Looking for a Chromebook discount? There’s no need to wait for Black Friday, as the deals have already begun.
We’ve combed through all the early Black Friday Chromebook deals, and cherry-picked the machines that offer truly exceptional values. Indeed, sometimes machines advertised as “deals” are really just selling for their normal discount prices. But we’ve done our best to surface only those Chromebooks selling for all-time low prices (or close to it).
Best early Black Friday budget Chromebook deals
- Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook (MediaTek MT8183, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 768p display), $99.00 (57% off at Walmart)
- Acer Chromebook 512 (Intel Celeron N4020, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 12-inch 912p display), $112.10 (44% off at Amazon)
- Lenovo Chromebook 3 w/Headset (Celeron N4020, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 768p display), $129.00, (13% off at Walmart)
- HP Chromebook 11 (MediaTek MT8183, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 11-inch 768p display): $124.99 (52% off at Amazon)
- HP Chromebook 14 (Celeron N4120, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 768p display): $179.00 (40% off at Walmart)
There’s still a place for ultra-cheap Chromebooks, and the IdeaPad 3 Chromebook at Walmart offers more than just bare-bones specs. Meanwhile, the price of the HP Chromebook 11 is the lowest it’s been in a year. We’ve included the HP Chromebook 14 because its Celeron N4120 is a quad-core processor that should offer substantially more performance than the dual-core N4020 Chromebooks, even if the display resolution and memory is skimpier than we’d like.
Best early Black Friday midrange Chromebook deals
- Lenovo Flex 5i (Core i3-1115G4, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 13.3-inch 1080p display), $299.99 (30% off at Amazon)
- Asus Chromebook Flip C433 (Intel Core m3-8100Y, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display): $244.90 (39% off at Amazon)
- Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook (Intel Pentium Silver N6000, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p touch display): $249.99 (47% off at Target)
- Acer Chromebook 317 (Intel Pentium Silver N6000, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 17.3-inch 1080p touch display), $379.00 (30% off at Best Buy)
We think that the Flex 5i deal at the top of the category has just about everything you’d want in a Chromebook: a nice processor, sufficient memory, and a decent screen. If you prefer a slower processor and less memory, but a larger screen, the Chromebook Flip would make a good choice. We’re still including the Chromebook 317 among our deals, but the price did increase by $50 from last week’s deals update.
FAQ
When is Black Friday?
Officially, Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 25 2022. Cyber Monday is Nov 28 2022.
When do Black Friday Chromebook deals begin?
Early Black Friday sales have already begun at several retailers. The “Black Friday” deals season is like Halloween or Christmas, meaning that actually lasts several weeks.
What should I look for in a Black Friday Chromebook?
We still expect low-end Chromebooks—say, those with a 768p screen, Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of SSD storage—to be priced about $100. And if they get much below $100, they become essentially a stocking stuffer for most people.
That said, look for these specs in a respectable Chromebook: an Intel Celeron N4000 chip or higher, 8GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen. A Pentium Silver N6000 processor is a step up from that. A Core m3-8100Y isn’t, but may still be satisfactory.
More memory (that is, 8GB rather 4GB of RAM) will allow for more browser tabs and a smoother browser experience. A 1080p screen will offer a comfortable laptop-like viewing experience. Onboard storage really doesn’t matter all that much, though at least 32GB is preferable storing for apps, screenshots, and the like.
If you’re familiar with our lengthy laptops versus Chromebooks explainer, you know that one of the potential gotchas is buying a Chromebook whose support window expires soon. We try to factor that in, so you won’t get stuck with a Chromebook that will lose support in the near future.
Which Chromebooks does PCWorld rate highest?
Our editors regularly review Chromebooks, so make sure to check our rankings of the best Chromebooks of 2022. We recommend a wide range of price points, and the article offers a great primer on Chromebook shopping. What’s more, some of our top picks will likely go on sale before or during Black Friday.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld's senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.