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The best laptop deals in February 2024

The best laptop deals in February 2024

With so many choices out there it can be difficult to work out what the best laptop deals are at any one time. That’s where we come in. As expert deals hunters here at TechRadar, we’ve searched through all of the major retailers and manufacturers to bring you all the top laptop offers available right now for a variety of budgets and needs.

Best laptop deals: jump to…

We’ve included everything from cheap Chromebooks for schoolwork, the best value budget devices for everyday use and the biggest discounts on premium performance powerhouses. We’ve considered price, quality and value for money for our hand-picked selection, which also features many laptops that come fully recommended by TechRadar’s expert reviewers who assemble and regularly update our best laptops guide. 

Have confidence that, however much you spend, you’re getting a quality device that has likely been fully tried and tested by us. And, where it hasn’t, we’ve looked at the performance of previous models, user reviews, the manufacturer’s history and other factors to determine whether it’s worth spending your money on. 

For a few more options, you can check out all the latest Chromebook deals for even cheaper devices running the efficient Chrome OS. We’ve also got an eye on all the best MacBook deals available right now – and there are some terrific savings on Apple devices. Our roundup of the latest Apple promo codes or our Apple student discount guide could help you there, too.

And for the gamers, you’d be better suited over on our guide to this week’s cheap gaming laptop deals as the models on this page are built with browsing, work and general use in mind – not gaming.

Laptop deal of the week

Best laptop deal under $200

More laptop deals under $200:

HP Stream 14: was $229 now $169 at Walmart
Asus 17 Chromebook:
was $299 now $179 at Best Buy

Reasons to buy in this price bracket

You just need a basic laptop: Laptops under $200 are not very powerful and are usually slightly older, but are fine for basic everyday tasks such as web browsing, sending emails, video calls and watching videos.

Battery life and portability are key: In this price range, a lot of laptops are either 11 inches or 14 inches – that’s great for on-the-go use. Plus, with less demanding components, these devices can last up to 20 hours.

You use a lot of web applications: Storage space on these laptops is limited, but that’s less of an issue if you use Google Docs or Microsoft 365 as productivity apps and rely more on cloud storage for files and photos.

How we pick out laptop deals under $200

For laptops that are under $200, we’re just looking for a device that can cover the basics. That means we expect to find a lot of entry-level components that are designed to handle your everyday computing needs – and not much more beyond that.

We’re mostly on the lookout for laptops with an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and at least 64GB of storage as a solid baseline. On the rare occasions when a device is down to around $100 and has less storage, that’s usually worth including as a super-cheap option for those on the tightest of budgets. On the other hand, when we spot a laptop with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for under $200, that usually catapults its way into the top spot as excellent value for money.

We focus a lot more on Chromebooks in this price range, too, as these devices run on the slim and less-demanding Chrome OS. You can get away with less powerful components in these laptops, so you can spend less money without compromising too much on performance.

Best laptop deal from $200 to $400

More laptop deals from $200 to $400:

Acer Chromebook Spin 314: was $399.99 now $299.99 at Amazon
HP 15:
was $629.99 now $299.99 at Best Buy
Acer Aspire 3:
was $449.99 now $349.99 at Amazon
Lenovo IdeaPad 1i:
was $649 now $379 at Walmart 

Reasons to buy in this price bracket

Extra power to cover the basics: Laptops in this price range are still relatively basic, but there are some upgrades that give you extra power to boost performance.

You prefer a large display: More laptops are available with a 15-inch or 17-inch display once you cross over $200, so consider these options if you’d like a bigger screen.

You’d like a 2-in-1 device: 2-in-1 devices offer the functionality of a laptop with a versatility of a tablet and you can get some good value options in this price bracket.

How we pick out laptop deals from $200 – $400

More power is available as we get further into this price bracket, but the majority of these devices are still designed as basic laptops. With that in mind, our main aim is to find laptops that give you some extra juice to make your everyday jobs flow a little easier.

