Here are our picks for the best budget-friendly laptops for younger students, whether you're looking for Windows, MacOS or ChromeOS.

What is the best laptop for high school students overall?  

There are a ton of options if you're looking for the best laptop for high school, but the Apple MacBook Air M1 is our pick. Available for only $699 at Walmart, it's a better fit for student budgets than the M2 version from 2022 and the current M3 MacBook Air. It was released more than three years ago but still provides ample performance and battery life to get you through four years of high school and beyond.

If you prefer Windows, we recommend the HP Pavilion Plus 14 or HP Pavilion Aero 13. Each costs less than $900 and can frequently be found on sale for less than $600. Like the M1 Air, each HP Pavilion model offers strong everyday performance along with long battery life with a compact, backpack-friendly weight and design. Meanwhile, we like a trio of Acer models if you are looking for a Chromebook or a more high-powered laptop for STEM classes or gaming.

At CNET, we test all kinds of laptops, ranging from budget models for everyday tasks to high-performance laptops for gaming and content creation and everything in between. Each member of our team has decades of experience testing and reviewing laptops. We not only conduct performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs, but also put each model through extensive hands-on use. This helps us find not only the best laptop overall, but the best laptop for your needs in your price range.