Best Chromebooks under 300 in 2020

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So, you have decided to buy a Chromebook, haven’t you?

The first Chromebook ever manufactured was limited in its functionalities. Fast forward to today, we now have powerful options available out there. However, one shouldn’t pick a Chromebook with avid gaming in mind due to its scaled-down under-the-hood specifications

Chromebooks, though they are less powerful than a full-fledged computer, bear different price tags. Even after narrowing the budget filter down to 300-dollar, you will stumble upon multiple products.

You know, with many options come major confusion! How can you pick out the best Chromebook under 300 dollars? Well, your quest ends here.

Best Chromebooks Under 300 Bucks- Buying Guide 2020

The biggest misconception about Chromebook is that it only works when you have an active internet connection. It’s wrong! There are more than 200 offline web apps available. Moreover, modern-day Chromebooks can run apps from the official Play Store like a walk in the park.

Wait, what! Is your patience getting narrower? Let’s delve straight into the list then.


  • ​11.6" HD Touch
  • ​Celeron N3060
  • ​4GB DDR3L
  • ​32GB eMMC

Acer needs no introduction among laptop users. Even though they mostly manufacture computers running on Windows, their Chromebooks aren’t far behind. Comes with built-in virus protection, R11 convertible is a sensible choice under 300 dollars.

The 360-degree rotation of the product along with the 11.6 inches HD touch display lets you use it as a tablet. The duo of hinges is fixed so firmly at right places that you will never feel continuous conversion is damaging the aesthetics or physical health of the Chromebook.

Underneath the hood, you get Intel Celeron N3060 dual-core processor clocked up to 2.48GHz. In order to assist the chipset in multitasking, it packs in a 4 GB DDR3L onboard memory. Supporting dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless connections (802.11ac and 2x2 MIMO), Acer R11 is not going to act sluggish provided you give it a decent internet connection.

The company offers 10-hour battery life, which of course, never makes it mandatory to carry the power chord around. That brings us to the number of ports; 1- USB 3.0 port, 1- USB 2.0 port and 1- HDMI port with HDCP support.

You know Chromebooks don’t need a terabyte of storage! For the essential purpose, you get 32 GB eMMC space. And, the additional 100 GB Google Drive space can quench all your thirst. Woohoo!

Peeking into other features, there is an HD webcam, Bluetooth 4.0 support, and Intel HD Graphics 400. What if you find it difficult to live with the apps available only on the Chrome store? Well, this Chromebook supports Android apps from Google Play. Meaning, an array of 2 million apps are waiting for you. With the thickness of less than an inch, travelling with R11 Convertible is not going to trouble you.

Pros

  • ​2-in-1 convertable
  • ​Very nice keyboard
  • Responsive touch screen

Cons

  • ​HD only screen

2. Lenovo Chromebook S330

  • ​14-Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Display
  • ​​MediaTek MT8173C Processor
  • ​4GB LPDDR3
  • ​64GB eMMC

Next in our list of cheap but best Chromebooks comes from Lenovo. Dubbed as Chromebook S330, it just captivates your attention by narrow side bezels. If you don’t want a convertible Chromebook, but something in the likes of a small laptop, S330 is going to cheer you up.

Apart from the ergonomics, in what areas this one differs from the R11? Let’s find out! To begin with, the display measures 14-inch with full HD resolution. Meaning, you won’t have to put up with pixelated weirdness while enjoying your favourite movies or TV series. The thickness is less than one inch and that makes it a perfect travel companion.

Speaking of the processor, S330 packs in a MediaTek MTK8173C SoC coupled with 4 GB LPDDR3 RAM. Hence, juggling between the apps or tabs is not going to make the machine a snail. Don’t mind spending a hundred bucks extra? You can opt-out for the Intel version.

The storage is a step up from the previous Chromebook we have here. The 64 GB local eMMC 5.1 along with a hundred-gigabyte extra space on the cloud makes sure you won’t run amok. Plus, a micro SD card slot is there for you to take advantage of.

