The 10 Best Laptops Under $500 For Video Editing in 2023

Finding the perfect laptop for video editing can be a challenge, especially when you’re on a tight budget. But if you’re willing to put in some research, there are plenty of great laptops available for under $500 that can provide incredible performance when it comes to video editing.

In this article, we’ll be exploring the best laptops under $500 specifically designed for video editing, taking into consideration factors such as RAM, storage capacity, and processor speed. We’ll also discuss the features and specs to look out for when making your purchase decision. So, grab your coffee, and let’s dive right in!

Best Laptops Under $500 For Video Editing in 2023

The products will all be analyzed in this article, revealing their general design and key advantages for you. The best laptops for video editing under $500 are reviewed in the sections below. Choose the one that has the components you may want and make a payment. Getting the best out of the rest is quite simple today and our article makes it even simpler.

 Apple MacBook Pro – 16 inches – 16 GB RAM

Features

• Apple M1 Pro with 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine.
• 16GB unified memory.
• 512GB SSD storage.
• 67W USB-C Power Adapter.
• 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display.
• Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port.
• Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID – US English.

In this case, it isn’t about whether or not a Mac will be effective for video editing, but a matter of how much power you really need.

If you just plan on doing minor work for youtube, you won’t be troubled by extensive renders or clamoring for screen restate, so it doesn’t make sense to pay for specs built for something ten times as processor-intensive.

Truly a top-of-the-line machine, this MacBook Pro model was built for precision and nothing less. The 8-core i9 processor can stand up to just about anything you throw at it, it has a powerful graphics card UHD Graphics 630. The 16″ screen offers some more real estate than the smaller 13″ models

Dell G3 Gaming Laptop

Features

• Processor: Intel i5-8300H CPU
• Ram: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 256GB SSD Storage
• Display: 15.6″ FHD Display
• Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1050 4GB VRAM
• Battery Life: Up to 3 hours of battery life

The Dell G3 gaming laptop is radically distinct from the other Dell laptops, as its name suggests. It’s a full-featured powerhouse loaded with fantastic accessories to enhance your video editing tasks.

To provide stability when operating in high-performance mode, it has dual fans. More specifically, you’ll get to experience the lightning-quick performance of an NVIDIA GTX 1050, which somehow cuts down on video creation time but increases laptop weight.

A Core i5 8300H CPU from the 8th generation of Intel is also included. When broken down, it is a mobile-based CPU with 4 cores and 8 threads that runs at 2.30 GHz base clock frequency and 4.00 GHz boost clock frequency.

The Dell G3 only comes with 8 GB of the maximum 64 GB of DDR4 RAM that the processor can support at 2666 MHz. For quicker data transfer and boot times, it also has a 256 GB (SSD) upgradeable storage capacity.

The display of the G3 variant is a 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS anti-glare, LED-backlit screen. With the GTX 1050, it makes a fantastic addition. Given that it’s a gaming laptop, you should anticipate excellent performance when using your preferred video and photo editing programs.

In spite of its quick operation, it still has shortcomings in various areas. The Dell G3’s battery only lasts up to 3 hours when used frequently, hence it lacks a lengthy life. Additionally, if you use it under a heavy load, it may only last 1.5 or 2 hours. Additionally, the G3 lacks a USB-C port.

HP Pavillion x360

Features

• Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7
• Ram: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 256GB SSD Storage
• Display: Full HD IPS Display
• Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 9 hours of battery life

The HP Pavilion x360 is ranked second on our list of the best laptops under $500 for video editing. Hewlett-Packard is the leading provider of technology and also produces goods that are affordable and practical for every consumer.

To combat the overheating and perform proficient video editing, we have the HP Pavilion x360 on our desks right now. To use video editing software and create hour-long videos, podcasts, and even short YouTube videos, you need speed. You’ll receive an 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 with a fantastic performance that can handle multitasking while you’re on the run for that.

Additionally, its 360-degree Full HD (1920 1080) multitouch diagonal screen allows you to draw and produce presentation films right on the screen. This bright display also has integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics with improved performance for extra-smooth graphics.

NVMe M.2 256 GB PCIe is a feature of the HP Pavilion x360 that also improves performance. Additionally, the Envy model has 8 GB of DDR4 RAM to ensure that Adobe Premiere runs quickly.

You can obtain a lengthy battery life of 8 hours and 15 minutes with supercharging because it is designed for streaming. This means that you can only progress from 0% to 50% in 45 minutes.