That usually comes from upgrades to the processor and RAM, as we can generally pick out laptops with an entry-level Intel i3 and 8GB of RAM. These are almost never seen together for less than $200 and it’s worth spending a little extra to get both to ensure a decent level of overall performance.

Storage space jumps up considerably in this price range too and laptops with 256GB SSDs are common. This speedy hard drive tech offers super-fast boot times and will load applications quickly while ensuring you have ample space for key files and programs.

Best laptop deal from $400 to $600

More laptop deals from $400 to $600:

Acer Chromebook 714: was $699.99 now $519.99 at Best Buy
Asus VivoBook 16:
was $799.99 now $599.99 at Amazon

Reasons to buy in this price bracket

You need all-around performance: As we hit the mid-range for a laptop, these devices generally offer solid all-around performance for your work and leisure needs with powerful components, up-to-date features and lots of storage.

Multitasking: If you always end up with dozens of tabs or programs open at once, you’ll want to consider a laptop in this price range so you avoid slowdown.

More options: Traditional laptops, 2-in-1 machines, Surface devices and premium Chromebooks are all well-represented in this price range so you have lots of choices depending on your needs and preferences.

How we pick out laptop deals from $400 – $600

There are lots of laptops to choose from in this price bracket so depending on your budget and your needs you can find all sorts of different options. We do our best to narrow that down by focusing on a few of the best all-around performing laptops, Chromebooks and 2-in-1 devices that are available.

Generally, we keep an eye out for laptops that can breeze through most of your computing needs – outside of gaming – and allow you to multitask without the fear of everything slowing to a crawl. That means we stick to the core mid-range components such as the Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processors, along with at least 8GB of RAM and SSD storage of 256GB and up. We also look for modern features such as WiFi 6 for better wireless internet and enough ports to connect external devices.

As we reach the top end of this price range, some more premium components or advanced features are sometimes available that give you a solid performance boost and extra utility for just a little extra cash. We highlight those devices when it’s worth the cost, too.

Best laptop deal from $600 to $800

More laptop deals from $600 to $800:

HP Envy 14: was $1,079.99 now $679.99 at Best Buy
Dell Inspiron 16:
was $1,099.99 now $699.99 at Dell
MacBook Air 13-inch (M1):
was $999.99 now $749.99 at Best Buy

Reasons to buy in this price bracket

You want a powerful device: Laptops in this price range are packed with powerful high-end components, so this is how to spend your money if you need a serious workhorse machine.

More advanced tech: Laptops in this price bracket often come with premium upgrades included as standard, such as high-resolution 4K displays, a touchscreen, impressive battery life, backlit keyboards, improved speakers and more.

Light gaming: You won’t be running modern games in the highest quality, but if you like to play indie games or classic older releases in your downtime, then some of these devices are powerful enough to do so.

How we pick out laptop deals from $600 – $800

For a laptop deal to stand out within this price range, we look for devices packed with powerful high-end components that can blast through almost everything you throw at it.

The devices we choose will almost always feature the top-of-the-line Intel i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 processors and 16GB of RAM to give you speedy performance, super-fast load times and excellent responsiveness. Expect lots of SSD storage as well, at least 512GB, which is more than enough for all your programs, files, videos, photos and more.

We also look out for laptops that come with premium features as part of the price that gives the device a classy finish or a neat little extra. For example, this could be a slick 4K display, a backlit keyboard, a touchscreen and so on.

Best laptop deal over $800

More laptop deals over $800:

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 360: was $1,349.99 now $899.99 at Best Buy
Dell XPS 13 Plus:
was $1,499 now $1,099 at Dell
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3):
was $1,599 now $1,449 at Amazon

Reasons to buy in this price bracket

Get the best money can buy: When you spend over $800 you get some of the best laptops money can buy that are filled with the latest technology. These are premium options are built with high performance, advanced workloads and longevity in mind.

A long-term investment: Buy a cheap laptop and you may have to replace it in a couple of years. Buy one of these and you’ve got a modern device that will last five years or more with ease.

Creative powerhouses: Into creative tasks such as photo and video editing or music creation? Many laptops in this price range – especially MacBooks – are designed with those tasks in mind so will excel in those areas.

