Best laptop deals 2021: Top picks from budget to extreme

Whether you’re buying a new laptop for school or trying to find a high-end gaming laptop, the holidays can be the best time of the year to find laptop deals. This year, more so than years before, you should act fast. The ongoing supply chain shortages mean that there may be fewer PCs as the holiday season wears on, and they might take longer to ship the further we get into December. We’ve provided a handy list of laptop-specific shopping tips at the end of this post, and immediately below are the deals themselves.

Mind you, not all advertised laptop deals are actually deals, so we’ve only included the ones we consider actual bargains—and we’ve explained why. Right now, there’s a bunch to choose from. We’ll add new laptop deals as we see them as well as note which deals have sold out. Right now, we’re seeing strong discounts on gaming laptops, Microsoft Surface devices and Dell laptops. We’re keeping tabs on holiday laptop deals as they happen! If you’re looking for Chromebooks we’ve got those deals in here too!

Holiday laptop deals

Dell XPS 13

From: Dell.com

Was: $1,010

Now: $899 ($110 off)

Dell’s XPS laptops consistently receive some of the highest review scores on PCWorld, including the Editors’ Choice Award we awarded the 2020 XPS 13 in our review last year. Dell has put the more modern 11th-gen XPS on sale, with 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD and a 13.3-inch 1080p screen. If you want a small, powerful, laptop, we’d absolutely recommend this deal.

See the Dell XPS 13 on Dell.com

Acer Aspire 5

Acer

From: Newegg.com

Was: $649.99

Now: $579.99 ($70 off)

This laptop offers a solid amount of value for the price. It includes a quad-core Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i5-1135G7 with integrated Iris Xe graphics, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The display is 15.6 inches at 1080p. Those are some similar specs to other on-sale laptops, at a competitive price. With some solid built-in graphics, the Aspire 5 should do okay at running some more advanced games than your average onboard graphics. Overall, however, this laptop is all about productivity and everyday uses more than gaming. Still for this price it’s a very good. buy.

See the Acer Aspire 5 at Newegg

Lenovo IdeaPad 5

Lenovo

From: B&H Photo and Video

Was: $599

Now: $519 ($80 off)

A lot of the holiday deal laptops have “Tiger Lake” 11th-generation Intel CPUs, but this deal goes back one generation to “Ice Lake.” Those 10th-gen chips still offer plenty of punch however, and are worth considering when you’re getting a laptop like this at this price. This IdeaPad 5 offers a quad-core, eight thread Core i5-1035G1 with a boost to 3.6GHz. It has 8GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080p TN display. You can get a lot of things done with a laptop like this at a price just above $500. While the CPU is slightly aged, the Wi-Fi is not, as this comes with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) as well as Bluetooth 5.1. For ports it has one Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort support, and two standard USB 3.2 Gen 1. It also has an SD card reader, and HDMI 1.4b out. It’s a nice-looking laptop with solid features at an excellent price.

See the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 at B&H

Lenovo Chromebook 3

Lenovo

From: Best Buy

Was: $319

Now: $169 ($150 off)

This Chromebook is surprising and would be a great choice for students or anyone with some very basic uses. It has a 14-inch 1080p touchscreen, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of onboard storage. The downside is it’s rocking a MediaTek 8183 processor, which is purpose built for Chrome OS. It’s an entry-level processor, however, and may be limiting for someone who wants to have tons of Chrome tabs and Linux apps running at the same time. Still, for $169 this should be an excellent, mostly hassle-free computing experience for anyone who needs it.

See the Lenovo Chromebook 3 at Best Buy

Asus VivoBook 15

Asus

From: Staples

Was: $450

Now: $279.99 ($170 off)

This affordable laptop is our top pick for the best budget laptop you can buy during the 2021 holidays. It’s loaded with Intel’s 10th-gen Core i3 processor, a 15.6-inch 1080p display, and a 128GB SSD. Sure, these aren’t Dell XPS-level specs, but hey, it’s only $280! It also includes nice add-ons that you wouldn’t typically see at this price level: A backlit keyboard, an SD card reader, and weigh-in of less than 4 lbs. It’s a shame it’s limited to only 4GB of memory, but wow—it’s a lot of Windows laptop for a price that’s firmly in the Chromebook territory.

See the Asus VivoBook 15 at Staples.

Acer Chromebook 315

Acer

From: Walmart

Was: $289

Now: $216.94 ($72.06 off)

If you’d like something a little beefier than the Lenovo Chromebook at Best Buy, take a look at this deal at Walmart. The Acer 315 is a 15.6-inch laptop with a 1080p touch display. Again, this is not a convertible laptop so no bending back the keyboard for a tablet-like experience. The processor is the Intel Celeron N4020, which is pretty standard for Chromebooks. It has 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0. For a Chromebook there’s really nothing here to look down on and with the price around $200 this deal is simply outsanding.

