What is the Best Cheap Laptop for Your Needs?

🏆 Verdict: The best budget laptop in 2026 is...

👉Apple MacBook Air M1  

The MacBook Air M1 is the best cheap laptop overall because it combines premium performance with long-term value better than anything else. Even several years after its release, the M1 chip still handles everyday work, multitasking, streaming, creative tasks, and office productivity easily. Its up to 18-hour battery life stands far above the competition, while the lightweight aluminium body still gives off a premium feel in 2026. It’s also one of the top entry-level AI laptops. The sharp Retina display, excellent keyboard, and consistent macOS experience also help it outperform many newer budget laptops. Refurbished pricing makes it far more accessible today, so you get flagship-level quality without flagship-level costs.

✨ What are the best laptop deals?

As the best basic laptop for everyday use, we go with the Dell Inspiron 15 for its overall performance and battery life. Uni students will find the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook a reliable campus companion. The MacBook Air M1 now makes an affordable choice for Apple fans, while the HP Victus 15 is a great entry-level gaming laptop. For business professionals, the budget-priced Acer Aspire 5 ticks all the boxes for dependable performance.

What to look for in a budget laptop

When you’re shopping for a value-for-money laptop, focus on the features that affect your daily performance the most. You’ll want to aim for at least 8 GB of RAM, so multitasking is still fast enough, and choose an SSD rather than a slower hard drive for storage. Battery life is also important, especially if you travel, study, or work remotely. Look for a Full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 for better visuals and easier reading. Modern AMD Ryzen, Intel Core i5, or Apple M-series chips generally offer the most dependable everyday speed. Finally, think about portability, build quality, connectivity options, and long-term software support before making your decision.

Why should you trust this list?

Our in-house reviewers are all experts in the technologies they examine and review. We're one of the world's leading online marketplaces for refurbished electronics, using accomplished refurbishers who test the details of the products we sell. Their testing and feedback give us a deep knowledge base to draw on when creating these lists.

We're also completely agnostic, not favouring any brand over another, so you can trust our objectivity. We don't play favourites, treating each laptop on its own merits without any sort of bias. Furthermore, we also track user feedback and reviews on our platform to gauge popularity and the pros and cons of each item. Our goal is to always give you full transparency and knowledgeable opinions so that you can make informed decisions.

🏆 Why is the Dell Inspiron 15 the best cheap laptop for basic everyday use?

✨ The Dell Inspiron 15 has everything you need for light everyday use at a budget-friendly price.

What are some pros and cons of the Dell Inspiron 15?

What are the features and benefits of the Dell Inspiron 15?

The Dell Inspiron 15 has all the basics covered for everyday computing. Dell lists it as being built for everyday computing, improved usability for home learning, and essential productivity features. A 13th Gen Intel Core i5 configuration gives it enough speed for browsing, documents, video calls, and routine multitasking, while the FHD webcam and broad port selection add useful day-to-day value. It also starts at 1.65 kg, so it’s easy enough to carry around between places like home, work, and class. It’s not a premium laptop, but for a value laptop under £500 that gets the job done, it is a strong starting point.

What are the Dell Inspiron 15 specifications?

• Chipset: 13th Generation Intel Core i5-1335U

• Operating system: Windows 11 Home

• Processor speed: Up to 4.6 GHz

• RAM: 8 GB

• Storage: 512 GB

• Screen size: 15.6 in

• Display: 1920 x 1080

• Graphics processor: Intel Iris Xe Graphics

• Battery life: Up to 9 hours 15 minutes

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth

• Dimensions: 0.67 to 0.75 x 14.11 x 9.27 inches

• Weight: 1,620 g

🏆 Why is the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook the best cheap laptop for university students?

✨ The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook is a compact, uni-ready laptop.

What are the pros and cons of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook?

What are the features and benefits of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook?

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook is an affordable and lightweight machine that makes an ideal laptop for uni students. It's compact and easy to carry around. While it won't support resource-intensive coursework, software for graphic design, or data modelling, it's great for notetaking, research, and other coursework like writing papers, creating spreadsheets, and giving presentations. It also has an excellent 1080p webcam for collaborating with other students on projects. The full high definition (FHD) touchscreen is a very useful bonus. The only noticeable drawback is that it can slow down when running too many different apps simultaneously. Not sure if a Chromebook is right for you? Check out our Chromebook vs laptop guide.

What are the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook specifications?

• Chipset: Intel Core i3-N305

• Operating system: ChromeOS

• Processor speed: 1.8 GHz base, boosting up to 3.80 GHz

• RAM: 8 GB

• Storage: 64 GB / 128 GB / 256 GB

• Screen size: 14 in

• Display: 1920 x 1080 with 60Hz Touchscreen

• Graphics processor: Intel UHD Graphics

• Battery life: Roughly 11 hours

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

• Dimensions: 0.76 x 12.77 x 8.51 inches

• Weight: 1,550 g

🏆 Why is the MacBook Air M1 the best cheap laptop for Apple users?

✨ The MacBook Air M1 offers premium Apple features without the expensive price tag.

What are the pros and cons of the MacBook Air M1?

What are the features and benefits of the MacBook Air M1?

The 2020 MacBook Air makes an excellent choice for Apple fans looking for a cheaper alternative to the latest MacBook prices. It retains very impressive credentials and now represents some of the best value you can get in a Mac. It has been one of the most popular models since its release, thanks to its ultra-slim design, its lightweight portability, and the performance power of the M1 chip. Furthermore, it has a wonderfully responsive keyboard and one of the best touchpads you'll find on any laptop. Its Retina display is exceptionally sharp with a higher resolution than most mainstream laptops, even in 2026. Having been superseded by newer models, you can pick up this gem of a laptop at great prices today.

