Best laptop under $200 in January 2024

We take a look at the best laptops under $200 that you can buy right now

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If you’re looking for best laptop under $200 we have some absolute bargain bangers just for you. For this amount of money you’re not going to get a machine with all the bells and whistles, in fact you’ll struggle to find laptops that are cheaper than this which are worth buying at all. If all you’ll be doing is browsing the web and some word processing, plus you can handle limited RAM, storage, and a screen that’s not exactly the brightest, then take a look at some of the models we’ve picked out below.

We use our expert knowledge to regularly check the market to make sure the selections in our buyer’s guides are the latest and best options available for the price range. Read our Things to consider if you’re buying a laptop under 200 section near the bottom of this page for some in-depth tips on what to look for when you’re buying, or, If you just want to know what’s good right now we’d recommend the CHUWI Windows 11 Laptop with 2K display if you’re fine with a 14-inch device, or the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 if you want something a bit bigger.

Best Windows Laptop under $200 vs best Chromebook under $200

Something to be aware of, particularly when you’re restricting yourself to a budget of around $200, is that many of the options you’ll find online will be Chromebooks, rather than Windows laptops. Whilst both devices have their pros and cons, the user experience and capabilities of each are quite different, and you definitely need to be aware of this before you make your purchase.

Chromebooks are basically devices that require constant internet in order to work effectively. They use a completely different operating system – Chrome OS – which is heavily integrated with the Google Chrome web browser for many of its functions. It is very much reliant upon access to The Cloud for its processing and functions, which means it has the advantage of not needing as powerful core components (the CPU in particular) which means it can be lighter, and either cheaper or the same amount of money spent on improving the other components. Have a read of our best Chromebook guide for more info on these devices.

Windows machines however are much better for offline use or if you have a haphazard internet connection, or are reliant upon software that is Windows only. We’ll be listing examples of both types in this guide to cover all bases.

Today’s best laptop deals

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Best laptop under $200 in 2024

A great value 14-inch laptop with a 2K screen

CHUWI Windows 11 Laptop 14″ (2K, Intel N5100)

CPU

Intel N5100

Graphics

Intel UHD 600

RAM

8GB LPDDR4X RAM

Storage

256GB SSD

Screen Size

14″

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• 2K resolution display for a very cheap price
• 8GB of RAM
• 256GB SSD
• microSD card reader

Cons

• soft keyboard

This 14-inch CHUWI Windows 11 Laptop has features and specs that are a rare sight at this price point. 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM is no guarantee for around the $200 mark, and on top of this you get a 256GB SSD – the ideal amount for a portable general-use laptop at this price point.

Even more impressively, you get a high-res 2K (2160 x 1440) display – a very rare sight indeed at this budget AND a microSD card reader, in addition to the USB-A 3.0 port, USB-C port, and 3.5mm audio combo jack. All of this makes it an ideal lowest-budget pick for creatives on the move.

The Intel Celeron Gemi Lake N5100 isn’t quite the most powerful CPU you can get on this budget, but it’s not far off. You won’t be able top do much other than browse the web and write/read documents with such a budget chipset, but that’s no different than any of the other picks on this page.

The main downside of this device is that the keyboard isn’t the best – it’s quite soft and spongey to type on – there are better options on this page that give a more satisfying clicky experience, though they won’t match up in terms of all the other features combined.

The best 15-inch laptop under $200

Lenovo 2022 IdeaPad 1 15.6″ (FHD, Intel N6000)

CPU

Intel N6000

Graphics

Intel UHD 600

RAM

4GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM

Storage

128GB/256GB SSD

Screen Size

15.6″

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• The best CPU for the price
• good build quality for such a cheap machine
• microSD card reader

Cons

• only 128GB eMMC Flash Memory on the lowest spec model
• only 4GB RAM on the lowest spec model

This Lenovo 2022 IdeaPad 1 is the a 15″ Windows laptop that has the most powerful CPU on this page: specifically the Intel N6000. Now this isn’t saying much, considering none of the picks here are heavy hitters, however it will reduce slowdowns compared to the other selections here when your laptop is under strain.

Unfortunately you are limited to only 4GB of RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage for the model in this price range, although you can always expand these after the point of purchase if you have any spare RAM / external SSD storage (see our how to upgrade laptop RAM page for some guidance).

You do however get the benefit of that 15-inch screen, plus a microSD card reader in addition to the two USB-A ports (1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0), USB 3.0 Type-C socket, and 3.5mm combi-jack. You also get the best build quality that you’ll find for a laptop of this price.