The laptop is missing some great features that, in my opinion, wouldn’t increase production costs even with all these lightning-fast accessories. First off, it lacks a fingerprint sensor, which would add an additional level of security. Furthermore, a backlit keyboard is absent.

The laptop also has a plastic back, therefore additional care must be taken with it because plastic tech accessories are frequently more delicate than other pieces of equipment.

Lenovo Ideapad 3

Features

• Processor: Intel i5-1035G1
• Ram: 12GB RAM
• Storage: 256GB SSD Storage
• Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit
• Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 8 hours of battery life

Due to its low pricing and extremely competitive components, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 quickly gained popularity following its release.

It has a dual-core, four-way, 3.9 GHz Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor from the 10th generation, which allows for multiprocessing. This laptop is the greatest video editing laptop available for around $500 because of its 12 GB DD SDRAM. These monsters allow you to multitask while processing video and audio.

The 256 GB PCIe NVMe SSD in the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 allows for the worry-free storage of large amounts of data and video production. To offer you a premium sense while holding it in public, it also has an energy-efficient LEC backlight.

This laptop’s battery is its best feature. An under $500 video editing laptop cannot, for example, be expected to have a 20-hour battery life. Having said that, you will enjoy excellent performance and a battery backup of 7 hours.

One feature that caught our attention was the non-professional touchscreen for video editors. A 15.6-inch touchscreen with a usual HD resolution of 1366 x 768 is included, so you may anticipate a better screen. It only supports 720p, which makes it unsuitable for professional video or photo editing.

But at this price point for a video editing laptop, you have to make sacrifices first because it has top-notch parts but a subpar screen.

HP 15s Laptop

Features

• Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor
• Ram: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 256GB SSD Storage
• Display: 15.6” Full HD IPS Display
• Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 7 hours of battery life

Still not happy with our top 3? We have a long list, so don’t worry. We currently have another HP product. The HP 15. It is one of the best laptops for video editing around $500, despite some similarities to the HP Pavilion.

It has an 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 4.2 GHz processor for unrestricted speed and multiprocessing. This quad-core processor, which has eight actual cores and an 8 MB cache, will improve your freelancing.

While you will only receive 8 GB of RAM, the processor can accommodate up to 64 GB of RAM at 3200 MHz. A 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD is also included, which offers good capacity and a quick transfer rate.

Your video editing work will benefit from the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics card in the HP 15. You’ll encounter the same battery life and fast charging in terms of similarities with other HP Laptops on this list.

The HP 15 is a thin and light laptop with an 82 percent screen-to-body ratio with and a 6.5-millimeter micro-edge bezel display. This design features a 15.6′′ Full HD, IPS, micro-edge, and anti-glare display that enables you to view and edit images pixel by pixel from top to bottom.

Given that it has a non-backlit silver color keyboard, this product’s similarities and shortcomings are the same as those of the HP Pavilion. Silver keys have grey text that most users can’t read under any lighting. Why not buy a touchscreen laptop for video editing this device costs almost as much as the Pavilion but without a touch screen.

Dell Inspiron 15 5000 – 2018

Features

• Processor: 8th Gen Intel Quad Core i5-8250U Processor
• Ram: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 1TB SATA hard drive
• Display: 15.6” Full HD (1920 x 1080) Display
• Graphics: Intel Integrated 620 Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 4 hours of battery life

In the world of technology, Dell and HP are like siblings. They consistently offer the top technological devices on the market at a fair price. Because of this, HP and Dell are also widely represented on our list. Right now, we have a 2018 Dell Inspiron 15 5000.

To give you the best graphics display and let you edit your videos in high pixels, it has a 15.6′′ LED-backlit 1920 1080 display.

An 8th generation Intel Quad Core i5-8250U CPU with a 1.6 GHz base clock and a 3.4 GHz boost clock is also included. Due to its 6 MB cache and 8 physical threads, some customers claim that it can outperform a 17-7500U by an average margin of 26%. It is an 8th Gen CPU and Intel Integrated 620 graphics combination that can also improve your gaming performance.

When it comes to memory, you’ll get 8 GB of DDR4 SDRAM @ 240 MHz. We are aware that the RAM is not high-frequency, but with a dated device like the Dell Inspiron, you can’t expect more than 2400. If you require extra memory for multitasking, you can expand it to 32 GB. It also has a 1 TB SATA HDD for storing a lot of files.

Finally, we would discuss the product’s battery life. Its battery life is only about 4 hours at most. 

