Budget Champions: Best Windows Laptops Under $500

Buying a laptop is usually a long term investment. As contrary to buying a new smartphone, which many people change even every year, we usually use the same laptop for a few years. And when you are in the market looking for a laptop that you would like to continue using for years to come, it better be a good one.

The laptop market offers many brands to choose from. Most brands have their flagship offerings along with more mid-range and budget options. Brands understand that however much they would like people to buy more and more expensive laptops in the name of ‘latest tech specs’ not everyone thinks the same way. For many users, a laptop with ‘dated’ tech specs would still do the job.

If you are among that class of users who are looking for a budget laptop because you don’t want to spend too much money in the name of fancy features, this list will help you choose a good option. All laptops mentioned here carry different feature highlights. Some offer Full HD display while some more storage or more processing power. Because they are budget-friendly options, it will be too much to expect them to offer most high-end features. Moreover, they are good looking, lightweight, and perform really well for their price point.

Go ahead, have a look at the list and choose from the best Windows laptops under $500.

Best Windows Laptops Under $500

New Lenovo Ideapad 3 (2022)

At A Glance

• CPU: 11th Generation Intel Core i3-1115G4 Dual-Core 3.0GHz Processor (6MB Intel Smart Cache, up to 4.10GHz)
• Memory: 8GB DDR4 RAM
• Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
• Display: 15.6-inch HD Touchscreen (Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels)
• Graphics: Integrated Intel UHD graphics
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home
• Ports and Wireless Connectivity: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Combination Audio Jack, 1 x Multi-format SD Media card reader, 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 + Bluetooth combo
• Price: $399

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New HP 15 (2022)

At A Glance

• CPU: Intel Celeron N4020 Dual Core processor, up to 2.8GHz burst frequency, 4 MB L2 cache
• Memory: 16GB DDR4 RAM
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
• Display: 15.6-inch micro-edge BrightView display, 220 nits, 45% NTSC (Resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels)
• Graphics: Integrated Intel UHD graphics
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home
• Ports and Wireless Connectivity: 1 x SuperSpeed USB Type-C 5Gbps signaling rate, 2 x SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate, 1 x AC smart pin, 1 x HDMI 1.4b, 1 x RJ-45 1 x Headphone/Mic combo jack, 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 + Bluetooth 4.2 combo
• Price: $499

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Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R74Z Slim

At A Glance

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Hexa-Core Mobile processor 2.1GHz with Precision Boost up to 4.0GHz (8MB L3 Cache)
• Memory: 8GB DDR4 onboard memory
• Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display (Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels)
• Graphics: AMD Radeon graphics
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home
• Ports and Wireless Connectivity: 1 x USB 3.2 (Type-C) Gen 1 port (up to 5 Gbps), 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (one with power-off charging), 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x HDMI 2.0 port with HDCP support, 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
• Other features: Up to 11 hours battery backup, Acer Purified Voice with two built-in microphones, HD webcam, backlit keyboard
• Price: $470

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ASUS VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EA-AS34T

At A Glance

• CPU: 11th generation Intel Core i3-1115G4 Dual Code processor (6M Cache, up to 4.1 GHz)
• Memory: 4GB LPDDR4X RAM
• Storage: 128GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
• Display: 14-inch Full HD Wideview touchscreen display with up to 178° viewing angle (Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels)
• Graphics: Intel UHD graphics
• Operating System: Windows 10 S, free upgrade to Windows 11
• Ports and Wireless Connectivity: 1 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI, microSD card reader, 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
• Other features: 42WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion battery; backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader
• Price: $385

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ASUS VivoBook 14 F415EA-AS31

At A Glance

• CPU: 11th generation Intel Core i3-1115G4 3.0GHz Dual Core processor (6M Cache, up to 4.1 GHz)
• Memory: 4GB DDR4 RAM
• Storage: 128GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
• Display: 14-inch Full HD IPS-level panel, LED backlit display, 250nits (Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels)
• Graphics: Intel UHD graphics
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home in S mode
• Ports and Wireless Connectivity: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.1
• Other features: 37WHrs, 2S1P, 2-cell Li-ion battery; backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader
• Price: $330

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