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10 Best Laptops Under $500 in 2024

So, you are planning to buy a laptop under $500 but confused to decide between dozens of available models?

We recently shared some of the top laptops under 700 dollar mark and if you don’t mind spending a few hundred more then check the linked article. Anyhow,

Before making your decision, keep in mind the following factors:

• Screen size / display technology
• CPU family (don’t go for under Core i3)
• Memory
• Storage (SSD is better, however, HDD is not bad in this budget range)
• Battery timing
• Portability / Weight

Best Laptops Under $500 Price Range – Must Check First 3 Notebooks

ASUS VivoBook F510UA

When it comes to a sound performance laptop in 500 dollars budget our best choice is ASUS VivoBook F510UA available right now in the market. It combines with the hardware that assures smooth tasking. This money valued laptop integrated with 8th generation i5-8250U energy saving processor. The combination of 4 cores processor and 8GB DDR4 RAM will make laptop fly. The 15.6” Full HD display provides a splendid display with pretty good 70% sRGB.

The aluminum finished slim and sleek design make it extremely portable so a good for office and college use. Furthermore, thin bezels give it a premium look that you will see on high-end laptops. On the storage spot, it offers you 1TB mammoth storage on HDD which is pretty satisfying in speed. You can also add SSD for fastest boot time which is a great addition in this budget laptop. The ASUS VivoBook F510UA also features a fingerprint sensor which we really found useful for fast and secure login without the trouble of typing. It supports all types of essential ports including USB type-c. Generally speaking, if you don’t want to get into the complexity of choices then ASUS VivoBook F510UA is the perfect device for every user.

Pros

• Powered by top-notch 8^th generation processor
• Stylish slim bezels make it premium to look
• Built-in fingerprint sensor
• Support variety of ports so you can easily connect almost every peripheral
• Keyboard with comfortable typing experience
• A nice appropriate sized touchpad with nice cursor tracking
• Just 0.9” thick and 3.7 lbs weight
• A very affordable price tag with an amazing value

Cons

• No backlit keyboard
• Short battery life

Acer Aspire E15

Acer Aspire E15 fairly fall in the category that includes laptop under $500. It provides you with enough power to do the multi-tabs web browsing and running various softwares like Photoshop and illustrator etc. smoothly. The power is provided by latest 8th generation Intel Core i3-8130U processor that efficiently carry out the heavy tasks as well as save energy to provide you long battery life (around 13 hours). Moreover, you won’t face the problem of inactive tabs reloading because it has ample 6GB RAM under the hood.

Unfortunately, there is no SSD but they do offer 1TB HDD which is not as fast as SSD but works great and offer a giant space for media and other files. There is an m.2 SSD slot available so you can add SSD later on when you can easily afford it. This 15.6” Full HD display laptop comes with the facility of an optical drive and VGA port. Other ports include USB, type-c, LAN and HDMI etc. A USB 3.0 will supply you the power to charge other devices like smartphone even when the laptop is powered off.

Pros:

• 15.6” giant Full HD display let you work freely
• 8^TH generation processor provides power for seamless everyday tasks
• Long-lasting battery life
• Includes wireless technologies like WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
• Easily upgradable memory (up to 32GB) and storage space
• Include ports such as type-c 3.1, 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, HDMI and others
• Full size keyboard along with numeric keys
• Solid performance within such a low budget

Cons:

• A somewhat bulky design
• Color shift as per your view angle
• The screen should be more bright

Dell Inspiron 15.6-inch

This professional looking Dell Inspiron cost you just $20 more than your budget bracket ($500) but in return provides you with pretty decent specifications. The laptop has a nice ergonomic keyboard with a perfect key to key distance. It’s good to see numeric keys with such a big size laptop but unfortunately, keyboard buttons are not backlit. Under the keyboard, the device has generous 2TB HDD storage. Furthermore, there is 8GB of RAM and powerful 7th generation Intel Core i5-7200U processor.

The laptop has 15.6” HD (1366 x 768) touchscreen which honestly speaking is not great for doing some serious work but can be used for quick actions like scrolling, zooming, and tool selection in various editing applications. It is equipped with the various versions of USB ports along with LAN, HDMI, and Ethernet etc. Plus there is also a DVD-RW. For graphics, it has Intel HD Graphics 620 which only allow you to play basic games and some online like PUBG and fortnite, etc. at low settings. All in all, its one of the best laptops with solid performance and such a low price tag.

