If you’re a photographer or graphic designer on a tight budget, finding the right laptop for your photo editing needs can be a challenge. We understand the importance of having a reliable and powerful machine that can handle all of your editing software without breaking the bank. That’s why we have explored, tested, and finalized the Best Laptop For Photo Editing On A Budget For 2023.
Best Laptop For Photo Editing On A Budget For 2023
Our team of experts has scoured the market to bring you the top options that offer the perfect balance of performance, value, and affordability. We’ve put these laptops through their paces, testing their capabilities with a variety of photo editing software to ensure that they can handle even the most demanding tasks.
With the rise of high-resolution cameras and advanced editing software, it’s more important than ever to have a laptop that can keep up with your workflow. Whether you’re retouching portraits, creating graphic designs, or just need a machine for basic photo editing tasks, we’ve got you covered.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the top-budget laptops for photo editing in 2023. Whether you’re a professional photographer or just starting out, these machines will provide you with the power and performance you need to bring your vision to life.
1- Acer Swift 3 Intel Evo Thin & Light Laptop- Best Laptop for Photo Editing under $600
Technical Specifications
| Color | Silver |
| Hard Disk Size | 512 GB |
| CPU Model | Core i7 |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 8 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
Features that make it shine:
It can be difficult to find a lightweight laptop with long battery life, great screen, and brightness at an affordable price. That’s why the Acer Swift 3 Intel Evo Laptop is perfect for those looking for a budget option.
It’s slightly larger than the HP EliteBook 13.5, but its portability and beautiful screen quality and resolution make it worth considering.
With 8GB of onboard LPDDR4X memory and a 512GB NVMe SSD, it’s a powerful and efficient machine. Overall, it’s a great choice for anyone looking for an exceptional laptop experience, anywhere.
While I personally prefer laptops that are more efficient than long-lasting, the Acer Swift 3 is a great balance of both. Its thin and light design makes it easy to carry, and its square screen reminds me of older laptops. In conclusion, if you’re in the market for a new laptop, I highly recommend the Acer Swift 3 for its design and performance verified by Intel.
Why I am suggesting this Acer Swift 3 Intel Evo Laptop?
I recommend this laptop due to its Intel Evo platform, which offers the ideal combination of responsiveness, battery life, performance, and stunning visuals in a new grade of laptops. Additionally, the Acer Swift 3 laptop with an Intel Evo platform boasts an impressive 84% screen-to-chassis ratio, providing boundary-breaking performance that is sure to last.
2- MSI Modern 15A10M 15.6-inch Win 10 Laptop- Best Affordable Photo Editing Laptop under $700
Technical Specifications
| Hard Disk Size | 512 GB |
| CPU Model | Core i5 Family |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 8 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel |
| CPU Speed | 4.2 GHz |
Features that make it shine:
I purchased the MSI Modern 15 laptop as a commuting device for my university studies. At that time, I couldn’t afford a high-priced laptop and needed something durable to carry in my backpack all day. The MSI Modern 15 was the perfect fit, as it could handle video conference lectures, work related to editing, and light internet browsing during study breaks.
Overall, it’s a good laptop for the price and meets my needs for photo editing. I even used it for work from home on Fiverr. One of the peach features of this laptop is its quiet performance, even when working on heavy photo editing software. Another bonus is the dragon logo that appears when the laptop is powered on, it’s a cool touch.
Why I am suggesting this Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 13 inches Laptop?
I am suggesting this laptop because it can be easily connected to other devices. As you know, the Chromebook Flex 5 has ample ports and strong connectivity for a smooth workflow. Its main connectivity features include two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C ports, one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, and one audio jack.
The USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C port allows for fast data transfer, multimedia streaming, and battery charging all through one port. In addition, the laptop has the latest Wi-Fi option built-in for the fastest and most reliable connection.
3- Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Laptop 2022- Best inexpensive laptop for photo editing on a budget
Technical Specifications
| Color | Arctic Grey |
| CPU Model | Core i5 |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 8 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris |
| CPU Speed | 1.3 |
Features that make it shine:
I recently found out that the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Laptop 2022 is a great laptop. I purchased it on Black Friday of 2022 as a Christmas gift for my brother. Because of the Black Friday sale, I was able to get it at a very reasonable price.
After using the laptop, my brother told me that it is fast, quiet, and cool. I informed him that this is also due to the new generation 12 Intel processors, which provide an increase in perceivable performance. While this machine has a Core i5 processor rather than an Evo platform, it still seems to be responsive.
In addition, Lenovo’s integration is excellent. My brother has not noticed any fan noise or hot spots on the case. However, he is not satisfied with its battery life.
Why I am suggesting this Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Laptop (2022)?
I am suggesting this laptop to enjoy crystal-clear collaboration with an HD webcam. With an HD webcam, you can get a privacy shutter, Dolby audio sound, dual microphones for clear voice quality and smart noise cancelling for a more tailored sound with less background noise.
4-HP Pavilion 15 Laptop- Best Laptop for Photographers and Gamers
Technical Specifications
| Color | Natural Silver Aluminum |
| Hard Disk Size | 512 GB |
| CPU Model | Core i7 |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 16 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro |
| Card Description | Integrated |
Features that make it shine:
The HP Pavilion 15-inch laptop is a great option for users who need a budget-friendly machine for video and photo editing. It can also be upgraded to improve its performance. When I reviewed this laptop at the office of my graphic designer friend, I found that it had fast boot-up times and was more than sufficient for my daily browsing and photo editing tasks.
