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Top 5 Budget Laptops Of 2025 - Best Under $700, $500 & $300
Oct 2, 2025
In this video, Tony ranks the best laptops for every budget. From the best laptop under $300 and the best gaming laptop value to the best MacBook deal for students and our top Chromebook pick, these are the machines that our team recommends based on hours of testing. The best budget laptops featured in this video are the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3x, MacBook Air M1, Acer Nitro V 15, Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus and Acer Aspire Go 15. For each laptop, Tony calls out the top features, pricing, and who each kind of machine is right for.
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Looking for a new laptop but don't want to drain your bank account
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Whether you're gearing up for the school year, need a productivity upgrade, or just want the best value for your dollar, I've reviewed and rounded up the best budget laptops
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you can buy right now. From Chromebooks to gaming machines, the prices get lower as the picks go on, meaning there's
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something here for everyone. And as always, you can check out links to all the products in the description at any
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point during this video. We're starting with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3X
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This is a machine that punches well above its weight and keeps up with laptops that
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cost double in other words it feels way more premium than its price suggests and that's why
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it's at the top of my list the idea pad slim 3x is thin lightweight and built for day-to-day tasks
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like writing papers shooting video or running office apps without a hitch this is also one of
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the best laptops around for battery life holding up for a full day of work or class and the keyboard
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is surprisingly comfortable before you come at me i know that 750 isn't exactly the most budget
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budget laptop on this list, but I promise you there are cheaper options coming. But the performance
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makes the IdeaPad Slim Max tough to beat. Especially if you can find it on sale
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This is a serious bargain. Now if you have your heart set on a MacBook but the price is scary I don blame you but you actually can buy a MacBook Air at a huge discount if you willing to get something
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that's a few years old by Apple standards. In case you notice, yes, this is not an M1 MacBook
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Air you're seeing in this video, but that's just to point out that even M2 and M3 MacBook Airs
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are usually on sale. So again, as long as you're not afraid to get something that's been on the
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market for a minute, don't count MacBooks out. The M1 MacBook Air is still absolutely a good buy
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2025 you can always find it under 700 right now i've even seen it under 600 this year which is a
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bargain for that stellar battery life and smooth mac os experience the m1 chip might not be the
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newest but it's still way faster than most windows laptops at this price range and can handle high
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demand workloads students and professionals alike will love how portable it is plus you get years of
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software support so even though it is an old laptop it's still a great bargain if gaming is your
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your priority when you're shopping for the best budget laptops, the Acer Nitro V15 is where value meets performance
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For underground, you're getting an RTX 3050 GPU, 141st display, and enough horsepower to play most modern titles at respectable settings
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It not the slimmest machine and the fans can get it a lot when you pushing it but when you gaming that power is what counts and it might not be easy to find a laptop with this kind of performance at this price range so you get what you get remember gaming laptops are generally more expensive
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sometimes a lot more expensive than your average chromebook or school machine that said for students
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who want one laptop that can handle both classwork and some late night gaming the nitro v15 delivers
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okay i just mentioned chromebooks and i think we can all agree that chromebooks don't always
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deserve the spotlight but the lenovo flex 5i chromebook plus is the exception this machine
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runs come os relatively fast and smoothly thanks to the intel core i3 processor which is not the
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latest and greatest processor but it's good for what it is chromebook plus branding guarantees
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extra features like built-in video editing and ai power productivity this 2-on-1 design flips
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into tablet mode which makes it super versatile for students or casual users the keyboard and
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screen punch above its price and battery life can easily go a full day of course it's not meant for
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heavy software like Photoshop or PC gaming but for anyone who lives in
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Google Docs, Zoom or streaming apps it's a total bargain. Depending on sales it's
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usually the best-budget laptop under $500 you'll find. Overall really excellent value for a Chromebook Finally the Acer Aspire Go 15 is proof you don have to spend big to get a laptop that simply gets the job done It easily the best budget laptop under especially
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considering that big 15-inch display. It's perfect for basic tasks, browsing, writing, email streaming
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you name it. Connectivity is also key to success with this laptop. With a pair of USB-A ports
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a USB-C port, HDMI out, a headphone jack, that's a pretty nice selection of ports
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Longevity is normally an afterthought in cheap laptops, but with over 10 hours in our battery
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testing, this is sure to last you for a full workday. It's definitely not flashy, the plastic build may feel a little cheap, and performance is
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strictly entry level, but if you just need a laptop that works well without breaking
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the bank, the Aspire Go 15 is the go-to choice. There are a lot of cheap laptops out there, but you want to know you're actually getting
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something that's good value. That's why our team is constantly reviewing new laptops to keep our list of the best budget
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laptops up to date which one from this video are you eyeing let me know in the comments and if this
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video helped you out make sure to subscribe for more buying guides reviews and roundups
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until next time i'll catch you later
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