As of July 2025, we believe the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air powered by the M4 chip is the best cheap MacBook for most people. It's seriously speedy, super quiet, equipped with a nice new camera, and priced at an almost unfathomable $999 to start.

So far, I've seen the recent (and excellent) MacBook Air M4 drop by $150 at Amazon, along with the Microsoft Surface Laptop with Snapdragon X Plus get a $180 discount. There's even a Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook for just $187 right now.

So you need a new laptop — you’ve waited for the right time. Amazon Prime Day 2025, as has been in years past, offers a ton of laptop deals to consider, even now in the lead-up to the event. All kinds of devices are on sale this year,