A solid 14-inch laptop with HDMI port

Also consider

Lenovo 2023 IdeaPad 14″ (Intel N5030)

CPU

Intel N5030

Graphics

Intel UHD 600

RAM

4GB LPDDR4X RAM

Storage

128GB eMMC +128GB PCIE SSD

Screen Size

14″

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• good build quality for such a cheap machine
• microSD card reader
• a good array of ports

Cons

• only 4GB RAM on the lowest spec model
• only 1366 x 768 resolution

This ASUS VivoBook 14 thin & light machine is another 14-inch laptop. It might not have the best display on this page, and it is unfortunately limited to 4GB RAM for the options at this price, however it has the unique feature of coming with a HDMI port – deal for connecting to an external display without the need for buying an additional adapter.

The Intel N5030 CPU is not much less powerful than the picks above – sufficient for browsing and word processing etc. and it comes with the same Intel UHD 600 internal graphics as the rest.

Again you get the benefit of the superior build quality that you get on the larger Lenovo IdeaPad, plus a microSD card reader and the same selection of ports (despite it being smaller). Storage wise it actually has the edge of being 256GB in total (128GB eMMC +128GB PCIE SSD).

The main downside of this laptop is the lower than FHD resolution – only 1366 x 768. For this reason it’s not the best screen for viewing HD media on, though is still decent for typing and web browsing etc.

The best Chromebook laptop under $200

Chromebook Pick

Acer 2023 Chromebook 1 15.6″ (FHD, Intel N4020)

CPU

Intel N4020

Graphics

Intel UHD graphics (iGPU)

RAM

4GB DDR4 SDRAM

Storage

64GB eMMC

Screen Size

15.6″

Max Refresh Rate

60Hz

How We Review

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Pros

• solid build quality
• Superb battery life
• Good array of ports & microSD card reader

Cons

• only 64GB eMMC Flash Memory
• only 4GB RAM

Another great Chromebook from Acer, the Acer 2023 Chromebook 1 has by far the best battery life of any machine on this page – with a hugely impressive 12 hours of general, non-strenuous use on battery saving mode.

The 15.6″ screen gives you plenty of screen real estate, yet because it’s a Chromebook the machine remains very light and portable.

You get as good a selection of ports and sockets as you would with nay other pick on this page (minus the HDMI port), including a microSD card reader.

The CPU and iGPU obviously aren’t as powerful as the Windows options, but as this is a Chromebook, they don’t need to be. That being said, we would have liked to have seen more memory and storage than the 4GB of RAM (particularly given the reliance on Google Chrome) and 64GB eMMC Flash Memory storage included (even if it is a mostly cloud-based platform).

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Things to consider if you’re buying a laptop under $200

RAM

The vast majority of laptops under $200 will only come equipped with 4GB of RAM, which really is less than you’d want when using a memory-hungry web browser for instance. It will certainly limit your ability to have multiple tabs open simultaneously, and run background applications whilst doing something else. The odd laptop under 200 USD may come with 6GB of RAM, and you can even find the rare 8GB example, but these will likely make sacrifices in other areas, so just be aware of this.

If your laptop is limited to 4GB we’d advise checking to see if it’s upgradable (often the RAM is soldered on and so this is not the case), and trying to upgrade your laptop RAM yourself at a later date if you find that you need it.

Disk space

The amount of hard drive storage you get will also be very limited on laptops under $200 – often as low as 128GB, which won’t give you a great deal of space to play with after your installation of Windows (though this won’t be as much of an issue for Chromebooks given you’ll store most stuff on The Cloud anyway). It’s somewhat easier to find a solution for this though, by buying an external hard drive to keep larger files on, and plug it into your laptop when necessary, or alternatively make use of cloud storage.

Maximum refresh rate

Any laptop for $200 or less will definitely be capped at the standard maximum refresh rate for the majority of laptop screens: 60Hz. This is in no way a problem for general usage, as there’s no real reason you’d want a higher refresh rate unless you’re gaming or editing video media at an FPS above 60, and for either of these uses, you’ll have to spend a lot more money than $200.

Have a look at our best gaming laptop under 500 page and you might find some examples of higher refresh rate models, though more likely you’re going to have to fork out a bit more and go to our gaming laptops under $600 and gaming laptops under $700 guides for a decent number of higher-refresh rate options.

Best laptop under $200 FAQs

Is 200 USD enough for a laptop?

$200 is very cheap for a laptop, however models do exist that could be worth your time, depending on what you’ll be using it for.

Obviously gaming on a $200 laptop is not a reality, and the RAM limitations will mean you won’t be able to have many tabs on your web browser open simultaneously without major slowdowns. The peak brightness will also likely not be high enough for brightly lit environments, or outside use.

Which is the best laptop for under $200?

The best laptop overall for 200 USD is the CHUWI Windows 11 Laptop, though which one is right for you ultimately depends on your needs and priorities. Check within for our top picks covering different sizes, display types, RAM, storage, and port selections.

Final Word

This has been our guide to the best laptop under $200. If you didn’t find what you’re looking for here, make sure you have a gander at our many other laptop guides in the megamenu above, such as our best laptop for working from home, touch screen laptop, best OLED laptop, and best gaming laptop guides.