Best Chromebook 2025: Affordable and portable Windows alternatives

If you ever wished that Chromebooks could look a little bit more like MacBooks then fear not, Samsung has heeded the call. With the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, the South Korean juggernaut has taken a page out of Apple’s playbook, putting forth a sleek device that almost makes all other Chromebooks appear retro by comparison.

Weighing just 1.17kg and boasting a chassis that’s only 11.8mm thin, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus feels more like a modern device than any other option on this list, and it also happens to be very easy to carry around. Even if you have to carry it around one-handed between several meetings, it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever feel as if it’s weighing you down.

In spite of its slimmed-down appearance, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus still manages to bring the heat where performance is concerned. The onboard Intel Core 5 120U chipset performed incredibly well over the course of our review. Not only does it blaze through everyday tasks in the Chrome browser, but it outperformed the likes of the Asus Zenbook A14 when it came to single-core tests.

This sense of power also carries over to the battery life, as we were able to get the Galaxy Chromebook Plus to run for 15 hours and 25 minutes in our battery test. In a real-world setting, this will net you up to two days of use, so if you do forget to bring your charger to the office then it won’t be a cause for panic.

All of this would be enough to make Samsung’s Chromebook a must-buy but the thing that ties it all together is the stunning 15.6-inch AMOLED display. With self-lighting pixels that can put forth a memerising level of contrast, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is also perfectly suited for catching up on a bit of streaming after the working day is done, operating just as efficiently as an entertainment device.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (Intel 13th Gen) is an excellent Chromebook with a sleek design, zippy performance and a solid 11-hour battery life. If you’re wanting the best Chromebook, look no further.

The Chromebook Spin 714 shares a similar modern style with its predecessor, the Chromebook Spin 714 (2023). There’s minimal flex in the chassis and the display is surrounded by thin bezels with just enough room for the 1440p webcam. It’s also lightweight enough to take out at just 1.37kg.

One downside to the laptop’s compact size is its slightly limited port selection. However, with two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, HDMI out, a headphone jack and USB-A, it’s not terrible – you just might need to pick up a dongle if you need a second USB-A port or microSD slot.

The 65% keyboard, meanwhile, offers marvellous tactility and the keys are complete with backlighting.

The 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS touchscreen remains virtually unchanged from its predecessor, which is excellent news. The 300 nits of peak brightness offers vibrant images and colours are solid with deep-looking blacks. You can also choose to pair the display with a stylus, though Acer unfortunately doesn’t include one in the box anymore.

Intel’s 13th-gen chips offer nippy performance for day-to-day tasks, allowing us to record solid results in Geekbench 6. The performance matches well against similarly priced and specced Windows laptops, like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3, in single-core workloads.

The ChromeOS software is lightweight and easy to use, with no unwanted bloatware to contend with. The laptop also benefits from Google’s Chromebook Plus features, including the Magic Eraser, Offline File Sync, AI video calling features and web-based Photoshop support.

The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is a well-rounded Chromebook at an affordable price, making it a great choice for anyone on a budget.

While the plastic chassis isn’t particularly premium-feeling, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is decently well-made with thin bezels and a 1.4kg weight. The 14-inch Full HD display offers solid detail and relatively punchy colours for an IPS panel, which works well for casual streaming.

The Intel Core i3 processor offers smooth, nippy performance when tackling day-to-day tasks, with our synthetic benchmark tests showing solid results. The 8GB of DDR5 RAM provides good headroom for multitasking, while the 256GB of UFS storage is an increase compared to previous generations.

There are some useful AI features included with the Chromebook Plus label, including the Magic Eraser to delete unwanted objects from photos, some AI video calling features and support for web-based Photoshop.

The battery lasted just short of 12 hours in our tests, fitting in well with the competition. Turning up the brightness and keyboard backlighting can cause it to drain faster, but you should still be able to get between one and two days of casual use out of this Chromebook.

Would you turn your nose up at the idea of a near-$1000 Chromebook? Well, the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook (2023) may not be for you but, if you have considered a high-end ChromeOS device then this excellent machine could sway you.

