The best Chromebook for 2024

Who it's for:

The budget Acer Chromebook 516 GE promises its users a fantastic cloud-based PC gaming experience, and in our testing, it definitely delivers. At this price point, great gaming laptops are hard to come by, but the Chromebook 516 GE breaks that mold by offering top-notch performance during gaming and general use, a beautiful display, killer perks, and more for just $649 (we've already seen them go on sale for only $499). If you're looking for the intersection of quality and value, you'll find it here.

Why we picked this:

If you're not familiar with cloud gaming yet, it's the equivalent of watching content through an app like Netflix: You'll be streaming games rather than downloading them or owning a physical copy. That means no load times to start playing, no downloads, and no updates. Sometimes, this can result in poor game quality and super choppy performance, but this laptop doesn't have those problems. We used Xbox Game Pass as our cloud platform of choice during testing, and we had an overall great experience (we also used an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, which connected easily).

We played single-player games like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Rollerdrome, and Cyberpunk 2077, as well as online multiplayer games like Sea of Thieves, Mortal Kombat 11, and Fortnite — all of which require fast and responsive performance to play as intended. We're happy to report that every game we booted up ran swimmingly, save for a slight loss in fidelity (which is extremely common with cloud gaming). We also experienced zero input lag or stuttering, an impressive feat.

Luckily, you won't be beholden to Game Pass. Along with your purchase, you can redeem three free months of NVIDIA GeForce Now at the Priority level, which grants you access to NVIDIA's high-end cloud servers with enhanced resolution and frame rate. You get other perks, too, including three months of YouTube Premium, a year's worth of Google One cloud storage, and a month of access to Boosteroid. Like we said, the value for your money here is stellar.

Aside from the gami

Read Mashable's full review of the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch.

Who it's for:

HP's Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch is a low-cost, large-screened laptop for those who work in the Google productivity ecosystem and watch a lot of YouTube in their free time. If you like numpads, all the better.

Why we picked this:

This HP Chromebook Plus is helmed by a huge, vibrant display that blew me away when I reviewed it: "The colors are intense, with good contrast and rich blacks, and an anti-reflective panel preserves that quality at most viewing angles," to quote my write-up. I loved using it for movie-watching and light gaming (via Xbox Game Pass). On the clock, it was fast enough to handle my daily workflow, which involves a lot of Gmailing and Google Meeting, though its battery life disappointingly drained before the end of my eight-hour shift. I also found it hard to listen to anything playing on it while naked-eared: Its speakers stink.

As one of eight new Chromebook Plus devices, this puppy comes with some interesting new software extras like File Sync, AI-powered webcam settings, and support for some multimedia tools (including Google Magic Eraser and Adobe Express). None of them felt revolutionary in my testing, but they're decent value-adds for such a cheap machine.

Read Mashable’s full review of the HP Chromebook Plus x360 14c.

Who it's for:

HP’s Chromebook Plus x360 14c is quite the mouthful, but it’s an affordable, security-forward laptop for anyone who just needs access to the internet. If all you need to do on your laptop is work in cloud-based documents, answer emails, stream media, research, shop, and otherwise access the web, this Chromebook will get the job done efficiently.

Why we picked this:

The HP Chromebook Plus x360 14c offers good specs in exchange for its budget-friendly $800 price. Tech editor Kimberly Gedeon says this Chromebook “isn’t designed for power users, but it is sufficient enough for the average school-focused consumer or a worker bee with light-to-medium workloads.”

In addition to decent performance capabilities, HP gave its Chromebook Plus x360 14c a “solid, premium-esque” aluminum gray chassis that’s reminiscent of pricier laptops. The keyboard inside feels equally premium, delivering a “shockingly clicky” typing experience. However, it’s worth noting the keyboard, trackpad, and chassis are all prone to attracting oily, smudy fingerprints.

The Chromebook Plus x360 might not have the best battery life we’ve seen from a Chromebook — it clocked in at 8 hours and 54 minutes — but it’ll easily last you a full work day. And unlike some of the more expensive laptops we’ve tested, this Chromebook doesn’t skimp on ports. You’ll find two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, an audio jack, and even a microSD card slot to expand storage of transfer files.