Best laptop under $1000 in January 2024
Best laptop under 1000 USD
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If you’re looking for the best laptop under 1000 USD then boy howdy do we have some fine selections for you here. We’ve got all bases covered, including the best laptop under 1000 USD for students, the best for gaming, for business use, and for those after a 2-in-1 touchscreen option.
We’ll be listing the positives and negatives of each of these in detail, as well as going over their respective specifications to help you decide which is the right model for you.
Best laptop under $1,000: Products at a glance
MacBook Air 2022 (13.6″, M2)
CPU & graphics
M2 chipset
RAM
8GB
Storage
256GB SSD
Max Refresh Rate
60Hz
Resolution
2560 x 1664
Screen Size
13.6-inch
MSI Cyborg 15 (144Hz FHD, i7-12650H)
CPU
Intel Core i7-12650H
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
RAM
16GB/32GB DDR5 RAM
Storage
512GB/1TB SSD
Max Refresh Rate
144Hz
Resolution
FHD
ASUS ZenBook Flip 14 (2.8K OLED, AMD)
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5600H / 5700H
Graphics
Radeon iGPU
RAM
8GB/16GB DDR4
Storage
512GB / 1TB SSD
Screen Size
14” (16:10)
Max Refresh Rate
60Hz
Lenovo 2022 ThinkPad E14 G3 (14″)
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
Graphics
Radeon integrated graphics
RAM
16GB DDR4 RAM
Storage
1TB PCIe SSD
Screen Size
14-inches
Max Refresh Rate
60Hz
Best laptop under $1,000: Top Picks
Best laptop under 1000 USD: Product reviews
Best laptop under 1000 USD for students
MacBook Air 2022 (13.6″, M2)
CPU & graphics
M2 chipset
RAM
8GB
Storage
256GB SSD
Max Refresh Rate
60Hz
Resolution
2560 x 1664
Screen Size
13.6-inch
- fairly powerful M2 chipset
- bright and colorful screen
- excellent battery life
- superb build quality
- solid speakers
- solid webcam
- looks great
- light and portable
- most options limited to 8GB of RAM
- higher-specced RAM & SSD options can get pricey
- webcam notch on top of screen can be irritating
The best laptop for those after an all-round quality device that’s easily portable is the latest 13.6” MacBook Air 2022 variant with M2 chipset. Although there are much cheaper options available for students, if you’re looking for something around this budget then there really aren’t many negatives to this laptop.
Although processing power isn’t the number one priority if you’re just using it for general work, the M2 chip is pleasingly powerful, and its integrated graphics processor can comfortably handle light rendering tasks for any video/photo/audio editors on the move. It’s also very energy efficient, meaning the laptop comes with a battery life of around 14 hours on energy saving mode – very impressive indeed.
It has the impeccable design and build quality you’d expect from an Apple product, as well as an excellent 2560 x 1664 display which can reach a peak brightness of around 490 nits, meaning its suitable for outdoor use. Although it only covers around 75% of the DCI-P3 color space, it easily accomplishes 100% sRGB and with a high degree of color-accuracy to boot, meaning professional creatives can use it for color work in this space.
The audio output through the four speaker system isn’t as good as you’d get on a MacBook Pro (which has a 6 speaker setup and by far the best audio quality of any laptop), but it’s still up there with the best of the Windows laptops. The webcam image is definitely well above average, though again not quite as good as the chunkier Pro, and we would say that the placement of the notch cutting out a segment at the top of the visible screen is a bit annoying.
At 2.7lbs it’s very light and the dimensions are very slender indeed – making it highly portable. Of course a 13.6-inch screen isn’t for everyone and some may prefer more screen real estate when they’re working, but that’s always a trade-off you have to consider with nay machine.
Whilst at the time of writing it’s slightly out of the price range of this review at full price, you can often find one on sale for around the $1,000 mark, and (amazingly for an Apple product) we would actually say that it’s not actually overpriced. If you want to go for more RAM however (important if you open a lot of web browser tabs) then this could cost you a couple of hundred dollars more, and the same is true for the SSD size, though in the case of the latter it may be worth picking up an external SSD instead.
