The very best funds laptops for 2026

A good funds doesn’t imply you must accept a gradual or outdated laptop computer. Many inexpensive fashions in the present day provide stable efficiency for work, lessons and on a regular basis searching, and a few even pack in extras like shiny shows or lengthy battery life. Whether or not you want one thing for varsity, journey or streaming, there are many funds laptops that ship extra worth than you would possibly anticipate.

For the reason that choices could be overwhelming, we examined a variety of units to seek out the very best funds laptops that supply reliable efficiency with out stretching your pockets.

Desk of contents

The very best low-cost laptops of 2026

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Learn our full Apple MacBook Air M4 review

Apple’s M4-equipped 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air stay the very best ultraportables you should purchase in the present day, and now they’re additionally higher offers beginning at $999 and $1,199, respectively. That’s $100 off the earlier technology, however it’s no knock on the standard of those laptops.

Each MacBook Air fashions stay remarkably quick, extremely skinny and lightweight, and ship glorious battery life. They’re mainly all the things you’d need in a premium productiveness pocket book. Certain, it could be good to see greater than two USB-C ports and a display that’s sooner than 60Hz, however most patrons probably received’t discover these deficiencies. (And in the event that they actually bug you, you may at all times think about the 14-inch MacBook Professional.)

Whereas the MacBook Air’s design hasn’t modified from the 2022-era M2 mannequin, it’s nonetheless enticing in the present day, and it additionally holds up effectively towards Home windows ultraportables. The Air isn’t Apple’s quickest laptop, however it’s one of many firm’s most iconic machines, one which’s elegantly crafted in ways in which PC makers not often accomplish. Its clean steel case nonetheless feels nice to carry, and its skinny and lightweight design makes it straightforward to journey with. The two.7-pound 13-inch Air nonetheless feels impressively sturdy for its weight, and the three.2-pound 15-inch mannequin doesn’t really feel that a lot heavier. (And for a lot of, the bigger display is well worth the portability sacrifice.)

Each MacBook Air fashions lasted for effectively over 18 hours in our assessments, in order that they’ll probably final you two work days without having to be juiced up. And whereas they’re removed from gaming PCs, we had been nonetheless impressed to see them run the graphically intensive recreation Lies of P at 60fps in 1080p.

Sadly, with the value minimize on the M4 Air got here the phasing out of the MacBook Air M3 from Apple’s official lineup. Nevertheless, you may nonetheless discover that laptop computer floating round on websites like Amazon for now. If you will discover the 16GB RAM configuration, new or refurbished, for $899 or much less, it is a stable various. You possibly can even discover some M2 MacBook Airs nonetheless accessible on-line, however we would solely advocate grabbing that should you discover it for $799 or much less. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Reporter

Execs

Quick efficiency
Skinny and lightweight design
Nice keyboard
Finest-in-class touchpad
Wonderful battery life

Cons

Might use extra ports
Display screen is barely 60Hz

$749 at Amazon

Photograph by Daniel Cooper / Engadget

Read our full review of the HP Pavilion Aero 13

If you happen to like the final aesthetics of machines like Dell’s XPS 13 however don’t wish to pay $1,000 or extra, the HP Pavilion Aero is your finest guess. We gave it a score of 87 in our assessment and in contrast it to Dell’s flagship laptop computer. It’s definitely not as modern as that machine, however it comes fairly shut with its angled profile, 2.2-pound weight and its anti-glare 13.3-inch show. Regardless of its keyboard being a bit of cramped, it’s a stable typing machine and we recognize its port choice: one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI connector and a headphone jack. You possibly can at the moment choose an Aero 13 up for as little as $900, however they’ve gone on sale for even much less. The entire prebuilt base fashions accessible from HP straight include Ryzen 5 processors, and you may customise the laptop computer to have as much as a Ryzen 7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

Execs

Engaging design
Many ports
Strong efficiency for the value

$880 at HP

Photograph by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Our favorite Chromebook is Lenovo’s Flex 5 Chromebook, which nails the necessities with construct high quality that feels extra premium than its value suggests. Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham praised the Flex 5 for providing great worth. The 14-inch touchscreen and backlit keyboard are nice additions for individuals who multitask or use Android apps. The newest mannequin has an upgraded 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which when paired with the Core i3 CPU, make for a speedy, succesful machine. It’s additionally good to see one USB-A and two USB-C ports, six hours of battery life and a 360-degree hinge that makes it straightforward to make use of the Flex 5 as a pill. This may very well be the best laptop computer for Chrome OS followers who spend quite a lot of time net searching, and it’ll hit the candy spot for lots of different patrons on the market, offering a stage of high quality and efficiency that’s fairly uncommon to seek out at this value level.

