Best Budget Laptops for Working from Home

As 2023 looks to be much the same as last year, many of us are still working from home. If your laptop is anything like mine, it’s probably had more than enough of the use and abuse of Work from Home (WFH).

That means that you might find yourself in the market for a new laptop. While some people are lucky to have the cost of their laptops covered by their employers, many of us have to pay out of our own pockets.

To save you some precious money, we’ve put together a list of the best budget laptops for WFH professionals that you’ll find in 2023.

Best Budget Laptops for Working from Home

These machines are hardy enough, fast enough, and powerful enough to get you through the workday, but they won’t cost you an arm and a leg!

What to look for in a WFH laptop?

Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you have to settle for lower quality. Nowadays, you can get laptops with plenty of great features and specs for pretty much any budget.

That being said, if you’re expecting to get the latest MacBook on a shoestring budget, you’ll need to lower your expectations.

Here are the basic specifications you’ll need from a laptop to do general office-type work. If your job requires specific programs or software, you’ll need to check whether it is compatible with your desired machine.

RAM

RAM stands for random access memory. It’s not memory that can be used to store files. Instead, it is sort of like a waiting room.

RAM allows you to run and access multiple programs and documents. When a document or program isn’t being used it’s stored in RAM so that it can be accessed when needed.

The larger the amount of RAM the more simultaneous programs and files can be run.

For most people, 4 GB of RAM will be sufficient. This will allow you to flick back and forth between spreadsheets and documents as well as running a few browser tabs. You’ll also be able to run video meeting software.

Processor

The processor is the brain of the computer. It tells every other part of the laptop what to do and when.

You want a processor that can handle the demands of your job. A weak processor will lead to a slow laptop that struggles to run programs.

You’ll want to look for a laptop with an Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor.

Hard Drive

When it comes to hard drives, you have three options: solid-state, hard disk, and eMMC

Solid-state drives use memory chips to store information. They don’t have any moving parts and are quicker, newer, and more expensive than hard disk drives.

Hard disk drives work in a similar fashion to CD players. They have a small disk from which data is written and read from.

Hard disks are cheaper but tend to be less reliable due to the moving parts. They still work well enough and are great for budget choices.

Hard drives are less important nowadays with many people using cloud storage instead. However, you will need sufficient space to install any programs and software you want to use.

eMMC stands for an embedded multimedia card. These are small storage cards that are often used in notebooks and budget laptops. They don’t have a huge amount of space, but they can be supplemented by external storage devices.  

You’ll need about 80 – 125 GB of storage. This will let you install your basic software and have room for files and pictures.

Ports

The ports on your laptop allow you to connect devices like keyboards, mice, web cameras, microphones, and storage devices.

Our advice is to go for at least 2 USB ports that way you can plug in storage and devices.

You might also want to check for an ethernet port. This will allow you to plug your laptop directly into the internet router. You’ll get faster connection speeds compared to using Wi-Fi.

Webcam

If you have to use Zoom or Teams to do virtual meetings, you’ll need a webcam. Most laptops have a built-in webcam which will be more than good enough for your team meetings.

Chromebooks: What are they?

Whenever you start searching for budget laptops Chromebooks will pop up. Many people get confused about the differences between Chromebooks and laptops so let’s take a look.

Chromebook is a brand name for any kind of notebook computer that runs on Google’s operating system. They require an internet connection to be used most effectively as everything is run and stored online and in the cloud.

Notebooks are slimmed-down laptops. They tend to be smaller and have reduced functionality. They will use either Chrome or Windows operating systems.

Often, notebooks don’t have internal storage so that may be missing from the description. That’s ok because documents and files are saved to the cloud.

If your computing needs are light, for instance just viewing and editing documents then a notebook should serve you well enough.

If you’re interested in getting a notebook, there are plenty reviewed in detail on this article about laptops that cost around $150. Pretty much all of these notebooks are suitable for a budget and working from home.

The Best Budget Laptops

Here are our picks for the best budget laptops for working from home.

