Best laptops under $200

Top pick: the ASUS Chromebook CX15. It's the safest choice in this range — a proper 15-inch 1080p screen, 128GB of storage and a rating that holds up across thousands of reviews. For browsing, email, docs and video calls, Chrome OS stays quick on modest hardware, which is exactly where cheap Windows machines struggle.

Who the others suit:

• HP 14-inch Windows 11 laptop — if you need real Windows apps (Office desktop, older software) and a familiar desktop.
• Lenovo Chromebook m 14" — a sharper 1920×1200 screen for reading and writing all day.
• HP Stream 14 — a known, widely reviewed Windows machine if you want the cheapest way into Windows.
• 7–10 inch Android mini laptops — only as a toy or second screen for a child; small screens, weak chips and thin review counts make them poor daily drivers.

Skip anything with 2–4GB of RAM if you keep many tabs open.