If you are looking for the best laptops for kids, then you are in the right place. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a child’s laptop. But there are a few fundamental things to keep in mind: In addition to durability, you want to focus on something light enough to carry, something with built-in parental controls, something powerful enough for entertainment and schoolwork, and something with long battery life.
The biggest challenge in buying laptops for kids right now is COVID-19. With remote learning becoming the norm, many top computers are sold out. But after scrubbing Amazon, we found a lot of durable, powerful, affordable, and, most importantly, available laptops.
Best Laptops For Kids
Our focus here is on younger children. If your child is at the university level, look at our round of the best laptops for college students.
Asus Chromebook Flip C436
The best Chromebook for kids
ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 2-in-1 Laptop, 14" Touchscreen FHD NanoEdge, Intel Core...
- Premium Chromebooks offer high performance for multitasking and advanced workloads.
- A perfect companion for a content creator, programmer and power seeker powered by the Intel Core i3-10110U Processor (4M Cache, up to 4.1 GHz).
- Premium Chromebooks offer high performance for multitasking and advanced workloads.
- A perfect companion for a content creator, programmer and power seeker powered by the Intel Core i3-10110U Processor (4M Cache, up to 4.1 GHz).
- 128GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD and 8GB RAM, Gig+ Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) + Bluetooth 5.0
- 14 inch touchscreen Full HD 1920x1080 4-sided NanoEdge Display
- A durable 360 degree hinge that can be used to flip the touchscreen display to tent, stand, and tablet mode
- 2x USB Type-C (Gen 1) ports plus an illuminated keyboard (*USB Transfer speed may vary. Learn more at ASUS website)
- The lightweight (2.58 lbs) magnesium-alloy chassis body makes the C436 both durable and beautiful and has built-in quad-speakers powered by Harman Kardon
- Chromebook runs on Chrome OS and has the Google apps. You can edit, download, and convert Microsoft Office files in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.
- Chromebooks come with built-in storage for offline access to your most important files and a 12-month Google One trial that gives you additional storage across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. This offer from Google will expire by 1/31/2021. Google features’ availability varies according to country. Please check with your local ASUS retailer for details.
The best overall Chromebook, the Flip C436, is an excellent successor to the Flip C302CA, our previous topper. Not only do the super small edges ensure that Asus’ large 14-inch screen fits into a smaller chassis than you’d expect, that screen is both bright and colorful. What’s more, the aluminum design offers a more premium feel than most Chromebooks. Oh, and I almost forgot: it takes about 10 hours on a single charge. Overall, this is one of the best laptops for kids.
Microsoft Surface Go 2
One of the best 2-in-1 laptops for kids
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (SUA-00001) | 10.5in (1920 x 1280) Touch-Screen |...
- 10.5in. PixelSense Display (1920 x 1280)
- 8th Gen Intel Core m3 Processor
- 8GB RAM Memory | 128GB SSD Storage
- Windows 10 Pro
- 10.5in. PixelSense Display (1920 x 1280)
- 8th Gen Intel Core m3 Processor
- 8GB RAM Memory | 128GB SSD Storage
- Windows 10 Pro
College students looking for a portable 2-in-1 that can last for a while should take a closer look at Surface Go 2. Yes, the original Surface Go wasn’t a hit, but this model fixed almost everything wrong with the original. The thinner edges mean more screen space for your commands (and a more modern looking tablet). We would have ranked the Surface Go 2 slightly higher, but the 10.5-inch screen and keyboard may be small for some students.
Equally important is that the battery life is more than 5 hours longer than the original Surface Go. Students will love the Microsoft Surface Go 2’s Zoom-ready webcam, a 5-megapixel 1080p front camera perfect for this era of online learning. Plus, you’ll get Windows Hi biometric login to unlock the Surface Go 2 when you’re on it. If you get Intel’s 8th Gen Core m3 version, you get the moderate multitasking capability you need to catch up on your course work (while streaming Spotify).
Google Pixelbook Go
A premium Chromebook for kids
Google Pixelbook Go - Lightweight Chromebook Laptop - Up to 12 Hours...
