I've tested dozens of Chromebooks, and these are the ones I'd actually recommend buying this Black Friday

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If you're in the market for a new laptop this Black Friday, it's worth considering one of the best Chromebooks. These Google-powered laptops use cloud computing and the lightweight ChromeOS to keep component costs down, typically making them cheaper than laptops running Windows or macOS - and they're even better value at this time of year.

Take the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go, a sleek and lightweight laptop that'll currently only cost you $179 (was $299) at Amazon. Or if you're looking for a laptop for a younger (or much older!) user who isn't as tech-savvy and doesn't need to run any demanding software, the Asus Chromebook CX15 for just $139 (was $219) at Walmart could be a perfect choice.

ChromeOS is perfect for users who don't need to do much with their laptop - think browsing the web, watching videos, and writing up documents - which means that while a Chromebook won't be the ideal laptop for everyone, they can get the job done fine for most people. With access to Android apps via the Google Play Store and robust parental controls baked into the operating system, they're a fantastic choice as a first laptop for your kid, too.

Today's best Black Friday Chromebook deals

Display - 15.6-inch
Processor: Intel N200
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 64GB

Here's another fairly basic Chromebook, but this one comes with a welcome bump up to 8GB of RAM to help boost performance. It's still best-suited to general use because of the entry-level processor and limited storage space, but it's up to the job of web browsing, light work, writing documents, and streaming media. Plus, you get the superior battery life of up to 11.5 hours with this HP Chromebook, which is much more compared to similarly priced Windows machines.

Display - 11-inch
Processor: MediaTek
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 128GB

We're big fans of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet at TechRadar, so I definitely want to share this price cut on the flexible 11-inch laptop. In our very positive Lenovo Chromebook Duet review, we thought the original version offered an excellent balance between tablet portability and Chromebook flexibility. This version has 4GB of RAM for acceptable performance with light use and a healthy 128GB of storage. Plus, the day-long battery life is a huge boost for those who are always on the go.

I've already talked about how Chromebooks are among the best laptops for kids, but their usefulness doesn't stop with younger users. The familiar, smartphone-like user interface of ChromeOS means that they're great for anyone who isn't familiar with laptops, with an easy-to-navigate design and a great degree of customizability.

You'll also find several Chromebooks in our guide to the best student laptops, since they're typically great value for money (a must-have for new students, since a new laptop is often the biggest one-off expense for teenagers heading off to university or college) while also being lightweight and offering good battery life.

Of course, the affordable nature of the Chromebooks above does mean that they're ill-suited to demanding workloads; think stuff like video editing, 3D rendering, and running scientific modeling software. If you think you're going to need to do more than straightforward everyday tasks with your laptop, head over to our Black Friday laptop deals live hub to check out some more powerful hardware.