Best Budget Laptops (Updated 2021)

If you are looking to get the most bang for your bucks, then the Acer Aspire 5 should be on your watch list. It is a budget laptop which, even though it has a few flaws, mirrors the performance and specs of high-end models.

It has a 15.6inch 1920x1080P full-HD display and utilizes IPS technology for excellent image quality. The screen sports a matte finish, which helps reduce the glare. It has a backlit keyboard with solid, soft-to-the-touch keys that make typing a walk in the pack. The trackpad is equally as responsive.

It boasts 7.5 hours battery runtime, and as far as connectivity is concerned, you’ve got a pretty fair selection of ports. These include two USB-2.0 ports, a single USB 3.0port, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and an audio jack.

The Acer Aspire 5 runs on Windows 10 S and is equipped with a dual-core Ryzen 3-3200 processor and a Vega 3 graphics card. Add in 4GB RAM, and you can perform basic tasks like web surfing, excel –related functions, and essay writing without as much as a lag. The AMD Ryzen 3-powered processor also means it doesn’t drain the battery life fast.

The Acer Aspire 5 also feels and looks good. It has a plastic build but sports a silver aluminum hood with a metallic Acer Logo at the center, giving it a premium look. It weighs a little below four pounds, which is pretty impressive for a laptop with a 15.6-inch screen, over seven hours of battery runtime, and an affordable price. We also like that the lid can rotate up.

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Avid users of Apple’s MacBook models will appreciate the many upgrades this new release has. Apple’s primary goal was to fix the many complaints made on previous models, and it seems to have achieved this goal.

The most notable feature is its upgraded storage. Previous MacBook Air models have been underpowered compared to rival Windows-based laptops. This 13-inch MacBook Air, however, has 1.2GHz quad-core processors and up to 16GB of RAM, making it the most powerful among other models. The additional storage does not compromise on its lightweight nature. It still has a thin, compact design making it easy to stash it in your bag.

Like other modern MacBooks, it doesn’t have as many ports. It has an audio jack and a Thunderbolt 3 port, allowing you to transfer speeds of up to 40GBs and transmit 6K footage to compatible devices. Also, the port eliminates the need for a special charger.

When it comes to its design, the MacBook Air has not changed much; the only difference is the new keyboard. Apple does away with the annoying butterfly switches and replaces them with a new Magic Keyboard. Butterfly switches are known for their shallow build and vulnerability to failing if crumbs and dust fall between the keys. Magic keyboard, however, has a deeper travel, is more responsive, and the arrow keys come with an inverted ‘T’ shape making them more intuitive to use.

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Always on the move? If yes, then the Asus VivoBook L203MA laptop is just what you need. It measures 0.7×11.3×7.6inches and weighs only 2 pounds. Add in six and a half hours of continuous runtime, and working on the go becomes easy. It has a plastic build and sports an attractive grayish-blue exterior and a dark interior.

It has some pretty thick bezels, which is no surprise given its price bracket. It has a decent selection of connectivity options as well. It is equipped with USB 3.0 and USB-C ports, an HDMI output, and a MicroSD card reader on the right. The audio jack and an additional USB 3.0 Port are on the left.

It has an 11.6inches 1366x768P display. This is not much, but considering it is a budget laptop designed for basic daily productive tasks, it will get the job well done. Besides, it is equipped with a chiclet-style keyboard, which, even though it lacks backlighting, is exceptionally comfortable to use. You will also love the touchpad as it is incredibly responsive to the touch. The audio quality is relatively average.

In terms of performance, the Asus VivoBook L203MA is equipped with 4GB memory and runs on Intel Celeron N3350 CPU. This makes it ideal for basic student and office tasks but not highly demanding applications. It has 64GB storage space, which is more than enough for your everyday basic storage needs. To put it simply, the Asus VivoBook L203MA is not that powerful, but for a laptop that affordable, it is pretty impressive. It makes up for what it lacks in performance through solid connectivity and attractive, compact design.