What are the MacBook Air M1 specifications?

• Chipset: Apple M1

• Operating system: Apple macOS

• Processor speed: 3.2 GHz

• RAM: 8 GB

• Storage: 256 GB

• Screen size: 13.3 in

• Display: 2560 x 1600

• Graphics processor: Apple M1

• Battery life: Up to 18 hours

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

• Dimensions: 0.63 x 11.97 x 8.36 inches

• Weight: 1,290 g

🏆 Why is the Acer Aspire 5 the best cheap laptop for business?

✨ The Acer Aspire 5 has everything you need for daily office work and business travel.

What are the pros and cons of the Acer Aspire 5?

What are the features and benefits of the Acer Aspire 5?

The Acer Aspire 5 is a solid and dependable entry-level refurbished business laptop for a very reasonable cost. It's universally rated as one of the best affordable laptops for everyday business productivity and office use. It feels solidly built, with a robust chassis that easily shrugs off the occasional bump on business trips. The screen resolution is clear and bright with a non-reflective matte finish to reduce glare in daylight. While it slows down somewhat when running resource-hungry software, it's still a perfectly good office laptop for non-specialised work and running productivity suites like Microsoft 365. Its relatively light weight makes it comfortable to carry around all day long on business.

What are the Acer Aspire 5 specifications?

• Chipset: Intel Core i5

• Operating system: Windows 11

• Processor speed: 1.7 GHz

• RAM: 8 GB

• Storage: 512 GB

• Screen size: 14 in

• Display: 1920 x 1080

• Graphics processor: Iris Xe

• Battery life: About 6.5 hours

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0

• Dimensions: 0.71 x 12.9 x 8.8 inches

• Weight: 1,700 g

🏆 Why is the HP Victus 15 an affordable laptop for gaming?

✨ The HP Victus 15 offers consistent moderate gaming power at an attractively low price.

What are the pros and cons of the HP Victus 15?

What are the features and benefits of the HP Victus 15?

The HP Victus 15 is an excellent choice for an entry-level gaming laptop. Even in its basic configuration, it can handle many modern games, including RPGs and first-person shooters. This is somewhat of a purpose-built laptop, designed specifically for gaming. It's also a great platform for add-on features. Inserting a more powerful graphics card will boost it into a more capable configuration, for instance. It has a satisfyingly long battery life, and the frame-refresh rate is decent enough to handle local and online play. Bump-ons run along the entire width underneath, creating a stable physical platform. While it is a bit more expensive than the other laptops in this list, as an entry-level model, it's still decidedly cheap for a gaming laptop.

What are the HP Victus 15 specifications?

• Chipset: Intel Core i7

• Operating system: Windows 11

• Processor speed: 4.7 GHz

• RAM: 16 GB

• Storage: 512 GB

• Screen size: 15.6 in

• Display: 1920 x 1080

• Graphics processor: RTX 4050 with 6 GB VRAM

• Battery life: Just under 6 hours of gaming

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3

• Dimensions: 0.93 x 14.09 x 10.04 inches

• Weight: 2,295 g

How do the best laptop deals compare to each other?

*Prices written at time of publication. Prices can change daily.

What are some shopping tips to get the best cheap laptop?

✨ If you want a great discount on a reputable laptop AND do your part for the environment, refurbished is the way to go.

Among the most valuable shopping tips we can give you is to choose one of our refurbished laptops rather than buying new ones for two powerful reasons.

First, consider the savings. You'll pay much less than you would if you bought these laptops new. You can save as much as 50% on the recommended retail price when you shop on Back Market, and these are every bit as good as new ones. They've been diligently restored to their original performance benchmarks by our expert, verified, third-party refurbishers. After this best-in-class restoration, the laptops are put through a battery of exacting tests using up to 100-point quality inspection process to ensure peak performance. We put our money where our mouths are on this by giving you a 1-year warranty and free 30-day returns. We also offer a BackUp protection plan for longer-term assurance.    Second, by choosing a refurbished laptop, you'll be part of breaking the unsustainable cycle of disposable fast tech. Every item bought through us would otherwise have become electronic waste. You can enjoy your new laptop while feeling good about reducing your own carbon footprint and contributing to an eco-friendlier digital economy.

As for the best cheap laptop to get? That's a matter of personal choice, depending on what you need. Read up a bit more on the ones in our list and ask around for personal opinions. You can also check our customer reviews for more insights. We've selected our recommendations for the best ones to get, but if all you want is something really cheap, then check out our Chromebook selection for a laptop under 100.

How can you get quick cash for your old laptop?

You can save even more on a replacement laptop by trading in your old one or any other electronic device you don't use anymore. It's quick and easy: fill in a short form giving us the specs, and you'll instantly receive an offer from one of our refurbishment partners. We'll pay for you to ship it to us, and within 5 business days your payment will arrive.

What are the closing thoughts on the best cheap laptop deals?

We’ve given you the lowdown on recommended cheap laptops for some of the most common uses, but our selection goes well beyond these models. You might need a laptop for something entirely different, like rugged outdoor work or 3D modelling. On Back Market, you’ll always find some of the best laptop deals around, with amazing discounts on top-quality machines. Browse whenever you need to—with us, the savings never stop.