Additionally, its touchpad is sticky. This makes it feel like a cheap laptop since your fingers would feel sticky as you moved them around the touchpad.

Acer Aspire 5

Features

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 3350U
• Ram: 4GB RAM
• Storage: 128GB NVMe solid-state drive storage
• Display: 15.6 Full HD display
• Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 6 Mobile Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 10 hours of battery life

Acer makes the most potent gaming laptops with high-performance metrics, so you can anticipate a strong machine on a budget from them.

Having said that, the AMD Ryzen 3 3550U processor is included with the Acer Aspire 5 A515. And if you’re interested in technology, you probably already know that AMD CPUs work well for intensive takedowns. The 3550U variant has 4 physical threads and cores to improve laptop performance.

Additionally, it raises clock speed up to 3.5 GHz for your high-demand applications from a default clock frequency of 2.1 GHz.

With its 15.6′′ FHD display’s 16:9 aspect ratio and small bezels, it also has AMD Radeon Vega 6 Mobile Graphics to provide you with the highest resolutions and frame rates possible.

It not only has a backlit keyboard but also a fingerprint scanner, giving your files an additional layer of security. This is what makes it the best laptop under $500 for video editing,

You will receive a total of 4 GB DDR4 RAM along with a 128 GB NVMe solid-state drive. It also has an Amazon Alexa built-in so you can voice-control your smart home.

The only issue we encountered when reviewing it was its bothersome fans, which were loud and unpleasant. Naturally, 4 GB RAM isn’t much for video editing, and since there’s only one slot available, you may end up spending additional money to get more gigabytes for multitasking. Additionally, it lacks essential features like the USB-C port, memory card slot, CAPSLOCK, and Numeric lock indication.

Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop (2021 Model)

Features

• Processor: Intel N4020 Dual-Core Processor
• Ram: 16GB RAM
• Storage: 256GB SSD Storage
• Display: 15.6″ HD Display
• Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 600
• Battery Life: Up to 7.5 hours of battery life

Because it is essentially a modest improvement over the Inspiron 15 5000, props to Dell. It has excellent attachments that give your work the most boost at a reasonable price range.

This time, the Intel Celeron N4020 1.1 GHz dual-core processor in the Inspiron 15 has a 4 MB cache and a 2.8 GHz boost clock.

It has a 16:9 aspect ratio of 15.6′′ HD 1366 x 786 Anti-glare LED narrow border display. These pixels are sufficient for a beginning video editor. Additionally, you will have 16 GB of high-bandwidth RAM to run numerous software packages without any hiccups. A 256 GB NVMe SSD is also included by Dell for quicker boot-ups and data transmission.

Don’t confuse this product with a pre-opened box because the manufacturer replaces the HDD with an SSD and increases the RAM and memory from 4 GB to 16 GB. A free upgrade to Windows 11 will be provided when it becomes available, but aside from that, you’ll get to use the Original Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

With integrated Intel UHD Graphics 60 graphics, the Dell Inspiron 2021 offers good image quality for video editing, watching movies, and entry-level gaming.

HP Premium Laptop (2021 Model)

Features

• Processor: AMD Athlon Processor
• Ram: 16GB RAM
• Storage: 320GB SSD Storage
• Display: 14″ HD Display
• Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 9 hours of battery life

The HP Premium 2021 is the finest editing laptop under $500 since it has all the components and technical requirements required to run top-tier editing programs.

With a 6.5 mm thin silver bezel, the model’s 14″ HD (1366 x 786) touchscreen gives it a more upscale appearance. Due to its lightweight design of about 3.2 pounds, it is designed to keep you engaged and productive wherever you are (1.45 kg).

You will receive AMD AthlonTM Silver 3050GE as its top powerhouse in terms of technical features, powered by AMD Radeon Graphics to improve your workflow. It has two cores, two physical threads, and four MB of cache on a mobile platform with a dual-core CPU. It has a base frequency of 2.3 GHz and can be unlocked for a boosted rate of up to 3.4 GHz.

ASUS Vivobook F512

Features

• Processor: AMD R5-3500U CPU
• Ram: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 256GB SSD Storage
• Display: 15.6” FHD WideView NanoEdge Display
• Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 3 hours of battery life

The ASUS VivoBook F512 isn’t your typical video editing laptop because it has the most powerful processor available for a notebook in this price range.

It has an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U CPU with a base clock of 2.1 GHz and 4 M cache. However, you can anticipate an overclocked frequency of up to 3.6 GHz even though it isn’t factory unlocked for overclocking. Additionally, the manufacturer teams it with AMD Radeon Vega 8, which offers enough video RAM for any video editing software.

