Once, touchscreen laptops used to be luxuries because of their high prices. However, as more brands launch touch models, budget options have found their way into the market. In this guide, we take a look at some of the best touch screen laptops under $300 and important features to consider when buying them.
Our Top Touchscreen Laptops Under $300
After weighing a few options and getting expert opinions, we found the following three touchscreen laptops to be the best fit for people who have less than $300 to spend. Towards the end, we will cover some crucial factors to consider when buying these laptops so make sure to check that out.
Best Overall: ASUS Chromebook Flip C302
If you are looking for an affordable laptop that embraces the original concept of Chromebooks, the ASUS Chromebook Flip will make for a great choice. It delivers impressive performance, with a responsive touchscreen, long battery life, and solid aluminum construction.
While most Chromebooks have been skyrocketing their prices, the Chromebook Flip manages to stay on the budget end while still offering competitive hardware underneath a stylish convertible design. This laptop is ideal for modern internet browsing due to its cutting edge innovation and unparalleled surfing speeds.
We also recommend it for college students and people who move around a lot since it is ultra-thin with about 2.7 pounds on the scale. The laptop sports an aluminum construction making it an ideal choice over the majority of Chromebooks that embrace plastic builds.
With up to 10 hours of battery life, you can expect to enjoy many hours of uninterrupted internet browsing, watching movies, or even playing light video games. The 12.5-inch display is bigger than that of our other recommendations without sacrificing portability.
The Full HD display supersedes the standard HD resolution that is associated with mainstream Chromebooks. Coupled with the Intel HD Graphics 515 integrated GPU, you should be able to do some light creative tasks and watch Full HD movies without a glitch.
It has a 36O-degree hinge which allows for multi-mode usage. This means that you can crop it up in a Stand Mode or use it as a tablet in addition to the standard laptop mode. Unlike other convertibles that become bulky when folded into a tablet, the ASUS Chromebook Flip manages to retain most of its portability.
What We Like
- Impressive overall performance
- Long battery life
- Responsive touchscreen
- 2-in-1 design
- Sturdy aluminum construction
What We Don’t Like
- Low display resolution
- Insufficient SSD storage
- The flexible 360 Degree hinge and 12.5 inches full HD touchscreen lets you use the C302 in tablet or...
- Intel Core Processor with 64GB storage and 4GB RAM for fast and efficient performance with a bright...
- Extremely lightweight at 2.65 pounds with the protection of a sleek aluminum metal body
Best for the Money: Acer Chromebook R11
Most Chromebooks are cheap. This means there is not much to expect from them. However, in a market where dirt cheap competition is the order of the day, the Acer Chromebook R11 gives you something to smile about.
While this hybrid is inexpensive like most Chromebooks, its blend of Google’s versatile Chrome OS, a gorgeous 2-in-1 design, and a plausible specs sheet makes it a worthy choice for people looking for a good touchscreen without breaking the bank.
The fact that the Chrome OS was not originally optimized for search may make the laptop unfriendly to newbie users. However, Google has been working on this compromise to make Chromebooks friendlier to use so this should not be a problem.
The laptop’s 360-degree hinge allows it to transform into a chunky tablet for more convenient use. The lightweight design makes it a good option for people who travel a lot and need something to use on the go. You will find the 11.6-inch display with 1,366×768-pixel resolution plausible for a budget laptop.
While the resolution is not ground-breaking, it is better than what you will get from other Chromebooks for the same price. Being an IPS display, you will find the colors rich with satisfying contrast.
The Acer Chromebook R11 is powered by an Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB eMMC storage. Although this is not the best set of internals, they contribute to above-average performance and even better for basic tasks.
The Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU will not allow you to play any serious games, stream videos, or even edit images. However, you should be able to complete light graphic work, watch movies, and Youtube videos without any disappointments.
On top of the 32GB storage, you will also get an additional 100GB of Google Drive space to store your files.
What We Like
- Beautiful convertible design
- Long battery life
- Lightweight
- You have access to many apps, games, music, and books through the Google Play store
What We Don’t Like
- Navigating the Chrome OS on a touch screen is tricky
- Insufficient storage space
- Chromebook runs on chrome OS an operating system by Google that is built for the way we live today....
- All the Google apps you know and love come standard on every Chromebook, which means you can edit,...
- With the Google play store, you can access a rich library of apps, games, music, movies, TV, books,...
