Best cheap laptop deals and sales for December 2021

Now that this year’s Black Friday has been and gone the number of cheap laptop deals has definitely diminished. Still, as we’re only less than a week after the main event some retailers are still running their sales so there are some opportunities to make a last-minute saving. So, whether you’ve got around £200 to spend on a budget Chromebook for light use or over £500 for a more powerful machine then all bases are covered.

We’ve checked the likes of Amazon, Currys, Laptops Direct, Box, Ebuyer and more to find big savings on premium ultrabooks and some excellent budget laptops at all-new low prices. You’ll find devices with the latest generation Intel processors, spacious SSDs, performance-boosting RAM upgrades and Apple MacBooks all discounted below.

Just read on for all the best cheap laptop deals available this week. We’re rounding them up here so you can save some serious cash on everything from budget laptops to powerful machines sporting the latest specs. We’ll be keeping an eye out for especially good offers through December in the Christmas sales and Boxing Day sales.

Cheap laptop deals by budget

If you’re shopping for cheap laptops, it can be difficult to know whether you’re actually getting a good deal or just paying a low price for underperforming tech. It can be the difference between buying an excellent machine and saving some cash in the process and wasting money on an old computer that can barely run its own operating system. We’ve weeded out all the offers that won’t be worth your time, so you can be sure you’re picking up the best laptop deals out there this week.

All your favourite retailers have been brought together for the very best cheap laptop deals available right now. We’ve broken down each machine by price so you can be sure to find the right laptop for your budget. Do keep checking in, too, as we’ll update this guide whenever a great laptop reaches our desk. 

For you Apple fans, you might be interested in our MacBook deals page too. Or, if you’re just looking for the cheapest web surfer you can find, check out the best cheap Chromebook deals going on right now. After something with a bit more heft? You’ll want to check out all the best gaming laptop deals.

Cheap laptop deal of the week

Acer Aspire 3: £299.97 £279.97 at Box
Save £20
– Don’t let the small saving mislead you – this is already a very well-priced laptop from specialist retailer Box. The highlights include a rich IPS screen and a full-blown 128GB SSD. This speedy storage will allow you to boot the laptop, load files and run programs faster. Perfect to eke out a little extra performance from a cheap laptop for everyday use, work and streaming.

Cheap laptop deals under £200

HP 11a Chromebook: £199 £139 at Currys
Save £60
– One of the cheapest laptop deals this week is at Currys. This HP 11a Chromebook is a very basic machine with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage that means it’s best suited to general browsing and school work. However, the 11-inch screen and the 15.5-hour battery life do make it a good portable option on a tight budget.

Asus CX1100CNA Chromebook: £229 £159 at Very
Save £70
– For just £20 more than our cheapest pick, you can upgrade to this 11-inch Asus Chromebook which doubles your available storage to 64GB. It’s the best price for a machine with a hard drive of this size this week, so one to go for if you need more room and don’t want to rely as much on cloud storage.

Asus 11.6-inch Chromebook Flip C234MA: £339.99 £169.99 at Amazon
Save £170
Here’s an excellent price for a 2-in-1 laptop this week at Amazon. These are rarely found below the £200 mark so don’t miss your chance to get a flexible machine for less. The specification is reasonable for a basic budget laptop, with an Intel processor, 4GB RAM and 32GB storage that will be fine for basic tasks.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3i: £249 £199 at Currys
Save £50
– It’s not always easy to find a laptop with a 14-inch screen for under £200 but this Lenovo IdeaPad 3i just slips under that price bracket at Currys. Along with the larger screen size, you get an Intel processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage – all components you’d expect for this price and enough to power a machine for general browsing or basic office work.

Cheap laptop deals from £200 to £300

Acer 315 15.6-inch Chromebook: £279 £229 at Currys
Save £50
– This Acer 315 sports a large 15.6-inch screen and is the most affordable option if you want to avoid the smaller 11-inch and 14-inch devices. Aside from that, you can expect a cheap laptop with a similar performance to our options under £200, so this is best suited to everyday browsing and some light work.

Acer Aspire 3: £299.97 £279.97 at Box
Save £20
– Don’t let the small saving mislead you – this is already a very well-priced laptop from specialist retailer Box. The highlights include a rich IPS screen and a full-blown 128GB SSD. This speedy storage will allow you to boot the laptop, load files and run programs faster. Perfect to eke out a little extra performance while still paying for a cheap laptop.

