If you’re in the market for an inexpensive laptop for day-to-day tasks, you’re in luck. We’ve got a list of our top picks below. That said, it’s important to be smart about your choices. Although you may need to deal with a couple of minor drawbacks like a dim display or short battery life, it’s still possible to score a sub-$500 laptop with strong performance.
Why you should trust us: It’s in our name! PCWorld prides itself on laptop experience and expertise. We’ve been covering PCs since 1983, and we now review more than 70 laptops every year. All of the picks below have been personally tested and vetted by our experts, who’ve applied not only performance benchmarks but rigorous usability standards. We’re also committed to reviewing PC laptops at every price point to help you find a machine that matches your budget.
If you can manage to stretch your budget a little bit further, check out our best laptops roundup for even more suggestions.
Updated April 24, 2024: We added the Acer Aspire Go 15 as the Best Laptop Under $300. It’s even cheaper than our top pick, for those who are on a strict budget, and has better battery life. We’ve also updated our list of recent laptop reviews, so be sure to check those out.
The best laptops under $500
Acer Aspire 3 – Best laptop under $500 overall
Pros
- Reliable performance
- 1080p display
- HD webcam
- Solid build
Cons
- Speakers sound tinny when playing music
- A little heavy
Why we like the Acer Aspire 3
The Acer Aspire 3 laptop is a great machine that offers solid performance and a durable build at a reasonable price. It’s plenty zippy for day-to-day tasks like watching Netflix, writing email, and so on. You’re also getting a full-sized keyboard as well as a 1080p screen.
Who should buy the Acer Aspire 3
Anyone who’s on a budget! To narrow it down some, we feel as though the Acer Aspire 3 is a good option for students and remote workers. You can’t argue with the price and the HD webcam produces “clean, crisp video” according to our review. That means you’ll always look sharp on video calls.
Acer Aspire Go 15 – Best laptop under $300
Pros
- Affordable
- Decent battery life
- Good display visibility
Cons
- Big and bulky
- Cheap build
- Limited performance
Why we like the Acer Aspire Go 15
For just $300, the Acer Aspire Go 15 offers speedy day-to-day performance, good battery life, and a clear-looking 1080p display. In our testing, the 53.9 watt-hour battery lasted almost 12 hours on a single charge, which is more than a full workday. The 15.6-inch display has a resolution of 1920×1080 and a modest brightness level of 284 nits. In use, the reviewer was still able to see the screen even with a light beaming down onto it. While the Intel Core i3-N305 CPU lags a little behind other laptops in its class, it’s suitable for everyday tasks like listening to Spotify, watching Hulu, and so on.
Who should buy the Acer Aspire Go 15
Anyone that’s on an ultra-strict budget. The Acer Aspire Go 15 is about $30 cheaper than our top pick (as of right now) and offers better battery life. It also has a nice keyboard that the reviewer was able to comfortably type “around 110 words per minute” on and the trackpad is nice and smooth. There’s even a decent array of ports available. You’re getting one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with Power Delivery and DisplayPort, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI, one 3.5mm audio, one Kensington lock slot, and one DC barrel jack.
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