Bestseller No. 1 Gateway 15.6″ FHD Ultra Slim Budget Notebook, Intel Pentium Processor(4-Core, up to 3.1 GHz), 4GB RAM, 128GB Storage, Precision Touchpad, HDMI, Type-C Windows 10S, Microsoft 365 1 Year, Charcoal Black
  • 【Processor】4 Core, 4 Threads, 4MB Cache, up to 3.1 GHz. The perfect combination of performance, power consumption, and value…
  • 【Display】15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Display, with up to 178 degree viewing angles, Non-touch Narrow Border Display, enjoy…
  • 【RAM and Storage】RAM is 4 GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once; storage is…
Gateway 15.6' FHD Ultra Slim Budget Notebook, Intel Pentium Processor(4-Core, up to 3.1 GHz), 4GB RAM, 128GB Storage, Precision Touchpad, HDMI, Type-C Windows 10S, Microsoft 365 1 Year, Charcoal Black
14 Reviews
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Save 49%Bestseller No. 2 Dell Latitude 5480 | 14 inch Business Laptop | Intel i5-6300U | 8GB DDR4 | 256GB SSD | Backlit Keyboard | Win 10 Pro (Renewed)
  • This Certified Refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new. The refurbishing process includes…
  • Dell Latitude 5480 | 14 inch Business Laptop | Intel i5-6300U up to 3.0GHz | 8GB DDR4 | 256GB SSD
  • Includes: Computer, Power Supply, Warranty Instruction.
Dell Latitude 5480 | 14 inch Business Laptop | Intel i5-6300U | 8GB DDR4 | 256GB SSD | Backlit Keyboard | Win 10 Pro (Renewed)
408 Reviews
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Save 23%Bestseller No. 3 Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-32DK Slim Laptop – 15.6″ Full HD IPS Display – 11th Gen Intel i3-1115G4 Dual Core Processor – 4GB DDR4 – 128GB NVMe SSD – WiFi 6 – Amazon Alexa – Windows 11 Home in S mode.
  • Powerful Productivity: 11th Generation Intel Core i3-1115G4 Dual Core processor delivers unmatched speed and intelligence,…
  • Visibly Stunning: Experience sharp details and crisp colors on the 15.6″ Full HD IPS display with 82.58% screen-to-body, 16:9…
  • Ergonomic Typing: Ergonomically-designed hinge lifts the keyboard for comfortable typing, improved cooling, and a better sound…
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-32DK Slim Laptop - 15.6' Full HD IPS Display - 11th Gen Intel i3-1115G4 Dual Core Processor - 4GB DDR4 - 128GB NVMe SSD - WiFi 6 - Amazon Alexa - Windows 11 Home in S mode.
2,127 Reviews
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Bestseller No. 4 ASUS Student Laptop, 12 inch IPS Anti-Glare Eye-Care HD Display, Intel Celeron N4500, Military-Grade Durability, Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet Port, Long Battery Life, Windows 10 Pro (4GB RAM | 128GB SSD)
  • 【Storage & RAM】Enjoy up to 15x faster performance than a traditional hard drive with 128 GB storage and experience improved…
  • 【Built for Students】Designed for K-12 students, the BR1100 is the perfect learning companion with its durable qualities like…
  • 【US Military-grade Standard】Build to withstand everyday knowks, bumps, drops and spills without damage. So, whether it’s…
ASUS Student Laptop, 12 inch IPS Anti-Glare Eye-Care HD Display, Intel Celeron N4500, Military-Grade Durability, Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet Port, Long Battery Life, Windows 10 Pro (4GB RAM | 128GB SSD)
79 Reviews
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Bestseller No. 6 [2021 Version]ASUS Vivobook Laptop L210 11.6” ultra thin, Intel Celeron N4020 Processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC storage, Windows 10 Home in S mode with One Year of Office 365 Personal, L210MA-DB01
  • Aspect Ratio:16:9
  • Efficient Intel Celeron N4020 Processor (4M Cache, up to 2.8 GHz)
  • 11.6” HD (1366 x 768) Slim Display
[2021 Version]ASUS Vivobook Laptop L210 11.6” ultra thin, Intel Celeron N4020 Processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC storage, Windows 10 Home in S mode with One Year of Office 365 Personal, L210MA-DB01
8,312 Reviews
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Save 18%Bestseller No. 7 Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R3UB | 15.6″ Full HD IPS Display | AMD Ryzen 3 3350U Quad-Core Mobile Processor | 4GB DDR4 | 128GB NVMe SSD | WiFi 6 | Backlit KB | FPR | Amazon Alexa | Windows 11 Home in S mode
  • Powerful Productivity: AMD Ryzen 3 3350U delivers desktop-class performance and amazing battery life in a slim notebook. With…
