Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The best Chromebooks for 2023

Although they've caught some flak over the years, Chromebooks provide a lightweight OS that Windows and Mac can't touch, offering an incredibly convenient and functional experience with much lower system requirements. We've reviewed hundreds of the best laptops over the years, testing for important qualities like performance, battery life, and display quality. And we've found that Chromebooks consistently excel at performance and reliability. You can find Chromebooks from Google, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and many others, and we've dug through them to find the best Chromebooks on the market.

The Chromebook laptops we've assembled here are something special. They offer solid performance, excellent functionality, and enough diversity to handle just about any need. Read on to see which models you should consider and maybe even acquire for yourself.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
The most innovative and feature-packed Chromebook
Jump to details
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Best 2-in-1 Chromebook
Jump to details
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
A highly affordable Chromebook
Jump to details
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook OLED
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5
Best OLED Chromebook
Jump to details
Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Best Cloud Gaming Chromebook
Jump to details
hp elite dragonfly chromebook review featured
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook

The most innovative and feature-packed Chromebook

Pros
  • Outstanding Chrome OS performance
  • Superior haptic touchpad
  • Beautiful display
  • Attractive aesthetic
  • Google Enterprise support with vPro
  • Excellent connectivity with Thunderbolt 4
Cons
  • Expensive
  • Below-average battery life

Chromebooks haven't historically kept up with Windows and MacOS laptops in terms of overall innovations and features. But HP set out to change all that with the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, an expensive machine that serves as the new standard bearer for the platform.

First, it's well-equipped with Intel 12th-gen CPUs and up to 32GB of RAM, an obscene amount of memory and power for the lightweight Chrome OS that makes it one of the fastest Chromebooks ever. It's built as well as any premium laptop, and it enjoys an impressive 13.5-inch 3:2 display at a high 2,256 x 1,504 resolution.

But then toss in the first haptic touchpad on a Chromebook and you're talking real innovation, with extra features that make the haptic engine even more valuable. The display is touch- and pen-enabled, and HP included a fingerprint reader that's also unusual for Chromebooks. The machine supports Chrome OS Enterprise, making it a secure and manageable choice for enterprises. Taking everything into consideration, the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook is the best Chrome OS laptop you can buy today.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
The most innovative and feature-packed Chromebook
acer chromebook spin 713 review

Acer Chromebook Spin 714

Best 2-in-1 Chromebook

Pros
  • Very good performance
  • Evo certification
  • Thunderbolt 4 support
  • Conservative good looks
  • Good touchpad
  • Excellent 3:2 display
Cons
  • Battery life took a step backward
  • Chassis could feel a little sturdier
  • Keyboard wasn't as crisp as some

If you're looking for a 2-in-1 Chromebook that's also powerful, you need the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. We reviewed the previous model, and the new version just ups the ante. It's not an inexpensive Chromebook, but it's worth every penny.

An all-aluminum chassis reaches near premium laptop levels in terms of build quality, reminding you that you've bought something classy. Impressively, it has Thunderbolt 4 support which you don't normally see on Chromebooks along with the usual selection of USB ports, a full-size HDMI port, and 3.5mm audio jack. It's powered by Intel 12th-gen CPUs with plenty of RAM and storage, making it a very fast Chromebook.

The display is now a 16:10 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1920 x 1200, providing sharp text and images. Acer added an active pen that has its own silo, an improvement from the previous model. Don't count on it being an ideal display for working outdoors under a bright sun but for everything else, it's good quality with colors that seem natural and not oversaturated. The downside? Speaker quality is a little weak for listening to music but it's adequate.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Best 2-in-1 Chromebook
lenovo chromebook duet 3 review front view
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3

A highly affordable Chromebook

Pros
  • Good enough productivity performance
  • Excellent battery life
  • Surprisingly good display
  • Folio kickstand and keyboard included
  • Strong value
Cons
  • Keyboard is too cramped
  • Limited to Wi-Fi 5

The Lenovo's Duet 3 is a detachable tablet Chromebook for not a lot of money. That's precisely why Mark Coppock mentioned it was "$300 well spent" in his review. It got high marks for decent productivity performance, excellent battery life, a surprisingly good display, and the folio kickstand and keyboard it comes with — all of it makes for a very strong value. If you're a student, or on a budget, pay attention to that, because it means your money goes further here.

Inside the unit is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor and 4GB of system memory, which is reasonable given the price. The 64GB of eMMC flash storage offers space to store photos, documents, and offline files, but Chromebooks also benefit from Google's cloud storage solution and Google Drive.

With up to 12 hours on a single charge, you have plenty of power and support to get work done, do some studying, listen to music, watch some media, or do whatever else you want to do on the go. You also get WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, a 5MP user-facing camera for video calls, and an 8MP "world" or rear-facing camera for high-quality shots. Overall, it's a great little device.

Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
A highly affordable Chromebook
lenovo ideapad duet 5 chromebook review
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5

Best OLED Chromebook

Pros
  • Acceptable productivity performance
  • Very long battery life
  • Excellent display
  • Solid build quality
  • Affordable
Cons
  • Display is in the old-school 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Limited to Wi-Fi 5
  • Kickstand add-on is inconvenient

Lenovo's Duet 5 is a Chromebook tablet with an OLED display, one of the first and also one of the most inexpensive. The beautiful 13.3-inch beautiful OLED display is definitely the tablet's highlight, providing the usual excellent colors and deep contrast that only OLED can provide. The tablet's portability pairs nicely with an impressive degree of power, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180 octa-core processor and 8GB of system memory.

