The Best Chromebooks for Every Budget

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  Photograph: Asus

  Best All-Around

  Asus Chromebook Flip C434

  Out of all the Chromebooks I've tested, the Asus Chromebook Flip C434 strikes the best balance between price, power, and features. Its 2-in-1 design easily moves between laptop mode for work, stand mode (great for watching YouTube), and tablet mode for browsing the web on the couch. The 14-inch, 1080p display is plenty bright and sharp, giving you somewhat of a rarity in Chromebooks—a nice screen and impressive all-day battery life (nearly 11 hours in my testing).

  The Intel Core m3 chip in the base model isn't the most powerful, but I didn't notice any stuttering or slowdowns until I deliberately started pushing it with 25 or more tabs open. That said, upgrading to the Core i3 chip ($800) will buy you some power, as well as double the RAM and hard drive space, both of which are nice to have.

  Specs: 14-inch HD screen, Intel Core m3 processor, 4+ GB RAM, 64 GB storage

• Photograph: Samsung 

  Best Luxury Chromebook

  Samsung Galaxy Chromebook

  Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of the nicest laptops on the market. The solid, lightweight aluminum body has a build quality that surpasses most of the Windows laptops I've tested. It has the nicest (4K) display of any Chromebook you can buy, and the fanless chip design is totally silent and won't burn your lap.

  It also offers a well-designed, elegant user experience, with attention to detail you won't find in other Chromebooks. My favorite example of this is when you pull out the included stylus: Google Keep automatically opens, ready for you to take notes. The only real drawback to this machine is the price: If you want the best, you'll have to pay for it.

  Specs: 13-inch AMOLED 4K (Ultra HD) screen, Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage

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• Photograph: Lenovo

  Best Chromebook Tablet

  Lenovo Duet Chromebook

  The Lenovo Duet is my favorite Chromebook. It's lightweight, affordable, and fun. It may not be the best choice as your only device though—the keyboard is nice, but it is small. Overall, the Duet is slightly smaller than the entry-level iPad, with a 10-inch screen and a detachable keyboard and back cover.

  It's comfortable to hold and a good size for reading in bed, but Chrome OS is still rough around the edges on a tablet. For instance, there's no easy way to turn off automatic screen rotation. The other main issue is the lack of a headphone jack. You can get a USB-C–to–headphone adapter (not included), but then you can't use headphones and charge it at the same time. Still—as a second device or one for school-age children—the Duet is a lot of fun for not a lot of money.

  Specs: 10-inch HD IPS screen, MediaTek Helio P60T processor, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage

• Photograph: Lenovo

  Best Budget Powerhouse

  Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook

  Lenovo's surprisingly affordable Chromebook Flex 5 offers a lot of power for your dollar in a compact, well-made package. It's not as sleek as the Samsung above, and it has an all-plastic body, but it's surprisingly svelte in its own way. The 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor in the Flex 5 is the same chip you'll find in many mid-tier Windows 10 laptops. Given that Chrome OS is considerably less demanding than Windows, the performance here is even better.

  This would probably be my top pick if there was a way to get 8 gigabytes of RAM, but sadly, you'll have to settle for 4 gigs. That's enough for many workloads, but it'd be nice to see an 8-gigabyte option for those who need it. On the plus side, the 360 design works with Lenovo's digital pen (sold separately, $38).

  Specs: 13-inch Full HD screen, Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage

  $405 at Amazon
• Photograph: Google

  Best Google-Made Chromebook

  Google Pixelbook Go

  It’s natural to want hardware made by the company that created and manages Chrome OS. If so, get the Pixelbook Go. It’s lightweight at 2 pounds, has a wonderful matte texture, and is incredibly thin. The Go is a standard clamshell laptop, but you get a 13-inch touchscreen for some added versatility. There are two USB-C ports and a headphone jack, a roomy trackpad, and a wonderfully tactile keyboard. Plus, the battery easily lasts a full workday.

