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If you’re looking for the best budget 2-in-1 laptops, then this is the right place.
I’ve chosen the best low-cost 2-in-1 laptops that deliver quality & performance, but that are also made for the budget-conscious buyer.
So whether you’re looking for a cheap convertible laptop or a small detachable, you’ll find it here!
Our Top 3
#1 – Acer Chromebook Aspire R13 |
#2 – Acer Spin 1 |
#3 – Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook |
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 |
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Nice Display & Long Battery Life |
Ultra-Cheap with Great Display |
Sleek Design |
| 13.3″ HD | 11.6″ HD | 13.3″ HD |
| MediaTek M8173C with 4 GB of RAM | Celeron N4000 with 4 GB of RAM | Intel i3 with 4 GB of RAM |
| 64 GB eMMC | 32+ GB eMMC | 64 GB eMMc |
| Up to 12 hours | Up to 8 hours | Up to 8 hours |
| Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review |
Table of Contents
What to expect from the best budget 2-in-1 laptops?
Convertible or Detachable?
Most of the best budget 2-in-1 laptops are small detachable laptops. They are great for using as a tablet and as a laptop – and the screen size is perfect for tablet-mode – but they lack the versatility that a convertible has.
With a convertible laptop, you can use them in 4 modes: Classic, Tablet, Stand, and Tent.
While the tablet mode is great for reading, the stand and tent modes are perfect for watching movies and scrolling through newspapers or social medias.
Screen size
The best budget 2-in-1 laptops are the land of the mini & small laptops. You will find some 13-inch, most of them will be 10, 11 or 12-inch.
If you do a lot of typing, I suggest you choose at minimum a 12-inch laptop. The ones smaller than that don’t have a regular keyboard, which can get uncomfortable after a while. (I’m talking about authors or bloggers here that type for 8 hours straight).
Performance
Like all budget laptops, don’t expect these to give you the most power on the market. They are not designed for performance.
But expect to have more than enough for web surfing, multi-tabbing, homework & office work.
Price & Quality – Top budget 2-in-1 laptops
In budget laptops, you have to be careful… there are crappy products on the market! But stick to our list and you’ll get something good.
With these top 2-in-1 budget laptops, laptop manufacturers have impressively managed to build good quality laptops at low-cost!
Here you pay usually under $500 – and most of the time around $200 to $300 – but you still get a solid laptop with good enough screen & speakers to enjoy movies & TV shows.
Windows or Chromebooks?
Whether you choose a Windows laptop or a Chromebook depends on what you want to do.
If you simply surf the web, write emails, and watch movies, a Chromebook will give you more speed for your money. But if you need a fully working computer, buy a Windows laptop.
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Specs for the Top 10 Best Budget 2-in-1 Laptops
Graphics 10 to 14-inch Processor Celeron, Pentium, Intel i3, Intel i5, and similar RAM 4 to 6 GB Storage 32 to 1000 GB Battery life 6 to 12 hours OS Windows 10, ChromeOS Thickness / Weight 0.54 to 0.8″ / 2.2 to 3.56 lbs Price Range $, $$, $$$
Top 10 Best Budget 2-in-1 Laptops
1 – Acer Chromebook Aspire R13 – 13″ HD Convertible
“Nice Display & Long Battery Life”
There are very few negative things I could say about the Acer Chromebook Aspire R13.
I could say that the keyboard is not backlit and that the frame flexes a little if you press too hard. But it’s not really a big negative. Or that the audio output is quite bland, but I didn’t expect better on a Chromebook under $300…
What I can say though is that Acer has built a very nice https://www.lptps.com/13-inch-2-in-1-laptops/13-inch 2-in-1 laptop that has everything I’m looking for in that kind of product.
First and foremost, you get a really nice HD display that has nothing to envy to more expensive products. I could also have started with the fact that it has an ultra-long battery long, perfect for students or people who travel. The keyboard is also nice and the design is pretty modern.
So yes, I did like this 3.3 pounds Chromebook!
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 13.3″ HD touchscreen (1920 x 1080) |
| Performance | MediaTek M8173C with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 12 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.61″ / 3.28 lbs |
| Price Range | $$ |
2 – Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook – 13″ HD Convertible
“Sleek Design”
I usually like the sleek design of Lenovo’s laptop, and this budget 2-in-1 is no different. It looks good, professional, even if it a Chromebook that sells under $500 at the time of writing (closer to $400 in fact…).
I also like the keyboard. You can comfortably type emails or essays for hours, something that cannot be said about similar products. It’s also lightweight at less than 3 pounds, so easily transportable wherever you want, and its small footprint makes it easy to carry in a handbag.
The display could have been brighter and the battery life longer, but none of these are really a problem. Just not the best in the category.
