Best Chromebook under $300 in 2022 - ART OF DIVINE MERCURY

The world of Chromebooks continues to get more and more exciting by the day. This is even true when companies announce a new Chromebook at CES, but it isn’t actually on store shelves until much later in the year. And while the market for high-end Chromebooks seems to be heating up, the same can be said for those looking for the best Chromebook under $300.

Chances are, you probably already know what our favorite of the bunch is, but there are so many great options out there to choose from. Whether you want a Chrome OS tablet that transforms into a Chromebook, or just something that you can get for your little one to take to school, we’ve rounded up the best picks that won’t break the bank.

Table of Contents

Get the best Chromebook under $300

(Image credit: Ara Wagoner / Divinemercy)

Best Chromebook under $300 overall

Reasons to buy

Incredible battery life

Includes kickstand case and detachable keyboard

Supports USI stylus

Lightweight and portable

Reasons to avoid

–

A little outdated

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Keyboard cover is not very rigid

–

Only one USB-C port

Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet has been available since its launch in 2020, but this is still arguably the best Chromebook under $300. Not only does Lenovo include a kickstand back cover and detachable keyboard case, but the fact that you can go from using it like a laptop to having a tablet is just extremely convenient.

The Duet offers a compact and portable form factor, thanks in part, to the 10.1-inch touchscreen display. That little display can even reach up to 400 nits of brightness, which outperforms some of the (more-expensive) best Chromebooks. MediaTek’s Helio P60T chipset sips on the 7,000mAh battery like a fine wine, allowing you to get up to 10 hours of battery on a single charge. And there’s even USI stylus support, but you’ll have to pick one of those up yourself, as Lenovo doesn’t include one in the box.

Port selection is a little rough, as we noted in our review, due to the fact that you’ll only have a single USB-C port at your disposal. And while it’s great that this doubles as the charging port, trying to connect any wired peripherals, like an HDMI cable, will require a USB-C hub. Nevertheless, the Chromebook Duet continues to impress despite its pitfalls and the fact that it’s a little more than two years old at this point.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung Chromebook 4+

Best for a big screen

Reasons to buy

15.6-inch display

SSD storage option available

All-day battery life

Reasons to avoid

–

Display isn’t a touchscreen

–

Middling performance

Those who are looking for a cheap Chromebook with a big screen will definitely want to consider the Samsung Chromebook 4+. Samsung packed a 15.6-inch display into the Chromebook 4+, offering more screen real estate compared to the “regular” Chromebook 4. As you might expect for a sub-$300 Chromebook, the configurations options are pretty limited. You’ll be able to get either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and up to 64GB of eMMC storage, but if you want a traditional SSD option with 128GB of storage, you’ll be getting rather close to the $400 price. And at that point, there are plenty of other options that offer better performance for the price.

With this Chromebook, you won’t be getting the best performance, and the 15.6-inch display doesn’t look all that great when it comes to viewing angles. But what you get in return is solid all-day battery life, and just enough power to do some light multi-tasking. There are plenty of compromises to be found here, but Samsung’s excellent build quality and the larger screen easily help to outweigh the cons.

(Image credit: ASUS)

ASUS Chromebook Flip CM3

Enjoy the upgrade

Reasons to buy

Incredible battery life

3:2 aspect ratio is perfect for multi-tasking

Features USI stylus support

Reasons to avoid

–

Should have been a detachable tablet

–

Stylus not included

In case you weren’t aware, we’ve reached the point where more and more Chromebook makers are starting to use MediaTek chipsets across its lineup. And that’s part of the intrigue with the ASUS Chromebook Flip CM3, as you’ll find the MediaTek MT8183 chipset clocked at 2GHz. But MediaTek has designed this chip with Chrome OS in mind, something that you won’t really find when looking at the rest of the Chromebook market.

Unfortunately, the Flip CM3 might disappoint some in the performance area, but there are a few other tricks that ASUS has included to help sway you in this direction. For one, its small and compact form factor is extremely enticing, as its display measures at just 12-inches. But the added benefit here is that ASUS uses an IPS panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio, making the CM3 a great sub-$300 Chromebook for productivity. And as you might expect, the Flip CM3 supports a USI stylus, but again, you’ll need to provide that on your own.

One of the key reasons why you might consider the Flip CM3 over the competition comes down to battery life, with ASUS rating this for up to 16 hours on a single charge. This blows everything else away on this list, even if you end up needing to charge before you reach the 16-hour mark. ASUS definitely hit the mark here, and while it may not be the most impressive performer, it might just end up being your next Chromebook.

