Best laptops for studying up to $400 today

Today’s picks

The best up to $400
score 5.4
Acer
Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U
Core 5 120U8 GB RAM512 GB
£382
No history yet · today
Amazon: the cheapest today
Buy on Amazon More details
Who it’s for: Study and basic use
Pros: 512 GB SSD
Cons: Only 8 GB of RAM
Best value
score 5.3
Lenovo
ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 14″ Core i5-10310U
Core i5-10310U16 GB RAM256 GB
£268
No history yet · today
Amazon: the cheapest today
Buy on Amazon More details
Who it’s for: Study and basic use · Work and office
Pros: 16 GB of RAM
Cons: Only 256 GB SSD; No dedicated graphics card

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The best laptop for studying up to $400 today is the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U, £382 (score 5.4).

All models: Laptops for studying up to $400

See the 8 modelsHide the list

Models in the segment, from highest score to lowest
Model	Price	Score	Buy
Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U8 GB · 512 GB SSD	£382at Amazon	5.4	Buy on Amazon
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 14″ Core i5-10310U16 GB · 256 GB SSD	£268at Amazon	5.3	Buy on Amazon
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 16″ Core i5-1334U8 GB · 256 GB SSD	£399at Amazon	5.1	Buy on Amazon
Asus Vivobook 15.6″ Ryzen 3 7320U8 GB · 512 GB SSD	£400at Amazon	4.5	Buy on Amazon
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 16″ Core i3-1315U8 GB · 256 GB SSD	£375at Amazon	4.3	Buy on Amazon
HP 15 15.6″ Core 3 100U8 GB · 256 GB SSD	£355at Amazon	no score	Buy on Amazon
Acer Aspire Lite 14″ Core 38 GB · 256 GB SSD	£366at Amazon	no score	Buy on Amazon
Acer Aspire Go 15.6″ Ryzen 3 7320U8 GB · 256 GB SSD	£380at Amazon	no score	Buy on Amazon

Laptops for studying up to $400 in numbers

How much it costs

Half of the 8 laptops cost up to £378; the range with the most models is from £380 to £400, with 4.

half cost up to £378
whole catalog: £745 →

Cheapest £268 Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 14″ Core i5-10310U rating 5.3

Most expensive £400 Asus Vivobook 15.6″ Ryzen 3 7320U

See the table by price range

Laptops for studying up to $400 by price range, against the whole catalog
Price range	Models in the segment	In the catalog	Median score of the segment	Median score of the catalog
Under £450	8	33	5.1	4.1
£450 to £680	0	35		5.6
£680 to £980	0	33		6.2
£980 to £1,500	0	32		7.2
Over £1,500	0	21		8.8

See these models on the price and score map

What changed

This is the first check with history for this segment. Radar checks prices every day: from the next one on, this section shows what got cheaper, what got more expensive and what came in or left.

The highest rating of each brand

Spec score from 0 to 10, with today’s price.

5.4Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U£382
5.3Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 14″ Core i5-10310U£268
4.5Asus Vivobook 15.6″ Ryzen 3 7320U£400

Brands

4 brands have a model here; Acer has the most, with 5 models.

Against the whole catalog

−49%median price below the catalog’s
−1.6median spec score: 5.1 vs 6.7
5%of the catalog: 8 of 154 models

See the full table

Laptops for studying up to $400 against the whole catalog
Indicator	Laptops for studying up to $400	Whole catalog	Difference
Models	8	154	5% of the catalog
Median price	£378	£745	−49%
Median score	5.1	6.7	−1.6 ponto
Lowest price	£268	£182	+£86
Highest price	£400	£4,858	−£4,458

What the numbers say about laptops for studying up to $400

Raising the budget to up to $450, best by spec sheet becomes o Lenovo IdeaPad 14″ Ryzen 5 150: score 5.6 at £415, 0.2 point higher the leader of this range (Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U, score 5.4 at £382).

Size

up to 14″40 models 15″82 models 16″+32 models

Pick a size. Applies to all pages

How to read these numbers

Pick 1, best score for the price: Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U, £382 at Amazon, on 06/11/2026. The median price of the 8 models on the list is £378.

How we choose

The picks combine a high rating and a price in line with the list: each one fits a way of spending, a use, or the brand that shows up most. The pros and cons come from each model’s spec sheet.
Stores: Amazon. We include stores we read every day through an open source or an affiliate program: the Radar collection, the Amazon catalog and the factory price database. A store that failed to load today is left out.
The same model in two stores is only merged with a catalog code, GTIN or the manufacturer’s full code. When in doubt, only one store is kept. A price far from the collected one (below 60% or above 150%) is left out.
Amazon appears without a price, only with the link: we don’t read Amazon prices in bulk.

Next step

See each laptop on the chart

Open the chart already filtered to Laptops for studying up to $400.

See laptops for studying up to $400 on the chart

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best laptop for studying up to $400 today?

Today it is the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U, for £382 (score 5.4).

Which laptop for studying up to $400 has the best value today?

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 14″ Core i5-10310U, for £268 (score 5.3).

How much does a laptop for studying (8 GB of RAM or more and 256 GB or more) and a price up to $400 cost?

In the 6 Nov 2026 catalog, the median price of the 8 models in the segment is £378, and prices range from £268 to £400. The final price is the one at the store.

Which laptop for studying (8 GB of RAM or more and 256 GB or more) and a price up to $400 has the highest score?

Among the models in the segment on 6 Nov 2026, the highest spec score is the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U: 5.4, at £382. The one with the lowest price is the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 14″ Core i5-10310U, at £268. Spec score doesn’t measure real-world performance or durability.

How does the Radar count the models in this segment?

Models whose specs list 8 GB of RAM or more and 256 GB of storage or more, with a lowest collected price up to $400, are included. Each model counts once: if it has more than one version within the rule, the price is that of the cheapest version and the others show on the card.

Laptops for studying up to $400: what changes compared with the whole use?

This page looks only at models that pass the "laptops for study and basic use" rule and have a price up to $400. To see all the ranges for that use, open the use overview; to see all uses in the range, open the price range overview.

Is it worth spending more than $400?

Raising the budget to up to $450, best by spec sheet becomes o Lenovo IdeaPad 14″ Ryzen 5 150: score 5.6 at £415, 0.2 point higher the leader of this range (Acer Chromebook Plus 514 14″ Core 5 120U, score 5.4 at £382). Compare on the chart before deciding: the score comes from the spec sheet and doesn’t measure real-world performance or durability. Data from 6 Nov 2026.

How does the Radar choose the laptops on the "best score for the price" line?

From cheapest to most expensive, the laptop that has a higher spec score than all the cheaper ones in the segment makes the line. Anything that costs more and has an equal or lower score is left out. The line doesn’t say which laptop to buy: it only shows which ones don’t lose on both score and price at once.

How often does this page change?

Every day, with each collection: numbers, chart, ranking and the "What changed" section are rebuilt with the day’s catalog. This edition is from 6 November 2026.