Laptops are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes at various price ranges. The more you spend, the more powerful and premium-looking machine you get. But what if you have a tight budget, or maybe you’re just looking for a laptop that’s great for basic web browsing and typing purposes? There are some good Chromebooks as well as Windows options that you can grab at a reasonable price, but finding the right one can be a task on its own.
We’ve picked out some of the best ones that you should consider. Here is a roundup of some of the best laptops under $300:
Navigate this guide:
- Best overall laptop: HP 14 Laptop
- Best tablet: Lenovo Chromebook Duet
- Best battery life: Acer Chromebook Spin 311
- Best value laptop: Samsung Chromebook 4+
- Best 15-inch laptop: ASUS L510
- Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 713
- Best laptop for classrooms: HP Chromebook x360 11MK G3 Education Edition
- Best budget convertible laptop: Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3
Best overall laptop: HP 14 Laptop
HP’s entry laptops are an excellent choice if you’re looking for an inexpensive Windows machine for basic workloads for students, attending video calls, web browsing, and so on. The HP 14 Laptop is powered by the Intel Celeron N4020 Processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage (64GB eMMC+64GB Micro SD). It’s available in five color options too, including Black, White, Indigo Blue, Pale Gold, and Rose Gold.
In terms of port selection, you get a USB 3.0 Type-C port, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, HDMI 1.4b, a headphone/microphone combo jack, and an SD card reader. This is also our choice for the best Windows laptop available under $300.
- A solid 14-inch laptop capable of handling most of your basic computing needs and an excellent choice for students looking for an affordable Windows 10 laptop.
Best tablet: Lenovo Chromebook Duet
Unlike most convertible or 2-in-1 notebooks that let you fold the display, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is a proper tablet that can be converted into a fully-fledged laptop with a dedicated keyboard. One of the only Chrome OS-based tablets at the given budget, it looks elegant with a dual-tone finish at the rear as well as the fabric finish on the kickstand cover. You can use it as a standalone tablet or snap on the removable keyboard for a laptop experience.
It features a 10.1-inch display with an FHD (1920 x 1200) resolution and is powered by a MediaTek Helio P60T processor (2GHz, 8 Cores, 8 Threads), 4GB LPDDR4x RAM, and 128GB eMMC storage. Do note it’s limited to a single USB-C port so you’re going to need some dongles or a USB-C hub.
- The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is one of the best Chrome OS-based tablets you can buy at an affordable price range.
Best battery life: Acer Chromebook Spin 311
Yet another Chrome OS device, the Acer Chromebook Spin 311 is our recommendation if you’re looking for an affordable laptop with great battery life. It comes with a slim profile, a sturdy build, and a 360-degree rotating hinge for a convertible form factor. Best of all, the 4,670mAh battery is said to provide juice for up to 15 hours!
The notebook is powered by the MediaTek MT8183C which is an octa-core processor with clock speeds going up to 2.0GHz. It’s paired with 4GB of LPDDR4X memory and 32GB eMMC. Other features include an 11.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) resolution IPS display with Gorilla Glass protection, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port (DisplayPort and USB-PD charging support), a USB 2.0 Type-A port, and a headphone/microphone combo jack.
- The Chromebook Spin 311 is a recommended inexpensive Chromebook laptop that offers a sleek design and is rated to offer the best battery life experience.
Best value laptop: Samsung Chromebook 4+
The Samsung Chromebook 4+ in our opinion is the best Chromebook you can buy under a budget of $300. It features a 15.6-inch full-HD (1920 x 1080) display with slim side bezels and is powered by a 1.1GHz Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core processor and 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM, which is more than most laptops at this price range. It comes with 128GB eMMC storage that can be expanded further using a microSD card.
For connectivity, the notebook offers USB Type-C and USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a headphone/microphone combo jack, and for wireless communication, there is Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 5. Other notable features include support for Android apps via the Google Play Store, a TPM chip, and a respectable battery life of up to 10.5 hours on a single charge.
- The Samsung Chromebook 4+ offers a 1080p display, along with 6GB of RAM, both of which are quite impressive for a laptop that is priced under $300.
Best 15-inch laptop: ASUS L510
For the ones looking for a 15-inch laptop for a better viewing experience, the ASUS L510 is a good choice. It’s a lightweight Windows 10 notebook that comes with a 15.6-inch Full-HD (1920 x 1080) panel, a rare sight for a laptop priced under $300. Powering the laptop is an Intel Celeron N4020 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMc storage. There’s also a microSD card for expanding the storage.
It comes with a good selection of ports including a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, HDMI, and a headphone/microphone combo jack.
- The ASUS L510 is one of the only 15.6-inch laptops available under a budget of $300 offering a Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution.
Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 713
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is one of the best Chromebooks on the market, and if you opt for last year’s model with the 10th-gen Intel processor, you can save quite a bit of money as the base model is available around $300. It features a 13.5-inch 3:2 ratio IP touchscreen display that offers a sharp resolution of 2256 x 1504 and is protected by Gorilla Glass. It comes with 64GB internal storage with a microSD card reader for further expansion, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, and a premium convertible design with MIL-STD 810H4 military-grade durability. The laptop also comes with Wi-Fi 6, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, a microphone/headphone combo jack, and full-size HDMI for video out.
- The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is one of the best Chromebooks that you can buy today with the base model available around the $300 price mark.
Best laptop for classrooms: HP Chromebook x360 11MK G3 Education Edition
While HP offers a range of Chromebooks at an affordable price range for consumers, it also has dedicated options for students. The HP Chromebook x360 11MK G3 is a recommended laptop for education purposes offering a cloud-first solution that can help students stay connected whether they are in a classroom, or learning from home. It comes with an 11.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) IPS touchscreen offering 220 nits brightness and is powered by the MediaTek MT8183 octa-core processor clocked at 2GHz.
There is 4GB of LPDDR4x 4266MHz RAM and 32GB of storage which can be expanded using a microSD card. It features a convertible form-factor allowing you to switch between laptop, tablet, tent, and media mode. The laptop can also withstand drops of up to 122cm and has undergone MIL-STD 810H testing.
- The HP Chromebook x360 11MK G3 is an affordable laptop meant for students and classroom environments offering cloud-first solutions for education and learning purposes.
Best budget convertible: Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3
The IdeaPad Flex 3 is an affordable convertible Windows laptop from Lenovo that’s well-suited for someone who needs a lightweight machine for basic day-to-day tasks. It’s powered by a dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 processor paired with 4GB of DDR4 memory and 64GB of inbuilt storage. You can further expand the storage using a microSD card. The 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 IPS display offers touch capability while the 360-degree hinge allows you to rotate the display in tent mode, media mode, or tablet mode.
In terms of connectivity, the laptop offers two USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-C ports, a full-size HDMI, a headphone/mic combo jack, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 5. It also features a dedicated webcam shutter for extra privacy, 2 x 1.5W speakers with Dolby Audio, and up to 11 hours of battery life.
- If you're looking for a Windows laptop on a budget with a 2-in-1 form factor, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 is a solid option
There are quite a few affordable laptops you can buy, but the ones we mentioned above are some of the best laptops under $300. Our pick would be the HP 14 Laptop as a Windows machine is always more flexible compared to Chrome OS, and offers a pretty decent set of specifications. If you can extend your budget, we also have a roundup of the best cheap laptops. We also have a list of the best 5G laptops for seamless mobile connectivity and the best laptops to buy in 2021.
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