9 best chromebook under $300 - Review

The Flip CM3 may disappoint some people in terms of performance, but ASUS has included a few extra strategies to push you in this manner. One reason is because, with a 12-inch display, it has a very appealing small and compact design factor. The IPS panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio, however, is an extra bonus in this case, making the CM3 a fantastic productivity Chromebook for $300. And as you might anticipate, the Flip CM3 is USI stylus compatible.

Battery life is one of the main reasons you might choose the Flip CM3 over the competition; ASUS rates this for up to 16 hours on a single charge. Even if you wind up having to recharge before the 16-hour point, this is far superior to anything else on this list. Although it might not be the best performer, ASUS definitely struck the mark with this model, and it may end up becoming your next Chromebook.

It's interesting to see the HP Chromebook 11a (11a-na0060nr) in action. Not because of its performance, which is rather comparable to the other choices available here. However, a small and portable Chromebook with an HD touchscreen is now available for less than $300. It almost seems like HP should have made this the Chromebook Duet's direct rival instead of sticking with the laptop form factor. You have little options when it comes to setting this particular Chromebook, which is unfortunate. And by restricted, we mean that there is only one 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash storage variant available.

The Chromebook 11a also has a microSD card reader, a USB-C port that supports Power Delivery, and an amazing battery life with a rating of nearly 16 hours. Along with stereo speakers, you'll also discover a subpar 720p webcam, which we can only describe as "serviceable" at most. The Chromebook 11a is one of the finest Chromebooks for kids, and with an 11.6-inch touchscreen and a battery that never runs out, we would be remiss if we left it off this list.

It's simple to mistake the incredibly portable Lenovo Chromebook Duet for a journal at first appearance. When you open the type cover, you'll see a sharp Full HD screen inside, wrapped in soft fabric. Despite having a screen that is only 10.1 inches across, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is a great option for mobile use. If you're looking for a 2-in-1 with lots of ports, you might be let down, but the Chromebook Duet has enough internal power to make up for it. Lenovo was able to squeeze an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60T processor and ARM G72 MP3 graphics into the little gadget. The typical setup also includes 64GB of eMCP storage and 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. For a Chromebook that costs under $300, it's not a bad hybrid of a tablet and a laptop.

Although the design of this laptop is rather appealing, it offers outstanding functionality as well. The laptop is renowned for having a huge 15.6 inch touch screen display, making it perfect for tablet use and for viewing numerous items at once on the screen. When used this Chromebook responds really swiftly. Along with an Intel Pentium processor running at 2.5 GHz, it has the incredibly quick ChromeOS operating system. Additionally, the laptop's 4GB of RAM contributes to its efficient operation. You will have 64 GB of data to store. Even while this isn't much, your chromebook will thankfully provide you access to the cloud, which can help with the storage issue.

Additionally, the laptop comes with an HD camera, which is excellent for Zoom conversations on Monday mornings. This laptop also has some respectable connectivity. A headphone and microphone jack, two USB 3.0 type C connectors, and two Type-A USB 3.1 ports are included. Unfortunately, this laptop also has subpar audio quality, but you can fix this problem rather quickly

The Chromebook with the best overall performance, features, and cost-to-value is not the most fashionable, lightest, or powerful model. It features an outstanding 13.3-inch full HD screen, a thin, convertible design, and amazing connectivity, including 802.11ax Wi-Fi. The keyboard is excellent and a great tool for regular use.

Since we evaluated the Flex 5, Lenovo has improved its specifications and renamed it the Flex 5i. Performance should improve now that it has an 11th-generation Core i5 processor, as the Flex 5 was one of the quickest Chromebooks we had tested previously. For many people, even the entry-level Core i3/4GB version will be quick enough. This Chromebook has few faults and an exceptional battery life at a price that's difficult to match.

The Samsung Chromebook 4+ is a great option for anyone seeking a budget Chromebook with a large screen. The Chromebook 4+ from Samsung features a 15.6-inch display, providing more screen space than the "normal" Chromebook 4. The setup options are somewhat constrained for a Chromebook that costs less than $300, as you might expect. 4GB or 6GB of RAM and up to 64GB of eMMC storage will be available, but if you choose a regular SSD with 128GB of storage, the cost will be very close to $400. There are a tonne of different solutions available at that moment that deliver better performance for the money.

You won't get the best performance out of this Chromebook, and the 15.6-inch display doesn't look all that great from various viewing angles. However, you do get a reliable all-day battery life and just enough power to perform some lite multitasking in exchange. There are several trade-offs involved here, but Samsung's superb construction and the larger screen more than make up for them.

The final selection for our list of the best Chromebooks under $300 is a clamshell model. The Business Black finish and 180-degree hinge of Lenovo's Chromebook S330 make it suitable for the business world and allow it to rest flat for presentations. Although it's still portable, the enormous 14-inch display is fantastic for productivity. The MediaTek MTK 8173C, which has four cores and four threads and runs at 1.7GHz, is the only CPU choice for the S330. 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM at 1866MHz and the built-in PowerVR GX6250 graphics are additional specifications that affect performance. For Zoom meetings, a 720p webcam is ideal, and 64GB of storage is usual.

You can only purchase 4GB of RAM and it employs the same Intel Celeron N4020 processor as many of the finest inexpensive Chromebooks. Storage is offered in 32GB or 64GB versions, but Dell only uses flash storage, so SSD support is not accessible. With dual USB 3.1 ports, dual USB-C ports, a lock slot, a 3.5mm audio combo jack, and even a microSD card reader, the Chromebook 3100 excels in this area.

The durability provided by the Chromebook 3100 is perhaps even more crucial than the variety of ports, and we discovered that while the keys are "a touch thinner than most," this was done on purpose to assist prevent young children from trying to pry out the keys. The MIL-STD standards were applied to this Chromebook, and it was able to withstand 5,000 "free fall micro-drops and 30-inch drops into steel." The most robust option in the group, Dell even went so far as to make this Chromebook tamper- and spill-proof.