The best Chromebooks for 2026

This 16-inch Acer clamshell model delivers the primo Chromebook Plus experience under $500 (and as little as $300 when it's on sale), making it the best Chromebook for budget shoppers. If you want a good amount of screen real estate for multitasking and watching movies, I also think it's the best big-screen Chromebook for most people.

Out of all the Chromebook Plus models under $500, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 has the best specs by far. It's powered by an Intel Core i3-1315U processor that earned a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 5,670 in our testing, affording it mid-range power despite its entry-level price tag. It's 24 percent slower than the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus, which is $120 more, but 21 percent faster than the Acer Chromebook 312, which is $30 less. On the low end, that's a notable performance jump for a small chunk of cash.

Acer has also equipped this Chromebook Plus with a 1200p display that looks brighter than its 300 nits in person. For reference, the three other Plus-tier models that retail for less than $500 as of late 2025 have older, less powerful CPUs and 1080p displays that just meet the category's minimums.

The battery life of the Chromebook Plus 516 is excellent: It held out for 14 hours and 7 minutes in our testing, making it the second-longest-lasting Chromebook we've ever tried.

There are a few notable differences between this Chromebook and the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE, the version that's optimized for cloud gaming (see below). The GE model has a nicer 120Hz 1600p display, a backlit keyboard, an Ethernet port, and a newer, more powerful CPU, but it doesn't last as long and costs $170 more at full price. (On sale, I've seen the standard model fall to $299 and the GE version dip to $449.)

Size-wise, the regular Chromebook Plus 516 is about a 10th of an inch thinner, but it weighs the same at 3.75 pounds. While that's heavy for a Chromebook, it's light for a device this big. Most 16-inch Windows laptops we've tried have weighed at least four pounds.

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 and the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (below) are two newer models powered by the ultra-efficient MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip. Both of them are amazing machines that will convert any remaining Chromebook skeptics among us, provided you can afford them. They're pricey and overkill for most people needing a simple, web-based laptop, so I've reserved them for splurgers. (Definitely look for them on sale.)

I recommend Lenovo's model for those who prefer a traditional clamshell form factor, appreciate a fanless design, and want a vivid OLED display for watching movies and TV shows.

While $749 is ridiculously expensive for a Chromebook, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 brings a ton to the table — a striking 2K OLED touchscreen, for one thing. "The colors on it look just as vibrant and punchy as I could’ve hoped," said Chaney, our reviewer. Bummer that it has a 60Hz refresh rate instead of a 120Hz refresh rate like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, but this probably won't be a dealbreaker unless you're using it for cloud gaming. (And if that's your primary case, I have a better recommendation for you later on in this guide.) Simply put, it's beauteous.

The Chromebook Plus 14 got a multi-core score of 7,680 in our Geekbench 6 performance test, making it the fastest Chromebook we've ever tested (by an exceptionally small margin, but still). That's extra-impressive when you factor in its fanless design. It doesn't make any noise when it's running, "and it only gets a little warm during long periods of use, even when charging," said Chaney. This keeps the machine very light to boot: At 2.78 pounds, it's less than a 10th of a pound heavier than the latest 13-inch Apple MacBook Air. I'd call it the MacBook Air of Chromebooks, except Apple laptops don't have OLED displays. Not yet, anyway.

In our battery life benchmark, the Chromebook Plus 14 held out for 15 hours and 45 minutes before dying — an impressive result for a laptop with a bright, power-guzzling OLED display. That makes it the second-longest-lasting Chromebook we've tested after the overachieving Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, which lasted nearly three hours longer.

I also want to point out that the Chromebook Plus 14 is quite future-proofed. Along with that fresh processor, it comes with a generous 16GB of RAM, a sharp 5MP webcam, and support for WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 (the latest wireless connectivity technologies). It also has a backlit keyboard with a fingerprint reader, two premium fixings. It's expensive, yes, but it does its best to justify that price tag. If you can make the investment or find it on sale, it'll make a fantastic daily driver for years to come.

Our $749 review unit is available at both Best Buy and Lenovo. The latter sells an additional configuration with half the storage, 12GB of RAM, and no fingerprint reader or touchscreen for $100 less, and while we haven't tried it, it feels like the smarter buy. The only catch: It was sold out at the time of writing.

Lastly, I should add that the Chromebook Plus 14 comes with two exclusive AI features: a tab-sorting tool called "smart grouping" and an AI image editor in the Gallery app. (The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 has these, too.) I wouldn't buy it solely for those features, but we did find smart grouping useful in testing. The image editor's results were very crude and fake-looking.

Read Mashable's hands-on impressions of the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514.

The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is an amazing device that I recommend for anyone who wants a high-end Chromebook that doubles as a tablet and lets them leave their charger at home. (Its battery life is incredible.) But at $699.99 as tested, it falls into the "want, not need" category for most people. As with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, it's not a terrible value at full price, but it turns into a more compelling buy for the Chromebook crowd when it's on sale.

The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is technically the third-fastest Chromebook we've tried, but it's neck-and-neck with Nos. 1 and 2. Its Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 7,187 makes it only seven percent slower than the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (7,680) and six percent slower than the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE (7,660); you won't notice those discrepancies in practice. It does have a fan, but I struggled to get it to turn on in our multi-app/tab stress test. When it finally kicks on, it's very quiet.

