Sometimes a cheap laptop is all you need — these 8 are your best options during the Prime Day season

BEST DEALS ON CHEAP LAPTOPS:

HP Chromebook 14-inch HD Laptop — $229.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 — $899
Microsoft Surface Go — $514.46

It’s really (really) hard to make it in today’s world without a computer of some kind. Nobody wants to do school or work projects on a phone. You’ve gotta get yourself a real laptop.

Unfortunately, laptops cost money. If you’re not careful, you can end up spending well over $1,000 for a machine with impressive specs. But we’re not here to talk about those. There’s a whole world of laptops that cost $600 or less (and some are even cheaper at the moment, thanks to some killer early Prime Day deals) — many of them are perfect companions for students returning to school or folks who just need something that’s a little more capable than an iPhone. Read more…

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IMAGE: Amazon

BEST CHEAP LAPTOP FOR TRAVEL

HP Stream 11

This HP laptop is engineered without a fan, so it should be quiet and comfortable to use on your lap while you enjoy 10 hours of battery life.

Storage: 32GB
RAM: 4GB
Features: One USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, HDMI port, microSD slot, 11.6″ diagonal HD sva Anti-Glare wled-backlit 1366 x 768, Intel Celeron N3060 up to 1.6GHz, Intel HD Graphics 400

$250 from Amazon

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST COMPACT 2-IN-1

Microsoft Surface Go

A small and light laptop-tablet combo that’ll adapt to on-the-move lifestyles with no gimmicks.

Storage: 64GB/128GB
Memory: 4GB/8GB
Features: PixelSense display, USB Type C, fast-charging Surface Connect, microSDXC, 3.5 mm headphone jack, front- and rear-facing cameras, Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor

$949 from Amazon

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST ONLINE-ONLY LAPTOP

Samsung Chromebook 4

Samsung’s latest traditional Chromebook isn’t going to wow you with specs or looks, but its svelte size and big battery make it a great buy.

Storage: 64GB
RAM: 6GB
Features: One USB 3.0, one USB-C, 11.6-inch LED 1366×768 display, Intel Celeron N4000 processor

$279.99 from Amazon

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST FOR PORTABILITY

Lenovo Chromebook Duet

The astoundingly tiny Chromebook Duet punches above its weight with a solid keyboard, plentiful battery life, and a touchscreen.

Storage: 64GB
RAM: 4GB
Features: One USB-C, 1920×1200 10.1-inch display, MediaTek Helio P60T processor, ARM G72 MP3 800GHz graphics

$299.99 from Amazon

IMAGE: Walmart

BEST FOR SECURITY

Acer Swift 1

The designers of the Acer Swift 1 created a simple but pleasing-to-look-at laptop with some pretty impressive specs.

Storage: 64GB
RAM: 4GB/8GB
Features: One USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, one USB-C, HDMI port, SD slot, 13.3-inch, 1080p with 1920×1080 resolution display, Intel Core 1.10 GHz processor, Intel HD Graphics 505

$400.44 from Walmart

IMAGE: Dell

BEST CHEAP LAPTOP FOR STUDENTS

Dell Latitude 2-in-1

The Dell Latitude works in laptop, tablet, or tent mode, and is designed for use with a variety of Microsoft learning apps.

Storage: 64GB
RAM: 4GB
Features: two USB 3.1, HDMI port, USD Card Reader slot, 11.6” HD IPS 16:9 1366 x 768 Touch with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT display, Intel Pentium Processor N4200

$646.50 from Dell

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST CHEAP HYBRID LAPTOP

HP Pavilion x360

The HP Pavilion x360 2-in-1 touchscreen laptop is one of the best utility notebooks under $500. It’s powerful, lightweight, and durable.

Storage: 500GB
RAM: 8GB
Features: Two USB 3.1, one USB-C, HDMI port, SD card reader slot, 14-inch diagonal HD SVA anti-glare micro-edge WLED-backlit multitouch-enabled edge-to-edge glass 1366 x 768 display, Intel Pentium processor, Intel HD Graphics 620

$479 from Amazon