Best laptop under 1000 USD for gaming
MSI Cyborg 15 (144Hz FHD, i7-12650H)
CPU
Intel Core i7-12650H
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
RAM
16GB/32GB DDR5 RAM
Storage
512GB/1TB SSD
Max Refresh Rate
144Hz
Resolution
FHD
- A RTX 4060 laptop GPU at a great price
- Lots of RAM & SSD upgrade options for cheap
- Unique translucent design
- Underpowered RTX 4060 GPU
- Poor color replication
- Fairly dim screen
The MSI Cyborg is a brand new range in MSI’s gaming laptop roster that offers unbeatable value in terms of the core components it comes with. Although the Intel Core i7-12650H CPU is of the previous gen, it’s a very capable mid-range performer, and it’s paired with the latest dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 laptop graphics card. You simply won’t find an RTX 4060 laptop other than this one anywhere near this price point, making it a uniquely powerful entry into the lower-mid range.
The main sacrifice that this value come switch is the memory – with only 8GB of RAM this will impact your performance in newer titles, and we’d advise upgrading it to 16GB after the point of purchase (this is all very straightforward though, check out this how to upgrade RAM on laptops guide on our sister site). Fortunately the laptop has two DDR5 supporting RAM slots that enable you to do this.
Relative to the non-gaming models on this page, the screen’s peak brightness, contrast, and color replication don’t compete, but they’re certainly good enough for gaming indoors, and the 144Hz max refresh rate will help you enjoy the FPS the components are capable of producing.
The build quality is solid and it comes with blue sci-fi styling on the keyboard and an unusual translucent finish underneath and on the sides of the laptop. The keyboard and trackpad are respectable for the price, though again not as good as the non-gaming picks here for the same amount of money. You also get a numpad on the keyboard, which could be a bonus or a drawback, depending on your priorities (personally I like the extra functionality it gives when using the machine for work as well as gaming).
Everything considered, this is the best laptop under $1000 for gaming that’s currently available.
Best convertible touchscreen laptop under 1000 USD
ASUS ZenBook Flip 14 (2.8K OLED, AMD)
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5600H / 5700H
Graphics
Radeon iGPU
RAM
8GB/16GB DDR4
Storage
512GB / 1TB SSD
Screen Size
14” (16:10)
Max Refresh Rate
60Hz
- fantastic 2880 x 1800 OLED display
- convertible device with touch screen
- 16GB RAM & 1TB SSD for the price
- good port coverage and microSD card reader
- looks nice
- good battery life for an OLED device
- poor webcam
The ASUS ZenBook 14 and the smaller sized ASUS ZenBook 13 come in many different variants and generational models, some with Intel CPUs, some with AMD, some with touchscreen and/or 2-in-1 convertibility, some without.
On the whole, all of these laptops are pretty good, and worth your consideration, but it’s the ASUS Zenbook Flip 14 variant, with AMD Ryzen CPU options and 2.8K OLED touchscreen that we rate the highest.
The particular SKU that’s available within the price range has an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, which is an older mid-range CPU, but has the advantage of being relatively power-efficient, which means that despite having an OLED screen you still get up to about 10 hours of battery life.
The overall port selection is solid, with a USB-A, two USB-C ports, and a microSD card reader and a headphone jack (some other variants can lack this so beware). The build quality is respectable, and the machine looks pretty damn good overall, plus is nice and slender for easy portability.
For well under $1,000 you can equip this beast with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The 720p webcam quality is pretty atrocious, but that’s a pretty small drawback when you get so much else at such good value.
Best laptop under 1000 USD for business
Lenovo 2022 ThinkPad E14 G3 (14″)
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
Graphics
Radeon integrated graphics
RAM
16GB DDR4 RAM
Storage
1TB PCIe SSD
Screen Size
14-inches
Max Refresh Rate
60Hz
- The ideal typing keyboard
- Additional security features
- Rugged build quality
- 16GB RAM & 1TB SSD for the price
- Solid battery life
- poor speakers
- webcam could be better
The Lenovo ThinkPad series are a long running line that is well known for their sturdy and secure laptops with perfect typing keyboards, targeted directly at the business consumer.
