Finding the best budget laptops is a little bit like finding the best budget cars. You need to do your research, 9 times out of 10 you’ll need to take it for a spin before you commit to taking it home, and what’s right for you is probably not going to be right for your next door neighbour. Before you even think about the one you’d like to have, you’ve got to consider the cost and your budget too! Well, I’ve done the hard part for you, and put together a list of the best budget laptops 2016 with something for everyone, no matter what you want to use it for.
Before we get down to the list, let’s expand on that ‘there’s no one laptop for every person’ point. The best budget laptop for you will completely depend on what you want it for. You might want the best gaming laptop, or maybe the best work laptop, so it’s important you work out what you’re looking for in a laptop. I’ve broken that down in a previous post detailing how to choose a budget laptop based on what you’ll be using it for , so take a quick look at that before you start considering specific models.
I’ve even put together a simple budget laptop buying guide at the end of this list. See it here:
Quick budget laptop buying guide
It’s no secret I love Chromebooks. I wrote about this in the past and I am still convinced that they are the best budget laptops for most of us. They will not be right for you if you need to install software on them but in this day and age, you can do most stuff in the cloud anyway. However, if you need to install software on your new laptop, the Chromebook will not be right for you. Fear not though, I have included a few budget laptops that run Windows too so just have a look at the list below.
So without further ado, let’s begin and look into the best budget laptops of 2016 in the UK. I’m not simply considering what the best cheap laptops are, I’ll be considering price, looks, technical specs and more.
If you don’t want to read the whole thing you can just use the buttons below to skip to the each of the laptops that made it on The Best Budget Laptops 2016 In The UK list:
Lenovo S21eLenovo YOGA 300Lenovo FLEX 2ASUS X205TALenovo YOGA 500 14"Apple Macbook Air 11.1
Use the button below to skip to the Chromebooks that made it on The Best Budget Laptops 2016 In The UK list:
HP Chromebook 14Acer Aspire Chromebook 11Toshiba CB30-B-104 13"Asus CP100PA 10.1"
Or use this button below to skip to the best budget gaming laptop that made it on The Best Budget Laptops 2016 In The UK list:
Asus GL552JX 15.6"
The Best Budget Laptops 2016 – All Rounders
I’m going to be totally straight with you before I start the first part of this list. All of the laptops below (with the exception of one Apple Macbook) are Windows laptops. And in all honesty, I’ve just added to the list the Windows laptops I hated the least. It’s not that Windows laptops are bad, it’s just that I’m used to using a Chromebook for the same things and in most cases they’re cheaper and offer just as much for you.
If you need a laptop for light use (as in, you want to check your email, browse the web, update your social media, edit some pictures, watch Netflix and work on Microsoft office or Google Docs and nothing more), then I recommend you seriously consider a Chromebook. I’ve given them their own list in the second half of this best budget laptops 2016 guide. But if you’re dead set on Windows, or need something more powerful, then I’ve got the best options for you below.
1. Lenovo S21e 11.6 inch Laptop Notebook
Get it on Amazon
This is a quiet and small little notebook, probably best suited as a second laptop, or a working laptop for students or professionals. You get what you pay for; so don’t expect ultimate speed and usability. However, despite it being one of the cheapest laptop on this list, it’s got some pretty impressive specifications.
Lenovo S21e 11.6 inch Laptop Notebook Specs You Need To Know:
Intel Celeron N2840 processor
Windows 10 operating system
2GB RAM
32 GB eMMc
Weighs 1.8 kg
11.6″ Screen Size
1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, Micro HDMI-out, Micro SD card reader, Audio combo jack
5hrs+ Average Battery Life (although I would take this with a huge pinch of salt)
The most impressive thing you should’ve spotted is the 32 GB eMMc, which is a big thing considering most of the other laptops on this list don’t have an eMMc hard drive. This isn’t as good as the SSD drives you can find in the more expensive laptops but it is really good value and they just work. You can read more about the difference between the SSD drives and eMMC drives here . You should think of the Lenovo S21e as Microsoft’s answer to the Chromebook. If you don’t think you’d get along with Chrome’s Operating System because you’re so used to using Windows 7 or 8, then this is one of the best budget laptops 2016 that still runs Microsoft.
