7 Best Laptops Under $500 Consumer Ratings & Reports 2023


What is the most common budget users like to spend in buying a new laptop for everyday tasks?

To your surprise, as per the latest stats, $500 is the most common budget users can easily spend in buying a new laptop.

But, is it possible to get the best laptop under $500 in 2023?

The simple one-word answer is ‘Yes’ why not. Today in this post, we are going to help you to find some of the best laptops under $500.

These laptops have been found after an extensive hour’s long research, consumer ratings and reports.

We scrubbed through hundreds of web pages in trying to find a well-balanced laptop that does not lag in everyday processing and computing.

Check them, note their specs, and upon getting fully satisfied, pick one that is good for you. Without further dragging let us see our topic picks.

Related

(1) Best Laptops Under $400
(2) Best Laptops For College Students


QUICK PICKS

Here are the top-rated laptops we picked out through amazon you would be interested in depending on your budget…

Best Laptops Under $500 Consumer Ratings & Reports

We have compile a list of best laptops under $500 based on consumer ratings and reports 2023.

1. Acer Aspire 5

Features at a glance
  • 10th Gen Processor
  • Decent memory and storage option
  • FHD IPS display
  • Backlight keyboard
  • USB Type-C port

Acer is one of the most known laptop brands in offering budget range laptops. Their budget range laptops are considered the best for everyday regular computing. Our top pick is from Acer, the most sold laptop under a budget price category; Acer Aspire 5.

This laptop despite its budget price shares a spectacular range of specs including 10th Gen core i5 processor Intel Iris Xe graphics, and a bright FHD display.

From the design-wise, it looks the same as a budget laptop should look. Its price goes to the specs and raw performance, design is not what Acer focused and they must not too. Under this price range, this laptop offers almost the same specs on the paper as Dell Xps 13.

It has a 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor. It is a four-core processor, goes up to 3.9 GHz clock speed. It is a superb processor for the price, handles all of your computing, simple or complex without any big issue.

It got nice memory addition. With 8GB of RAM size, you get enough RAM space to run anything. It can handle running big apps such as Adobe Photoshop, adobe premiere, and many others of the same scale. Do not worry; there is room to upgrade the RAM size in case the added RAM feels short for you.

With 256GB NVMe SSD storage this laptop stores larger files at great speed. You get a good range of storage space, to store the files important to you. It is NVMe SSD storage the latest designed storage, adds a boost to your processing and apps or file handling.

The laptop has a 15.6 inches FHD IPS display. It is an LED Backlight display with wider viewing angles; glares would not be an issue for you due to matte-coating.

This display is an FHD display keep in mind, at this price; laptops often offer HD displays which makes the viewing experience ruined.

Its blue backlight keyboard lends you an illuminated typing experience. The keys are well spaced for larger and smaller handed people, travel distance is good and makes you type through your typing work without any big issue.

It has big battery life. Up to 8-hours of battery backup make this laptop a good buddy for frequent travelers, teachers, and student and business persons. They can carry this machine around, to accomplish regular computing tasks without tripping the battery.

As long as the ports and connectivity is concerned the model got a range of ports to let you connect anything. It has Two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 Port, One USB Type-C port and HDMI port.

The addition of USB Type-C makes this laptop somewhat more reliable that lets you connect external monitors, dock stations and use it for charging as well.

In total, for the price under 500 dollars, this laptop offers more than imagined. It has a 10th Gen processor, stunning memory option, FHD Bright IPS display, backlight keyboard, fingerprint reader and a collection of latest ports.

Hardware Specifications
Processor  Intel Core i5-1035G1
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 256GB NVMe SSD
Display 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080)
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 3.97 lbs

2. Acer Swift 3

Features at a glance
  • Ultra-thin low profile laptop
  • Octa-core processor
  • Premium aluminum construction
  • Giant 512GB SSD storage

It seems like the list of best laptops under 500 is more become a list of ‘best Acer laptops. It is the second Acer laptop that falls right on every criterion for everyday computing under a budget price range.

It is not like other laptops at this price; cheap plastic made. It is a premium designed sturdy made laptop that qualifies Ultrabook criterion.

This laptop follows all the qualities of the Swift series and makes you enjoy superior processing without feeling much of the weight.