Execs

Nice total efficiency for the value
Good show
Strong keyboard and trackpad

Cons

Mediocre battery life
A bit heavy and chunky

$405 at Amazon

acer

Acer’s Aspire 5 household is a stable Windows option when you’ve got lower than $500 to spend on a brand new laptop computer, providing stable on a regular basis efficiency and loads of ports. The newest fashions hit a superb center floor for most individuals, operating on Intel Eleventh-gen CPUs and supporting as much as 16GB of RAM and as much as 512GB of storage. In fact, the upper specs you get, the dearer the machine shall be — not all Aspire 5 laptops are available at underneath $500. The Aspire 5 comes with a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS show, which delivers clear visuals for streaming or net searching. The quantity pad is a useful addition for productiveness, and the port choice consists of USB-A, USB-C, and Ethernet ports, making it a sensible alternative for individuals who want to attach a number of units. Acer’s newest fashions additionally characteristic Wi-Fi 6 for sooner connectivity, and our battery take a look at confirmed as much as 10 hours of excellent battery life—greater than sufficient for a day’s work or leisure.

Execs

Extremely inexpensive
Good efficiency for the value
Keyboard consists of quantity pad
Good number of ports

$304 at Amazon

What to search for in a funds laptop computer

First, we at Engadget think about something underneath $1,000 to be “funds” within the laptop computer area. The rationale for that is twofold: even probably the most inexpensive flagship laptops usually begin at $1,000 or extra, and should you go dramatically decrease than that (say, $500 or much less), that’s the place you’ll actually begin to see compromises in efficiency. You’ll usually discover the very best low-cost laptops hanging a superb steadiness between energy and value within the $500 to $1,000 vary. However on this information, we’ll cowl high picks at a variety of costs — there are a variety of wonderful choices on the high and low finish of the funds spectrum.

Arguably the most important factor to search for in an affordable laptop computer is construct high quality and a good spec sheet. You would possibly be capable of discover configuration choices with the most recent technology CPU chipsets, or you could have to go for one which has a barely older processor. We advocate on the lookout for fashions with stable state drive (SSD) storage as an alternative of a conventional exhausting drive, as SSDs present sooner efficiency. And if you will discover a PC with the most recent internals, it’s well worth the funding. Nevertheless, going with a CPU that’s only one technology behind probably received’t make a noticeable distinction in efficiency.

Together with processors, you also needs to think about the quantity of reminiscence and storage you want in a every day driver. For the previous, we advocate laptops with at the very least 8GB of RAM; something with lower than that may have a tough time multitasking and managing all these net searching tabs. The latter is a little more private: how a lot onboard storage you want actually relies on what number of apps, information, photographs, paperwork and extra you’ll save regionally. As a basic rule of thumb, attempt to go for a laptop computer that has at the very least a 256GB SSD (this solely goes for macOS and Windows machines, as Chromebooks are a bit completely different). That ought to provide you with sufficient area for applications and information, plus room for future working system updates. And should you want a machine for gentle productiveness or Android emulation, some laptops even assist Android apps natively, which might add additional versatility.

After figuring out the very best efficiency you may get whereas sticking to your funds, it’s additionally value inspecting just a few completely different design facets. We advocate a laptop computer with an IPS show for higher viewing angles and coloration accuracy, although premium fashions with OLED shows have gotten extra frequent and may provide deeper blacks and vibrant colours. Take note of port choice, too — many funds fashions provide loads of ports, whereas higher-end ones are likely to prioritize minimalism with fewer connections. If connectivity issues to you, search for choices with USB-C, USB-A, HDMI and an audio jack.

And talking of sensible options, keep watch over GPU efficiency should you’re looking for a budget-friendly gaming laptop. Whereas built-in graphics are wonderful for informal customers, a devoted GPU will enhance gaming and inventive workloads. We additionally advocate checking the refresh fee of the display, as the next fee will make a noticeable distinction in each video games and scrolling-heavy apps.

A be aware about refurbished laptops

Refurbished laptops are an alternative choice to think about should you want a brand new machine and don’t wish to spend a ton of cash. Shopping for refurbished tech could be difficult should you’re unfamiliar with a model’s or service provider’s insurance policies surrounding what they classify as “refurbished.” But it surely’s not inconceivable — for laptops, we advocate going on to the producer for refurbished units. Apple, Dell and Microsoft all have official refurbishment processes that their units undergo earlier than they’re put again available on the market that verifies the machines work correctly and are in good situation. Third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart even have their very own refurbishment applications for laptops and different devices as effectively.

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