What should be the budget for cheap laptops?

Whether you're buying cheap laptops for Christmas, or on a deal for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, a budget of £500 should take you a long way. We suggest you leverage your budget for top-quality refurbished cheap laptops as your money will go so much further - bagging you higher-spec cheap laptops which operate exactly as it should, but perhaps with some minor cosmetic damage. (If you're like us and prone to scratching your tech device the minute it's out of the box, refurbished cheap laptops really are the best Christmas present to yourself! ;)

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Five of our favourite cheap laptops

Lenovo IdeaPad 5

Top of the pops on the refurbished cheap laptops rankings, and our Christmas budget laptop list, this is a great little all-rounder with plenty of battery life, performance and a good-looking design. The exterior is smart, with a plastic and aluminium finish which looks higher-end than it is, and the robust build quality means you won't need to treat it with kid gloves. Around the edge, you'll find an HDMI output, two USB 3 ports, a USB-Connector which doubles up as power supply and DisplayPort, an SD card slog and a fingerprint reader for the power function. It also upholds Lenovo's reputation for excellent keyboards, and the trackpad is good too.

Top of the budget laptop searches on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this is a great choice for day-to-day computing, and the rapid AMD chip and integrated graphics core is perfectly suited to casual gaming. You'll get about 8 hours of life for regular work and 10 hours for video play.

Key stats:

• 1.4 kg weight and 19 mm thick

• 10 hour battery life (great for Black Friday browsing!)

• 14 inch screen with 1080p resolution

• 8GB RAM and 128 GB SSD storage

• Windows 10 home OS and Wi-Fi 6 for future-proofing

Acer Chromebook 314

Add this to your Christmas list because as cheap laptops go, we think this is the best Chromebook on a budget. It weighs just 1.7g and is 20mm thick with a 3-hour battery life. Again, the screen is 14-inch 1080p, with 4GB of RAM and up to 64BG SSD storage. This is the updated version of the popular Acer CB3-431, and with Chrome OS is ideal for web-browsing or for working within the Google suite. The exterior is a good-looking aluminium, the keyboard is quiet and the touchpad works with perfect accuracy. You'll find USB Type-C and USB 3 paired ports. The full HD touchscreen offers plenty of contrast and clarity and you can choose up to 64GB SSD.

Again, as refurbished cheap laptops go in the Cyber Monday and Black Friday tech hunt race, this is a great model for everyday browsing and working, with up to 13 hours of video play or 12 hours of work possible per charge. The speakers and dual-band wireless are nice features too, although this laptop doesn't have Wi-Fi 6.

Acer Aspire 3

This is a highly affordable Windows laptop with a larger 15.6 screen and current-generation hardware. As used laptops go, this really won't put much of a dent in your pocket whilst still being extremely usable. It weighs 1.9kg and is 24 mm thick but note that the battery life is just 8 hours - fine for a day of study or work but pack your charger. There's 8GB of ram, 4GB of memory and up to 1YB HDD. Operating on Windows 10 Home its CPU is 10th Gen Intel Core i3/i5; one of the latest processors from Intel.

This spec won't break the laptop speed record but it does handle responsively when web browsing. It's also great for Office applications, Zoom meetings and Skype chats, which is exactly what it was made for. The full HD screen is good, the keyboard is crisp and snappy and the trackpad stands up to even the busiest touch-typing. Just treat yourself to a good sleeve when you're taking this model on the go as the lid is a little on the weak side. Looking for more power? Buy the version with the Core i5 CPU which costs only a little more. In summary, this little Christmas gift for yourself is a good all-rounder and perfect for slimmer budgets (or those who are saving their spends for Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping binges!)

Two other favourites:

Still looking for refurbished cheap laptops for Christmas ideas or bargain hunting for those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? Check out cheap laptops such as the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i with its 360 rotating hinge screen and the Acer Swift 3 which is incredibly slim, light and ideal for travelling.

Get your cheap laptops for Christmas at Back Market!

Yes we know you love Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, and that you want your Christmas gifts all silver and tech-shaped! But you don't have to wait for Christmas, Black Friday or Cyber Monday if you choose to buy refurbished cheap laptops from Back Market! Browse our huge range of refurbished cheap laptops, choose your preferred appearance and save up to 30-70% on fully functional refurbished cheap laptops with a full satisfaction guarantee and minimum of 1 year warranty! We sell thousands of refurbished cheap laptops all year round, so our customers don't have to wait for Cyber Monday, Black Friday or Christmas to pick up their perfect cheap laptops! And if you're wondering by the way, Cyber Monday follows Black Friday on 30th November - but Back Market sells the best refurbished cheap laptops all year round, 24/7!