This laptop comes powered with AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processor. It is an 8-core processor, with a base clock speed of 2.0 GHz that goes up to 4.1 GHz in turbo boost.

With the support of hyper-threading, this laptop offers a total of 16 threads in total. Making you process more details, and handle bigger apps and programs.

The Octa-core processor comes clubbed with an AMD Radeon graphics card. The integrated graphics card helps you go through visually loaded tasks.

Do not take it for gaming or next-scale visuals handling such as 3d modeling or rendering. It is good for average scale graphics tasks and some light gaming.

With 8GB RAM of RAM, you get ideal memory integration onboard. The RAM size is upgradable, if you feel like having more memory onboard to breeze through memory-intensive tasks such as video editing or handling virtual machines, you may have upgraded the RAM size.

It got plenty of big SSD storage. With 512GB SSD storage, you got the right storage integrated. It is actually bigger than we expected for the price.

You store lots of movies, web series, games and other important stuff. More than that, the SSD storage impacts your overall processing and make your laptop many times faster than before.

It has a 14-inches FHD LED Backlight IPS display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. With an aspect ratio of 16:10, wider and sharper viewing angles this laptop improves your viewing experience and makes you view anything you like.

It got a good selection of ports. On the right side, you see an audio jack, a USB Type-A port, and on the left side one HDMI port, a USB Type-C port with charging support. The addition of a Type-C port is good but Acer did not integrate a Dc-in charging port that is a missed opportunity.

It is a thin laptop with a chiclet keyboard. The laptop shares a low profile design thus integrates a keyboard with low key travel. The keys are shallow compare to the others but offer clicky and springy feedback while typing.

This budget-priced laptop is an amazingly thin profile laptop. It qualifies ultrabook criterion, easy to take around and consume for everyday computing. Its sturdy aluminum construction makes it enough good to last several years.

Hardware Specifications
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Octa-Core
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display 14″ Full HD Widescreen IPS
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 2.65 lbs

3. Lenovo IdeaPad 3

Features at a glance
  • Multi-core processor
  • FHD Bright IPS display
  • Fluid Keyboard
  • Power-efficient processor
  • 256GB SSD storage

If you are looking for a business laptop under a 500 dollars price range this is the laptop for you. This model looks amazing, the same as the other IdeaPad series laptop.

It boasts an FHD IPS display in tiny bezels around which makes the viewing area enhances. It comes in the same design and chassis as the old models but shares many top of the line specs and features to skyrocket your processing and computing experience.

The latest Lenovo IdeaPad 3 laptop comes powered by AMD Ryzen 5 3500U Processor. It is a quad-core processor; offers total of 8-threads and goes up to 3.7 GHz in turbo boost.

Its power efficiency is impeccable, with a default TDP of 15W, it conserves the battery for a longer run and makes you enjoy the performance on the go.

With 8GB of RAM, it takes the big load and makes you run multiple programs. Switching through the programs will be seamless and smooth as possible. Do not worry; the RAM is upgradable, just to take a certified technician on board to upgrade the RAM.

It has 256GB SSD storage that quickly loads the apps and programs. From the size-wise, it is more than expected for the price under 500 dollars. On more things, the storage is also upgradable; let you expand the storage size as per your needs.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 latest laptop comes fitted with a 14-inches FHD IPS LCD Backlight display. The display got impressive viewing angles but glares are the biggest issue.

The brightness is on par, but due to the LCD screen, you will have glares issues direct in the sunlight. As long as indoor computing is concerned, you get a smoother crisp viewing experience with accurate colors produced.

Its keyboard is not a backlight. But keys are phenomenal, not as good as the ThinkPad series but more than just good for a budget laptop. The keys offer nice tactile feedback with on par responsiveness. You get a comfortable, solid, and satisfying typing experience.

In short, this laptop got the right power to transition through multiple apps and programs. It is a good constructed and priced laptop, and the specs it offers look a downright steal for the price.

Hardware Specifications
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 256 GB SSD
Display 14-inch FHD screen and narrow side bezels
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 3.30 lbs

4. HP Pavilion 15 Laptop

Features at a glance
  • 11TH Gen processor
  • FHD IPS nano edge display
  • Long battery hours
  • Business looking thin laptop

HP is one of the most preferred laptop brands when it comes to budget and mid-range price bracket. It offers this business looking laptop under 500 dollars price range. It is an amazing looking laptop that can easily be taken around for business, school, college and other tasks.

