Looking for laptops that are under budget can be extremely tiresome since plenty of manufacturers make their low tier laptops with cheap quality materials or just left out most of the features so that they can make the laptop affordable and provide a better price range for consumers who are under a budget.

Although you might find plenty of such laptops that are well below the price tag of $500 they are not worth it and finding such laptops that are versatile and suits your needs is surely a tricky business since these laptops tend to have lower performance hardware and don’t have much battery life, to begin with.

However, To cut you some slack, we have found the best lightweight laptop under $500 price tag which is totally worth the investment and you won’t regret purchasing them.

Contents

• 1 Best Lightweight Laptop Under 500 Comparison Table 2022
• 2 Best Lightweight Laptop Under 500
  • 2.1 1: Lenovo Chromebook Duet 2-in-1
    • 2.1.1 Display
    • 2.1.2 Performance
    • 2.1.3 Keyboard
    • 2.1.4 Ports and speaker
    • 2.1.5 Battery
  • 2.2 2: HP Stream
    • 2.2.1 Display
    • 2.2.2 Performance
    • 2.2.3 Design of build
    • 2.2.4 Keyboard
    • 2.2.5 Ports
    • 2.2.6 Battery
  • 2.3 3: Samsung Chromebook 3
    • 2.3.1 Display
    • 2.3.2 Performance
    • 2.3.3 Keyboard
    • 2.3.4 Ports
    • 2.3.5 Battery
  • 2.4 4: HP Chromebook X360
    • 2.4.1 Display
    • 2.4.2 Performance
    • 2.4.3 Keyboard
    • 2.4.4 Ports
    • 2.4.5 Battery
  • 2.5 5: Samsung Chromebook 4
    • 2.5.1 Display
    • 2.5.2 Performance
    • 2.5.3 Keyboard
    • 2.5.4 Ports
    • 2.5.5 Battery
  • 2.6 6: ASUS VivoBook Flip 2-in-1
    • 2.6.1 Display
    • 2.6.2 Performance
    • 2.6.3 Keyboard
    • 2.6.4 Ports
    • 2.6.5 Battery
  • 2.7 7: HP Chromebook
    • 2.7.1 Display
    • 2.7.2 Performance
    • 2.7.3 Keyboard
    • 2.7.4 Ports
    • 2.7.5 Battery
  • 2.8 8: HP Business Laptop 14″
    • 2.8.1 Display
    • 2.8.2 Performance
    • 2.8.3 Keyboard
    • 2.8.4 Ports
    • 2.8.5 Battery
  • 2.9 9: Acer Aspire 5
    • 2.9.1 Display
    • 2.9.2 Performance
    • 2.9.3 Keyboard
    • 2.9.4 Ports
    • 2.9.5 Battery
  • 2.10 10: Lenovo IdeaPad 3
    • 2.10.1 Display
    • 2.10.2 Performance
    • 2.10.3 Keyboard
    • 2.10.4 Ports
    • 2.10.5 Battery
  • 2.11 11: Acer Chromebook Spin 311
    • 2.11.1 Display
    • 2.11.2 Performance
    • 2.11.3 Keyboard
    • 2.11.4 Ports
    • 2.11.5 Battery
  • 2.12 12: Acer Swift 1 14″
    • 2.12.1 Display
    • 2.12.2 Performance
    • 2.12.3 Keyboard
    • 2.12.4 Ports
    • 2.12.5 Battery
• 3 Conclusions

Best Lightweight Laptop Under 500 Comparison Table 2022

MODEL	RAM	PRICE
Lenovo Chromebook Duet	4 GB	Check Price
HP Stream	4 GB	Check Price
Samsung Chromebook 3	4 GB	Check Price
HP Chromebook x360	4 GB	Check Price
Samsung Chromebook 4	4 GB	Check Price
ASUS VivoBook Flip	4 GB	Check Price
HP Chromebook	4 GB	Check Price
HP Business Laptop 14″	4 GB	Check Price
Acer Aspire 5	4 GB	Check Price
Lenovo IdeaPad 3	8 GB	Check Price
Acer Chromebook Spin 311	4 GB	Check Price
Acer Swift 1 14″	4 GB	Check Price

Best Lightweight Laptop Under 500

1: Lenovo Chromebook Duet 2-in-1

Lenovo is a well-known company that has set its reputation in regards to quality builds and efficient performance products, and they are almost an ideal choice for someone looking to buy laptops with lower price tags. The Lenovo Duet is a 2 in 1 hybrid Chromebook that lies perfectly between a balance in regards to portability and perfect battery time.

