What are the best laptops at less than 500 euros? September 2023

This is probably one of the (very) affordable machines the most interesting on the market, especially for students. But much more than just “typewriter”, the device is effective in multimedia thanks to a 14 -inch Full HD IPS slab of good quality.

What are the best laptops at -500 € ? Comparison 2023

Not everyone has the means to spend 700, 800, or even more than 1,000 euros in a laptop. And above all, everyone does not have the utility. If you are looking for an accessible computer, offered at less than 500 euros, you are in the right place. We have prepared a selection of some interesting models for you, and which will have the merit of not putting you on the straw.

• A 15.6 -inch Full HD Full HD screen
• Chromeos, its lightness, its flexibility in office automation
• Good autonomy (about 10 hours)

Microsoft Surface Go 2

• Windows 10 and its millions of available software
• Excellent finishes
• A great autonomy

The choice of the editorial

• Clearly unbeatable value for money
• Beautiful Full HD IPS screen
• Aluminum frame

You are looking for a higher -end laptop ?

Buying a laptop at less than 500 euros, is not necessarily easy. And for good reason, at this price, you have to make concessions and therefore know what are the elements of your future machine on which you are ready to cut to reduce the final bill. In general, part of the problem is automatically settled by manufacturers, who make these concessions for you by very often reducing the wing on the same components: the processor, storage capacity and to a lesser extent the RAM. And for good reason, these are these three elements that tend to cost the most expensive on a computer.

For the purposes of this comparison, we have chosen machines which will, despite concessions made on several points, serve every day and for several years. This selection therefore voluntarily excludes the unknown Chinese brands found by pallets on Amazon, but also the models too much of the display quality, assembly quality. or that are limited to really too pantouflard components.

Because in 2020, buying a low -cost laptop is no longer systematically synonymous with acquiring camelote. And we intend to prove it to you with a sample (in essence non-exhaustive) of devices that we consider to be valid for students, high school students, or people who need a computer that they will reserve for simple tasks and Little requesting performance (office automation and multimedia, in particular). Of course, this comparison is intended to be updated regularly to add new interesting products, or replace those chosen by new generation models.

Without further ado, here are the laptops at less than 500 euros that retained our attention in 2020.

• 1. HP Chromebook 15: The best of Google in a Riquiqui price machine
• 2. Acer Swift 1: The best price at a very small price
• 3. Asus VivoBook S14: a very very good value for money
• 4. Microsoft Surface Go 2: The best hybrid PC at content price
• How to choose your laptop at – € 500 ?
• Our product selection process

1. HP Chromebook 15: The best of Google in a Riquiqui price machine

Writing opinion

• A 15.6 -inch Full HD Full HD screen
• Chromeos, its lightness, its flexibility in office automation
• Good autonomy (about 10 hours)

The lessers

It is certainly not the only Chromebook to offer a very interesting experience for just over 400 euros, but the HP Chromebook 15 has the merit of not displaying large gaps, while offering a diagonal of 15.6 inches rather appreciable. If your use is limited to office activities, completed with a little video reading, the Chromeos track is to be studied. It will allow you to find performance to the point even on a modest hardware configuration, thanks to a very light and perfectly optimized operating system.

Now that the presentations with Chromeos are made, let’s go back to HP Chromebook 15. The device is offered in line with just over 400 euros in its basic version, which has the essentials. HP is indeed on a 15.6 -inch Full HD IPS screen and on an Intel Pentium Gold 4417u processor coupled with 4 GB of RAM. This modest processor has only 2 hearts and 4 threads clocked at 2.30 GHz.

We haven’t talked about it yet, but the HP Chromebook 15 has an amount of storage restrained at 64 GB on the basic model. It will however be possible to inherit 128 GB on the slightly more expensive variants of the product, but for a machine especially thought for the installation of applications straight from Google Play Store, 64 GB will be enough for users.

