Dell is a very versatile brand that offers a lot of product variety. They have laptops for gaming, laptops for business, and even laptops for people on a budget. The thing is Dell has a lot of cheap and affordable laptops to choose from. The best Dell laptop under $500 is within arms reach.
This article explores the various cheap and affordable laptops that Dell has to offer as well as other laptops that are near the $500 price range. We’ll also be looking at the different criteria in choosing these laptops so that you’ll know by heart what the best laptop for you is.
Recommendations for March 2023
- Dell Inspiron 14 – The Dell Inspiron 14 has an HD display and reliable specs that can perform everyday tasks. It’s a good starter laptop for those who want a decent resolution for a cheap price.
- Dell Inspiron 15 – The Dell Inspiron 15 is an amazing budget laptop that features over 1 TB of storage space. That’s large enough to handle both your work and personal files.
- Dell Inspiron 11 3195 – This cheap and affordable 2 in 1 convertible laptop offers one of the cheapest touchscreen displays on our list.
- Dell Inspiron 15 3000 – A more advanced version of the Dell Inspiron 15 which features mid-end specs and large storage space of 1128 GB.
- Dell Inspiron 11 3180 – Dell Inspiron 11 3180 is an affordable Chromebook with similar specs to the Dell Inspiron 11 3195. But since it runs on Chrome OS, it runs more smoothly.
- Dell Inspiron 15 5000 – A good alternative to the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 if you prefer a better display since it offers an FHD display which is something the other laptops on this list lacks.
- Dell Inspiron 15 5593 – The Dell Inspiron 15 5593 has the best specs on this list and its closest thing you can get to a gaming laptop.
- Dell Latitude E5470 – The Dell Latitude E5470 is an oldie but goodie laptop. It’s outdated but its powerful specs still hold a candle to the lower end CPUs of this day.
Best Dell Laptops Under $500 in 2023
Dell Inspiron 14 – HD Display
The Dell Inspiron 14 is a good laptop that focuses on functionality and affordability. It may not be very powerful but even a student can afford it easier. The laptop features the latest 10th Gen Intel Core i3 processors, a minimal 4 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD for storing important documents.
It’s a good laptop to handle basic document files and for writing essays and papers which makes it ideal for students as well. Of course another thing that it’s good at is its HD display that makes it easier for the students to destress.
Overall, the Dell Inspiron 14 is a good laptop for both recreation and studies since watching movies can be enjoyable on this laptop. It’s a must buy for students who both work and play hard.
Recommended Configuration for Dell Inspiron 14
CPU: Intel Core i3 1005G11 | Graphics: Intel Graphics | RAM: 4 GB RAM | Screen: 14. 0-inch HD (1366 x 768) | Storage: 128 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: 9 hours | Weight: 3.68 pounds
Dell Inspiron 15 – Large Storage Space
The Dell Inspiron 15 is an amazing laptop if you’re looking to store a lot of files for work or personal use. Despite being such a cheap laptop this one has a lot to offer.
Specs wise it isn’t the greatest out there but that is to be expected from a laptop that’s below
$500 in price. It features a Intel Celeron 4205U Processor which may not be very powerful but it has a higher memory bandwidth than your standard Intel Core i3 processor.
It also runs on a Intel UHD Graphics which is a top tier integrated GPU so it can handle more than its expected to.. Sadly it only has over 4 GB of RAM for use, so don’t expect to do a lot of multitasking with this laptop.
Lastly, the laptop features over 1 TB of HDD storage space. You can store a lot of important files here as well as large video files that cover up a lot of space. Overall, the Dell Inspiron 15 is an amazing laptop that’s very comparable in price to the Acer Aspire 5 but this one has way more memory for you to use.
Recommended Configuration For Dell Inspiron 15
CPU: Intel Celeron 4205U Processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 4 GB RAM | Screen: 5.6 inch Touchscreen HD (1366 x 768) Display | Storage: 1 TB HDD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 5 hours | Weight: 4.8 lbs
Dell Inspiron 11 3195 – Budget Touch Screen Display
The Dell Inspiron 11 3195 is one of the best laptops on this list when it comes to value. Having a price range of below $500, this laptop offers decent specs with a 7th Gen AMD A9-9420e processor coupled with a reliable Radeon R5 GPU.