Display

The Chromebook comes with an aesthetically pleasing display of 10 inches Full HD that has a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200. The IPS screen of the laptop provides gorgeous colours while watching videos and scrolling through pictures, and the vibrant palette of the colours looks pleasing, and the saturation is balanced.

If you don’t mind the half-inch Thick black bezels around the screen of the Chromebook, which to be honest are hard to ignore, then you should pick this option without thinking twice. Other than that the text on display looks sharp and crisp, so if you are a writer or an avid reader, then you wouldn’t have to worry about straining your eyes while staring at the screen.

Performance

The Chromebook is also powered by a decent processor chip MediaTek Helio P60T Processor (2.00 GHz, 8 Cores, 8 Threads) which ensures that the Chromebook remains lightweight and doesn’t draw much power as heavy hardware drains the battery juice faster. It also comes with a Graphics processor of ARM G72 MP3 800GHz which is not that strong but still considered a good power efficient Graphics card.

It comes with 4GB ram and 64 GB built-in storage space.

This efficient combination of hardware gives the Chromebook high portability which makes this Chromebook a decent choice under 500 dollars.

Keyboard

The keyboard of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is arguably the best keyboard we have seen on a budget laptop that has 2-1 function. However, it does lack the capability of being a full-sized layout of the keyboard which for some keyboard enthusiasts would be frustrating to get accustomed to. 

Apart from the keyboard, the touchpad sometimes feels laggy and using it sometimes feels like a massive struggle. And using a mouse can be a better choice.

Ports and speaker

Strangely enough, the Lenovo Duet only comes with a single USB port C and in order to use headphones, you will have to use the Port C adapter as there is no other way around which also means you will have to use the same port for both charging and using headphones.

The speakers aren’t that good either and you will struggle to listen to anything in noisy or outdoor places. This is due to the poor placement of the speakers of the Chromebook.

Battery

The battery life of the Lenovo Duet is kind of like a silver lining to the other downsides of the laptop, the battery time of the laptop outshines every other budget alternative in the market and you will get 10 to 12 hours while browsing, watching movies and doing an everyday task on this lightweight 2 in 1 laptop.

Pros

• Sharp display
• Good quality build
• Best battery time

Cons

• One USB port
• Touchpad is lacklustre

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2: HP Stream

Looking for a laptop that does the job while you are on a tight budget, then the HP Stream laptop is fit for your needs. The Hewlett-Packard or HP is the most renowned multinational American company that has made quality products for decades.

Display

The HP Stream comes with an 11.6 inch HD display screen with thick bezels all around the screen, the screen is a little bland and colours might feel dull when watching videos at a max resolution of 1366 x 768. The screen also has a maximum brightness capacity of 198 nits, so you might struggle in any outdoor situation.

Performance

The lightweight budget laptop is powered by a really decent Chip Intel Celeron N4000 processor with a combination of Intel  UHD 600 Graphics processor. The laptop has a memory ram of 4GB with built-in non-expandable storage of 32 GB.

Design of build

The glossy finish of the laptop gives it a unique look and while other manufacturers make their low tier laptops with cheap quality material, HP makes sure their products look best in the hands of the consumer. The logo behind the Lid is a combination of half glossy and half matte finish design giving it a gorgeous warm texture from a distance.

Keyboard

The keyboard of the HP stream feels very responsive and the tactile keys are well spaced all across the board, however, there is a huge unnecessary bezel space making the touchpad very compact and a struggle to use.

Ports

The best part about an HP laptop is that it has plenty of accessible ports, such as a USB Type C, USB 2.0 headphone jack and a security lock slot on the left side of the laptop and a micro slot memory card slot, USB 3.1 port and a port for HDMI cable on the right side.

For the price tag, these features make the laptop totally worth the money since plenty of budget laptops have little to no ports to work with them.

Battery

The HP stream has a decent battery time of 9 hours all while streaming videos, surfing the internet and doing other tasks having the wifi turned on. This is a solid battery time and for the builtin hardware that comes with it, it does quite a good job.

Pros

• Good keyboard design
• Great price tag
• Solid battery time
• Plenty of ports

Cons

• Poor fuzzy display
• Bezels are too thick

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3: Samsung Chromebook 3

A very decent choice for both School and office work, the Samsung Chromebook excels at places where other alternatives don’t. It comes with great hardware specifications that makes it a good choice for everyday use.

