Home > Best Budget Laptops > Best Laptops under $500
With the best laptops under 500 dollars, this is where you really start to have a decent build quality & performance.
If you are looking for a budget laptop with good value, that you can carry around and that will last a few years, then this is the price category you are looking for.
You won’t have a powerhouse, but your new laptop will give you more than enough performance for your daily tasks. Web surfing, office work, and watching a movie won’t be a problem.
The best laptops under 500 dollars are equipped with an HD screen to watch your movies and some may even allow light gaming.
Our Top 3
#1 – Asus Vivobook F510UA |
#2 – Microsoft Surface Pro |
#3 – Asus Q304UA |
Ultra-light 15-inch with premium look |
Flawless hybrid computer |
Great all-around laptop under $500 |
15.6″ HD | 12″ QHD | 13.3″ HD |
Intel i5 with 8 GB of RAM | Intel i5 with 4 GB of RAM | Intel i5 with 6 GB of RAM |
1000 GB HDD (5400 rpm) | 128 GB SSD | 1000 GB HDD (5400 rpm) |
Up to 5 hours | Up to 9 hours | Up to 10 hours |
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Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review |
Table of Contents
What to expect from a laptop under 500$?
A 500$ laptop should pack enough performance & features to satisfy most students and office workers.
For 500$, you can find a good laptop that will fit most people needs
A laptop under 500 dollars will allow you to surf the web, do office work, watch movies, and listen to music without any problem.
Design
Expect a computer with a plastic body that may be a bit bulky and the build quality to be decent to good.
While it’s far from being as solid and pretty as a metal computer, the best ones will still be quite sturdy and some will imitate that metallic look.
Screen size
15-inch laptops use to dominate the market here, but now you can find good laptop in all screen sizes. If you are looking for ultra-portability, go for a 12-inch notebook. Otherwise, 13-inch & 14-inch laptops are a great middle ground between screen size & portability.
Performance
The specs of the best laptops under 500$ should be good, but usually you won’t be able to play recent games or do any demanding video editing or 3D modeling (there are exception though, check out our guide on gaming laptop under $500 if you are looking for that kind of laptop). But otherwise your new laptop will allow you to do pretty much everything, much more than one at 300$ or 400$.
To summarize, your new laptop under 500 dollars will not be a powerhouse or the best graphics. It also won’t have the loudest sound system nor the greatest build quality, but it will deliver great value and should be good enough to last for a few years & satisfy most casual users.
Recommended for you:
Specs for the Top 10 Best laptops under $500
Graphics 12 to 15-inch Processor AMD A9, Ryzen 5, Intel m3, i3, i5 RAM 4 to 8 GB Storage 64 to 1000 GB Battery life 3 to 10 hours OS Windows 10, ChromeOS Thickness / Weight 0.33 to 1.1″ / 1.73 to 4.8 lbs Price Range $, $$
Top 10 Best laptops under $500
1 – Asus Vivobook F510UA – 15″ HD
“Ultra-light 15-inch with premium look”
For a $500 laptop, this 15-inch laptop is quite a steal! Asus has always been good a making design that looks premium, even if it’s a budget laptop and they proved it again with the Asus Vivobook F510UA. It’s pretty solid and at 3.7 pounds, you’ll hardly find a lighter laptop!
The HD screen is pretty good for the price even if I’d have preferred something a bit brighter and the overall performance is pretty good, but the hard drive is quite slow. You might want to upgrade it to an SSD if you find it slows the laptop too much. The keyboard is ok even if it has a bit of flex and it comes without a backlit keyboard.
All-in-all, a very good purchase for the price. Read our full review.
Pros
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Cons
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Buy on online
Graphics | 15.6″ HD screen (1920 x 1080) |
Performance | Intel i5 with 8 GB of RAM |
Storage | 1000 GB HDD (5400 rpm) |
Battery life | Up to 5 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.8″ / 3.7 lbs |
2 – Microsoft Surface Pro – 12″ QHD Detachable
“Flawless hybrid computer”
A real revolution when it was released in 2012, thanks to the idea of combining a PC and a tablet, Microsoft’s Surface Pro still leads the market. While the computer has of course technically evolved over the years, the format has remained the same.
Microsoft always delivers a very successful product, almost free from criticism. The 12-inch Surface Pro remains a safe bet on the market and will suit those looking for a powerful 2-in-1 laptop with a long-lasting battery. However, keep in mind that it is sold as a tablet and you have to get the keyboard as an extra. Read our full review.
Pros
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Cons
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Graphics | 12″ QHD touchscreen (2736 x 1824) |
Performance | Intel i5 with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 128 GB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 9 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.33″ / 1.73 lbs |
3 – Asus Q304UA – 13″ HD Convertible
“Great all-around laptop under $500”
To put it simply: the Asus Q304UA is a no-brainer as one of the top contenders for the best laptops under $500!
It’s a budget 2-in-1 that is more portable, has more power, longer battery life and better quality than most on this list. You can’t really ask for more: an i5 processor & 6 GB of RAM is more than enough for most people and the built-quality & look are great. Maybe the only drawback would be the slower 1000 GB hard drive… I’d prefer a smaller SSD drive, but it’s really a small issue.