Its most amazing feature is its processor. Yes, for the price you get an 11th gen core i5 processor. It is an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor.

The quad-core processor with a clock speed of up to 4.20 GHz in turbo boost makes you accomplish every kind of processing tasks without freezing or rendering issues.

Keep in mind, it is impressive clock speed that satisfies every user class; from business to personal, light to complex processing.

This business-class laptop has an amazing 8GB of RAM size. The added  RAM size makes you enjoy smoother and seamless handling of the apps and programs. The thin chassis laptop got extra space to let the users expand the RAM size; an added benefit.

With 256GB SSD storage, you get hands-on the right storage. More than just the right size, it is an SSD storage that is going to skyrocket your processing, light-gaming and apps handling.

Load your heavy apps as quickly as possible, enjoy a superb boot-up time and heave an enhanced computing experience.

It has a standard 15.6 inches FHD IPS display. With a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, you enjoy a superior viewing experience.

More than just a great multimedia experience, the crisp display comes into right use when you take the laptop for editing or content creation purpose. Colors look more vibrant, and you get into the right kind of editing.

Its battery is amazing; up to 10-hours on multimedia. Its fast charging mechanism is what makes this laptop superb at charging. You can charge up to 50-percent of the battery in less than 45-minutes.

It has a full-sized keyboard; not a backlight. But the keys are good responsive offers springy feedback on the typing and soft feedback on the touch. The keys are well spaced in between, and make you type through long typing hours without any issue.

In total, the laptop is a lightweight model under 500 dollars price range. It is a good looking machine, checks most of the boxes right and makes you go through regular computing chores without any big drawback and issue.

Hardware Specifications
Processor Intel Core i5-1135G7
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Display 15.6-inch, Full HD, IPS
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 3.75 lbs

5. Lenovo Flex 5

Features at a glance
  • Ryzen 5 processor
  • Responsive touchscreen convertible
  • 8 Plus hours battery backup
  • Portable laptop

If you like using convertible laptops and looking for a solid convertible laptop that transition into a tablet and make you use the laptop as a tablet anytime, get hands-on this model.

This laptop is a full-fledged notebook that without losing the power of a laptop gives you the freedom of a tablet. It comes powered by the right specs, Ryzen 5 processor and decent memory integration to make you enjoy a premium scale processing.

It comes powered with AMD Ryzen 4500 U processor. It is a mobile series processor, designed for power-efficient users.

It is a six-core processor designed by AMD that offers a 2.3 GHz base clock speed that goes up to 4.0 GHz in turbo boost. It also supports hyper-threading, which makes you enjoy a total of 12-threads to smoothen your computing and processing experience.

Lenovo Flex 5 comes fitted with a 14-inches touchscreen FHD IPS display. It is a narrow bezel display that offers an improved viewing area and makes you have less clutter.

Either you are working, handling a professional project, or watching movies the Full HD display is always there to make your viewing experience subtle.

It is a convertible laptop, roll the screen back to transform it into a tablet. It also has a stylus pen, that lets you draw directly on the screen. Use the stylus pen to take notes, drawing and animation work and much more others in the row.

It has 16GB DDR4 RAM that is enough big to make you get the most of this laptop. The added RAM size is enough for professional to personal computing tasks. It is the RAM size that can handle most of the apps and programs that existed on the earth planet.

Integrated 256GB SSD storage is there at your disposal to let you smoothly store your files and folders. It is pretty spacious storage for an average user, more than that, it is an SSD storage which adds a boost to your computing.

With a battery backup of up to 10-hours in one charging, this laptop is a beast. For the price under 500 dollars, it offers more than expected. It is not your average laptop, it is actually a fashion statement that makes your machine soft and comfortable.

Hardware Specifications
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 256 GB SSD
Display 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS touchscreen
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 3.63 lbs

6. ASUS VivoBook 15

Features at a glance
  • Four-way nano bezel display
  • 88-Percent screen to body ratio
  • Ultra-lightweight model
  • USB Type-C addition

If you are a college student and looking for the best replica of your heard earnings then this laptop is for you.

