Top 3 Picks
Acer Swift 3
Dell Inspiron 14
Acer Aspire 5
Writers need to be able to write anywhere and anytime. That is why a laptop is one of the essential tools for writers journalists and bloggers. That allows them to take their work with them wherever they go. And it doesn’t matter if you write a fiction novel or a newspaper you need the best laptop to make your writing job smoothly.
But selecting the right laptop for your online freelance writing business can be difficult if you are on a budget but if you take the time to do your homework you can find one that is perfect for your writing requirements.
Although while having an expensive laptop means a high-powered system that might be ideal not everyone can afford that luxury. But to make your dreams of being a writer come true without breaking the bank.
Here we have the best laptops for writers on a budget that are affordable for every type of budget. And lucky they have some solid hardware specifications that you usually find in premium quality laptops.
And if you don’t want to read the entire article go with Swift 3. Without any doubt Acer Swift is the best laptop for writers with powerful hardware specifications to tackle any computing task.
Although it is a little more expensive than the others listed here its powerful configuration justifies the price. However if you want a cheaper solution go with Acer Aspire 5.
Four Best Laptops for Writers on a Budget
1 Acer Swift 3
Editor’s Choice
Acer Swift 3
Weighing 2.65 pounds Acer Swift 3 is a thin and light laptop. Its weight and dimensions make it ideal for on-the-go jobs where convenient portability is necessary. Just pop it in your bag and take it wherever.
Along with being ultra-portable users will find it quite durable as well. Its durability adds to this device and brings it up in our list of best laptops for writers in 2022.
This is because writers who work on the go hate carrying a separate laptop bag and usually adjust their laptops in their existing backpacks or purses. This might expose the device to a bit of battering and if the device is durable there is nothing to worry about.
It offers powerful productivity for its price featuring the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Octa-Core Processor. Moreover Acer Swift 3 offers a backlit keyboard with its keys reasonably click. Keys having a good click are a must for people like me – I think it makes the writing experience much more satisfying.
It also features a touchpad with good precision; however it does require a bit of a firm press. As the laptop was designed keeping the factor of portability in mind its display screen is of a reasonable size of 14 inches providing a 1080 HD display.
Another plus point of the Acer Swift 3 laptop that makes it one of the best budget laptops for writers is its RAM. It offers 8GB of RAM which is usually recommended for writers. It will allow you to run various programs efficiently and multitask reasonably to carry out your writing Jobs even Swift 3 is a great gaming laptop.
Furthermore it offers 512GB of internal SSD storage which is sufficient. You can easily save many writing files on your device with storage capacity. However it is bound to have a few downsides for the price it offers – its battery life is one of them.
Writers – like myself – usually prefer a laptop that can stretch for long hours without needing to be plugged in. Acer Swift 3 has an average battery life of 4 hours. It may be enough for some but for those who are mainly writing on the go it may not be adequate.
Moreover its webcam and microphone are of an average quality that may be enough for zoom conference calls and similar purposes. You will find the video output to be a little grainy. The audio is not all that impressive either.
However these things might not matter for those looking for a budget laptop for writing. Considering the price it can still provide an Ultra-book experience that is quite comfortable for writers.
It indeed outperforms many laptops having a similar price range which is why I would highly recommend Acer Swift 3 as one of the best budget laptops for writers in 2022.
2 Dell Inspiron 14 5481
Dell Inspiron 14 5481
Dell Inspiron 14 5481 is another excellent writing laptop that is suitable for writers on a budget not looking for a very high-performing device. It comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i3-8145U which is the minimum for good performance.
Along with this it also fulfills the minimum requirement for the RAM being 4GB though I would recommend going higher if you can afford it for a more seamless performance.
This one might also not be the one for travelers out there as it is not as slim and sleek as the others on the list weighing 2.9 pounds. However the storage space it offers is quite reasonable being 128GB SSD storage if you are looking for a great laptop mostly to complete your writing jobs.
