Amazon Prime Day laptop deals mark the first major opportunity to save big on some of the year's latest releases. Not only that, but these annual sales can also drop older, more budget-friendly PCs down to new record-low prices for the first time. That means it's all to play for ahead of the summer event, and we're rounding up everything we can expect right here.
We usually pride ourselves on reporting all the best Prime Day gaming deals when those July dates hit, but everyday kit also makes waves during these offers. We track the prices of budget, mid-range, and premium work and streaming laptops all year-round, and with years of experience working out which offers are worthwhile we know a thing or two about value. We've collected a number of handy tips and tricks along the way, all of which we're sharing with you right here. However, after watching countless rosters of Prime Day laptop deals hit the shelves we can also hazard a guess at the types of prices we'll see in the summer months.
When the time comes, we'll be bringing you all the best and brightest discounts right here - but until then we're rounding up everything you need to know about this year's sale to get prepped.
What to expect from budget Prime Day laptop deals
If you're just on the lookout for a simple web-browsing / note taking machine, you'll be shopping in the budget section this Prime Day. You won't be breaking past $400 / £400 here, though you'll likely be moving away from Intel's Core processors and AMD's Ryzen series, and could be picking up smaller hard drives rather than 256GB SSDs. Still, if you don't need the power those components can offer, there's no point in buying them.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 pops up time and time again during Prime Day laptop deals, usually dropping that $300 / £300 MSRP down to around $200 / £300. We often see this model featured in flash sales as well, which means you could be breaking past that $200 / £200 budget, hitting prices like $179 / £179. Of course, this is a super budget Chromebook, but it does offer a 2-in-1 design for additional functionality.
The 11-inch HP Stream is another dirt cheap option, but we'd actually recommend eyeing up the 14-inch model instead. Price differences between these machines are usually negligible, at around $40 - $50 / £40 - £50, and that's money well spent to avoid the cramped layout of a smaller device. The latest iteration hasn't seen its base $249 MSRP drop in the US so far, however we're still optimistic. Previous generations have fallen pretty quickly, and the UK £329 RRP on older models has given way to £179 - £200 costs in the past as well.
Moving away from Amazon, though, we'd always keep a close eye on the Dell Inspiron 15 3000. This budget machine is usually the brand's flagship for headline-grabbing super cheap Prime Day laptop deals, working to break attention away from Amazon itself. You'll often find an Intel processor with 4GB or 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD for around $250 / £250 but they do sell quickly.
Watchlist:
What to expect from mid-range Prime Day laptop deals
The Acer Aspire 5 and HP Pavilion 14 are two of our top recommendations any time someone asks for a solid laptop that doesn't break the bank. No time is this more true than during sales events like Prime Day laptop deals. The mid-range is generally classed at between $400 - $800 / £400 - £800, though the lower boundary of that range does blur slightly with entry level depending on the machine and configuration you're choosing. The Acer Aspire 5 and HP Pavilion are both already cheap machines just nudging this boundary, offering solid mid-range specs (16GB RAM and 512GB SSDs) for around $400-$500 / £400-£500, so further savings are a bonus.
However, we'd also recommend keeping an eye on the Asus Vivobook 15. This seems to be an Amazon favorite, regularly appearing during Prime Day laptop deals with some of the best value on offer. List prices put a 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD configuration at around $700-$800 at the time of writing, but we regularly see these specs at around $500 / £500 during sales events.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is also another regular during larger discounts. These are simple laptops that pack mid-range Ryzen 5 / i5 processors, 8GB RAM, and 256GB / 512GB SSDs into a price point that can sometimes near $350 / £350. These rigs are sold by the boat load whenever Prime Day laptop deals roll around, so expect some excellent value for money if you're not too invested in a premium chassis.
What to expect from high-end Prime Day laptop deals
High-end machines generally start at around $800 / £800 and continue well past $2,000 / £2,000 in some cases. The justification for these costs can come from two places; powerful components and luxury designs. Machines like the MacBook and HP Spectre x360 may not pack the biggest SSDs or copious amounts of RAM, but they certainly feel luxurious and offer chassis features that others simply can't. Meanwhile laptops like the Dell XPS 13 cram high-end components into impossibly tiny shells for additional value on top.
We'd recommend keeping a look out for two high-end machines in particular this year; the 2024 13.6-inch MacBook Air M3 and the 14.2-inch MacBook Pro M3.