  • Maximized Visuals: See even more on the stunning 15.6″ Full HD display with 82.58% screen-to-body, 16:9 aspect ratio and narrow…
  • Backlit Keyboard and Fingerprint Reader: Biometric fingerprint reader and Windows Hello sign-in options help keep your Acer PC…
Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R3UB | 15.6' Full HD IPS Display | AMD Ryzen 3 3350U Quad-Core Mobile Processor | 4GB DDR4 | 128GB NVMe SSD | WiFi 6 | Backlit KB | FPR | Amazon Alexa | Windows 11 Home in S mode
4,161 Reviews
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Bestseller No. 8 HP EliteBook 840 G2, Intel Core i5-5300U up to 2.3 GHz, 8GB RAM, 500 GB SATA Laptop Computer Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
  • HP 840G2 intel core I5-5300U, 2.3 GigaHertz processor, 8GB RAM, 500GB SATA Hard Drive.
  • Operating System: Windows 10 Professional.
  • Comes with a 90-day Renewed warranty.
HP EliteBook 840 G2, Intel Core i5-5300U up to 2.3 GHz, 8GB RAM, 500 GB SATA Laptop Computer Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
323 Reviews
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Save 10%Bestseller No. 9 Lenovo – 2022 – IdeaPad Flex 5i – 2-in-1 Chromebook Laptop Computer – Intel Core i3-1115G4 – 13.3″ FHD Touch Display – 8GB Memory – 128GB Storage – Chrome OS
  • The IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook is simple to use – just login to your Google account and you’re ready to go with access to your…
  • Laptop or tablet – why not both? With a 13″ FHD touchscreen, you can use your Lenovo Chromebook the way that works best for you…
  • With the streamlined Chrome OS packed with the latest features, this convertible Chromebook offers a quick and nimble system…
Lenovo - 2022 - IdeaPad Flex 5i - 2-in-1 Chromebook Laptop Computer - Intel Core i3-1115G4 - 13.3' FHD Touch Display - 8GB Memory - 128GB Storage - Chrome OS
1,151 Reviews
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Bestseller No. 10 HP 2020 Flagship 14 Chromebook Laptop Computer 14-inch HD SVA Anti-Glare Display Intel Celeron N5000 Processor 4GB DDR4 64GB eMMC WiFi Webcam Chrome OS (Renewed)
  • Equipped With The Most Powerful and Fast Intel Celeron Processor N Series, 1.1 GHz base clock, up to 2.6 GHz max boost clock, 4 MB…
  • 14.0-inch diagonal HD SVA anti-glare micro-edge WLED-backlit display (1366 x 768) I Intel UHD Graphics 605 Integrated
  • 4GB RAM | 64GB eMMC Internal Storage
HP 2020 Flagship 14 Chromebook Laptop Computer 14-inch HD SVA Anti-Glare Display Intel Celeron N5000 Processor 4GB DDR4 64GB eMMC WiFi Webcam Chrome OS (Renewed)
2,457 Reviews
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Save 12%Bestseller No. 11 Fast Latitude E6530 Notebook 15.6in Business Laptop PC (Intel Core i5-3210M, 8GB Ram, 500GB HDD, WebCAM, HDMI, WIFI, DVD-RW) Win 10 Pro (Renewed)
  • Processor-Intel 3rd Generation Core i5-3210M @ 2.50GHz, (Turbo Boost Upto 3.30GHz) High Performance Processor.
  • 8 GB DDR3 Ram / 500 GB 2.5 Inch Sata Hard Drive.
  • 15.6 Inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti Glare Scree, Intel HD Graphics, HQ Camera, Wireless WIFI, HDMI, VGA, 3 x USB 3.0, Numeric KeyBoard,…
Fast Latitude E6530 Notebook 15.6in Business Laptop PC (Intel Core i5-3210M, 8GB Ram, 500GB HDD, WebCAM, HDMI, WIFI, DVD-RW) Win 10 Pro (Renewed)
104 Reviews
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Save 6%Bestseller No. 12 Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop, 15.6 inches Full HD IPS Display, AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, Vega 3 Graphics, 4GB DDR4, 128GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 in S Mode, A515-43-R19L, Silver
  • Aspect Ratio:16:9
  • AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Dual Core Processor (Up to 3.5GHz); 4GB DDR4 Memory; 128GB PCIe NVMe SSD
  • 15.6 inches full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED backlit IPS display; AMD Radeon Vega 3 Mobile Graphics
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop, 15.6 inches Full HD IPS Display, AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, Vega 3 Graphics, 4GB DDR4, 128GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 in S Mode, A515-43-R19L, Silver
35,881 Reviews
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HP Pavilion Intel Pentium Silver N5000

