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Head-to-head · Best Budget Laptops Under $700

Acer Aspire 5 vs HP Pavilion 15

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

The short answer

HP Pavilion 15 comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.1 vs 4.2). The gap is mostly about Mainstream home and student users who want a reliable, touchscreen-equipped 15-inch laptop from a major brand for general productivity. — read the strengths below before deciding.

Acer Aspire 5
Ranked #5 in Best Budget Laptops Under $700
Acer Aspire 5
$499as of Jun 7

The Aspire 5 is the budget anchor: a genuinely cheap 15.6-inch laptop that covers the basics well, with a Ryzen 5 5500U and a surprisingly likable IPS display. PCWorld called it "a great budget option for most people," review-rating.com scored it 72/100, and Notebookcheck praised its quiet, cool operation. The soldered 8GB RAM and small SSD are real limits, but for the price it delivers the essentials.

Strengths
  • — One of the lowest prices for a capable 15.6-inch Windows laptop
  • — AMD Ryzen 5 5500U handles everyday productivity comfortably
  • — Praised FHD IPS panel with warm, natural-looking colors
Watch-outs
  • — Only 8GB of soldered, non-upgradable RAM
  • — 256GB SSD fills up quickly for media or app-heavy users
  • — Older Ryzen 5000-series platform rather than the latest chips
$499 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →
HP Pavilion 15
Higher ratedRanked #4 in Best Budget Laptops Under $700
HP Pavilion 15
$683as of Jun 7

The Pavilion 15 is the dependable mainstream pick: a 13th-gen Core i5 laptop with an FHD touchscreen and a clean, sturdy build that owners rate highly (4.7/5 at Best Buy). Reviewed.com called it "one of the better performing" budget laptops it had tested, and LaptopMedia praised its comfort-and-battery balance. The 8GB of RAM is the main limitation, but for general use it is a reliable value.

Strengths
  • — 13th-gen Intel Core i5-1335U delivers solid everyday performance for the price
  • — FHD touchscreen adds convenience uncommon at this budget
  • — Thin, sturdy chassis with a clean, mature design
Watch-outs
  • — Only 8GB of RAM, which can feel tight with many tabs open
  • — 256GB-class storage fills quickly for media-heavy users
  • — Display is bright enough but unremarkable for color work
$683 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →

How they stack up

Acer Aspire 5

The cheapest way into this group by a wide margin, undercutting the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5, HP Pavilion 15, Acer Swift Go 14 and HP OmniBook 5 14 on price. It gives up the IdeaPad's premium aluminum build, the Pavilion's touchscreen, the Swift Go's faster CPU and the OmniBook's battery and OLED, but its likable IPS panel and rock-bottom price make it the value floor of the category.

HP Pavilion 15

A dependable mainstream alternative to the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 and Acer Aspire 5, with a touchscreen the Aspire 5 lacks. It trails the IdeaPad Slim 5 on RAM, storage and build material, and cannot match the Acer Swift Go 14 on CPU speed or the HP OmniBook 5 14 on battery and screen, but it is a well-rounded, well-liked everyday laptop.

Specs side-by-side

SpecAcer Aspire 5HP Pavilion 15
CPUAMD Ryzen 5 5500U (6-core)Intel Core i5-1335U (13th Gen, 10-core)
RAM8GB DDR48GB DDR4
Storage256GB NVMe SSD512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) IPS15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) touchscreen
GraphicsAMD Radeon GraphicsIntel Iris Xe
WirelessWi-Fi 6—
KeyboardBacklit—
OSWindows 11 HomeWindows 11 Home
Charging—0 to 50% in ~45 minutes
Certification—ENERGY STAR, EPEAT Silver
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