And lastly, for something with a larger screen, I’d recommend the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x. It’s a particularly good alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Air, at a much lower cost. These days, you can buy the upgraded model with the 2560 x 1600 OLED display (and 165-Hz refresh rate) for $1,000, on sale at Amazon. While it’s slightly thicker than the MacBook Air, it leaves more room for extra ports including HDMI, USB-A, and an SD card slot. And while the Snapdragon X2 Plus isn’t quite an M5 killer, I was happy with the performance and battery life provided.
Lenovo also sells a cheaper version directly, but it has a lower-resolution IPS screen that I haven’t tested. While the other specs are good, you might want to consider one of the cheaper options that I’ve tested below, such as the HP OmniBook 5. The IdeaPad Slim 5x has stronger performance and a better touchpad, though.
Cheap Laptops That Are Actually Good
While “cheap” means something different to everyone, the best budget laptops generally fall under $750. This is where Windows truly shines, offering great specs for less money. Thanks to the latest processors from Qualcomm and Intel, these laptops now offer battery life that rivals Apple. The best affordable laptop I’ve checked out is the HP OmniBook 5. The model I tested has a Snapdragon X processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and a 14-inch OLED screen. Discounts fluctuate frequently, but HP always has some version of the OmniBook 5 with a Snapdragon CPU at under $700. The specific discounted configuration seems to change every few days, though, so shop carefully.
I also recently tested the new HP OmniBook 3, which uses the same chip as the OmniBook 5. It frequently sells for less than the OmniBook 5 by at least $100 or so. HP is selling this configuration of the 14-inch model for around $550. While the OmniBook 3 is a good alternative, the OmniBook 5 is much thinner and looks more modern. Neither laptop has a particularly great touchpad, though, which is easily the biggest flaw in both laptops. Between the two, the OmniBook 5 is the better buy if you can afford it.
The MacBook Neo is Apple’s new entry-level laptop. It initially started at an aggressive $599, but that price has recently been raised to $699. Even at that price, the laptop shines when it comes to the display. It offers the best screen you can find at this price, bringing the macOS experience to an unprecedented value, even at $699 (or $799 for the 512 GB model). Apple clearly prioritized the front-of-screen experience, delivering a premium feel across the display, build quality, and keyboard. While the 8 GB of RAM, outdated ports, and slower SSD are notable drawbacks—making the MacBook Air a far better choice for remote workers—the Neo is an extremely premium-feeling laptop available for students, travelers, and casual users. Thanks to the lower-powered A18 Pro chip, though, performance does take a hit. So, be careful about buying this laptop if you work at a computer all day.
Given how good some of these budget laptops are, it’s a bit harder to find a place for Chromebooks. The standout option is still the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14. It’s the most premium Chromebook available, with an OLED screen, 16 GB of RAM, and battery life that rivals the MacBook Neo. Its price just keeps going up, though, now at $849. That’s far too expensive for what you get. Instead, I’d recommend the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, which uses the same efficient (and responsive) MediaTek Kompanio Ultra that delivers excellent battery life. This one is also a 2-in-1, with a touchscreen, a 360-degree hinge, and a quality touchpad. The retail price of $749 is way too much, but it frequently drops down to $549, which is a great deal for this hardware. For a true budget Chromebook under $400, there are significant compromises, but I’d recommend the Asus Chromebook CX15. The screen isn’t the best, and neither is the touchpad. But the specs are solid for the price, and I liked the more modern look compared to other ultra-cheap Chromebooks.
Windows laptops are about to get much stronger in this category, however, just as higher-priced Chromebooks will be seemingly phased out over time and replaced by the upcoming Googlebooks. Personally, I wouldn’t spend more than $500 for a Chromebook and would instead opt for one of the cheaper HP OmniBooks mentioned above if you’re already spending close to this price.
Powerful Laptops for Those Who Need It
While the laptops above are great for the average person, content creators and gamers need extra performance. For the former, the 16-inch M5 Max MacBook Pro is the ultimate choice. It combines immense power with surprising portability and fantastic battery life—a rare feat. The M5 generation is the most impressive yet, with a greatly expanded GPU and significantly boosted on-device AI processing thanks to a more efficient Neural Engine and faster memory bandwidth. While it is one of the most powerful AI laptops available, the MacBook Pro isn’t for everyone; it is built specifically for professional creatives and engineers running heavy, demanding applications. It’s become more expensive in 2026, but there’s still nothing quite like it on the market.
There are a number of Windows alternatives to the MacBook Pro, including the Asus ProArt P16 and Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i. And while both are powerful, they take an old-school approach to performance, using hot-and-heavy discrete graphics cards that significantly reduce battery life to achieve that level of performance. We’ll probably need to wait for Nvidia’s anticipated RTX Spark laptops for a true MacBook Pro competitor later this year. The Dell XPS 14 takes a different approach, ditching the discrete GPU for Intel’s new X7 or X9 chip (also known as B390 or Intel Arc graphics). The results are seriously impressive, replicating the performance of an RTX 4050 without the downsides of using a discrete GPU. Moreover, the Dell XPS 14 has a level of design polish you usually see only on MacBooks—and it even surpasses them in some areas. The more affordable configurations with the Core Ultra 5 or 7 don’t have as strong graphics, but you still get the premium design and excellent battery life.
The most common use for laptop performance, however, is for playing games. If you plan on booting up any graphically intensive games more than a couple of times a week, you will want a dedicated gaming laptop. After testing dozens over the past year, I’ve come back to the Lenovo LOQ 15 as my top pick. There are cheaper RTX 5050 models out there, such as the Alienware 15 or MSI Cyborg A15, but prices have been increasing on these laptops over the past few months. The Alienware 15 with the RTX 5050, in particular, has seen a $600 price increase, which makes it incredibly overpriced. That’s led me back to the LOQ 15, which has stayed steady at $1,300 at Walmart and gives you an RTX 5060 for graphics and a bright, colorful screen.
You won’t find a cheaper gaming laptop that doesn’t make some significant compromises in either performance or screen quality, both of which can sour the gaming experience. And while I wish the LOQ 15 were still selling for under $1,000 like it was when it first launched, it remains the absolute best gaming laptop for the money right now. It’s really the only gaming laptop under $1,500 I’d currently buy, given where prices are.
There’s also a whole world of gaming laptops outside the budget tier, though. I’ve tested an assortment of options, and I always come back to the Razer Blade 14 and Razer Blade 16. Portable, minimalist, and extremely well-made, they have rightfully earned their reputation as the MacBooks of PC gaming—along with the MacBook Pro–like price tag. Their sleek design means they work just as well for school or work as they do for gaming, without the bulk of a traditional gaming laptop. While there are more powerful options out there, nothing quite matches the Razer Blade. They’re expensive, but if you’ve got the money to spend, they’re as premium as gaming laptops get. I’ll soon be testing the latest version of the Blade 16, which includes Intel’s latest Panther Lake chips and should have vastly improved battery life.
Other Good Laptops I’ve Tested
If you choose one of the laptops above, you will be very happy with your purchase. However, if you are looking for a specific feature or a different price point, I have included a few other options below that I’ve recently reviewed and enjoyed using. I’ve tested dozens of laptops this year already, but I’ve included some of the standouts below. Each of these recently tested laptops has at least one minor drawback, but they could still be the perfect choice depending on your needs and current discounts.
Photograph: Luke Larsen