Pros
|
Cons
|
| Graphics | 13.3″ HD touchscreen (1920 x 1080) |
| Performance | Intel i3 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMc |
| Battery life | Up to 8 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.67″ / 2.97 lbs |
| Price Range | $$ |
4 – Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA – 12″ HD Convertible
“Best Hybrid Chromebook”
This Chromebook is a market favorite for a reason! It’s a low-cost laptop that’s perfect for surfing the web, sharing with your friends on social medias and watching movies!
So light you can carry it everywhere and the battery will last almost a full day. And with that kind of power, you’ll be able to heavily multi-task without a problem.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 12.5″ HD touchscreen (1920 x 1080) |
| Performance | Intel m3 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Expect 10 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.54″ / 2.65 lbs |
| Price Range | $$$ |
5 – Asus Q304UA – 13″ HD Convertible
“Powerful Budget 2-in-1”
If you’re looking for a cheap convertible laptop, the Asus Q304 might be exactly what you are looking for. It’s not the least expensive one on the list, but it definitely has some of the best features for the price.
It’s a 13-inch laptop that has a good HD display and a solid, light design. Also, it has the power of more expensive laptops with its i5 CPU & 6 GB of RAM, without breaking the bank.
All-in-all, this Asus makes for a solid & affordable 13-inch 2-in-1 for people that need performance and a good screen. Read our full review.
Pros
|
Cons
|
| Graphics | 13.3″ HD touchscreen (1920 x 1080) |
| Performance | Intel i5 with 6 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 1000 GB HDD (5400 rpm) |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.78″ / 3.31 lbs |
| Price Range | $$ |
# 5 to 10 Best Budget 2-in-1 Laptops
6 – Dell Inspiron i5378 – 13″ HD Convertible
“Light 13-inch”
Here Dell made an affordable convertible laptop that fits well in this competitive market.
It has enough power for most people, has a good enough screen that is pleasant to watch, and this affordable 13-inch convertible laptop is light enough for someone that is always on the move.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 13.3″ HD touchscreen (1920 x 1080) |
| Performance | Intel i3 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 1000 GB HDD (5400 rpm) |
| Battery life | Expect 6 to 7 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.77″ / 3.56 lbs |
| Price Range | $$$ |
7 – Lenovo Miix 320 – 10″ Detachable
“Cute 2-in-1”
Lenovo also provides a low-cost hybrid laptop with the Miix 310. It has a nice design and it does deserve to be on this list of the best budget 2-in-1 laptops.
Even if it’s all plastic, it has a solid design, a vivid screen and the battery life quite long. The keyboard is also pretty good for a laptop of this size. Performance is not the best, but it’s on par with most of the competition. Read our full review.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1920 x 1200) |
| Performance | Intel Atom x5 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 12 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.68″ / 2.2 lbs |
| Price Range | $$ |
8 – Asus VivoBook Flip 14 – 14″ HD Convertible
“Ultra-Cheap 14-inch with Good Features”
The VivoBook Flip 14 is a good looking 14-inch notebook that uses the features of a more expensive version, with less power. This way they were able to produce a good quality notebook with a decent display.
If you’re simply looking for a laptop to watch movies and browse the web, this one will definitely do the trick. And, usually, it’s a laptop that sells at less than $400… For that price, you’ll hardly find better value!
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 14″ HD screen (1980 x 1080) |
| Performance | Pentium with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Expect 6 to 9 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.8″ / 3.5 lbs |
| Price Range | $$ |
9 – Acer Chromebook R11 – 11″ Convertible
“Inexpensive but Good”
The Acer R11 is one of the most inexpensive 2-in-1 laptops you can find. Even thought it’s a notebook sold at less than $300, you’ll get a cute 11-inch that has good audio and a comfortable keyboard to type on.
It also has a pretty decent display. It’s not the brightest and the one with the best viewing angles, but at that price we’ll forgive them!
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 11.6″ touchscreen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Pentium N3150 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.76″ / 2.75 lbs |
| Price Range | $$ |
10 – Lenovo Flex 11 – 11″ Convertible
“A good purchase for the right price”
I have never been a huge fan of the Flex series as I always found them bland and, quality-wise, trailing a little behind the competition.
This Lenovo Flex 11 is pretty much the same as its siblings. Is it a bad laptop? Not at all. Performance is more than adequate and will let you do emails, movies, and web browsing comfortably. The design is also quite sturdy, light, and thin.
But… you get a touchscreen that doesn’t deliver as much brightness as the competition and you end up with an audio output that is not really good enough to watch movies. It might be good enough for short videos, but I’d use external speakers for watching a 2 hours movie.
But if you get it for the right price, it will provide a satisfying experience!
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 11.6″ touchscreen (1366 X 768) |
| Performance | Pentium N5000 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMc |
| Battery life | Up to 6 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.7″ / 2.75 lbs |
| Price Range | $ |
Erik is the owner and main editor of lptps.com. He has been working in computers and information technology for more than 20 years. He’s a business analyst, developer, and avid traveler.
