The 9 top ChromeOS laptops we’ve tested

With Windows and macOS laptops becoming so expensive in recent years, it makes a lot of sense to opt for a more affordable Chromebook instead. But what is the best Chromebook you can buy in 2023?

In order to answer that question, our team of experts have tested as many Chromebooks as they can get their hands on. We spend at least a week with every device that we review, testing the performance with benchmark software, while using the laptop as our portable work machine to check out the quality of the design, screen, battery life and more.

With every potential Chromebook customer having a different budget and needs, we’ve made sure to include a variety of options in this best list, from ultra-affordable offerings to more premium portables.

Can’t find a Chromebook that you like the look of? Then make sure to return to this list in the future, as we’ll be updating it with new entries as soon as we’re able to review them.

And if you’re willing to look at laptops beyond ChromeOS, then we suggest also checking out our Best LaptopBest MacBook, Best UltrabookBest Student Laptop and Best Budget Laptop pages.

Best Chromebooks at a glance

How we test

Learn more about how we test Chromebooks

Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life. 

These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real world checks, such as how well it runs the most frequently used apps. 

We also make sure to use every laptop we review as our primary device for at least a week to ensure our review is as accurate as possible.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513

Best Chromebook overall

Pros

  • Super-light and portable design
  • Sharp display with decent colours
  • Outstanding battery life
  • Whisper-quiet performance

Cons

  • Flat speakers
  • Mediocre performance
  • No keyboard backlight

If you’re looking for the absolute best Chromebook that you can buy today, look no further than the Acer Chromebook Spin 513.

It’s one of the most lightweight Chromebooks available, weighing in at just 1.2kg. This means it looks sleek and modern, and we found it to be quite the portable laptop during testing. In addition, the Spin 513 is a convertible laptop, meaning you can flip the display over and use it as a tablet with the bundled stylus, which we found to be mighty convenient. The hinge didn’t feel rattly and wobbly either, with the construction of the Spin 513 underscored by a general sturdiness.

Inside, it packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c processor. Our performance tests showed that this chip can breeze through basic tasks with ease. For instance, it meant the Spin 513 featured some excellent thermal performance and remained quiet, even under heavy workloads. And if you want, you can even plug in a compatible SIM card and take advantage of 4G connectivity when you’re out and about.

The display is good too, with the Spin 513 featuring a 13-inch IPS panel that offers great viewing angles, while we also found that its Full HD resolution served up good quality output. There’s also excellent battery life, with this particular Chromebook lasting for 13 hours and 5 minutes in our battery test.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review

HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook (2023)

Best high-end Chromebook

Pros

  • Excellent performance
  • Top quality build and great keyboard
  • Super bright display with capable touchscreen
  • Surprisingly good (and loud) speakers

Cons

  • Middling battery life
  • No headphone jack
  • Twice the price of other good Chromebooks

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 fulfills 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.

Reviewer: Chris Smith
Full review: HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook (2023) review

Lenovo Chromebook Duet

Best 2-in-1 Chromebook

Pros

  • Very affordable price
  • Bundled keyboard offers versatility
  • Superb screen for video content
  • Excellent battery life

Cons

  • Lack of headphone jack
  • Poor speaker quality
  • Keyboard is uncomfortably small

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is a fantastic option for those craving a 2-in-1 device, giving you the dual functionality of a laptop and a tablet in one convenient package.

Its Media-Tek Helio P60T processor features eight cores, which we found to make it nippy during testing when we were using it for general web browsing. The battery life of around 13 hours is also stellar, and puts it up against more expensive laptops, even beating off the likes of the Dell XPS 13 OLED.

We also found that the 2-in-1 design means it’s extremely portable and great for those on the move, weighing just 450g. The keyboard cover it comes with is also detachable, enabling you to use the Chromebook Duet as a tablet.

We found its 10-inch touchscreen to offer up some really good colours, which worked great for everyday usage, whether we were indulging in some cloud gaming or enjoying episodes of BoJack Horseman. In darker scenes, the Chromebook Duet did struggle a little during testing. But overall, its display performed reasonably well. There are plenty of other Chromebook laptops that flaunt a 2-in-1 design, but the Lenovo Chromebook Duet remains our favourite due to the bargain price and extremely lightweight design.

Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full review: Lenovo Chromebook Duet review

Acer Chromebook 314

Best budget Chromebook

Pros

  • Great value for money
  • Sturdy construction
  • Good port selection
  • Fantastic battery life

Cons

  • Flat colours and dim display
  • No touchscreen
  • ChromeOS could provide some limitations

The Acer Chromebook 314 is the cheapest Chromebook on our list, but for the price, you’re getting a candidate that offers up features that pricier Chromebooks can’t necessarily compete with.

For instance, we found its battery life to be excellent, with the Chromebook 314 lasting for thirteen and a half hours in the office benchmark. This means it’s got serious endurance, and will last comfortably for a working day before needing to be recharged.

According to our test results, its dual-core Intel Celeron CPU offers up a snappy real-world performance for basic productivity tasks. The 4GB of RAM is enough for opening a few Chrome tabs and apps such as Slack and Spotify without too much of a noticeable slowdown, although the 32GB of eMMC storage will likely fill up quickly. For expansion though, you will find a good selection of ports, including USB-A, USB-C and microSD.

The Acer Chromebook 314 has a noticeable weakness. Its 14-inch display features a low resolution of 1366×768, which is just above 720p, resulting in a sub-par and grainy picture quality. On-screen colours look flat and dull too, which means this isn’t the best option for watching Netflix. There’s also no touchscreen here, which may well be a deal breaker for some.