This laptop is also very lightweight, but everything feels high quality and well-made. It functions smoothly and fluidly, as it should. In my experience, this laptop worked well for editing videos and pictures with the GoPro Quik app and my Hero 11 black. I was able to get about 6-7 hours of battery life per charge.
Why I am suggesting this HP Pavilion 15 Laptop?
I am suggesting this laptop for its Power, performance and security features. These all features will get work done on the go. This laptop also experiences mind-blowing entertainment with an Intel Core processor, stunning graphics, and rich audio in a compact laptop. So, you can seamlessly log in from any position of photo editing with the touch of your finger.
5- Dell Inspiron 5000 Laptop-Best 2-in-1 Laptop for Photo Editing
Technical Specifications
| Color | Gray |
| Hard Disk Size | 1000 GB |
| CPU Model | Core i7 |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 32 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
Features that make it shine:
I bought this Dell laptop 3 years ago for its excellent service, information, and data transformation capabilities. Delivery was fast and the price was very good. I highly recommend this laptop for anyone needing IT services, photo editing, and general merchandise.
The Dell Inspiron is perfect for photo editing and easy to use. It has a great memory, a long-lasting battery, and is lightweight, making it great for travel. I often take it with me when I leave the city.
Why I am suggesting this Dell Inspiron 5000 Laptop?
I am suggesting this laptop for its 360° flip-and-fold design, which offers versatile functionality with laptop, tent, presentation, and tablet modes. This allows you to easily switch between different use cases and find the most comfortable and convenient way to use the device.
6- LG Gram 17Z90N Laptop- Best Laptop for Photo Editing under $1,500
Technical Specifications
| Color | Dark Silver |
| Hard Disk Size | 1 TB |
| CPU Model | Core i7-1065G7 |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 16 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Plus |
Features that make it shine:
Due to my IT field, I have had many opportunities to review and buy various laptops for myself and others. Recently, I decided to get a lightweight and large-screen laptop for one of my students, and the LG Gram 17 seemed like the perfect option for high-speed photo editing.
While this laptop is 17 inches, it does not feel like a traditional 17-inch laptop due to its impressive features such as its processor, memory details, and display. While it is on the pricey side, I believe it is worth the investment given its lack of direct competitors.
The 10th Gen Intel processor in this laptop can run at a lower clock speed than the previous 8th Gen processor, making it faster and more power efficient.
Why I am suggesting LG Gram 17Z90N-Laptop?
I am suggesting this laptop for its 80WH Lithium Battery. Because this 80WH Lithium Battery will use up to 17 hours while doing long hours of photo editing.
7-ASUS ZenBook 14 Ultra-Slim Laptop- A Decently Priced Laptop with Powerful Features
Technical Specifications
| Color | Pine Grey |
| Hard Disk Size | 1 TB |
| CPU Model | Ryzen 9 |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 16 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro |
| Card Description | Radeon Vega 7 |
| Graphics Coprocessor | AMD Radeon Vega 7 |
Features that make it shine:
My cousin previously owned a 5-year-old MSI gaming laptop that I used for photo editing when I was starting out in the field. While the MSI laptop was sufficient for handling demanding software like Photoshop, it couldn’t compare to the speed and performance of the ASUS ZenBook 14 Ultra-Slim Laptop.
This laptop features an AMD Ryzen 9 chip and Radeon graphics, which provide a significant boost in speed. In addition, the battery life of the ASUS laptop is impressive.
We highly recommend this laptop for its impressive performance, long battery life, and competitive price. In fact, you may have to pay triple to find a similar laptop with similar specs. Overall, this laptop is an excellent value for its price.
Why I am suggesting this ASUS ZenBook 14 Ultra-Slim Laptop?
I am suggesting this laptop due to its Windows 11 Professional. Because this window will help you with mobile device management, windows update for business, assigned access and group policy. As all these options will provide you better working experience for editing photos and videos.
What is an affordable laptop for photo editing?
The Acer Aspire 5 is a laptop which is the best inexpensive laptop for photo editing. Its price is an affordable laptop for photo editing that is worth it due to its strong performance, brilliant battery life, and great feature set at a low price.
What laptop is best for editing photos?
The best laptops for photo editing are also available in the market at affordable prices. So, for photo editing you can select any one of the products from my list which is given below:
MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021)
Gigabyte Aero 17
Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
Asus Pro Art Studio book 16 OLED
Razer Blade 17 (2022)
Dell XPS 17
MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)
Asus ZenBook Pro 14 Duo OLED (2022)
How much RAM do I need for laptop photo editing?
In this modern age, laptops are generally manufactured between 8GB and 32GB of RAM. But if you want some higher-end models configured then it will be about 64GB of RAM. The minimum 8 GB RAM for photo editing software is more than enough. So, there are many choices for the best laptop for photo editing that is available in the market at reasonable or inexpensive prices.
How to Edit Photos Like a Professional?
If you want to edit photos like a professional then you have to follow these essential steps that are mentioned below:
Firstly, you have to develop a personal style.
Thereafter, choose a photo editing program.
Now, use presets and filters.
Take the benefits of automatic modes.
Crop the related section and straighten the lines.
Amplify the colors in life.
Adjust the white balance while photo editing.
Remove spots and clutter if these are not clear.
Add some finishing touches that can be done by photo editing software options.
Conclusion:
After reviewing the various options for laptops for photo editing on a budget, the best choice for 2023 is the Acer Aspire 5. This laptop offers a powerful Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce MX350 graphics card, all at an affordable price. Additionally, it has a 15.6 inch Full HD display and a solid-state drive for fast boot and load times. Overall, the Acer Aspire 5 is the top choice for those looking for a budget-friendly laptop for photo editing in 2023.