The cheapest of the lot is likely to be the MacBook Air. This is a $1,099 laptop in its base configuration, but it's already dropped below the four-figure threshold in its short life on the shelves so far. We've seen that price plummet to $999 in recent weeks, and with previous Prime Day laptop deals setting a precedent for an extra $100 off we're hoping for some extra cash in our pockets on the day.
Last year's MacBook Pro should also be on your tick list. The $1,599.99 machine dropped to $1,399 right at the end of last yea, and with sale prices hovering around this position in recent months we could be in for an additional saving come Prime Day. We're hoping for a $1,299 sale price here, potentially even stretching to $1,149.
Of course, Prime Day gaming laptop deals and Prime Day PC deals will also slot into this high-end category, so if you're planning on firing up Steam any time soon we'd recommend you head over to our full guide on what to expect from MSI, Razer, Asus and more.
Watchlist:
FAQ
When do Amazon Prime Day laptop deals start?
Amazon keeps its Prime Day dates a secret until the sales event is just around the corner, but it's kept to a pretty strict schedule in recent years. Previous Prime Day laptop deals kicked off on July 11th, the start of the second week of the month. That means we're looking to similar timings for this year's sale - likely between July 8 and 9.
Do you need a Prime membership for Prime Day laptop deals?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but yes - to take advantage of official Prime Day laptop deals, you will need an Amazon Prime membership. However, it's not too big an inconvenience, and you can often find free trials available in the lead up to the sale as well. Alongside original shows via Amazon Prime Video, it gets you access to free books and next-day delivery for many orders.
It's also worth noting that we tend to see some of the more competitive mid-range models available at other stores. That means it's well worth keeping your net wide this year, as retailers like Dell, Best Buy, and Walmart in the US often have some stunning discounts as well. In the UK, we'd keep a close eye on Currys, Argos, and Laptops Direct.
Which laptop should you buy on Amazon Prime Day?
You can easily score hundreds of dollars in discounts on some of the most powerful laptops on the market during Prime Day, but that money is going to be wasted if you simply won't use them. The best Prime Day laptop deals are the ones that offer you the highest value when it comes to specs, features, and form factor. That's why we're helping you work out exactly which laptops you should be concentrating on this summer.
We've broken this guide down by use-case, running through the specs and features you should be on the lookout for if you're after a budget, everyday machine, a student laptop, a content creation tool, or something that will make your Steam library sing. You'll find the recommended spec lists for each of these uses, and the prices we would expect to find them at, just below.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Processor | RAM | Storage | Extras | Prime Day price |
| Light web browsing and streaming | AMD A4 / AMD A6 / Intel Celeron N4020 | 4GB | 32GB - 128GB | NA | $100 - $300 / £100 - £300 |
| Student laptop / work | Intel Core i3 / i5 / Ryzen 5 | 8GB | 256GB SSD - 512GB SSD | 14-inch or 15.6-inch display | $300 - $500 / £300 - £500 |
| Content creation | Intel Core i5 / i7 / Ryzen 5 / Ryzen 7 | 8GB - 16GB | 512GB SSD | Potential for a dedicated GPU | $500 - $800 / £500 - £800 |
| Gaming | Intel Core i5 / i7 / Ryzen 5 / Ryzen 7 | 16GB - 32GB | 512GB SSD - 1TB SSD | RTX 30-Series GPU | $800 - $1,500 / £800 - £1,500 |
Should you buy a Chromebook on Prime Day?
Chromebooks sit in the cheaper ranges of Prime Day laptop deals for the most part (some Google own options can still run you up the price scale). They're excellent devices and certainly shouldn't be counted out if you're after an everyday browsing / streaming device. However, we'd recommend being careful if you're looking to go cheaper by picking up these cloud-run devices. There's no Windows operating system here - everything is run through a Google Chrome system instead. If you're after a student laptop this Prime Day, you'll need to work out how important Windows applications are to your studies. Similarly, we wouldn't recommend anyone on the hunt for a work machine limit themselves in this way.
However, that streamlined experience does make for excellent battery life and low prices, so as an everyday workhorse these machines can really sing.
Last year's best Prime Day laptop deals in the US
UK deals
Of course, an Amazon Prime day wouldn't be complete with lots of Prime Day TV deals and Prime Day gaming PC deals. If you're after something more portable, though, we'd recommend checking out Prime Day iPad deals.
