Laptops have become indispensable in our daily lives. They allow you to study, work and play from anywhere. Faced with the giants of the sectors which display prices at hundreds, even thousands of euros, finding a cheap laptop PC that combines practicality and performance is not easy. To help you make the right choice, here is our selection of the best laptops under 500 euros.
Our pick of the best laptops under $500
The purchase of a laptop PC represents a substantial budget. It is possible today to find entry-level computers for less than 500 euros without sacrificing quality. Some concessions are nevertheless necessary. Forget, for example, the overpowered models to play the latest games in 4K.
Laptops under 500 euros are mainly for office and multimedia use. They will be perfectly adapted especially for students. We have gathered in this article the best quality-price ratios so that you can know which cheap laptop to buy.
Huawei MateBook D15
Huawei MateBook D15 at the best price
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Amazon
429.99€
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Cdiscount
509.98€
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Fnac
541.98€
We start our selection of the best laptops under 500 € with a model from the Huawei brand. If the Chinese brand has disappeared in France from the smartphone department, it is more and more present in the laptop aisle, especially for the entry level. We immediately notice its premium look with a sober and elegant aluminum frame. With his thickness of 16.9 mm and its weight of 1.56 kgit is a pleasant computer to carry.
His 15.6 inch IPS display to one Full HD resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels and it has fairly thin borders. From a power point of view, it is equipped with a 11th generation Intel Core i3 processor supported by 8 GB of RAM. It also has a 256 GB SSD hard drive.
For security, it has a handy fingerprint sensor. From a connectivity point of view, it takes advantage of the Wi-Fi 6 to allow you to have a connection with a fast speed. His 65W USB-C charger also offers the possibility of recharging it quickly. In just 15 minutes of charging, you recover up to 2 hours of use.
Finally, there is a USB-C port, two USB-A 3.2 ports, an HDMI port and a headphone jack.
| The + | The – |
|---|---|
| premium-design | Misplaced webcam |
| 65W fast charger and WiFi 6 | Lacks more USB-C ports |
| Nice screen |
Asus Vivobook Slate 13 OLED
Asus Vivobook Slate 13 OLED at the best price
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Cdiscount
499.99€
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Amazon
499.99€
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Shopping street
540.83€
We continue with a very different model since it is a hybrid format which can be both a laptop and a tablet since the keyboard is detachable. It is therefore a very versatile model and perfectly suited for nomadic use with its weight of only 800 grams in tablet mode.
At first, what marks this model is its 13.3-inch OLED HDR touchscreen. The rendering of contrast and colors is much better than on other computers in this price range. It is therefore a model particularly suitable for multimedia use. Especially since it is equipped with 4 Dolby Atmos compatible speakers and that its cooling system is very quiet. Perfect for watching a movie in good conditions.
If you need to do video conferencing, this model also has a good quality webcam. On the other hand, it is at the level of the power that it will be necessary to make concessions. sound processor Intel Pentium N6000 and his 4 GB of RAM will not work miracles and you will have to be content with fairly simple office tasks.
| The + | The – |
|---|---|
| OLED screen | Very weak configuration |
| 2-in-1: laptop and tablet | |
| Works on Windows 11 | |
| good webcam |
Acer Chromebook Spin 513
Acer Chromebook Spin 513 at the best price
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Amazon
359.99€
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Fnac
451.98€
We continue our selection with a model which, as its name suggests, is a Chromebook. It therefore requires much less power to function properly. He lights up in just 8 seconds and its interface is very intuitive.
The particularity of this model is its chassis which allows it to rotate the screen 360 degrees to use it in different ways, tent mode to watch movies or make presentations, classic PC mode to work, tablet mode to use the touch screen. The 13.3-inch IPS LCD screen to one Full HD resolution and turns out to be rather well calibrated for a natural and pleasant color rendering.