For the rest, HP offers us a well -designed chassis, armed with a convincing keyboard and a trackpad that we would have liked more precise. A gap compensated by the presence of a tactile screen, very practical in this case. In terms of connection, there are two USB type-C ports, a USB 3 port.0 Type-A and an SD card reader, while autonomy is announced at 1 p.m. by HP. A slightly high estimate, even if the 10 -hour battery course is often reached, which is more than appreciable.

2. Acer Swift 1: The best price at a very small price

Writing opinion

• Clearly unbeatable value for money
• Beautiful Full HD IPS screen
• Aluminum frame

• Only 64 GB of storage on the basic model
• A fairly slow intel pentium processor. But sufficient in office automation
• Pleasant keyboard, but with touches that are too small for some fingers

Affordable, correctly equipped and cared for aesthetically, the ACER Swift 1 is not equipped with processors of very first freshness, but the device has arms to convince a whole fringe of users anxious to put its hand on An elegant and well assembled machine. For less than 500 euros.

This is probably one of the (very) affordable machines the most interesting on the market, especially for students. But much more than just “typewriter”, the device is effective in multimedia thanks to a 14 -inch Full HD IPS slab of good quality.

The assembly quality is there, in the company of a very suitable connection, focused on 2 USB type-A (USB3 ports.2 Gen 1 and USB 2.0), 1 USB type-C port, 1 HDMI output and 1 3.5 mm jack headphone output. The only problem in this area: the connector reserved for the power that we find fragile. You will have to make your computer connect to your (small) power supply with care to guarantee the longevity of said connector. To compensate, Acer incorporates WiFi 6 connectivity, rare, there too, at this level of price.

On the technical sheet of the product, Acer estimates its autonomy at a maximum of 16 hours. For our part, we will be more reserved, but you can undoubtedly hold a whole day of lessons before recharging the device. Clearly, target 8 to 10 hours on battery. As for the sector adapter itself, it is barely larger than a smartphone charger.

However, we must be satisfied with an Intel Pentium Silver N5000 processor. Launched in 2017, this chip has 4 hearts and 4 threads clocked between 1.10 and 2.70 GHz. Suffice to say that we do not have a lightning lightning, but for office automation, video reading and surfing on the web (what we do 90% of time with a device of this type), this CPU will do the trick.

By his side, you must also be satisfied with only 4 GB of RAM (DDR4 SDRAM, welded to the motherboard), for 64, 128 or 256 GB of SSD (512 GB of storage are also available as an option, but on a variant difficult to find from the device). In our opinion, the best equipment / price ratio is on the model equipped with 128 GB of SSD since it is a model offered around 420 euros. A limited but sufficient storage amount for office automation and light multimedia. The model equipped with 256 GB is available at 499 euros, which remains honest.

3. Asus VivoBook S14: a very very good value for money

Writing opinion

• Very good value for money
• Very fine nanoedge borders
• Original and practical numpad cobblestone
• Excellent autonomy
• Very complete connectors

• Slab that lacks light and contrast
• Plastic shell that seems fragile
• Owner charging port

With the VivoBook S14, Asus delivers us a very suitable device, which does not suffer from any major defect for office and multimedia use. Be careful, however, we return to an ultraportable 14 -inch format, which may not suit all users. This diagonal is the same as that of the Swift 1. And you will see that the two devices share a certain number of peculiarity, especially in terms of configuration.

The VivoBook S14 (S413FA) has, in its most recent and affordable version, a Core i3-1035g1. This is one of the most modest chips of the Intelup Intelup “Comet Lake-U”, launched last year and always very present on portable pc. This processor has 2 cores and 4 threads climbed between 1.20 and 3.40 GHz and often invites itself aboard the ultra -portable entry -level. The choice of Asus is therefore not a surprise, but it is a fairly good decision for marked use above all by word processing, long Excel sessions, surfing on the net, and video reading.

Note, however, that the model we have chosen has 8 GB of RAM (DDR4 2400 MHz).

The VivoBook S14 has a Full HD IPS screen for the rest, the brightness of which is unfortunately limited to 200 nits maximum. It’s little, too little.