  If you’re not planning to use this laptop a ton, the model powered by the Intel Core m3 chip might be sufficient, but I recommend snagging the Core i5 with 8 gigabytes of RAM. It’s on the pricier end, but this is a Chromebook that oozes style with plenty of power to keep more than 30 Chrome tabs running smoothly.

  Specs: 13-inch HD screen, Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB storage

• Photograph: HP

  Best Budget 2-in-1

  HP Chromebook X360 12-inch

  If you want a 2-in-1-style Chromebook but don't want to spring for our top pick, this HP option offers most of the same features at half the price. The screen isn't as nice, and battery life is about eight hours—enough for a day's work—but overall you still get a great Chromebook experience. Laptop, stand, and tablet modes all work together to give you more versatility than a traditional design.

  Make sure you pay careful attention to which X360 version you buy. We like this 12-inch model with the 3:2 screen ratio, which gives you some extra vertical real estate for working on documents and browsing the web.

  Specs: 12-inch HD screen (3:2 ratio), Intel Celeron processor, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage

• Photograph: Acer

  Best for School

  Acer Chromebook 714

  With 8 gigabytes of RAM and an Intel Core i3 chip, Acer's Chromebook 714 offers plenty of power, and it's still portable. Chrome OS is snappy on it, and I managed to get 12 hours of battery life in our video drain test. There's a MicroSD slot for expanding storage, which is handy for caching documents locally when Wi-Fi is spotty. The aluminum design looks nice, and the keyboard is comfortable.

  The Chromebook 714 cuts corners on its display. It's a 1080p touchscreen, but it's not very bright, and colors are sometimes washed out. It's fine for most school-related tasks, but you wouldn't want to edit photos on it.

  Specs: 12-inch HD IPS screen, Intel Core i3 processor, 8 GB RAM, 64 GB Storage

• Photograph: Dell

  Best Cheap Chromebook

  Dell Chromebook 11

  Dell seems to be phasing out this 11-inch bare-bones Chromebook, but it's a great buy if you're on a budget, and Chrome OS here will continue to get updates until 2025. The build quality isn't the best (it's plastic), but the keyboard is surprisingly nice, and the 11-ish hours of battery life is good.

  The splashproof and impact-resistant build makes this Dell a good option for school-age kids who might be a little rough on devices. It can be slightly underpowered for some tasks, though. I had trouble with some Android apps, for example. Unfortunately, that's par for the course at a price this low.

  Specs: 11-inch HD IPS screen, Intel Celeron processor, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage

  $534 $379 at Dell
• Photograph: Samsung

  How to Pick the Best Chromebook

  Chromebook Specs

  Chromebooks come in a bewildering array of options. Sometimes even trying to decide which options to get on a single model can be overwhelming. I have to use a spreadsheet to keep it all straight, but you shouldn't have to, so here's some broad specs to keep in mind when choosing one.

  Processor: Chromebooks use half a dozen different processors, most of which you've probably never heard of. There's a reason for that: They're slow. After trying out plenty of Intel Celeron-based machines (usually labeled N4000), my recommendation is to go with something more powerful if you can afford it. The next step up from the Celeron is the Core m3, which is the best choice for most people. If you want a more powerful, future-proof machine, get an i3 or i5 chip.

  RAM: Get 8 gigabytes if you can afford it, especially if you plan to run any Android applications. When I've experienced severe slowdowns and glitches, it's almost always been using Android apps on Chromebooks with only 4 gigs of RAM.

  Screen: Get an IPS LCD display. There are still a few low-end models out there with crappier TN LCD displays you should avoid. Your pixel resolution depends on the size. I have used (and recommend) some 11-inch Chromebooks that have 720p displays. Because those screens are squeezed into a small form factor, I find them acceptably sharp, but of course, a 1080p screen will be much nicer.

  Ports: Most things you do on a Chromebook are cloud-based, so you don't really need to worry too much about ports. You might want something that charges through a USB-C port if you'd like to be able to run your Chromebook off a portable battery/charger, but unfortunately, USB-C is really only available in higher-priced models. It also helps to have a MicroSD slot for expanded storage, but that's also not widely available.