What other connectivity options are available? Well, you get Bluetooth 4.1, USB 3.0 and wait for it. USB C. Yeah, you heard it right. The 2x2 Wi-Fi ac ensures your daily activities don’t get hindered in the middle. And just like any other laptop, you will get a web camera (720p) and a 2W speaker system.

As far as the battery life goes, the promise from the company says it's Lithium Polymer battery can hold up to 10 hours. Given that the specs are top-notch, we don’t think it’s going to be a false claim. So, why don’t you get your hands on Lenovo S330?

Pros

  • ​Great looking thin bezels
  • Excellent battery life
  • ​Solid Build quality

Cons

  • ​Limited CPU performance

​3. HP Chromebook x360

  • ​11-inch Laptop with 360-degree Hinge
  • ​​Intel Celeron N3350 Processor
  • ​4 GB RAM
  • 32 GB eMMC Storage

Let’s look at another convertible Chromebook, shall we? Coming from HP, this laptop has considerable bezels on all the four sides but the engineers have delicately designed them to look elegant in the tablet mode. And apart from the obvious laptop and tablet mode, there’re two other orientations you can use it in.

The display is an 11-inch one with 1366x 768 resolution. In order to complement the tablet mode, you also get eDP BrightView WLED-backlit touch screen so that you can completely eliminate the use of the keyboard. With a 0.76-inch thickness, Chromebook x360 doesn’t feel cumbersome.

So, what is powering up the device inside? It’s an Intel Celeron N3350 processor. As far as you are not smothering the device with a ton of simultaneous processes, you won’t notice any lags. But still, don’t expect an Intel i7 level performance. However, the 4 GB LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM encourages the Chromebook to maximise the multitasking capabilities. It isn’t upgradeable, though!

The storage is 32 GB eMMC. And, for two years, an additional 100 GB cloud storage from Google is going to be at your fingertips. Whenever you want to have additional local storage, you can just pop in an SD card into the given slot.

Apart from the media reader, it has a USB Type-A 3.1 Gen 1 and another USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 ports. The combo jack acts as headphone-out and mic-in. You don’t have to ask for Bluetooth and WiFi connections because you know, a Chromebook is worthless without those.

What we found impressive is the battery backup. On the contrary to the industry standard, they are claiming HP x360 is capable of delivering a 13 hours 45 minutes battery life on a single stretch during mixed usage.

There shouldn’t be any question about the utilitarian value of this Chromebook as it’s eligible to have Android apps from Google Play.

Pros

  • ​Good Battery life
  • ​Very nice display
  • ​Durable design
  • ​Excellent keyboard

Cons

  • ​​a bit dim display

4. ​ASUS Chromebook C202SA-YS04

  • ​11.6" ​180 Degree Screen
  • ​Intel Celeron
  • 4GB DDR3 
  • 32GB eMMC

Are you looking for a Chromebook under 200 dollars to hand it over to your child? On the inside, you do have a fear that he/she is going to break it somehow, don’t you? What else is more pleasing than a rugged Chromebook which allows you to indulge in your daily life without being anxious about breaking it? Here comes Asus C202SA.

Unlike the previous listing, this one doesn’t have 360-degree turntable hinges. However, you can rotate it up to 180-degree if you want. You won’t find anything exemplary about the 11.6-inch display with 1366x 768 resolution on the first glance, but even so, you should know it carries an anti-glare coating for seamless viewing experience.

The chipset inside is Intel Celeron N3060 coupled with a 4 GB DDR3 RAM. Provided you are only spending less than 200 bucks on this machine, the performance is not going to let you down. However, the internal storage is a bit of a bummer. It’s only 16 GB. Still, you can expand the same using an external SD card. And yeah, the 100 GB cloud storage from Google is available as well.

What if you want to double the onboard storage? Well, there is a 32 GB variant. Apparently, it needs you to scale up your budget and that brings this product to a Chromebook above 200 dollars. Unless you are not comfortable with swapping in an external SD card, picking up the higher storage variant is the best thing you can do.