This powerful laptop’s screen has a NanoEdge bezel with a 16:9 or 88 percent screen-to-body aspect ratio. To give you the finest gaming experience, the screen is a 15.6′′ 1920 x 1080 FHD 4-way display with lots of vibrant and unsaturated colors.

A 16 GB RAM option is also available for a slightly greater price, and you’ll also get 8 GB DDR4 RAM for multitasking..

For someone who enjoys quicker boot-ups, the 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD that it includes is a plus. A backlit keyboard with a fingerprint sensor enabled by Windows Hello is also included in the ASUS VivoBook F512.

Additionally, you will receive HDMI to connect to larger TVs as well as USB 3.2 Type-C for quicker data transfer.

It’s a capable laptop for budget video editing, but if it has faster RAM, it’ll be even more effective. The brightness is barely 200 nits, which is another problem we noted. This means that the display is not sunlight viewable.

Dell Latitude E7470

Features

• Processor: Intel Core i7-6600U 2. 6GHz Processor
• Ram: 16GB RAM
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 14” QHD Touchscreen Display
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
• Battery Life: Up to 2 hours of battery life

Ah! We don’t want to leave, but I believe the search for the finest laptop for video editing around $500 has come to an end. The Dell Latitude E7470 is a refurbished laptop, so the first thing to understand is that you won’t get the original one; instead, you’ll get a first copy or second-hand laptop. 

The Dell Latitude E7470 has an Intel Core i7-6600U processor from the 6TH generation with a 4 MB Intel® Smart Cache.

It offers 2 cores, 4 physical threads, a base frequency of 2.60 GHz, and a maximum turbo clock of 3.40 GHz.

There is no optical drive in this laptop. You will receive 16 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4 RAM, nevertheless. Although its mobo can only support up to 16 GB of RAM, its processor can support up to 32 GB. It also features a 512 GB SSD to speed up boot time and cut down on file transfer times.

You will receive a 14′′ (25601440) QHD Touchscreen Display to aid with mobile video editing.

You won’t encounter any problems running this laptop, aside from the reconditioned condition, the malfunctioning OS, and the 90-day delivery period. All in all, a pretty good device for video editing under $500 USD.

Requirements for the best Laptops under $500 for Video Editing

Simply said, you can’t just buy anything when choosing the finest laptop for video editing. For the purpose of converting RAW files into movies and action plays, video editing demands quick processing, multitasking, and overall great storage. So, in order to get the best laptops under $500, your budget must also be restricted, and you must take these factors into account before purchasing a laptop.

PROCESSOR

All you need to get started in the world of editing is a quick processor. The newest processors are the best choice because they are energy-efficient, don’t heat up, and offer the most processing capability for several tasks. The time when a computer’s CPU served as its only brain is long gone. Every power, including mobo compatibility, RAM frequency, and power slot compatibility, is held by the CPU.

Your finest laptop should feature a CPU with at least 4 cores, 4 M cache, and 4 threads. You can also choose two cores if it has more physical threads, though. But remember that your CPU needs to be overclocked.

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY

You will frequently edit just one movie straight through and then save many clips to your laptop for when you need them. If your laptop doesn’t have enough RAM, you can have performance problems because multitasking only works when there is adequate RAM available. Therefore, a decent laptop for the money must have 8 GB of RAM and a base clock of at least 2122 MHz.

SCREEN RESOLUTION

Screen size and resolution are always important factors to take into account, regardless of whether you need a laptop for video editing, gaming, movies, or anything else. Having said that, the ideal laptop for picture and video editing must feature a 15.6-inch screen and a 1080p screen resolution.

Why use a big screen?

Working long hours on your trade is essential to video editing, and smaller screens may cause eye strain and discomfort that will hinder your productivity. Additionally, increased resolution results in better pixels and superior output.

Other factors to consider:

• SSD storage
• Lightweight
• Dedicated graphics
• Battery life

FAQs

Final Verdict

You might be able to locate the greatest laptop for video editing on the market, but you trust our advice to help you advance your career on a tight budget. As a result, we assisted you by reviewing all of the greatest laptops for video editing for around $500 that are available on the market, all of which have good features and sturdy bodies.

The Dell G3 Gaming Laptop is the option we recommend if you’re still unsure which to choose. The dedicated GTX 1050 graphics card is the most crucial feature of this device, along with high-frequency RAM and a quick processor. Thank you for sticking with us through to the end.