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If you’ve found yourself in the need of a cheap laptop for doing a bit of extra work from home, then we think a discounted Chromebook deal could be just right for you.
This is especially true if you’re looking to replace an older laptop, you only need something simple for work tasks, browsing the net, watching movies and so on. Another plus side is getting away from all those Windows updates that nowadays cause more problems than they fix.
Chromebooks don’t run on Windows, running instead on a similar operating system to Android phones, but reworked for a laptop experience. With loads of free apps available in the Google suite (Google Docs, Googles sheets etc), there’s really no need to spend extra on yet another Windows laptop and overpriced Microsoft Office license.
Because they offer a leaner experience, you’ll find you don’t need an awful lot of RAM, fast processors or expansive storage space to cover the basics and have a few tabs or apps running at once. Don’t get us wrong, budgets ones aren’t for gaming, for that we’d advise you check out our roundup of the best cheap gaming laptop deals (opens in new tab), or for the finest options, maybe our best gaming laptop (opens in new tab) guide.
One of the biggest selling points for Chromebooks though is how damn cheap some of them are. And when it comes to going cheap on a laptop, we often find that cheaper Chromebooks perform a lot better than dirt-cheap Windows laptops as Microsoft’s bloated operating system is too demanding for low-specced machines.
So when we spotted a Chromebook running for just $69.99 (opens in new tab) at Walmart today (a refurbished Dell model), we just had to tell you about it. But in all honesty, that one might be more of a temporary solution, or for those of you who won’t need it often. Instead, we’d stump up the cash for the larger unused Asus Chromebook which has had $100 knocked off today bringing the price down to a frankly irresistible $179 (opens in new tab). Let’s dive into the specs on each below.
Today’s best Chromebook deals
(opens in new tab)Dell 11.6-inch Chromebook (refurbished) | $69.99 at Walmart (opens in new tab)
Ok, it’s not the prettiest Chromebook at the ball, but Dell makes reliable hardware, especially for office laptops. It’s a refurb though, so it’s been used before, but also reset and cleaned up by professionals. 4GB of RAM is plenty for light tasks and many more expensive models only come with 2GB. 16GB of storage isn’t ideal though and some may find the 11.6-inch display a tad small and the same for the cramped keyboard. But if you’d look at our next highlighted deal…
View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
Asus 14-inch Chromebook C423NA | $179 at Walmart (opens in new tab)
This is more like it, a much more robust Chromebook experience from every angle and $100 off today. 14-inch models are, for us, the perfect size for a portable workstation. The HD display with thin bezels is easy on the eye and the wider keyboard is much nicer to type on than smaller models. You get 64GB of storage, which is loads for a Chromebook too. 4GB of RAM and a Dual-Core processor are a nice pairing for your standard work/browsing/streaming tasks too.
And yes, low specced Chromebooks like this are ideal for checking out the new Google Stadia (opens in new tab) game streaming service.
Want to avoid any sort of compromise for the optimal gaming experience? Then you’ll be wanting to check out our contenders duking it out for the title of best gaming PC (opens in new tab) in our buyer’s guide.
