These are the best Chromebooks to buy for you and your family - Android

The best Chromebook can provide a top-notch computing experience today and for years to come. They're perfect for students, grandparents, and anyone looking for a trouble-free laptop with long battery life. We've reviewed and rated the absolute best Chromebooks so that you can find the best value at any budget. Our buyer's guide will help you find the perfect Chrome OS laptop or tablet if you're switching from a Windows or Mac, or if you're buying your first laptop entirely.

What are the best Chromebooks you can buy today?

The beauty of the Chromebook market is that there are so many options to choose from. If you want something specifically for portability and battery life, there are numerous dependable choices. Similarly, if you don't plan to move it from a desk and would prefer a big, beautiful display and plenty of CPU power to back it up, there are lots of options for you, too.

Our top pick is the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook, which hits all of the right markets when it comes to a laptop, including build quality, performance, battery life, and longevity — all for a very fair price. The only problems with the Flex 5 were that it's been selling out very quickly over the last few months (though supply seems to have stabilized) — and that it doesn't have an 8GB RAM option for those who are more demanding on their system.

If you want an 8GB Chromebook that looks fabulous and won't break the bank, grab the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, which will run you a little more money but comes with a brighter 2K screen in a 3:2 aspect ratio. As a Project Athena Chromebook, the Spin 713 is powerful enough for gaming and running virtualization software like Parallels. Not everyone will need it, but if you do, this is the one to beat.

On the more compact and lightweight side of things, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an excellent companion device while the Acer Chromebook Spin 311 is a good 11.6-inch Chromebook for students and light on-the-go work.

Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5

Best Chromebook Overall

Bottom line: With a powerful 10th Gen Intel Core i3 chip, a beautiful 13-inch 1080p touchscreen, backlit keyboard, and remarkably reasonable price, the Flex 5 is a great Chromebook for just about everyone. Despite a slim and lightweight build, the Flex 5 has a 360-degree hinge for easy conversion to tent or tablet mode, along with upward-firing stereo speakers, and support for both USI Stylus and Wi-Fi 6 for power-users.

Pros

• Compact design
• USI Stylus compatibility
• Loud upward-facing speakers
• Backlit keyboard

Cons

• Limited configuration options
• No 8GB RAM option

The best Chromebook you can buy isn't necessarily the most powerful or the most expensive. It combines many features into a compact body that will appeal to almost all Chromebook users, from novices to experts, students to professionals. If your next laptop is here to work hard (and play harder), check out our favorite Chromebook on the market today, the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook. Barely bigger than an 11.6-inch Chromebook — in both dimensions and price — the Flex 5 has the best blend of value and performance around.

The bezels around the Flex 5's 1080p screen are quite slim — just enough for you to grip when flipping between laptop, stand, and tablet modes. That means, you'll get a compact laptop with a big-enough screen for quite comfortable split-screening. You'll also get a backlit keyboard that's comfortable enough to type on for 10 hours a day — it's what I'm using to write this right now — and sitting on either side of the keyboard are speakers that will get nice and loud (though a bit tinny when you start blaring).

This version comes with Intel's latest 10th Generation i3 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, plenty of power for today's complex business tasks. Like many of the newer Chromebooks on this list, the Flex 5 comes with two USB 3.1 Type-C ports and a single legacy USB-A port, as well as a microSD slot for expandable storage and a headphone jack. You get Wi-Fi 6 for faster, more reliable connectivity — and Bluetooth 5.0, so your headset won't drop out as often — and the 45W charging brick in the box tops the 52.5Whr battery in just 90 minutes.

Chrome OS was built to run well on modest hardware, so on the Flex 5's mid-range hardware, things are smooth and stable. While we're not thrilled there aren't larger storage and memory sizes. Would it kill Lenovo to offer 8GB models?! All that aside, there's very little to otherwise complain about here. 4GB has been enough for all the work I've done, even when I've had multiple windows and Android apps open.

When I initially agreed to review the Flex 5, it didn't seem all that amazing on paper, especially compared to the Project Athena Chromebooks that have come out in the last year. Once I'd spent a few days with it, though, the Flex 5 had completely won me over. It's more than the sum of its parts — and way more than its modest price tag would have you believe.

Read our full Lenovo Flex 5 review now.

Best Chromebook Overall

Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5

$395 at Amazon

Lenovo already knows how to make a great small Chromebook, and with just a few small upgrades, it makes a Chromebook that can please just about everybody.

Acer Chromebook 713

Best Chromebook for Gaming & Performance

Bottom line: If you need performance and power in your Chromebook, you'll want to look at a Project Athena Chromebook so that you know it's powerful, fast, and secure. This 13.5-inch 2-in-1 outdoes the rest of the current Project Athena crop in ports, durability, and value, giving you a robust laptop for hundreds less than its competitors. There's even an HDMI port built-in, for professionals that are constantly hooking up to external monitors or the projector in the conference room.

