The best cheap laptop deals in October 2020

The best cheap laptop deals balance power with affordability, and that seems to be the theme of the week in our roundup of the latest laptop deals on offer right now. We're seeing powerful 10th generation i7 processors inside cheap laptops right now, with brands from Dell to HP and even Apple getting in on the savings. With big SSDs and bags of RAM, you'll find some significant juice inside the latest laptop deals, and we've brought the very best of the best right here. 

We've scoured all the best retailers' current cheap laptop deals and weeded out all the offers that aren't worth your time to bring you the highest quality savings available now. That means you'll find specs and key features listed alongside each laptop deal here, as well as some hefty savings in the higher price ranges. 

Cheap laptop deals by budget

There's a wide range of cheap laptop deals on offer here, from traditional laptops under $500 and the best Chromebooks made for browsing, to powerful working from home machines. So, whether you're after a budget laptop to simply surf the web with, or a more capable rig with the latest processors and speedy SSDs, you're sure to find the model for you in the laptop deals below. 

If you're a gamer, you'd be better suited to check out our selection of gaming laptop deals, as the models on this page are not usually built with gaming in mind. If you're after a cheaper web-based machine, check out the latest Chromebook prices and deals.

This week's best cheap laptop deals

Cheap laptop deal of the week

More cheap laptop deals

Cheap laptop deals under $200

Asus 11.6-inch Chromebook: $189 at Best Buy
Cheap laptops under $200 will usually offer a stripped back but streamlined Chrome OS experience. This Asus model includes just 16GB of storage, but because you're using a browser-based operating system you won't have to worry about storing updates. Plus, you can always expand that space using a microSD card as well.
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Cheap laptop deals under $400

HP Stream 11.6-inch laptop: $219.99 at Best Buy
The 64GB inside this HP Stream laptop deal from Best Buy will see you through all the updates you need to run Windows 10, and the 4GB RAM will keep your everyday browsing and lighter work zippy as well.
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Asus VivoBook 11.6-inch laptop: $289.98 at Amazon
There aren't many cheap laptops on sale right now, but this Asus VivoBook from Amazon is sitting pretty at just under $290 right now. For your cash you're getting 64GB of storage and 4GB RAM so this is better suited to light everyday browsing rather than demanding workflows.
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HP 14-inch touchscreen Chromebook: $299 at Best Buy
$299 is a great price for a 14-inch touchscreen Chromebook - that's a good sized display and plenty of functionality at a price point we just don't see it at. You're dropping down to 32GB of storage here, but with Chrome OS that shouldn't be a problem - and you can always expand it yourself.
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Acer Aspire 1 15.6-inch laptop: $499 $399 at Amazon
For $100 more than the offer above, you can upgrade your processor to an Intel Celeron N4020 for speedier work and boosted power. You're keeping the same 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage space here, and picking up Office 365 Personal as well.
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Cheap laptop deals under $600