This model is one of the thinnest laptops under 500 dollars budget range and features commendable features that outrank others in the list. It is no doubt the reliable machine you have hands-on.

Why I suggested this laptop to college students is because of its thin profile and ultra-lightweight. It is a lightweight model, that can easily be carried around, this is one of the top features college students look into a laptop.

This laptop comes powered with a 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1  processor. The processor got a 4MB cache and goes up to 3.4 GHz clock speed.

The processor is clubbed with 8GB RAM that helps in handling multiple operations at one time. Its performance is further escalated and mounted by an Intel UHD graphics card. You get an amazing range of processing and enjoy everything that comes in regular processing.

The storage compartment of the model comes filled with 128GB SSD storage. It is an NVMe type of storage that lets you store anything without any issue. It is ultrafast storage, loads apps and games faster and makes your computing seamless.

Its display is one of the most amazing attributes. This is the aspect ASUS marketed a lot and attracted a volume of users.

It has a 15.6 inches FHD IPS 4-way nano bezels display that offers an 88 percent screen to body ratio. Its slim bezels around the display are something that enhances your viewing experience and makes you never miss any details or color displayed.

It is a solid constructed laptop, shares all-metal construction. In design, the thing that captivates your eyeballs is its ErgoLift hinges. Its hinges uplift up to 15-degree to make you have an ideal typing position.

Yes, it has a backlight keyboard. The blue backlight keys improve your typing and make the keys visible.

The keys got prominent letters and keys are also ideal spaced to make the typing smoother and fluid. As a result, you get smoother, error-free typing for long hours.

Its comprehensive connectivity option is something users must pay attention to. It has USB Type-C, USB Type-A, USB 2.0, HDMI port, and microphone jack. The addition of a USB Type-C port is something you must take into account.

In total ASUS VivoBook, 15 is one of the most amazing laptops you can buy for the price. It packs a good range of features that improves your computing experience.

This laptop is an ideal balance of performance and portability. This is why we had recommended this machine for the students, due to its long battery hours this hits the right chord. Students just charge it once a day and take it along for regular computing.

Hardware Specifications
Processor 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 128 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Display 15.6 inch Full HD (1920×1080)
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 3.75 lbs

7. Acer Aspire 5

Features at a glance
  • Budget price range
  • Good battery backup
  • FHD IPS display
  • AMD Radeon Vega graphics onboard

This is Acer’s third laptop in the budget price range added to the list of best laptops under 500. Actually, this series always offer stunning performance under the budget price range.

It is an all-rounder laptop line-up that is followed by a variety of users. This laptop excels in performance and without spending, arms and legs make you never lag in processing and performance.

It has a 15.6 inches FHD IPS display. The display shares a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is an edge to edge nano bezel display that improves your viewing area.

The display renders crisp, bright, and vivid images and covers 100-percent of the sRGB color gamut. You will enjoy the viewing experience and can handle some sort of light games as well.

It has an AMD Ryzen processor onboard. With AMD Ryzen 3 3200U mobile processor you get the processing to reach the next scale.

It is a dual-core processor that offers up to 3.5 GHz clock speed. The processing power for the average home computing tasks are concerned, this stuns and makes you never lags or render.

It has 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD storage. It is an NVMe type of SSD storage that loads the apps and programs like a pro and make you enjoy stunning performance.

The storage space is less, but for the price it comes in hands, it seems like a highway robbery. The actual price of this laptop right now at Amazon is around 350 dollars.

So, for the extra budget, you spared from our fixed budget of 500 dollars, you can buy external storage to enhance the storage capacity.

To skyrocket your performances and to make you process visually loaded tasks this comes with an AMD Radeon Vega Graphics card.

This graphics card though is not as powerful as the dedicated one but enough good to easily load visually loaded tasks. You can take it on board for playing some light games and load apps such as Adobe Photoshop, LightRoom and others of the kind.

It has a backlight keyboard. Yes, laptops at this price can also come with a backlight keyboard. The blue backlight keys make you type through your work without any big issue. The keys are good, though shallow in travel speed, but offer springy feedback.

With a battery backup of up to 7-hours on multimedia in a single charging, this laptop sweeps all premium laptops out of the roots. You can surely rely on this study made, premium looking laptop for everyday computing.