Autonomy side count between 6 and 8 hours on battery depending on your use (the battery is satisfied with a capacity of 42 WH). So it will be a bit tight to hold a whole day without taking out the charger.

In the same vein, WiFi 6 is available, but only optional on certain variants. We will therefore have to be satisfied with WiFi 5 on the model we retain here. Connectivity remains rather generous, with 2 USB 2 ports.0, 1 USB-A 3 port.1 gen 1, 1 USB-C 3 port.1 Gen 1, 1 SD card reader, 1 HDMI outlet full size and 1 3.5 mm jack headphone jack.

Asus also has the good taste to offer us its now famous Numpad, which allows as a reminder to transform the trackpad into a digital pavement (practical to give a utility to the trackpad when a mouse is connected in USB), and to install a chiclet keyboard backlit. The whole is therefore very suitable for a machine whose dimensions are reduced to 324.9 x 215 x 19.1 mm, and the weight limited to 1.45 kg.

4. Microsoft Surface Go 2: The best hybrid PC at content price

Writing opinion

• Windows 10 and its millions of available software
• Excellent finishes
• A great autonomy

• The keyboard far too expensive
• Too limited performance for certain professional uses

Launched for the first time in 2017, the GO surface has just been replaced by a new version with a slightly revised design and the technical sheet (a little) more muscular. Sobrely called surface Go 2, this new version of the tablet under Windows 10 offers a completely interesting office and ultraportable experience. and with a very reasonable entry rate for the surface range.

With a starting rate set at 459 euros in France, the GO 2 surface is the most affordable Windows tablet in the current Microsoft catalog.

One of the great forces of the Go Surface is its beautiful “PixelSense” IPS screen Full HD+ (1920 by 1280 pixels) for a pixel density rising 220 ppp, and this thanks on a diagonal limited to only 10.5 inches. The surface screen Go 2 is bright and well contrasting, it also offers a convincing colorimetric restitution to watch movies in mobility situations.

If its technical sheet remains modest, the Go 2 surface can assert an excellent assembly quality, from the know -how of Microsoft for its surface range (usually rather high -end oriented), as well as an extremely effective template in shift.

On the autonomy side, the assessment is also positive, with a tablet capable of holding a good ten hours in surfing, office automation or video streaming. It is enough to work a whole day without being forced to take it with you. The connection, for its very limited part, is limited to a USB-C port (Non Thunderbolt 3), a microSD card reader and a 3.5 Jack output to connect a helmet.

Note that Microsoft allows you to opt for a more powerful model, equipped with an Intel Core M3 processor from eighth generation. Its small surplus of power facing the Pentium Golf 4425y, is not necessarily essential for the basic use that the product aims. Especially since the price passes here the 700 euros mark. The right equipment / price ratio of the Go surface then takes a hit.

How to choose your laptop at – € 500 ?

What components ?

Good news: most of the components currently in circulation allow in absolute terms a satisfactory experience in office automation, light multimedia, surfing or even video reading; Clearly, the tasks that we will most often engage in an affordable machine. Because there is no secret, it is not on a device at 500 euros, or less, that you will be able to engage in more demanding activities in computing computing. It is enough to take a look at the machines that we have integrated into this comparison to be convinced of it. None of them would be really comfortable in heavy photo retouching, in game, or in video editing.

The fact remains that if most of the components now allow good experience for light activities on portable pc, it is better to think a little before throwing yourself on the first PC at 400 euros that you will find on the shelves of a local supermarket or On sales on web-marchands.

Manufacturers tend to integrate somewhat old -fashioned components on the entry level and some of them can tarnish the general feeling in use. We recommend that you favor SSDs to hard drive. And this, even on the entry level. Manufacturers will often put forward the storage capacity of HHD, but in 2020, in Netflix time, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify and multiple cloud services to store its documents, it is still needed 512 or 1 TB of storage on a portable PC essentially focused office ? We dedicate it strongly.

128 or 256 GB of SSD will be enough for you if you know how to store on your device with a relative sparing. Depending on your use, 64 GB may be enough, but you will then have to devote this very reduced storage space to the only application installation to prevent it from being saturated in less than two.

