Best Acer Chromebooks for 2024

There are many great Chromebook models from HP, Dell, and Lenovo, but you can't forget Acer, either. While you can buy many great Acer laptops, Acer is actually the third-biggest Chromebook maker behind some of the most popular options you can find right now. From the Acer Spin lineup to regular clamshell Chromebooks, gaming Chromebooks, and even education-friendly models, there's a lot you can choose from.

So, if you fancy an Acer Chromebook right now, you've come to the right spot. There's an Acer Chromebook for everyone, and we invite you to check out our guide below.

Our picks for the best Acer Chromebooks in 2023

Starting first with the best Acer Chromebook you can buy right now with your money: the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. There's a lot to like for the price, too, from the CPU powering it, the garaged pen, the display, the overall design, and more.

First up, the internals are the latest and greatest for a Chromebook. You're getting a similar CPU to what's found in a Windows 2-in-1 — 12th-generation Intel Core i5-1235U CPU — but for a fraction of the price. These hybrid CPUs benefit from performance cores and efficient cores to help make your everyday web browsing fast and efficient. There's 8GB of RAM and a traditional SSD. That means you'll get faster speeds, boot times, and file transfers.

The other thing we like about this Chromebook is the display. Your typical Chromebook might have a low-resolution screen, but the Spin 714 is tuned to a newer 16:10 aspect ratio and 1920 x 1200 resolution. This all means you can fit more content on the screen at once. It also has slim bezels, so there aren't any annoying black bars on the edges, either.

Even the ports are great on this Chromebook. Despite it being thin and light at 3.04 pounds and about 0.7 inches thick, there's a great selection. You'll find one USB-A port, two Thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack, and HDMI. As we usually look out for, this means you won't need a dongle if you opt to buy this device.

One more thing we want to mention is the garaged stylus. You can use this to draw on the screen, and then you can keep it secure inside the chassis when you're done.

At a close second on our list is the Acer Chromebook Spin 514. It's very similar to our top pick in a few ways, but it sports some older specifications. It's also cheaper; you can find it for $549 when on sale.

Powering this Chromebook are AMD Ryzen processors, specifically a lower-tier AMD Ryzen 3 5000 series CPU, the Ryzen 3 512C Dual-Core. Don't let that fool you, though, as ChromeOS is optimized for these kinds of processors. Using Chrome for everyday tasks won't bring you any problems, especially with 8GB of RAM, which is the minimum we look for in most new laptops. Storage also comes in at 128GB but is the slower eMMC type. But considering you're mostly using the cloud, that shouldn't be a huge issue.

Moving on to look at the display, you'll get a Full HD 1920 x 1080 panel, although it's flanked by bezel. It's a 2-in-1, so you can use it in various modes, like tent or tablet. Those thicker bezels help if you plan to hold the device as a tablet, giving you room to grip the screen with your hands.

Onto the keyboard and ports, you'll be getting a backlit keyboard. In an interesting design choice, the keyboard is flanked by speakers, too, which can help make the content you're watching sound better. But going back to ports, there's not enough to help avoid using a dongle here. The mix includes two USB-C, USB-A, and a headphone jack. There's no HDMI, so you'll need to buy a dongle if you plan to use this Chromebook at home or work with a monitor.

The Acer Chromebook 317 is one of the best 17-inch Chromebooks you can buy for your money right now. It sports an amazing 17.3-inch screen, as well as a numpad on the keyboard, and all for just $500.

Powering this Chromebook is the Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor. This is a lower-end CPU, but it is quad-core, so you can still multitask. Other specs of note include the 8GB of RAM and the 64GB of eMMC storage. 8GB is the base amount you should look for if you want good performance and multitasking. The eMMC storage might be slow, but Chromebooks are mainly cloud-based devices, so it shouldn't matter too much.

