Ranking: Best laptops for under 1,000 dollars/euros

The base model of the 13-inch MacBook Air 2025 benefits from the extremely fast M4 processor and, in addition to the thin casing, also offers a very good IPS display, silent operation and long battery life.

The Apple MacBook Air 13 is an unbeatable overall package for around 1,000 euros.

The base model of the new MacBook Air 13 M4 is available from all well-known retailers such as Notebooksbilliger or Amazon from 994 euros.

With the IdeaPad Pro 5 14 lenovo offers a compact multimedia notebook with a fast Ryzen 7 processor from AMD as well as a 2.8K OLED with 120 Hz and an HDR brightness of up to 1,100 nits, which is already calibrated ex works.

The new Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 14 G10 impresses in our test with the high and stable performance of the AMD processor, long battery life, an aluminum casing and, of course, the new OLED panel.

Our test device is available at Campuspoint for 989 euros without operating system. At Lenovo itself, the comparable model costs 1,099 euros or 1,149 euros with Windows 11 Home.

Lenovo updates its affordable office laptop ThinkPad E16 G3 and now relies on Arrow Lake processors and a new high-resolution 120 Hz display. The battery life is long and up to 128 GB RAM can be installed if required.

The third generation of the new ThinkPad E16 is a really good office laptop, which showed no real weak points in our test. Especially considering the low price, the overall package is very good.

Our test device costs 899 euros at Campuspoint, alternatively the model can be configured at Lenovo for 1,049 euros.

The 2025 model of the RedmiBook Pro 14 gets an upgrade to Intel Arrow Lake and a brighter IPS display with 120 Hz. The battery life benefits and although the price has increased, it is still a good overall package.

With the 2025 update of the RedmiBook Pro 14, we get a current Arrow Lake processor from Intel, which also achieves good performance thanks to the high power limits.

The RedmiBook Pro 14 2025 can be imported via TradingShenzen. Our test device costs 1,087 euros.

Lenovo has updated its affordable 14-inch office laptop and, in addition to Intel's Arrow Lake processors, has also opted for a new high-resolution IPS display with 120 Hz. The battery life has also been improved and the compact ThinkPad offers good maintenance options.

With the ThinkPad E14 G7, you get a good and affordable office laptop with an improved display and good battery life.

Our test device is available at Campuspoint for 999 euros. The current ThinkPad E14 G7 can be configured at Lenovo from 769 euros.

The new Apple MacBook Neo is the first affordable MacBook. Powered by the Apple A18 Pro smartphone processor, it sells for 699 euros in Germany. This is a laptop that looks and feels like a real MacBook and is surprisingly powerful for its size.

The new Apple MacBook Neo feels like a typical MacBook, with no major compromises compared to the Air models. And it is extremely affordable.

The new MacBook Neo is available at Amazon.de for 699 euros and of course directly from Apple for the same price.

A strong price-performance ratio is probably the strongest selling point of the OmniBook 5 14. With a price of less than $600, it is one of the few subnotebooks in this price range that comes with an OLED screen offering better colors and black levels than most alternatives in the price range. It also has long battery life, typical of a Snapdragon-powered machine.

Users who are looking for OLED P3 colors and are not bothered by the peculiarities of Windows ARM will find the OmniBook 5 14 a strong and very affordable solution.

The HP OmniBook 5 Next Gen AI PC 14-he0354ng comes closest to the model discussed here and is available from Mediamarkt for 839 euros. The HP OmniBook 5 14-he0754ng can currently be ordered from HP itself for 839 euros. Both models have a 512 GB SSD.

While the stylish casing of the Yoga 7 2-in-1 may not be ultra-light by 14-inch laptop standards, it impresses with high-quality materials and good structural stability. The display is fairly good, despite its highly reflective finish, not-particularly-impressive brightness, and some flickering (at 90-% brightness or less). As is typical for OLEDs, it has an excellent black level, very high contrast and wide color gamut. However, the real star of the reviewed AKP10 83JR002UGE model is the fresh Ryzen AI 5 340 from the Krackan Point family, which offers a good balance between performance and energy consumption.

The Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 14AKP10 is a versatile 14-inch convertible with a powerful Ryzen AI 5 CPU, great battery life and a good OLED panel.

As tested, the Yoga 7 2-in-1 14AKP10 83JR002UGE is available starting from around 1,000 euros in Germany at various retailers (e.g. computeruniverse.net).

The ExpertBook PM3406 is an affordable office laptop with a fast AMD Ryzen processor and advanced AI features. It has a sturdy aluminum casing with a sufficient selection of ports, and good maintenance as well as upgrade options, along with comfortable input devices and good speakers. CPU performance is also good.

All in all, the ExpertBook PM3 is a solid office notebook and the RRP of 979 euros includes a three-year warranty in Germany.

Acer is not widely known for making business laptops, which is perplexing. Acer's TravelMate P4 TMP414-42 shows that Acer very much can produce good laptops for getting things done use. It impresses with its AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and a bright matte display, as well as great input devices.

Acer's TravelMate P4 offers a bright matte display, a comfortable keyboard and a good touchpad as well as many ports and security features.

The TravelMate P4 TMP414-42 as tested costs around 1,080 euros at our partner Campuspoint. For students and others eligible for Acer's education program, the Acer notebook is available starting from 980 euros.