On the processor side, you can reasonably satisfy yourself with an Intel Pentium or a Core i3 for office automation. At AMD, you will often find at the entry level of old generation Ryzen chips, or even “A” serial apus (especially on certain Chromebook). If your budget allows you: opt for the more successful and recent design. Note that in terms of chromebooks, AMD recently announced the arrival of Ryzen and Athlon fleas on Chromeos machines. A good option if you find them.

Finally, on the RAM side, most of the machines at less than 500 euros are currently limited to 4 GB of RAM. A modest quantity, but which is still sufficient for office automation, surfing on the net and video reading, for example. 8 GB of RAM still remain preferable if you want to keep your device longer. Fortunately, some machines allow you to add RAM by changing the bars installed on the motherboard.

What screen ?

In the same logic as what we mentioned above, many manufacturers still sell HD+ screens on their entry -level models. If the latter can still do the trick on small diagonals, we advise them in 2020. Instead, immediately bet on a device equipped with a Full HD slab, the price difference (increasingly negligible) will be quickly amortized after a few hours spent on Netflix.

Also be sure to opt for a bright screen. Under the bar of 300 nits, you will sometimes have trouble seeing your content in well -lit rooms, and you will see nothing outside. For the rest, the entry -level is illustrated by a great diversity of quality in terms of image, despite screens attached most often to the large family of IPS slabs. From one machine to another, the experience will therefore, unfortunately, be very variable.

The devices we have selected in this comparison are equipped with good screens (or even very good in the case of the Go 2 surface) for their price.

What components favor ?

If your budget is limited to 500 euros maximum, the question clearly deserves to be asked. If you are advised against the purchase of an Android tablet (you might as well take a chromebook, which will probably come back to you cheaper and will be more efficient), turn to a Windows tablet like the Go 2 surface, is a great idea if You really intend to use light and very mobility use. As we have indicated above, we will have to take into account the additional cost generated by the purchase of the keyboard. not necessarily given.

The purchase of an iPad (offered from 389 on the official Apple store in 32 GB version) can also be a good solution. Especially since since the introduction of iPados, the latter are more comfortable in office automation than before. Last September, Apple also updated its iPad on the material level by adding an A12 Bionic chip much more efficient than the A10 to which they were limited to a few months ago. As a reminder, this SOC equipped the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR in 2018.

The keyboard support has also been topical for some time on the entry -level iPad. However, you will have to pay attention to the quantity of storage: to have a little room, the transition to the 128 GB model is inevitable, and the latter implies an additional cost of 100 euros compared to the basic model. There is nonetheless a good alternative to the surface Go 2, which however keeps the richness of the Windows ecosystem as advantage. An environment that some users risk having trouble abandoning to try me iPados, a little more managers it is true.

Our product selection process

We carry out each comparison with the same thoroughness and the same methodology. We spend 4 to 5 hours analyzing the characteristics and opinions of the products available in France.

Following this, we are in possession of a list of fifteen products. We test them or, when it is not possible, study the argued opinions of authority sites.

The best products having an asset to be asserted are thus presented in this comparison.

What are the best laptops at less than 500 euros ? September 2023

No need to break your piggy bank to offer yourself a correct pc ! This buying guide brings together the best laptops sold in the trade within € 500.

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The best

Asus VivoBook 13 Slate: a PC/tablet adorned with a beautiful OLED screen

Launch price € 649

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• Quality OLED screen.
• Versatility of hybrid tablet/pc format.
• Silent.
• Webcam of better quality than many PCs.

• Performance limited to office use.
• Unimportant storage.
• Difficult to dismantle.
• No Windows Hello.

The VivoBook 13 Slate will satisfy all those who wish to have an easily transportable PC/tablet for office use and to view content on a quality OLED screen. If its format is versatile, the presence of an Intel Pentium at entry -level processor and a low storage do not allow it to recommend it for more winding and creative use.

Best laptop at less than 500 €: which model to choose ?