The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 doesn't have any competition when it comes to battery life. It survives for over 18 hours per charge, making it the longest-lasting Chromebook we've ever tried. In fact, it outlasts 87 percent of the laptops in our entire testing database, including the 14-inch M4 Apple MacBook Pro. That's bonkers.

The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 looks and feels nicer than a Chromebook has any right to. It has a polished aluminum exterior that comes in a pretty platinum silver finish with subtle holographic accents. At 0.61 inches thick, it's thinner than all of the other models on this list (beating out the Chromebook Plus 14 by one hundredth of an inch). Its smooth touchpad and clicky keyboard are both satisfying to use, minus the hollow-sounding space bar. Its hinge does wiggle a bit when you adjust it, but it holds sturdy when you flip its 2K touchscreen around into tent mode. Nothing about it screams "cheap."

Perhaps most notably, that touchscreen has an elite 120Hz refresh rate. I haven't encountered that spec on any other Chromebooks except for the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE, which is a gaming Chromebook, and it's super easy on the eyes. It makes fast-moving graphics in games and videos look buttery smooth.

As with Lenovo's Chromebook Plus 14, you get a ton of future-proofing for your money here. The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 comes with an all-new processor, 12GB of RAM, a 5MP webcam, and support for WiFi 7 plus Bluetooth 5.4.

My review unit is a Best Buy exclusive, by the way. A second configuration with 16GB of RAM, an added fingerprint reader, a backlit keyboard, and a 2.8K display is available on Acer's website, but it'll cost you $100 more (ah!) and bump its refresh rate down to 60Hz. You're probably more than fine with the cheaper (relatively speaking) model.

Acer's Chromebook Spin 312 is portable, durable, long-lasting, scant on AI, and capable of doing double-duty as a tablet. Its $450 MSRP makes it the cheapest Chromebook I recommend, but know that you'll probably pay even less: I've seen it on sale for just $299 at Best Buy. For all these reasons, I think it's the ideal Chromebook for kids and younger students (grades K-8).

The compact Chromebook Spin 312 is only 12.2 inches wide, making it the perfect size for small hands. It has a plastic chassis that keeps it lightweight, but it doesn't feel too cheap. Former lead shopping reporter Dylan Haas said it felt "sturdy and durable for its size."

The Chromebook Spin 312 is a convertible laptop, which means it can flip into tent mode for movie watching or turn into a tablet for doodling and writing practice. It doesn't include a stylus, but its 1200p (better-than-HD) touchscreen is plenty responsive when tapped or swiped with a fingertip. The screen itself is made from scratch-resistant antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass. The thick bezels surrounding its display aren't super attractive, but I'm prioritizing toughness over looks for this use case.

The Chromebook Spin 312's mediocre speakers and webcam are non-concerns for the same reason. I really don't think little Timmy or Susie will care if their laptop can't play "Golden" as clearly as an Apple MacBook Pro, or if Grandma looks a little fuzzy on a video call.

Let's talk performance. The Chromebook Plus 312 earned a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 4,477, making it 36 percent slower than the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. That's not a great score if you need a Chromebook that can handle light multimedia editing or gaming, but it's more than fine for a kiddo's everyday browsing purposes. They'll definitely get a full day's use out of it, too: It lasted nearly 13 hours in our battery life test — more than twice as long as the cheapest iPad.

I also want to call out the fact that this Chromebook lacks the AI features supported by its Plus-tier peers, which I consider a huge... well, plus. At best, tools like a Gemini chatbot, generative wallpapers, and AI image editors would only be distractions. You can manage your child's app access on any Chromebook or Chromebook Plus using Google Family Link, but for kids, those features don't really need to be there to begin with. It just makes more sense to go with a cheaper, more pared-down Chromebook from the jump.

Read Mashable's full review of the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE.

The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE ("gaming edition") is a great pick for casual, frugal PC gamers who don't want to invest in a full-fledged rig that requires regular hardware upgrades. It doesn't support every major AAA title — your games need to be available on cloud streaming services — but I can still see on-the-go gamers and kids getting a lot of use out of it. It's not for anyone who lacks access to a strong internet connection.

All newer Chromebooks support cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass and Nvidia GeForce Now. (In fact, they once came with a free trial of the latter, though that perk has since expired.) However, Acer's well-built Chromebook Plus 516 GE elevates the experience with special gamer-oriented features, like an anti-ghosting RGB keyboard and a crisp 16-inch display with a premium 120Hz refresh rate. The latter is especially impressive, said Mashable's Alex Perry: "I started a new game in Control, jacked the settings up all the way, turned on ray tracing, and was a little blown away."

Performance-wise, the Chromebook Plus 516 GE doesn't disappoint. Its mid-range Intel Core 5 120U processor from early 2024 earned it a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 7,660, making it the second-fastest Chromebook we've ever tried by a hair — nay, a split end. The 2025 Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 offers a minuscule 0.3 percent performance bump, so they're effectively equals.

Perry didn't notice any video buffering or stuttering while he was testing the Chromebook Plus 516 GE, though he did experience some input lag. That's a given for cloud gaming, unfortunately, but it boils down to the strength of the user's internet connection, not the device itself. (That's because cloud gaming involves streaming a game from a powerful remote server to your Chromebook's screen; there can be a slight delay while the data travels.)

I'll also mention that the Chromebook Plus 516 GE held out for just over 10 hours in our battery life benchmark. Perry wished it had an adjustable refresh rate — a lower setting for everyday tasks would help it last even longer — but that's still a great number for a gaming laptop with RGB lighting.