That means that this Lenovo S21e would be best suited to light, common use, like browsing the web, using Microsoft Office (like Word and Excel), checking and updating social media, and watching Netflix and Youtube.
One Amazon buyer did say that the keyboard isn’t great but this is expected at this price range. Out of 40+ reviews, the vast majority are positive and it brings the overall rating at the time of writing this is 4.2 stars out of five with 21 Five star reviews and 4 One star reviews which in my opinion is a good ratio.
2. Lenovo YOGA 300 11.6 inch Convertible
Get it on Amazon
Some people say Windows was made to be used on touchscreen devices like tablets, and that it never should have reached desktop and laptop computers. Well, I kind of agree. I never got along with Windows 10 and lovingly hung onto Windows 7 for my laptop after trying out it’s successor on my dad’s computer. But after I was given the chance to try out Windows 10 on a tablet, I realised it actually can be intuitive, if you know how to use it.
Where am I going with this? Well, this Lenovo YOGA 300 Notebook has a touchscreen so you can experience Windows 10 in a whole new way. Of course, it works with the touchpad or a mouse too, but finally, you can use the screen sort of how you’d use a tablet to take advantage of all of the features of Windows 10.
The Lenovo YOGA 300 11.6 inch Convertible Notebook Specs You Need To Know:
Intel Celeron 2.16 GHz Processor
2GB RAM
32GB eMMc
11.6″ Screen Size
Weighs 1.9kg
5hrs Average Battery Life (actual users say it’s more like 4 hours)
All in all, it looks great, works as you’d expect for this price range, and it’ll suit the kind of person who wants a basic laptop with better usability. There’s not too much of a difference between this and the lower priced laptops on this list, apart from the touchscreen. This laptop is designed for general users. It can be used for games, animating, video editing etc but it’s not really suited for that. If you need a light laptop with the benefits of a touch-screen tablet this is for you.
The Amazon reviews are pretty good too. Overall rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars with 14 five star reviews and 4 one star reviews. The points that stood out the most out of the customer reviews are the fact that it does not have a disk drive and that the pre-installed software is resource-heavy.
3. ASUS X205TA 11.6-Inch Laptop
Get it on Amazon
The ASUS X205TA 11.6-Inch Laptop is possibly one of the best budget all-rounder laptops if portability is important for you. It’ has great reviews on Amazon, and it’s pretty easy to see why when you compare it to other laptops in this price range.
The ASUS X205TA 11.6-Inch Laptop Specs You Need To Know:
Intel Atom Z3735 1.33 GHz quad-core processor
Windows 10
2 GB RAM
32 GB eMMC
11.6 Inch Screen
up to 12 hours battery life
Weight 980g
So the specifications above are pretty standard for an 11” laptop in this price range, but what else is so great about it? Well, Lenovo opted to ignore flashy features like a touchscreen in place of more old-school essentials we all still love. It weighs under 1kg (something you won’t find in most laptops of this price range), and the battery life in the region of 12 hours.
This is the kind of laptop you can work and play on. Although it’s not the most powerful all rounder, because of the portability and long battery life, it is one of my favourites on this best budget laptops list. For the money, I’d hesitantly say (only because of the variety of laptops out there) that this is one of the best budget laptops 2015 in the UK.
The hidden gem on this laptop is that it comes with a free 1 year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Personal which gives you access to full versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher and OneNote, along with 1TB online cloud space. This one year subscription alone costs £59.99 and if you don’t want to renew at the end of the year, you don’t have to.
The only downsides I can think of are the Mini HDMI instead of HDMI (meaning that if you want to use an HDMI cable to connect to a monitor or TV, you’d have to buy an adapter) and the MicroSD card slot instead of SD.
The Amazon rating is great at 4.3 stars from 108 reviews. With 66 five star reviews and only 6 one star reviews, I would say that this is a pretty good level of customer satisfaction.
