The best laptops under $1,000 in 2024

Forget the myth that stellar laptops require exorbitant prices. Finding a fantastic notebook under $1,000 is entirely possible, striking the perfect balance between performance, battery life, and portability without sacrificing your budget. Naturally, priorities shift based on your specific needs.

Those primarily browsing the web or using basic productivity apps can find solace in a more affordable CPU. However, power users constantly on the go might find sacrificing screen brightness or extended battery life unbearable. No worries, my friends. Thanks to the launch of Intel's Core Ultra and AMD's AI-infused CPUs, the days of poor performance and battery life are a thing of the past, and yes, you can enjoy this experience for under $1,000!

That said, there are plenty of brilliant sub-$1,000 options to fit any workflow, though this list focuses on the best of the best on a budget. You may notice a couple of old timers that can still hold their own amongst our picks. Trust me, we're also stunned at just how well the M2 MacBook Air holds up over two years later — it is seriously still that good! 

Chromebooks are finally flexing their muscles, promising premium specs and features that could shake up the budget market. However, save some money while enjoying the much-improved performance and battery life thanks to the latest gen of CPUs. Let's have a peek at some of today's best laptops for $1,000. 

Just know that this list will be evolving a great deal this year as we start receiving more review units. 2024 is going to be a year of major change. 

The Quick List

Best Windows Laptop

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Acer's Swift Go 14 ushers in a new era with its impressive AI capabilities. Gone are the days of lackluster integrated graphics – the Swift Go's Arc GPU tackles most tasks effortlessly while its NPU optimizes performance for a seamless user experience. 

This translates to smooth 4K video editing, even unplugged, making it a compelling alternative to the pricier MacBook Air M2. Even on in our lab, the Acer Swift Go 14 managed a multi-core average of 11,815 on Geekbench 5.5 which put even the Macbook Air M2 and Macbook Pro 13 M2 to shame given the M2's Geekbench 5.5 multi-core average of 8,919.

While the Air boasts longer battery life, the Swift Go gives it a run for its money, offering several key advantages. Firstly, its $999 price tag undercuts the Air by a substantial $800 for the same specs. Secondly, its QHD webcam surpasses the Air's quality, potentially tipping the scales further in its favor. With its powerful performance, ample storage, affordability, and top-notch webcam, the Swift Go 14 emerges as a serious contender for budget-conscious students, creators, and professionals on the move.

See our full Acer Swift Go 14 review

Best Gaming Laptop

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With a Intel Core i7-12700H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, the Dell G16 is a quality 15-inch gaming laptop that doesn't cost a fortune.

We're not going to pretend this laptop is a miracle, but its performance metrics are pretty impressive considering it managed to survive decently against its more expensive competitors without falling too far behind. If you're looking for a stronger gaming powerhouse, it may be a good idea to head over to our best gaming laptops of 2024 page for our other top gaming picks.

In reality, the Dell G16's greatest strength has little to do with its gaming performance. The G16's productivity performance competes with the likes of the Acer Swift Go 14 and Macbook Air M2, as the G16 averaged a multi-core score of 11,225 on Geekbench 5.4, which is well above the Macbook Air M2's 8,919. While the Acer Swift Go 14 had a more impressive score of 11,815, the Dell G16's performance wasn't too far behind.

Having quality gaming specs and impressive productivity performance makes the G16 a phenomenal pick for anyone who needs a laptop that isn't expensive while also good at both work and play.

See our full Dell G16 review.

Best Chromebook

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Acer’s Chromebook Spin 714 is the best Chromebook of 2023. It's a prodigious, potent, productive 2-in-1 Chromebook with subtle chrome accents that give it a hint of posh curb appeal. 

This Intel Evo-certified laptop comes with an Intel Core i5 1235U processor, Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage — the Spin 714 is not your garden-variety Chromebook. On our lab tests, the Chromebook Spin 714 averaged a Geekbench 5 multicore score of 6,335 while the average chromebook only averages 5,299. While not the snappiest performance on this list, it is impressive for a chromebook.

The Spin 714 is a super portable, productivity-focused laptop meant for doers, whether they’re a student, a teacher, or remote worker.

Read our full review of the Acer Chromebook Spin 713.

Best MacBook

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Apple's powerful M2 MacBook Air makes the cut thanks to its brilliant $999 price tag. Even better, you'll find plenty of deals knocking down that price even lower. You get unrivaled performance along with 14 hours and 6 minutes of battery life. This is a combination you'll only find from the very best Windows 11 laptops, and even most of them struggle to compete with the MBA M2's combination of battery life plus performance.

In our lab peformance tests, the Macbook Air M2's Geekbench 5.5 score of 8,919 is not the best we've seen. The Acer Swift Go 14 has a much higher average of 11,815. The Apple Macbook Air 13 M3 also has a high performance benchmark in Geekbench 6, with a multi-core average of 12,087. While the Macbook Air M2 no longer has the best performance in its class, its Geekbench scores are nothing to scoff at either. You'll get more than enough power for web surfing, photo and video editing, and checking your emails.

