The best cheap laptops of 2024: Performance and reliability on a budget

Without question, our favourite budget laptop of the year – the ASUS Vivobook 15 – is a solid choice for its price, putting even some high-end laptops to shame with its sheer value.

On the surface, the ASUS Vivobook 15 is visually pretty standard. Its silver colour and metal chassis are appealing. Still, they're not exceptionally clean, but make for a great office laptop.

Where the Vivobook 15 truly impresses, however, is its impressive hardware – an Intel 1235U, 512GB of SSD storage, and 16GB of RAM, that's more than most budget laptops can offer, and then some. The CPU and RAM ensure it can handle a variety of tasks and the SSD storage is more than enough to last a long time. It's a clear winner, even in a list of excellent laptops.

The GPU isn't amazing, but it's plenty serviceable for simple gaming. An eight-hour battery life is likewise unremarkable, but it should be sufficient for general use.

For office work, beginner photo editing and general use, the ASUS Vivobook 15 is a versatile, reliable laptop worth investing in. The screen is a spacious 15.6 inches, so you won't need to strain to see any details.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet seamlessly combines the features of a Chromebook laptop and a tablet. With its adaptable design, it functions as a traditional laptop when needed. However, for a more mobile experience, you can detach the screen from the keyboard and use it as a tablet, complete with touchscreen functionality. Plus, including a pen allows for convenient note-taking on the touchscreen.

As a hybrid device, the Duet 3 is lightweight, weighing under 1kg. This makes it an ideal companion for your commute or travel. Its compact size allows it to be easily stowed in a bag or drawer, keeping your desk uncluttered until needed.

In terms of performance, the collaborative efforts of the CPU, 8GB RAM, and 128GB eMMC memory ensure swift application loading and efficient file recall. Whether you're managing day-to-day tasks, studying, or taking notes during a meeting, the IdeaPad Duet delivers reliable performance.

The IdeaPad Duet 3 boasts additional advantages, including a 12-hour battery life, a vibrant 2K screen, and the seamless operation of the Chrome operating system. These features provide a user-friendly experience, making it a versatile device for various tasks and settings.

A great cheap laptop balances performance and value – prioritising storage, RAM and a great CPU for its price range, and the Dell Inspiron 15 does precisely that.

A great choice for budgeting students and desk-bound workers alike, the Dell Inspiron doesn't reinvent the wheel but certainly makes some nice tweaks worth checking out. While yes, the Inspiron 15's 512GB of SSD storage is impressive, and its 120Hz screen will delight you with its silky smoothness. The Intel i5 processor is middleweight but up to the job.

Everyday computing tasks and more aren't going to be a problem for the Inspiron 15 – but the same can't be said for more demanding high-end programs (for instance, creating 3D graphics or professional suites) that require a little more performance heft.

The ACER Aspire 3 boasts a 15.6-inch full HD screen, delivering vibrant and clear visuals. With reliability and responsiveness in mind, this laptop is well-suited for those seeking a neat device for work, study and everyday use. Under the hood, it runs on an Intel Core i3 processor and boasts a generous 8GB RAM, all backed up with a commendable 256GB SSD. You may struggle to fit numerous large games on it, but we think adding external storage is an easy workaround.

The screen caters to casual gamers with a 60Hz refresh rate and an anti-glare coating. The choice of an IPS panel enhances the gaming experience by minimizing motion blur, making the ACER Aspire 3 a solid option for those who value visual clarity and comfort during use.

Naturally, it won't excel as well as a dedicated gaming computer or console, but we think this is a brilliant laptop for the price. Unlike those more powerful models, this is portable, with a nine-hour battery life that won't hold you back.

If you're caught between getting a laptop under £500 or a cheaper laptop under £200, maybe you should consider something in the middle ground.

The HP Chromebook 15b-nb0002sa is a solid 15.6-inch laptop that does precisely what it says on the tin. It runs on ChromeOS, making it a bit different from a typical Windows model, but it's easy to use and responsive, making it the perfect laptop for students (university or otherwise). Plus, the 13-hour battery life is more than enough to survive an all-nighter.