It has your standard 4 GB of RAM and it does have a small 64 GB storage which isn’t much. Thankfully it has an SD card slot; you can simply increase its small storage space with another purchase.
The laptop also has a 13 hour battery life so you can use this for the entire day without having to worry about charging which is very useful. Lastly, it features an HD touchscreen display which makes it really convenient to use.
We almost forgot to mention that this is a 2 in 1 convertible laptop, so you can use it both as a laptop and a tablet as well. Overall the Dell Inspiron 11 is an amazing 2 in 1 laptop that has a lot of bang for its buck.
Recommended Configuration for Dell Inspiron 11 3195
CPU: 7th Gen AMD A9-9420e | Graphics: Radeon R5 Graphics | RAM: 4 GB RAM | Screen: 11 6″ Hd (1366 x 768) LED-backlit Touch Display | Storage: 64 GB | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 13 hours | Weight: 4.49 lbs
Dell Inspiron 15 3000 – Mid End Specs
If you’re looking for the laptop with one of the best specs on this list, then the Dell Inspiron 15 3000.Its a more advanced version of the Dell Inspiron 15 on this list and it features mid-end spec despite its cheap price.
Now, technically the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 isn’t under $500 dollars so it shouldn’t be on a list of the best laptops under $500. However its in the $500 to $600 price range which makes it a good option for people who are willing to spend $100 on their budget to get a laptop as good as this.
The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 features an 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1, 8 GB of RAM, a 25.6 inch Touchscreen HD (1366 x 768) Display, and an Intel UHD GPU.
It also has better storage than its predecessor, the Dell Inspiron 15 since it features a 128 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD giving you a total of 1128 GB of storage to use.
Recommended Configuration For Dell Inspiron 15 3000
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6 inch Touchscreen HD (1366 x 768) Display| Storage: 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 5 hours | Weight: 4.8 lbs
Dell Inspiron 11 3180 – Cheap Chromebook
The Dell Inspiron 11 3180 is a good alternative if you want a computer that runs fast despite having lower end specs. The reason for this is because the Dell Inspiron 11 3180 runs on Chrome OS.
Chrome OS is lighter than Windows and it has less bloatware as well which means that it will run faster and better than Windows. This is why chromebooks are a thing and the Dell Inspiron 11 3180 takes advantage of that.
This laptop has comparable specs to the Dell Inspiron 11 3195 but since it runs on Chrome OS you can run programs here much more easily and much more efficiently than its counterpart. Sadly it has a lower storage only given you 16 GB but thankfully just like with the Dell Inspiron 11 3195 you can make up for this weakness by buying an SD card.
Overall, the Dell Inspiron 11 3180 is a good choice if you want a low end computer to run smoothly with minor to no problems.
Recommended Configuration for Dell Inspiron 11 3180
CPU: Intel Celeron N3060 Dual Core Processor | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 400| RAM: 4 GB RAM | Screen: 11 6″ Hd (1366 x 768) LED-backlit Touch Display | Storage: 16 GB | Operating System: Chrome OS | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 3.09 lbs
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 – Full HD Display
Just like with the Dell Inspiron 15 3000, the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 is another laptop that doesn’t fall into a laptop under $500. However it does come close and falls under the $500 to $600 price range. It features improvements and changes over the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 version.
For one, this laptop has a better display than the Dell Inspiron 15 3000. It offers a wonderful 15 inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display making this laptop ideal for photo editing or movies watching. Sadly its 1 TB HDD is gones and is now replaced with a 256 GB SSD.
This is a downgrade when it comes to storage but a big upgrade when it comes to performance since all files loaded from this laptop will run more faster thanks to the SSD space.
Overall, the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 is a good alternative to the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 if you’re looking for a better display rather than a large storage.