Laptops have become essential in our daily lives. They allow you to study, work and play anywhere. Faced with the giants of the sector who display prices at hundreds, even thousands of euros, finding a cheap laptop that combines practicality and performance is not easy. To help you make the right choice, here is our selection of the best laptops for less than 500 euros.

• Our selection of the best laptops at less than € 500
• What is the price of a good laptop and how to choose it ?
• Is a chromebook ?
• Comments

Our selection of the best laptops at less than € 500

LENOVO IDEAPAD Slim 3

Acer Chromebook Spin 513

The purchase of a laptop represents a substantial budget. It is possible today to find entry -level computers at less than 500 euros without giving up quality. Some concessions are nevertheless necessary. For example, forget about the overpowered models to play the latest games in 4K.

Laptops at less than 500 euros are mainly for office and multimedia use. They will be perfectly suited for students. We have gathered in this article the best value for money so that you can know which pc laptop cheap.

HP Laptop 14S

HP Laptop 14S DQ2000SF

We start our selection of the best laptops at less than € 500 with an HP brand model with its Laptop 14S model. It is a compact, light and inexpensive laptop. Despite its price, there is not a Pentium processor, even less a Celeron, but a Intel Core i3 of 11th generation with 2 cores, 4 threads and a maximum frequency of 4.10 GHz. Everything is accompanied by 4 GB of RAM.

This laptop is a suitable model for everyday current tasks, as long as you do not impose intensive multitasking it. If you are looking for a PC to surf soberly on the web, watch movies and series on Netflix, or even to make office automation or to study, the HP Laptop 14S provides correct services.

Note that this laptop runs under Windows 11 in S mode. This simplified and secure version only accepts Microsoft Store applications. But if you want to go to the classic Windows 11, it is possible to switch to the normal version, but you will no longer be able to backtrack.

THE +	THE –
Compact and light	Only 256 GB of storage
Correct performance for little delicious tasks	Non-backlit keyboard

Acer Chromebook Spin 513

PC laptop Acer Chromebook Spin 513 at the best price

We continue our selection with a model which, as its name suggests, is a Chromebook. It therefore requires much less power to function properly. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180 processor and of 4 GB of RAM.

The particularity of this model is its chassis which allows it to Pivot the 360 ​​-degree screen To use it in different ways, tent mode to watch movies or make presentations, classic PC mode to work, tablet mode to use the touch screen. L’13.3 inch LCD IPS screen to one Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) And is quite well calibrated for a natural and pleasant color rendering.

We will also appreciate on this model the autonomy which can reach the 14 hours of use. You can therefore use it on the move without having to worry about connecting it. Connective level, there are 2 USB type-C and 1 USB 3 ports 3.2 Type-A.

THE +	THE –
Important autonomy	Mediocre keyboard
Practical and well -made chassis
Quality touchscreen screen

LENOVO IDEAPAD Slim 3 15MN8

LENOVO IDEAPAD Slim 3 at the best price

The Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3 15MN8 has a Full HD 15.6-inch anti-reflective slab (1920 x 1080 pixels). With his AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor clocked at 4.1 GHz, his 8 GB of RAM LPDDR5 and its storage space 256 GB SSD, it’s a laptop fluid and sufficiently efficient for daily tasks.

Ideapad Slim 3 Gen 8 stands out for its portability. He is 10% finer than previous generations. Its fine edges allow you to have a wider screen. This is also Tüv Low Blue Light certified, thus offering you the possibility of Work several hours without eye fatigue. Thanks to RapidCharge technology, you get two hours of autonomy in just 15 minutes of load.

In terms of connectors, this model is well supplied since it has an SD card reader, an HDMI 1 port.4, 2 USB-A 3 ports.2 Gen 1, from a USB-C 3 port.2 Gen 1 (multifunction) and a mixed connector headphones/microphone.

THE +	THE –
Beautiful screen	Only 256 GB of storage on this model
Rapid load
Complete connectors

Huawei Matebook D15

Huawei Matebook D15 at the best price

If Huawei disappeared in France in the smartphones department, it is increasingly present in the portable PC department, especially for entry -level level. We immediately notice its premium look with a sober and elegant aluminum frame. With his 16.9 mm thickness and its weight of 1.56 kg, It’s a pleasant computer to transport.