HP 15z 15.6-inch laptop: $499.99 $449.99 at HP
There's a Ryzen 3 processor inside this cheap machine, with 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD at your disposal as well. That's plenty of power if you're looking to spend as little as possible, however if you can stretch the extra $40 for the Asus Vivobook below it does offer better value for money.
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Acer Aspire 3 15.6-inch laptop: $479 $449 at B&H Photo
The Acer Aspire 3 is one of our favorite cheap laptops, because it balances power with affordability in a way that few models achieve and is regularly subject to price drops. B&H Photo is shaving $30 off this configuration this week, sending you home with a dual-core 10th gen i3 processor, 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD for under $450.
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Dell Inspiron 14 5000 14-inch laptop: $549.99 $499.99 at Dell
Save $50 on this 14-inch Dell Inspiron laptop, which was already fairly priced at $549.99. There's a cutting edge 11th generation Intel i3 processor inside, with 8GB RAM and 256GB of SSD storage as well. Those are some spectacular specs for under $500.
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HP 14 2-in-1 Chromebook: $629 $499 at Best Buy
This HP Chromebook is a great option if you want versatile laptop capable of zooming through all your browsing and shopping needs for less this week. With an Intel Core i3, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage, this HP 14 is a departure from the usual sluggish Chromebooks on offer at this price point.
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HP 17z 17.3-inch laptop: $619.99 $519.99 at HP
HP's latest laptop deals are offering up a massive display for a great display in this HP 17z. That's a full 17.3-inch screen - perfect for streaming and multi-tasking. Inside, you'll find a Ryzen 5 processor, 12GB RAM, a 256GB SSD and Radeon Vega 8 graphics as well.
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Acer Aspire 5 15.6-inch laptop: $599.99 $549.99 at Newegg
There's a $50 discount on this 15.6-inch Acer Aspire 5 at Newegg right now, bringing the price of an impressive 10th gen i5 spec down to just $549. You're also getting 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD under the hood as well.
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HP 15t 15.6-inch laptop: $789.99 $579.99 at HP
Save $210 on this 15.6-inch HP laptop, offering up the latest 10th generation i5 processor, 12GB RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. That's a great amount of power for under $600, especially if you're looking to hit that sweet spot between power and portability.
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Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (128GB): $959 $599 at Best Buy
Save $360
on a baseline (but still awesome) specification Surface Pro 7 today at Best Buy. Included in this great tablet deal is a black Surface Cover, worth at least $100 by itself, allowing you to use this great little tablet as a laptop if you want that added flexibility.
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The best laptop deals over $600

New Inspiron 14 5000 14-inch laptop: $699.99 $649.99 at Dell
This 14-inch Dell Inspiron laptop deal shaves $50 off the price of a high performance spec, with a final cost of just $649.99. There's an 11th gen i5 processor under the hood, with 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD on board as well.
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Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15.6-inch laptop: $799 $669 at B&H Photo
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 offers a full HD IPS display and some powerful specs inside a slimline and easily portable shell. That's perfect if you need plenty of juice on the go, and you can save $130 on this quad-core 10th gen i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD configuration at B&H Photo this week.
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HP Envy x360 15.6-inch laptop: $799.99 $749.99 at HP
Or, for the same amount as the Dell XPS above, you can pick up the HP Envy x360 and grab more power under the hood. This laptop deal saves you $50 on an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, Radeon graphics, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage.
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Where to find the best budget laptop deals in the US:

We've compared prices on some of our favourite cheap laptops and run through the details on why we recommend them further down this page. But if you'd like to browse the latest laptop deals directly from your favorite retailers we've included a list of the most-recommended stores directly below. 

Which stores have cheap laptop sales?

If you're looking for the best budget laptop to see you through everyday browsing, we'd recommend heading over to the generalist retailers - Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon, for example. If you're after something a little more specialist, Dell, Lenovo and HP will offer far more configuration options with their own discounts as well.

The best cheap laptops

The best cheap laptops of 2020

The best budget laptops are usually the ones offering decent entry level specs (32 or 64GB of storage in a Chromebook or a 4GB / 8GB RAM, i3 processor, 128GB  storage in a Windows machine) at a reduced price. However, you'll sometimes find mid-range specs offering a step up at similar prices on cheaper machines. Below you'll find our top picks of cheap laptops that do exactly that during busy sales periods. 

cheap laptop deals

(Image credit: Lenovo)

1. Lenovo Chromebook Duet

A cheap grab and go 2-in-1 laptop

CPU: MediaTek Helio P60T | Graphics: ARM G72 MP3 800GHz | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 10.1" FHD (1920 x 1200) IPS touchscreen | Storage: 64 - 128GB

Incredibly versatile
High value 
Performs well for the price
Older components

If you're shopping for cheap laptops, chances are you're not going to be spending too long poring over spec sheets or looking forward to splashing out on the latest processors and graphics. You might be looking for a simple every day web browsing machine light enough to throw into a backpack and flexible enough for comfortable streaming. That's where the Lenovo Duet comes in - a Chromebook that's technically a tablet, but far more powerful than you'd expect it to be. 

best budget laptop deals

2. Acer Chromebook 14

Meet the anti-MacBook Air

CPU: Intel Celeron N3160 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 400 | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 14-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) display | Storage: 32GB SSD

Top-notch build quality
Solid keyboard and touchpad
Full HD display
Flaky HD video playback

With its slick lines and a slim silhouette, the Acer Chromebook 14 makes for a subtle, snazzy laptop. Although its display isn't the most attractive we've seen, it’s still acceptable for full HD. On top of that, the keyboard and trackpad adhere to the principle of ‘it just works.’ The battery life is satisfactory as well despite falling a bit south of Acer's 12-hour claim in real-world use. 

