It’s been a difficult adjustment for students in recent years. The pandemic has increased the need for learning remotely, and more and more parents have elected to protect their students by moving them to a fully remote curriculum. Even the classroom environments have shifted to the use of Chromebook laptops, to avoid the sharing of textbooks and the germs and viruses associated with passing them around. All these changes usually come with more time stuck in front of a laptop for most students.
Chromebooks have become the standard in most schools, with the majority of school districts now providing them to their pupils. But the district-provided Chromebook options usually don’t have the power or size necessary to get many of the jobs done that many of us want from our computers. If you have a student trying to learn, put together a paper, or even code on one of those lower-end machines, you might be looking for an upgrade to better support your child through the rest of this school year, and the years to come. If you have the money for it, there are a lot of options out there, either for more powerful and capable Chromebook models, or other laptops out there that are worthy of the investment.
Chromebooks are the most budget-friendly option for a student laptop, but just because they’re the cheapest laptop for students doesn’t mean they’re lacking. Chromebooks were designed with young students in mind, made simple and sturdy enough to do the basics. Comparable Windows laptops and MacBooks come with a higher price. And Chromebooks are easy to use, designed with kids in mind and made to be ready to go from the minute it comes out of the box. The Chrome OS software comes preinstalled, and is streamlined for user comfort. Student-issue Chromebooks that most counties have implemented run small in the screen, with a display of 11.6 inches, but some have much larger displays, from 12.2 inches all the way up to a 15.6-inch screen.
Read more: Best Chromebooks for 2022
We’ve gone through and collected a list of the best deals on Chromebooks to get you through the school year, with prices starting as low as $230. Many factors were considered in the compilation of this list, such as cloud storage, battery life, display size, keyboard quality, ease of web browsing and whether it includes a headphone jack for music or lecture listening and classroom participation. If you want to snag a good deal on the best Chromebooks for the students in your life, look at our picks below. We will periodically update this list, so check back for all your Chromebook needs.
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Asus
This Asus model is on sale for only $230 right now and features a 14-inch display powered by an Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM. Those are average components for a budget Chromebook, but it adds a bit more storage than usual with 64GB. It has a 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution display for a sharper picture and more workspace than you’d get with the 1,366×768-pixel resolution found on other low-end Chromebooks.
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Josh Goldman/CNET
The highlight of this Lenovo two-in-one Chromebook is its 10th-gen Intel Core i3 CPU, which is common to many budget Windows laptops and has more than enough oomph to power the lightweight Chrome OS. The Flex 5 features a 13.3-inch touchscreen with a 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution. It offers pen support but you need to buy a stylus separately.
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Lenovo
This convertible Chromebook features a 15.6-inch touchscreen that can rotate into tablet mode, and is powered by an eighth-gen Intel Core i3 CPU. It’s an older Core i3 than you get in the above Lenovo model, but more powerful than Intel Pentium and Celeron chips commonly found in Chromebooks. The C340 also offers 4GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage, both average for the price.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
This Samsung Chromebook has a smaller display at 12.2 inches than the other models here, but the touchscreen can rotate 360 degrees into tablet mode so you can play Android games — once homework is done, of course. The display boasts a sharp 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and pen support for the included stylus. Inside, the system features an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
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Josh Goldman/CNET
This Acer two-in-one Chromebook is currently $50 off at Best Buy to bring its price down to $477. This Acer Chromebook features a 13.5-inch touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, which offers more room vertically than wider 16:10 displays that are better for watching movies but require more scrolling when browsing the web. This Acer Chromebook’s display also has a fine 2,256×1,504-pixel resolution, a Gorilla Glass coating for added durability and can rotate 360 degrees into tablet mode. Inside, it features a Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Note that this computer has previously seen a price as low as $329. This is still a good deal for today, but if you don’t need a computer right now and can afford to wait, it may be worth holding out for a deeper discount to roll back around.
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Josh Goldman/CNET
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Josh Goldman/CNET
Chromebooks often force you to rely on Google’s cloud storage because they supply scant internal storage. This convertible 2-in-1 Chromebook from HP bucks that trend by providing a roomy 256GB solid-state drive. You also get a 10th-gen Core i5 CPU, which is among the more powerful processors you’ll find on a Chromebook. The display has a 16:10 aspect ratio that will make it look and feel larger than its 13.5 inches. You can save $300 on it right now at Best Buy.
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Josh Goldman/CNET
This Samsung two-in-one Chromebook features an all-metal chassis, which is a step up in both looks and durability from the usual plastic Chromebook fare. It has a 13.3-inch QLED touchscreen with 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution, a 10th-gen Core i3 CPU and 8GB of RAM. It also supplies a roomy 128GB of solid-state storage. It’s discounted by $50 or $100 on occasion at both Amazon and Best Buy, so this is one to keep an eye on and pounce when the price drops.
