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15 best budget laptop passed our test 2024

Do you need a laptop everywhere? Do you use it for gaming or studying? We've got the perfect article for you. As laptop aficionados, we know what it takes to find the best laptops for your lifestyle. Whether you have a lot of business trips or are more of an online shopper, from Costco to Amazon, we have something for you! We've compiled reviews and test results of over 20 laptops to bring you the top 5 in our list. We hope this helps to make your decision easier and saves money. You're in luck — we've already done the heavy lifting and pulled together a list of our best budget laptops.


OUR TOP PICKS

1. BEST OVERALL: 2022 Apple MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip

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  • STRIKINGLY THIN DESIGN — The redesigned MacBook Air is more portable than ever and weighs just 2.7 pounds. The incredibly capable laptop lets you work, play or create just about anything — anywhere.
  • SUPERCHARGED BY M2 — Get more done faster with a next-generation 8-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU, and up to 24GB of unified memory.
  • UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — Go all day and into the night, thanks to the power-efficient performance of the Apple M2 chip.
  • BIG, BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY — The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display features over 500 nits of brightness, P3 wide color, and support for 1 billion colors for vibrant images and incredible detail.
  • ADVANCED CAMERA AND AUDIO — Look sharp and sound great with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three-mic array, and four-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio.
  • VERSATILE CONNECTIVITY — MacBook Air features a MagSafe charging port, two Thunderbolt ports, and a headphone jack.
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The new MacBook Air is a breath of fresh Air because Apple combined an even faster M2 CPU with a significantly smaller and lighter design. Carrying and using this 2.7-pound notebook reminds us of the legendary first Air Steve Jobs took from a manilla packet 14 years ago.

The new Air offers an unrivaled blend of mobility, performance, display quality, and overall comfort. In our tests, it had a battery life of more than 14 hours. In fact, despite a few flaws, I'd say this is the most excellent laptop for the money overall.

If you own the best Mac laptop at an affordable price, this model should be considered on your shopping list!

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2. BEST PERFORMANCE: Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen Laptop

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  • GUARANTEED POWER: With 11th Gen InteI Core mobile processors, it's now possible to enjoy incredibly immersive entertainment on a remarkably thin and light touchscreen laptop
  • KILLER WIRELESS: With Wi-Fi 6 technology, the Killer AX1650 prioritizes streaming video, communication, and game traffic in your system for fast, smooth online experiences
  • STUNNING IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT: Dolby Vision content can deliver highlights that are up to 40 times brighter and blacks that are up to 10 times darker
  • START IN AN INSTANT: A built-in lid sensor with a new press fit hinge allows you to open the lid with one hand and power up in milliseconds, no matter what power state you are in
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The Dell XPS 13 is a favorite in our lab because it combines strong components into a sleek, elegant chassis with incredibly tiny bezels, making it one of our top selections for the best Windows laptop you can purchase and one of the finest laptops overall.

After spending some time with a review device, we can say that the inclusion of an OLED screen improves on an already excellent ultraportable.

It's so fantastic, in fact, that it tops our list of the best 13-inch laptops on the market. You wonder about paying hundreds of dollars more for the luxury of having an OLED screen in your XPS 13, but it's well worth it if you care about image quality and excellent processor ability.

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3. BEST VALUE: ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED Ultra-Slim Laptop

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  • 13.3 inch OLED 400nits Full HD (1920 x 1080) Wide View 4-way NanoEdge bezel display
  • Latest AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Processor (Up to 4.0GHz, six cores,8M Cache) with AMD Radeon Graphics
  • Windows 11 Home
  • Fast storage and memory featuring 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
  • Built-in IR camera for facial recognition sign-in with Windows Hello
  • ErgoLift hinge and backlit keyboard and NumberPad
  • Extensive connectivity with HDMI 2.0b, USB 3.2 Type-C, USB 3.2 Type-A, Wi-Fi 5(802.11ac), Bluetooth 4.2, and Micro SD card reader
  • Read more

There's a new Asus Zenbook on the market with a vibrant OLED display and the latest Intel and AMD CPUs. Still, the real kicker is the price: it starts at just $800, making this quite possibly the cheapest OLED-equipped laptop on the market, as well as one of the best laptops we should have.

At that price, you might be concerned that you're compromising performance, battery life, or build quality, but after examining an AMD-equipped Asus Zenbook 13 OLED for a few weeks, we're happy to report that you're not. While there are several downsides, this is a great laptop that will serve you well for work and study.

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OTHER CHOICES:

The prices of the products are just right at the moment when we check. They are subject to changes by the Seller, so some may be slightly different from those found on Amazon when you see them. Please note that they are just for reference. If you want to know the exact price, don't hesitate to check Amazon.


Comparison Table

Showing  11 - 15  in  15 results
11
  • SCORE
    8.8
    AI Score

    The scores from 0 to 10 are automatically scored by our AI Consumer Report tool based upon the data collected. This score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturer or sales agent websites.

  • Brand
    HP
12
  • SCORE
    8.8
    AI Score

    The scores from 0 to 10 are automatically scored by our AI Consumer Report tool based upon the data collected. This score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturer or sales agent websites.

  • Brand
    HP
13
  • SCORE
    8.8
    AI Score

    The scores from 0 to 10 are automatically scored by our AI Consumer Report tool based upon the data collected. This score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturer or sales agent websites.

  • Brand
    Lenovo
14
  • SCORE
    8.6
    AI Score

    The scores from 0 to 10 are automatically scored by our AI Consumer Report tool based upon the data collected. This score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturer or sales agent websites.

  • Brand
    HP
15
  • SCORE
    8.4
    AI Score

    The scores from 0 to 10 are automatically scored by our AI Consumer Report tool based upon the data collected. This score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturer or sales agent websites.

  • Brand
    ASUS

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API

3.7
3 ratings

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Wild River Review Teams
With enthusiasm to research and experiment with the quality of products, our passionate members built Wild River Review. With many groups of staff specializing in each field, we always try to bring the best results for readers.
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