Best Cheap Laptops for Students (2026): 8 Picks Under $500
The 8 best cheap laptops for students at Best Buy and Walmart, from $199. Tap any pick to see today's price.
Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 and can change. We may earn a commission from links (how). Black Friday dates
-
1. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15.6" (Core i5, 16GB RAM)
Only pick with 16GB memory, $400 off.
- 15.6-inch Full HD
- Intel Core i5-1335U
- 16GB memory, 256GB storage
$499.99 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
2. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15.6" (Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM)
Ryzen 5 and Full HD, rated 4.7/5.
- 15.6-inch Full HD
- AMD Ryzen 5
- 8GB memory, 256GB storage
$359.99 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
3. HP OmniBook 3 17.3" (Ryzen 5, 512GB SSD)
Big 17.3-inch screen and 512GB SSD.
- 17.3-inch Full HD
- AMD Ryzen 5
- 8GB memory, 512GB SSD
$449.99 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
4. LG gram Book 15" Touchscreen (Core Ultra 5)
Touchscreen and 512GB SSD, $350 off.
- 15-inch Full HD touchscreen
- Intel Core Ultra 5 115U
- 8GB memory, 512GB SSD
$449.99 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
5. HP 14" 2K Touchscreen 2-in-1 Chromebook
2-in-1 with a sharp 2K touchscreen.
- 14-inch 2K touchscreen, 2-in-1, ChromeOS
- Intel Core N150
- 8GB memory, 64GB eMMC
$399.00 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
6. Acer Chromebook 315 15.6"
Big Full HD screen and Wi-Fi 6E.
- 15.6-inch Full HD, ChromeOS
- MediaTek Kompanio 540
- 4GB memory, 128GB storage
$379.00 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
7. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook 12.2"
Small and light, 500+ reviews.
- 12.2-inch 2K touchscreen, ChromeOS
- Intel N100
- 4GB memory, 64GB eMMC
$399.99 at Best Buy
See it at Best Buy -
8. HP 14" HD Laptop (Intel N150)
Basic Windows laptop for web and docs.
- 14-inch HD, Windows 11
- Intel N150
- 4GB memory, 128GB storage
$199.00 at Walmart
See it at Walmart
How we picked
Picked from best sellers by specs, price and customer ratings. Not tested hands-on.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best cheap laptop for students?
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i (Core i5, 16GB), $499.99 at Best Buy, $400 off (Oct 28).
What's the cheapest laptop here?
The HP 14" (Intel N150), $199 at Walmart.
Chromebook or regular laptop?
Check what your school requires. Chromebooks don't run full desktop programs; Windows laptops do.