Best budget laptops under $1500 in 2023

Budget laptops are often defined by how they fall short, but unrealistic expectations are usually the fastest way to set yourself up for disappointment when it comes to buying one.

There’s typically a sweet spot when it comes to computers. Those unable to find it either end up paying too much for a machine with too many features, or settling for the cheapest thing they can find. Either is an expensive mistake that is likely to leave you with a begrudged opinion of whatever the manufacturer of that particular machine was. 

If you’re shopping on a budget, finding the right option is about picking your battles. Don’t just blindly accept the sacrifices that a brand asks of you. Think about the ones you’re willing to make and take that as your true north when it comes to finding the right option.

The search for a good budget laptop can often feel futile, but there are decent options out there if you know how and where to look for them.

If $1500 is your limit, then you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better option when it comes to laptops than the 2020 version of Apple’s MacBook Air. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does polish the edges to a dazzling effect. 

Even if you prefer Windows-based PCs, this particular MacBook Air is well worth considering. It won’t be the right fit for everyone, especially gamers. However, there’s a consistency and balance here that sometimes be hard to find at this price point.

The MacBook Air won’t cover all the bases, but it’ll probably do a great job at almost all of your computing essentials. The device is powered by Apple’s headlining-grabbing M1 processor and is designed to get the most out of the company’s macOS operating system. There’s no touch screen, but there is a reworked magic keyboard, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor and a matching set of Thunderbolt-grade USB Type-C ports. 

If you’re the type of user who can work within the Apple ecosystem, you can’t get more obvious when it comes to sub-$1500 options than the new MacBook Air.

While there are plenty of options available for those who want to go even cheaper, Microsoft’s own Surface Laptop Go 2 is hard to beat as far as budget-friendly options go. It’s not difficult to find the limits, but there’s plenty to like about the simple aesthetics, humble specs and decent battery life found in the company’s entry-level house-brand laptop.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 brings together a tighter 12.4-inch PixelSense display, an 11th-generation Intel Core processor and up to 256 GB of SSD storage. It’s probably not going to cut it was the last laptop you'll ever need to buy, but if you want something that can reliably handle the basics at an affordable price, it may be exactly what you’re after. 

The emphasis here is less on flair and more on functionality, with nary a pixel of bloatware to be seen. That being said, there aren’t that many ports and some might come away irked by the size and brightness of the display.

If you’re a penny-pinching student looking for an affordable laptop that nails the basics and delivers plenty of bang for your buck, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is well worth investigating in the interim.

It might not do all it could to dispel the usual caveats that come with gaming laptops (and cheap ones in particular), but if you’re after something that will let you jump into PC gaming without breaking the bank, then Dell’s G15 gaming laptop delivers a ton of bang for your buck. 

Even if the display on the baseline Dell G15 is only FHD when it comes to quality, it's more generous when it comes to size and refresh rate than many other laptops in its class. What's more, it comes in both AMD and Intel varieties.

The Intel-based version of the laptop relies on an Intel Core i5-12500H as standard, but this can be upgraded to an Intel Core i7-12700H for an extra $200 or so. If you're looking at sticking with the  G15 for the long haul and squeezing as much performance out of it as possible, this is surcharge is probably one worth paying.

On the other hand, those looking to squeeze every bit of possible savings should seriously consider the Ryzen-based version of the G15. This model boasts an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, 8GB of DDR5 RAM and 256GB of PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage.

The Dell G15 won’t let you crank up the in-game settings up in the way that something twice its price will, but if you’re looking to do a modest amount of gaming on the go, it’s our pick for the best way to go about it.       

If you’re going to spend $500 on a Windows-based laptop, you’re going to have to accept a few major compromises. You won’t really be able to play any games or run intensive software, and the hardware involved is probably going to struggle to deliver anything beyond basic tasks like emails and browsing the web.

On the other hand, Chrome OS is built to deliver a snappy and smooth user experience even when paired with modest or underpowered specs. If ditching Windows is a step you’re willing to take for a better overall experience, then the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Slim 3i Chromebook might be the best bet you can find for under $500.

Even if it doesn't run on Windows, you can still get a lot of work done on this thing. It even supports Android apps, which increases the scope of what you can do on it compared to older Chromebooks or low-spec Windows machines.

If you’re trying to buy a laptop at a budget this small, then some sacrifices are going to be necessary. However, if you’re willing to make Windows itself one of those trade-offs, Lenovo’s IdeaPad 3 Slim 3i gives you plenty of value in return.

The Lenovo IdeaPad V14 is exceptional among sub-$500 laptops in that it runs on an AMD 3020E processor rather than one made by Intel. While this detail doesn't magically transform the machine into something it obviously isn't, it does give it a huge edge over the competition.

Throw in a sizable 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage and you've got a cheap laptop that swings well above its weight when it comes to performance. The design and form factor offers little more than the essentials, but if you're after a cheap Windows laptop with a little more oomph to it then the Lenovo Ideapad V14 is a solid pickup.

When it comes to picking and choosing the best laptops on the market, the easiest place to start is with the similarities that each brand brings to the table. This helps give us a basis for what the "meta" of laptops looks like at any given time.

The next phase in our analysis specifically looks into the details. Where do the different laptop designs brought to market by hardware manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell, HP and ASUS differ, and why? What additions or twists on the formula are novelty versus necessary? How much value do these niche features really provide end consumers?

We then weigh the findings of this process against the price expectations market segment attached to the category involved. While the overall category assumes you're a consumer who isn't looking to cut corners, neither does it act like your budget is unlimited. This helps us determine which laptops are providing the best bang for our buck and value for money.

The limits of budget laptops

There’s a knack for finding a budget laptop that works for your needs. However, in order to get there, you’re inevitably going to have to accept some level of compromise. The trick to making that sacrifice work in your favour is to calculate it ahead of time rather than at the till. 

Ask yourself what you’re planning to use your budget laptop for, work you what specs matter the most for that purpose, and rank your potential picks accordingly. If you’re only planning to use your budget laptop for streaming or social media, then maybe a bigger or better screen matters more than additional hard drive space or RAM. 

It’s rare to find a budget laptop that does it all, but if you know what you’re looking for, it’s much easier to find one that does what you need it to do. 

Try last year’s stock

Looking for online deals or clearance sales for last year’s laptops can be a great way to expand your options when it comes to shopping for a new laptop on a budget. 

One of the biggest mistakes that many budget shoppers make when it comes to laptops is exclusively looking at the most recent ranges from major brands like Acer, HP and Dell. While you can go awry by rewinding the clock back too many years, there’s a good chance that a depreciated laptop from last year will serve you just as well as its successor. 

Try to make a "budget buy" last

If you’re buying a budget laptop but want it to last a bit longer, it can be worth spending that bit of extra cash for the model with a better CPU, more RAM or SSD storage. 

Even if doing so doesn’t feel like it makes a massive difference in the short term, it could help you eke out an extra year or so of usage before you eventually have to upgrade. No laptop is going to last forever, but the version of a budget laptop that’s best positioned to go the distance is usually a good investment.