Read the full review: Acer Chromebook 14

cheap laptop deals

(Image credit: Asus)

3. Asus Vivobook 15

Mid-range specs for entry level prices

CPU: Up to Intel i7 | Graphics: Nvidia | RAM: Up to 16GB | Screen: FHD (1920x1080) | Storage: 128GB SSD – 1TB HDD

Versatile and powerful
Full HD screen
Regularly discounted

You're shopping in the $399 - $599 range when looking at an Asus Vivobook, with entry level specs outperforming the vast majority of Chromebooks you'd usually find at this price. Plus, you're getting some pretty premium features in this cheap laptop. A Nano-Edge display keeps everything looking sharp, the option for Intel Optane memory makes sure all your most-used programs and files are well within reach, and a 1.6kg weight on a full sized 15.6-inch laptop is nothing to sniff at either. 

cheap laptops deals sales

4. Acer Swift 3

The bigger, better value proposition

CPU: Intel Core i3 – i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 | RAM: 4GB – 8GB | Screen: 14-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) ComfyView IPS | Storage: 128GB – 256GB SSD

Powerful for the price
Stellar battery life
Boring looks
Down-firing speakers

Here we have one of the few budget laptops with a processor nearly equivalent to a MacBook Pro from a couple of years back, that is if you opt for the Intel Core i5 configuration. The best part? Among the best Acer laptops right now, it's roughly half the cost of its Apple-branded rival. Now given that it sells at a range of different prices, the Acer Swift 3 can be an obtuse purchase, but lucky for you, the midrange model will get you by just fine. There are often plenty of cheap laptop deals on Acer products so you'll always be in a good position to grab a discount. 

Read the full review: Acer Swift 3

Cheap laptops: Spotting the best laptop deals under $200

One of the first things we often check when shopping for cheap laptops is the amount of storage on offer. As shoppers, we've become accustomed to comparing prices and models based on the number of gigabytes next to the model name. However, there may be more to it than that, especially when you're browsing the cheaper shelves. You may also need to pay attention to your operating system when picking up a budget laptop deal under $200. 

Some cheap laptops are more worthy of your cash than others, and many simply need to be avoided. For example, you'll easily find a Windows machine that offers just 16 or 32GB of storage, but with update file and software sizes increasing, you may quickly find that insufficient. However, finding a Chromebook with 16 or 32GB of storage for under $200 makes for a great cheap laptop deal. That's because these machines run on Chrome OS which doesn't require updates and operates largely through your browser. 

Similarly, a lot of laptops hold incredibly low price tags because they are labelled as 'FreeDOS'. This means they don't have an operating system on them already, so you will need to buy Windows 10 to get them set up. 

How much are the best laptop deals? 

Shopping for the best budget laptop deals between $50 and $200 will usually have you looking at the excellent range of Chromebooks on sale right now. Running Chrome OS, these budget laptop deals will see you through everyday web browsing, emails, and some light streaming for eye wateringly low prices. You'll be picking up anything from a 16GB SSD to a 64GB hard drive, but you'll also be looking to utilize the cloud for more storage.

If you're punting a bit higher than $200, you'll be opening yourself up to more RAM, moving from 4GB to 8GB in most models, meaning your cheap laptop will be able to open programs faster, generally retrieving information and multi-task in a more streamlined manner. You'll also be picking up far more storage for your cash, with prices this week including either a 128GB or 256GB SSD. This SSD further streamlines your storage, acting as a lightning-fast drive to keep everything you need instantly attainable.

Once you search for laptop deals above $400, you may well start to find 16GB of RAM on offer as well as a few models with a 512GB SSD. Along with improved processors, that means exceedingly fast storage potential, keeping your cheap laptop zippy however many programs you have open. Laptops above this price range are also better suited to media editing than cheaper models.

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