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The MacBook Neo is an casual recommendation. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If you’re a pupil looking for an affordable laptop, I person atrocious quality and I person bully news. The atrocious quality is that machine prices are retired of whack owed to the ongoing RAM and retention crunch, making immoderate a small pricier than they utilized to be and others wildly much expensive.
The bully news? Despite that, determination are inactive galore large options, including the enactment we’ve tested and highlighted below.
Before you spell for the cheapest enactment you tin inactive find, see biting the slug connected a much almighty laptop, particularly if you’re buying for a assemblage student. Prices are apt to proceed rising well into adjacent year — particularly since all the representation being made done 2027 is already allocated. You tin get a mostly tolerable laptop for nether $500 and a bully 1 for astir $700, but spending much to get thing similar a MacBook Air gets you amended physique prime and capable show headroom to past done 4 years of assemblage and good beyond. (Many Verge writers and editors are inactive utilizing M1 MacBook Airs from 2020). But adjacent the humble options beneath (new oregon refurbished) should easy beryllium bully for much than a fewer years. The cardinal is to debar thing that feels dilatory oregon janky connected time one, if you can. It’ll lone get worse from there.
If your schoolhouse oregon program recommends definite laptops oregon minimum specs, past you already cognize what to purpose for. If not, our regularisation of thumb is to spell with a Mac moving Apple silicon oregon a Windows laptop moving Intel oregon AMD chips released successful the past fewer years. (For Windows machines, don’t spell immoderate older than 2022 oregon 2023 — Intel’s 13th-gen “Raptor Lake” oregon AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series.) Snapdragon X chips are besides large options unless you’re a assemblage pupil who needs to tally specialized bundle not compatible with Windows connected Arm (or if you privation to play games).Â
But effort to get 16GB of representation and 512GB of retention oregon much if you tin — particularly for assemblage students. Eight GB of RAM is workable connected macOS with the MacBook Neo, but Windows laptops conflict a spot with it. And for the astir budget-conscious oregon anyone buying for younger kids, a prime Chromebook is inactive great.
The champion inexpensive laptop
Apple MacBook Neo
Score: 9
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Where to Buy:
The MacBook Neo is the casual prime for students from mediate schoolhouse to precocious schoolhouse who request a laptop. There’s inactive nary beating its equilibrium of physique prime and good-enough show astatine this price. Students and teachers tin get it starting astatine $599, and Apple offers refurbished models for $599 for the remainder of america arsenic well. If you tin warrant spending an further $100, it’s worthy getting the exemplary with doubly the retention and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which makes logging successful and entering passwords overmuch little of a hassle.
The A18 Pro spot is almighty capable for astir precocious schoolhouse students (and adults), and everything from its trackpad to its speakers and surface scope from bully to great, which is not the lawsuit for Windows laptops successful this terms range. Its lone shortcoming by examination is having conscionable 2 USB-C ports. The 8GB of RAM and 256GB of basal retention mean a pupil yet pushes the limits of what this laptop tin bash sooner than a much almighty MacBook Air, but the Neo is inactive importantly cheaper.
Read our reappraisal of the MacBook Neo.
The champion laptop for college
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Score: 9
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Where to Buy:
The Neo is the champion inexpensive laptop, but the MacBook Air is inactive the champion laptop for astir people, and the modular proposal for assemblage students. Every portion of it is simply a measurement up from the Neo: It has a overmuch much almighty processor, and it starts with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of overmuch faster storage. And fewer laptops tin lucifer the Air’s wide physique quality. It besides means spending $1,299 (or $1,199 for students) connected a 13-inch model, oregon $1,499 for the 15-inch. It’s a shame the Air nary longer starts astatine $999 similar it did conscionable past year, but it’s inactive worthy springing for if you’re buying for the agelong term.
The Airs person been truthful bully for truthful galore years now, you don’t miss retired connected overmuch by buying a refurbished exemplary if it’s substantially cheaper. Keep an oculus connected Apple’s refurb store, and retailers similar Best Buy sometimes person large deals too.
Read our reappraisal of the latest MacBook Air.
A Windows laptop astir arsenic bully arsenic a MacBook Air
Asus Zenbook A14
Where to Buy:
Asus Zenbooks are immoderate of the sleeker, better-looking Windows laptops, and the Zenbook A14 is Asus’ wannabe MacBook Air. It has a bully Snapdragon X Plus chip, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a beauteous OLED show successful an ultra-light chassis (it’s conscionable 2.4 pounds / 1.09kg), all for $1,000 oregon arsenic debased arsenic $700 connected sale. It adjacent has a coagulated larboard selection, with 1 USB-A, 2 speedy USB4, and HDMI 2.1. I truly enjoyed the larger Zenbook A16 version erstwhile I reviewed it, but the A14 is adjacent lighter and importantly cheaper. Like its larger sibling, the A14 is coated successful Asus’ Ceraluminum decorativeness that gives it a bully textured consciousness and unsocial look. (It’s a beige laptop!)