See the Acer Chromebook 315 at Walmart

Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 14-inch

Dell

From: Best Buy

Was: $799.99

Now: $549.99 ($250 off)

The Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 is a good option for most people, as it’s pretty well-rounded. The AMD Ryzen 5 5000 Series is considered a medium tier processor that’s zippy enough to handle most tasks. It’s also packing 8GB of memory and integrated Radeon graphics in its processor. In other words, it’s capable of multitasking and some light gaming.

See the Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 13-inch on Best Buy

Asus VivoBook Flip 14-inch

Asus

From: Walmart

Was: $599

Now: $529 ($70 off)

This convertible laptop is available at a good price. It features a Ryzen 5 5500U processor, which is excellent at productivity tasks. It has 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch 1080p touch display. It’s also rocking a backlit keyboard and for ports it has a standard USB 3.2 Gen 2, as well as a Type-C port of the same generation. There’s another standard USB 2.0 port, a microSD card reader, and HDMI out. It’s Windows 11 ready and is just an excellent choice for around $500. It’s also nice and light at just 3.31 pounds.

See the 14-inch Asus VivoBook Flip at Walmart

Razer Blade 15

From: Best Buy

Was: $2,999.99

Now: $1,799.99 ($1,200 off)

Razer gaming laptops like the Razer Blade 14 score very, very well in our tests, and we expect you’ll like this Razer Blade 15, too, paired with a massive price cut. Yesteryear’s premium gaming laptop is today’s quasi-budget gaming laptop: There’s a 10th-gen Core i7-10875H hiding behind the 300Hz 1080p screen, paired with an GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPU. Inside is a 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM.

Even better? If this configuration isn’t for you, you have options on similar models, including a Razer Blade 15 with a Core i7-10750H, RTX 2070, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD, for $1,399 ($900 off). The catch, if there is one, is the screen: a lovely 4K OLED that will run at just a standard 60Hz refresh rate.

See the Razer Blade 15 at Best Buy

Gigabyte G5 MD

From: Newegg

Was: $1,199.00

Now: $899 ($300 off after $100 rebate)

Gaming laptops are tough to find at a discount right now, and this one is a decidedly mixed bag of pros and cons. Inside is a Core i5-11400H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD behind a 144Hz 1080p screen. The RTX 3050 Ti is usually considered to be a bum deal compared to the RTX 3060…if you can find one? And, whoa—there’s a $100 rebate card you need to fill out? If you’re willing to jump through these hoops, though, the price and savings aren’t bad at all. This offer ends just before midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, November 30.

See the Gigabyte G5 MD at Newegg

Gigabyte Aero HDR 17.3-inch

Gigabyte AERO

From: Adorama

Was: $2,499

Now: $1,999 ($500 off)

If you’re looking for a premium powerhouse to play games on, the Gigabyte Aero HDR 17.3-inch is a great option, as it has some seriously powerful guts. Inside you’ll find an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card, an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of SSD storage.

See the Gigabyte Aero HDR 17.3-inch at Adorama

Dell Vostro 7510

Dell

From: Dell.com

Was: $2041.43 (list price)

Now: $899 (56% off)

This flashy business laptop comes with some nice specs, including an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. With those kinds of graphics you can definitely run games on this, but only at medium graphics at 1080p for the most part. You may find some games that can boost to high graphics, but that’s about it. Still, if you want a laptop to get work done and then do a some solid gaming on the side, this laptop is a fine choice, especially at a sub-$1,000 price. This Vostro has a Core i7-11800H, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The display is 15.6 inches with 1080p resolution, and it comes with a ThunderBolt 4 port that supports DisplayPort 1.4 out. The laptop also has two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, an SD card slot, and HDMI out. It’s a very nice laptop available at a solid price right now.

See the Dell Vostro 7510 at Dell.com

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 + Signature Type Cover + Surface Pen bundle

From: Target

Was: $1,128.99

Now: $849.99 ($279 off)

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 debuted in Feb. 2020, and our Surface Pro 7 review showed that it absolutely dominated the laptop market. Sure, we now have the Surface Pro 8 (with Thunderbolt), but this is the right SP7 configuration at a very good price.

See the Surface Pro 7 bundle at Target.com

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (Platinum)

Microsoft

From: Microsoft Store

Was: $899.99

Now: $699.99 ($200 off)

We gave the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, Microsoft’s 12.4-inch budget laptop, 3.5 stars out of 5 in our Surface Laptop Go review. We felt it was a little overpriced. Dropping the price by $200 on its premium version (Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD) certainly helps! Just be aware that the Laptop Go’s display is sub-1080p quality—but, in our experience, it didn’t really matter.