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If you are more of a Chromebook person, then the Lenovo C330 is among the best budget laptops you’ll come across this year. It has a pretty-basic but premium-looking plastic build with a white hue, making it a pretty sight to the eyes. At around 2.8 pounds and 0.8 inches of thickness, the Lenovo C330 is a little bit chunky, but it’s still easy to carry around.

All the ports, that is, a single USB-C charging port, USB 3.0 port, and HDMI port are on the left. On the right side, you get a headphone jack, as well as the volume and power buttons. It is a convertible laptop, which means the lid rotates smoothly to 360degrees. This is a great bell and whistle, especially if you travel a lot.

It has an 11inch screen with a 1366×768 resolution, which, even though not much, still delivers above-average images given that it utilizes colorful IPS technology. The keyboard is the next impressive feature. The keys are responsive and are spaced out in the typical Chromebook pattern, so you have a smooth-sailing typing experience while the touchpad is quite intuitive.

When it comes to performance, the Lenovo Chromebook C330 will get the job done. It is equipped with a MediaTek MT8173C processor and has 4GB RAM. It can seamlessly handle any light and basic productivity tasks and applications you throw its way. It runs on an Intel UHD Graphics 620, which means it’s perfect for online video streaming, but not gaming. The Lenovo Chromebook C330 offers up to 64GB storage, but what we like most is the 10 hours of runtime it gives you.

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Are you a competitive gamer but can’t afford the luxury of a high-end 4K monitor or gaming laptop? If yes, then the Asus TUF FX505DT laptop will definitely be a steal. It is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 3550H processor, 8GB RAM, and a high-speed 256GB SSD, making it one of the most powerful laptops you will ever get on a budget.

These specs make it a pretty excellent performer, especially when it comes to everyday productivity tasks such as web surfing. You can have nearly 15 tabs open, with a few of these tabs streaming YouTube without worrying about lagging. As far as gaming is concerned, the Asus FX505DT does an above-average job. It is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, which, even though not the highest, is a rare find within this price-bracket.

It sports an RGB backlit keyboard, which is not only pleasant to look at but also to type on as it has soft keys with a solid spring back. The touchpad is also pretty intuitive and responsive. The only downside with the keyboard is that the numeric keys are pretty small and a pain to use.

It has a 15.6inch display with a 1920×1080 resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which means you never have to fret about ghosting or motion blur. As far as design is concerned, Asus could have done better. It is bulky and has a thick chassis. But considering its exemplary performance and the price, you shouldn’t expect it to be perfect.

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Lenovo’s Ideapad L340 checks all the boxes for those looking for an entry-level gaming laptop. It is equipped with game-ready hardware and performs well above the regular 60fps mark giving users a smooth gaming experience. Moreover, Lenovo equips the device with a reasonably powerful graphics card any gamer will like.

Its construction is equally appealing. The case has a smooth finish that mimics a brushed material while the edges are extremely smooth and even. The display has a 1080 resolution which is just right for avid gamers. This means you can enjoy life-like images, full of color and vibrancy, not to mention the great viewing angles. Its IPS panel has a 60Hz refresh rate which is pretty acceptable for this price range.

On the left are a few ports to enhance this laptop’s connectivity. It comes with a USB Type-C port, an Ethernet port, USD 3.1 port, a headphone/mic combo, and an HDMI 2.0 port. Further, the laptop allows Wi-Fi connectivity through 802.11 AC Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection. However, the lack of a 2×2 MIMO antenna technology means the laptop can only handle transfer rates of 290-308 Mbs when sending data.

As for this laptop’s performance, it does a pretty good job. Its 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H processor paired with 8GB RAM and 512 GB NVMe SSD provides a smooth experience on your daily computing tasks, including light media creation and spreadsheet processing.