Display

One of the best displays for a budget laptop, the amazing 11.6 inches screen gives the brightest display possible with 256 nits at a 1366 x 768 resolution, which makes it the brightest screen we have seen on any budget laptop. The colours look really gorgeous and crips and there is no fading of the screen when looking at side angles.

Performance

The Samsung Chromebook comes with a robust Processor of Intel Celeron Processor N3060 that has a frequency of 1.6 GHz up to 2.48Ghz and has a built-in Intel HD 400 GPU. It also has a 4GB RAM with a built-in eMMC storage of 16GB for faster boot times.

Keyboard

The Samsung Chromebook comes with an extra perk up its sleeve of a spill-resistant keyboard, which is really useful if you are working at home casually and don’t want to spill liquid on your precious keyboard. The keyboard is also very comfortable to type on, given how balanced the size of the laptop is. 

Ports

It has an Ac adapter, a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port and a microSD card port and a battery indicator on the left side of the laptop. On the right side, you will see a USB 3.0 port and audio and microphone ports. These ports make the laptop a great utility device for everyday use.

Battery

You can easily work on this laptop and don’t have to worry about running out of battery juice anytime soon, the Samsung Chromebook 3 has a battery capacity to keep you busy for 10  hours which is a solid battery time. This huge battery time gives you an attribute of portability without having to worry about charging your laptop.

Pros

• Superb screen
• Good hardware
• Budget price
• Spill-resistant keyboard

Cons

• Temperature issues
• Less Hard Drive space

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4: HP Chromebook X360

HP Chromebook x360 is a stylish convertible tablet and laptop that has a unique design and stylish look that makes it a great option for both work and casual home use. The laptop has great value in regards to its price tag if you look at its aesthetics and features.

Display

The Chromebook has a 360 rotatable screen due to the hinge that allows it to fold back all the way through. The 14-inch screen has a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 touchscreen with the very little bezel. The touchscreen is quite responsive and the palette of colours from the screen is quite an eye pleasing. However, the display is quite dim at 214 nits brightness but otherwise, it did quite a good job while streaming videos indoors.

Performance

The Chromebook is powered by an Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core processor that has a base frequency of 1.1Ghz and a clock speed of 2.6Ghz. With a  4 GB DDR4 SDRAM of 2400Mhz Frequency.and 32Gb built-in eMMC storage.

Keyboard

The Chromebook has one of the best-looking keyboards with a stylish black look and the keys are very comfortable to type on and feels responsive even for a fast typer. The spacing feels very balanced and accurate and the bounce of the keys has tactile click and doesn’t feel clunky at all.

Ports

The Chromebook is balanced in regards to having an assortment of ports, the left side of the Chromebook you will notice a USB Type-C charging port, a  headphone/mic combo jack and a memory card slot while on the right side of the laptop you will see another USB type C charging port, Single USB 3.0 port and a volume control scroller.

Battery

Although the laptop has all the goodies and features, it still has one flaw of short battery time, the HP Chromebook x360 has a battery runtime of only 7 hours, but other than that the hardware that comes with it seals the deal with such a great price tag.

Pros

• Touchscreen display
• Plenty of ports
• Elegant keyboard design

Cons

• Shorter battery runtime

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5: Samsung Chromebook 4

Samsung Chromebook 4 is known for elegance and slick design, the silver finish on the lid makes it really eye-catching. The laptop is very lightweight and has a quality build and super-fast performance.

Display

The 11.6-inch display of the Chromebook is dull and the colour isn’t that impressive,  also it doesn’t even a touchscreen feature which is a massive flaw for a Chromebook.The brightness of the display also felt very dull at 210 nits at a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768 Pixels

Performance

However, the hardware that comes in the Chromebook is very decent which makes this product worth the investment, the Intel Celeron 3000N combined with 4GB Ram made this laptop an ideal choice for everyday use and multitasking.it also has a built-in 32GB  eMMC storage capacity.

Keyboard

The clicking of the keys are decent, however, the spacing feels very shallow. The touchpad is of average quality and sometimes feels laggy.

Ports

The Chromebook has a USB type C port, headphone jack and memory card reader present on the left side while on the right there is a USB 3.0 port and a security lock. This is a decent assortment of ports for a budget laptop.

Battery

The Battery life on this device is astounding and you can safely work on it all day long without having to worry about running out of battery power. The Samsung Chromebook 4 has an 11 hours battery runtime which is impressive.