Additionally, the Macbook Air M2 does have battery life going for it, with a 14 hour and 6 minute average on the Laptop Mag battery test. So with a lower price tag, still solid performance, and excellent battery there's a lot to love about the Macbook Air M2.

Apple's least expensive 13.3-inch model is also its most portable, coming in at only 0.44 inches thick and 2.7 pounds. It's one of the best college laptops around, and for those looking to spend just under $1,000, you're in for a treat.

See our full Apple MacBook Air M2 review

Best Battery Life

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With people returning to the office and traveling for work again the lightweight Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is perfectly positioned to take center stage in this new hybrid-work landscape. 

This portable workhorse is an ideal travel companion thanks to its exceptional battery life (over 15 hours), 5G connectivity, and ability to meet your daily document-pushing needs. The built-in webcam and 3-mic setup are excellent as well, but there are some caveats you need to consider.

Namely, from a performance perspective, it is merely average, and the ARM architecture does mean there are some Windows software compatibility issues, as well as a lack of OpenGL support. On our benchmark tests, the ThinkPad X13s lagged behind just about all of its competition with a Geekbench 5.4 multicore average of 5,912 which is well below the Apple Macbook Air M2's 8,919 or the Acer Swift Go 14's 11,815. It's even behind the Acer Chromebook Spin 714's 6,335 average.

If you can work around the sub-par overall performance and lack of OpenGL support, this is an ideal portable with stamina to match even the most hardcore of traveling schedules.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X13s review.

Best OLED Laptop

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The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED creates a happy medium between cost efficiency and a gorgeous display. This is an ideal machine for movie or TV show fanatics who refuse to settle for an inferior screen. Boasting a phenomenal 14-inch, 2880 x 1880-pixel display with 346 nits of brightness.

And for just $869, it packs an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor, AMD Radeon Graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Beyond having great specs, its 11 hours and 13 minutes of battery life mean it'll make an excellent accessory to bring along on trips.

As far as overall performance goes, the Zenbook 14 OLED was a bit below our expectations with a Geekbench 6 average of 7,787 compared to the Acer Swift Go 14 which scored 11,950 on the multi-core benchmark. The Apple Macbook Air M2 was tested using Geekbench 5.4 and averaged 8,919 on the multi-core test. Of course, Geekbench 6 and Geekbench 5.4 scores are not directly comparable but we can infer that the Macbook Air would be snappier in performance than the Zenbook 14 OLED.

Granted, getting an OLED display and decent performance and battery life for just $869, its hard to complain about the Zenbook 14 OLED.

See our full Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3402Y review

How to choose the best laptops under $1,000

When shopping for one of the best laptops under $1,000, there's an awful lot to consider. Here's a good breakdown of how to find the best laptop for you.

What's your budget?

Sure, you can find some diamond-in-the-rough Windows laptops and high-quality Chromebooks for under $500, but you may have to deal with a low-performing CPU or a poor multitasker. If you're a light laptop user, those will be OK, but if you need something more powerful, you may want to aim higher — the best mainstream laptops typically cost more than $700. If you can, we suggest aiming for the $700 to $900 range.

Do you want a 2-in-1 or a clamshell?

If you enjoy the awesomeness of converting your laptop into a tablet, 2-in-1 laptops are a good choice. Just keep in mind that most times, you'll be able to get a lower price and stronger-performing features with a traditional laptop.

How much battery life do you need?

If you're on the go, you're going to need to make sure you snag a laptop that lasts more than 10 hours.  But if you're a homebody or you're tied to your desk all day, perhaps you can sacrifice some battery life and save some money in the process. Check out our laptops with the best battery life list.

What specs do you need? 

Aim for a Core i5 CPU if you want decent performance. Memory and storage, you should aim for 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. As far as display, don't get anything less than a 1080p screen — your eyes will thank you later.

You can spend a lot of time delving into specs, but here are the key components to think about. If you just want really good mainstream performance, go for a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 1080p screen.

Gamers and content creators will likely want a laptop with discreet graphics, but finding a high-performing GPU under $1,000 might not be an easy task. 

How we test the best laptops under $1,000

We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers and heat management.

In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and sRGB color gamut of the laptop's display. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 and 3DMark professional graphics tests. 

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is the Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.

We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For MacBooks and premium Windows 10 laptops, a runtime of over 9 hours is considered a good result whereas gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered for longer than 5 hours deserve praise. 

These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop's materials to the feel of its touchpad.

Why Trust Laptop Mag

Laptop Mag reviews over one hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming. 

We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on. 

Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it. 

Our editorial trustworthiness is enforced by one of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.