We must note that this laptop isn’t available in the UK just yet, but it is widely available in the US. If you are able to get your hands on it however then you’ll find one of the most interesting laptops of recent years. It’s a rare high-end Chromebook that feels like it earns its price, in the same way the Google Pixelbook Go did several years ago.

Despite sporting a 12th Gen Intel chip, rather than the latest 13th Gen, performance is impressive as it fulfils all the key productivity requirements a ChromeOS device could ask for. The productivity sell is rounded out with a joyous keyboard that has some pleasing RGB lighting playfully bundled in.

The 14-inch panel gets wonderfully bright and the QHD+ resolution offers more than enough detail. With a 16:10 ratio, it’s another win for productivity too with plenty of space for multiple windows and apps. The superb screen is matched by surprisingly good speakers for such a slim machine, with some delightful detail to boot.

You’ll be perfectly fine slinging this laptop around in your work bag too as it offers robust build quality and even looks the part, with a stylish matte off-white colour offered.

Looking for a reasonably priced productivity machine with a big screen to help you truly get the job done? The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook is well worth your consideration.

Despite its low price, the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook doesn’t shirk a bit of style. The two-tone grey design puts this above some rival Chromebooks that opt for an extremely basic look, giving this machine a business vibe. Owing to its larger screen, this ChromeOS device does have to don a bit of extra weight at 1.85kg but rather thin bezels do help to ease the blow to design elsewhere.

The same bang-for-your-buck nature of this machine extends to the keyboard and trackpad too. The keys are extremely comfortable all across this full-size offering and there’s a large trackpad with a pleasing click. The display itself comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio for further enhancing the multitasking productivity chops that the large FHD+ 16-inch panel already offers. It’s not stunningly accurate or colourful, but that’s not the end of the world for a cheap device that’s focused on getting work done.

The specs sheet may not blow you away, with a 12th Gen Intel Core i3 chip onboard but, due to 8GB RAM and the lightweight nature of ChromeOS, it works out to be more than enough for speedy browsing, word processing and multitasking.

Even though it may feel like it, not every laptop out there costs the earth. If you’re looking for a Chromebook that won’t break your bank account then you will want to take a look at the 4.5-star HP Chromebook x2 11, which has a very reasonable $599/£499.99 starting price.

The Chromebook x2 11 is a two-in-one device, so it can be used as both a tablet and a laptop. Unlike most traditional two-in-one devices, the Chromebook x2 11 is a tablet that comes with two detachable accessories – a keyboard and a back cover – allowing it to be used as a proper tablet. The keyboard offers solid travel and a decent level of tactility while the trackpad has more than enough real estate for the price.

The 11-inch display comes with a Quad HD (1440p) resolution and a quoted brightness of 400 nits; our reviewer found that the display offered excellent detail with generally vibrant images and solid colours. The integrated Bang & Olufsen speakers pumped out plenty of volume, although we did note that they can sound a little thin on occasion.

HP opted to kit out the Chromebook x2 11 with a Snapdragon 7c chipset. It provided enough power for day-to-day tasks and didn’t falter with multiple Chrome tabs open. It also managed to stay cool and quiet during our review period, making it a reliable option for anyone who conducts their work in either word processors or web browser-based applications. If you’re in need of a Chromebook that is capable of more intensive workloads, then you will want to take a gander at the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2023) or Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook.

Overall, anyone who’s on the lookout for an affordable ChromeOS device should look no further than the HP Chromebook x2 11. Its versatile design combined with its dependable performance make it an easy choice for students and hybrid workers alike, and it’s one of the few budget Chromebooks out there that isn’t let down by its 2-in-1 design.

Gaming Chromebooks aimed to sell the laptop world on Google’s Stadia game streaming platform. But, the closure of Stadia stopped that dead in its tracks. Nevertheless, the devices were ready to go, instead relying on Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. The pick of the bunch is the Asus Chromebook Vibe CX34 Flip.

