Best cheap laptop 2022

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Here are the best cheap laptops under $800 from HP, Lenovo, and more.

For less than $800, the best yet inexpensive laptops are becoming better and better.

In our office, we use Asus. Why – because the sound is great, better life is good and it was under $1000. I will be honest, I wanted the Apple mac but it would be too small for our work and the memory just is not worth the money….sorry Apple.

The question is, what is most essential to you, and what are you willing to give up?

Even the greatest cheap laptops aren’t perfect in every way; they have some advantages, but they take corners to get to their low prices.

You’ll almost likely be able to find a budget laptop with a touchscreen, a premium-looking chassis, an HDMI port, a backlit keyboard, or stylus support, but you’ll have to decide which features are most important to you and which you can live without.

Our pick for the best cheap laptop of 2022 is the HP Envy x360 13, running Windows 10. We feel that the Envy has build quality, performance, and battery life that surpass those of many premium laptops, as well as those priced under $800. But we’ve tested dozens of systems below $800, and we’ve got a number of additional models on this list from Lenovo, Acer, Samsung, HP, and more.

Other best cheap laptops of 2022 include the Lenovo Chromebook Duet and the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. Many of these laptops also appear on our best laptop, best Chromebook, and best student laptop lists.

Many of our picks for the best cheap laptop of 2022 are currently Chromebooks. We believe that Chromebooks are, in many cases, the best-value option for shoppers seeking a laptop under $500 and tend to offer better specs, features, and build quality than most Windows laptops at that price point. We hope to add more Windows laptops under $500 to this page in the future and are keeping a close eye on those releases.

Best Cheap Laptops Under $800 2022

1. HP Envy x360 13

The best cheap laptop of 2022. HP’s Envy x360 13, currently available for $860 is the best budget laptop you can buy under $800. With a high-quality and sturdy convertible build, it looks like a device that should cost twice its price. It has plenty of other great features as well, including a really excellent keyboard and a bright, colorful screen. It’s also exceptional on the inside. Thanks to its AMD Ryzen processor, the system delivers all-day battery life and very smooth performance — it can even handle some light gaming. (Intel options are available as well.)

We have some minor complaints about the Envy, of course. The screen is 16:9, which is a cramped aspect ratio for multitasking. Our test unit had a somewhat limited port selection (notably, missing Thunderbolt and HDMI support) and came with some bloatware preinstalled. But none of these are deal-breakers at the Envy’s price point. Overall, budget shoppers will want for very little with this machine.

2. Lenovo Chromebook Duet

The best laptop under $500. If you’re looking for an absurdly cheap Chromebook that absolutely gets the job done, you should definitely be looking at the $260 Lenovo Chromebook Duet. The Duet is a 10-inch aluminum alloy Chrome OS tablet that comes with a kickstand and keyboard cover. It looks sturdy and classy, and it can easily function as either a tablet or a PC. But you’re not compromising too much on performance for this device’s tiny size; as long as you’re not running dozens of tabs and apps, you should be fine. And we got over 11 hours of battery life in our testing, making it one of the longest-lasting Chromebooks we’ve seen in the past year.

The main thing to know about the Chromebook Duet is that the screen is quite small — just 10.1 inches. That’s a fine size for a young student (especially with the touch capability) and for an adult’s secondary device for note-taking, Netflixing, and the like, but it’s not an ideal size for a primary work device unless you’re fine with quite a bit of squinting.

3. Acer Chromebook Spin 713

The best budget laptop with Chrome OS. If you’d prefer a more traditional Chromebook with a clamshell form factor, the $329 Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is an affordable option that’s all-around excellent. It has a gorgeous 3:2 display that delivers a sharp picture and bright, vibrant colors with plenty of vertical space. The screen alone would make the Chromebook Spin 713 a standout, but it has a number of other strengths as well, including a great keyboard, all-day battery life, and a comprehensive port selection, including an HDMI, in addition to USB-C, USB-A, and a microSD slot.

4. Asus Chromebook Detachable CM3

The best cheap laptop with a stylus. If you like the Duet’s size and detachable form factor but are willing to spend on something a bit more upscale, you may find the Asus Chromebook Detachable CM3 to be a better choice. Like the Duet, the CM3 is a 10.5-inch 16:10 Chrome OS tablet with a fabric cover, kickstand, and detachable screen. But the CM3’s kickstand folds multiple ways: you can crease it lengthwise to stand the tablet up like a laptop or fold it the short way and stand the tablet up horizontally. Plus, it comes with a built-in USI stylus and roomy keys with a surprising amount of travel. Battery life was also quite impressive: we averaged close to 13 hours of continuous work.

Where the CM3 lags a bit behind the Duet (and other cheap laptops you may try) is the power. Its MediaTek processor can be a bit sluggish compared to more pricier offerings. But the CM3 still offers a surprising number of perks for its sub-$400 price and makes a great student driver or secondary device.

5. HP Pavilion Aero 13

The best laptop under $800. If you’re looking for a budget Windows laptop that’s thinner and lighter than the Envy x360 while delivering similar category-topping performance, the $669 HP Pavilion Aero 13 is a good choice for you. It has a powerful eight-core Ryzen processor, which is one of the fastest processors for thin and light laptops that you can get. Not only does it perform well, but it’s also unbelievably light at just 2.1 pounds, and it comes with a blindingly bright 16:10 screen. It’s a standout in battery life, too — I averaged almost 11 hours of continuous work.

HP did have to cut a few corners to achieve those benefits at this price point. The audio on our model wasn’t great, and the device shipped with some cheap bloatware installed. But the Pavilion Aero 13 is excellent in almost every other way, and it won’t disappoint if you’re looking for a functional, cheap Windows PC.