Pros:

• A 7th generation i5 processor efficient for multi-tasking
• Plenty of storage (2TB) to store lots of media files
• Feature rich device with various ports like 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, LAN and HDMI etc.
• Keyboard with numeric keypad
• Built-in WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0
• 8GB DDR4 RAM Hold enough power that you can throw any task on it
• You will get Windows 10 out of the box

Cons:

• Lack of backlit keyboard
• No type-c port
• Only single slot so whether put SSD or HDD – although you can install the SSD along with HDD by sacrificing the DVD drive

Acer Aspire 3 A315

Through Acer aspire series the company strives to provide well-balanced performance laptops that are worth every penny. Here is the best example, this Acer Aspire laptop comes under $500 offers you a decent 15.6” size HD display screen. The color rich screen provides a clear display that makes it a nice budget laptop for photo and video editing work. Unlike most of the laptops in the market, this Acer laptop comes with a 7th generation dual-core A9-9420 3.0 GHz processor that provides somewhat Intel i5 level performance.

Another noteworthy part is the plentiful 12GB RAM that allows you to do hassle-free multitasking or working while opening tons of browser tabs. On the GPU side, AMD Radeon R5 is great for applications but not suitable for regular gaming. The storage area is also well settled by Acer including 1TB HDD. For the guys who are mainly concerned with the number pad while typing this Acer laptop offers a full size keyboard including the numeric keys. Some other features include built-in Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, HDMI, and many USB ports.

Pros:

• A solid all-rounder notebook
• Low price tag
• Slim (0.8”) and lightweight (2.10kg) so great for students
• Built-in Bluetooth for connecting wireless devices
• 12GB of RAM enables you to do various tasks simultaneously
• A spacious 15.6 inches display offers a larger space to work
• 1TB HDD allows you to store compressed and uncompressed files with no worry
• Featured with Stereo speakers for better sound while watching media files

Cons:

• Just HD screen
• Not a backlit keyboard
• Lack of IPS display technology

HP Pavilion J9148A

Searching for an all-rounder laptop? Here comes HP laptop with the power of 7th generation 2.40GHz Intel Core i3 processor. One of the notable parts of this budget machine is its 10 finger multi-touch. The 15.6” HD screen is not only appropriate for doing college or office work but also great for watching movies. Focusing on other important specs it comes with 8GB DDR4 RAM that works impressively well while doing multitasking. The pair of such processor and RAM makes this brilliant laptop for almost all types of softwares.

In terms of ports, it includes 1 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, SD card slot, HDMI and LAN. It also features an optical drive on its right side. With 1TB HDD you will not face the shortage of storage space. Along with the Wi-Fi for wireless internet connection, it also includes a Bluetooth chip so no need to insert the BT dongle for connecting the wireless devices. Overall it’s a nice multi-touch laptop under $500 with quite good performance and we surely recommend it.

Pros:

• An attractive money value laptop
• A good amount of RAM for lag free experience
• The integration of 7^th Gen dual core processor can handle multiple tasks simultaneously
• Generous 1TB storage
• 15.6” spacious screen with touch display
• HD quality webcam perfect for video calling
• Built-in DVD-RW
• Included with Windows 10 home 64-bit

Cons:

• No backlit keyboard
• Fully plastic made body
• Just HD resolution

Lenovo 330

IdeaPad is a consumer series by Lenovo whereas ThinkPad is a business series, that said, notebooks under the IdeaPad category usually cost less money compared to ThinkPad. That’s why we included this Lenovo 330 model which is one of the best laptops under $500 packed with enough performance optimized hardware to execute your day to day jobs. Besides its 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor, you get a whopping 8GB of RAM, 1TB hard disk drive, and ultra HD 620 Intel Graphics unit. The CPU renders a clock speed of 1.6GHz and can be boosted up to 3.40GHz and has 6MB cache.