How we pick out laptop deals over $800

This price range is reserved for laptops that take things to the next level in terms of performance, style, design and capabilities. We pick out premium ultrabooks, MacBooks and high-performance devices that come with the best components money can buy right here.

For the most part, these laptops will be overkill for most users. The powerful all-around laptops in the previous two price brackets should suffice for the majority of everyday jobs and even some advanced tasks. However, if you have some specific needs or a particular product in mind then we’ve picked out the best deals on those devices.

The laptop deals here have creative in mind that need the extra power to handle advanced photo and video editing, music creation, programming and other similar demanding jobs. Considering the money you need to part with to get one of these, we focus more heavily on devices reviewed positively by TechRadar, too, so you know you’re getting a laptop that’s worth the cost and will not disappoint.

This week’s best store-wide laptop sales

Laptop deals: our buying advice

It can be overwhelming looking for laptop deals if you’re not sure where to start. You may have an idea of how much you want to spend, what you need the device for or what key features you want included, but how do convert that information into the right laptop and ensure you pay the right price?

Well, that’s what we’re here for. We hunt down the best laptop deals each week and share them with your right here so you can bag exactly what you’re after at a good price.

Here are a few words of advice from us based on our experience hunting down the best laptop deals and a little explainer on the process we go through to ensure we surface only the best offers on this page.

How we choose the best laptop deals

It all comes down to what’s included in the price. We’ve been tracking all the best laptop deals for a number of years now, so we have a solid idea of what level of performance and components you can get for your money. Using that as a baseline, we can pick out the treasures from the trash.

We also take into consideration what you might need a laptop for based on the money you have to spend. So, if it’s just a basic device for some light work, general browsing and media streaming, there’s no point recommending a $1,000 laptop as it would be completely unnecessary. Instead, we look at devices between $100 – $300 that could handle those tasks and recommend some laptop deals accordingly.

However, if there’s a particularly good reason to spend a little extra money (maybe for some extra performance-boosting RAM or a healthy storage upgrade) then we’ll mention that too for your consideration. Sometimes it’s worth that investment to better future-proof yourself and end up with a noticeably better device.

Our search takes us across all the major and specialist retailers, so you can be sure we’ve taken a comprehensive look across the web to pick out the best laptop deals. All the laptops you see here are hand-picked and judged by a real human, too, so each one is given a proper and detailed assessment before it gets added.

How much should I spend on a laptop?

The answer to this really comes down to what you need the laptop to do. 

If you just need a very basic device to check your emails, do a bit of light admin and generally browse the internet, then you should be fine to spend anywhere less than $300 on a laptop. Devices in this price range usually come with lower-end components, but they will handle these light tasks without issue, have a good amount of in-built storage for all your key files and applications, and offer solid battery life in case you’re on the move.

If it’s a device for a youngster for their school work, you can go even cheaper at $200 or less. Look out for a Chromebook in particular. These run the Chrome OS which is less demanding than Windows, plus, they often boast the best battery life so are good if you need a device that lasts all day without the need for charging.

For those after a general all-purpose device with a bit more power behind it, you’re looking at spending around $400 – $600. Laptops in this range come with more powerful processors and more RAM to give you a considerable performance boost over cheaper models that run faster and load programs quicker. 

Look for at least an Intel i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 and 8GB of RAM, here. If you’re at the upper end of that bracket, it’s worth paying extra to get 16GB RAM if you can to dramatically improve the device’s multitasking capabilities and overall performance.

Next, is the high-end devices of $600 or more. Here is where you can find premium laptops from the likes of HP, Dell and Apple. These are good for users with more demanding workloads, including video and photo editing, as well as more intensive tasks. 

Machines like the Apple MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13 are big investments, but will usually last you a long time compared to cheaper devices so could work out as better value for money in the end, too.

Whatever you’re after, our weekly guide to the best laptop deals features a range of devices to suit every budget from $100 to $1,000. You should be able to find something that fits your specific needs while also sticking to your chosen price range.

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