Computing on a Budget: Best Laptops Under 30k in 2024

Buying a laptop can be a painful task when you have hundreds of choices available, and what makes it even worse is how similar most of the laptops are. Even If you are a tech geek, you would still have some difficulty sifting through generic junk to find the right laptop for you. And if you aren’t one, your confusion is perfectly understandable.

Finalizing a laptop under a particular budget range is no simple task. This only gets harder when that so-called budget is under ₹30,000. This is almost the starting range, and trying to find anything here is challenging.

Expecting a workstation or a decent gaming laptop at this price range is equivalent to wanting to go on an outer space trip in an airplane, in economy class at that. I’m not saying this can’t happen, it could happen in your dreams, in a distant future, or in an alternate reality. But for now, you will only be able to get a laptop to handle basic tasks at this price.

Best Laptops Under 30K

So here are the top seven laptops to buy under ₹30,000, for the sake of convenience (and to preserve the sanctity of laptops) we have only included laptops with 8 gigs of RAM.

Infinix X3 Slim (₹29,990 on Flipkart)

Specifications
Processor Intel Core i3 12th Gen 1215U
RAM 8 GB LPDDR4X
Storage 512 GB SSD
Graphics Intel Integrated Iris Xe
Display 14-inch, Full HD IPS Display
Battery Life 50Wh, Up to 11 hours
Weight 1.24 Kg

This one’s a killer from Infinix. It has got both looks and features. It weighs 1.24 kg with a solid aluminum alloy metal body. It runs on Windows 11 and has 512GB storage. For connectivity, It has two type C ports, one USB 3.0 port, a 3.5mm audio port, an SD card slot, and one HDMI port. It charges through a type C port and supports 65 W fast charging. It also has a backlit keyboard.

Acer Extensa (2023) (₹28,990 on Flipkart)

Specifications
Processor Intel Core i3 12th Gen N305
RAM 8 GB LPDDR5
Storage 256 GB SSD
Graphics Intel Integrated UHD
Display 15.6-inch, Full HD IPS Display
Battery Life 40 Wh Li-ion battery
Weight 1.7 Kg

Acer is back in the budget laptop game and it packs some serious punch. With a 12th Gen i3 processor, DDR5 RAM, and WiFi 6, it packs never-before-seen features in this price range. It has two USB 3.2 ports, one USB type C port, a 3.5mm audio port, and an HDMI port. It comes pre-installed with Windows 11 and Office 2021.

Lenovo V15 (₹29,990 on Flipkart)

Specifications
Processor Ryzen 3 Quad Core 7320U
RAM 8 GB LPDDR5
Storage 512 GB SSD
Graphics AMD Radeon Graphics
Display 15.6-inch, Full HD Anti-glare Display
Battery Life Upto 8.7 hours
Weight 1.65 Kg

This Lenovo laptop is a good competitor for the previous two laptops on this list. It has similar specs compared to them, instead of an Intel processor, this laptop is powered by a slightly less powerful AMD chip. It comes with one Type-C, two USB 3.0, one RJ-45 port, one 3.5mm audio port, one multi-card reader port, and an HDMI port.

MSI Modern 14 (₹29,990 on Flipkart)

  Specifications

Processor i3 11th Gen
RAM 8 GB LPDDR4
Storage 512GB SSD
Graphics Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Display 14-inch Full HD IPS display
Battery Life Upto 10hrs, 39.3Wh Lithium-ion battery
Weight 1.4 Kg

With this laptop, MSI is heating up the competition in the low-budget segment. Weighing 1.4 kg, this laptop may be light but its features aren't. The onboard RAM can be upgraded to 16GB if you feel 8GB is lacking. It has one Type-C port, one USB 3.2 type-A port, two USB 2.0 type-A ports, one 3.5mm audio port, a Micro SD card reader, and an HDMI port. Additionally, it has a backlit keyboard and a 180-degree flat hinge.

Acer Aspire Lite (₹26,990 on Amazon)

  Specifications

Processor i3 11th Gen 1115G4
RAM 8 GB DDR4
Storage 256GB SSD (expandable up to 1 TB)
Graphics Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Display 15.6-inch Full HD LCD display
Battery Life 45Wh Lithium-ion battery
Weight 1.59 Kg

Another Acer laptop makes the list. Although slightly less powerful than its more expensive counterpart, this laptop gets the job done too. It has one Type-C, two USB 2.0 type-A ports, one USB 3.2 type-A port, and one HDMI port. This too comes with a 180-degree hinge.

Acer One (₹28,990 on Flipkart)

  Specifications

Processor i3 11th Gen 1115G4
RAM 8 GB DDR4
Storage 512GB SSD
Graphics Integrated Intel Graphics
Display 14-inch Full HD IPS display
Battery Life 45.5Wh Lithium-ion battery
Weight 1.49 Kg

Yet another entry from Acer. This laptop has almost the same specs as the previous one, except for the storage and display size. It has one Type-C port, two USB 3.2 type-A ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, a micro SD card reader, and an HDMI port.

Asus Vivobook 15 (₹28,990 on Amazon)

  Specifications

Processor Intel Celeron N4020
RAM 8 GB DDR4
Storage 512GB SSD
Graphics Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Display 15.6-inch HD Anti-glare display
Battery Life Upto 6hrs, 37Wh Lithium-ion battery
Weight 1.8 Kg

This Asus laptop is not as powerful as the others on this list but it offers a fingerprint sensor. It has one USB 3.2 type-A port, one Type-C slot port, two USB 2.0 type-A ports, one HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio port. To top it all off it has an excellent backlit chiclet keyboard.


Signing Off

For basic use, these laptops are a good choice. Based on what feature you need the most you will be able to zero in on one of the above-listed laptops. Each has its own pros and cons, it is just a matter of what you are willing to compromise on to get the laptop you need.