The best part is, IdeaPad 330 also equipped an optical DVD drive which can be used for CD and DVD burning. The laptop assembled with a large 17.3″ HD+ panel having 1600×900 pixels resolution. That screen size in our experience is a good fit for graphics designers and digital artists as well as AutoCAD users. But, lower than full HD resolution might be an issue for some specific users who prefer to have high pixels per inch. From the battery side, the notebook can be used for up to 5 hours with less demanding tasks.

Pros:

• Though it’s made of plastic but look superior with the black lid and aluminum finish palm rest
• A full size keyboard with numeric pad
• Up to 180-degree folding angle
• Energy efficient LED display backlit results in longer battery timing
• Strongest WiFi 802.11ac for fastest data transfer
• 8th Gen. Core i5 processor in this price tag is not a bad deal
• Windows 10 pre-installed operating system
• HDMI port for additional display
• It has multi threads and CPU cores
• HD webcam for video calling

Cons:

• At 6.17lbs, it is a bit heavy
• Fewer ports such as USB ports and Type-C, etc.
• Performance could be enhanced with SSD

Dell Inspiron 15 i5578

Here is another Dell notebook from Inspiron series coming with an Intel Core i3 2.3GHz Kaby Lake processor’s family and sufficient memory to complete daily tasks including office and browsing. At under $500, it shipped with 15.6″ Full HD display having 1920×1080 pixels resolution. On top of that, it is utilizing IPS technology to deliver True-Life wideview LED-Backlit panel which renders impressive picture quality. Furthermore, you can take benefits from its touchscreen to navigate quickly without using the trackpad. The notebook packs 500GB HDD storage, 4GB RAM, and pre-installed Windows 10 Home edition.

Just like many new models currently available in the market, it lakes an optical drive which should not be a big issue nowadays for you. However, if you need one, an external DVD drive can solve this problem, of course, it will cost a few bucks. With super fast 802.11ac WiFi, it transfers the data way faster compared to previous modules. For graphics design, Inspiron i5578 has onboard Intel HD graphics 620 chip which is sufficient for Photoshop and photo editing except heavy rendering.

Pros:

• Potent CPU family from 7th generation
• Wideview full HD IPS screen outputs impressive quality
• MaxxAudio and stereo speakers deliver good sound if not excellent
• LED-lit display technology provides an immersive viewing experience
• At just 0.8″ thickness, it’s easy to carry
• One of the best money-value laptops under 500 dollar
• Elegant and decent exterior quality and premium built material
• Comfortable keyboard design with the perfect key-to-key space

Cons:

• No keyboard backlit
• 4GB RAM is not a good deal, it should have at least 8GB

Lenovo Ideapad 320

Are you an AMD fan and always prefer to buy AMD powered computers? If so, here is Lenovo Ideapad 320 backed by AMD A12 CPU which process your request with 2.7GHz to 3.6GHz (turbo boost technology). Apart from that, it shipped with Radeon R7 integrated graphics, DDR4 8GB memory, and 256GB solid state drive to boot the machine faster compared to mechanical drives. You might know that SSDs perform way quicker than traditional old drives, so Ideapad 320 provides smooth and lag-free performance. If you find storage capacity insufficient, then there is an upgraded version offering 512GB solid state storage.

Design-wise, it looks good and built with plastic material. With full size keyboard alongside number pad and excellent key travel distance, it feels comfortable to type. That said, bloggers and freelancers who usually write a lot of content and maintain blogs can choose Lenovo Ideapad for daily usage. If you also utilize Photoshop for photo editing, then it can do that like a charm but not suitable for high demanding as well as video editing tasks. While type, you’ll notice a flex which might be not acceptable for some users, however, not a big issue.

