Strong performance on a budget: The best laptops under £500 in 2024

Easily one of the best laptops of the year, the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 (E1504FA) is loaded with great hardware to maximise your mid-range budget. Out of the box, the Vivobook Go 15's ultra-smooth 16GB of DDR5 RAM are phenomenal, offering a speedy and smooth response time for those with a vast amount of browser tabs open at once.

Paired with a fairly solid AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, and plenty of SSD storage, the Vivobook Go 15's performance is some of the best at its price range, leaving those who want a powerful work laptop totally satisfied.

The display of the Vivobook Go 15, whilst having a solid resolution, is fairly limited in terms of overall brightness. Its colour gamut also isn't phenomenal, leaving the screen to look slightly dull in use.

For most looking for a reliable working laptop, however, the colour is hardly a concern: simply plug in your dedicated monitor and you can still experience glorious colour with the added power of this mighty laptop. The ASUS Vivobook 15 Go is a terrific choice for anyone in need of a laptop with great storage, strong processing capabilities, and more.

Lenovo's IdeaPad 1 laptop excels in the ultra-low budget range, given that it's a full-HD laptop with 128GB of SSD power. Simple, but effective for long-term studying, the IdeaPad 1 brings plenty to the plate with solid build quality, an excellent full-HD screen, and solid performance at its price.

The sheer lightweight design of the IdeaPad 1 laptop is remarkable and is perfect for lugging to and from lecture halls and office blocks alike, and its smaller 15-inch size allows for comfortable portability too.

Of course, at its price, there are sacrifices, and the weak 4GB of RAM and low CPU performance aren't great. But if you don't plan on taking on high-end programs anytime soon, this might just be the perfect laptop under £400 for you.

A fantastic budget laptop from renowned UK-based laptop manufacturer, MESH, the Vivobook 15 X1500EA (X1500EA) features a fantastic array of hardware that is otherwise unseen in cheaper laptop models. Though its 1TB of storage and Intel CPU are impressive, its 20GB of RAM set it apart as a mindblowing laptop at its price, outcompeting countless laptops at much higher prices.

An upgraded model of the Vivobook 15 X1500EA, which appears in countless under £500 roundups, this upgraded version has the hidden benefit of having the brilliant build quality of ASUS laptops and the high-powered hardware of MESH. The overall look, feel and performance of the Vivobook 15 X1500EA is exceptional.

Though its storage is strong, the Mesh/ASUS Vivobook 15 X1500EA could certainly do with a stronger CPU to bring performance to the next level. As it stands, however, the CPU undeniably causes some bottlenecking which drags its high RAM down considerably.

And yet, for the money, this laptop is incredibly good value, making it hard to fault in general.

The ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605YA) polishes its overall spec to perfection. The overall build is very lightweight, so you won't be weighed down with it in a backpack. Plus, it's quite slim, so space shouldn't prove to be an issue either.

It's also got bonus points in convenience, thanks to the numerous ports along the sides - including USB-C. And now to the sound - thanks to ASUS SonicMaster hardware and software this can really packs a sonic punch with a well-tuned sound profile all-round.

Battery life on the ASUS Vivobook 16 is, admittedly, fairly average on this model - you'll soon need access to a charger if you're away from a port after a day's work, leaving you slightly stranded if you're planning on using it during a long commute.

Lastly, that generous 16-inch screen will tilt up to 180 degrees, so this is going to be a comfortable laptop to use for watching movies or YouTube while you're out and about.

Portable, powerful, and beautifully designed, the MSI Modern 14 (C12M-639UK) laptop is perfect for studying or office work thanks to its lightweight design and slick aesthetics. At 14 inches, this small but mighty full-HD laptop is a bargain at less than £500 and has enough processing power to handle all basic tasks with ease.

We particularly love the MSI Modern 14's 12th generation i5 CPU, which is a stellar mid-range option that's hard to find in pricier laptops, but that's not all there is to love. Its 512GB of SSD storage is enough for countless hours of coursework, and its RAM, while not exceptional, is certainly reliable.

