The Best Budget Laptops of 2025

When you don’t need to run the latest games at max settings or just need a competent workhorse, budget laptops can offer the best price-to-performance by cutting away some unnecessary features or shrinking the form factor.

As with any budget laptop, performance is going to be your biggest concern, especially if you’re hoping to game on said laptop, too. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you want to do more with your laptop, it’s going to cost more. So, consider what it is you want out of the laptop first.

If you just want to use the laptop for general use, like checking email, social media, web browsing, and document editing, you can get away with a decent CPU and 8GB of RAM—no GPU required. That said, if you want to game or you’re a video or image editor, you’ll need extra graphics power, a CPU with even more threads, and bare minimum 16GB of RAM.

Beyond that, form factor and overall size should be your secondary concerns, but don’t think of either as any less important. The size of a laptop is a force multiplier, especially screen size. Bigger screens will come at a premium, especially if you’re going beyond the standard 16 inches. Expect budget laptops to have screen sizes around 14 inches.

And lastly, consider the kind of features you need. Do you want an SD card reader? HDMI? USB-C? Multiple USB ports? Ethernet? Even budget laptops are going to have at least most of what’s listed, but generally speaking, the more ports there are, the more it’ll cost.

Sadly, anything beyond that is going to be fluff, like a touchscreen, Dolby Atmos, HDR, even a CD drive. Those are considered luxuries when it comes to budget laptops.

Best Budget Laptop Overall: Acer Aspire 3

The Acer Aspire 3 is that perfect balance of good hardware, features, and price, and sets the bar for budget laptops at the same time. How? By giving you some say in what you want, like screen size, storage, and screen size, then single out the Acer Aspire 3 that fits the profile.

For starters, you have a choice between 14, 15.6, and 17.3-inch screen, which is pretty good, considering 14-inches is really the absolute limit. For RAM, you have an option between 8, 12, and 16GB, giving you a solid middleground if you don’t want to go the full 16GB.

As for storage, there’s 128, 256, and 512GB. However, regardless of what you choose, you’re getting an SSD, so booting up the laptop or launching programs will always feel quick and snappy.

Of course, more features mean more money, but even then, this is still an affordable laptop.

Best Budget Laptop Overall

Acer Aspire 3

This budget laptop covers all the basics, including a speedy processor, a large 1080p screen, and support for Windows 11.

At first, the Acer Predator Helios 16 might be pushing the boundaries of what your budget is. However, if you were to build a comparable gaming desktop, you’ll be spending more, and you won’t be able to take it anywhere. Secondly, opting for premium hardware and taking care of the laptop will ensure the Helios 16 will last you for several years to come.

Speaking of premium hardware, the Acer Predator Helios 16 features a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, but you can go even further with a 4070 or downgrade to a 3060 if you want to save a little. Even if you downgrade, an RTX 3060 is nothing to sneeze at and will still be plenty of horsepower for the next couple of years.

To stay closer to your budget, the PHN16-71-76H5 model has an Intel Core i7-13650HX CPU, which is a good pairing for the 4060, especially with 16GB of RAM. More importantly, you’ll be able to make good use out of the 165HZ refresh rate.

Best Budget Gaming Laptop

Acer Predator Helios 16

Featuring a 16-inch screen, 13th gen i7 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the Acer Preditor Helios 16 is a great gaming laptop. It might push your budget a little, but some corners are cut to keep it from getting too pricey.

With the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus running Chrome OS, this budget laptop becomes an interesting combination of features. Rather than dip into the Windows ecosystem, you install apps like a smartphone or tablet. This is because you natively gain access to Google Play, and how Chrome OS works in general.

More importantly, Chrome OS is not as taxing on budget hardware, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is no different. This is true despite 8GB of RAM, pushing the limits of what you should have in even a budget laptop, but the operating system makes up for it.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus makes up for its budget hardware with its suite of features, beyond access to Google Play. It has a microSD card slot for expanding storage, two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, which you can also use to connect with an external monitor, and it’s a touchscreen laptop. Additionally, you get a USB-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington Nano security lock.

Best Budget 2-in-1 Laptop

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

With a good battery life, 14-inch display, and slim design, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is a well-rounded 2-in-1 laptop on a tight budget. It’s perfectly suited for general use, like entertainment, work, and taking notes.

Like the Acer Aspire 3, you get some say in what kind of hardware goes into the Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 Laptop, which is nice if it’s the form factor you’re looking for, but find that some hardware puts you over the budget.

In terms of choices, you can pick between an AMD Ryzen 5 8640HS or the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, with the latter being the better option. Both have over 10 cores—12 cores vs. 16 cores—so either way, the CPUs will be perfectly suited for multitasking, whether it’s for personal use or work. Additionally, all models feature a Gen 4 TLC M.2 SSD, either with 512GB or 1TB.

For ports, the Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 Laptop is a pretty good choice, regardless of the model you choose. You get USB-A 3.2, USB-C 4 and 3.2 (both of which are DP 1.4a and PD 3.0), an HDMI 2.1, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Best Budget Touchscreen Laptop

Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 (2024)

The Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 Laptop’s greatest strength is versatility and customization, in addition to good battery life that charges quickly, and a nice selection of ports.

What makes the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook good for students for the same reasons the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is a good budget laptop, too. Chrome OS isn’t a resource hog like Windows 11 is. And with access to Google Play, students will still be able to access important apps like ClassDojo.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i is fitted with the most important features a student needs. Take the screen, for example, which is a nice 14-inch 1080p display—plenty of screen real estate for writing reports or watching educational videos. There’s also a built-in FHD webcam and dual array microphone, so students are heard and seen clearly during meetings.

The most important thing is the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6E, ensuring they get the most out of your Wi-Fi. The last thing you, and especially the students, want is to lose hours of work because the Wi-Fi dips momentarily.

Best Budget Laptop for Students

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 3i is an extremely affordable choice, thanks to ChromeOS not requiring much RAM and storage to run internet-based programs.