October 25, 2024 - With a new year of sales before us, this guide has been updated to reflect current pricing and spec trends. Prices of laptops have generally dropped a little compared to last year, primarily affecting the amount of storage you can expect to get for your cash. We have also added information about newer AI features in high-end machines.
This time of year is perfect for upgrading your portable PC, with Black Friday laptop deals waiting in the wings to offer some of the biggest price drops of the last 12 months. However, knowing how to find the best discounts can make all the difference when the pressure of the main event hits. Deals hit fast and come from pretty much every retailer on the web, so it's easily overwhelming.
How to find the best Black Friday laptop deals
Our tips range from early research through to the decisions you'll be making once you've got a few models in your cart. It's best to prep as early as possible when deciding which brands and specs you'll be on the hunt for this Black Friday, but we'll also show you how flexible you need to be to get the best value as well.
1. Know what you want from Black Friday laptop deals
You should already have an idea of the laptop brands and models that you're looking for. However, if you're unsure of what you need, it's worth really focusing on what you'll be using your machine for.
If you just need an everyday laptop for emails, streaming, and web browsing, then you'll find some particularly low prices in the annual sales. It's worth deciding whether you're keen on a Chromebook or a Windows laptop. The former is generally cheaper and offers better performance from weaker (and therefore cheaper) specs. However, the latter will keep you open to a wider range of extra programs. Still, both options are designed to cater to this budget market and you'll find Black Friday laptop deals settling at between $100-$400 (£100-£400). The minimum specs we'd recommend you chase for a Chromebook sit at 4GB RAM and 32GB of storage, and you'll usually be paying a slight premium (though perhaps only $30-$40 / £30-£40) for a 14-inch display over an 11.6-inch model.
If you're working from home or need a machine capable of multi-tasking between heavier programs with plenty more storage under the hood, we'd recommend picking up at least 8GB RAM, an i3 or i5 / Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 processor, and 128GB-256GB of SSD storage space. This is where we see the biggest value in Black Friday laptop deals.
Some of the most popular offers hit this sweet spot of power and affordability, dropping prices of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 or Acer Swift 1 down to around $399 / £399.
For media editing, more demanding programs, or a more luxurious chassis, you'll be looking at the upper-midrange. These laptops pack i5 or i7 / Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processors and usually offer 512GB (or even 1TB if you catch a really good deal) of SSD storage for between $499 and $799 (£499-£799). The top end of this scale usually comes with more luxurious features that verge into the ultrabook territory - 4K displays, Intel AI features, and dedicated graphics cards so it's worth shopping around to see if there are any additional extras available once you hit this price category.
Once you know the spec range that you're after, it's time to find the best price.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Entry level | Mid-range | Top-end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use case | Everyday browsing, streaming and lighter work | Multi-tasking, more demanding software | Media editing, premium design |
| Black Friday prices | $100-$300 / $100-£300 | $300-$600 / £300-£600 | $600-$1,000 / £600-£1,000 |
| Specs | Intel Celeron / AMD A-Series processor, 4GB / 8GB RAM, 64GB / 128GB storage | i3 or i5 / Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM, 256GB / 512GB storage | i5 or i7 / Ryzen 5 or 7, 8GB / 16GB RAM, 512GB / 1TB storage |
2. Set your budget, but remain flexible
As mentioned above, there are generally clear price ranges for different levels of laptop. That makes it a little easier to work out how much you'll likely be spending for the configuration and model of your choice. However, it's worth checking in on retailers to gather an average price for the spec you have in mind.
Once you've found your budget, though, it's worth adding a little flexibility in. There are no hard and fast rules for laptop prices on Black Friday, and there are so many points of difference between one model and another that each discount comes with a unique level of value.
A premium ultrabook with an i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD, for example, may still offer good value even if it's vastly more expensive than a cheaper model with the same specs. We may see several different configurations within a price bracket, though.
For example, if you're looking at spending $400 on a laptop with an i5 processor, 256GB SSD, and 8GB RAM, you'll likely find one at that price. But it's worth keeping a little padding in your budget should you spot a model with 512GB of SSD storage for $450. It's well worth spending a little extra to double your storage in this instance, securing you the highest value offers possible.
3. Get there early
Retailers do release their Black Friday deals in waves, but it's also important to get there early. Some of the best Black Friday laptop deals are snapped up in minutes, so you'll need to have eyes across a range of retailers in the morning if you're looking to get the absolute best price possible. If your first search doesn't offer anything particularly exciting, stick around and keep checking back.
Flash sales offer up some of the lowest prices of the whole event and often include the very best offers. However, these discounts move fast so we'd recommend keeping a close eye on the retailers that most often offer these kinds of sales (HP and Dell are well known to offer some stunning deals this way).
4. Price-check any Black Friday laptop deals you find
We're highlighting all the lowest prices on our own guide to this year's sales, but if you're going it alone it's worth spending a little extra time price checking once you've found a deal. Generally, retailers will price match each other automatically during Black Friday. However, you could still find a lower price (or a better value configuration) at another store, so it's well worth a hunt.
If retailers are matching their prices, though, we'd still recommend taking a trip through the web. Stores like to gain a competitive edge by offering additional incentives during the holiday sales. That could be anything from free accessories to subscriptions, or simply just faster shipping. Make sure you're checking the whole offer before committing.
We'll be trawling through the onslaught of discounts ourselves, highlighting everything from Black Friday gaming laptop deals to Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals. However, if you're after more productivity tools, we'd recommend keeping a close eye on Black Friday iPad deals as well.