HP Pavilion Intel Pentium Silver N5000
  • 15.6″ diagonal, HD (1366 x 768), micro-edge, BrightView, 220 nits, 45% NTSC, Intel Pentium Silver N5000 (1.1 GHz base frequency,…
  • 128GB SATA M.2 SSD, 4GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM (1 x 4 GB)
  • Optical drive not included, Integrated 10/100/1000 GbE LAN, 1 multi-format SD media card reader
HP Pavilion Intel Pentium Silver N5000
194 Reviews
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  • 4GB of RAM
  • 128GB of SSD memory
  • 3 USB ports, card reader, HDMI, ethernet, and headphone/microphone ports
  • 15.6-inch screen
  • Intel Quad-Core Pentium Silver Processor

This is a nifty machine that can keep up with a lot of hard work.

The RAM is on the light side but more than adequate for basic office work. If you’re planning on using a lot of programs and tabs, you’ll need to up the RAM a little bit.

We love SSD storage. It’s unusual on a machine this cheap but wonderful to see! You’ll have plenty of space for files and programs.

This laptop also has 10 hours of battery life. This means that you can snuggle up on the sofa on those cold mornings with your work.

Our only gripe is the processor. It’s not particularly powerful which means that it might run a bit slower with more intensive work.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3

Lenovo IdeaPad 3
  • AMD Ryzen 3 3250U (2C / 4T, 2.6 / 3.5GHz, 1MB L2 / 4MB L3)
  • 128GB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe 3.0×2 NVMe
  • 4GB Soldered DDR4-2400
Lenovo IdeaPad 3
26 Reviews
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  • 4GB of RAM
  • 128GB of SSD storage
  • 3 USB ports, HDMI, headphone jack, and SD card reader
  • 15.6” HD screen
  • AMD Ryzen 3 processor

Lenovo IdeaPads are great laptops. They are 15-inch workhorses that can cope with the stress and strain of all your work.

This laptop has a 128GB SSD which is excellent to see at this price point. You’ll have space for your software and files and some.

The 4GB of RAM is supported by the Ryzen 3 processor to make this laptop pretty speedy during everyday tasks. It’s a great pairing, to be honest.

The screen is wonderfully large to help reduce eye strain while you work. It’s also HD-ready and has narrow bevels so you can make the most of the screen. This laptop would be ideal for watching movies on after a long day of work.

HP Stream 14-inch Laptop, Intel Celeron N4000

Save 15% HP Stream 14-inch Laptop, Intel Celeron N4000,
  • Laptop for work, school and play: With Office 365 and 1 TB of cloud storage, this device combines functionality, connectivity,…
  • Essential productivity: This nimble laptop delivers the essential productivity and entertainment you want for school or home,…
  • Office 365 for one year: Get full access to Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, and 1 TB of OneDrive Storage for…
HP Stream 14-inch Laptop, Intel Celeron N4000,
2,002 Reviews
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  • 4GB of RAM
  • 64GM eMMC storage
  • 3 USB, HDMI, SD card reader, headphone jack
  • 14” display
  • Intel(R) Celeron(R) N4000 Processor

First things first, the processor is not great it has a speed of 1.1Ghz which is about half the speed of the others on this list.

If your work requires intensive programs or massive amounts of multi-tasking you’ll want to choose a different laptop.

If, however, you only need to run a few video calls and check some emails, this is a great budget machine.

The internal storage is quite small, but you do get a whole terabyte of cloud storage free for a year with this laptop. The Office 365 subscription is a definite boon for this laptop. It means you can use Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint for a year for free.

Last update on 2023-05-29 using Amazon Product Advertising API.