We will also appreciate on this model theautonomy of more than 13 hours so you can use it on the go without worrying about having to plug it in. Connectivity level, there are 2 USB Type-C ports and 1 USB 3.2 Type-A port.
| The + | The – |
|---|---|
| Significant autonomy | Mediocre keyboard |
| Practical and well made chassis | |
| Quality touch screen |
Dell Inspiron 15 3000
Dell Inspiron 15 3000 at the best price
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Amazon
499€
We continue with a balanced model which will appeal to the greatest number of people, especially students. This PC is running Windows 11 and has a rather interesting configuration for less than 500 euros: a processor Intel Core i3-1115G4 clocked at 3.6 GHz, 8 GB of DDR4 RAMa 512 GB SSD hard drive and a 15.6″ Full HD screen (1920 x 1080). Difficult to do better in this price range. It also benefits from Wi-Fi 6 to ensure the fastest possible wireless internet connection.
Connectivity is not left out with 2 USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, a USB-A 2.0 port, a headphone jack, an HDMI 1.4 port and an SD card reader. Its matte black design and Dell finish quality make it a model of choice.
| The + | The – |
|---|---|
| Balanced configuration | Noisy fan |
| Full connectivity | |
| Good value for money |
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook at the best price
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Baker
499€
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Fnac
588.99€
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Cdiscount
598.17€
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Amazon
652.62€
If your priority is to have a portable PC that you can carry in any bag. Here is a model made for you. Quite close to the Asus Vivobook Slate 13 OLED, we also find on this model a 13.3 inch OLED screen and the possibility of switch from laptop mode to tablet mode. This version is ultra light (650 g in tablet mode) and very thin (7.2 mm).
For the configuration, we find: a SnapDragon SC7180 processor from Qualcomm supported by 4 GB of RAM and a 64 GB internal memory. Nothing extraordinary, but enough to run properly ChromiumOS.
The Lenovo Duet 5 also packs a 5 MP front camera and an 8 MP rear camera.
| The + | The – |
|---|---|
| PC and tablet | Lightweight setup |
| Thin and light | Only 64 GB of memory |
| OLED screen |
Acer Swift 1 SF114-34
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P6M2
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Cdiscount
323.29€
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Fnac
329.71€
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Shopping street
329.71€
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Rakuten
329.71€
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Amazon
361€
If you have less than 350 euro to devote to your laptop PC and that you only intend to do simple office, then this model is a good option. Its strong point is its autonomy that reaches 15 hours of use. Its design is also interesting with a metal frame to the best effect. It runs on Windows 10 and has a screen of 14 inch IPS Full HD with anti-reflective coating.
On the other hand, it will be necessary to be satisfied with a minimal configuration: a 64 GB SSDa Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor clocked at 1.1 GHz, 4 GB of RAM and a dedicated Intel UHD Graphics graphics chip. Nothing too flamboyant but sufficient for office use.
| The + | The – |
|---|---|
| Monster autonomy | Very limited configuration |
| Metal frame |
There are now portable PCs at all prices, from 300 euros for the entry-level to several thousand euros for the most efficient. The models are not all equal and the price is not always a good indicator of quality.
To choose a laptop, you must take into account:
- the weight of the device,
- the power and type of processor,
- living memory,
- graphics card,
- storage capacity,
- connectors,
- autonomy.
Most models under 500 euros have undeniable advantages for use in office automation or for multimedia. To buy a gaming laptop, a slightly larger budget is generally necessary. To have a versatile computer, with a powerful graphics card, good RAM and sufficient storage capacity, it is better to turn to a model at more than 800 euros.
Is a Chromebook a good alternative?
Chromebooks are portable computers running Chrome OS that have the advantage of being generally cheaper than their Windows counterparts. A Chromebook allows you to do many of the most diverse tasks such as going on the Internet with ChromiumGoogle’s web browser, see streaming videos or playing games.
Even though Windows and macOS programs do not work on these computers, you can install many android apps since Google Play Store and take advantage of web applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint or image processing tools such as Photoshop or Lightroom.
All in all, if you’re looking for a laptop that’s cheap and capable enough to just study or work, Chromebooks can be great alternatives.
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