The notion of a gaming Chromebook, when ChromeOS devices are far from being able to play AAA games natively, is an odd one. But, putting aside native gaming, aiming for gaming-friendly specs means this Chromebook is simply successful at being a good high-end Chromebook. This aim gives the device its best features, that being a bright FHD+ 144Hz display, excellent keyboard, stand-out design and powerful processor. All these things are far from a given on the majority of Chromebooks.

But, its bread and butter remains game streaming, and it excels in that department. The 144Hz display means you can experience high-end gaming visuals without having expensive hardware to back it up, afforded to you by those Nvidia and Xbox streaming services. Having Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 helps to make sure your experience runs as smoothly as possible, across online connectivity and connecting your peripherals. However, you’ll still have to have decent internet speeds and Wi-Fi connectivity in your home or out and about for it to work seamlessly.

The Google Pixelbook Go is a brilliantly designed laptop with a minimalistic, matte black frame. Tipping the scales at just over a kilogram in weight also means we found it to be a great option for those wanting something wonderfully portable.

The mid-tier model, complete with an eighth-gen Intel Core i5 processor and 128GB, offers speedy performance for ChromeOS, but it’s really the software that restricts the Pixelbook Go. Google’s own premium Chromebook occupies an odd position where it’s a premium laptop on the outside with a less powerful OS on the inside, and splashing out on a high-class laptop for simple tasks seems like a backwards purchase.

A 4K model is available if you’re willing to spend four figures on a Chromebook, but our sample’s 1080p panel is perfectly functional with crisp colours and touch input. It’s serviceable for day-to-day usage, but if having a top display on a Chromebook is a top priority, then the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook with its 4K OLED panel may be a better bet.

We found the Pixelbook Go’s battery life to be stellar too, with it offering a good amount of endurance. During testing, we found it lasted for nearly 12 hours before conking out in our battery loop test, and lasted for a working day comfortably with around 20% juice to spare.

The Google Pixelbook Go hits the sweet spot between performance and price, making it a great alternative to more expensive laptops for those who only need a machine for web browsing, video streaming and word processing.

The Acer Chromebook Vero 514 is a solid Chromebook with a gorgeous, durable design and an environmentally-friendly chassis.

The Vero 514 has a speckled grey chassis composed of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics that makes it stand out from the crowd. The trackpad includes recycled ocean-bound plastic, while PCR plastic can be found in 30% of the chassis/screen bezel and 50% of the keycaps and speakers. Of course, the packaging is eco-friendly too, consisting of recycled paper, cardboard and other natural fibres.

The 14-inch IPS touchscreen delivers solid detail and brightness with decent colours that pop when watching content.

The keyboard is compact with a 65% layout and offers good tactility and travel. The legends are also clearly visible in all lights, while the backlighting makes it possible to work after dark. The trackpad meanwhile is a good size, leaving plenty of space for functions, though the Gorilla Glass can feel a bit too smooth at times.

Performance-wise, the Vero 514 offers excellent power for a Chromebook with a good quantity of RAM and storage. This allows the laptop to feel especially nippy for the light computing tasks that ChromeOS is designed to handle.

The Chromebook’s Geekbench 5 scores even outperformed one of our favourite similarly-priced Windows laptops, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2.

Finally, the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 has an all-day battery life that managed to last 11 hours and 28 minutes in our testing. This was with the keyboard backlighting switched off and the brightness halved.

If you’re after a powerful Chromebook with an eco-friendly build, the Vero 514 offers snappy performance for day-to-day tasks.

There’s a case to be made that Chromebooks are at their best when they’re compact and affordable, two things that you rarely see in tandem when shopping for a Windows laptop. To that end, the Acer Chromebook Spin 312 is a fantastic option for students and budget-strapped professionals alike, as it gets you the same great ChromeOS experience but in an easily transportable chassis.