Pros

• Superb battery life
• Good performance
• Quality finish and design

Cons

• Shallow keyboard
• Very poor display

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6: ASUS VivoBook Flip 2-in-1

The Asus VivoBook flip is 2 in 1 laptop that is super lightweight and has snappy processing speed. It has a high portability aspect and you can carry it everywhere without a hassle.

Display

It has a glossy display that gives off superb image quality, the colours are also very eye-pleasing and don’t strain the eye. The 11.6 inch HD touchscreen has a hinge which makes sure the screen rotates at a 360 angle folding it all the way back of the laptop, so you can use it as a tablet.

Performance

The Asus VivoBook is powered by Intel Celeron N3350 that has a clock speed of 2.4Ghz, combined with integrated Intel HD 500 Graphics processor. It also has 4GB DDR3 Ram and a builtin 64GB eMMc Storage.

Keyboard

The ergonomic keyboard feels very accurate and the bounce of the buttons are well spaced and responsive. It also has a webcam that lies at the top of the keyboard. The keyboard has a decent travel time making it ideal for fast typers.

Ports

The laptop is also very balanced with ports having all the necessary features you would use in your daily use such as a single HDMI port, a Headphone/Mic jack port on the right side of the laptop and 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0 and a SD card slot on the left side of the laptop.

Battery

When it comes to battery life, you can expect a solid battery runtime of 8 hours at maximum, making sure you use the 2 in 1 convertible laptop without having to worry about charging the laptop.

Pros

• Decent display
• Has touchscreen
• Decent keyboard

Cons

• Temperature issues

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7: HP Chromebook

The HP Chromebook is a laptop that has a low price with a decent battery time that enables you to use it without ever having to run out of power so you can travel carefree. It also has a solid keyboard and a unique matte finish.

Display

With every budget laptop, there are some trade-offs, and with the HP Chromebook it is no different, however, you can’t expect much with such a low price tag. The Display quality of the 11.6 screens is very dull and the colours look worse at a decent. The 1366 x 798 has an anti-glare technology with dim lightning of only 192 nits.

Performance

The Chromebook is powered by Intel Celeron processor N3350 that is paired with Intel HD 500 graphics processor and a 4GB DDR2 ram, furthermore, it comes with 32GB eMMC built-in storage.

Keyboard

The keyboard is the selling point of this lightweight laptop, the keys don’t feel shallow and typing on it is like a breeze. It is no doubt that HP makes the most comfortable keyboard for their devices

Ports

The Chromebook is thin and has few ports such as microphone/audio combo jack, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 USB 3.0 port and an HDMI jack on the left side and on the opposite side, you would notice a memory card slot and a power jack port.

Battery

In regards to the battery, it outshines its rivals. The device excels in this category with an amazing runtime of 11 hours. This makes this laptop highly portable.

Pros

• Great battery time
• Comfortable keyboard

Cons

• Poor display quality
• Few ports

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8: HP Business Laptop 14″

The HP 14” is a robust machine powered by AMD technology that does the job in a super-fast manner without compromising on battery life. The laptop can multitask effortlessly without experiencing lag in the processing speed.

Display

The laptop has a 14” display that has a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768 with backlighting of WLed which makes the colour pop out pretty good, however, there is no touchscreen option in the display. 

Performance

The laptop is powered by a decent AMD Athlon Silver 3050U with a base clock speed of 2.3 GHz which has a maximum boost speed up to 3.2 GHz and  1 MB L2 cache, 2 cores processor. It has 4GB DDR4 Ram and a 128GB SSD storage capacity.

Keyboard

Oddly enough, the keyboard is not the greatest and we feel like it should be made better. The keys feel very clunky and the accuracy is a bit off.

Ports

There is one HDMI jack, a headphone/microphone port at the left side of the laptop and on the right side 1 x USB 3.0 Type C Ports, 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A Ports are present.

Battery

The laptop has relatively decent Battery life, with a solid 9 hours of runtime to keep you busy in your task throughout the day without having to worry about charging the device

Pros

• Decent hardware
• Solid battery time

Cons

• Shallow keyboard

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9: Acer Aspire 5

The Acer Aspire 5 is a stylish laptop that has attributes of powerful hardware and longer battery life at an affordable price.

Display

The device has a beautiful 15.6 inches HD display that has a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 IPS LED Widescreen. The Bezels are very thin and the visuals while watching videos are gorgeous and you wouldn’t notice fading of colours at a 45-degree angle. The BluelightShield technology ensures that you don’t strain your eye by working on it for a longer period of time.

