Best Black Friday Chromebook deals

KSR


Best Black Friday Chromebook deals

Black Friday deals on Chromebooks have begun at Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers the week of and before Thanksgiving — welcome to Amazon Black Week, followed by Cyber Monday. I’ve collected the best Chromebook deals for PCWorld over the past several years (including Black Friday and Prime Day) and these are usually the best deals of the year.

Black Friday isn’t just a day any more, and I’m seeing a killer Lenovo IdeaPad 3i deal already that I’d recommend you buy right now.

My collected deals lean pretty hard on price. Times are tough right now, and I’m adding a few used/refurbished Chromebook deals as a sort of “ultrabudget” category option. The deals following are all new devices, though: budget Chromebooks and then midrange devices.

I’ve been tracking Chromebook deals for the past several years, so I have a good idea of what to buy and how much you should pay. In each category, I’ve listed the best Chromebook deals that I can find, followed by an explanation of why I think you should buy them. Check out our list of the best Chromebooks for more ideas.

Best Black Friday refurbished Chromebook deals

For this Black Friday, I’m trying something different: adding the option for previously owned, refurbished Chromebooks from Amazon’s Renewed program, which carry a 30-day warranty. (Walmart Restored has a 90-day return window.) Use it if you need to!

My favorite deal vanished, but the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 at the top of the list looks pretty solid — it’s a midrange Chromebook Plus device at a price that’s just a hair above budget. If you’re looking for something cheaper, the Acer Chromebook 315 will save you about $30 off the budget offerings, below. As for the HP x360 — well, some people are looking for the absolute cheapest option.

The Renewed program absolutely hides some stinkers, though: Chromebooks with processors over a decade old. For now, the listed HP Chromebook x360 and Dell 3100 are both near the bottom of the barrel — or at least what I can live with. They’re small, on the slow side, but functional.

Best Black Friday budget Chromebook deals

  • Lenovo IdeaPad 3i, (Celeron N4500, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display), $149.00 (19% off at Amazon)
  • Asus CX15 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/128GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display), $139.00 (37% off at Walmart)
  • Acer Chromebook 315 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display), $119.00 (60% off at Best Buy)
  • Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (MediaTek Kompanio 520, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display), $149.00 (63% off at Best Buy)
  • HP 14-inch Chromebook (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 768p display), $119.00 (64% off at Best Buy)

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is your ideal deal: there are no compromises here, at a fantastic price. My recommendation is to buy this Chromebook now, and not worry if some other better deal pops up.

Normally, budget Chromebooks are all about the tradeoffs. The other deals listed here typically don’t include 8GB of RAM, which is what I’d prefer — they offer 4GB instead. That limits the number of open tabs at any one time.

These entries are very similar, but I’m recommending the Asus CX15 as my second choice because it offers more storage and a three-month trial to Google’s Gemini subscription, which gives it a bit of an edge. But the Acer Chromebook 315 has made a new appearance on the list: $119 is a terrific deal, and that might sway you. The drawback is the 4GB of RAM, which will allow you to open fewer tabs than an 8GB machine, but it’s not an enormous drawback.

Don’t be afraid of the Mediatek Kompanio chips — these are just Arm processors, and the Chrome OS runs perfectly well on them. In fact, the Kompanio is a markedly better processor, with lower power consumption (better battery life!) and better performance, too.

Why include the Lenovo 14-inch Chromebook at the end? Because the price is actually lower than previous deals I’ve seen. Put another way, Amazon is offering a sale on a sale, though it’s not really advertising it as such.

Best Black Friday midrange Chromebook deals

  • Asus CX14 (Intel Core 3 N355/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/14-inch 1080p display), $249.00 (42% off at Best Buy)
  • Asus CM30 (Kompanio 520/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, 10.5-inch 1920×1200 display), $279.00 (18% off at Walmart)
  • Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (Core i3-1315U/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, 14-inch 1920×1200 display), $349.00 (42% off at Best Buy)
  • HP 14-inch x360 Chromebook Plus (Core i3-N305, 8GB RAM/128GB UFS, 14-inch 1080p display), $379.00, (32% off at Walmart)
  • Asus Chromebook Plus CX5601, (Core i3-1215U/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/16-inch 1920×1200 display), $479.00 (20% off at Best Buy)

Right now, I’d recommend that you buy the Asus CX14 at the top of the list. In my mind, it offers the best value: it checks all the hardware boxes without asking you to splurge. If you do want to buy up to a Chromebook Plus, either the Lenovo Flex 5i or the HP x360 are good bets. (Do you need a Chromebook Plus?) The Flex 5i ships with a Gemini Advanced subscription from Google, which includes 2TB of cloud storage and Google’s latest AI model.

A good midrange or premium Chromebook includes at least 8GB of RAM, a sturdy processor, and a 1080p screen or better. These all qualify.

