The Best Chromebooks for Every Budget

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Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3 Chromebook on purple background

Acer Spin 714 Chromebook on blue background

4 / 8

If you spend all day in a web browser, use Google apps, and don't need all the rest of the stuff that comes with Apple’s macOS or Microsoft’s Windows, Google’s ChromeOS operating system offers an all-you-need, nothing-you-don't computing experience. Throw in the ability to run both Android and Linux apps and you just might be able to replace your old laptop with a Chromebook.

Chromebooks have a reputation as cheap, low-end devices. While they can be that—offering exceptional bargains in many cases—that's not the end of the story. Just because you strip away the software fluff doesn't mean you have to strip away the hardware power. There are high-end Chromebooks that are mighty capable machines. In many ways, they offer the best of all worlds: good hardware, lightweight software, and everything you need for web-based work. WIRED's Gear team has been testing Chromebooks for almost a decade now. These are our current top picks.

Be sure to also read through our Best Cheap Laptops, Best Laptops, and Best MacBooks guides for more options.

Updated February 2023: We've added new Chromebooks from Asus, HP, and Lenovo.

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Photograph: Asus
Best Overall
Asus Chromebook Flip CX5
Asus has been churning out some stellar ChromeOS devices for several years now, often coming at the top of our recommendations. The trend continues with this excellent device. It has a gloriously reasonable price alongside flagship laptop looks and capabilities.
The Chromebook Flip CX5 laptop’s combination of value-for-money, pleasing design, strong performance, and daylong battery life are what make it stand out from the rest. From the ability to load up more than 30 tabs with no trouble to a keyboard that’s a breeze to use, productivity is this device’s specialty. The display isn’t top notch but, at 1080p, it's solid. There’s a good selection of ports as well, with what now seems a few luxuries present and correct here—that being a headphone jack, microSD card readers, and an HDMI. Two USB-Cs and a USB-A complete the team.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 16-GB RAM, 128-GB SSD
$850 at Walmart (Core i3)
$1,095 at Amazon (Core i7)
Photograph: Best Buy
Best For School
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
The Chromebook Duet range from Lenovo is great for those who want a small, no-frills device that doesn’t cost the earth—whether it’s as a first machine for a youngster or older generations looking for simplicity. It’s essentially a step up, in terms of productivity, from a straightforward cut-price tablet. The case turns this into a pint-sized laptop-like device, and offers added durability on top too. The keyboard offers comfortable typing—unless you have large hands, then you’ll find it a tad cumbersome.
You’ll find a combination of a Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chip and 4-GB RAM onboard. This isn’t a particularly potent team-up, but it does a perfectly passable job for those looking to stick to one or two tasks at a time and up to seven or eight tabs. When used in this way, you’ll manage a full school day’s length of work, with the battery life typically hitting around seven hours.
A surprising high point, for such a low-cost device, is the bright and detailed 2K display—great for watching video. The low point is the speakers: Bring your headphones, as they are tinny and, ultimately, unpleasant.
Specs to look for: Snapdragon 7c Gen 2, 4-GB RAM, 128-GB eMMC
$379 at Best Buy

Photograph: HP
Best Luxury Chromebook
HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
This is the only laptop on this list that might be better than our top all-around pick, the Asus Chromebook Flip CX5; however, a high price makes it a luxe option. You’ll find one of the best thin-and-light keyboards around—I happily typed on this for hours on end. The build is light while its metal composition makes for a robust and sleek-looking design. The Intel Core i5 and 8-GB RAM combo offer plenty of performance for Chrome users, letting you speedily breeze through upward of 20 tabs.
The Elite Dragonfly Chromebook is framed as a business laptop but ChromeOS holds it back a bit. The 2K display on our review model is a tad underwhelming, especially at this price, though. Further, battery life could also be better—just reaching a full day’s work when used intensely. However, hardware additions like a physical webcam shutter, HP Sure View privacy display, and SIM slot are neat inclusions for on-the-go workers.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8-GB RAM, 256-GB SSD
$1,449 at B&H (Core i5)
Buy at HP (Core i3)
Photograph: Best Buy
Best For Power
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Acer’s latest and greatest Chromebook may not reach the luxe heights of some of our favorites on this list but, when it comes to getting the practicalities of productivity right, there are few better.
With a 12th Gen Intel chip onboard, this Chromebook eats up productivity tasking—opt for 8-GB RAM or more and you’ll be bouncing between 20+ tabs with ease. It’s a wonderfully compact machine too, yet the 14-inch 16:10 display is a great size. Despite this, ports are packed in, with two Thunderbolt 4, an HDMI, a USB-A, and a headphone jack. And, there’s even a super-slim stylus stowed away in the front of the laptop.
All sounds good thus far, right? But, what holds this device back is quality. The build feels cheap and the display is just okay. The keys are small, offer little feedback, and middling travel. Battery life is good enough—on average, you should be able to stretch to a full day’s work without needing a charge. The Spin 714 will get the job done, and the full package is strong value for money, but it isn’t a joy to use. It’s functional.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8-GB RAM, 256-GB SSD
$729 at Best Buy