4. Lenovo FLEX 2
Get it on Amazon
The Lenovo Flex 2 is a bit of an unusual one on this list. It has a rotatable, full HD (1920 x 1080) LED touchscreen. This means you can convert it to viewing mode if you want to watch any movies or youtube videos.
The Lenovo Flex 2 Specs You Need To Know:
Intel Core i5 Processor
4GB RAM
1TB HDD
14″ Screen Size
6hrs+ Battery Life
Weighs 1.9kg
The Lenovo Flex 2 is a bit lighter than the other budget laptops, although it still can’t match the slightness of the Chromebooks further down. It’s more powerful than the previous laptops, and although the flip screen might seem a bit gimmicky, reviewers have said it works well with the touch capabilities.
I will add that it comes with Windows 8 as opposed to Windows 10 like the majority of the laptops in this list so far. Some users were able to upgrade for free but I am not sure whether that is still possible so if Windows 10 is important for you, I would double check that before making the purchase. Also, although it is a convertible laptop, it doesn’t go to a full tablet position.
5. Lenovo YOGA 500 14 inch Convertible Laptop Notebook
Get it on Amazon
The Lenovo YOGA 500 is a bit of an unusual one on this list. Definitely, not the cheapest budget laptop but you get a lot for your money. It has a rotatable Multitouch HD-Display meaning that you can touch, pinch, scroll and swipe your way around the screen, just as you would with a traditional tablet.
The Lenovo YOGA 500 14 inch Specs You Need To Know:
Intel Pentium 1.9 GHz Processor
8GB RAM
1TB HDD
14″ Screen Size
Windows 10
Weighs 2.7kg (not great)
ThisLenovo YOGA 500 has the best processor on the list. But, if you’re looking for a laptop that has great portability, this might not be the right one for you. In fact, because it weighs 2.7kg, I nearly did not include it on this list. But then I thought, maybe not everyone travels with their laptops and as long as you could use it around the house, you might not be that bothered about the weight.
6. Apple Macbook Air 11.1″
Get it on Amazon
Yep, I know, this is way above the pricing of all the other laptops on this list. But it does happen to be one of the cheapest and highest rated Apple laptops I could find, so for this one let’s just pretend it’s an Apple budget laptop guide!
The Apple Macbook Air 11.1″ Specs You Need To Know:
– Intel Core i5 Processor
– 4GB RAM
– 128GB SSD
– 12hrs Average battery life (probably a bit of an overestimation…)
– Weighs 1.1kg
Although this is the older version of the Apple Macbook Air 11.1″, it’s just as good as we’ve all come to expect from Apple products. To put it into context, this little laptop was around £949.00 when it was first released, and it’s now just £695.00 thanks to it’s successor. You can still install the current Apple Operating System, OS X Yosemite, for free, and the specifications it has means it can easily rival any laptop on this list. But again, in some cases it’s over £400 more expensive than them…
But if you need a lot more power than the other budget laptops on this list are offering, and if you need to look much more flashy when you’re working on it out and about, this Apple Macbook Air might be the best budget laptop of 2016 for you. It’s a bargain for an Apple product at least!
The Amazon reviews are the best so far. 4.8 stars out of five with an overwhelming 55 five star reviews versus just 2 one star review.
The Best Budget Laptops 2016 – Chromebooks
I’m giving Chromebooks their own category in this best budget laptops list because they’re just so different to any Apple or Microsoft laptop you’ll have tried in the past. Forget all the fancy added extras that normally push the price of laptops up, if you’re only looking for an internet browsing device then the Chromebook would be perfect for you. I’ve been using one for just about a year now, and it’s been better than any laptop I’ve previously owned at using the internet quickly, watching Netflix and Youtube, working on Google Docs and Microsoft Office and taking out and about with me.
If you want more information on Chromebooks specifically, I wrote about why I think Chromebooks are the best laptops you can buy for under £500 here . Otherwise, here are my top four:
1/ HP Chromebook 14
Get it on Amazon
This is the Chromebook I’ve personally used, and I’ll say from a non-expert perspective that it’s incredible. The main features are;
It loads up within 5 seconds when you first switch it on. That’s from off to being able to get onto the internet in 5 seconds. Crazy fast.