With specs that aren't anything to write home about, aside from a particularly good 128GB of SSD storage, performance isn't a slow crawl, but it isn't high-octane either. The GPU falls short of most gaming needs. Stick to simple tasks with basic programs, avoiding demanding gaming or video editing, and you'll be golden.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is an incredible bargain as it's now priced under £500. Its ultra-slim design, full-HD screen, and highly usable well-spaced keys impart a premium feel to the laptop. Underneath the sleek exterior lies robust hardware, featuring an Intel Core i5 CPU and 256GB of SSD storage, ensuring swift responsiveness in day-to-day tasks.

With an above-standard 8GB RAM, this laptop proves itself to be a reliable machine capable of handling larger programs simultaneously. Securing a device with over 8GB of RAM at this price point is a rarity, making the IdeaPad 3i a noteworthy choice for those seeking affordability without compromising performance.

The only shortcoming of the IdeaPad 3i is the battery life. A total of five and a half hours off a full charge is very underwhelming, so be sure to keep a charging handy. We suggest using it primarily as a desk laptop, so you'll never be far from a socket.

While it sits slightly out of the usual £500 range, we still think that this Acer Aspire 7 is an excellent affordable laptop. For starters, it has 512GB of SSD storage, which outclasses a lot of other laptops, even at more expensive price points. This makes it pretty stellar for video editing and gaming needs.

The screen is notable too, especially for its refresh rate. The picture should remain consistent and clean thanks to it being 60Hz, so it's a great pick for watching videos and movies with. To add to that, the brightness level is at 250 nits, which outperforms even some TVs.

Keep in mind that the webcam isn't the best. If you need a laptop for working from home, this is generally a fantastic choice, so long as you don't need to do too many webcam calls.

This isn't the first appearance by HP in this list, and for good reason. HP remains the brand of choice for reliable laptops, and this PC 15s-fq5021sa is both lightweight and powerful. Sporting that trademark HP build quality, this slim machine has a great all-around midrange spec that makes it ideal for running creative software.

Packing a 15.6-inch screen, 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM, this is probably the best bang for your buck spec-wise. But there is a standout inclusion – the Intel Core i5 processor. It is a midrange CPU, but many similarly-priced machines will go for an i3 – so the i5 here makes this a solid laptop choice. We also like the inclusion of an anti-glare screen and super-thin bezel. The full-size numeric keypad is ideal for anyone inputting figures, and a built-in HD camera will keep you connected. It's an excellent example of an HP laptop that will suit most users extremely well.

While we adore the overall build, the keyboard does have an omission that might displease some. There's no backlight, meaning you'll be left in the dark to touch type if you don't keep your surroundings well-lit. That's fine for regular day use, but if you're fond of using your laptop at night, it might be a severe weakness in this otherwise great laptop.

A truly impressive deal for its price, the ASUS Vivobook 16 is an exceptional cheap laptop option at a slightly more expensive, midrange price point. With a 16-inch screen, this is the best entry on our list if you want to watch shows and movies on a laptop.

Coming in over the £500 threshold, the ASUS Vivobook 16 has a terrific 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. The Vivobook 16's CPU is a Ryzen 5-5600H is a super-solid inclusion at this price point. These are powerful specifications that will have many programs running smoothly.

The Vivobook 16's 16-inch FHD+ display, in tandem with the AMD Radeon graphics capability, also gives this some decent graphics capabilities. Most laptops in this bracket or cheaper don't have a GPU capable of great gaming - this one does. That means that the Vivobook 16's noteworthy hardware makes it an exceptional laptop for less than £1,000 too.

For those looking for something unique yet affordable, the ASUS CX1 may catch your eye. This is a 2-in-1 design that goes from a tablet to a laptop. That means it has an HD touchscreen that you can use whenever you want, the perfect tool for those who often need to quickly sketch something up. With how lightweight it is, along with its small size overall, you'll have no difficulty fitting this into a bag to travel with.

Considering the size, you wouldn't expect this to pack an impressive battery life, and yet it's surprisingly solid. At 13 hours, you'll get plenty of benefit out of the portability of this design before needing to top it up again.

The CPU and GPU are what you would expect for the price, but the storage and RAM are a little disappointing. The storage can be excused, to a degree, since it's comparable to other tablets, but 4GB RAM feels a bit sluggish.