Whether you’re looking for a powerful laptop for gaming or a budget business machine, these best value laptops 2025 reviews have you covered. They’re designed to save you money while still delivering on the performance you need to get your job done quickly.
You’ll also want to check for USB-C ports, which support Thunderbolt 4 and can make it easier to transfer files from your machine to an external drive. And check to see if it has a headphone jack, which is becoming rarer in laptops but should be present if you plan to use your machine for listening to music or audio content.
1. HP Pavilion 15
The HP Pavilion 15 is an incredibly affordable laptop that offers serious computer users the specs they need without breaking the bank. It is a brilliant choice for students, young professionals, and workplace ace who are serious about their work and don’t want to compromise on power and performance.
It comes with a powerful Intel Core i7-8565U processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics, which will let you breeze through general office tasks and even some games at the right settings. It also has a decent-sized display with Full HD resolution and a slim micro-edge bezel.
It’s a great budget choice that’s built to last and offers plenty of space for your files, pictures, videos, and music. It’s also super-fast and comes with a decent amount of memory and an NVMe SSD, which is 100 times faster than a regular hard drive.
2. ASUS Vivobook 15
With up to an Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA discrete graphics, the ASUS Vivobook 15 is a powerhouse that keeps up with your fast-paced life. It features a sleek, frameless NanoEdge display with a 5.7mm thin bezel for 88% screen-to-body ratio.
It also has a super-fast SSD for faster data performance and a large HDD for storage. This combination ensures that apps load quickly and multitasking is smooth.
This is a very good laptop for students, especially those who are looking for a reliable device at an affordable price. It doesn’t include bloatware or proprietary software, and there are plenty of features to keep you entertained.
3. Dell XPS 15
If you need a powerful Windows laptop that can handle multimedia, work and gaming, the Dell XPS 15 is one of the best options available. It’s a premium device that combines a stunning OLED display, an oversized touchpad and 11th-generation Intel and Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti processors to provide top-notch performance.
The XPS 15’s display is among the best in this price range, thanks to its bright OLED panel that produces up to 398 nits of brightness and a gorgeous anti-reflective finish. That’s better than the premium laptop average of 382 nits, and it also outdoes the MacBook Pro 435 nits.
4. Lenovo ThinkPad X1
If you’re looking for an ultrabook with a great keyboard and bright display, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is a good option. It’s also one of the lightest laptops in this category, and it’s built to last.
The latest ThinkPad X1 is available with a number of different configurations, including a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-1260P CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It’s also offered with Intel Iris Xe graphics.
Its 14-inch screen has a 1920 x 1080 resolution and it’s capable of handling everyday tasks such as web browsing, video playback, and editing documents without much problem. It doesn’t offer a dedicated GPU though, so it’s not suitable for creative applications like video encoding or heavy photo and graphic editing.
5. Acer Swift 3
The Acer Swift 3 is a great choice for people looking to buy an affordable laptop. It has a powerful processor, a long battery life and an impressively lightweight chassis.
It also comes with a good selection of ports, including two USB-C ports (one that supports video output and charging), one Thunderbolt 4 port and two USB-A ports.
The Acer Swift 3 is a solid workhorse that should handle most day-to-day tasks well, though it’s not as fast as some of the competition. It’s a good choice for business users who want a laptop that’s easy to carry and a reasonable price.