It claims to serve up to 7 hours and 30 minutes in terms of battery life which is quite reasonable. The feature that makes it different from other best writing laptops and might make this a winner for some people is that it’s a 2-in-1 convertible laptop with a 14-inch touchscreen display. It can be turned into a tablet which might be convenient for traveling.
However the resolution it offers is 720p which given the price is reasonable. Also the screen has a glass covering causing reflections which is quite distracting and harsh on the eyes.
This best budget laptop for a writer might gel with writers because of its excellent keyboard for typing. The keys are quiet and have perfect travel to provide a satisfying experience.
However it is missing a number pad which might make this laptop undesirable amongst people who do a lot of data entry. Overall if you are tight on cash and want a budget laptop that is good enough for general use of writing; then this is precisely what you need.
3 Newest Acer Aspire 5
Top Pick
Newest Acer Aspire 5
The Newest Acer Aspire 5 is one of our picks for the best budget laptops for writers. It costs a little more than the Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT is still quite an affordable laptop.
It can handle the essential jobs that many writers are looking to complete. The hike in the price of this model is due to the upgraded memory and storage space. It comes with 12GB of RAM and the storage capacity has been upgraded to 256GB.
Both specifications are above the minimum recommended for writers. The upgraded RAM has also helped the new Aspire 5 become more productive and multitask better making it one of the best laptops with solid specifications for writers.
Moreover it comes with a 15.6 inches screen offering 1080 HD display quality. Though the screen is nothing too spectacular it’s acceptable at the given price. Acer Aspire 5 (2020) keyboard is similar to the previous model.
It is backlit allowing writers to work on projects in dimly lit environments. The keys are also comfortable enough to type and it includes a number pad too which is a definite plus.
It has a good sound quality when compared to the previous model. The battery can also last up to 6 hours which is quite reasonable. However it may run out much quicker in case of using heavier apps.
Being a low-budget laptop it’s not all super. A few compromises are made to keep it within the given price range. The new Acer Aspire five scores low on the factor of portability. It weighs 3.97 pounds and is a bit on the bulkier side making it hard to carry around in your backpack.
Moreover the touchpad is not too impressive having a cheap feeling. However such compromises are needed and don’t matter much at the given price.
4 Lenovo IdeaPad S340
Lenovo IdeaPad S340
IdeaPad S340 is an affordable and best laptop for writers below $1000. However it is a little more expensive than the Acer Swift 3. This particular product offers an AMD Ryzen 7 3700U Quad-Core Processor and 8GB of RAM. Which will provide a good level of productivity allowing writers to carry out all the Microsoft Office jobs reasonably well.
Basic multitasking will also be a breeze. It also offers a 15.6-inch screen with HD resolution. The screen is an anti-glare touchscreen that provides comfort to the eyes and convenience in navigating. However the display is a little dim with poor viewing angles. While being a 15.6 inches laptop it is still quite slim and portable.
The device weighs about 1 pound making it easier for writers to carry it around in their backpacks. Along with these things there are more reasons why this laptop made it the best laptop for writing jobs.
Let’s talk about its keyboard the component that writers especially look at when purchasing low price laptop for writing. Lenovo IdeaPad S340 comes with a backlit keyboard that allows journalists bloggers and those who write to work quickly even in a poorly lit environment.
Its keys are also reasonably springy with enough travel to provide a satisfying writing experience. Oh and did I mention the number pad? This great laptop comes with a number pad making life easier for those who do data entry jobs.
The downside of this laptop is its trackpad. It works well but is nothing too impressive as sometimes it gets a little unresponsive. Nevertheless this is not a severe issue to consider especially in this pricing range; it can be ignored.
Besides this IdeaPad S340 also has a good quality inbuilt webcam and the stereo microphone that it comes with is also of good quality.
One thing that might deduct points for some writers is its battery. While proving an average of 4-6 hours in a charge the battery life is not too impressive. Other PC in the list will let you work for around 6 to 8 hours or up to a day even but that price will be a bit higher.
However Lenovo IdeaPad S340 is still one of the great laptops for writers. It will allow most writers to get the job done efficiently and conveniently.