But if you just need a Chromebook for writing essays and don’t care about the screen quality, then this is one of the very best laptop bargains currently available.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Acer Chromebook 314 review

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360

Best Chromebook for video streaming

Pros

  • Affordable price
  • High resolution display
  • Portable and versatile design
  • Option for cellular

Cons

  • Poor battery life
  • Performance is a little sluggish

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 may have a compact 12.4-inch display, but this is still a great option for streaming video thanks to its impressively high 2560 x 1600 resolution screen resolution. Our tests also showed the panel to offer outstanding contrast, ensuring a vibrant picture for video via the likes of Netflix and YouTube.

We also found the dinky frame makes this laptop extremely easy to carry around, while its weight of just 1.28kg means you’ll probably struggle to feel its heft when tucked inside a bag. If you opt for the LTE model, you can even slot in your SIM card for on-the-go connectivity beyond the reach of your router.

The 2-in-1 design means you can also use this laptop like a tablet, although it doesn’t match up to the likes of an iPad. Our biggest grip with this tablet is the processor, with our tests showing it to be only powerful enough for the simplest of tasks. Our benchmarks also showed battery life to be relatively poor, lasting just six hours of video playback.

But if you’re going to be using this Chromebook at home in reach of a power adaptor, then this is still a fantastic option. You’ll struggle to find a Chromebook at this price with a superior screen.

Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full review: Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 review

Google Pixelbook Go

Best Google Chromebook

Pros

  • Fantastic keyboard
  • Attractive, understated look
  • Impressive battery life
  • Android apps on Chrome can be useful (even if buggy)

Cons

  • Can get far too expensive if you upgrade the specs
  • No fingerprint scanner/facial unlock
  • Have to get the top model if you want a 4K screen

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 a 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.

ReviewerMax Parker
Full review: Google Pixelbook Go review

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

Best performance Chromebook

Best performance Chromebook

Pros

  • Pleasant screen
  • Comfortable, quiet keyboard
  • Long battery life

Cons

  • Value of high-spec models is questionable
  • Plastic touchpad
  • Weak speaker

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook is a brilliant high-powered Chromebook for those who want more oomph to power their ChromeOS experiences.

We found its Intel Core i5-10210U processor to deliver a good performance for tasks that a Chromebook is traditionally designed for: web browsing, video streaming and basic office tasks. The 8GB of RAM also provides good headroom for multitasking, with no real faltering with a load of browser tabs open simultaneously.

The 13.3-inch Full HD panel on the Flex 5 is also a major plus point. It’s also a touchscreen, which we found make this a very versatile laptop. In actual fact, it’s a better display than some Windows laptops that occupy the same £500 or so price point, including one of our favourite budget laptops, the Surface Laptop Go from Microsoft.

The Flex 5 also features a good battery life too. We measured it to last nearly 13 hours before conking out in our video loop test, which puts it firmly ahead of similarly-priced Windows laptops, and allowed it to smash Lenovo’s own quoted 10 hours of battery life.

Overall, this is a great Chromebook with good performance to back it up. Just watch out for the thin-sounding speakers and plastic trackpad, which we weren’t big fans of. But if you’re after power in a Chromebook at a more affordable price, the Flex 5 is an excellent option.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full review: 
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook review

Acer Chromebook Vero 514

Best eco-friendly Chromebook

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. 

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full Review: Acer Chromebook Vero 514

Acer Chromebook Spin 514

Best work Chromebook

Pros

  • Sturdy and well-made
  • Decent display and touchscreen
  • Good battery life

Cons

  • Port selection is a bit stingy
  • Patchy keyboard backlight

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is a solid convertible Chromebook. The excellent smooth finish makes it feel a lot more expensive than the price would suggest, and the 1.37kg weight gives it a great heft that our tester noted made it feel very sturdy to use. While there are lighter Chromebooks out there – like the 1.2kg Acer Chromebook Spin 513 – we felt like it was more than portable enough to use for hybrid working. 

It boasts a two-in-one design, meaning that the display can be flipped around so it’s facing towards you, like a tablet. Not only does this make doodling and drawing more accessible, but it’s ideal for propping up and watching your favourite TV show on the go or at home. 

The screen is 14 inches and features a 1920×1080 (Full HD) resolution with a quoted brightness of 300 nits. We felt like the colours represented on the screen were accurate, with shows like The Grand Tour looking vibrant and crisp. If you’re after a laptop that comes with OLED or Mini-LED technology, the Dell XPS 13 OLED or the 4K Google PixelBook Go may be better options, but they do come with a big price hike in comparison. 

For a Chromebook, this laptop packs in a lot of power. It comes with an Intel Core i3-1110G4 processor, which proved nippy enough for the lighter demands of ChromeOS. The 8GB of RAM can handle a shedload of Chrome tabs without stuttering, and the 128GB SSD gives a decent amount of space for storing media and work files. 

For under £500, this Chromebook has everything you could ask for. Its versatile design and touchscreen give it more power as a low-level creativity device, and the screen is large enough for both work and play. 

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full Review: Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2022)

FAQs

What is the difference between Chromebook and laptop?

A Chromebook uses Google’s ChromeOS software, while a more conventional laptop uses Windows. ChromeOS doesn’t offer as much freedom as Windows, relying instead on Google’s app store for software, but is arguably more user-friendly. Chromebooks are often cheaper than Windows laptops, but offer a basic performance for productivity. This isn’t a good option for gamers and creators, but great for students and casual use.

Can you use Word on a Chromebook?

Yes, you can find Microsoft Word in the app store, while you also have the option of Google Docs.

Can you use Chromebook without WiFi?

Absolutely, although you’ll need an internet connection to download and use apps such as Netflix and Spotify.

Trusted Reviews test data

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