It has a 14″ screen which is larger than most other Chromebooks in this price range – it’s not too glossy and the quality is great for watching movies and youtube videos.
I can (and honestly have most of the time), 20+ tabs open in an internet browser without it slowing down.
The speakers are fine for general listening. They’re underneath the Chromebook though, so you’ll find them muffled if you often use it on your lap.
It’s only 1.7kg which makes it extremely portable.
The battery life is insane – it’s 6+ hours easy.
I’d say this is at the very top of the best budget laptops 2016 list in my mind. I think it’s the best laptop for students because of its size, price and weight. It’s also got the standard microphone and webcam combination, so you can keep in touch with friends easily. It would make a great home laptop for all the family too because it’s so easy to take from room to room.
2/ Acer Aspire Chromebook 11 – CB3-111
Get it on Amazon
You might not think you can get a good quality laptop when we start dipping down below £200, but trust me when I say Chromebooks are different. The Acer Aspire Chromebook comes with 1 USB2 port (the regular USB protocol), 1 USB3 port(the newer, faster USB protocol) an HDMI port and a headphone slot, but no SD card slots and it has an 11.6″ screen size.
You might not think you can get a good quality laptop when we start dipping down below £200, but trust me when I say Chromebooks are different. The Acer Aspire Chromebook comes with 1 USB2 port (the regular USB protocol), 1 USB3 port(the newer, faster USB protocol) an HDMI port and a headphone slot, but no SD card slots and it has an 11.6″ screen size.
It’s got all the looks of the HP 14 Chromebook, just in a smaller and slightly less powerful package. You can still use it for all the same purposes as the other; an internet browser, with the ability to work on Google Docs or Microsoft Office (using an App), watch things on Netflix and Youtube, and go on Google hangouts with friends and family using the webcam and microphone. It weighs just 1.2kg and has an impressive battery life of 8.5hrs+, making it great for commuters or students to use in lectures.
The 4.6 stars on Amazon out of 202 reviews is indeed impressive. 149 five star reviews versus just 8 one star reviews isn’t something you see very often. Even the top critical review is a 3 star review. I don’t know about you, but if I were in the market for a Chromebook, I know what I would buy.
3/ Toshiba CB30-B-104 13” Chromebook Laptop
Get it on Amazon
This is the most expensive Chromebook on this list but at £239 at the time of writing this, I am very comfortable including it on a best budget laptops list. With an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars from 200+ Amazon reviewers, this is almost as popular as the Acer Aspire Chromebook 11 – CB3-111 above. So, what’s different about it that can justify the price difference? A lot actually. It has a 4GB memory as opposed to the 2 of the Acer and a larger screen (13.3” vs 11.6”). On top of that, this Toshiba CB30-B-104 Chromebook also has a full HD screen.
The Amazon reviews are great. Some users have compared it with Apple Macbooks and one even said that the screen is better that his 2011 Macbook screen. All the critical reviews seem to be related to each specific unit and knowing Amazon, I am sure have been resolved.
4/ Asus CP100PA 10.1-Inch Chromebook Laptop
Get it on Amazon
Probably my favourite Chromebook on this list. Ridiculously light: it only weighs 889 grams (the weight of my first iPad was just over 660g). This is a full Chromebook with a full keyboard and everything. Impressive, right?
The 10-point multitouch display can be rotated up to 360 so that the Chromebook can be used while placed flat on a table or carried like a tablet. This is the first laptop on this list that does not have any negative reviews on Amazon. How often do you get to see that?
This reviewer summarises the Asus CP100PA better than I could ever do it: “If you’re looking for a portable and light Windows machine at this price point, ditch that idea and buy a Chromebook Flip”
The Best Budget Laptops 2016 – Budget Gaming Laptop
Asus GL552JX 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop
Get it on Amazon
The Asus GL552JX might seem like a pricey option, not a budget laptop, but believe me when I say that you need to put the money in if you want quality when it comes to gaming laptops. And this is the lowest priced laptop I could find for the kind of quality you’re going to want from your games. So to sum it up, this is probably the best value gaming laptop you can buy for this low price.