But we love this Chromebook for two reasons. First up is the keyboard, which is full-sized with a numpad for crunching numbers. Oh, and it is backlit! We also love the big display. It's 17.3 inches and comes in at 1920 x 1080 resolution. Such a big screen gives you a lot of room to stack windows side by side. Note that the screen is touch, too, which can be helpful if you don't want to use your mouse or the trackpad.

Generally speaking, this isn't too heavy for a 17-inch Chromebook, but it's still heavy at 4.85 pounds. However, it's not super thick at about 0.89 inches, making it portable for the right person.

We also like the port selection here, though the absence of HDMI means you'll need a dongle. On the left side are a USB Type-C, USB-A, microSD, and a headphone jack. The right side has another USB-A port and USB-C. Both USB-A ports are USB 3.0, so you get extra speed.

There's a new breed of cloud gaming Chromebooks from Google's partners, including the Acer Chromebook 516 GE. We recently reviewed this Chromebook and it was one of the best we've ever used thanks to its power, design, port selection, and amazing keyboard.

Much like our top Acer Chromebook, this option is powered by Intel's 12th-generation CPUs. For gaming on Steam and local gaming with select Android titles, this CPU was powerful enough; we didn't experience any lag. We even managed to run our favorite Android apps without issue and speed through our tab-heavy and Chrome-heavy workflow with ease.

As for cloud gaming, since this Chromebook has a 120Hz high-resolution 16:10 screen that can hit 2560 x 1600 resolution, our favorite games on Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming came to life and felt responsive and smooth. We loved how fast-paced games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Fortnite, looked on this display. Even outside of gaming, the 16:10 aspect ratio screen is great for general productivity. Stacking Windows side by side was super easy, and we had no issues with multitasking.

And the keyboard? Acer has delivered an RGB keyboard with super responsive keys. The backlight is fully customizable, too. You can pick seven different colors or choose a rainbow option, all from the ChromeOS settings page.

Acer didn't skip out on premium materials, either. The lid has a superb brushed finish, and the bottom base is aluminum. There are even speaker grills to the left and right side of the keyboard deck that make this Chromebook look like a Dell XPS Windows laptop. And ports? Well, there's a lot. There's USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, a headphone jack, and USB-C.

Need a cheap Chromebook? That's what the Acer 512 Chromebook is all about. You can find this Chromebook for less than $150 at most retailers, and it packs some very basic specs, which is great if you don't need it for much beyond web browsing or want to upgrade later.

Powering this Chromebook is the Intel Celeron N4020 CPU. That's then paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage. Again, for the basics, this is a great Chromebook. You might not be able to multitask on it, but you can open web pages and things like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. We don't suggest multitasking with 10+ tabs, as that might slow things down a bit. This is also a durable machine. It's MIL-STD 810G compliant and can stand drops up to 122cm. The keyboard is also spill-proof, with drainage for those times when accidents might happen. This makes it an excellent option for children.

The display has something you'd typically see on higher-end Chromebook models: a 3:2 aspect ratio. This means you'll get a bit more vertical space exists to read documents and scroll web pages. Of course, with a small 12-inch 1255 x 912 resolution screen, you might not multitask much, but it's fine for reading single web pages.

Another thing of note is the ports and webcam. The left side has a USB-C port, a USB-A port, and a microSD card expansion. The right side has USB-A and USB-C. It is a nice modern mix for this price. Even the webcam is great at 1080p.

If you need a Chromebook for education, you might need a good mix of everything. Luckily, the Acer Chromebook 314 delivers. It's powered by an Intel Celeron N4020, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of flash storage. The storage is really great for this price, as it leaves a lot of room for a student to end up keeping documents offline. Even the 4GB of RAM is good enough, ensuring efficient multitasking.

You'll get a large 14-inch display with 7.3mm bezels. That's not that impressive, but it will help in getting most tasks done right. Resolution is rated at 1366 x 768, which is typical for an educational device.

This is also one of Acer's most compact devices. Acer says it's about the size of a sheet of A4 paper. It also weighs just under 2 pounds, which is great for portability and sliding this laptop into small bags. We account for battery life in portability, too, and here, Acer says you can get 12 hours on a single charge.