Asus 12-inch Chromebook Flip: £349 £279 at Currys
Save £70
– This is a good discount on a 2-in-1 laptop from Currys. While it’s a very basic machine, it does sport an impressive 16-hour battery life so if you need a convenient and portable device for general everyday use this will fit the bill.

Cheap laptop deals from £300 to £400

HP 14s laptop: £349 £329 at Currys
Save £20
This is a good price for a smaller 14-inch laptop if you need something a bit more portable. The specs are still solid, too, with an Intel Pentium processor, 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD that will be suitable for light everyday use. Plus, there’s the final freebie of a 1-year subscription to Office 365 with Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Samsung Galaxy Book Go: £399 £349 at Amazon
Save £50
– This Samsung Galaxy Book Go is £50 off right now, which is a great price for a laptop that has an impressive 18-hour battery life. With a spec that features 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD you’re also getting a well-performing machine for your money that will handle everyday jobs, work and media streaming.

HP Pavilion 15.6-inch laptop: £399.99 £349.99 at Amazon
Save £50
– If you’re after a slightly larger screen within this price range then Amazon has a 15.6-inch HP Pavilion laptop for £349 this week. Ideal for everyday browsing and general work tasks, it has an AMD Athlon processor, 4GB RAM and a speedy 128GB SSD. Plus, the B&O audio and micro-edge screen will give you a better experience when streaming on Netflix, YouTube and more.

HP 14b Chromebook: £499 £379 at Currys
Save £120
– Not only does the HP Chromebook have a substantial £120 discount this week, but it’s also the cheapest laptop we’ve found that features 8GB of RAM. Just having this will massively improve its performance, so if you want a speedy and efficient device for not a lot of money then this is well worth your consideration as one of the best cheap laptop deals this week.

Cheap laptop deals between £400 and £600

Microsoft Surface Go 2: £499 £449 at Very
Save £50
– Microsoft’s super-portable laptop and tablet hybrid is £50 off right now at Very. There are definitely cheaper 2-in-1 laptops available but the Surface range are well-made and dependable devices. This deal is improved further by the inclusion of a type cover case for free – something that’s usually withheld at an extra cost when bought from other stores.

Dell Inspiron 15 3000: £599 £509 at Dell
Save £90
– Prices have shot up a little at Dell since the end of Black Friday but this is still a good deal on the Inspiron 15 3000. What really seals the deal is the inclusion of both an Intel i5 processor and 8GB RAM – two top components to get the best performance out of your device. Add to that a 256GB SSD and you’ll find it makes more involving jobs and multitasking a lot smoother.

Best laptop deals over £600

Gigabyte U4: £799.97 £699.97 at Box
Save £100
– You get a lot for money with this cheap laptop deal from Box. It’s packed full of top-end components including an i7 processor, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. This is a high performance laptop at a great price that will handle any task you want to throw at it. Just be aware all that extra power does come with a limited 8-hour battery life so may not be suitable for someone on the move a lot.

Apple MacBook Air (M1): £999 £889 at Amazon
Save £110 –
You’re saving a healthy £110 on the latest MacBook Air here – and one with the powerful M1 chip at the helm no less. That’s an excellent price – even if we have seen it around £20 cheaper in the past in a particularly speedy flash sale. This configuration offers 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.

We’ll continue adding the best cheap laptop deals in the latest sales as we find them. Up next, you’ll find the latest prices on some of the most popular laptops around along with a list of retailers who often have a great selection of laptop sales if nothing else takes your fancy here.

Which stores have decent cheap laptop sales?