We haven’t addressed the incredible features yet. To begin with, this Asus Chromebook is spill-resistant. Even though it has no IP rating, you now know occasional coffee or water spills is not going to damage the product. The rugged construction helps the laptop stay unaffected even after a drop from 3.9 feet.

Just like any other Chromebook mentioned here, you get built-in virus protection and automatic updates.

Pros

  • ​Durable design
  • ​easy openable chasis for repair
  • ​long batterylife

Cons

  • ​Avertgae CPU

5. Samsung Chromebook 4+

  • ​15.6" Full HD
  • ​Intel Celeron N4000
  • 4GB DDR3 
  • 32GB eMMC

Yeah, Samsung does manufacture Chromebooks and here’s the best you can get under 300 dollars. At first sight, it makes an impression of a regular laptop with a 15.6-inch display. The cut-down bezels on the sides proclaim the product adapts the trends in the industry. And, the full HD resolution makes the media consumption exciting.

Beneath the hood, you find an Intel Celeron Processor N4000. To go along with it, Samsung has packed in a 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM. With a Celeron processor, you won’t need more than 4 GB memory. Even if you want, there’s no room for expansion. Yet, put in more money and you can pick up a 6 GB variant.

What about the storage then? Nothing fancier, it’s 32 GB. Of course, nothing will stop you from leveraging the cloud space Google Drive has to offer. Want to increase the storage? You can make use of a duo of USB-C ports.

Just like on Android, Google Assistant is available here on Chromebook 4+ as well. That means, doing essential activities doesn’t need you hastily pressing the keyboard. Being an Android user, operating the Assistant is not going to be a nightmare for you.

Do you have a high-speed internet connection? You do! So, you want to get the same on your Chromebook! In that case, this won’t disappoint you as it comes with Gigabit Wi-Fi that refers to the 802.11ac Wireless LAN specification with support for data transfer speeds of 433Mbps per spatial stream and up to 1.3Gbps speeds.

The battery life is standard, 10.5 hours. Nothing to boast about! Still, for a full-HD display, you can’t ask for more. But for storage, you can. As long as you are comfortable spending extra, you can avail a 64 GB variant.

Pros

  • ​Cool minimalistic design
  • ​big full HD display
  • ​long batterylife
  • Light and easy to carry

Cons

  • Not thebest viewing angles

​6. ​​​Dell Inspiron 11 Chromebook

  • ​11.6" HD Non-Touchscreen Display
  •  Intel Celeron Dual Core N3060 Processor
  • 4GB Ram
  • 16GB eMMc Flash Memory

You have seen at least a single product from almost all the major laptop manufacturers. Wait, what! We know what you are thinking. Leaving Dell wasn’t intentional and here you go! As the name indicates, Inspiron 11 is an 11.6-inch Chromebook that you never feel trouble carrying around.

The display measures 1366x 768 in resolution and yeah, it isn’t a touch screen. In case an additional medium of input piques your interest, you need to go with a convertible Chromebook. Intel HD Graphics 400 ensures the user won’t miss out on visual details during video playback or web browsing.

Under the hood lies Intel Celeron 400 dual-core processor clocked at 1.6 GHz. With a turbo, it can go all the way up to 2.48 GHz. To align with the chipset, Dell has embedded a 4 GB memory. So, the day-to-day activities and usual multitasking are not going to fret the system.

The onboard storage is 16 GB. But that doesn’t mean you need to kill your hunger for more space right at the time of getting this device. As long as you have an SD card, there won’t be any arguments on increasing the storage. If that’s not enough, you can take hold of 100 GB from Google Drive.

The connectivity options are diverse here. You get a standard audio jack to connect to headphones or an external system provided the internal speakers don’t content you. When you have a big screen and you want to consume content from it, nothing should stop you from using the HDMI port. Additionally, you will also find two USB 3.0 Type-A ports too. Yeah, no Type-C!!

As for the WiFi, Chromebook 11 supports Wireless-AC network, which the company claims to operate three times faster than Wireless-N. Apart from Bluetooth and an HD webcam, what impressed us is a set of two microphones.