Of course, you'll probably need to consider the speakers and ports on an education Chromebook. There are two speakers on board, both of which are stereo, so lessons will sound clear. As for ports, students will not have to worry about connecting up their accessories. There's USB-C, USB-A, and a headphone jack on the left, and USB-A, and USB-C on the right. For use with monitors, you will need a dongle.

One of the few downsides to this Chromebook has to do with the webcam. It is rated at 720p. The standard now is 1080p, so that's behind what we usually look for.

A Chromebox is perfect for those who have their own monitor and keyboard on hand and are mainly based at a desk. Chromeboxes can be much more customizable than Chromebooks, too, which is why we want to give the Acer Chromebox CXI4-I58G a special mention.

This specific Chromebox has a lot of processing power under the hood. It's powered by an Intel Core i5-10210U processor, as well as 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. This is a quad-core CPU, so you can run a lot of apps at the same time without worry. Interestingly, this Chromebox also comes with options for Nvidia's MX330 graphics, which means it can push a little more power and is ideal for running more demanding business apps.

We do also like the design of this Asus Chromebox. The compact size and included stand mean you can place it almost anywhere that a regular Chromebook can't go. If you plan to use this in business, you can put it at the back of a monitor for a kiosk or a display and have it run all day. It measures 1.6 inches in height and weighs just 1.34 pounds. You even can use a VESA mount kit if you want.

That's about it for this Chromebox, but the ports are of note, too. There are five total USB ports, an RJ45 Jack, Audio Line out, and 2 HDMI ports. That means this Chromebox can be chained to multiple displays.

Business users looking for a new Acer Chromebook should consider the Acer Chromebook Enterprise Vero 514. We recently reviewed the Acer Chromebook Enterprise Vero 514 and found it is one of the more unique-looking ChromeOS devices because it uses eco-friendly materials and has a paint-free plastic chassis. Other than that, the Chromebook packs in 12th-generation Intel CPUs which came in with great results in a lot of our performance tests. These are the top two reasons to consider buying this Chromebook, but there's a lot more.

Other reasons we love this Chromebook include the overall port selection. There are a lot of ports on this device, from USB Type-C, USB-A, and HDMI, to avoid a Chromebook docking station. We love the keyboard, too, finding that it was quite accurate in our typing tests, though the trackpad wasn't that good. Battery life is decent for this device as well, coming in at about 7 hours. The Chromebook also comes with the Chrome Enterprise upgrade for IT admins to manage the device.

There's just one fault with this Chromebook: the display. While a lot of other Chromebooks are now using 16:10 aspect ratio screens, this one is still 16:9. What that means, and as we found out during our review, is that there's not enough room for multitasking. The cooling also can be improved a bit, as the Chromebook gets hot pretty quickly. We get that this Chromebook might not be for everyone, though, especially considering the eco-friendly plastic design, but it serves a good purpose, as not every Chromebook can help contribute to a company's suitability goals as this one can.

The best Acer Chromebooks in 2023: The final line

If you're in the market for a new Acer Chromebook, there are a lot of options for you. The very best one, though, is the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. This Chromebook has an amazing display and speed-fast 12th-generation Intel CPUs. Other than that, it also comes with an integrated garaged stylus, so you can ink on the screen. There are some faults, though, since the Chromebook might be a little too heavy for some people, and it might be a bit out of budget range.

If you need something else, then there's a convertible like the Acer Chromebook Spin 514, which has some of the same design elements as the Chromebook Spin 714, but a slower CPU, lower-resolution screen, slower storage, and thicker display bezels. There's also bigger 17-inch or 16-inch Chromebook like the Acer Chromebook 317, and the Acer Chromebook 516 GE. In the education space, meanwhile, there are the Acer Chromebook 512, and Acer Chromebook 314, which are durable and portable. Even businesses might enjoy the versatility of the Acer Chromebox CXI4, and the unique-looking Acer Chromebook Enterprise Vero 514.