(Image credit: Acer)

Acer Chromebook 314 Touch

Traditional Chromebook with a touch-screen

Reasons to buy

Touchscreen version of the Chromebook 314

Traditional laptop design might intrigue some

Up to 10 hours of battery life

Reasons to avoid

–

Don’t expect to multi-task or game

One of the primary complaints about the original Acer Chromebook 314 was that it lacked a touchscreen. But Acer heard the complaints and promptly released the Chromebook 314 Touch. This Chromebook features a traditional laptop design, meaning that you won’t be able to rotate the screen and use it as a tablet. But that should be just fine for those who don’t really end up using their Chromebooks like a tablet anyways.

As is the case with many of the best Chromebooks under $300, there are a few compromises to be found, and again, Acer hits us with the performance. Intel’s Celeron N4020 is at the helm here, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage. So you won’t really find yourself doing much gaming or multi-tasking with the Chromebook 314 Touch. But what you will get is up to 10 hours of juice on a single charge, and really, just a solid laptop to use when you’re sitting on the couch and want to look up some new recipes or relax with a YouTube video.

(Image credit: Divinemercy)

Best sub-$300 Chromebook for students

Reasons to buy

MIL-STD rated for durability

Spill and tamper-proof

Surprising number of ports

Made for students

Reasons to avoid

–

Middling performance

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720p webcam isn’t great

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Pretty boring overall

Despite being one of the largest laptop makers in the world, Dell doesn’t seem to put too much of a focus on the Chromebook market. This really comes as a surprise given all of the different options we see from Lenovo, but there is one compelling option if you’re looking for a Chromebook for school. The Dell Chromebook 3100 doesn’t include any major features that jump off of the screen, and that’s really just fine.

It uses the same Intel Celeron N4020 found on many of the best cheap Chromebooks, and you’re limited to only getting 4GB of RAM. Storage is available in either 32GB or 64GB configurations, but you won’t find SSD support as Dell relies on flash storage only. Where the Chromebook 3100 does excel is in its port selection, offering dual USB 3.1 ports, dual USB-C ports, a lock slot, 3.5mm audio combo jack, and even a microSD card reader.

Perhaps even more important than the port selection is the durability offered by the Chromebook 3100 and we found that while the keys are “a tad narrower than most,” this was done on purpose to help stop little ones from trying to pry out the keys. This Chromebook was put through the MIL-STD standards, and managed to survive 5,000 “free fall micro-drops and 30-inch drops onto steel.” Dell even went so far as to make this spill and tamper-proof, making this Chromebook the most durable option in the bunch.

(Image credit: HP)

HP Chromebook 11a

Best for portability

Reasons to buy

HD touchscreen display

Solid port selection

Up to 16 hours of battery

Compact laptop form-factor

Reasons to avoid

–

Only one configuration available

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Almost bottom of the barrel processor

The HP Chromebook 11a (11a-na0060nr) is an intriguing Chromebook. Not because of its performance, which pretty much matches up with the rest of the options here. But because you can get a small and compact Chromebook, with an HD touchscreen, for under $300. It almost feels like HP should have just turned this into a direct competitor for the Chromebook Duet, but opted to stick with the laptop form-factor instead.

Unfortunately, when it comes to configuring this specific Chromebook, your options are limited. And by limited, we mean that you only have one configuration to choose from with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC flash storage. Other features of the Chromebook 11a include incredible battery life, rated for almost 16 hours, a USB-C port supporting Power Delivery, along with a microSD card reader.

You’ll also find a middling 720p webcam to go with stereo speakers, but we can only classify that as “serviceable” at best. But with an 11.6-inch touchscreen and a battery that never runs out, we would be remiss if we didn’t include the Chromebook 11a on this list, as it’s also one of the best Chromebooks for kids.

There are so many sub-$300 options for Chromebooks

The “problem” when trying to find the best Chromebook under $300 is that there are just so many different options. Of course, this is a great problem to have, but you’ll need to into this understanding that you won’t be getting the best performance possible. All of the options we’ve covered here will be more than sufficient to handle many of the tasks that you might find yourself needing a Chromebook for.

Without a doubt, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet stands out from the crowd despite its age and lack of ports. For under $300, transforming a Chromebook tablet into a laptop offers the most convenience. We’re still hoping to see a true successor despite the release of the Duet 5 with its higher price tag.

Tags: Chromebook

Get the best Chromebook under $300

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

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