With a 12.2-inch display and weighing just 1.29kg, the Spin 312 is exactly the size you’d want it to be to chuck into a small backpack and lug it between lectures and classes. When you’re rushing from one end of a university campus to the next, the last thing you want is to be bogged down by tech and textbooks, so the ability to scale back a bit on your main workstation is a big plus.

That aforementioned panel is also a touchscreen, which makes interacting with the Chromebook just that bit easier. It’s a much simpler affair to jump between tabs on the browser when you can just tap them. If you prefer having a dedicated mouse in the mix however then you can hook one up to a wireless receiver, thanks to the USB-C port on the 312 itself.

When it comes to core performance, the included Intel N100 chipset provides just the right amount of power to carry it through everyday tasks like writing in Google Docs and editing in Canva. The keyboard is also quite snappy which makes for a slick typing experience that won’t hold you up when you’re writing at speed to finish an essay on time.

All of these aspects work in the 312’s favour, but the one thing that really ties it all together is the brilliance of the battery life onboard. In our testing, we were to get the machine to last for a whopping 14 hours and 32 minutes, which is more than enough to get you through an entire day and still have juice left over before you finally top it up at a charging point.

As much as we love the compact Chromebook Spin 312, if you have a little bit more cash to spend then we recommend giving the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 a look as you’ll be getting a healthy dose of additional features for not that much more at the checkout. At £399/$399, you’re also getting a great deal more than you would be from a Windows laptop with the same price tag.

For starters, the big upgrade is the leap to a 14-inch display which, as you can imagine, makes the process of multitasking just that bit easier. Not only will you have more room for large databases and documents to spread out, but you can have them sitting side by side for easy reference, all without the need to squint at what’s onscreen. For researching as you write, this is a big win.

If you want to use the Chromebook as your main workstation when staying productive from home then you’ll be glad to know that there are a ton of ports on this thing. With no less than two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, you have plenty of options for hooking up a dedicated keyboard and mouse, whilst the inclusion of an HDMI slot paves the way for an external monitor.

There’s also 128GB storage on board so you’ll have tons of room to keep all of your key files stored locally, without having to constantly rely on cloud storage. This can be helpful for moments like going into a meeting where the Wi-Fi is a bit spotty and can’t be trusted for loading up your presentation.

Performance is exactly where you want it to be thanks to the Intel Core 3 100U chipset, easily blitzing through everyday tasks and never breaking a sweat even when you have tons of tabs open at one time. In our battery benchmark test, we managed to get the Chromebook Plus 514 to last for 12 hours, but you can expect it to go for up to two working days at a time, which is perfect for working on the go.

Admittedly there isn’t that much that separates the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 from the 514. They’re very similar in price but the key upgrade is that the 516 has a slightly larger 16-inch screen which, as you can imagine, is easily the better one to go for if your work requires you to constantly have two apps open at one time and you need as much space as possible for them to spread out.

Having the larger display also makes the Plus 516 operate better as a workstation at home. Even though there is an HDMI port to also bring an external monitor into the mix, it probably won’t be necessary, but you do also have two USB-C and two USB-A ports for bringing other accessories into the mix. If you prefer the feel of a mechanical keyboard for example, then you can hook one up and get to typing the way you like.

With a 1920×1200 resolution, not only is the Plus 516 great for presenting crisp, easy to read text but it does a great job with presenting detail rich streams of Netflix, Disney Plus and similar services. The onboard speakers also perform well but if you don’t want to wake the neighbours then there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack you can rely on.

The solid combination of 8GB RAM and the capable Intel Core 3 100U processor ensures that when it comes to everyday tasks like data entry in Google Sheets, browsing the web or even going through your list of upcoming projects in Notion, you can get through all of them without seeing any major slowdown. For those of us who flat out refuse to close a single one of the many tabs we have open, you’ll get on just fine here.

Even with having to power the larger 16-inch display, we still managed to get the 516 to run for a total of 11 hours and 29 minutes in our rigorous battery test. Lighter users can probably stretch that even further to run for just under two days at a time, but either way that’s plenty of longevity on board to get you through a fairly demanding day, and without having to pack a power bank each time.