TL;DR
Best Overall: Acer Aspire 3 AMD
Best Budget Pick: HP 14 Laptop
The economy hasn’t been doing so hot recently, so make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck with your next laptop purchase. And don’t go shop at a physical retail store—that just wastes gas! Here are my picks for the best cheap laptops available to buy right now on Amazon.
Acer Aspire 3 AMD
This is the #1 best-selling traditional laptop on Amazon, with 4.5 stars after over 38,000 reviews and counting. The impressive rating is not without good reason. This laptop boasts a beautiful 15.6″ full HD display, a fast AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB of onboard memory, and a 128 GB solid-state drive. It is all wrapped up in a slim, lightweight design reminiscent of Apple products. This is a great buy at just $299.
HP 14″ Ultral
HP’s lightweight budget laptop has comparable stats to my #1 pick, with a smaller 14″ HD display, Intel Quad-Core N4120 processor, 8 GB of memory, and 192 GB of storage space.
The display is smaller, at only 14″, and not full HD (it’s 1366 x 768). However, it does have comparable RAM and more storage space—though that storage space is split between 64GB high-speed eMMC Storage and a 128GB memory card.
However, the current $50 off coupon makes the price around $250, making it a great choice if your budget is tight and you’re OK with a smaller screen size.
HP 14 Laptop
The HP 14 Laptop has pared down specs compared to the first two entries on this list, with an Intel Celeron N4020 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and the same 14″ HD display as the Ultral. However, where this laptop shines is its price, at under $200; if you need a basic computer and you only have $200, it would be hard to do better.
Though if you have the budget, and insist on a smaller screen size, you can upgrade the HP 14 Laptop to 16GB of RAM and 576GB of storage for $299. That’s the same amount of RAM as the number one pick if you’re not too picky about the screen size.
HP 15.6″ TPN
The HP 15.6″ TPN is a contender for the #1 pick. At just $299, it has a 15.6″ HD display (though not full HD), 16GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive for storage.
The HP 15.6″ TPN boasts twice as much RAM as the Acer Aspire 3, which would make it an easy choice for better performance, but the weaker display makes it a toss-up. It’s difficult to choose between a more capable machine and a more brilliant viewing experience. In the end, I’d go with the Acer, as I think you won’t regret having the better display.
ASUS C523NA Chromebook
So, this pick requires you to be OK with two different compromises. First, you must be OK with Chrome OS instead of a traditional operating system like Microsoft Windows. You also need to be OK with buying a refurbished product. If you are OK with both of these, your wallet will be rewarded with big savings, as this laptop is only $129 at the time of writing.
You get a big 15.6″ HD display, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of EMMc storage. The performance specs are a little pared down from some of the other entries on this list, but the display is better than others. Of course, this is backed by Amazon Renewed’s 90-day warranty. All at a price lower than every other computer on this list. If price is your number one concern, this will get you up and running at a very affordable price.
Conclusion
Whichever laptop you go with, I think you’ll be happy with your purchase. All of these cheap laptops will get you up and running, and able to handle all of your standard computing needs. Did I miss anything? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!