Pros

• Powerful futureproof specs
• Bright 3:2 screen for productivity
• HDMI port built-in

Cons

• Speakers aren't great
• Limited availability

Like the Acer Spin 13 before it, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is one of the most powerful Chromebooks out there that doesn't just go completely overboard in terms of price. Project Athena is a program started by Intel working with manufacturers to produce laptops that will be fast, powerful, and reliable. So, as a Project Athena Chromebook, there's an expectation of speed and power that the Spin 713 absolutely delivers on.

Even with dozens of tabs open and a couple of Android apps, this Chromebook keeps chugging along, though the fan may kick on from time to time — yes, the i5 processor here needs a fan to keep it cool once you really get it going. The bottom of the laptop doesn't heat up too much, so you can still use it in your lap pretty easily, but you will hear the fan now and then.

Acer differed the Chromebook Spin 713 from the first two Project Athena Chromebooks in two ways. Firstly, you actually have more than the USB-C ports. There's also a USB-A port and an HDMI port on the 713, which means that you aren't scrambling for a USB-C hub immediately. Secondly, while there are some more pricey configurations if you want an i7, the standard i5/8GB/128GB model is a completely reasonable price.

If you want to game on a Chromebook — beyond Android apps and web-based games — there's still not much support yet beyond Stadia, but we know that Google is working to increase the Steam compatibility on Chromebooks through Chrome OS's Linux capabilities. Since the Spin 713 is Project Athena certified, it's going to be one of the Chromebooks with the best chance to actually take real advantage of it once Google and Steam have things where they want it.

In the meantime, this is still the best bang for your buck on a high-performance Chromebook, and that 3:2 aspect ratio on the screen is something many professionals swear by on their work machines. That aspect ratio isn't as fun for watching movies, but it's great for seeing more data on your screen at a time, especially while split-screening, and the 2K resolution gives you a more crisp image.

Best Chromebook for Gaming & Performance

Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-2W)

From $629 at Amazon $629 at Best Buy

If you're someone who loves a 3:2 screen and a beefy, beefy processor to power it, this Project Athena Chromebook is for you.

Lenovo Chromebook Duet

Best Chromebook Tablet

Bottom line: If you want a tablet that offers up the best of Google's services and software without instantly falling behind on software updates the way Android tablets do, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is the perfect couch companion that can pull double-duty as a light-duty laptop while your kids co-opt the family desktop.

Pros

• Excellent battery life
• Kickstand and keyboard included
• Bright 1080p screen for comics and videos

Cons

• Too small for some
• Only one USB-C port

Lenovo first debuted the Duet at CES and it gave us hope that we might see a Chromebook tablet finally done right. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet has a battery that goes on and on and on, especially if you're just doing some reading and casual games, and the screen is nice and bright for videos and comics. The specs say the battery lasts 10 hours, but I've averaged 10-12 hours on an average charge.

The detachable keyboard can feel cramped if you're using it for hours and hours on end — if you have larger hands, you'll probably want to invest in a full-size keyboard for your desk to use instead for stationary use — but as a companion device or a couch computer, the Duet is perfect. The screen is bright, videos are crisp, and comics look lovely. The speakers are a bit on the quiet side, but as a slim 10-inch tablet, I'm fine with pairing headphones or a Bluetooth speaker to it for YouTube binges.

Since the day pre-orders opened, the Duet has been very, very hard to find in stock, so if this seems like the Chromebook for you, you'll want to check back early and often to see if the stock has just been refreshed. It's worth the wait for a Chromebook tablet that's affordable, reliable, and fully-accessorized out of the box, having learned from the Google Pixel Slate's mistakes.

There's only one port on the Duet, one single USB-C port, so you'll want to use Bluetooth for headphones and leave the port free for charging. The lack of a headphone jack is not a huge loss, but some will be turned off by it; I'm more disappointed there isn't a USB-C port on both sides the way that basically every Chromebook released in the last two years has.

It's worth mentioning that the charger in the box here is a piddly little 10W USB-A charger — Hey, Lenovo had to cut costs somewhere — so you'll likely want to swap that out for an 18W Power Delivery charger instead. The Duet still charges in less than 90 minutes, but I do wish it at least had 30W charging instead of the same 18W charging that most phones use.

Since there's no microSD slot for expanding the internal storage, do yourself a favor and buy the 128GB version if you're intending to download lots of videos and comics for those holiday trips home to see the family.

Read our full Lenovo Chromebook Duet review now.

