HP is one of the leading global laptop manufacturers catering to a wide range of audiences, including enterprise users, gamers, mainstream consumers, as well as creative professionals. At the same time, the company has a good range of laptops that can keep up with your daily needs without costing thousands of dollars. From entry-level Windows laptops to fully-loaded Chromebooks, there are quite a few options, and to make things easier, we’ve selected the right ones for you.
Here are our picks of the best HP laptops to buy under $500:
Navigate this guide:
- Best overall laptop: HP Laptop 14t
- Best convertible laptop: HP Pavilion x360 14
- Best AMD laptop: HP laptop 15z
- Best 15-inch laptop: HP Laptop 15
- Best 17-inch laptop: HP Laptop 17t
- Best Chromebook: HP Chromebook 14b
- Best convertible Chromebook: HP Chromebook x360 14
- Best compact laptop: HP Chromebook 11a
- Best laptop for classrooms: HP Chromebook 11MK G9 Education Edition
Best overall laptop: HP Laptop 14t
HP’s basic entry-level Windows laptop series for consumers is a great option if you want an affordable option. The HP Laptop 14 is now available with the 11th-gen Intel Tiger-Lake processors, but if you want the notebook under $500, you can get the Core i3 processor option. While it’s only a dual-core processor, you can configure it with a 1080p display, 8GB of RAM, and a 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, which is definitely a great value.
Don’t expect a premium build quality as it primarily makes use of polycarbonate, but you do get a decent set of ports, including a USB 3.0 Type-C port, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, an HDMI 1.4, a headphone/microphone combo, and an SD card reader.
- The HP Laptop 14t is one of the best laptops from the company if you're looking for the best hardware udner $500.
Best convertible laptop: HP Pavilion x360 14
HP has a wide range of convertible notebooks that you can get even at the lower-price segment. The Pavilion x360 14 series is a little pricey, but an entry-level Core i3 model is available at under $500. It comes with a 14-inch 1366×768-resolution display that can be flipped around and used in various modes.
Powering the laptop is Intel’s 11th-gen Core i3-1115G4 processor with 8-gigs of DDR4 3200MHz RAM and 128GB SSD storage. It also comes with two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a USB 3.0 Type-C port, HDMI 2.0, a headphone and microphone combo jack, and an SD card reader.
- The Pavilion x360 14 is a convertible notebook with a 360-degree rotating hinge featuring the latest Intel 11th-gen processor options.
Best AMD laptop: HP Laptop 15z
Apart from Intel, HP also has a good selection of laptops powered by AMD processors. Under $500, you can go for the HP Laptop 15z, which is powered by the AMD Ryzen 5000-U series processors. The laptop can be configured with the six-core AMD Ryzen 5 5500U with Radeon Graphics, or you can bump it up to the Ryzen 7 5700U that offers two more cores, at an additional cost of $90. The rest of the features include up to 16GB of DDR4 memory, 1TB M.2 SSD storage, and a 1080p 15.6-inch display.
For connectivity, there is a USB 3.0 Type-C port, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, an HDMI 1.4b port, a headphone/microphone combo, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 4.2. It also offers a full-size SD card reader and is available in Natural Silver or Pale rose gold color options.
- If you're looking for an AMD-powered HP laptop at an affordable price range, then you got to go for the HP Laptop 15z.
Best 15-inch laptop: HP Laptop 15
For those looking for a standard 15.6-inch laptop, the HP Laptop 15 offers an excellent value and is our pick for the best 15-inch laptop from HP available for under $500. It’s available with a full-HD (1920 x 1080) resolution display, the latest 11th-gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor, 8GB of DDR4 2666MHz memory, and a 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. It comes with similar styling and design as the HP Laptop 14 featuring a plastic construction.
Notably, it also comes with a fingerprint reader, which is a rare sight on a laptop at this price range.
- The HP Laptop 15 is the best 15-inch laptop from HP that you can buy under a budget of $500 featuring a 1080p panel and the latest 11th-gen Intel Core i3 processor.