See the Surface Laptop Go on Microsoft.com

Microsoft Surface Go 2

Microsoft

From: Microsoft Store

Was: $549.99

Now: $399.99 ($150 off)

The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is the perfect travel companion because it’s so compact and lightweight. In addition to its miniscule size, the display is exceptionally bright and the fanless design means it’s quiet. However, the essential Type Cover keyboard is sold separately at $129.99, so it’s not quite as cheap as it seems at first blush—but this is still a great price for this laptop-tablet hybrid. You’ll also find $150 off models with a more powerful Core M3 processor.

See the Microsoft Surface Go 2 on Microsoft.com

Lenovo Chromebook 3 14-inch Laptop

Lenovo

From: Best Buy

Was: $289.00

Now: $149.00 ($140 off)

If you don’t have a Costco membership, consider this Chromebook from Best Buy. Don’t be afraid of the two-year-old Mediatek MT8183 Arm processor, as it appears to power Chrome OS just fine. The large 14-inch 1080p display should be fine for desktop work, and the 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage is on par with the competition. While we couldn’t find this Chromebook listed under Google’s AUE guidelines, it was introduced earlier this year. A Lenovo product sheet indicates that it should be supported until May 2027.

See the Lenovo Chromebook 3 14″ at Best Buy

Alienware x17 Gaming Laptop

Dell

From: Dell.com

Was: $2,579.99

Now: $1,999.99 ($580 off)

The Alienware x17 is pricey at nearly $2,000, but it’s such a nice gaming machine. The graphics card is a Nvidia RTX 3070 with 8GB of DDR6 video memory. The 3070 is an excellent GPU for 1080p high-refresh rate gaming and it’ll do nicely for 1440p and 4K gaming, too. The rest of this clamshell includes an Intel “Tiger Lake” Core i7-11800H, a 512GB NVMe SSD, 16GB of RAM, and a 17.3-inch 1080p display with a 165Hz refresh rate.

See the Alienware x14 at Dell.com

Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7i 82A60015US

From: Microsoft Store

Was: $949.99

Now: $599.99 ($350 off)

If you’re looking for a steady, dependable, general-purpose PC, the Lenovo Ideapad Slim does the trick. With an 11th-gen Core chip, 14-inch 1080p screen, 8GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD, there’s nothing that particularly stands out. At the same time, nearly a third off the price is simply a solid deal. For reference, here’s our review of a related IdeaPad Slim.

See the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 7i 82A60015US at Microsoft

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i (82D2000QUS)

From: Microsoft Store

Was: $1,759.99

Now: $999.99 ($760 off)

The larger cousin of the IdeaPad Slim 7i, this is an Evo PC, the premium Intel collaborative brand with PC makers. Inside it is a Core i7-1195G7, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. The selling point? a lovely 14-inch 4K touchscreen and a lovely, leather-bonded chassis.

See the IdeaPad Slim 9i 82D2000QUS at Microsoft

MSI Modern 15

MSI

From: Newegg

Was: $999

Now: $699 ($300 off)

If you liked the specs of the IdeaPad Slim, but aren’t interested in the 4K display, this MSI laptop is a nice alternative. It has a Core i7-1195G7 just like the Lenovo, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The CPU is rocking Iris Xe graphics for better-than-average graphics from an integrated GPU. The display is a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS screen, which will look great at this size. It’s a nice laptop that takes a good chunk off the price compared to the 4K Lenovo, which is $300 more expensive.

See the MSI Modern 15 at Newegg

Dell Vostro 3400 Laptop

From: Dell.com

Was: $1,184.28

Now: $599 ($585.28 off)

If you were considering the Lenovo deal above but prefer a Dell instead, basically the same configuration (Intel 11th-gen Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD) with a 14-inch display is on sale for the same price.

For a larger 15.6-inch display and 512GB of storage, Dell is also offering the Dell Vostro 3510 for $579.00. Just make sure you’re buying the Vostro 3510 with the 1080p display, as the offer seems to default to a subpar1366x768 display instead. A Vostro 3510 with an 11th-gen Core i7 (not necessary, but nice) is on sale for $629, 54 percent or $726 off.

See the Dell Vostro 3400 at Dell.com

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet

Lenovo

From: Walmart.com

Was: $299.99

Now: $225 ($74.99 off)

If you like the concept of a Chrome OS tablet but think that the Chromebook Plus V2 price is too high, consider the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet, which we looked at last year. You can buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet for $229.99 at Walmart, which is $70 off the $299.99 MSRP. This tablet ships with 4GB of memory and 64GB of integrated storage.

Support runs through June 2029, which could be the longest support lifespan of this holiday’s deals.

Buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook at Walmart

Dell Inspiron 3511 Laptop

From: Office Depot

Was: $899.99

Now: $529.99 ($370 off)

If you prefer a Dell Inspiron consumer laptop rather than a Vostro laptop instead, this Office Depot deal is arguably better: an 11th-gen Core i7, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD, all behind a 15.6-inch 1080p screen. You can buy this online, but Office Depot should have this laptop in-store as well. Nothing fancy here — just solid all-around specifications. Want something a bit smaller? Dell’s 13.3-inch Inspiron (Core i5-11320H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) is $649.99 at Costco, or $250 off.

See the Dell Inspiron 3511 at Office Depot

LG Gram 16-inch 2-in-1

From: Costco

Was: $1,699.99

Now: $1,299.97 ($400.02 off)

If you love big, lightweight general-purpose productivity laptops with high-resolution screens, the LG Gram 16-inch fits the bill. Weighing in at just over 3.2 pounds (light for a 16-inch laptop!) the Gram boasts a 16-inch 2,560×1,600 IPS display, just a bit more than a 1440p display. We’ve seen this laptop for $1,799.99 elsewhere, so even the “MSRP” is a discount. Note: This is a Costco deal, so you’ll need to be a member to be able to access it.

See the LG Gram 16-inch 2-in-1 at Costco

HP Spectre x360 14

HP

From: HP

Was: $1,398.99

Now: $1049.99 ($349 off)

If you’re looking for the best thin and light laptop money can buy, you’ve come to the right place.

This 14-inch HP Spectre convertible strikes a great balance between performance (from Intel’s Tiger Lake CPUs) and design, even if it’s a little on the heavy side at 3 pounds. Its 1920×1280 IPS display is another highlight, whether you’re making use of the 360-degree hinge and touchscreen or not. The deal highlighted here is on the model we reviewed, but all configurations are currently discounted.

See the HP Spectre x360 14 at HP.com

Apple Smart Keyboard Folio for 11-inch iPad Pro

Apple

From: Amazon

Was: $169.98

Now: $99 ($70.98 off)

Fine, this is not actually a laptop and more laptop adjacent, but it’s still worth for anyone who has an 11-inch iPad Pro. The Smart Keyboard Folio snaps onto your iPad just like any other cover except it’s packing a keyboard and a stand to set up just like a laptop would. This works with the first three generations of the 11-inch iPad Pro, as well as the fourth-generation iPad Air. This is a nice and easy way to turn your iPad Pro into a laptop when you need it without overburdening your bag with too much extra gear. This is the best price yet for the Smart Folio Keyboard making this an excellent time to go for the full clamshell.

See the Apple Smart Keyboard Folio at Amazon

Holiday laptop deal buying tips

If you’ve shopped online before for laptop deals around the holidays, you’re probably aware that there’s a vast range of laptop configurations available.

A good place to start is with the processor. Buy laptops with Intel 10-series Core chips or higher, such as the Core i5-10510U, or the Core i7-11800H (for even more details see our Intel 10th-gen mobile CPU buying guide); or go with an AMD Ryzen processor (but not an AMD Athlon or A-series chip). Avoid laptops with Pentium or Celeron processors unless it’s a Chromebook (running Chrome OS). You’re going to need to pay attention with gaming laptops, too, as some GPUs, like the RTX 3050 Ti, don’t offer much boost over their RTX 2xxx-series cousins, and Nvidia has dropped the Max-Q designation on certain low-power options. Our laptop CPU and GPU cheat sheet can help you shop smart.

Display resolution is a gotcha. If you see a laptop labeled as “HD” resolution that means 1366-by-768 and often isn’t worth your time for a laptop under 13 inches unless the deal is absolutely standout. What you want is “Full HD” or “FHD,” which means 1080p.

Don’t buy laptops with under 4GB of RAM or 128GB of SSD storage—though on a Chromebook, this configuration is acceptable. We have more explanation in our laptops versus Chromebooks buying guide, as well as in our primer on how to buy a budget laptop without getting screwed. Also watch out for eMMC storage, which is something we don’t recommend for a Windows laptop but works fine for a Chromebook.

Reviews can be helpful. Even if you can’t find a review of a specific configuration, try related models. They’ll often give you a good idea of the build quality and performance. Also buy from brands you trust. Amazon’s daily laptop deals right now are full of brands we’ve never tested or talked to (Broage, Teclast, DaySky, Jumper) and it’s just a good idea to be wary.

Most older laptops will run Windows 10, and that’s fine—there’s no rush to upgrade. Windows 10 S, though annoying, can be switched out of easily if you find it on a budget laptop. If you want to buy a Windows 10 PC with the intent of upgrading it to Windows 11, we recommend you start here with a list of older laptops that are Windows 11-eligible.

Where can you find holiday laptop deals?

Updated on December 2 with additional deals from holiday sales, and to remove expired deals.