- Pixelbook Go lets you stay unplugged for up to 12 hours,[1] so you don’t need to carry a charger; when you do need a charge, get up to 2 hours of battery use in just 20 minutes so you can keep going [2]
- Pixelbook Go lets you stay unplugged for up to 12 hours,[1] so you don’t need to carry a charger; when you do need a charge, get up to 2 hours of battery use in just 20 minutes so you can keep going [2]
- Lightweight Chromebook laptop that’s barely 2 pounds and 13 mm thin with a grippable design, making it easier to carry[3]
- Protects your data, passwords, and information with the Titan C security chip and built-in antivirus software; Chrome OS updates automatically to give you the latest features and security [4]
- Starts up in seconds so it’s always ready when you are; the 8th Gen Intel Core Processor is quick and responsive, powering everything you do[5]
- Pixelbook Go is a quiet and comfortable laptop with a backlit keyboard, ultra quiet keys, and and a spacious touchpad that only needs a light touch
- Get amazing picture and sound with the brilliant HD touchscreen display and dual stereo speakers so you can watch movies, edit photos, or video chat with the 1080p webcam
- With Instant Tethering, get online easily on Pixelbook Go using the LTE connection on your Google Pixel[8]
- Please refer to the product description section below for all applicable legal disclaimers denoted by the bracketed numbers in the preceding bullet points (e.g., [1], [2], etc.)
For a premium Chrome OS experience, look no further than Google’s Pixelbook Go. Kids can be mocking when their parents use the word “Chromebook” because they are synonymous with pre-education, but this is a Chromebook for all ages. First of all, the sleek, lightweight design comes in two colors: Just black and not pink, which makes this Pixelbook not look like a MacBook Air. What’s more, the quiet and comfortable keyboard is ideal for typing late at night when your roommates sleep.
Higher education students will also appreciate the Pixelbook Go if they need to get some air away from a power adapter. The Pixelbook Go lasted over 11 hours on our battery test. Oh, and don’t let your student think that the Pixelbook Go doesn’t have the speed they need: it has Intel Core m3 via Core i7 CPUs, so you don’t have to settle, plus up to 16GB of RAM for all the Chrome tabs you might need. Overall, this is one of the best laptops for kids.
Acer Chromebook Spin 11
Chromebook for work and play
Acer Chromebook Spin 11 CP311-1H-C5PN Convertible Laptop, Celeron N3350, 11.6" HD Touch,...
- Chromebook runs on Chrome OS - an operating system by Google that is built for the way we live today. It comes with built-in virus protection, updates automatically, boots up in seconds and continues to stay fast over time. (Internet connection is required).
- Chromebook runs on Chrome OS - an operating system by Google that is built for the way we live today. It comes with built-in virus protection, updates automatically, boots up in seconds and continues to stay fast over time. (Internet connection is required).
- All the Google apps you know and love come standard on every Chromebook, which means you can edit, download, and convert Microsoft Office files in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
- With the Google Play Store, you can access a rich library of apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines, and more, all from your Chromebook.
- Chromebooks come with built-in storage for offline access to your most important files and an additional 100GB of Google Drive space to ensure that all of your files are backed up automatically.
- Convertible Chromebook with Intel Celeron N3350, 11.6” HD Touch Display, 4GB Memory, 32GB eMMC and Up to 10-hour Battery Life
If your kids have finally graduated from a good laptop for writing papers for class, but you still want them to get something that won’t break the first time it falls, the Acer Chromebook Spin 11 might be the laptop for you. It’s powerful enough to handle the kids’ daily schoolwork, and it’s a 2-in-1 so they can flip the comfortable keyboard to turn it into tablet mode for playing Android games or watching their favorite shows standing still. The display is a bit dim, and it’s unlikely to blow you away as far as performance, but it’s cheap, stable, and reliable.
Acer Swift 3
The best budget laptop for kids
Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop, 14" Full HD IPS, AMD...
- AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Octa-Core Mobile Processor (Up to 4.1 GHz) with Radeon Graphics | 8GB LPDDR4 Memory | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- 14" Full HD Widescreen IPS LED-backlit display (1920 x 1080 resolution; 16:9 aspect ratio)
- AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Octa-Core Mobile Processor (Up to 4.1 GHz) with Radeon Graphics | 8GB LPDDR4 Memory | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- 14" Full HD Widescreen IPS LED-backlit display (1920 x 1080 resolution; 16:9 aspect ratio)
- Intel wireless Wi-Fi 6 AX200 802.11ax | HD webcam (1280 x 720) | Backlit keyboard | Fingerprint reader
- 1 - USB Type-C port USB 3. 2 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps) DisplayPort over USB Type-C & USB Charging, 1- USB 3. 2 Gen 1 port (featuring power-off charging), 1 - USB 2. 0 port & 1 - HDMI port
- Just 0.63" thin and 2.65 pounds and up to 11.5 hours of battery life
Another budget laptop in our best laptops for kids list, the Acer Swift 3, runs on CPUs from AMD Ryzen. This laptop goes toe to toe with the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Pro. That’s how fast the Ryzen 7 4700U CPU is. The Swift 3 also wins points for its comfortable keyboard, which features clicking keys that give a lot of feedback. Students also save time to log in thanks to the Swift 3’s built-in fingerprint reader on the keyboard.
And all this power is wrapped in aluminum and magnesium to make it look like a champion. The only major caveat is the display, which is on the dull and boring side of the equation. If your student already has another large screen for watching the best Netflix shows, consider the Swift 3: it’s a surprising beauty.
MacBook Air 2020
The best MacBook for kids
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Space Gray...
- Stunning 13.3-inch Retina display with True Tone technology
- Backlit Magic Keyboard and Touch ID
- Tenth-generation Intel Core i3 processor
- Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- Fast SSD storage
- Stunning 13.3-inch Retina display with True Tone technology
- Backlit Magic Keyboard and Touch ID
- Tenth-generation Intel Core i3 processor
- Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- Fast SSD storage
- 8GB of memory
- Stereo speakers with wider stereo sound
- Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
- Up to 11 hours of battery life
- Force Touch trackpad
It’s incredible what a difference the right keyboard makes. Since 1999 the MacBook Air 2020 has the improved Magic Keyboard, which replaces the butterfly switch with a scissor mechanism that allows you to type much more comfortably. Apple has also upgraded the Air to the 10th generation Intel Core processors (from the 8th generation). It’s a Y-Series chip (which is not as powerful as the U-Series CPUs), but it turned out to be enough for everyday use and basic multitasking.
Apple not only lowered the price by $100, but it also doubled the standard MacBook Air storage, from a 128GB SSD to a 256GB drive, which still offers lightning-fast read speeds. The MacBook Air also has great endurance, with a battery that lasts all day. It lasted 9 hours and 31 minutes (almost 50 minutes longer than the regular system) during our battery test. Add to that Apple’s relatively bright and colorful Retina display and surprisingly powerful speakers, and you have one of the best laptops for kids.
Acer Chromebook Spin 713
The best 2-in-1 Chromebook for kids
Acer - Chromebook Spin 713 2-in-1 13.5" 2K VertiView 3:2 Touch -...
- 10th Generation Intel Core i5 - 10210U
- System Memory (RAM) 8 gigabytes
- 128GB SSD
- Backlit Keyboard 13.5" 2K VertiView 3:2 Touch
- 10th Generation Intel Core i5 - 10210U
- System Memory (RAM) 8 gigabytes
- 128GB SSD
- Backlit Keyboard 13.5" 2K VertiView 3:2 Touch
If you don’t have the best impression of the Acer laptops, let the Chromebook Spin 713 change that for you. This ChromebookSpin 713 has almost everything you can ask for in a budget laptop. You get a crisp, colorful 13.5-inch touch display, exceptional battery life of nearly 12 hours, and fast performance thanks to the Core i5 processor. Plus, the design is made of aluminum and is 2-in-1, so you can flip the screen and turn it into a tablet.
With a thickness of 0.7 inches and a weight of 3 pounds, Spin 713 can easily be carried in a backpack on the way to class or work. Yes, the keyboard is a little shallow, and the speaker could be better; however, if you want a convertible Chromebook at a low price, you won’t do better than the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. Overall, this is one of the best laptops for kids you can buy now.
Acer Aspire 5
A 15-inch laptop for kids
Acer Aspire 5 A515-55G-57H8, 15.6" Full HD IPS Display, 10th Gen Intel...