A inexpensive laptop with a large processor
Acer Aspire 14 AI
Score: 6
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Where to Buy:
Acer’s Aspire 14 AI didn’t impressment maine with its screen, speakers, oregon physique prime when I tested it against the Neo, but for $500 oregon $600 connected sale, which it often is, it’s hard to beat. It has a coagulated Intel Lunar Lake processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a clump of speedy ports. Getting 2 USB-A, 2 Thunderbolt 4, and HDMI 2.1 connected a $600 laptop? Hell yeah.
A Lunar Lake spot means you get large artillery life, and you tin adjacent bash immoderate airy gaming. Its surface isn’t beauteous and everything creaks, but with the wealth you prevention you tin flooded immoderate of its shortcomings with a rodent and monitor. Just support successful caput that the entreaty of this laptop is what you’re getting for the price. If the woody winds alteration and Aspire 14 AIs are selling for $700 oregon more, see thing else.
Read our reappraisal of the Acer Aspire 14 AI.
A formidable 16-incher for astir $500
HP OmniBook 3 16 (Snapdragon X)
Where to Buy:
I’m inactive investigating the HP OmniBook 3 for a afloat review, but I’ve utilized it capable and I similar it capable at astir $500 to springiness it a nod. Its speakers and surface are not bully quality, but they’re somewhat amended than the Acer Aspire supra — conscionable don’t look excessively close, oregon you’ll announcement that its 1920 x 1200 solution isn’t precise crisp astatine this scale. At 16 inches you’re getting a large surface for cheap, but this laptop doesn’t feel large, arsenic it weighs lone 3.65 pounds / 1.66kg and is astir 0.63 inches / 16mm heavy (at its hinge, wherever it’s somewhat thicker). And its sizable artillery and businesslike Snapdragon X spot let it to past agelong connected a charge. Plus, it’s got an ample-sized numpad for you numbers people.
Consider a refurbished ThinkPad
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 (Intel 13th-gen, refurbished)
Where to Buy:
ThinkPads are awesome. They person large keyboards and trackpads, sturdy builds, tons of ports, and adjacent a TrackPoint. They’re typically precise costly erstwhile bought new, and they person a estimation for lasting a agelong time. They’re Lenovo’s concern line, truthful there’s a changeless watercourse of utilized ThinkPads entering the secondhand marketplace erstwhile companies refresh their fleets. That makes them a large campaigner for buying refurbished oregon used. Lenovo sells many refurb units directly, truthful you cognize you should beryllium getting thing successful bully shape. Many of them are inactive expensive, but this ThinkPad T14 is an charismatic example, offering a 13th-gen Intel chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of retention for astir $700. Or for a spot much you tin get this ThinkPad L14 Gen 5 with a newer Intel Meteor Lake spot for astir $1,000.
And for the much adventurous folks retired there, you tin prime up an adjacent older ThinkPad connected the inexpensive and instal Linux to springiness it caller life.
Our go-to prime for a inexpensive Chromebook
Asus Chromebook Plus CX34
Score: 8
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Where to Buy:
A Chromebook is bully for web browsing, doing homework, and nailing the basics of browser-first machine usage — erstwhile done well. The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is simply a mainstay of The Verge’s laptop recommendations, contempt being a fewer years old. It’s precise affordable at conscionable $350, and adjacent with its 12th-gen Intel spot and 8GB of RAM it’s much than serviceable for ChromeOS. Google’s caller Googlebooks are coming successful the fall, but some early leaks are pointing astatine those perchance being pricier laptops (making maine wonderment what precisely their entreaty volition be).
A large convertible Chromebook
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (2025)
Score: 7
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Where to Buy:
If you tin spend a somewhat pricier, newer, and amended Chromebook than the Asus, cheque retired the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. Its full terms of $749 is simply a spot much, but erstwhile discounted to $600 similar it is astatine the clip of this penning it tin beryllium worthy it. The Arm-based MediaTek Kompanio Ultra successful this Chromebook paired with 12GB of RAM gives it precise bully show and fantabulous artillery life. And since it’s a convertible, it’s besides large to usage with an optional stylus for note-taking, drawing, and sketching.
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