The Asus CM30 is a tablet, not a clamshell Chromebook, but if you don’t mind that then the specifications are excellent. Some of the earlier Chromebook deals have been removed, offering less choice than before.

Google’s premium Chromebook class populates the bottom of this deals list, with more expensive options. Some come with advanced subscriptions to Google Gemini and its Google AI subscriptions. Read through the listing and figure out whether that’s right for you. All three Chromebook Plus models listed here will work fine, though there’s a $200 swing in price. I tend to recommend cheaper devices if I can justify their performance.

If you’ve decided that a Chromebook isn’t for you and you’d prefer a laptop instead, check out our Black Friday laptop deals and our Black Friday deals shopping page.

Don’t forget these crucial accessories!

Picking up a Chromebook during Black Friday can save you hundreds. But why stop there? You can save even more money by accessorizing your Chromebook with the extra things it needs while these sales last. We’ve detailed must-have laptop accessories here, but here’s a cheat sheet with three especially crucial items:

  • USB hub: Get a USB hub to expand the number and kinds of ports available for your Chromebook. Hiearcool’s USB-C hub is an affordable and capable USB-C hub with myriad ports, including 2 x USB-A ports, microSD and SD card slots, and an HDMI port. Get it on Amazon.
  • Mouse: Using a mouse instead of your Chromebook’s trackpad can speed up productivity if your Chromebook is mainly used for work, and it’s crucial if you plan on doing any gaming. A mouse you can rely on for all your needs, and one that feels oh-so-comfortable in your hand, is the Razer DeathAdder V2 X HyperSpeed. Get it on Amazon.
  • Laptop sleeve: A good quality sleeve will protect your Chromebook from the inevitable bumps, scratches, and drops that happen over time. Amazon’s choice for laptop sleeve is the BOOEUDI, which is shockproof and made from neoprene. Browse sizes at Amazon.

Black Friday: The best PC deals around

Check out our roundups for the best PC-related deals in a wide variety of categories!

  • Best Amazon Black Friday tech deals
  • Best Buy’s best Black Friday tech deals
  • Best Black Friday laptop deals
  • Best Black Friday Chromebook deals
  • Best Black Friday mini PC deals
  • Best Black Friday desktop computer deals
  • Best Black Friday monitor deals
  • Best Black Friday USB flash drive deals
  • Best Black Friday SSD and storage deals
  • Best Black Friday Thunderbolt dock deals
  • Best Black Friday power bank deals
  • Best Black Friday office chair and desk deals
  • Best Black Friday VPN deals

FAQ

1.

When is Black Friday?

Officially, this year’s Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 28 2025. Cyber Monday is the following Monday, or Dec. 1, 2025. Amazon’s “Black Week” kicks off Nov. 20.

2.

What should you pay for a Black Friday Chromebook deal?

Retailers have already begun discounting Chromebooks to prepare for the official Black Friday date. Sales should ramp up further as Black Friday nears. Retailers certainly haven’t been shy about adding early sales to unload inventory before the Black Friday craziness begins! Just watch out for the “sneaky season,” where retailers add sales, then raise prices, and then discount again for Black Friday.

Budget Chromebooks could be about $150 or so, perhaps less — but that can mean compromising on some of the features we think you’ll like. We try to include some of these models, though, in case you’re just looking for absolute bottom prices. (Refurbished models can cost even less, but we aren’t including them.)

Good mainstream Chromebooks now cost about $250 to $350, as noted above — that’s the floor for a Chromebook we’d recommend. A Black Friday or Cyber Monday steal could push prices down even further.

3.

What features should I look for in a Black Friday Chromebook?

We still prioritize three things when looking for a Chromebook deal: memory, the size and resolution of the screen, and the CPU. There’s also one big wrinkle for this Cyber Monday and that’s the Chromebook support window.

You will still find retailers trying to unload Chromebooks with 4GB of RAM, a 768p screen, and an ancient processor. We will still list products with those specs, if justified, as budget Chromebooks. But we really feel that you deserve a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM, a 1080p screen or better (with screen sizes above 13 inches if possible), and a relatively modern CPU. We don’t put a lot of weight on the CPU, if only because a Chromebook doesn’t need a lot of horsepower behind it.

Be aware that “HD” does not mean 1080p! It basically means 768p, which is going to be a bit hard on your eyes. “Full HD” or “FHD” equates to the 1080p display you should get.

Our recommended CPUs include Intel Celerons, Intel Pentiums, Intel’s Core chips, AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Arm chips from Mediatek or Qualcomm. All of those have their pros and cons, though the performance differences probably won’t matter as much as additional memory.

More memory (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 an SSD of at least 32GB is preferable for storing 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. Google now supports new Chromebooks for up to 10 years, so this is less of a concern. We think this might push prices down, but for very old hardware. We’re trying to watch this.

4.

Which Chromebooks does PCWorld rate highest?

Our editors regularly review Chromebooks, so make sure to check our rankings of the best Chromebooks. 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.

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