Laptop Price: Retail, Deals & Price History

Laptop prices depend on what you want the machine to do more than on the brand. A browser, email and documents need far less hardware than video editing or recent games, and the price follows the hardware. In 2026 several publications also note that memory costs pushed prices up, so figures from the start of the year may be out of date.

The ranges and models below come from named reviews and from Apple's price changes as reported by 9to5Mac. They are list or starting prices, and retailers often sell for less during sales.

Think in three bands: a budget band for everyday tasks, a middle band for better screens and speed, and a premium band for thin, powerful or gaming machines.

• Budget: Chromebooks and basic Windows laptops, where Tom's Guide suggests a spending target of $600.
• Middle: Nicer screens and more speed, which PCWorld says appear as you push closer to a higher budget.
• Premium: Flagship ultraportables and gaming laptops, which start in the thousands.

The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is listed at $399.99, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x at $659. Chromebooks cost less because they run a lighter operating system and often use less storage. A basic Windows laptop costs more but runs more kinds of software.

The Dell XPS 14 starts at $1,600, which Tom's Hardware calls a lot to ask, though it connects the price to the memory crisis. The Razer Blade 18 starts at $3,499.99, and TechRadar notes the price goes higher with the top configuration.

Apple raised prices across many products in June 2026, according to 9to5Mac.

The MacBook Neo now starts at $699. At launch in March 2026 it was $599. The 13-inch MacBook Air is $1,299, the 15-inch Air is $1,499, and the M5 MacBook Pro is $1,999. Retailers such as Amazon sold some of these for less before the increase took effect, so a store price can differ from Apple's list price.

• Screen: Higher resolution and OLED panels cost more.
• Memory and storage: Larger amounts of RAM and storage raise the price, and in 2026 memory has been a major cost.
• Processor and graphics: A dedicated graphics chip adds to the price.
• Build: Thin and light metal bodies cost more than plastic ones.
• Brand and platform: Apple, Windows and ChromeOS laptops follow different price curves.

The figures here are starting or list prices. Laptops are discounted often, especially around shopping events, and a model can sit well below its starting price for a few days. A sale price is useful when you can buy at that moment, but it is a poor guide to what the laptop is worth over a year. When you compare two models, compare them on the same footing: both at list price or both on sale, and with the same memory and storage.

Start from the work you do. If you mostly browse and write, the budget and lower middle bands cover it. If you edit video or play games, look at the middle and premium bands and read the memory and graphics specifications. Compare two or three models in the same band, and check the return policy of the store you buy from.