Best 17-inch laptop: HP Laptop 17t
Having a large display has its pros and cons. While you get more real estate for your content, it does make the laptop difficult to carry around. If you don’t care about the latter, the HP Laptop 17 is the only 17-inch laptop available for under $500. Like the 14-inch model, this one also comes with a plastic finish and can be configured with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 quad-core processor.
Along with that, the laptop also comes with 8GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, 1TB 5400 rpm SATA HDD, and a 17.3-inch HD+ (1600 x 900) display. If you can push your budget, we suggest that you opt for an SSD which will push your budget by $70.
- The HP Laptop 17t is the only laptop from the company that offers a 17-inch display having a price tag below $500.
Best Chromebook: HP Chromebook 14b
HP has a variety of Chromebooks in the budget segment and the best option under $500 is the HP Chromebook 14b, especially if you’re looking for a standard clamshell design. It’s powered by the AMD Athlon Silver 3050C processor which can boost up to 3.2GHz, paired to 4GB DDR4-2400 MHz RAM. For storage, you get 64GB of eMMC, but you can expand that using a microSD card.
Other key features include a 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS touchscreen with 250 nits brightness, a fingerprint reader for secure sign-in, Wi-Fi 6 support, Bluetooth 5.0, and up to 10 hours of battery life. In terms of port selection, you get a USB Type-C (support for Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.2), two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 1.4, and a headphone/microphone combo.
- The HP Chromebook 14b is one of the best value for money Chromebooks powered by AMD's Athlon Silver processor Radeon graphics.
Best convertible Chromebook: HP Chromebook x360 14
Chromebooks are a great option if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a laptop. HP has a wide range of Chromebooks, with the x360 14 being one of the best options under a budget of $500. It’s powered by Intel’s 10th-gen Core i3 processor with UHD graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB eMMC storage. There is also a microSD card reader to further increase storage.
It also comes with a fingerprint reader, a backlit keyboard, a webcam privacy switch, and stereo speakers by Bang and Olufsen. It also comes with a 1080p touchscreen panel with a 360-degree rotating hinge.
- If you're looking for the best HP Chromebook under a budget of $500, the Chromebook x360 14 should be at the top of your list.
Best compact laptop: HP Chromebook 11a
One of the most compact and reliable laptops from HP, the Chromebook 11a is meant for students and consumers looking for a small laptop that can handle basic tasks like web browsing, editing documents, etc. It comes with an 11.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) touchscreen display and is powered by the MediaTek MT8183 octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM. For storage, there’s 32GB of inbuilt eMMC and a microSD card slot for expansion.
I/O ports include a USB 2.0 Type-C (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.1), a USB 2.0 Type-A, and a headphone/microphone combo. The tiny laptop is also said to offer up to 15 hours of battery life.
- The HP Chromebook 11a is a compact, lightweight laptop running on ChromeOS and offers all the bells and whistles for a reliable basic everyday notebook.
Best laptop for students: HP Chromebook 11MK G9 Education Edition
HP has dedicated laptops for the education sector powered by Chrome OS. The HP Chromebook 11MK G9 Education Edition is an entry-level Chromebook that offers a cloud-first learning solution. The laptop is said to offer a thickness of under 19mm, can withstand drops of up to 122cm, and has undergone MIL-STD 810H and HP education testing. It’s powered by the octa-core MediaTek MT8183 processor with integrated 4GB LPDDR4x 4266MHz RAM, Mali-G72 MP3 graphics, and 32GB eMMC for storage that can be expanded using a microSD card. It uses standard 45W charging via the USB Type-C port, and apart from that, you get a USB Type-A port, a headphone/microphone combo jack, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
- A dedicated Chromebook for students, HP Chromebook 11MK G9 is an excellent choice if you're looking for an inexpensive solution for digital classrooms and e-learning.
These are some of the best HP laptops that are available for under $500. Out of the above, the HP Laptop 14t is overall the best option as it offers the best value hardware for the asking price. We’re expecting all of the Windows options above will be getting the free upgrade to Windows 11 later during the Holiday season.
If you are looking for the best of the best, check out our roundup of the best laptops to buy in 2021. We also have a list of the best affordable laptops as well as the best laptops with 5G connectivity.
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