You don’t have to spend a ton of money on a decent computer today. Yes, it is possible to find a laptop with decent battery life and a solid performance for less than $500. 

Below, you will find a list of the best laptops under $500 to buy today.

The Best Value: Acer Aspire 5

The Acer Aspire 5  is rightfully on top of our best laptops under the $500 list. First of all, the model offers a premium design with its lightweight but durable silver chassis, paired with a matte black keyboard. 

Secondly, the Aspire 5 line comes with a solid selection of Intel and AMD Ryzen processors, a crisp 15.6-inch display panel, and offers a long battery life. And while all these different configurations vary in price, they all are very budget-friendly. 

The line sports an Intel UHD Graphics 620 video chip. Its RAM options range from 4GB to 16GB. The minimum storage is 128GB, but you can also find a configuration with a 1TB SSD. As for the display, it is pretty immersive and has decent contrast. Both HD and FHD options are available. 

Another great perk is I/O ports selection. Acer Aspire 5 has a fair amount of ports on each side. You get your standard headphone jack, an RJ45 Ethernet port, an HDMI, two USB 3.1 ports, a USB Type-C port, and a Kensington lock slot. So many connectivity ports make this model an excellent work computer for under $500. 

Lastly, its battery can last for up to nine hours straight. 

Why we like it:

• Solid performance
• Longer battery life
• Good-sized quality display

The Best Chromebook Under $500: Lenovo Duet 5 

The Lenovo Duet 5 is one of the best performance Chromebooks under $500. Why? This machine sports an OLED FHD display (1920×1080), a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor, paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB eMMC storage. It performs much better than many similar ARM-based Chromebooks. And the best part is that the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook costs only $499. 

Moreover, the Duet 5 Chromebook features a fabric rear case and a keyboard cover, making it easy to transform the Chrome OS laptop into a tablet. Users also can appreciate the beautiful 13.3-inch OLED touchscreen display with narrow bezels for an immersive viewing experience.

The Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook model has two USB-C 3.2 Gen1 ports and the pogo pins for a detachable keyboard.  

Finally, the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebooks offer 13 hours of battery life on a single charge. Combined with a lightweight design (only 2.2 lbs!), this Chromebook is almost perfect.

Why we like it:

• Lightweight and portable.
• OLED display.
• Convertible 2-in-1 design.
• A detachable keyboard cover is included in the price.

The Absolute Cheapest Option: HP Stream 11 Netbook

You won’t find a cheaper laptop than the HP Stream 11 on the market today. In fact, it will cost you just under $200.

The model comes with an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of eMMC storage, and an integrated Intel UHD 600 graphics. The HP Stream 11 is a small device with an 11.6-inch display, and it measures only 0.7 inches thick. 

For the ridiculously low price of $167, you can get yourself a Windows computer that can handle several Microsoft Edge tabs and some Youtube streams. But don’t expect much more out of the Steam 11. The Celeron N4000 simply cannot handle it.

As expected, the model offers a very basic HD display (1366 x 768 resolution), but it actually works out fine. The keyboard may feel a little cramped but still provides decent key travel. The best HP Stream 11 feature is its long battery life. It yields over nine hours of total charge time. 

Finally, the model has some ports selection, including one USB 2.0 port, headphone jack, microSD card slot, HDMI port, and USB 3.1 port.

So, the HP Stream 11 is not perfect by any means. It is made for very basic things, like checking your inbox or going online now and then. It does not fare well for any even slightly more power-consuming task. But if you are very short on cash, HP Stream 11 will get you by. 

Why we like it:

• Very affordable Windows-based computer
• Long battery life

The Verdict

We have listed some of our favorite laptops under $500 options to buy this year. Any one of these models can be a perfect choice for someone on a tight budget. But we have to say that our absolute favorite of best laptops under the $500 list is the Acer Aspire 5 line. The Aspire 5 laptops, while on the more expensive side, offer the most exemplary performance for the money. Besides, the model will hold its price when you decide it is time to upgrade.