Photograph: HP
Best Budget 2-in-1 Chromebook
HP Chromebook X360 12-inch
If you want a two-in-one-style Chromebook but don't want to spring for our top picks, this HP option offers most of the same features for much less. The screen isn't as nice, and battery life is about eight hours—enough for a day's work—but you still get a great Chromebook experience. Laptop, stand, and tablet modes all work together to give you more versatility than a traditional clamshell design. But pay careful attention to which X360 version you buy. We like this 12-inch model with the 3:2 screen ratio for some extra vertical real estate when working on documents and browsing the web.
Specs to look for: Intel Celeron, 4-GB RAM, 32-GB storage
$289 at Amazon
Photograph: Best Buy
Best Google-Made Chromebook
Google Pixelbook Go
It’s natural to want hardware made by the company that created and manages Chrome OS. If so, get the Pixelbook Go. It’s lightweight at 2 pounds, has a wonderful matte texture, and is incredibly thin. The Go is a standard clamshell laptop, but you get a 13-inch touchscreen for some added versatility. There are two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, a roomy trackpad, and a wonderfully tactile keyboard. Plus, the battery easily lasts a full workday.
If you’re not planning to use this laptop a ton, the model powered by the Intel Core m3 chip might be sufficient. But, those with anything more intense than a light workload, should snag the Core i5 with 8 gigabytes of RAM. It’s on the pricier end, but this is a Chromebook that oozes style with plenty of power to keep more than 30 Chrome tabs running smoothly.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i3, 4-GB RAM, 64-GB eMMC
$485 at Amazon

Photograph: Lenovo
Best Budget Powerhouse
Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook
This Chromebook is the more powerful cousin to the Flex 5 we've previously recommended. That's still a fine Chromebook if you're on a budget, but the base model of the Flex 5i starts with an 11th-gen Core i3 processor instead of a Celeron chip. It's been plenty speedy for browsing the web and watching videos. The 13-inch IPS display has a nice antiglare finish, which is good because the main weakness of this machine is the fact that its 250-nit brightness is just barely bright enough to use outdoors. The latest version of Chrome OS is well-optimized to work in all three two-in-one modes, and the Flex 5i is compatible with Lenovo's USI stylus (sold separately, $40).
Specs to look out for: Intel Core i3, 8-GB RAM, 128-GB SSD
$402 at Amazon
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
How to Pick the Best Chromebook
Chromebook Specs
Chromebooks come in a bewildering array of configurations. Sometimes even trying to decide which options to get on a single model can be overwhelming. As a product tester, I use a spreadsheet to keep it all straight. But you shouldn't have to do that, so here are some broad specs to keep in mind.
Processor: Chromebooks use half a dozen different processors, most of which you've probably never heard of. There's a reason for that: These processors are slow, and they don't show up in Windows laptops. After trying out plenty of Intel Celeron–based machines, my recommendation is to go with something more powerful if you can afford it. The next step up from the Celeron is the Core m3, which is the best choice for most people. If you want a more powerful, future-proof machine, get an i3 or i5 chip.
We're starting to see more ARM-based Chromebooks, like the Lenovo Duet above. I haven't had any issues using ARM Chromebooks, but they aren't quite as speedy as the Intel Core chips. There are some newer Chromebooks using AMD's latest Ryzen chips, and I've had good experiences with them.
RAM: Get 8-GB of memory if you can afford it, especially if you plan to run any Android applications. When I've experienced severe slowdowns and glitches, it's almost always on a Chromebook with only 4-GB of RAM.
Screen: Get an IPS LCD display. There are still a few low-end models out there with crappier TN LCD displays, and you should avoid those. Your pixel resolution depends on the size of the screen. I have used (and recommend) some 11-inch Chromebooks that have 720p displays. Because those screens are squeezed into a small form factor, I find them acceptably sharp, but a 1080p screen will be much nicer.
Ports: Most things you do on a Chromebook are cloud-based, so you don't really need to worry too much about ports. You might want a computer that charges through a USB-C port if you'd like to be able to run your Chromebook off a portable battery/charger, but USB-C charging is available mostly in mid- and higher-priced models. It also helps to have a MicroSD slot for expanded storage if you need to download a lot of files during a typical day, but that option is also not widely available.