I've found the best Chromebook deals in the Best Buy 60th anniversary sale — 6 great value laptops for school and college from $179

A collage of six Chromebook laptops on a patterned background — (Image credit: Future / Edited with Gemini)

Best Buy is currently in the middle of its 60th anniversary sale, and as part of it, several standout Chromebook deals are up for grabs. The timing couldn't be better, too, given we're in back-to-school season — and many of these devices would be well-suited for school or college.

• See all Chromebook deals at Best Buy

If there's one overall favorite, it's this Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook for $279 (was $529). What stands out to me is that this device comes with 8GB of RAM and it costs less than $300. That's something you don't see all the time.

While it's still a fairly basic machine overall, the specs are well-suited to school or college, thanks to its smaller 14-inch display and 128GB of storage — although relying on cloud services like Google Docs will help if that feels a little small.

I've picked out six deals below that I'd recommend, so there should be an option that suits you if you'd prefer to spend a little less or want a laptop with a bit more power. There's even a flexible 2-in-1 device that can work as a tablet as well, which could come in handy.

6 best Chromebook deals at Best Buy

Display: 14 inches
Processor: Intel Celeron N50
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB

This super-cheap Asus Chromebook is a very basic device that's best suited to light use and schoolwork, but it's a bargain at this low price from Best Buy. The lean ChromeOS operating system gets more from low-end components, but it relies on you using more web-based applications such as Google Docs. And while it will struggle with anything beyond basic tasks, this also ensures exceptional all-day battery life, making it a strong portable option at a very affordable price.

Display - 16 inches
Processor - Intel i3
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 128GB

This version of the Acer Chromebook Plus offers a solid amount of power for the price. It includes 8GB of RAM and an Intel i3 processor, boosting performance, boot times and load times. Storage of 128GB is a bit underwhelming, but you do get a large and bright IPS display, and decent battery life of around 12 hours — that's more than enough to last a full working day. At a little under $350, it's a smart buy for school or college, or just as a home laptop for light use and everyday tasks.

Display - 12.1 inches
Processor - MediaTek Kompanio 540
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 128GB

This is quite pricey for a fairly entry-level Chromebook, but what you're paying for here is the flexibility of a 2-in-1 device. The 12.1-inch touchscreen can detach from the included keyboard to be used like a tablet, which could be good functionality to have depending on your needs. It's also nice to have if you just want to chill after a day of college or work and stream Netflix or play a game. And even though it's not super-powerful, the spec is strong enough for general use and most basic tasks.

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 256GB

This is fairly high-spec when it comes to a Chromebook, with the Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU and 16GB of RAM. Those are great inclusions for a serious performance boost that will ensure this laptop comfortably handles work, college, business, and productivity needs. The 256GB SSD is a bit stingy for the price, but if you rely more on online apps and cloud storage, it shouldn't be an issue. Just be aware that Windows devices with more features are available for a similar price.

James Pickard is a Deals Editor at TechRadar. After many years of scouring the net for the cheapest games and tech for his personal use, he decided to make it his job to share all the best bargains and coupon codes with you. James also has almost a decade of experience covering some of the biggest sales events of the year at Eurogamer and VG247, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day. When not deals hunting or stacking coupon codes to get the biggest savings, James can be found on the PS5, watching a classic film noir or cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

6 best Chromebook deals at Best Buy

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