Pros

  • ​Cheap price point
  • ​Good value for money
  • Suitable for kids

Cons

  • ​not the best screen quality
  • Average battery life of only 6 hours

7. Acer Chromebook 14

  • ​ Celeron N3160
  •  14" Full HD​
  •  4GB LPDDR3
  •  16GB eMMC

We started off this best Chromebooks under 300 dollars list with an Acer convertible. What if you are an Acer fan and you don’t want to buy a 360-degree rotatable laptop? Well in that case, the best you can ever pick up under the decided budget is Chromebook 14. As is the case with any other product here, the number (14) represents the screen size.

Before you open the lid, the design captures your attention. Looks like the OEM has spent enough time framing an ergonomic profile with 100% metal. The rounded corners and classic hairline brush finish give the laptop an eye-pleasing appearance.

Though considerable-sized bezels are there, the 14-inch widescreen IPS LED-backlit display features full HD resolution so that you can pull out the best viewing experience from a video, photo, or a presentation. When you travel with this, Chromebook 14 does make you feel that you are carrying a fully purposed, but a thin laptop.

You don’t need anyone to tell you the power of a gadget comes from its processor, do you? Here, it’s from Intel Celeron N3160 chipset clocked up to 2.24 GHz. The 4GB LPDDR3 SDRAM as it goes hand in hand with the SoC will make your computing life a smooth ride.

What about the onboard storage capacity, you may ask! A Chromebook isn’t a high-end gaming rig that you ought to store gigabytes of files. Hence, 16 GB is enough for a typical user. Need more space? You can always pop in an external SD card of chosen capacity.

Dual-Band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11ac WiFi featuring MIMO technology sets the seal on the cloud space you get. You don’t have to keep the device connected to an active network all the time. There’re offline web apps (even from official Google Play Store) that make no-internet-hours productive.

The battery capacity is 3950 mAh and Dell says it can deliver a battery backup up to 12 hours. So, Chromebook 11 becomes distinct not only with the design but with the battery life also. You also get a laptop sleeve for free, trust us!

Pros

  • ​Cheap price point
  • ​Good value for money
  • ​Good build quliaty and sleek design

Cons

  • ​quite an old model

8. Lenovo C330 2-in-1 Chromebook​​​​​​​​​

  • ​ 11.6" HD IPS Touchscreen 2-in-1 ​
  • Quad-Core MediaTek MT8173C ​
  •  4GB RAM
  • 32GB eMMC

Want to bag a convertible Chromebook from Lenovo? Look nowhere but here. The advantage of a 2-in-1 laptop is you can convert it into a tablet if the need be. The 0.75-inch thickness makes sure the product doesn’t feel bulky when folded.

When it comes to specifications, the display measures 11.6-inch in size and 1366x 768 in resolution (if you want full HD for the cost of 360-degree hinges, you should look at #2). Provided the screen technology is IPS, viewing from any angle is not going to skew the visuals.

Just like Lenovo S330 that we covered already in this article, this one also packs in MediaTek MT8173C quad-core processor clocked at 1.3 GHz. But, the maximum boost speed is 2.16 GHz (4 cores, 2x A72 at 2.1GHz and 2x A53 at 1.7GHz). The 4 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM complements the SoC in pushing performance to the extremity.

Don’t expect anything magnificent in terms of storage. You get 32 GB eMMC space with the ability to expand using an external SD card or other means. As always, Google Drive can serve you as a secondary warehouse to put your files into.

As far as the connectivity goes, the supported WiFi technology is 802.11a/g/n/ac with Bluetooth 4.1. Two USB 3.1 ports (both Type-A and Type-C) are available for charging and storage expansion. Of course, HDMI and 3.5-mm jacks are present. If you don’t want to plug in an external audio system, you can always make use of the integrated speaker and microphone.

Coming in Blizzard White colour (no variants available), C330 has a 720p web camera. The three-cell battery inside has the capability to offer 10-hour power backup, they say. And undoubtedly, it is one of the most aesthetically pleasing Chromebooks out there.