As for any GPU capabilities, the standard Iris Xe integrated graphics are lacklustre and aren't going to offer much in ways of performance, but for most - a graphics card isn't a priority.

For essential computing tasks, the MSI Modern 14 is a terrific laptop, having everything you'll need in a mid-budget laptop to tackle your day-to-day browsing without hindrance.

Chromebook laptop meets tablet with the IdeaPad Duet from Lenovo. It has a traditional laptop configuration for when you need it - however, when you want to go mobile, you can use the screen from the keyboard and use it as a tablet via the touchscreen. There’s a pen included for note-taking on this touchscreen, too. Neat, right?

Regarding performance, the CPU and 8GB RAM work in cahoots with the 128GB eMMC memory to give a snappy and quick application loading and file recall. So, whether you are using it for day-to-day life admin, study or taking notes in a meeting, the IdeaPad will be right there with you.

As a hybrid between a laptop and a tablet, the Duet 3 is light and comes in under 1kg - this is perfect for throwing in your bag for commuting or travel. It’ll also tuck nicely into a drawer and keep your desk clear until called upon.

Additional merit to the Duet 3 is its 12-hour battery, bright 2K screen and smooth, efficiently operated Chrome operating system.

A great choice for office workers and students the Dell Inspiron 3520 Laptop has a balanced set of features and specifications. Storage-wise, the Inspiron 15's 512GB of SSD storage is generous enough, but it's that 120Hz screen that brings a smooth and vivid look to the whole package - ideal for a bit of entertainment when you're not working.

The Intel i5 processor is a great mid-range CPU too, making this a great Dell at the right price. When paired with its bright, powerful screen: the Dell Inspiron 15 truly delivers bold performance that is unparalleled on the laptop market.

If we were to nitpick, we'd certainly like more battery life from this powerful mid-range laptop: at 7.5 hours, it's good for a day's work but might be hopeless if you plan on taking a long commute, especially since its battery life will degrade over time.

That being said, the Dell Inspiron 15's strong performance, great build quality and strong 120Hz screen make it a contender for one of the best laptops on the market.

HP remains the brand of choice for its sturdy, reliable computers and other tech. This Laptop PC 15s-fq5021sa is lightweight with the trademark HP build quality. It's slim and packs a 15.6-inch screen, 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM - all in all, that's a really well-rounded spec. The star here is the Intel Core i5 processor which makes this laptop a great choice for those heavily multitasking.

We particularly like the inclusion of an anti-glare screen and super thin bezel, as well as the full-size numeric keypad, which is ideal for programmers and gamers alike. The overall build quality and design of the HP 15s-fq5021sa is phenomenal for its price, which is especially low in a limited-time deal.

For more demanding computing tasks, however, 8GB of RAM, while reliable, isn't going to offer the best performance. Plus, due to its design, it's no easy feat to increase the amount of RAM. However, 8GB of RAM is what most would consider to be the standard of modern budget laptops, so if you're using it for primarily work, it's plenty

Fantastic hardware, a great design and close to unbeatable value, the HP 15s-fq5021sa is a terrific choice for anyone on the market for a reliable laptop.

Certainly one of the most competitive brands in terms of hardware and build quality, Lenovo laptops consistently push the boat out for what is possible on a budget laptop, and the IdeaPad 3 is yet another notch on their belt.

A beautifully designed, well-balanced laptop, the IdeaPad 3 isn't short on great hardware: from its Intel Core i7 CPU, to its whopping 512GB of SSD storage, performance on the IdeaPad 3 is nothing short of exceptional for its price.

Yes, its 8GB of RAM is fairly standard, but when paired with one of the best CPUs at this price range, its no wonder that performance on the IdeaPad 3 is solid.

Our major gripe with this laptop has to be its battery life, which is particularly low compared to our other selections. In exchange for more powerful hardware, it seems that the IdeaPad 3 has sacrificed its endurance somewhat, leaving those on the go high-and-dry if a socket isn't in sight.

That being said, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a tough laptop to beat at its price, with hardware that is strong at its price range, an eye-catching design and build quality that feels like it'll last a good while.