Buying a laptop with a specific budget in mind is tricky - no matter what your price limit, there will always be upsides and downsides to a given model. Our reviews reveal exactly how each laptop compares to its rivals, but if you want a quick hit to find out which models under £500 are worth a punt, read on.
Read our guide to theBudget laptop vs cheap laptop
Michael Passingham, Which? laptops expert
Some of the cheapest laptops we test have decrepit and old processors despite having only launched relatively recently. These laptops attract people who need to spend as little as possible and of course, sometimes you simply need a screen and a keyboard and don't want to stretch your finances. However, if you can avoid the absolute cheapest, you’ll have a substantially better experience in the long run - provided you pick your model carefully.
News, deals and stuff the manuals don't tell you.Best budget laptops
Below we’ve picked out laptops we’ve tested at various prices - less than £500, less than £400 and less than £300. The choices below prioritise buying the quickest laptop for your money without making heavy compromises elsewhere.
Top-pick laptop under £500: Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7435
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This 2-in-1 laptop has a 14-inch touchscreen and can be flipped around to be used like a large tablet. Dell hasn’t scrimped on the specs, it’s the best specification we’ve seen on any laptop under £500 we’ve seen in several years.
Another smart choice under £500Top-pick laptop under £400: Asus Vivobook Go 15 E1504GA
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You get a lot of laptop for your money with the Asus Vivobook Go 15 E1504GA. The Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of Ram and 256GB of storage is more than we’d expect for the price and is the spec we’d recommend for anyone who needs a laptop for browsing the web, working on docs and watching a few videos.
Another smart choice under £400Top-pick laptop under £300: Acer Chromebook 514 CB514-1W
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This is a good specification for £299. A reasonably recent Intel Core i3 processor coupled with 8GB of Ram and 128GB of storage should be enough for a student or home office user who doesn’t mind too much about the corners being cut elsewhere, including screen and speaker quality.
On a tight budget and want some more choices? See our guide to theCan you buy a budget Mac?
Macs command a higher price than any other laptop brand. You can save money by buying second-hand or refurbished, but it’s hard to find a relatively new Mac in good condition for under £600.
Head to our guide for the biggest and best discounts, handpicked by our expertsWhich affordable laptop brand is best?
In addition to testing more than 120 laptops each year, we also survey thousands of laptop-owning Which? members to see if any brands excel in terms of reliability and overall customer satisfaction.
While Dell isn't a brand that tops our survey, we have found that for brands that sell cheaply, as well as high-end, laptops, Dell does eke out a small advantage over other big mainstream names, including Acer and HP.
See our guide to the for more.source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/best-budget-laptops-aunkx6I4wiPo