Pros


Cons


​9. ​ASUS Chromebook C423NA

  • ​14 FHD 1080P Display
  • ​ Intel Dual Core Celeron Processor
  • 4GB RAM
  •  32GB eMMC Storage

Want to bag a convertible Chromebook from Lenovo? Look nowhere but here. The advantage of a 2-in-1 laptop is you can convert it into a tablet if the need be. The 0.75-inch thickness makes sure the product doesn’t feel bulky when folded.

When it comes to specifications, the display measures 11.6-inch in size and 1366x 768 in resolution (if you want full HD for the cost of 360-degree hinges, you should look at #2). Provided the screen technology is IPS, viewing from any angle is not going to skew the visuals.

Just like Lenovo S330 that we covered already in this article, this one also packs in MediaTek MT8173C quad-core processor clocked at 1.3 GHz. But, the maximum boost speed is 2.16 GHz (4 cores, 2x A72 at 2.1GHz and 2x A53 at 1.7GHz). The 4 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM complements the SoC in pushing performance to the extremity.

Don’t expect anything magnificent in terms of storage. You get 32 GB eMMC space with the ability to expand using an external SD card or other means. As always, Google Drive can serve you as a secondary warehouse to put your files into.

As far as the connectivity goes, the supported WiFi technology is 802.11a/g/n/ac with Bluetooth 4.1. Two USB 3.1 ports (both Type-A and Type-C) are available for charging and storage expansion. Of course, HDMI and 3.5-mm jacks are present. If you don’t want to plug in an external audio system, you can always make use of the integrated speaker and microphone.

Coming in Blizzard White colour (no variants available), C330 has a 720p web camera. The three-cell battery inside has the capability to offer 10-hour power backup, they say. And undoubtedly, it is one of the most aesthetically pleasing Chromebooks out there.

Pros


Cons


10. HP Chromebook 14-db0020nr Laptop

  • 180-Degree Swivel,
  •  AMD Dual-Core A4-9120 Processor
  •  4 GB SDRAM
  •  32 GB eMMC Storage

Did you notice one thing? We introduced Chromebooks with Intel and MediaTek processors. If you know the computer chipset industry, you might have started wondering. ‘Where does AMD go’? HP Chromebook 14 is going to answer the query.

Before we jump into the specifications, we need to clarify one thing. Just because Intel is more popular than AMD in the market, it simply doesn’t mean the former is the finest. To put things into perspective, AMD Ryzen 3000 processors offer the best bang for the bucks.

The 14-inch diagonal HD SVA WLED-backlit display has an anti-glare coating on top. For such a big display, the resolution may disappoint you a bit as it’s only 1366x 768. However, you won’t notice much of a difference unless you are counting pixels.

There shouldn’t be any question left about the CPU manufacturer. The chipset inside is AMD dual-core a4-9120 clocked at 2.2 GHz. If you are into overclocking, it can go all the way up to 2.5 GHz. The 4 GB DDR4-1866 SDRAM can work together with the SoC for plain sailing performance.

How much is the internal storage? Well, it’s 32 GB eMMC. Similar to every single offering here, HP Chromebook 14-db0020nr features a digital media card reader to give you the capacity to expand the space.

All the other regular features like WiFi, Bluetooth, and web camera are present on this one as well. An incredible feature is the dual speaker system tuned by B&O Play. For your information, Bang & Olufsen is a Danish consumer electronics company that manufacturers luxurious audio products.

Oops! We forgot to tell you one thing. The hinges are turnable up to 180-degree. Meaning, it can lay flat with the lids open. Want to buy an HP convertible? Have a look at #3.

Pros


Cons


​Final Verdict

So, you have read about ten of the top Chromebooks under 300 dollars. Now, it’s time for you to decide. Let us make it easy. Looking for a two-in-one option? Acer R11, HP x360, or Lenovo C330. What if you want an AMD powered laptop with an immersive audio experience? HP Chromebook 14-db0020nr should be your pick. Once again, HP x360 tops the list when it comes to battery life. In case you can’t wait to get your hands on goodies, ASUS C423NA and Acer 14 are going to rejoice you.

Tell us, which Chromebook did you pick?

(Last Updated On: March 30, 2020)
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