On a budget? Here are the best laptops to buy for under £300.

Is your current laptop slow and breathing heavy? Are you on a super-tight budget? Don’t worry, we’ve got the best laptops under £300 that are affordable but still tech-y enough to do all the bits you want it to do (shop, order takeaways, and attempt uni work). 

Our list features top-name brands and laptops with cool specs, all at different price points. Go ahead, dive right into the best laptops under £300.

Don’t forget to check out the best 2-in-1 laptops if you want a multi-skilled gadget or if you’re after a laptop to hold all-night Sims gaming sessions, then take a look at the best laptops for Sims 4.

Jump to:

• Best laptops for £300
• 14-inch laptops under £300
• Best 15.6-inch laptop options for £300
• Best sub-£300 Windows laptops for students
• Best Apple laptops for £300 or less
• Best Chromebook options
• Top buying tips
• FAQs

Get 15% student discount on Acer laptops

Best laptops under £300

Technology can be quite pricey and, not forgetting to mention, confusing. All that tech jargon and numbers, RAMS, GBs — what does it all mean?

Our best laptops under £300 list will decipher all the vocab you don’t understand so you can shop a little more simply.

Lenovo Chromebook Duet — £234.99

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is the most affordable Chromebooks for students in 2022. The portable 2-in-1 laptop offers a detachable keyboard and kickstand cover, as well as long battery life lasting 11+ hours. Perfect for those long days at college or university.

The Duet contains a MediaTek Helio P60T processor, 4GB of RAM, and up to 128GB of storage. It’s the perfect laptop for those who simply need it for browsing and Microsoft work. When detached from its keyboard, you can enjoy it’s Andoird-like user interface and switch between apps very easily.

What’s in the box

• 1 x Lenovo Duet Chromebook
• 1 x USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter.

Technical specs

• Operating system: Chromebook OS 
• RAM: 4 GB LPDDR4X
• Processor: MTK P60T Processor (2.00 GHz )
• Storage: 64 GB eMCP
• Screen resolution: Full HD 1920 x 1080p
• Screen size: 10.1-inch
• Screen type: IPS LCD
• Touch screen?: Yes
• WiFi?: AC WiFi – 2×2
• Ethernet: No
• Battery life: 11 hours
• Battery type: 2-cell Lithium-polymer
• Disc drive: No
• Memory card reader: No
• HDMI: No
• Audio connections: Dual speakers with Smart amp
• Webcam: 2MP front camera and an 8MP rear camera
• Colour: Ice blue & iron grey

Pros

• 11 hours battery life
• Tablet mode

Cons

• Small keyboard

Best 14-inch laptops under £300

HP 14S-FQ0017NA Laptop — £142.79

Need long-lasting battery life on a budget and a cool looking laptop overall? The HP 145-FQ0017NA is one of the smallest laptops that provides a great appearance and power on a budget. It’s ultra thin with a micro-edge display that gives you lots to look at with more screen in a smaller frame. Plus, it’s equipped with the latest AMD 3020e processor and super responsive touchpad to help you surf the web and research what you need in a flash.

Save as much as you need with their expansive storage including photos, videos and documents. more of what you love with abundant storage for all your photos, videos and documents.

What’s in the box

• 1 x HP 14S-FQ0017NA Laptop
• 1 x Charging cable

Technical specs

• Operating system: Windows 11
• RAM: 4 GB RAM
• Processor: AMD 3020e 
• Storage: 64 GB SSD
• Screen resolution: FHD 1366 x 768
• Screen size: 14-inch
• Screen type: LCD
• Touch screen?: No
• WiFi?: Yes
• Ethernet: No
• Battery life: 9 hours and 30 minutes
• Battery type: Lithium-ion
• Disc drive: None
• Memory card reader: Yes
• HDMI: 1
• Audio connections: Built-in audio sound system and mic
• Webcam: HD 720p webcam
• Colour: Black and silver

Pros

• Backlit screen
• Decent battery life

Cons

• Loud clickpad

ASUS E410MA Laptop — £159

This ASUS laptop packs a real punch, It’s equipped with Windows 10 Home, an Intel Celeron processor and up to 128GB of storage. All in all, it’s well made to achieve your study goals.

It’s lightweight and also comes with a ton of ports too. There are two USB-A slots (2.0 and 3.2), a USB-C slot (3.2), a DCIN slot for charging, a headphone jack, a HDMI port and a microSD card reader. The latter is great to have if you need to load up photos and videos for personal use or an assignment.

