13 Best Back to School Laptop Deals in 2025

laptop It is important to take it to college. Not only is this device you will use for the most growing years of your life, but it is often the device you will be in for the first job. The problem is that laptops are everywhere on the internet, and these laptops aren’t worth the money, especially when you browse the list of laptops from Amazon or Best Buy.

Good news! I’ve tested each of the following laptops and can recommend them wholeheartedly. Not only that, I’ve been digging for deals to find the best prices on the best laptops you can buy in the back-to-school season. Below you will find a lot of quality laptops as well as some great Chromebooks and gaming laptops that can all be done the same. You can even find some deals on laptop accessories.

Top Back to School Laptop Transactions

Laptop trading

Best University Deals

If there is a typical college laptop, it’s the MacBook Air M4 (9/10, Wired recommended). It’s been many years. Even though Apple Silicon turns the MacBook Air into something more capable, Apple still keeps the price low enough to make it the top choice. Currently, Amazon’s starting configuration is cheaper than it does on Prime Day, at $800. This is cheaper than the student discount offered by Apple.

What makes a MacBook so perfect for college laptop is its battery life and portability. It is still one of the thinnest laptops you can buy, with a thickness of 0.44 inches and a weight of just 2.7 pounds. This device can be used with you on campus until a night of a paid study. You can choose between the 13 15-inch model, both of which are nearly the same, except that the latter has more screen real estate and better speakers.

Best Windows laptop deals in college

When I initially tested the Dell 14 Plus (6/10, wired review), I gave a difficulty due to the $1,100 MSRP. But over the past month or so, Dell has maintained a considerable discount. Currently, the starting configuration is $750, which may not sound that cheap on the surface, but when you think about what you get, you realize how great it is.

First, that $750 brings you a 1-keeping storage and a higher resolution display (2560 x 1600), matching the clarity of the MacBook Air. It even matches the battery life of the MacBook Air. No, while it’s not as thin or stylish as the MacBook Air, in exchange you get extra storage and more ports, which brings me back to school season this year.

The cheapest window laptop worth buying

Photo: Luke Larsen

Asus

vivobook 14 (x1407qa)

The Asus Vivobook 14 (6/10, Wired Review) is my favorite budget laptop this year, that is, because it solves one of the main issues with laptops in that price range: battery life. It runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chip, bringing fantastic efficiency to devices as affordable as the Vivobook 14.

This is not a perfect laptop. The display is not very bright, and the color looks out on it. I also want the touchpad to be more accurate. But at this price you won’t find a better Windows laptop, especially since it comes with 512 GB of storage. If you can afford the Dell 14 listed above plus extra cash, it’s worth the bumps in the improved display and storage space.

Many on 2-in-1 laptops

Photo: Luke Larsen

A 2-in-1 laptop (also known as Dicachables) is an excellent choice for college. They are the lightest device you can carry around, and it still gives you access to the full version of Windows. The 2025 Surface Pro’s 12-inch model makes that benefit even more powerful, making the screen smaller without losing performance or battery life. Due to its size, the Surface Pro 12 (6/10, wired review) is a pure pleasure.

When it comes out, it’s too expensive compared to the larger 13-inch model, but in sales it’s an ideal college companion to learn in class and on the go. Remember: you need to buy a keyboard because it doesn’t have a bundle.

Rare discounts for the best gaming laptops

Photo: Luke Larsen

The Razer Blade 16 (8/10, Wired recommended) is my favorite gaming laptop, and it’s a great option for college students, if not that expensive. Typically, the RTX 5060 model starts at $2,400, but the Razer has a $400 back-to-school discount, which means you can buy one for as little as $2,000. I know it’s not cheap, especially for this graphic card, but it’s a rare discount for razor blades. This is undoubtedly the lowest price I have seen since the 2025 model was released. The 5070 GPU model is also on sale.

The appeal like the Razer Blade 16 is that it can be used as a feature for a laptop for college work and a gaming device in the dorm with your friends. While you can buy almost any gaming laptop and pretend it is a school device, dragging that thing to class can be a hassle, and once you get there, the design can be a distraction. The latest Razer Blade 16 is just 0.58 inches thick, making it available for use in 16-inch gaming laptops. Outside of the Razer logo on the lid, you probably wouldn’t guess it or even a gaming laptop. Needless to say, since it has a discrete GPU, it will be a good choice for STEM students who need more performance.

