5 Best 11-inch laptops under $500

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Key notes

  • If you don’t need a fancy gaming laptop, you can save a thousand dollars by getting an 11-inch laptop instead.
  • This hardware guide tells you about some of the best laptops with 11.6-inch displays that are available for less than $500.
  • Our Buying Guides hub includes numerous other articles about the best hardware and software.
  • Don't hesitate to check out other useful laptop-related articles on our detailed Laptops page.
Windows 10 foldable laptops

All laptops are supposed to be portable, right? Yet, higher specification gaming laptops generally have substandard batteries and more expansive displays that greatly reduce their portability. So, gaming laptops are generally best left at home.

Laptops of the 11-6 inch display variety are more lightweight, portable, and affordable alternatives to bigger ones.

The 11-inch laptops are ideal for users who only need more basic productivity PCs they can take out and about. These are some of the better 11-inch laptops available for less than $500.

Note: Deals are subject to change. Sometimes, some of the deals listed in our guides may no longer be available by the time you hit the buy button. So, hurry up and grab them while they’re hot.

What are the best 11-inch laptops for less than $500?

VivoBook L203MA

  • 10-hour battery
  • Good range of ports
  • MicroSD card slot more than doubles its storage
  • Very affordable
  • 180-degree hinge
  • Comes with Windows 10 S

The VivoBook L203MA is a very affordable 11-inch laptop with a premium design. The VivoBook’s Intel Celeron N4000 CPU clocks up to 2.6 GHz with a turbo boost and provides decent performance for a budget laptop.

This laptop also packs in 64 GB storage, four GB RAM, and an Intel UHD Graphics 600 GPU.

The VivoBook also has a surprisingly large number of ports for a small laptop. It incorporates a couple of USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port, one USB-C 3.1 port along with a micro SD card slot, and headphone/mic jack.


Dell i3168-3272GRY

  • It’s a laptop and a tablet
  • 500 GB hard drive storage
  • N3710 processor has a higher max clock speed than most budget laptops
  • Lacks a full-size SD card reader

The Dell i3168-3272GRY is a higher performance 11-inch laptop that just about falls within $500. This laptop’s Intel Pentium N3710 processor boasts a maximum clock speed of 2.56 GHz.

It also incorporates 500 GB storage, which is much more substantial than the 64 GB storage many budget laptops have.

Another good thing about the Dell i3168-3272GRY is that it’s a 2-in-1 laptop with a 360-degree hinged touchscreen display. So, you can utilize this PC with a tablet, laptop, stand, or tent modes.


HP Stream

  • Decent performance for a budget laptop
  • Long-lasting battery
  • Comes with a one-year Office 365 subscription
  • Ultra cheap and very good value
  • Very limited 32 GB storage space

The HP Stream 11 is an ultra-cheap laptop that compares very favorably with most other budget laptops in performance benchmarking.

It shares the same N4000 processor as the VivoBook L203MA. This laptop also incorporates an Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU, four GB RAM, and 32 GB storage.

The best thing about the HP Stream 11 is its stellar battery. HP claims the battery can last up to 12 hours without a recharge. However, reviews say this laptop’s battery lasts more like nine hours, but that’s still a decent battery time.


Dell Inspiron 11 3000

  • First pro
  • Second Pro
  • First con
  • Second con

The Dell Inspiron 11 3000 has very decent specifications for a laptop under $500. This laptop has a seventh-generation AMD Dual-Core A9 9420e processor and AMD Radeon RG GPU.

It is one of the few 11-inch laptops that pack in eight GB RAM, and its 256 SSD storage eclipses most alternatives.

This is also a 2-in-1 laptop that comes with Windows 10. As a 2-in-1, it’s more flexible than other most other budget laptops with its various tablet stand modes.


Lenovo Flex 3

  • Good range of connectivity ports for a small laptop’s
  • Excellent amount of HDD storage
  • Its Harmony software optimizes Flex 3 for its various modes
  • Includes a one-year subscription for Office 365
  • Slow performance

The Lenovo Flex 3 is a reliable 11-inch laptop with a stylish design. It comes with an Intel Celeron N3050 processor, Intel HD Graphics GPU, and four GB RAM. Its 500 GB hard drive is far bigger than what most other 11-inch laptops offer for storage.

This is another 2-in-1 touchscreen laptop you can utilize as a tablet. So, this laptop offers very similar stand modes to the Dell i3168-3272GRY and Inspiron 11 3000.

The Flex 3 also optimizes settings and recommends apps for the mode you’re utilizing it in.


These 11-inch laptops aren’t great PCs in terms of specifications. However, they’re among the most economical, portable, and flexible laptops.

They’re well worth noting if you only need a laptop for a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and web-browsing software.

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