Deals at a glance
Top laptop deals
• Under $500: Acer Aspire Lite 15, $499.98 ($300.01 off at Amazon)
• Under $800: Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition, $799.99 ($340 off at Amazon)
• Gaming: Lenovo LOQ, $1,279 ($220.99 off at Best Buy)
• Premium: Microsoft Surface Laptop, $939.99 ($310 off at Amazon)
Finding a top-tier laptop without paying full price is always tough, especially now given the, um, current climate. But why bother waiting for the official Black Friday rush? The early sales are already bringing steep price cuts on everything from gaming rigs to Chromebooks.
How we choose Black Friday deals
I’ve been overseeing PCWorld’s laptop reviews for years now, assisting our team in carefully evaluating hundreds of laptops of all shapes and sizes (price points, too!). In addition to this effort, I also maintain our laptop deals roundup on a daily basis and our best laptops roundup on a weekly basis, so I’m pretty tuned in to what’s going on in laptop land.
If you’re curious about our methodology, go ahead and check out our comprehensive explainer piece on how we test laptops.
Updated November 13, 2026 to include the latest deals and prices.
Early Black Friday laptop deals under $500
Acer
Acer Aspire Lite 15, $499.98 ($300.01 off at Amazon)
Who is this for? The Acer Aspire Lite is perfect for anyone who wants consistent, day-to-day reliability under $500.
Why is this deal good? The Acer Aspire Lite sits in that increasingly important “just enough laptop” category. It’s not trying to be crazy powerful. It’s trying to be consistent and that matters. This is the laptop you use for reading Reddit stories, watching Netflix, and getting lost in a Wikipedia hole. The lighter stuff. That’s what the entry-level Intel N150 processor is exactly made for. This is a good machine, especially under $500.
Get the Acer Aspire Lite 15 for $499.98 at Amazon
Early Black Friday laptop deals under $800
Lenovo
Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition, $799.99 ($340 off at Amazon)
Who is this for? Anyone that wants a step-up from a budget laptop.
Why is this deal good? For $800, this is a real steal. Most laptops in this price range tend to make big compromises like a plastic build, a dim display, or half the storage. But that’s just not the case with the Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition. This laptop has three big things going for it. First, it’s made of aluminum, meaning it’s more durable than a plastic build. Second, it weighs less than three pounds, so it’s travel-friendly. Finally, it features a bright, high-contrast 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED display.
Get the Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition for $799.99 at Amazon
Early Black Friday premium laptop deals
Microsoft
Microsoft Surface Laptop (2025), $939.99 ($310 off at Amazon)
Who is this for? Anyone who needs a high-end, lightweight laptop for under $1,000.
Why is this deal good? The Surface Laptop is pretty much the complete package. Not only is it featherlight at 2.7 pounds, but it’s also got a Snapdragon X Plus chip and 16GB of RAM. That’s plenty of juice for things like hopping on video calls and streaming shows. Throw in the excellent battery life (Microsoft claims 23 hours) and a 13-inch 1920×1280 touch-enabled display, and it’s easy to see what makes this machine so appealing, especially at $310 off!
Get the Microsoft Surface Laptop (2025) for $939.99 at Amazon
Early Black Friday gaming laptop deals
Lenovo
Lenovo LOQ, $1,279 ($220.99 off at Best Buy)
Who is this for? It’s perfect for budget-conscious players who want to run Valorant or Counter-Strike on medium-to-high settings.
Why is this deal good? The Lenovo LOQ packs a good combination of modern hardware for the price. The AMD Ryzen 7 170 processor and RTX 5050 graphics should handle 1080p gaming with ease. Plus, there’s two DDR5 memory slots you can access, meaning you can swap in higher-capacity sticks later on if you want to.
Get the Lenovo LOQ for $1,279 at Best Buy
FAQ
When is Black Friday 2026?
Black Friday 2026 is on Friday, November 27.
When is Cyber Monday 2026?
Cyber Monday 2026 is on Monday, November 30. To take advantage of the best deals, we suggest logging on at midnight. This gives you the best chance to snag a deal on something you want before stock runs out.
Are Black Friday laptop deals lower quality?
No, there’s nothing about the laptops themselves that should suggest you’re buying a poorer quality machine. In fact, we’ve seen some really high-end laptops go on sale this year. That said, when it comes to more “commodity” tech gear—let’s say wireless earbuds—you may find so-called “deals” on low-quality no-name brands rather than the earbud models you’d really be interested in. But when it comes to laptops, we’re only recommending models from the big names like HP, Lenovo, Dell, etc.
Are Black Friday laptop deals really worth it?
Yes, Black Friday sales do include some great laptops at legitimate discounts. Of course, some retailers will tag a laptop as a “deal,” when in fact the selling price is no different than what the machine sold for most of the the year. But at PCWorld, we do our best to look at pricing histories and highlight the deals that have reached or dropped below all-time-low pricing.
Which retailers have the best Black Friday laptop deals?
You should definitely scope out Lenovo, HP, Dell, and other laptop manufacturers’ websites. Online retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy will also have solid deals, no doubt, but probably not as wide a variety as you’ll find from the manufacturers themselves.
Which laptops does PCWorld recommend, the deals notwithstanding?
Hey, the site is called PCWorld, so we test and review an insane number of laptops. To see our top picks, you can check out our master list of the best laptops of 2026. We also have more granular selections for the best laptops under $500, and the best laptops for students. Come Black Friday, there’s a good chance that many of our picks will be discounted, so if you’re looking for something specific, check out the best-picks articles.