Hardware Specifications
Processor AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 128GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display 15.6 inches full HD (1920 x 1080)
Operating System Windows 10
Weight 3.97 lbs

Buying Guide for Best Laptops Under 500

Buying a brand new laptop is a great investment. You are going to spend good money on buying one before you go and decide to buy a laptop we are going to suggest very important attributes or specs that you must look into a laptop.

These are something that you need to keep in your mind before buying a laptop under 500 dollars price range.

CPU

The processor is the most important part of a laptop. It is the brain of your computer and the part that determines the speed of your system. It affects your overall computing, and what apps or at which speed you will be running programs and software.

I am not saying to buy a core i7 11th gen processor, as the price would not let you get that. We need to get the best under our price radar.

For the price under 500 dollars, we can get a laptop with a Core i5 processor. A quad-core processor with a clock speed above 4 is a good deal for the price, and one can easily get that for the price.

And for AMD processors, for the price, AMD Ryzen 5 will be the right option to go with. Yes, if you are lucky, and could get a Ryzen 7, do not leave the option.

RAM

RAM decides the app handling of your laptop. It determines how many apps your laptop can run and handle in one time. Bigger RAM sizes are always considered better, as your laptop gets more room to store information temporarily.

For home computing, and for the price we are going to spend, we must not set high expectations.

For the price, we can easily get 8GB RAM, and most of the laptops we reviewed here also integrates 8GB RAM. So, this is the expected RAM size, and with that, you can easily run most of the apps and programs a regular user has to.

Storage

Storage is also a crucial component of a laptop. Good sized storage with the latest type can easily boost your laptop speed. You should get SSDs onboard, as they help you in loading the apps and pogroms swiftly and instantly.

Keep in mind, do not go with the HDDs storages, they are slow and make your processing slower. With SSDs you get everything loaded and processed at speed multi times faster and smoother.

For the price under 500 dollars, we can easily get 256GB SSD storage. Do not settle less than that, the laptops we reviewed in here, most of them got this size of storage.

Display

Another factor that users must pay special attention to while buying a laptop is its display and resolution. Screens with brighter displays and more color covering offer an enjoyable experience.

Try to grab a laptop with a Full HD screen that offers impressive resolutions so that you could enjoy crisper, and vivid images produced on the screen.

As long as the touchscreen is concerned, if you like using a touchscreen and do streaming a lot, maybe a convertible laptop could be the right fit for you. But keep in mind, convertibles laptop under 500 price range would not be as powerful as a notebook would be.

Battery Life

Yes for on-the-go users, battery life is very important. It makes you run through your regular tasks without searching for a power chord.

For a student, that particular feature becomes much more important, as they have to attend lectures and take notes, they can’t afford a power drain. So, look for a laptop that is good at power consumption, and offers a longer battery backup.

FAQ’s about Laptops under 500$

What are the best laptops under $500?

Here are the best laptops under $500 by consumer ratings & reports 2023:

  1. Acer Aspire 5
  2. Acer Swift 3
  3. Lenovo IdeaPad 3
  4. HP 15 Laptop
  5. Lenovo Flex 5
  6. ASUS VivoBook 15
  7. Acer Aspire 5 (AMD Ryzen)

Which brand of laptop is the best?

All the above-mentioned laptops brands are best in this budget range category.

Is Dell or HP laptops better?

Both are big companies and equally good. It all depends on your preference.

What is the best inexpensive laptop to buy?

Acer Aspire 5 is the best inexpensive laptop to buy based on our experts.

Final Verdict

To buy a good laptop for regular computing you are not required to spend a fortune. You can buy a decent laptop that lets you handle normal computing under a price radar of 500 dollars.

There are lots of budget-friendly laptops are there, the thing is you just find them and compare what is the perfect option for you.

We have mentioned the specs you should expect and see in a laptop under 500 dollars price range. We have added many top models here, about all of these laptops are good and are highest rated.

All laptops added to this list offers one feature that makes that model standout. We have mentioned that one particular aspect of the laptop as well. And we also tried to mention what laptop makes a good option for which niche or disciplines.

You just have a bird’s eye view of the model, learn your requirements and see what is the perfect option for you. Upon getting fullest satisfied, pick one model and give it a shot.

Read More: Consumer Ratings & See all Blogs here

Jonathan Perry

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