Home > Budget Laptops > Best Laptops under $250
While some brands are shipping laptops in the thousands of dollars, is it really possible to expect a decent laptop at such a low price of $250?
The answer is, “Yes”.
While new hardware components are being developed by manufacturers, the price of the existing ones is getting lower. This gave laptop brands a new way to reach out to a completely unexplored demographic, the young students and light tech users.
Whether you are a student or someone who is looking for a cheap alternative or someone who wants to introduce his kids or relatives to the tech world, today’s list of Best Laptops under 250 is for you.
Our Top 3
#1 – Asus E203MA |
#2 – Samsung Chromebook 3 X500C13 |
#3 – Dell Chromebook 3189 |
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A light & quiet 11’’ ultraportable |
Ultraportable 11-inch Chromebook |
Great & affordable laptop for students |
| 11.6″ | 11.6″ | 11.6″ |
| Celeron N4000 with 4 GB of RAM | Pentium N3060 with 4 GB of RAM | Celeron N3060 with 4 GB of RAM |
| 64 GB eMMC | 16 GB eMMC | 32 GB eMMc |
| Up to 5 hours | Up to 11 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review |
What to expect from the Best Laptops Under 250?
As mentioned earlier, these laptops are manufactured and shipped by keeping a specific group of people in mind. The group being students and light users, you can assume what features and functionalities are to be expected from these devices.
Basically, a combination of good battery life, average performance, and a decent screen are what we are looking for today. Anything more than this will exceed the price range.
Design & Quality
When we are talking about the best laptops under $250, we shouldn’t complain about the built quality being cheap. Whether you like it or not, the built quality will be comparatively cheaper.
In most cases, you’ll see plastic bodies for these units and every once in a while, a full or partial metal body. However, even the inexpensive plastic material can be textured and finished in a way that gives it a premium vibe.
As for the design, not much time and effort is dedicated towards these budget laptops and that’s why you won’t see anything remotely close to the MacBook Air in the best laptops under 250 category.
However, some manufacturers have tried to fit the whole unit in a smaller and compact body that actually looks pretty good. Even if they are not as thin as a MacBook Air, they are light & compact enough to be carried around.
Performance
Students and light users tend to browse the internet a lot, which is their main use for a laptop. That’s why the laptops we brought for today are efficient in internet browsing while ensuring they are not putting a lot of pressure on the system.
But keep in mind, these laptops are not meant for heavier work like video editing, AAA gaming, etc. Using them for such tasks will cause a massive fallout in performance. If you’re looking for such a laptop, look at the mid-range laptops, you’ll find something that works at a reasonable price.
Screen
Shockingly, with a $250 laptop, there are some bright & vivid displays that will be great for watching movies.
There are also some pretty good touchscreen displays available on the market. They are capable enough to let the users communicate via finger or pen effortlessly. However, do not expect them to be as precise as the more expensive hybrid laptops.
Audio
Laptop audio is not that big of a deal for most. However, a decent audio system is not that rare in low-end laptops. So, if you are picking one from the best laptops under 250 dollars list, chances are you are going home with a decent sound system.
Other Aspects
After the requirements above, battery life is the most important aspect that you should consider because these laptops will probably be used as travel notebooks a lot. Apart from the batteries, the keyboard and touchpad should be good enough for your day-to-day email checking, video streaming, chatting, and other tasks.
Recommended for you:
Specs for the Top 10 Best Laptops under $250
Graphics 10 to 14-inch Processor Quad-Core, Intel Atom N 550, AMD A4 or A6, Celeron N3060 to N4000, Pentium N2840 to N3060 RAM 1 to 4 GB Storage 16 to 64 GB Battery life 5 to 10hours OS Windows 10, ChromeOS, Windows 10S Thickness / Weight 0.39 to 0.9″ / 2.18 to 4.4 lbs Price Range $
Top 10 Best Laptops under $250
1 – Asus E203MA – 11″
“A light & quiet 11’’ ultraportable”
The Asus E203MA is a small, light, and compact device. It’s a quiet 11-inch laptop because it’s not cooled by a fan, so it’s suitable to use in places such as libraries.
While the Asus E203MA is a nice, functional, and lightweight computer, its battery life could be improved as lasts only 5 hours. It’s not that bad, especially for a $250 laptop, but some of the competition does better.
Designed for basic office automation, it is suitable for office work, basic image processing, and web browsing. A nice little product by Asus!
Pros
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Cons
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| Graphics | 11.6″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Celeron N4000 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 5 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.6″ / 2.18 lbs |
2 – Samsung Chromebook 3 X500C13 – 11″
“Ultraportable 11-inch Chromebook”
If you want the best laptop under 250 dollars – design or look wise – this Chromebook might be right for you.
Samsung is not a veteran in the game, however, they are making very nice products, like this one. Like their phones, their laptops are designed or heavily modified to give it the trademark curvy look. Besides its simple and slightly curvy design, the hardware is quite good for the price and this nice laptop will perform well for what it is intended for: web browsing and movie watching.
This is an 11-inch notebook with a display that has bright colors, which make it a good multimedia device to tag along in flights and other modes of transportations.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 11.6″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Pentium N3060 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.7″ / 2.5 lbs |
3 – Dell Chromebook 3189 – 11″
“Great & affordable laptop for students”
The Dell Chromebook 3481 is an excellent economical laptop for school. It fits nicely in a backpack, is overall sturdy, and boots incredibly fast. Also, it has a long-life battery. Of course, don’t expect to run your favorite Windows programs as this is not that kind of computer, it’s a Chromebook.
The sound is quite decent for a student, and loud enough to listen to a video in a noisy environment. It also has a nice keyboard that complements well the touchscreen when you need to type longer essays.