Asus really hit a home run with this one! Read our full review.
Pros
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Cons
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Buy on online
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 |
Recommended for you:
4 – HP 14-dq1033cl – 14″ HD
“Great Budget laptop”
If you need a decent business laptop, but don’t want to spend too much, you can go for the HP 14-dq1033cl.
For the price listed, you get a decent mid-range laptop. The backlit keyboard is a feature that you will never want to do without once you have it, in my opinion. The touchpad is decent, quite responsive even though it looks quite cheap when pressed.
I just wish the battery life was better but that’s my biggest complaint. It’s a perfectly correct and functional mid-range business laptop. For what it is, it works really well and it’s certainly one of the best windows laptops under 500 dollars.
Pros
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Cons
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Buy on online
Graphics | 14″ HD screen (1920 x 1080) |
Performance | Intel i5 with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 128 GB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 5 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.7″ / 4.33 lbs |
5 – Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA – 12″ HD Convertible
“High-Quality & Powerful Chromebook”
The Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA is a portable 2-in-1 12-inch laptop that stands out. It has a quality all-metal body with a good hybrid design, and it’s more powerful than most Chromebooks thanks to its Intel m3 processor & 4 GB of RAM. Heavy multi-tabbing won’t be a problem at all!
It has a gorgeous vivid & colorful HD screen. The keyboard is quite comfortable, but they could have improved on the speakers. They’re not bad, just not as good as the rest of the notebook.
Pros
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Cons
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Buy on online
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 |
# 6 to 10 Best laptops under $500
6 – Dell Inspiron i5378 – 13″ HD Convertible
“Good Quality Hybrid”
The Dell Inspiron i5378 is a good quality 2-in-1 laptop under $500.
Its design is solid and it’s powerful enough to multi-tab & watch movies, and is light enough to carry anywhere. All in all, it’s a pretty good notebook with decent battery life.
Pros
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Cons
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Buy on online
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 |
7 – Lenovo V14 – 14″ HD
“A good device for everyday use”
For its price, the Lenovo V14 is a good device for everyday use. Its processor is quite fast and allows you to work without slowing you down. For a 14-inch laptop, it is quite light and can be easily carried everywhere. For that, it is one of the best laptops for students under 500 since it’s ideal for people who are often on the move.
The keyboard is great, but some users might wish it had a backlit feature. The sound is fair but not great, especially if you are not right in front of the speakers. The screen resolution is great, but the screen brightness isn’t.
Despite a few small flaws, the Lenovo V14 fulfills its promises and remains functional for your everyday computing needs.
Pros
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Cons
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Graphics | 14″ HD screen (1920 x 1080) |
Performance | Ryzen 5 with 8 GB of RAM |
Storage | 256 GB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 6 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.78″ / 3.53 lbs |
8 – Dell Inspiron i5568 – 15″ HD Convertible
“Quality 2-in-1”
It’s not the most powerful, but the Dell Inspiron i5568 is still a pretty good 15-inch 2-in-1 laptop under $500.
To keep it in this price range, they’ve put an i3 & 4 GB of RAM. It’s not the most powerful specs, but still enough for most users. What you get though is a good quality 15-inch that’s not too bulky & heavy at 4.6 pounds.
Pros
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Buy on online
Graphics | 15.6″ HD touchscreen (1920 x 1080) |
Performance | Intel i3 with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 500 GB HDD (5400 rpm) |
Battery life | Expect 6 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.8″ / 4.58 lbs |
9 – Asus VivoBook F441 – 14″ HD
“Lightweight 14-inch”
The Vivobook line offers great laptops at a good price and this Asus Vivobook F441 is no different. You get a quite vivid 14-inch and more than enough power for all your multitasking needs.
At only 3.9 pounds, it’s a pretty good purchase if you’re often on the road, and certainly one of the lightest and best 14-inch laptop under 500.
Buy on NewEgg
Graphics | 14″ HD screen (1920 x 1080) with Radeon R5 |
Performance | AMD A9 with 8 GB of RAM |
Storage | 256 GB SSD |
Battery life | Expect 4 to 5 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 1.1″ / 3.9 lbs |
10 – Lenovo Ideapad 110 – 15″
“Excellent for basic computing”
This laptop allows you to work on all your basic computing needs. It has a very nice screen which has a decent viewing angle. The keyboard layout and feel is everything you expect from Lenovo quality.
Quite thin and light, this laptop goes with you everywhere and can handle all your daily computing tasks. If you need it for your entertainment, this laptop will not disappoint.
It also has semi-decent graphics performance. It won’t be a full-fledged gaming laptop, but it can run games like CSGO and Minecraft. So for this, it deserves to be one of the top rated laptops under $500.
Pros
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Cons
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Buy on NewEgg
Graphics | 15.6″ screen (1366 x 768) |
Performance | Intel i3 with 8 GB of RAM |
Storage | 1000 GB HDD (5400 rpm) |
Battery life | Expect 3 to 4 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.9″ / 4.8 lbs |
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.