Pros:

• With 80% rating on “NoteBookCheck.net”, it’s a good machine for budget-conscious users
• Unlike many new models available currently where you miss optical drive, it has DVD +/- RW room
• A bunch of ports and connectivity options
• Under 500 dollar, IdeaPad 320 offers a matte finish display screen which means you can stay productive in a lit room
• Its screen can tilt to 180-degree, so you can adjust accordingly
• Even at the cheap price, it brings an SSD
• WiFi 802.11 ac wireless module
• Multimedia card reader (SDHC, SDC, and SD memory cards)
• USB 3.0 Type-c, Type-A USB, and HDMI

Cons:

• HD resolution (1366×768) might be an issue for many customers, it should have at least FHD panel
• Viewing quality is not that good, so 180-degree tilting doesn’t make any sense
• No backlit at all
• No offense but its graphics quality is bad

Dell Business Laptop PC 15.6″

Dell has a solid reputation and customer base when it comes to laptops for all range of audience; they have solutions for all users from cheap notebooks to expensive ones. Gone are when getting a laptop with powerful configurations was expensive, nowadays you can buy a machine under budget and enjoy seamless speeds and multitasking. However, these types of devices cannot handle massive duty games or ultra graphical work like 3d rendering, etc. With that said, with $500 one can purchase a laptop that can easily handle office work, daily lightweight tasks, and moderate photo editing.

Let’s back to the topic, this Dell machine brings an Intel Core i3 7100U processor from 7th generation line which is combined with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and 1 Terabyte hard disk drive. Isn’t that’s an ample storage space for ordinary users? Definitely, it is. Beyond that, the 15.6″ LED-backlit screen panel renders up to 1366×768 resolution, not that bad, right? For daily usage besides editing or 3d rendering tasks, such resolution is good enough. There is also an upgraded variant that packs FHD display, 12GB memory, and 8th Gen. processor.

Pros:

• Sturdy built quality and strong body profile which means it can bear shocks while traveling
• Immense storage space is more than enough
• Plenty of external ports for peripheral connectivity
• Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 works flawlessly with moderate gaming and editing projects
• It performs smoothly while multitabbing and concurrent apps running in the background
• Compatible with SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards
• Fast Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology allows more coverage and faster data transmission
• Up to 8 hours of battery life is one more advantage in this price tag

Cons:

• The screen resolution is lower compared to many laptops within the same category
• 7 lbs weight is quite uncomfortable to carry – portability is not that good

ASUS VivoBook F441

Last but not least, ASUS VivoBook is yet another best laptop under 500 dollar price range coming with a powerful yet energy efficient AMD dual-core A9 processor which is paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM. Its 14″ full HD display panel renders a whopping 1920×1080 pixel resolution which is quite good for most of the tasks, especially graphical work. The display quality is good enough to deliver realistic color accuracy which means VivoBook F441 is also a suitable laptop for digital art and artists to get acceptable quality under budget.

The laptop equipped with an AMD Radeon R5 graphical chipset to allow a moderate level of photo editing as well as video editing. If you’re looking for an affordable machine packed with great specs and made of premium quality, then we can’t resist ourselves to suggest considering this one. The lid has black color and brushed linings finish which feels elegant and decent too. There are various connectivity ports and Wifi bgn as well as Bluetooth 4.0. With pre-installed Windows 10 Home edition and just 3.9 lbs weight, it is super easy to carry.

Pros:

• ICEpower cooling technology to enhance performance
• SonicMaster audio speaker provides realistic sound
• Ultimate connectivity options including USB Type-C, HDMI, and SD card reader
• ASUS Splendid reduces the blue light by up to 33% to protect your eyes
• Tru2Life display technology outputs outstanding results while watching movies
• Ergonomic keyboard with comfortable key travel
• Lightweight at just 3.9 lbs but quite thick at 1.1″
• FHD panel work seamlessly with R5 GPU and render visual data quickly
• One of the best money-value laptops available in the market

Cons:

• Though it has enough system specs can’t be used for gaming or heavy duty video rendering
• No Thunderbolt port but not a big issue
• Bezels around the screen look annoying
• It doesn’t have the numeric pad and backlit

Conclusion: Which Laptop Under $500 Should You Choose?

Above are one of the best laptops under 500 dollars to make your selection processes easy. Within your budget, these are the best money-value laptops with significant performance. However, we don’t suggest picking any device carelessly instead we encourage you to keep your requirements in your priority while purchasing. Your laptop buying decision heavily depends on your preferences.

But if we have to pick one then we go for ASUS VivoBook F510UA is the best all-purpose laptop that is powered by an 8th generation i5 processor and ample memory.

We hope this guide helps you to pick the best laptop under $500 but if you still have any confusion don’t hesitate to post a comment below.