Performance

The laptop is powered by AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Dual-Core which has a clock speed Up to 3.5GHz. It comes with a 4GB DDR4 Memory and a 128GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage space

Keyboard

With such a lower price tag, the keyboard is exceptionally good, it even has backlighting so you work in poorly lit places without a hassle.

Ports

The laptop is very thin and lightweight, it has a few assortments of ports such as 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports on the left side and 1 HDMI port on the right side of the laptop.

Battery

The hardware on the laptop ensures maximum efficiency and prevents drawing power when it’s idle, you can get up to 9 hours of solid runtime which is impressive.

Pros

• Great display
• Good hardware

Cons

• Fewer ports

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10: Lenovo IdeaPad 3

If you want a laptop that has quality build chassis and good display then the Lenovo Ideapad 3 is the optimal choice for you.

Display

The display is brightly lit with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The 15.6-inch screen displays beautiful imagery and colour palette and the text looks crisp and sharp. This is by the far the best display we have seen on a budget laptop.

Performance

The Lenovo Ideapad 3 is powered by a robust Intel processor of i3-1005G1 Dual Core with 4M Cache that has a clock speed of 3.40 GHz and comes with a speedy 8GB DDR4 2666 MHz and has a storage space of 256GB NVMe SSD Storage

Keyboard

The keyboard is easy to use and feels really comfortable and the feedback of the keys are highly accurate.

Ports

There is only 2 ports present on the left side of the laptop, A single USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0. Unfortunately, there is no USB type C port present.

Battery

The Lenovo has a very poor battery runtime of barely 6 hours and this might be the major flaw of such good value laptop.

Pros

• Sharp screen
• Great hardware

Cons

• No type C port
• Poor battery runtime

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11: Acer Chromebook Spin 311

Versatility and playfulness is the major selling point of the Acer Chromebook Spin 311. This convertible laptop has a unique style which sets it apart from other alternative options in the market.

Display

It has an 11.6 inches gorilla glass display with touchscreen compatibility at a 1366 x 768 maximum resolution and looks clear crisp at a distance however the quality of the image while looking at an odd angle. The brightness of the screen feels slightly dim too.

Performance

The Acer is powered by an Intel Celeron N4020 processor and has 4GB DDR4 Ram and has SSD storage of 32GB eMMC. This is quite a power-efficient hardware and ensures minimum power draw.

Keyboard

Typing on the keyboard sometimes feels a little heavier and the keys are a little bulky for the fingers, however, they are quite satisfying to use and work around the spacing is very well balanced.

Ports

There is only two USB-A on the left side of the laptop and 2 USB-C, a memory card slot on the right side of the laptop.

Battery

It has an average battery runtime of 10 hours which isn’t that impressive and we feel like the battery runtime should be longer since the laptop has a dim display.

Pros

• Good comfy Keyboard
• Good display

Cons

• Few ports

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12: Acer Swift 1 14″

An ideal choice for someone on a tight budget, with the sleek design and metal body and such good price tag you wouldn’t go wrong with the Acer Swift.

Display

It might have a 1080 display but sometimes from the distance, it feels bland and the colours aren’t than eye-pleasing. The glossy screen tries its best to deliver the HD experience but we felt like it’s not enough to surpass the satisfactory levels.

Performance

The Acer Swift is powered by an Intel Celeron N5000 CPU with a combination of intel HD 600 graphics processor. It has  4GB of RAM and has built-in 64GB SSD storage.

Keyboard

The keys are accurate and respond with no input lag but typing on it is not comfortable for a longer period of time. The Flat keyboard style might be appealing to some avid typers.

Ports

The laptop has a wide range of ports scattered on both sides of it, on the left side you would see  2 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C port, single HDMI jack and on the right side there is a mic/headphone combo and a memory card slot.

Battery

With the 10 hours of runtime, surfing on the web and watching videos is no struggle. You can multitask on the laptop without struggling with the battery juice running out.

Pros

• Stylish Aluminium build
• Superb battery runtime
• Lightweight

Cons

• Poor display

 Buy on Amazon

Conclusions

This is the list of lightweight laptops that come under the price tag of 500 dollars on amazon, with our detailed review of each product you wouldn’t go wrong. We have made sure our expert opinion has been straightforward and beneficial for you.

Let us know in the comment what you think about our list.