What’s in the box

• 1 x ASUS E410MA laptop
• 1 x adapter

Technical specs

• Operating system: Windows 10 Home
• RAM: 4GB
• Processor: Intel Celeron
• Storage: 128GB Storage
• Screen resolution: 1366 x 768
• Screen size: 14-inches
• Screen type: LED
• Touch screen?: No
• WiFi?: Yes
• Ethernet: No
• Battery life: 13 hours
• Battery type: Lithium-ion
• Disc drive: No
• Memory card reader: Yes
• HDMI: 1
• Audio connections: Integrated mic & stereo speaker
• Webcam: 720p webcam
• Colour: Blue

Pros

• long battery life
• Lightweight

Cons

• NumberPad may be annoying for some

Best 15.6-inch laptops under £300

ACER Aspire 3 15.6″ Laptop — £299

A great laptop for a bargain of a price at under £300. Perfect for day-to-day life, you can browse the web, work on documents, check your emails and more from this 11th gen Intel® Core™ i3 processor. With 9 hours of battery life, this laptop is ideal for those late-night study seshs at the library. It even has a Blue Light Shield that limits the blue light from your screen, reducing your eye strain and headaches.

Multitask till your heart’s content with 8GB of RAM that won’t slow you down, and upload pictures easily and quickly with 128GB SSD. Smooth and consistent, you won’t need another laptop for a while.

What’s in the box

• 1 x  Acer Aspire 3 A315-58 15.6″ Laptop
• 1 x Power adapter
• 1 x Documentation

Technical specs

• Operating system: Windows 10
• RAM: 8 GB DDR4, 12 GB maximum installable RAM
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 Processor
• Storage: 128 GB SSD
• Screen resolution: Full HD 1920 x 1080p
• Screen size: 15.6″
• Screen type: IPS LCD
• Touch screen?: No
• WiFi: Intel® dual-band AC WiFi 5
• Ethernet: Gigabit Ethernet port
• Battery life: Up to 9 hours
• Battery type: 2-cell Lithium-ion
• Disc drive: No
• Memory card reader: No
• HDMI: 1
• Webcam: HD
• Colour: Silver

Pros

• Large screen
• Comes with Windows 10
• Affordable

Cons

• Not touchscreen
• Storage could be better

Get Currys Student Discount.

Best Windows laptops under £300 for students

IdeaPad 1 (14″ Intel) — £169

The IdeaPad 1 is one of the best windows laptops for students at a very affordable price. Great if you’re on a tight budget but need something to get your work done.

It comes with 4GB memory and 64GB of storage. These aren’t revolutionary and won’t be suitable for design students. However, it’s perfect for Microsoft applications, Google Drive, Docs and similar applications for note-taking. The AMD processor is on the lower end of the scale too, so bear this in mind when working with multiple software at once.

Its battery life is pretty decent and it also has webcam that’ll suffice for lectures and group work.  

What’s in the box

• 1 x IdeaPad 1
• 1 x User guide.

Technical specs

• Operating system: Windows 11 Home
• RAM: 4 GB DDR4-2400MHz
• Processor: Intel® Celeron® N4020
• Storage: 64GB
• Screen resolution: 1366 x 768
• Screen size: 14-inch
• Screen type: LED Backlit anti-glare
• Touch screen?: Yes
• WiFi?: 11AC (1×1) & Bluetooth® 4.2
• Ethernet: No
• Battery life: 8 hours
• Battery type: 2 cell, 32Wh
• Disc drive: No
• Memory card reader: Yes
• HDMI: 1
• Audio connections: Built-in mic, Dolby sound system.
• Webcam: 0.3MP with Dual Array Microphone
• Colour: Platinum Grey

Pros

• Has an HDMI port
• Decent battery life
• Good display

Cons

• No USB-C ports

Best Apple laptops under £300 for students

Apple MacBook Pro

If you must insist on having an Apple MacBook, be prepared for many of them to pre-owned. A great example of a cheap MacBook for students has to be the Apple MacBook Pro A1502. It has an LED-backlit screen and a 720p FaceTime camera that sits above it. It’s a decent-quality camera for Zoom calls and lectures.

Its storage comes with 128GB which is a decent size for your uni projects, but its battery life of 7 hours is one to bear in mind if you’re taking it out for the day.

What’s in the box

Technical specs

• Operating system: macOS 
• RAM: 4GB
• Processor: Intel Core i5
• Storage: 128GB
• Screen resolution:
• Screen size: 13.3-inches
• Screen type: LED Backlit
• Touch screen: No
• WiFi: Yes
• Ethernet: Gigabit ethernet
• Battery life: 7 hours
• Battery type: Lithium-ion
• Disc drive: None
• Memory card reader: SDXC card slot
• HDMI: None
• Audio connections: Unknown
• Webcam: 720p FaceTime HD webcam
• Colour: Silver

Pros

• Very fast
• Stays cool under heavy use

Cons

• Can be expensive if bought brand new

Check out our Apple student discounts

Best Chromebook laptops under £300 for students

HP Stream 14s-fq0020na — £184.20

This HP Stream laptop is one of the best HP laptops under £300. It has everything you need for a fraction of a typical laptop price.

It has 4GB RAM and a 64GB hard drive. When you combine the AMD CPU it makes the whole system super fast and responsive. Plus, it comes with Windows OS installed already! This laptop also charges really fast. In fact, you can get it to 50% in less than 45 minutes of charging time. Great if you need it charged in a hurry.

What’s in the box

• 1 x HP Stream 14s-fq0020na laptop
• 1 x AC adapter
• 1 x Power cord.