Best Cheap: ASUS VivoBook L203MA
The ASUS VivoBook L203MA packs a blend of features that makes it easily recognizable in a sea of other budget laptops. This is a great fit for students, travelers, office workers, and anyone else who fancies portability and a stylish design.
If you are looking for a decently sized touchscreen model that doesn’t cost a fortune, you need to make this laptop a priority. Just like the Acer Chromebook R11, it also comes with an 11.6-inch HD display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
This makes it an ideal option for basic media editing, school work, watching movies, and browsing the web. However, you might be disappointed when it comes to working with spreadsheets or editing complex website layouts.
This is one of the few budget laptops that comes with a USB-C port for fast file transfer. Other peripherals include an HDMI and USB Type-A. The laptop also supports Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC) for speedy internet access. This Wifi is supposedly 5 times faster than 802.11N.
Ticking the scales at 2.2 pounds and a thickness of 0.7 inches, you will be getting a laptop that is not only lightweight but also blissfully thin. Under the thin and stylish body is an efficient Intel Celeron N4000 Processor with 4MB cache memory and up to 2.6GHz processing speeds. There are also 64GB em flash storage and 4GB LPDDR4 RAM.
On top of that, you will get a one-year Microsoft Office 365 and a pre-installed Windows 10 in S mode.
What We Like
- An impressive design
- Thin and lightweight
- A USB-C port for fast file transfer
- Affordable
What We Don’t Like
- Narrow viewing angles
- Comes with the dated VGA webcam
- Efficient Intel Celeron N4000 Processor (4M Cache, up to 2.6 GHz)
- 11.6” HD (1366 x 768) Display with HD webcam
- Compatible with Google Classroom; run Google Classroom on Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer 11
What to Consider in a Good Touchscreen Laptop Under $300
Like most laptops on the budget end, there is not much to expect from laptops under $300. However, this doesn’t mean that everything you buy should come with a mediocre specs sheet. These are some features to prioritize when buying cheap touchscreen laptops.
Size
If you value portability, you will have to go with a small-sized laptop that is light and slim. This means anything from 11 to 13 inches. The biggest laptop in this guide is 12.5 inches meaning all our recommendations above are portable.
Smaller laptops are good for students and regular travelers. Go for a laptop that doesn’t weigh more than 3 pounds for the best experience.
Screen
When it comes to displaying, we usually look at resolution and comfort. If you want a display that won’t disappoint when watching movies, designing web pages, or doing some creative work, go with a Full HD 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution. However, if you are on a budget and can’t afford Full HD, you will still be fine with an HD model as long as you don’t put too many expectations on it.
You should also go with a screen that is comfortable to look at. Touchscreens tend to be glossy with too much reflection. If you can find options with anti-glare technology, that would be great.
Form Factor
Do you want the regular clamshell model or a convertible? That is a question you are going to ask yourself at some point when buying a laptop. Each form factor has its own pros and cons.
Convertibles tend to be more flexible and versatile but are usually pretty expensive.
Going back to portability. You can choose to go with an ultrabook weighing less than 3 pounds or choose a bulkier option depending on your specific needs.
Most touchscreen laptops are thin with convertible designs so your decision is going to be much more straightforward.
CPU
People call the processor the brain of the laptop for a reason. It is responsible for everything you do on your laptop. For this reason, you cannot afford to blunder when choosing your processor. However, since we are looking at budget laptops, we will have to slightly lower our CPU expectations.
Most laptops under $300 are only good for basic tasks. So, if you get either a Core i3 or Core i5, you will be good to go. It is unlikely that you will get an Intel Core i7 CPU for this price point. The two options available are good enough for internet browsing, playing entry-level games, watching movies, and other tasks that don’t require robust computer power.
RAM
The RAM works hand in hand with the processor to speed up the performance of the laptop. It allows you to multitask without bottlenecking the overall performance. For this reason, more RAM means faster performance and better efficiency.
For $300, you are probably going to get 4GB of RAM or lower. If you are lucky, you might get 6GB but nothing more. Most Chromebooks come with 4GB of RAM which is enough for most basic tasks like watching Netflix, browsing the net, checking email, and maybe playing some mobile games.
For more demanding tasks like video editing or hardcore gaming, you will have to consider other options.
Conclusion
While touchscreen laptops under $300 are not going to help you with hardcore tasks, they come in handy when you need something affordable for basic use. We hope that this guide will help you find a cheap touch model that clicks with both your budget and needs.
