If you’re looking for the Best Laptops Under $300 you can buy in (Summer) 2022, which is affordable, high quality and better performance, then you’re in the right place. In this guide, I have listed down the Best Laptops Under $300 in 2022.
We made this list based on our own opinion, research, and customer reviews. We’ve considered their quality, features, and values when narrowing down the best choices possible.
The Best Laptops Under $300 you can buy today.
So, here are the Best Laptops Under $300 of 2022. If you want more information and updated pricing on the products mentioned, be sure to check the links in each product we mentioned.
1. Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020)
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The best laptop under $300 we’ve tested is the Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020). This 15.6-inch Chrome OS laptop is very portable and has a battery that lasts about 12 hours of light use. It has a 1080p display that provides enough room for multitasking, a comfortable keyboard, and a small but responsive touchpad. As it’s a 2-in-1 convertible with a 360-degree hinge, you can use the laptop in tent mode for media consumption and presentations or flip the screen all the way around and use it as a tablet.
Performance-wise, the base Intel Pentium Gold is powerful enough to handle most web-based tasks on Chrome OS and Android apps from the Google Play Store. You can upgrade to a faster Core i3, but expect to pay a little more. The main downside is that you can only get a maximum of 4GB of memory, so it might stutter a little if you have too many things running at the same time. The port selection is okay; you get two USB-Cs that support charging and video output, a USB-A, an SD card reader, and a headphone jack.
Pros
- Battery lasts easily through a typical 8-hour day with plenty to spare.
- Portable due to thin profile.
- Impressive build quality for a laptop in its class.
- Comfortable keyboard and responsive touchpad.
Cons
- Screen doesn’t get bright enough to combat glare.
- CPU and integrated GPU aren’t powerful enough for demanding workloads.
- Webcam video looks underexposed and lacks fine details.
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2. Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (2021)
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If you need a compact laptop that’s easy to carry around, the Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (2021) might be a good fit. It’s a great option for younger students that only need to do simple tasks like web browsing, text formatting, and video playback. Its compact size makes it very portable, and it feels decently well-built even though it’s entirely plastic. The keyboard feels surprisingly comfortable to type on for such a small device; however, the touchpad isn’t great as it doesn’t track all that well, so it’s best to use a mouse.
This laptop’s MediaTek SoC isn’t very powerful, but it’s good enough to run Chrome OS, and it’s very power-efficient, giving you nearly 16 hours of battery life. It’s also a fanless device, so you don’t have to worry about loud fan noise in a quiet classroom.
Pros
- Exceptional battery life.
- Easily to carry around due to compact size.
- Decent build quality despite all-plastic chassis.
Cons
- Limited port selection.
- Screen doesn’t get bright enough to fight glare.
- Tiny plastic touchpad.
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3. HP Pavilion x360 11 (2021)
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Need a Windows laptop instead of a Chromebook? Check out the HP Pavilion x360 11 (2021). As Windows devices are generally more expensive than Chromebooks, the price is slightly over the $300 mark. The benefit is that you have a full operating system that will let you install third-party x86 applications that Chrome OS doesn’t support. The build quality is decent even though it’s plastic, and as its name implies, it has a 360-degree hinge so that you can use it as a tablet. The screen looks reasonably sharp, the keyboard provides a satisfying typing experience, and the touchpad’s tracking is decent.
Its Intel Pentium Silver CPU has enough processing power to handle general productivity tasks like web browsing, text formatting, and video playback. However, it isn’t particularly power-efficient as the battery lasts a little less than eight hours of light use. Also, you can only get it with 4GB of memory, which means you’ll have to limit the number of apps you open simultaneously. It ships with Windows 11 in S mode, but you can switch to the full version of Windows free of charge.
Pros
- Very portable due to compact size.
- Keyboard feels decent to type on.
- Can be used in tablet mode.
- Good webcam video quality.
- Responsive touchpad.
- Silent thanks to fanless design.
Cons
- Small display isn’t ideal for multitasking.
- Battery lasts less than 8 hours of light productivity.
- May stutter due to limited memory.
- CPU and integrated GPU aren’t powerful enough for demanding workloads.
- Can’t charge laptop via USB-C.
- Dim display can’t overcome glare.
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4. Lenovo Chromebook Duet (2020)
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If you’re looking for a 2-in-1 tablet with a detachable keyboard, get the Lenovo Chromebook Duet (2020). You can detach the keyboard to make it easier to hold when viewing content or attach it when you need to type something. It has a sharp, bright, and colorful display, which is hard to find on inexpensive Chromebooks.
The keyboard comes with the device, so there’s no need to purchase it separately. It doesn’t have the most comfortable keyboard; it’s fine for a couple of emails but not for typing out a long paper. Battery life is excellent as it lasts nearly 12 hours of light productivity or seven hours of video playback.
Pros
- Very portable due to compact size.
- Screen produces a sharp image due to high pixel density.
Cons
- Speakers sound bad and don’t get very loud.
- Low contrast not ideal for dark rooms.