Technical specs

• Operating system: Windows 11 Home in S mode 
• RAM: 4 GB DDR4-2400 MHz
• Processor: AMD 3020e
• Storage: 64 GB eMMC
• Screen resolution:
• Screen size: 14-inch
• Screen type: HD (1366 x 768)
• Touch screen?: No
• WiFi?: Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (1×1) Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® 4.2 combo
• Ethernet: No
• Battery life: 9 hours
• Battery type: Lithium-ion
• Disc drive: None
• Memory card reader: 1 multi-format SD media card reader
• HDMI: 1
• Audio connections: Dual speakers
• Webcam: HP True Vision 720p HD camera with integrated dual array digital microphones
• Colour: Mulberry burgundy

Pros

• Lots of ports
• Decent battery life

Cons

• Short charging cable

Check out our HP student discounts

And that concludes the best laptops under £300. We hope this has given you an idea of what you can get on a budget.

Top buying tips

Looking for a laptop under £300 is not as easy as it might seem. While there are plenty of good quality laptops under that price tag, it’s hard to know if you’re getting a good deal or not. Cheap is certainly not always bad, but they aren’t always good, either.

Below are some of our top buying tips to help you get the most from your laptop.

Find out what you need

Ask yourself “what do I need this laptop for?”. The laptop you need to buy is one that will be fit for purpose. You don’t need a super high-tech (and costly) gaming laptop if that’s not your thing and you’re wanting a laptop for general use like studying and browsing.

Set a budget

Whether you want laptops under £300 or ones between £500 and £1000, know your budget and stick to it. The more you need from a laptop, the more it will typically cost, so keep that in mind if you’re after a laptop that does everything but want it for a low cost — it may not be possible so be realistic with your wants and requirements.

Compare, compare, compare

Found the perfect laptop on your first search? Amazing! But, please don’t rush into buying it just yet. Check the reviews across different platforms and sites, search for the same make and model to see if you can find a better price, look at other similar laptops and compare and contrast between them.

Take time in researching, you’ll be surprised at the fab deals you stumble across or the under-dog that you didn’t expect but want.

Consider buying refurbished

There are a lot of sites offering refurbished laptops at a fraction of the retail price, and still in good condition. This is a great choice for those wanting a laptop for basic needs and aren’t too fussed about technical specs and gadgets — but you can still find high-end, gaming, techy laptops that are refurbished and cheaper, too.

Many of these sites offer a one-year warranty so make sure you check it’s working and send back if not!

Some sites to check out include:

• Laptop Outlet — Student discount at Laptop Outlet
• Laptops Direct
• Amazon
• Currys

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best laptop to buy for under £250?

We’re huge fans of the HP 14S-FQ0014NA laptop. It comes with an incredibly powerful AMD Athlon processor (you can pick from a huge range of AMD processors too), which gives you all the power to multitask, store big files and work on group presentations during your studies.

What is a Chromebook vs a laptop?

A Chromebook is a budget-friendly alternative to a Windows laptop or Apple MacBook. Chromebooks run using a Google operating system called Chrome OS. This means Windows and macOS programs don’t work on these devices.

What does this mean for applications? You won’t be able to run Microsoft Office or MacOS versions either. However, you can use Office 365 online and install Office web apps instead. Or you can simply use Google Docs, Sheets and more.

Is 4GB RAM enough for a laptop?

4GB of RAM is more than enough to use productivity applications like Microsoft Office and is perfect for a budget student laptop. You can even stream Netflix comfortably too.

However, if you’re a design student or want to game on your laptop, then you’ll need a laptop with at least 8GB RAM. Nonetheless, 4GB is more than enough for a laptop for its basic functions, completing assignments and running group projects.

Are Chromebooks worth it?

Do you complete all of your tasks on a web-based app like Google Docs? Then Chromebooks are definitely worth investing in. They’re intuitive and easy to use because they follow on from the Google Chrome browser application interface.

In fact, Chromebooks are designed for students and business professionals! But the only downside is that you absolutely need an internet connection to make full use of one. So have a hotspot handy.

How long should a laptop last?

Ideally, your laptop should last at least 4-5 years with care.

Your laptop may last longer depending on the quality, how often you use it, and what you use it for.

Is it bad to leave your laptop plugged in while using it?

Keeping your laptop plugged in while you’re using it isn’t going to cause the world to fall apart, but it’s advised to not leave it plugged in if you can help it.

Keeping your laptop plugged in when it’s already charged to the max can actually deteriorate the battery by overcharging them. This is especially true for older laptops that have older batteries. More modern laptops come with a ‘battery optimiser’ so that even while plugged in, your laptop won’t charge unless it drops lower than a specific percentage.

At what percent should I charge my laptop?

There’s no rules around how and when to charge your laptop. However, a rule of thumb is to keep your laptop between 40%-80% — this will help prolong the life of your batteries and keep your laptop running better for longer.

Want to save cash on laptops? Get these laptops for under £300 for even less when you sign up to Student Beans. Check out our other tech student deals too while you’re at it!