  • Amazon: retail giant is often the cheapest in the UK.
  • John Lewis: models come with at least two-year guarantee.
  • Very: Often surprises with cheap prices on electronics.
  • Laptops Direct: specialist UK store has a huge selection of laptop deals.
  • ebuyer: the UK computing specialists have some great promotions.
  • Currys: the retailer that’s seemingly always having a laptop sale.
  • AO: lots of cheap laptops at this growing electronics specialist.
  • Argos: home delivery or pick up a cheap laptop locally today.
  • Dell: get a great laptop deal direct from Dell.
  • Apple: MacBooks aren’t exactly cheap, but they’re excellent workstations

The best cheap laptops

The best cheap laptop deals are often to be found on lower priced machines that edge their way into the mid-range category with higher specs further up the scale. It’s in this pocket of budget laptop shopping that you’ll find some of the most compelling offers, bringing 8GB RAM / i5 processor / 256GB SSD configurations down to entry level prices during sales seasons. 

cheap laptops deals sales

(Image credit: Acer)

1. Acer Chromebook 314

A cheap and cheerful Chromebook regularly discounted

CPU: Intel Celeron N4000 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 600 | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 14-inch LED (1366 x 768) high definition | Storage: 32GB eMMC

Excellent value for money
Strong performance
Premium look and feel
No touchscreen

With a 12 hour battery life, bright 14-inch display and tactile keyboard, the Acer Chromebook 314 offers everything you could ask for in a cheap laptop. While this model doesn’t quite stretch to 64GB, storage is easily expanded using a portable hard drive and there’s a full array of ports to take advantage of as well (though limited display options). What’s more, this is one of those rare cheap laptops that look and feel far more expensive than they actually are. Thin, light, and sturdy, this is an excellent machine to throw in a backpack and expect it to last all day.

Read the full Acer Chromebook 314 review.

cheap laptop deals

(Image credit: HP)

2. HP Pavilion 15

The de facto learning laptop lives on

CPU: AMD dual-core A9 APU – Intel Core i7 | Graphics: AMD Radeon R5 – Nvidia GTX 1050 | RAM: 4GB – 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch HD (1,366 x 768) – FHD (1,920 x 1,080); touch optional | Storage: 128GB SSD – 1TB HDD

Thinner and lighter
Tons of options
Regular discounts
Shallow, squishy keyboard

A sturdy choice for a study laptop for school/college/uni. The HP Pavilion 15 has plenty of power for the average student’s needs while keeping the costs sensible. There are plenty of configurations available in this budget laptop as well. Some favour speedy SSDs, while others go for larger regular hard drives, so it all depends on what you’re going to need more really. Faster loading or more space for storing media files and downloads.

Check out the best HP laptops 

best laptop deals

(Image credit: Asus)

3. Asus Vivobook 15

Mid-range specs for entry level prices

CPU: Up to Intel i7 | Graphics: Nvidia | RAM: Up to 16GB | Screen: FHD (1920×1080) | Storage: 128GB SSD – 1TB HDD

Versatile and powerful
Full HD screen
Regularly discounted

The Asus Vivobook 15 can usually be found from £399 upwards, offering baseline specs that vastly outperform many of the Chromebooks usually found at this price point and ranging all the way up to incredibly powerful configurations should you need them. With an expansive Nano-Edge display, you’re even getting a full 15.6-inch sized laptop here, coming in at just 1.6kg, a fingerprint sensor and options for speedy Intel Optane memory as well. 

Cheap laptops: what to look out for

Cheap laptops can often lure shoppers in with a sub-£200 price tag, but unless you’re picking up a Chromebook you’re unlikely to get your money’s worth with these particular models. Chromebooks largely run on Chrome OS, which means they rely less on more expensive components and more on cloud-based services provided by Google Chrome. That means you’ll regularly find cheap laptops under £200 that are well worth your cash – provided they were built with this functioning in mind. 

These kinds of budget laptops are regularly found on sale, but every now and then we do spot savings that offer mid-range specs for entry level prices.

It’s worth looking out for cheap laptop deals that offer a Windows 10 operating system, but only 16 or 32GB of storage space. You’ll likely speed through those gigabites faster than you’d think, and storing those hefty Windows 10 updates often presents a new challenge in its own right. That means the smallest we would recommend on this page is a 64GB hard drive if you’re running a Windows 10 or 10s operating system. 

Cheap laptops can also come with the caveat that they don’t offer an operating system at all. These FreeDOS laptops can sometimes be appealing (and if you’re up for installing your own copy of Windows or Linux, they often deserve to be), but it’s important to check that spec and low price before you buy. We do feature the odd freeDOS budget laptop on this roundup, as they can prove cost effective, but we’ll make sure you know when we do.