The 128GB of eMMC flash storage offers plenty of space to store photos, documents, and offline files when you need them. The Duet 5 has WiFi 6 onboard for faster, more stable wireless connections, but also offers wired connectivity too when you're near an Ethernet port.

The Lenovo Duet 5 offers acceptable productivity performance, long battery life, excellent display, and solid build quality. It also offers surprisingly good build quality for the price, along with an included keyboard that's comfortable and offers a usable touchpad. Overall, it's one of the better Chromebook bargains.

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook OLED
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5
Best OLED Chromebook
acer chromebook 516 ge review on railing outdoors
Aaron Leong

Acer Chromebook 516 GE

Best Cloud Gaming Chromebook

Pros
  • Performance and endurance
  • Great display
  • Good price for the specs
  • Well-built
  • Play AAA games without your lap turning into lava
Cons
  • Gaming-related bugs and crashes
  • No touchscreen
  • Could use customizable keys

It's a bit strange seeing a Chromebook that's branded for gaming, especially since that's not what their core purpose is. However, Acer certainly pulled it off here. You can play AAA games without your lap turning into lava because the system is overheating. That's possible thanks to all of the power under the hood. Cloud gaming via GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Beta is the way to go, but this system is fully capable of that and more. Chromebooks also have access to Google Play and this thing will certainly handle any Android-viable games you throw at it.

It has an Intel Core i5 processor, running at a base clock speed of 1.7GHz, paired with 8GB of energy-efficient LPDDR4 system memory — expandable up to 16GB. Games, movies, and streaming media look fantastic on the 16-inch TFT LCD at a WQXGA resolution (2560 by 1600), with a brightness rating of 350 nits. The 256GB NVMe solid-state drive is faster and larger than what you get with most comparable systems.

Our review clearly lays out the details of using the system, especially for cloud gaming. It's also praised for being well-constructed with a durable chassis, has excellent specs for the price, and delivers great performance and endurance — battery life included.

Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Best Cloud Gaming Chromebook

Editors' Recommendations

This Alienware pre-built gaming PC dropped to $1,000 — hurry!
The Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition Gaming Desktop, placed on a desk.

Dell is fairly generous with their gaming PC deals, but they sell out quickly. Take this Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 gaming desktop deal, for example. It's down to only $1,000 after a $300 -- but it likely won't stick around past today. Read on to learn why we think you should grab this deal, then click the button to get your hands on it.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 Gaming PC
In this price range, the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 Gaming PC is ideal for anyone considering one of the best gaming PCs but can't afford to go all-in. It has an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor along with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage. In an ideal world, we'd have preferred to see more storage or 16GB of memory, but it's an understandable spec for the price. Alongside that is its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card with 8GB of VRAM. Combined, you get a reasonable set of specs that mean you can play the latest games with little hassle or simply by tweaking a few settings in the case of the most intensive of titles.

Read more
This HP Spectre x360 laptop is $360 off with this deal
HP Spectre x360 13.5 front angled view showing display and keyboard deck.

The HP Spectre line of laptops are so popular, HP doesn't need to cut their prices. Apparently they aren't flying out the door quite as fast as HP wants though, since HP just gave the x360 model a massive discount. HP is offering a $360 discount on their popular Spectre x360 2-in-1 laptop, bringing the price down to just $950. This sale likely won't last long, since HP has technically ended their Presidents' Day HP laptop deals. HP always has a few laptop deals kicking around their site, but it takes something special to catch our eye. Read on to see why we love this laptop -- but buy it before the sale ends.

Why you should buy the HP Spectre x360
Regarded as one of the best 2-in-1 laptops around right now, the HP Spectre x360 is worth every cent. It offers an Intel Core i5 processor along with 8GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. The latter is a hefty amount for a productivity-focused machine and ideal if you have many files to store for work or school. The defining factor that makes this one of the best laptops around is its screen. It has a 13.5-inch WUXGA+ display with a resolution of 1920 x 1280 and touchscreen qualities. Even better, a 360-degree design means you can move it around to suit your needs. Want to use it as a tablet? That's as easily possible as setting in presentation mode to make it easier for others to see what's on screen. If you can't decide between buying a high-end tablet or a laptop, this is easily the best of both worlds.

Read more
The best of Dell’s business laptop weekend sale — $2,500 off
The Dell XPS 13 Plus on a table outside.

Tired of using your laggy old personal laptop to do your business work as well? Get a dedicated work laptop with some beefy specs. Dell has some super cheap ones this weekend. Dell is having a business laptop sale right now, specifically on the XPS, Vostro, Precision and Latitude models. These are all the best non-gaming laptops from one of the best laptop brands out there. We've picked the best laptop deal from each model. Dell hosts a lot of sales, but the individual products in them often sell out in less than 24 hours. Grab a new computer before the model you want sells out.
Dell Vostro 3510 -- $599, was $1,113

The Dell Vostro 3510 is a relatively affordable business laptop, but it doesn't sacrifice performance with its 11th-generation Intel Core i5 processor and integrated Intel UHD Graphics. The machine also features 8GB of RAM, which our laptop buying guide says is the sweet spot for most users. Working on the Dell Vostro 3510 is easy on the eyes with its 15.6-inch Full HD display, and with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed in its 256GB SSD, you can start using the laptop as soon as you unbox it. It also comes with a 720p HD camera and single-integrated microphone, for the purpose of joining online meetings and making video calls.

Read more