You don't need to overspend to get a capable laptop, and that includes both Windows models and Apple MacBooks. It's possible to find a decent laptop for less than $500; you may need to comparison shop and exercise some patience while you wait for a sale. And thats where we can help.CNETs editors have tested and reviewed many, many laptops from Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Dell and HP, so we can spot the best cheap laptops when we see them. Even Apple now has a bargain with the M1 MacBook Air. Also, consider a Chromebook, especially if much of what you do is on the web; even high-end models are under $700. Our Picks Best budget laptop Apple MacBook Air M1 View details $699 at Walmart View details Best budget gaming laptop Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 View details $990 at Amazon View details Best budget ultraportable HP Pavilion Aero 13 View details $570 at HP View details Best budget laptop for students Apple MacBook Air M3 View details $899 at Amazon View details Best budget Windows laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 View details $799 at Amazon View details Best laptop under $500 Acer Aspire Go 14 View details $300 at Acer View details Best budget laptop for video editing HP Pavilion Plus 14 View details $900 at HP View details Best budget 2-in-1 laptop Lenovo Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 View details $615 at Amazon View details Best budget business laptop Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 View details $1,059 at Amazon View details Table of Contents What's the best cheap laptop overall?Our favorite budget laptop is Apple's M1 MacBook Air, which was first released in 2020 and revived earlier this year as an exclusive at Walmart. It's just $629, a great price for its mix of design, performance and battery life. The current M3 MacBook Air is also on the edge of the budget class and an excellent value when it's on sale for $899 at Best Buy.For a Windows ultraportable that rivals the MacBook Air in both design and battery life, check out the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7. Built with an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPU, it's the first Copilot Plus PC we've reviewed. And we came away impressed, particularly in the battery life department. Windows laptops have trailed MacBooks in battery life ever since Apple released its Arm-based M1 processor nearly four years ago. The Surface Laptop 7 didn't just close the gap in battery life between a Windows laptop at a MacBook but surpassed it. And it starts at just $1,000, but a $1,200 version is reduced to $899.Elsewhere on the Windows side, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 is a great value for offering an all-aluminum design and OLED display while keeping the price in the budget class. We've also long considered Acer an excellent purveyor of budget laptoos, and it has a couple inclusions here with the super low-cost Aspire Go 14 and budget gaming laptop in the Predator Helios Neo 16.Using CNET editors' decades of experience testing and reviewing laptops, we've compiled a roundup of the best budget laptops below. Keep in mind that you may find even better laptop deals this holiday season that bring these affordable models to an even lower price. Best cheap laptops of 2025Filter by Showing 6 of 6 Results Compare