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

Acer Aspire 5 vs Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5

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

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 comes out ahead by a clear margin (4.1 vs 4.5). The gap is mostly about Buyers who want the most well-rounded budget productivity laptop with a premium-feeling build and a large screen for everyday work and study. — read the strengths below before deciding.

Ranked #5 in Best Budget Laptops Under $700

Acer Aspire 5

4.1

$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 Amazon Full review →

Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best Budget Laptops Under $700

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5

4.5

$799.99as of Jun 7

The IdeaPad Slim 5 is the best all-rounder under $700, pairing an aluminum chassis that punches above its price with a roomy 16-inch 1200p display, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Notebookcheck rated the 16-inch line 80% and PCWorld called the closely related Slim 5i a 4.5-star bargain. The display is the weak point, but for productivity it is hard to beat at this money.

Strengths

— Aluminum chassis feels unexpectedly premium for a budget laptop
— 10-core Intel Core 5 120U handles everyday productivity smoothly
— Generous 16GB LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB SSD for the price

Watch-outs

— 60Hz IPS panel covers only about 45% NTSC, so colors are muted
— Memory is soldered and cannot be upgraded later
— Best value only appears at sale prices; MSRP is less compelling

$799.99 · Check Price on Amazon Full 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.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5

The most balanced pick here: it offers a more premium aluminum build than the plastic Acer Aspire 5 and HP Pavilion 15, and a larger, taller screen than the 14-inch Acer Swift Go 14 and HP OmniBook 5 14. It trades the OmniBook's marathon battery and the Swift Go's snappier CPU for the best overall blend of build, screen size and value.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Acer Aspire 5	Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (6-core)	Intel Core 5 120U (10-core)
RAM	8GB DDR4	16GB LPDDR5x
Storage	256GB NVMe SSD	1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Display	15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) IPS	16-inch WUXGA (1920x1200) IPS, 60Hz
Graphics	AMD Radeon Graphics	—
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Keyboard	Backlit	—
OS	Windows 11 Home	Windows 11 Home
Ports	—	2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, HDMI 1.4b, headphone jack
Brightness	—	300 nits

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