So for a student notebook, it is excellent and an extremely good purchase.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 11.6″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Celeron N3060 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMc |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.8″ / 4.4 lbs |
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4 – HP Chromebook 11 G5 – 11″
“Professional Looking 11-inch Chromebook”
If you are in search of a professional looking replacement of your daily laptop to take along in your flights and business trips, the HP Chromebook 11 G5 is a good choice.
Apart from its design, this laptop has a pretty good battery life. For light use, you can extend its battery life to almost 10 hours with average brightness. Besides, the polycarbonate plastic material used to make this unit is sturdy and it gives the laptop a secure feel besides being a lightweight notebook.
Overall, the design, battery and responsive trackpad have made it one of the best laptops under 250 that you can find on market right now.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 11.6″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Celeron N3350 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Expect 7 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.72″ / 2.5 lbs |
5 – HP Stream 14 – 14″
“Great 14” laptop with excellent value”
If you wanted a cheap laptop with Windows 10 and if you’re not a gamer, the HP stream is the laptop that you need. The HP Stream 14 ‘’ is a cheaply built, but high functioning notebook. It has 4GB ram, a good screen, a compressed version of Windows 10, several USB connections, card reader, HDMI, etc.
It’s a good buy for the cost. The computer has a great color, which makes it stand out from all the black and grey computers in the world. It works very well.
No issues so far, but it is not the fastest computer in the world. It does take some time to start up. Would definitely recommend for those looking for an inexpensive laptop that doesn’t need a lot of RAM or lightning speed. Would be great for students.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 14″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Pentium N3060 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Expect 6 to 7 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.7″ / 3.17 lbs |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
11-inch non-HD + Integrated# 6 to 10 Best Laptops under $250
6 – Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-131 – 11″
“Chromebook with Good Audio & Display”
In order to be on this list of the best laptop under $250, a laptop or notebook has to meet certain criteria. One of such is the display. It doesn’t have to be something over the top, but it must be good enough to enjoy the contents that are on the screen. This Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-131 meets the criteria quite well in this case.
The screen is its selling points for obvious reasons. It has a very bright screen with vibrant colors that complement the audio system adequately.
Another rare feature among laptops under $250 is the spacious and premium built quality of keypad. With its clicky, spacious, and durable keypad, Acer made a pretty good product here.
Pros
| Cons
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| Graphics | 11.6″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Pentium N2840 with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 9 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.7″ / 2.43 lbs |
7 – HP Mini 5103 – 10″ HD
“A netbook for professionnals”
The HP Mini 5103 offers a nice design with a black finish and a chiclet keyboard that is 95% the size of a regular model. Its hard drive is protected against shocks, an accelerometer detecting a possible fall, and then parking the read head.
It is interesting to note that this HP offers a fast SSD hard drive, which normally makes it more responsive than many of its competitors.
Good point also concerning the webcam which once is not the custom displays a high resolution of 2.0 megapixels whereas most Netbooks are satisfied with 0.3 megapixels, or even 1.3 megapixels.
Its small size, competitive price, the HP Mini 5103 is ideal for basic use or as a travel computer for professionals who are often on the go.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | Intel Atom N 550 with 2 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 160 GB SSD |
| Battery life | Up to 8 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.9″ / 3.08 lbs |
8 – Lenovo Ideapad 1 – 14″
“Good for work and Stream”
The Lenovo Ideapad 1 is a very good choice for a home & business laptop. It delivers good performance for this price range, is slim & thin, and has a good look. The silver casing is really nice and makes your laptop look professional!
Another thing by this product is perfect for basic laptop users, and since it is a 14-inch laptophas a big enough display. The Lenovo Ideapad 1 is so easy and comfortable to use and is also fast enough for office work.
So that is why more than other laptops and brands, this laptop is a very good choice for home and business users. I definitely recommend it!
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 14″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | AMD A6 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB eMMc |
| Battery life | Up to 5 hours |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.82″ / 4.4 lbs |
9 – HP Chromebook 14 – 14″
“Slim & Lighweight for child”
This HP Chromebook could be that second laptop that you can use for checking email and surfing the internet. This one is a good choice for this kind of need. Battery life is great and it boots right up. It connected very quickly to my wireless devices and wifi. And the price is very reasonable.
Also, the keyboard feels very good on the fingertips making typing a breeze. You may also like how simple it is to use for kids so they can do their school research on his own and look up things for his school work.
The only thing I would have to say off-putting about the keyboard is the search button is on the left side of the board, where your pinky can accidentally hit it when typing vigorously, for fast typers. But it’ still a good choice for a laptop under $250 and one of the best laptop for kids.
Pros
|
Cons
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| Graphics | 14″ screen (1366 x 768) |
| Performance | AMD A4 with 4 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMc |
| Battery life | Up to 9 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.72″ / 3.4 lbs |
10 – RCA Viking Pro – 10″ Convertible
“Nice 2-in-1 for travellers of for a kids”
The RCA Viking Pro is above all a tablet. But its use can very well be extended as a 2-in-1 laptop thanks to its detachable keyboard.
Available in several colors, the RCA Viking Pro can be the first computer for your child. Thus, he will be able to make the transition from the tablet to a real laptop. Also, if you travel a lot, the RCA Viking Pro can be your travel companion, to slip into your suitcase or bag.
Its autonomy is not the best on the market, but it can last 6 hours, which will allow you to work quietly, the time to check your emails and surf the web. A good cheap investment to consider.
Pros
| Cons
|
| Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
| Performance | Quad-Core with 1 GB of RAM |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
| Battery life | Up to 6 hours |
| OS | ChromeOS |
| Thickness / Weight | 0.39″ / 2.8 lbs |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
10-inch non-HD + Integrated
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.
