Amazon’s Prime Day Chromebook deals are ramping up in anticipation of the big event beginning on July 16. We’re busy poring through early Prime Day sales, looking for the best Chromebook deals on both budget and premium machines.
Prime Day takes place on July 16 and July 17 this year, when Amazon and its partners discount thousands of items. Our job is to find the best deals—Chromebook sales, in this case—and pass them along to you. Many Amazon deals are limited to people who sign up for Amazon Prime (which you can do for free). We also include juicy Chromebook discounts from rival retailers like Target, Newegg, and Best Buy if they’re great. Using our recommendations for the best Chromebooks as a guide, we explain our selections.
I’ve worked as a consumer tech editor for 30 years and at PCWorld for the last decade. During that time I’ve been responsible for compiling the best Chromebook deals for Prime Day, Black Friday, and more, and I’ve done deep reporting on the Chromebook ecosystem. I’m confident I can find the best Chromebook bargains.
To compile our list of Chromebook deals for Prime Day, I looked at the specifications, price, pricing history, the manufacturer, and any reviews we’ve published on the specific Chromebook. Read on for all the best Chromebook deals, and check out our Prime Day 2024 deals hub for great sales in other tech categories.
Early Prime Day deals on Chromebooks are mostly focused on premium Chromebooks rather than budget offerings. That’s fine, but there’s less to choose from. Note that I don’t really like encouraging buyers to pick up a Chromebook with 4GB of RAM, but those are the most aggressive deals right now.
The Acer Chromebook 315 is otherwise the best Amazon deal of the bunch: decent hardware, a solid discount, and an affordable end price. The Gateway deal is a bit deceptive, as you need to sign up for Target Circle—a free discount program—to get this deal. The Acer Chromebook 516 deal from Best Buy, though, is a steal: Tt has terrific hardware and a fantastic display.
PCWorld’s review of the Chromebook Plus 514 shows it’s a decent Chromebook on sale for a decent price. Nothing special, but a solid value. But PCWorld’s review of the Acer Spin 514 criticized its high price. Aha! Taking 20 percent off helps its value tremendously.
The two HP Chromebooks are a bit iffy. I’m not a fan of 768p displays and the AMD 3015Ce processor is a bit suspect. I don’t think they’re bad buys, but the Gateway and the Acer at the top of the list are better deals and for less. Consider the HP Chromebooks only if those sell out.
Expect to pay between $170 to $250 or so, depending on the configuration. You’ll see bargain-basement options below $100 and more premium versions will cost $300 and above. We’ve used that advice for the past few years, and even with inflation that still seems to hold true.
Unfortunately, pre-Prime Day deals can be aggressive, but only on discounts on premium Chromebooks. We’re hoping to see the more aggressive “doorbuster” deals on Prime Day itself. For now, prices seem to be trending on the high side.
I always start first with the screen, preferring a large 1080p display if the deal offers it. I also look for at least 8GB of RAM to maximize the available open tabs in a web browser and run necessary apps. I worry less about the microprocessor, as Chrome OS is lightweight and can run on an Intel Pentium and Celeron chip, an AMD chip, or Arm chips from Qualcomm and Mediatek. Anything powered by an Intel Core chip or AMD Ryzen (not an A-series) chip should deliver solid performance.
It’s a little trickier now since Chromebooks are now supported for ten years and some manufacturers see that as a green light to dump ancient hardware. That’s the sort of thing I keep a wary eye upon.
Generally, Chromebooks tend to fall into three categories: ultracheap models at about $100 to $200, which can offer solid discounts but can hide gotchas like a subpar screen, midrange $200 to $350, the typical price point, and premium Chromebooks at $500 or more. The latter are essentially PC laptops with Google’s Chrome OS on top, and might be too expensive for your tastes.
Our story recommending Chromebooks over Windows laptops may help you decide, as might our recommendations for the best Chromebooks. We have a more detailed comparison of laptops versus Chromebooks, too.
Chromebooks used to cut corners, especially where deals are concerned. Some still do. This $209 Asus Chromebook at Target uses an eight-year-old processor from 2016. I don’t want you to buy ancient hardware that won’t run well, so I pay attention to this. I also tend to avoid “renewed” hardware in favor of new, out-of-the-box devices.
I like to focus on the screen first, choosing deals that offer large, eye-pleasing 1080p displays. (A 768p screen can work, but it can be grainy). I like Chromebooks with at least 8GB of memory, but I’m less particular about the type of processor. You don’t need an Intel Core or AMD Ryzen chip, though you will see those in more premium Chromebooks. Arm chips from Qualcomm, Samsung, or Mediatek are more typical and offer longer battery life and decent performance. For a Chromebook, that’s enough.
Google Chrome OS-powered notebooks have a support window. Once closed, they will not receive any additional features, patches, security, or OS updates. However, Google recently extended this support window to a full 10 years, which really opens up the possibilities.
Amazon would like to think so. But if we relied solely on Amazon’s deals, you’d miss out! Many retails offers competitive deals during Prime Days and the week of Prime Day. If we find a Chromebook deal from another retailer, we’ll include it.
No. You may have a particular preference, but all Chromebooks that we cover are made by hardware makers with trusted reputations like HP, Samsung, Asus, and so on. If you trust a laptop brand, its Chromebooks should be equally trustworthy.