Recommended Configuration For Dell Inspiron 15 5000
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6″ Full HD Energy-efficient LED-backlit (1920 x 1080) Display| Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 5 hours | Weight: 4.8 lbs
Dell Inspiron 15 5593 – Cheap Laptop for Gaming
The Dell Inspiron 15 5593 is an improved version of the Dell Inspiron 15 5000. It has very similar specs but it features a more powerful processor.
It has a 10th Gen Core i5-1035G1 CPU which allows it to handle programs much easily and much faster as well. It has a powerful 8 GB RAM allowing you to multitask things much easily and its 256 storage has decent room for both your personal files and work files as well.
Overall, the Dell Inspiron 15 5593 is just an upgrade from its Dell Inspiron 15 5000 counterpart. Although it is a little expensive and it’s much more expensive exceeding the $500 budget. However it’s the closest thing you can get to a gaming laptop and it definitely has the best specs on this list.
Recommended Configuration For Dell Inspiron 15 5593
CPU: 10th Gen Core i5-1035G1 Processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6″ Full HD Energy-efficient LED-backlit (1920 x 1080) Display| Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 5 hours | Weight: 4.8 lbs
Dell Latitude E5470 – Old But Gold
The Dell Latitude E5470 perfectly fits an oldie but goodie. This laptop is powered by a 6th Gen Intel Core i5-6300U CPU and is comparable to some modern day Intel Core i3 laptops. As for the GPU, it’s a big downgrade from the others on this list, but the Intel HD 520 Graphics is powerful in its own right and it’s capable of doing most basic tasks with ease.
As for RAM, it surpasses the others with 8 GB of RAM but since it’s using an SDRAM, it’s a little outdated and it’s comparable to some 4 GB DDR RAM.
Overall, the The Dell Latitude E5470 might be a little outdated but it’s very cheap and it can handle most everyday tasks with little to no problems.
Recommended Configuration for Dell Latitude E5470
CPU: 6th Gen Intel Core i5-6300U Processor | Graphics: Intel HD 520 Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 114.6 Inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare Display| Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 5 hours | Weight: 3.9 lbs
Picking The Best Dell Laptops Under $500 In 2023
CPU And RAM
Most laptops that are below have RAM less than 8 GB. With this being said, there are some old laptops out there with just 2 GB of RAM. Although these laptops are cheap they fulfill the minimum requirements for Windows 10, so expect it to run really slow.
We advise only going for a 2 GB laptop if it’s a chromebook, if it’s not, then you better make sure that it’s at least 4 GB of RAM since you’ll have a hard time simply running the laptop in the first place.
Another thing to consider is the CPU. The best you can get for a $500 laptop is an Intel Core i5 but mostly you’ll see Intel Core i3s. However the newer version of the Intel Core i3 beat some older versions of the Intel Core i5, so take this into consideration when buying a laptop for cheap.
Storage Space
A lot of the laptops on this list will have below 512 GB storage with some even having only 16 GB of storage space. Storage is very important especially if you’re handling large files or if you simply don’t want to rely on the cloud.
With that being said, laptops like the Dell Inspiron 15 are a good pick if you want a large storage space. It has over 1 TB of storage to give you which makes it a good pick.
Lastly, if you want to make up for their subpar specs then we highly recommend getting an SSD even if it only offers a small storage space. It will dramatically improve boot times and the loading times of your laptop.
Useful Features
Last but not the least we have the useful features that the laptop brings. Some laptops on this list run on Chrome OS which makes them run much faster and more efficiently which is useful if it doesn’t have powerful specs.
Some laptops have amazing displays ideal for photo editing and movie watching, while some laptops have touchscreen interfaces which makes it much easier to use. Look out for these features because it will make things more convenient and it will make up for the laptops lower end specs.
Conclusion
Majority of the laptops on this list would be of the Dell Inspiron series, this is because this is one of Dell’s cheapest product lines comparable to the Acer Aspire 5 and the other Acer Aspire series. With these being said all of these laptops are very functional and they are very close in price.
Despite being of the same product line and close in price, these laptops have very noticeable differences. Some laptops have better storage, others have better displays, while some will have convenient features like a more optimized OS or a touchscreen interface.You should pick one that suits your needs and tastes for the best Dell laptop under $500.