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If you are looking for a Windows mobile experience on a laptop, the latest Surface Laptop 3 is an excellent buy. It nails all essential features in a portable laptop thanks to its ultra-thin construction, fantastic keyboard and trackpad combo, and upgraded processor.

Microsoft has certainly expanded its Surface Laptop series as it was originally available in soft gray color only. Now the line is available in multiple sizes, material choices, and configurations. This Sandstone metal version stands out thanks to its slight pink hue, almost similar to a flashy Rose Gold color. Moreover, its physical construction mimics Microsoft’s first and second generation as it has the traditional clamshell form factor.

Besides its ultra-light build, the laptop comes equipped with the PixelSense screen with a resolution of 2256×1504 pixels. Though shy of 4K resolution, this display density makes graphics and texts appear razor-sharp and more detailed than a 1080p display. Atop the display is an IR-enabled webcam that allows you to log in to your Windows 10 account using facial recognition.

Its input/output selection has improved slightly compared to the previous third generation. The Surface Laptop 3 comes with a USB Type-C port which makes phone charging and connecting external drives easy. It also has a headphone jack, a USB Type-A port, and a Surface Connect port used to connect to a Surface Dock which adds four USB 3.0 ports, Giga Ethernet port, and audio output.

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The HP 14-inch Touchscreen Home and Business laptop are one of the best pocket-friendly notebooks in the market. Thanks to its touchscreen display, great battery life, efficient and smooth performances, and a lot of connectivity options all packed in a slim and light body, this laptop is an excellent option for home and business users.

While it does not precisely redefine previous versions, the HP 14-inch does enough right things to deserve a spot among the best laptops you can consider buying in 2020. Its stylish and slim design is built for life on the move. Its fast charging capabilities allow you to power down your laptop and go from 0 to 50 percent charge in a mere 50 minutes.

The laptop’s dual speakers also allow you to enjoy exceptional stereo quality when it comes to sound, while its dependable Ryzen 3 processor enables you to have a seamless experience. Its 8GB DDR4 RAM and 128GB SSD drive offer you better performance, durability, and power consumption thanks to their latest technology.

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The HP 14-inch laptop is a slim, ultra-portable PC that promises to deliver reliable performances and seamless experiences to its users. With a long-lasting battery life of up to 10 hours, it is easy to stay connected, productive, and social to what matters.

Its micro-edge screen display is sure to give you a lot to look at with more transparency and screen display in a smaller frame in high definition. The PC comes with an energy-sipping 7^th Generation AMD processor that has a base frequency of 3.1 GHz that reaches up to 3.7 GHz burst frequency. This is a primary processor that promises nothing but the best in power and efficiency.

The HP 14-inch laptop also comes with a good selection of input-output ports at the side of the chassis considering its small size. On purchasing this laptop, you will notice an ethernet port, a micro SD card reader, USB ports, and a headset jack.

The HP 14-inch laptop is an excellent pocket-friendly PC that offers solid overall performances, great connectivity, a comfortable keyboard, and even an HD 1080p display.

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Like previous versions of Dell’s Inspiron series, the 2020 newest Dell Inspiron is built to serve both home and office users with ease. While it carries Inspiron in its name, the latest Dell laptop is a bit dissimilar to previous versions. The laptop is clad in a plain plastic and metal shell, featuring a 14-inch full HD display and a full-sized keyboard that excludes a Numpad.

Powering this PC is a competent 10^th Generation Intel Core i5 processor that is paired with an 8GB DDR4 RAM and a 256GB SSD. Its dramatic graphics offer extra power that is optimal for everyday use with the screen offering anti-glare viewing experiences with wide-view angling displays.

The 2020 Del Inspiron also features a miniaturized webcam that has a 4-element lens that measures about 2.7mm. In comparison to other webcams, this lens uses more elements than any other typical webcam delivering sharp videos and images in all areas of the frame. Like most laptops that are being introduced to the market, the 2020 Dell Inspiron offers its users an impressive battery life of about 6-hours making it a competitive device.

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