well, the Intel Xe integrated graphics are strong, and options for up to a 512GB SSD mean you’ll have all the room for files that you need. The FHD touch display has good colors and a relatively high brightness, ensuring everything on screen looks great. There’s support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity as well, and while it’s not the best out there, the laptop’s 7-hour battery will be enough for most people.
The design of the HP Pavilion 15 features a sleek and premium build that’s reminiscent of more expensive laptops. The keyboard and trackpad are both very comfortable to use, and you get plenty of peripheral connectivity options as well thanks to the inclusion of dual USB-A and a USB-C. Ultimately, the laptop is fantastic for use with Zoom as well as countless other productivity apps and programs, making it our top pick.
The Acer Aspire 5 is an excellent mid-range device with a great webcam, a good microphone, and well-rounded specs that include up to an 11th Gen i5-1135G7, 8GB of memory, and up to 256GB of SSD storage. The display sadly looks a little washed out, but it’s far from unusable and gets the job done. Both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity are supported, which is great.
The design of the Acer Aspire 5 is decently thin and light and comes with both dual USB-A and a USB-C port for strong peripheral connectivity. The keyboard feels great, and the trackpad is solid too despite feeling a little loose. Overall, the Acer Aspire 5 is ideal for people who need a good laptop for Zoom but don’t want to pay upwards of $1,000.
The Acer Swift 3X is the perfect laptop for Zoom users who need something as portable as possible. Its impressively thin and light design makes it very easy to transport, and since it can be configured with up to an i7-1165G7 CPU, up to Intel Iris Xe Max graphics, and 1TB of SSD storage space, you’ll still get fantastic performance for productivity. The FHD display is solidly bright and looks excellent thanks to its quality colors, and the 9-10-hour battery life is excellent for long outings between charging sessions. The quality webcam and mic ensure you’ll have a great experience using Zoom as well.
While the Acer Swift 3X’s incredibly mobile-focused build is the device’s highlight design feature, the keyboard is excellent as well. The trackpad resists clicks a little too much for our liking, but you do get excellent peripheral connectivity thanks to the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port and dual USB-A slots. At the end of the day, the Acer Swift 3X is easily one of the best ultra-portable laptops you can get today if you need something for Zoom. It’s a little pricey, but it’s worth it.
The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 is an incredible budget laptop that we highly recommend if you need a laptop for Zoom but don’t have much money to spend. The webcam and mic aren’t as good as what you’ll find with more expensive devices, but they’re still very solid and will get the job done. Its 11th Gen i3-1115G4 delivers good performance for productivity workloads, and its Intel UHD graphics, 8GB of memory (avoid the 4GB option), and 256GB SSD all provide enough power and space for most general tasks. The display is a little dim, but it looks good regardless, and even comes with an effective anti-reflective coating. The 7-hour battery life is solid considering the laptop’s low price, and while you don’t get Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, you do get Bluetooth 5.0.
The thin design of the laptop makes it easy to carry around, and both the keyboard and trackpad are enjoyable to use, too. The trackpad feels a little loose on the corners, but overall, it’s built well. Three USB-A ports are included for peripherals, which should be plenty of connectivity for most folks. Ultimately, the Dell Inspiron 15 3000’s quality specs, good design, and low price make it the ideal budget device for people who need something for Zoom.
Bottom line
Having a good device for Zoom meetings is very important these days, and thankfully, there are plenty of affordable and well-made laptops on the market that have a good webcam and microphone. Our favorite is the HP Pavilion 15 since it has quality specs, a good display, a great design, and a balanced price, but all of the other alternatives we mentioned are great as well.
If none of the options in this list is a good fit for your needs, make sure you review our roundup of the best Windows laptops. Alternatively, check out our list of the best budget laptops under $500 if you want something serviceable for a low price.