This particular ThinkPad E14 G3 is a 14-inch model that comes with and AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe SSD – plenty powerful enough and with sufficient storage space for its use case.
The battery life stretches to about 10 hours, again partly thanks to the energy efficient Ryzen CPU, which is good enough for a day’s work. Furthermore the laptop is built to a literal military standard (with a MIL-STD 810G certified chassis) so can handle being dropped, shook around, and extreme changes of temperature for those with an itinerant lifestyle.
The keyboard is the same one in most Thinkpad machines: a unique design that’s halfway between a low-travel chiclet keyboard (similar to a MacBook for instance) and a tactile mechanical keyboard, with ergonomically shaped keys of perfect size and spacing to reduce typing errors. The perfect typing experience.
In terms of ports you get a solid showing: two USB 3.2-A Gen 1 sockets, one USB 3.2-C Gen 1 socket, a HDMI socket for connecting to displays and a RJ-45 for ethernet connections.
Security features include your standard Kensington lock, fingerprint sensor, and Windows Hello compatibility, in addition to TPM 2.0 data encryption for all your files, plus ThinkShield software – perfect for business people carrying sensitive documents.
There are a couple of flaws besides all the benefits – the webcam quality is pretty mediocre and the speakers aren’t great, though the latter point can be easily worked around by using headphones. Still, all-in-all, a great laptop for professionals.
Things to consider when shopping for a gaming laptop under 1000 USD
Is a laptop under $1,000 good for gaming?
$1,000 is about the point at which you enter the mid-range of gaming laptops in terms of power and specifications. Assuming what you’re buying can be classed as a gaming laptop (which generally means it has a dedicated graphics card and a screen refresh rate above 60Hz) then you should expect to be able to play the newest AAA games on it for this amount of money, but only on the lower settings if you want decent FPS. If you’re interested in older, less demanding titles, then medium-high settings at 1080p resolution shouldn’t be a problem on these.
See our best gaming laptop under $500 guide for the very bottom rung of what you could class as a gaming laptop, our best gaming laptop under $1,000 for the low-medium tier, best gaming laptop under $1,500 for the high-medium tier, and finally our best gaming laptop under $2,500 for some premium options.
How long should a $1000 laptop last?
Typically you’d want a laptop you spend around $1,000 to last at least 5 years, though there’s no guarantee this will happen. If the laptop is of a good build quality, from a reliable brand, and you treat it well, then you could get 7 years of more out of it. If your laptop is prone to getting hot under load, you can also increase its lifespan by investing in cooling solutions to reduce the amount of thermal degradation experienced by the components. See our best laptop stand and best laptop cooling pad guides for some examples.
Best laptop under $1,000 FAQs
Are laptops under $1,000 worth it?
Spending $1,000 on a laptop will get you a very nice machine indeed. You may want to spend less if all you’re interested in is a cheap machine for web browsing and running Microsoft Office however – see our best laptop under $400 page for some budget examples.
For those after a quality general-use laptop with a nice display and good build quality, or something capable of light creative work, you can get a good quality device for $1,000. For a gaming laptop however you’ll only manage to get a lower-mid range machine for this amount of money – more powerful device will cost more.
Which laptop is best for daily use?
The MacBook Pro and MacBook Air series are some of the best high-quality laptops you can get for daily use, however they are often expensive devices and use the MacOS operating system, rather than Windows, which may not be suitable for your needs.
Some of the best general use Windows laptop brands are ASUS, HP, Acer, and Lenovo, though not every model these companies produce is worth buying and other models by different brands are also often excellent picks. Have a read of our various guides for different price points to work out which is the best laptop for you.
Best laptop under 1000 USD : Final Word
We hope this has helped you find the best laptop under $1,000 for your needs. If you didn’t find what you’re looking for here, do check out our best laptop for working from home page, plus various other laptop guides and gaming laptop guides covering different budgets and use-cases.