Her 15.6 inch IPS screen has full hd resolution from 1920 by 1080 pixels and it has fairly fine borders. From a power point of view, it is equipped with a Intel Core i3-10110u processor of 10th generation supported by 8 GB of RAM. It also has a 256 GB SSD hard drive.

For safety, it has a very practical fingerprint sensor. Her 65 W USB-C charger offer the possibility of recharging the laptop quickly. You recover so 53% of the battery in just 30 minutes of load. And finally, we find in connectors a USB-C port, three USB-A ports, an HDMI port and a headphone jack. There webcam, retractable, is integrated into the keyboard.

THE +	THE –
Premium design	Badly placed webcam
65 W fast charger	Lacks more USB-C ports
Beautiful screen

Dell Inspiron 15 3520

Dell Inspiron 15 3520 at the best price

Let’s continue with a balanced model who may appeal to as many people as possible and particularly to students. This PC runs under Windows 11 and has a fairly attractive configuration for less than 500 euros: a Intel Core i5-1135g7 processor of 11th generation clown to 4.2 GHz, 8 GB of RAM DDR4 and one 256 GB SSD hard drive. It also has a Full HD screen (1920 x 1080) anti-reflection 15.6 inches that benefits from a 120 Hz refreshment rate. In this price range, you will not find other laptops capable of displaying such a technical sheet.

Connectivity is not to be outdone with 2 USB-A 3 ports.2 Gen 1, a USB-A 2 port.0, a headphone jack, an HDMI 1 port.4 and an SD card reader. Its chassis in aluminum, its matt black design and the quality of finish Dell make it a model of choice. Finally, the Dell Inspiron 15 3520 is equipped with a FHD webcam and some Expressload functionality ™ which allows to recharge the battery up to 80 % in 60 minutes only.

A version with an Intel Core i3-1115g4 processor is also available at less than 400 euros.

Click here to access the Dell Inspiron 15 3520 Intel Core i3-1115g4

THE +	THE –
Balanced configuration	Noisy fan
Complete connectivity
Good value for money

What is the price of a good laptop and how to choose it ?

We now find laptops at all prices, of 300 euros for entry levels to several thousand euros for the best. The models are not all worth and the price is not always a good quality revealer.
To choose a laptop, you must take into account:

• the weight of the device,
• Power and type of processor,
• The RAM,
• The graphics card,
• storage capacity,
• connectors,
• autonomy.

Most models within 500 euros have undeniable assets for user in office or for multimedia. To buy a gaming laptop, a slightly more substantial budget is generally necessary. To have a versatile computer, with an efficient graphics card, good RAM and sufficient storage capacity, it is better to turn to a model at more than 800 euros.

Is a chromebook ?

Chromebooks are laptops under Chrome OS which have the advantage of being generally Cheaper than their equivalents under Windows. A chromebook allows you to do many most diverse tasks like going on the internet with Chromium, Google’s web browser, see Streaming videos or play games.

Even if Windows and MacOS programs do not work on these computers, you can Install many Android applications since Google Play Store and enjoy Web applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint or even image processing tools like Photoshop or Lightroom.

In the end, if you are looking for a cheap laptop with sufficient capabilities to simply study or work, chromebooks can be excellent alternatives.

Read also:

• Best student laptops: what model to buy ?
• Best Chromebook: What model to buy ?
• Best laptop at less than 1000 €: which model to choose ?
• Best ultrabooks: which model to choose ?
• Best laptops: which model to choose ?
• Best macbook air and pro: which computer to buy ?
• Best Gamer PC screens: which model to buy ?
• Best gaming pc: what model to buy ?
• Best gaming keyboards: what model to buy ?
• Best gaming laptops: what model to buy ?
• Best wireless keyboards: which model to choose ?
• Best wireless mouse (Bluetooth): which model to buy ?

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