This $700 Laptop Is Consumer Reports’ Top Budget Pick

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Gadget prices are rising in 2026, all thanks to the AI-fueled memory shortage that’s driving up the price of key components used in consumer electronics. Fortunately, even in challenging times like these, there are still some gadgets that sell at attractive prices and fit the bill for anyone shopping on a tight budget. The only problem is that finding such well-priced products that are worth buying is typically challenging. However, Consumer Reports has a panel of experts who review products and rate them to help you make the best purchasing decisions when you’re in the market for a new gadget. The site’s experts have ratings for over 180 laptops so far, and roughly 20 Chromebooks, so when they recommend a model as worth buying, you should definitely check it out. 

If you’re shopping for a laptop on a budget, CR recommends the Acer Aspire 16 AI laptop. This model has been put through CR’s rigorous tests, and it emerged as a standout option with the highest overall score among budget laptops, earning the site’s CR Recommended label. That label indicates that it has met CR’s “high evaluation standards,” which the site says might include testing for “performance, safety, predicted reliability, and owner satisfaction.” The Acer Aspire 16 AI typically sells for $800, but it’s currently discounted to $700 on Amazon, making it even more affordable for anyone looking for a top-rated budget laptop that also has CR’s approval.

CR praises the Acer Aspire 16 AI as “proof that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a capable everyday laptop.” This is because of the large 16-inch display, good-enough performance that can handle regular tasks easily (like web browsing and working on documents), good battery life, and balanced ergonomics that the laptop offers. It’s also a Copilot+ PC, and with Windows 11 Home onboard, you’ll get to enjoy Microsoft’s Windows AI features on this laptop. Specs-wise, the laptop features a 16-inch WUXGA display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 100 percent sRGB coverage, and up to 350 nits of brightness. CR says the display is generous enough for its price, although you shouldn’t expect sharp visuals that rival more expensive options. 

Under the hood, this laptop is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X ARM-based processor with 8 CPU cores, paired with 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD. It has a 1440p webcam and comes with a backlit keyboard that includes a dedicated numpad. The laptop offers a wide selection of ports, some of which are hard to come by these days, like a microSD card slot. In addition to the microSD card slot, you get two USB-C and two USB-A ports as well as a single HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Although this laptop is highly recommended by CR for reasons we’ve already covered above, you might still have some doubts about it. If that’s the case, Amazon reviewers who have bought the laptop should give you peace of mind about what to expect. Being a recent laptop on the market, the Acer Aspire 16 AI hasn’t received a lot of reviews. It currently has a total of 37 reviews with an aggregate rating of 3.9 out of 5. Amazon reviewers say it’s a “great laptop,” and it impressed one user by being better than their previous model on both performance and battery life. 

One Amazon reviewer even goes so far as to say that “if you can’t decide if this laptop is worth it, it is!” Others praise the laptop for being lightweight for a 16-inch laptop and a good value for the money. That said, the laptop’s weight of 3.4 pounds might not feel particularly light to many users. Moreover, not all the reviews are positive, though. One reviewer notes that it’s not powerful enough, and another claims their unit didn’t come with a valid Windows license.