Back in the day, getting your hands on a decent laptop meant spending at least $1,000 or more. However, today, you can easily find an ultra-portable and full-sized laptop with a reasonably powerful processor for work, school, or home use on a budget. So, which are the top laptops that are affordable, without any compromise on the features and functionality? 

1. Acer Aspire 5
Ranked at the top of our list for the best affordable laptops is the Acer Aspire 5. It is equipped with a bright 1080p display, 8th Gen Core i3 performance, long battery life, all at a budget pricing. With a thin body and a battery that lasts for about nine hours once fully charged, this is one of the top laptops for you. Though it does not have a DVD writer, you can find a couple of ports. Its display yields a beautiful 276 nits of brightness, which offers a decent contrast to the screen. The Aspire 5 is also equipped with an aluminum hood. Its bezels on display are pretty narrow for the laptop of this budget. 

2. HP Envy x360 13
Available at less than $800, this is a top-quality laptop, which looks pretty expensive for its price. However, the laptop is equipped with an array of excellent features, like a colorful bright screen and a nice keyboard. The laptop is also good on the inside, accredited to its AMD Ryzen processor, which assures a smooth performance. The battery backup is long, and the processor supports light gaming, too. However, the screen is 16:9, which may seem cramped for users who enjoy multi-tasking, but it sure is not a deal-breaker at this price point. 

3. Asus TUF Dash F15
For someone who needs a laptop to play the latest games without breaking the bank, the Asus TUF Dash F15 can be the right pick for you. For its fantastic value for money, this laptop has been vastly lauded by users. You will love the impressive light and thin design, brilliant battery backup, and robust build quality. Further, the 240Hz 1080p display, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 mobile GPUs, and Intel Tiger Lake processors add to its appeal value. 

4. HP Stream 11
For a price tag under $200, there is a rare chance for you to find a laptop better than this one. It is a lightweight laptop at 2.5 pounds and is only 0.7 inches thick. Further, its 11-inch chassis only adds to its portability. HP Stream 11 is equipped with the Intel Celeron N4000 processor with 4GB of RAM. Hence, it can effortlessly handle 1080p YouTube videos and the 10 Microsoft Edge tabs. The battery backup is good, and the laptop will give a juice of nine hours and 19 minutes. However, its keyboard may feel cramped to some, but there is decent space for key travel.