The Asus GL552JX Specs You Need To Know:
Quad-core 4th-generation Intel Core i7 Processor
8GB RAM
750GB HDD + 128GB SSD
Nvidia GeForce GTX950 2GB Graphics Card
Blu-Ray DVD Combo
15.6″ Screen Size
Weight 2.6kg
Red backlight illuminated keyboard and special Game Keys
Although this is just a notebook, it’s got everything you’d want for gaming, plus a bit more for the money you’re paying. Because the laptop comes with an SSD which the OS is on, the boot up time is roughly 5 seconds.
Reviewers are singing its praises, and if you want a benchmark to judge it on, one reviewer mentions it running Mad Max at high settings with a smooth frame rate.
Of course you could get one of the cheaper laptops for gaming, but you won’t get anything like the quality this will give you (and you possibly won’t be able to even run some of the games you want to).
Quick budget laptop buying guide
I was going to put together a budget laptop buying guide before I realised that this post got out of control and it is probably too long already. So instead of doing a full buying guide here, I’ll just touch on some of the most important point and I will try to write a more comprehensive list in the near future.
Probably the first rule when buying anything, not just a laptop, is: don’t spend money on features you know you won’t use. Not bothered about flip laptops? Buy a cheaper alternative that doesn’t have this feature.
Decide what will you use the laptop for. Are you going to use it just to browse the internet, check and update your social media and online shopping? Then you should seriously consider a Chromebook.
Decide what Operating System you want/need. This is probably one of the most important decisions you will make when buying a new laptop. If you need to install software such Photoshop or Skype, you might need to buy a Windows or Mac OS laptop.
Decide on screen size. How important is the screen size for you? Do you do a lot of work on the laptop? Are you using it connected to a bigger monitor? If so, then the screen size is not that important. If the laptop’s display is the only display you will be using, then you might want to get a laptop with a larger screen.
Do you need a touch screen laptop? If the laptop you’re looking to buy is a regular clamshell laptop (meaning no ability to rotate the display and use it as a tablet), chances are you won’t benefit from that feature much. It doesn’t hurt to have it, but I wouldn’t pay extra for it.
Test drive it. The high street retailers will hate me for saying this but I’m going to say it anyway. Once you decided on the model, go into a high street store and try it. You need to make sure that you are comfortable with the keyboard layout, size, screen etc. If you get a good deal in store, feel free to buy it then and there but don’t be embarrassed to go home and buy it online.
If you do decide to buy it online, buy it from a reputable retailer. You might have noticed that the links to buy each of the laptops on this list are Amazon links. There’s a good reason for it. Amazon is one of the few retailers I feel comfortable to recommend. Every time I bought anything from Amazon, the quality was as expected and in the rare occasion it wasn’t, i had a refund or replacement with no questions asked. It is because of this that I am even prepared to pay a few extra pennies.
Use a credit card to pay for your item. Let me start by saying that I strongly advise you to never spend money you don’t have. Only use a credit card if you pay the balance in full at the end of each month. The reason I say you should use a credit card and not a debit card is that by doing so, you get extra benefits due to the section 75 of the consumer credit act .
The brand matters. This might be unfair to brands that are new but generally if you never heard of it, the quality is questionable. Some retail chains have special deals with manufacturers and they get their own special brands. In my limited experience, these are almost never great and I always stay away from any “own brand” big ticket items.
So, Which Budget Laptop Should I Buy?
Honestly, if you take away anything from this post let it be that only you can decide that. I’ve given you a good selection, now it’s up to you to work out what your needs are and how much you have to spend. I personally use a MacBook and a Chromebook depending on the circumstances.
Do you disagree with any of the laptops on this list? Or maybe I’ve missed out one of your favourites? Let me know in the comments below, or over on Facebook or Twitter and I’ll make sure it gets added in!
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