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The Best 5Reviewed by Mike Hun·May 20, 2026

Best Budget Laptops Under $700

Top 5 budget laptops under $700 reviewed and ranked.

Quick answer

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 is our top pick for budget laptops under $700 — an averaged 4.7/5 across 1 published review at about $649. Runner-up: Acer Aspire 5 (~$358).

Read the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 review →$649 · Check Price on Amazon

At a glance

Tap any product for the full review
1Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5Top Score
(1 source)
$649Best for: everyday productivity, students, knowledge workers, and home users
$649 · Check Price on Amazon
2Acer Aspire 5
(1 source)
$358Best for: home users and students who want a reliable 15.6" budget laptop
$358 · Check Price on Amazon
3HP Pavilion 15
(1 source)
$649Best for: power users running heavy browser sessions, VMs, or layered Photoshop on a budget
$649 · Check Price on Amazon
4Acer Aspire 16 AI
(1 source)
$599Best for: users wanting maximum screen real estate and Copilot+ AI features on a budget
$599 · Check Price on Amazon
5Acer Nitro V 16 AI
(1 source)
$699Best for: students and budget shoppers who want a single laptop for both productivity and gaming
$699 · Check Price on Amazon
Verdict is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you click through and buy, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Our ratings are sourced from independent publications, not sponsors.
Reviews aggregated from
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The full ranking

How we rank →
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5
#1 · Top Score
Best for: everyday productivity, students, knowledge workers, and home users
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5
from 1 source$649

The IdeaPad Slim 5 is the best-overall budget laptop pick. Ryzen 7 + 16GB DDR5 + 1TB SSD at $649 is genuinely punch-above-class. Best for general productivity, light photo/video editing, and home/student use.

Strengths
  • — AMD Ryzen 7 7730U — top-tier mobile CPU at this price
  • — 16GB DDR5 RAM + 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD — generous storage for the price tier
Watch-outs
  • — Integrated Radeon graphics — no discrete GPU like the Acer Nitro V 16 AI
  • — Trackpad palm rejection is decent, not best-in-class
$649 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Acer Aspire 5 →
Acer Aspire 5
#2
Best for: home users and students who want a reliable 15.6" budget laptop
Acer Aspire 5
from 1 source$358as of May 21

The Aspire 5 is the value pick. 15.6" 1080p IPS + i5 + 16GB at $499 is what every budget laptop should hit. Trade-offs are predictable: plastic chassis, shorter battery. Best for home use, students, and second laptops.

Strengths
  • — 15.6" 1080p IPS display at $499 — best display-per-dollar in this lineup
  • — Intel Core i5 / Ryzen 5 options with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD
Watch-outs
  • — Plastic chassis flexes more than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5
  • — Battery life trails the HP Pavilion 15 by 1-2 hours
$358 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 →
HP Pavilion 15
#3
Best for: power users running heavy browser sessions, VMs, or layered Photoshop on a budget
HP Pavilion 15
from 1 source$649

The Pavilion 15 is the most-RAM pick. 32GB configurations exist under $700 — uncommon at this price. Best for users who run a lot of browser tabs / virtual machines / Photoshop layers without paying for a workstation tier.

Strengths
  • — 32GB RAM + 1TB SSD configurations available under $700
  • — B&O-tuned speakers — best audio in this lineup
Watch-outs
  • — Integrated Iris Xe graphics — fine for office work, not for gaming
  • — Chassis is plasticky compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5's aluminum
$649 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 →
Acer Aspire 16 AI
#4
Best for: users wanting maximum screen real estate and Copilot+ AI features on a budget
Acer Aspire 16 AI
from 1 source$599

The Aspire 16 AI is the large-screen + AI-features pick. 16" 16:10 display gives meaningful extra vertical space for productivity, and the Core Ultra NPU unlocks Copilot+ on Windows 11. Best for users who want extra screen real estate and the new AI PC features.

Strengths
  • — 16" display — largest screen in this lineup
  • — Intel Core Ultra 5 with NPU for AI workloads + Copilot+ PC features
Watch-outs
  • — Heavier and thicker than the 15" Aspire 5 or Lenovo Slim 5
  • — Speakers are average — B&O on HP Pavilion 15 sounds better
$599 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 →
Acer Nitro V 16 AI
#5
Best for: students and budget shoppers who want a single laptop for both productivity and gaming
Acer Nitro V 16 AI
from 1 source$699

The Nitro V 16 AI is the budget gaming pick. RTX 5050 + 16" 165Hz at $699 is unheard of a year ago. Trade-offs are gaming-laptop standard: weight, battery, fan noise. Best for users who want a budget laptop that can also play modern games.

Strengths
  • — RTX 5050 discrete GPU — only true budget gaming pick in this lineup
  • — 16" 1200p 165Hz display — fastest refresh rate here
Watch-outs
  • — Heavier (5.5 lbs) — not the laptop you carry every day
  • — Battery (4-5 hours under load) — half the Acer Aspire 5's runtime
$699 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 →

Spec comparison

5 products
SpecLenovo IdeaPad Slim 5Acer Aspire 5HP Pavilion 15Acer Aspire 16 AIAcer Nitro V 16 AI
CPUAMD Ryzen 7 7730UIntel Core i5 12th genIntel Core i7Intel Core Ultra 5AMD Ryzen AI 5 240
RAM16GB DDR516GBup to 32GB16GB16GB
Storage1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD512GB SSDup to 1TB SSD512GB SSD—
Display14" / 16" 1080p IPS15.6" 1080p IPS15.6" 1080p IPS16" 1200p 16:1016" 1200p 165Hz
GPUIntegrated Radeon———RTX 5050

Frequently asked questions

What is the best budget laptops under $700?
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 is our top pick for budget laptops under $700, with an averaged rating of 4.7/5 from 1 published reviews. The IdeaPad Slim 5 is the best-overall budget laptop pick. Ryzen 7 + 16GB DDR5 + 1TB SSD at $649 is genuinely punch-above-class. Best for general productivity, light photo/video editing, and home/student use.
Is there a cheaper alternative worth considering?
Acer Aspire 5 (around $358) rates 4.6/5 in our analysis. The Aspire 5 is the value pick. 15.6" 1080p IPS + i5 + 16GB at $499 is what every budget laptop should hit. Trade-offs are predictable: plastic chassis, shorter battery. Best for home use, students, and second laptops.
How does Verdict rank these products?
Every rating on Verdict is the numerical average of scores published by independent review sites, YouTube reviewers, and Reddit buyer reports. No editor adjusts the order — the ranking is whatever the source data produces. See our methodology page for the full process.
When was this guide last updated?
This guide was last re-checked in May 2026. We re-run our research pipeline for each category on a rolling basis so prices and rankings reflect current market reality.

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