A student laptop under €700 has to last several years of lectures, assignments and video calls, often on your lap or in a bag. At this price the choice is huge and the listings all look alike: “Core i5”, “fast SSD”, “Full HD screen”. This guide explains the criteria that matter, what Picksly measures and what it does not measure yet, and how the right choice changes with your profile: Budget, Smart or Premium.
Today’s models, with their scores and the prices read at the merchant, are on our scores page: laptops at €700 or less. Prices there are dated and change often: always check the price shown before you buy.
Why €700?
€700 is the ceiling Picksly applies to the Budget profile for laptops: in a comparison, the Budget pick is made only among models whose new or refurbished price does not exceed that amount. If your budget is tighter, the same page can be filtered to €500 or less.
What Picksly measures on a laptop
A laptop is not a single model but a configuration: the same range exists with dozens of different processors and memory sizes. Picksly therefore identifies each entry by its range, chip and memory, read from the listing title, and scores each criterion out of 100 from a named, dated public source.
| Criterion | Source | Measured? |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | PassMark CPU Mark (score of the chip named in the listing) | Yes |
| Graphics | PassMark G3D Mark (dedicated card or identified integrated graphics) | Yes, when the chip or card is identified |
| Memory (RAM) | Amount stated in the listing title | Yes |
| Battery life | No public source usable in bulk | No |
| Weight | Merchant listing values judged unreliable | No |
| Screen | No source that can be matched to a configuration | No |
The weight of unmeasured criteria stays in the total: an overall score is only calculated if more than half of the criteria weight is actually measured. Otherwise the page shows the model without a score rather than a flattering figure built on two criteria. Everything is explained in the scoring method.
The criteria, one by one
The processor
This is the best-measured criterion: Picksly reads the PassMark score of the exact chip named in the listing. A chip that PassMark does not clearly distinguish (one name for two versions with different scores) is not scored, rather than guessed. For typical studies (word processing, browsing, video calls, spreadsheets), a recent mid-range processor is plenty; courses that compile code, edit video or do 3D modelling benefit from a higher score. Look at the processor score on the scores page rather than just “Core i5” or “Ryzen 5”: those names cover chips from very different generations.
Graphics
On Picksly’s scale, calibrated on dedicated laptop graphics cards, integrated graphics score close to 0. That is not a hidden flaw: it is the exact measure of the gap with a gaming card. For office work, streaming video and most courses, integrated graphics are enough. A dedicated card is only worth it for gaming, 3D, architecture or heavy editing, and it then weighs on price, weight and battery life.
Memory: why 8 GB is a trap
The memory score runs from 4 GB (score 0) to 16 GB (score 100): 8 GB is therefore worth about 33 out of 100. Eight gigabytes still let you work, but a browser full of tabs, a video call and course software open at the same time fill them quickly, and many low-cost laptops have soldered memory that can never be upgraded. For a computer that has to last a whole degree, 16 GB is our editorial recommendation. Picksly reads the amount stated in the title; check on the manufacturer’s page whether it is soldered or upgradable.
Storage: the criterion the score does not see
Storage is not part of the score, and not even part of an entry’s identity: one model can group offers with 256 GB and with 1 TB. So read the capacity in the title of each offer before comparing two prices. Be wary of “eMMC” storage of 64 or 128 GB on the cheapest models: it fills up quickly and is slower than an SSD. A 512 GB SSD is a good benchmark for several years of study (editorial opinion, not a measurement).
Screen, weight and battery life: check them yourself
These are three key criteria for a student, and Picksly does not yet score them. For weight, the values shown on merchant listings were too often wrong (packaging weight, rounding) to be published; for battery life, no public source measures laptops in bulk; for the screen, no source can be reliably tied to a specific configuration. Rather than invent a score, Picksly leaves the criterion empty. On your side, look at the resolution (Full HD, 1920 × 1080, is a comfortable minimum), the panel type, the weight stated by the manufacturer and the battery tests published by specialist reviewers for the exact model.
The trap of old business laptops sold as “new”
Reviewing offers under €700, we found business laptops from 2019 or 2020 (ThinkPad or Latitude ranges, for example) listed as new at a price lower than the same model refurbished. These are very likely off-lease refurbished units mislabelled by the seller.
Since 26 September 2026, Picksly applies a precautionary rule: a laptop listed as new at less than 95% of the price of a verified refurbished offer for the same model, with the same storage read in both listings, is no longer used as the new price. It can no longer support a Smart or Premium pick, and the Budget profile judges it at the price of the verified refurbished offer.
This rule has limits, and we would rather say so: it detects nothing without a verified refurbished offer for the same model, nor when storage does not appear in the titles. So check the processor generation on the listing: for Intel Core, the first digit after the hyphen (the first two from the 10th generation on) gives the generation, and an 8th or 10th generation chip is several years old. To weigh up refurbished, read our guide refurbished or new.
Budget, Smart or Premium: three ways to choose under €700
🟢 Budget profile
Budget looks for the best laptop at €700 or less, new or refurbished: it is the only profile that accepts refurbished, and on the scores page it uses the lower of the two prices by default. Value for money counts for 35% of its score. It is the right profile if you want a reliable computer for your studies without paying for what you will not use.
🟣 Smart profile
Smart only looks at new offers and requires a Smart score of at least 50 out of 100; value for money counts for 20%, processor and graphics slightly more than for Budget. It is the profile for a student who wants new with its warranty, and the best possible balance in the same price range.
🔵 Premium profile
Premium ignores price: it favours processor and graphics, among recent new models whose Premium score reaches at least 60. Under €700, it can happen that no model meets these conditions: the comparison says so plainly (“no recent high-end model”) instead of naming a winner by default. If your course really needs power, that is the sign to revisit the budget, or to switch to the Budget profile, which accepts refurbished.
How to use Picksly for your choice
- Open laptops at €700 or less and sort by your profile.
- Select two to four models and compare them: Picksly names one pick per profile, with the reason.
- Check on the merchant listing what the score does not see: storage, screen, weight, battery life.
- Also look at the Top 10 laptops, a selection built from real merchant listings.
For the rest of your back-to-school kit (monitor, headphones, tablet), see our student back-to-school kit, and for other uses (office work, gaming), our guide to the best laptop 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is a laptop under €500 enough for studying?
For office work and browsing, often yes, as long as you do not cut back on memory and storage. Compare the processor and memory scores on the page filtered at €500 and also look at refurbished, which the Budget profile takes into account.
Why do some laptops have no overall score?
Because more than half of the criteria weight has to be measured. A laptop whose memory does not appear in the listing title, or whose chip is not identified, stays listed without a score: Picksly prefers no score to an invented one.
Is Picksly paid by merchants?
Picksly may earn a commission through affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. Scores come from public sources and do not depend on affiliation; what affiliation does change (merchants offered, order of some lists) is explained on our transparency page.
Should you go for Windows, macOS or ChromeOS?
Picksly does not score the operating system. First check the software your course requires: some only run on Windows, and a Chromebook only suits mostly online use.
Install the Picksly extension: it recognises the product you are looking at, looks for verified alternatives suited to your profile — Budget, Smart or Premium — and tells you when the listing shown is not the best choice for you.