Ranking: Best laptops for under 1,000 dollars/euros

The new MacBook Air 13 gets the blazing-fast M5 SoC, twice as much storage space and Wi-Fi 7 for €1,199.

The old MacBook Air 13 was already a great everyday laptop, but the new M5 model raises the bar even higher. Apple's M5 SoC is the fastest single-core processor you can buy.

The new MacBook Air 13 launched for 1,099 euros and can be ordered from Amazon.de, among other options.

The updated ThinkPad E16 affordable office laptop, now in its 3rd generation, has Arrow Lake processors and a new high-resolution 120-Hz display. Battery life is long and up to 128 GB of RAM can be installed if required.

The third generation of the ThinkPad E16 is a really good office laptop, with our testing revealingno real weak points. Due in to its reasonable price to a very large extent, this is a very good product.

Our test device costs 899 euros at Campuspoint.de, and alternatively, the model can be configured at Lenovo Germany for 1,049 euros.

Lenovo has updated its affordable 14-inch ThinkPad E-series office laptop and, in addition to Intel's Arrow Lake processors, has also opted for a new high-resolution IPS display with 120 Hz. Battery life has also been improved, and the compact ThinkPad offers good maintenance as well as upgrade options.

With the ThinkPad E14 Gen7, you get a good and relatively affordable office laptop with an improved display and good battery life.

As tested, the system is available at Campuspoint.de for 999 euros; lower-end SKUs can be orderd from Lenovo Deutschland starting from 769 euros.

The silver-grey casing surfaces are largely stable and create a classy impression. There is also little to complain about the display. Although the high-resolution OLED screen in 16:10 format is prone to reflections, there are no complaints about the color space, contrast and response time. Thanks to the ample battery capacity of 92 Wh, the battery life is also impressive.

The IdeaPad 5 Pro 14 impresses above all with its stylish metal casing, high-resolution OLED screen and good battery life.

The tested Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 14AGP11 with Ryzen AI 7 450 is available from around 1,000 (but currently only from very few retailers).

The MacBook Neo is the first affordable MacBook in many years. Powered by the Apple A18 Pro smartphone processor, the base SKU sells for 699 euros in Germany and $699 in the US. This is a laptop that looks and feels like a real MacBook and is surprisingly powerful for its size.

The Neo feels like a typical MacBook, with no major compromises compared to the Air models. And it is extremely affordable.

The 2026 MacBook Neo is available at Amazon.de for 699 euros and of course directly from Apple Deutschland for the same price.

Its strong price-performance ratio is probably the key advantage of the OmniBook 5 14. With a price of less than $600, this is one of the few sub-notebooks for the money to have an OLED screen offering better colors and black levels than most alternatives in the price range. It also has the long battery life characteristic of most Snapdragon-powered machines.

Users looking for OLED-standard P3 colors and not bothered by the issues of Windows on ARM will find the OmniBook 5 14 a strong and very affordable solution.

The OmniBook 5 Next Gen AI PC 14-he0354ng comes closest to the model tested; this is available from Mediamarkt.de for 839 euros. A slightly different model, the OmniBook 5 14-he0754ng can currently be ordered from HP Germany for 839 euros. Both come equipped with a 512-GB SSD.

While the stylish casing of the Yoga 7 2-in-1 may not be ultra-light by 14-inch laptop standards, it impresses with high-quality materials and good structural stability. The machine's display is fairly good, despite its highly reflective finish, not-particularly-impressive brightness, and some flickering at below-90-percent brightness levels. Typical for OLEDs, it has an excellent black level, very high contrasts and wide color gamut. However, the real strength of the reviewed AKP10 83JR002UGE model is the fresh Ryzen AI 5 340 APU from the Krackan Point family, which is both fast and and battery-saving.

Lenovo's Yoga 7 2-in-1 14AKP10 is a versatile 14-inch convertible with a powerful Ryzen AI 5 CPU, great battery life and a good OLED panel.

As tested, the Yoga 7 2-in-1 14AKP10 83JR002UGE is available starting from around 1,000 euros in Germany at various retailers, including computeruniverse.net.

The ExpertBook PM3406 is an affordable office laptop with a fast AMD Ryzen processor and advanced AI features. It has a sturdy aluminum casing offering a sufficient selection of ports, as well as good maintenance and upgrade options, along with comfortable input devices and good speakers. CPU performance is also good here.

All in all, the ExpertBook PM3 is a solid office notebook and the RRP of 979 euros includes three-year warranty in Germany.

Acer is not widely known for making business laptops, which is perplexing given that the TravelMate P4 TMP414-42 shows the Taiwanese brand very much can produce good laptops for getting things done. The machine impresses with its AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and bright matte display, as well as great input devices.

Acer's TravelMate P4 offers a bright matte display, a comfortable keyboard and a good touchpad as well as many ports and security features.

The TravelMate P4 TMP414-42 as tested costs around 1,080 euros at our partner Campuspoint. For students and others eligible for Acer's education program, the Acer notebook is available starting from 980 euros.

The Ninkear S14 presents itself as an inexpensive notebook with solid features for everyday use. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS offers sufficient performance for office work, internet and multimedia applications. The 14-inch IPS display impresses with a sharp display and stable viewing angles, which is a positive feature in this price range. With the Ryzen 5 7535HS, 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD, the notebook is ideal for pupils, students and mobile office users.

The Ninkear S14 combines low weight, solid performance and a high-quality IPS display to create an attractive overall package.

The Ninkear S14 can be ordered from the manufacturer for 629 euros can be ordered from the manufacturer. The Ninkear S14 is already available from Banggood for 442 euros.