- 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor (Up to 3.6GHz)| 8GB DDR4 Memory | 512GB NVMe SSD
- 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED backlit IPS Display | NVIDIA GeForce MX350 with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
- 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor (Up to 3.6GHz)| 8GB DDR4 Memory | 512GB NVMe SSD
- 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED backlit IPS Display | NVIDIA GeForce MX350 with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
- Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11ax | Backlit Keyboard | HD Webcam | Up to 8 Hours Battery Life
- 1 - USB 3.1 (Type-C) Gen 1 port (up to 5 Gbps), 2 - USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port (one with Power-off Charging), 1 - USB 2.0 Port & 1 - HDMI Port with HDCP Support
- Windows 10 Home
The Acer Aspire 5 proves that you don’t have to spend a lot to get a great laptop. This notebook has a full HD screen that is pretty bright, so it’s great for surfing the web, doing fast photo editing, and watching videos on Netflix, YouTube, or Disney Plus. And it has all the power you need for everyday tasks and multitasking, thanks to a 10th generation Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD. It’s all packaged in a reasonably lightweight 3.8-pound package.
The biggest surprise with the Aspire 5 is battery life. This laptop lasted almost 9 hours on our web surf battery test, which is very good for a 15-inch system. There are a few things we don’t like about this budget laptop; while the lid is made of aluminum, the rest of the laptop is made of plastic. You shouldn’t expect to play the latest games either. But generally speaking, Aspire 5 is one of the best laptops for kids you can buy right now.
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
A hybrid 2-in-1 laptop for kids
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – 12.3" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core...
- Next-gen, best-in-class laptop with the versatility of a studio and tablet, so you can type, touch, draw, write, work, and play more naturally
- Faster than surface pro 6, with a 10th gen intel core processor – redefining what’s possible in a thin and light computer.
- Next-gen, best-in-class laptop with the versatility of a studio and tablet, so you can type, touch, draw, write, work, and play more naturally
- Faster than surface pro 6, with a 10th gen intel core processor – redefining what’s possible in a thin and light computer.
- More ways to connect, with both USB-c and USB-a ports for connecting to displays, docking stations and more, as well as accessory charging. Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Standout design that won’t weigh you down — ultra-slim and light surface pro 7 starts at just 1.70 pounds
- All day battery life up to 10.5 hours, Plus the ability to go from empty to full faster — about 80 percent in just over an hour
Surface Pro 7 is an excellent laptop in last year’s Surface Pro 6 and gives it a power boost. Although battery life is a hit, the new 10th generation CPU delivers outstanding performance. The design hasn’t changed at all, but the Surface Pro 7 now has a USB-C port for charging and connecting peripherals. Microsoft continues to sell the comfortable Alcantara Type Cover and super-responsive Surface Pen, making it easy to draw or take notes on the tablet’s vibrant and bright 12.3-inch display. Overall, this is one of the best laptops for kids right now.
Acer Spin 5
A budget 2-in-1 laptop
Acer Spin 5 Convertible Laptop, 13.5" 2K 2256 x 1504 IPS Touch,...
- 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G4 Processor (Up to 3.7GHz) | 16GB LPDDR4X Memory | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- 13.5" Acer VertiView 2K 2256 x 1504 Widescreen IPS LED-backlit Touch Display (3:2 aspect ratio) | Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G4 Processor (Up to 3.7GHz) | 16GB LPDDR4X Memory | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- 13.5" Acer VertiView 2K 2256 x 1504 Widescreen IPS LED-backlit Touch Display (3:2 aspect ratio) | Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11ax | Backlit Keyboard | Fingerprint Reader | Up to 15 Hours Battery Life
- 2 - USB 3.1 Type C port supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps), DisplayPort over USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, USB Charging, DC-in, 2 - USB 3.2 Gen 1 port (one featuring power-off charging) & 1 - HDMI 2.0 port
- Rechargeable Acer Active Stylus with Wacom AES 1.0
A great feature set certainly adds a lot of value, and if you’re looking for the best laptops for kids, that’s one thing to keep an eye on. That, combined with affordability, makes the Acer Spin 5 (2020) a great candidate. This 2-in-1 laptop is not only versatile because of its form factors and excellent battery life. It also comes with a 3:2 display and feature-rich stylus that together provide that added benefit for both students and professionals over its rivals: an easy and seamless notebook experience. If you’re one of those people who detest typing notes in class, this old-fashioned approach can seal the deal.
