The best Black Friday Chromebook deals are happening right now—yes, even during Thanksgiving. But there’s no need to hurry to the store! Instead, click on our curated Chromebook deals below.
Our mission: find good Chromebooks, find them on sale, and recommend them to you. You can reference our list of the best Chromebooks to help make a decision, or our laptops versus Chromebooks explainer to help you with the finer points. We’ll also explain our reasoning below the deals themselves, but our preferred choices are at the top of the category lists. We’ve been doing this for several years, now.
And if you’re looking for other great tech deals, check out PCWorld’s complete Black Friday coverage.
Best Black Friday budget Chromebook deals
- Lenovo Chromebook 3 (Intel Celeron N4020, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 11.6-inch 768p display), $79.00 (43% off at Best Buy)
- Asus 2-in-1 Chromebook (Core m3-8100Y, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display), $179.00 (52% off at Best Buy)
- Lenovo Chromebook 3 (MediaTek MT8183, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display), $149.00 (53% off at Best Buy)
- Acer Chromebook 512 (Celeron N4020, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 12-inch 912p display), $113.01 (43% off at Amazon)
- HP Chromebook 11 (MediaTek MT8183, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 11-inch 768p display): $119.00 (54% off at Amazon)
Best Black Friday midrange Chromebook deals
- Asus Chromebook Flip C433 (Intel Core m3-8100Y, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display), $228.97 (43% off at Amazon)
- Lenovo Flex 5i (Core i3-1115G4, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 13.3-inch 1080p display), $299.99 (30% off at Amazon)
- Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (AMD Ryzen 3 5125C, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display $329.00 (40% off at Best Buy)
- Lenovo IdeaPad 3 (Pentium Silver N6000, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display), $229.99 (51% off at Target)
- Samsung Galaxy Chromebook (Core i5-10210U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED display), $599.00 (40% off at Amazon)
- Asus Chromebook Detachable CM3 (MediaTek 8183, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 10.5-inch 1200p display), $229.99 (38% off at Amazon)
Right now, the best deal (besides the whoa, 79 dollars Chromebook 3) in this category is the Asus 2-in-1 Chromebook. We value a 1080p screen, 8GB of RAM, and a fast processor most of all, and the $179 Asus 2-in-1 offers all of those at the best price. (We really don’t consider the SSD storage space to be a deciding factor, save for storing games, since Chromebooks are so cloud-focused.) In fact, you’ll notice a very similar deal at the top of our midrange category — which, incidentally, has dropped in price a bit over the last few days.
In the midrange category, the Flex 5i will offer a bit more performance than the Flip C433…but $70 less is hard to pass by. Quite frankly, the “budget” and “midrange” categories are beginning to blur. By the way, we generally consider a Core m3 to be more powerful than a Celeron N4020, which is more powerful than the MediaTek MT8183, though not by that much. A laptop-class processor like at Core i3 or a Ryzen 3 will top all of those, easily.
We really don’t think that the Asus Chromebook Detachable is that great for the money, though it is a detachable tablet. It’s also being offered at the lowest price, by far, in the last six months.
FAQ
What should I look for in a Black Friday Chromebook?
We still expect low-end Chromebooks—say, those with a 768p screen, Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of SSD storage—to be priced about $100. And if they get much below $100, they become essentially a stocking stuffer for most people.
That said, look for these specs in a respectable Chromebook: an Intel Celeron N4000 chip or higher, 8GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen. A Pentium Silver N6000 processor is a step up from that. A Core m3-8100Y should be satisfactory, although the midrange or premium Chromebooks include laptop-class chips like a Core i3 or an AMD Ryzen (not Athlon) processor.
More memory (that is, 8GB rather 4GB of RAM) will allow for more browser tabs and a smoother browser experience. A 1080p screen will offer a comfortable laptop-like viewing experience. Onboard storage really doesn’t matter all that much, though at least 32GB is preferable storing for apps, screenshots, and the like.
If you’re familiar with our lengthy laptops versus Chromebooks explainer, you know that one of the potential gotchas is buying a Chromebook whose support window expires soon. We try to factor that in, so you won’t get stuck with a Chromebook that will lose support in the near future.
Which Chromebooks does PCWorld rate highest?
Our editors regularly review Chromebooks, so make sure to check our rankings of the best Chromebooks of 2022. We recommend a wide range of price points, and the article offers a great primer on Chromebook shopping. What’s more, some of our top picks will likely go on sale before or during Black Friday.
Are Black Friday Chromebook deals worth it?
Generally, yes, Black Friday is a good time to buy a Chromebook. Unlike with other product categories, we generally don’t see Chromebook makers sneakily raise prices in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, only to offer “discounts” during Black Friday proper. What we do see, however, are deals offered on older hardware. To that end, you may see “deals” that we exclude, simply because we think you’ll be unhappy with your purchase.
When is Black Friday?
Officially, Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 25 2022. Cyber Monday is Nov 28 2022.
When do Black Friday Chromebook deals begin?
Early Black Friday sales have already begun at several retailers and are on now. The “Black Friday” deals season is like Halloween or Christmas, meaning that actually lasts several weeks.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld's senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.