Best Chromebook Tablet

Lenovo Chromebook Duet Tablet + Kickstand

• From $222 at Amazon (64GB)
• $249 at Best Buy (128GB)
• $249 at Walmart (64GB)

The Duet finally gives us the kind of Google tablet we've wanted for a decade. It comes with a keyboard for when you need it, but it works well all on its own.

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (CP311-3H)

Best Compact Chromebook

Bottom line: 11.6-inch Chromebooks still make up a massive section of the Chromebook market, and the best blend of power, portability, and price to be found right now is the latest generation of the Acer Chromebook Spin 311. It sheds ports in exchange for lighter weight and battery that will go all day and then some.

We highly recommend purchasing the 64GB configuration due to the lack of microSD slot. Without a microSD slot, you can't expand the internal storage without using the one and only USB-C port to plug in a flash drive.

Pros

• Compact design
• Good build quality
• Long-term support

Cons

• Limited ports / no microSD slot
• No 8GB RAM option

Normally when you're shopping for a new laptop, it's easy to get caught up in specs and end up buying the biggest, most powerful laptop you can afford. However, for Chromebooks, that isn't necessarily going to get you a better experience. Big screens and fancy features are all well and good, but most of the time when I leave my apartment to go do some writing in a brighter and more fun atmosphere, I bring a lightweight 11.6-inch Chromebook like the Acer Chromebook Spin 311.

Acer slimmed down the sides of the 311 and pared down on ports while it was at it, but you still get a USB-C port for 45W Power Delivery charging as well as using hubs, adapters, and external monitors, a USB-A port for legacy peripherals like wired keyboards and old flash drives, and a 3.5mm audio combo jack. You may have noticed that list did not include a microSD slot, a rarity for a Chromebook in this price range, and yeah, it's weird that we don't have one. At least we have a 64GB version if you care about storage.

This new model is also slated for almost eight years of Chrome OS updates, with an AUE date of June 2028. It's lightweight and highly portable, easy to slide into a bag as you move from meeting to meeting, and quick to wake back up once you get where you're going. The bezels around the screen are large, but they come in handy when you flip it over into tablet mode, and the keyboard is easy to type on for hours at a time.

Speaking of hours at a time, Acer says that this Chromebook can last up to 16 hours in its spec sheet, and with real work use, I usually get 12-14 hours on a single charge depending on how much I crank up the screen brightness.

Best Compact Chromebook

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (CP311-3H)

$264 at Amazon (32GB) $269 at Walmart (64GB) $300 at Target (32GB)

While light on ports, the next-gen 311 still has enough power and storage in a nice, lightweight package.

ASUS Chromebook Flip C434

Best Balanced Chromebook

Bottom line: The ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 is essentially a 14-inch Chromebook in a 13-inch shell, offering you a bigger screen while still being portable. Between its thin, solid construction, excellent battery life, and options for higher RAM and storage, the C434 is a Chromebook that can do it all. One of the few Chromebooks to offer a backlit keyboard, it's perfect for long nights and dim offices.

Pros

• Exceptional aluminum design
• Good backlit keyboard
• High-quality display

Cons

• The 8GB models are getting harder to find
• Keys are difficult to see in certain lighting conditions
• The model is almost two years old

ASUS is one of the most well-known Chromebook manufacturers and has been since day one. What sets the company apart from the competition is a focus on creating a premium hardware experience in as compact a shell as possible. With the the Chromebook Flip C434, ASUS crammed what is essentially a 14-inch Chromebook into a 13-inch body.

ASUS focuses on the fundamentals here, including a really high-quality 1080p LCD touch panel surrounded by slim bezels, along with an oversized precision trackpad, a backlit keyboard — a rarity at this price point — and a tapered aluminum design that's reminiscent of the MacBook Air.

The hinge flips 360-degrees, which lets you set the Chromebook up in traditional, "tent", and tablet modes — hence the Flip in the name — all in a body under three pounds. The included Intel Core m3-8100y processor isn't the fastest one available, but it's more than good enough for daily usage, especially when paired with the optional 8GB of RAM — which you should get if you intend to do a lot of multi-tasking during video calls. There's also a model with an i5 processor and 128GB of storage, but those are so hard to find now that you're better off getting the newer C436 instead.

As for inputs, you get two USB-C ports and a single USB-A port along with a microSD card slot. The laptop advertises eight to 10 hours of battery, and that's around what we usually got, too. Ports are one of the reasons why I'm still recommended the C434 over the newer ASUS Chromebook Flip C436; the C436 only has USB-C ports and microSD, no USB-A port. Yes, USB-C hubs are plentiful, but having at least one USB-A port on a laptop is very useful, especially for a laptop this big.

The other main reason to go with the