A dirt Chromebook discount

Cheap Chromebooks should not discount them as solid student laptops, and not everyone is disguised as their reputation. Despite the inexpensive price, the ASUS Chromebook CX14 (6/10, wired review) is not halfway. It has a 1080p screen, if not the best screen I’ve ever tested, and has a lot of ports. It can also be portable with a typing-able rugged keyboard.

As usual, a cheap laptop isn’t the best touchpad, and battery life won’t keep you through the whole day. But the ASUS Chromebook CX14 is an important step in the right direction compared to Chromebooks that were sold at this price in the past. If your budget is less than $300, please don’t look again.

A thin OLED Chromebook

Photo: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

Samsung

Galaxy Chromebook Plus

Now, if you want a higher Chromebook experience, you have to pay for more. But as the price of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus (8/10 recommended by Wired) proves, there are a lot of great deals to find. The Galaxy Chromebook Plus has a great OLED screen, which is also not common in Chromebooks, even screens with the name “Chromebook Plus”.

The Galaxy Chromebook Plus not only features a bright 15.6-inch OLED display, but also has high-end specs you most likely need to go to college. This includes 256 GB of storage, 8 GB of RAM and an Intel Core 3 processor. But perhaps its most attractive quality is its portability. This is the thinnest Chromebook you can get in 0.46 inches thick with only MacBook Air thick hair.

Cheap gaming laptop

Photo: Eric Ravenscraft

If you want a stylish and minimalist design for razor blades at a lower price, check out the Asus Rog Zephyrus G14 (9/10, Wired recommendation). It’s like gorgeous and thin, and every bit can be doubled. The RTX 4060 configuration is cheap, and admittedly, it’s not the most impressive gaming GPU at the moment. Plus, you can buy an older Intel model for the same price, which has a more powerful RTX 4070.

Either way, you get a powerful laptop, and for those who need it, there is some extra performance behind it. Yes, it’s also a killer gaming laptop for downtime.

Great MacBook Air Alternative

This is my favorite new laptop of 2024 and it is undoubtedly still one of the best you can bring with you. Surface Laptop Edition 7 (7/10, wired recommendation) is lightweight, portable, with a great screen, and a great touchpad. My favorite feature is the 3:2 aspect ratio display, which means it has a higher shape and gives you more vertical screen space than most other laptops.

The cheapest version you can buy is ended on Amazon where you can buy a 1-TB model. Currently at $999, the Snapdragon X Elite chipset and all-day battery life will bring you great performance.

The deal on laptop accessories is great

Laptop rack

Photo: Luke Larsen

AmazonBasics

Ergonomic laptop stand

I get it. You are a college student and you are not worried about your posture. But trust me, if you start using proper ergonomics early on like laptop stands, then your future will be thankful for you. This simple, cheap laptop stand is perfect for your dorm room and can fold when you don’t need it. Once you have raised your laptop to the right eye level, you will need to pair it with a quality mouse and keyboard.

Laptop backpack

Photo: North

There are plenty of great laptop bags to drag your new laptop around campus with you, and it’s a great time to upgrade from anything you use in high school. This backpack is a common sight in school, and there is good reason. This is versatile for schools and one-day hikes or weekend trips. It comes in several colors and has a 28-liter capacity – enough to hold a 13-inch laptop, jacket, snack and water bottle.

USB hub

Photo: Luke Larsen

Plugable

USB-C 9-in-1 Center (USBC-9IN1E)

Many of the laptops above do not contain various ports and you may be a student from time to time. That’s why everyone may need some kind of USB-C hub. I like the 9-port center that has a socket-friendly because it supports USB-C power delivery, although relatively cheap. If you need more powerful features, consider this 5-in-1 option from the Satechi 8 in-1 multiplayer adapter or Anker, a more budget-friendly and basic alternative.

Affordable earplugs

Photo: Amazon

Without decent earplugs, you won’t be able to go to college, especially since you need to focus on public places many times. Sure, a pair of airpods works great, but if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, our enthusiasts have tested dozens of pairs of budget earbuds to recommend the Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro+ (10/10, wired recommendation) as a solution. Despite the price being under $100, our reviewer said it has “some of the best sounds in the middle, a treble register I hear from earplugs at any price.”