Affordable workhorse
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5
Pros
- More affordable
- Adequate power
- Great backlit keyboard
Cons
- Less RAM
- Frequently sells out
The value offered on the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 has made it one of the most popular Chromebooks on the market, for good reason. You get all the features you'd want in a laptop without having to pay for all the excess Premium chromebooks shove in alongside them.
Upgrade pick
Acer Chromebook Spin 713
From $629 at Amazon $629 at Best Buy
Pros
- Beefier specs across the board
- Bright 2K screen with 3:2 aspect ratio
- More ports including HDMI
Cons
- More expensive
- Speakers are average
If gaming, coding, STEM, or art matter to you and your laptop, Acer makes the best Chromebook for you. With powerful processors, futureproof RAM and storage, and an absolutely gorgeous touchscreen, the Acer Spin 713 is ready to work hard and play harder.
There's a lot of competition in the Chromebook market these days, especially in the $400-$600 segment where most of the Best Chromebooks live. The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 is the best Chromebook at $400, but the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is also a good value at $630 — and an even better value when it gets its frequent discounts down to $530-$550. When debating between the Best Overall Chromebook and the Best Premium Chromebook on the market, the devil is in the details.
Do you need the extra power and prestige?
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is the best of the premium Chromebooks on the market, but that doesn't mean it's the best Chromebook for you depending on how much or how little work you're needing to get done. As a Project Athena certified Chromebook, the Spin 713 is faster and more powerful than the Flex 5's Intel Core i3 and eMMC storage, but the Flex 5 is powerful enough for me to get all my work done with space to spare.
Yes, we all want the latest and the greatest, but the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 has adequate power and 85% of the Spin 713 experience for only 60% of the price. Both Chromebooks have nice big touchscreens with good resolution — the Acer is brighter and higher quality, of course — with USI stylus support, backlit keyboards for typing late into the night — Lenovo's feels better to type on — and enough battery to last you the full work day with juice to spare. I've worked the majority of the last year from the Flex 5, and unless you're intending to run Linux, Windows via Parallels (which is limited to Chrome Enterprise customers right now), or Steam gaming, you probably don't need to spend the extra dough on the Spin 713.
| Category | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook | Acer Chromebook Spin 713 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.3-inch touchscreen 1080p • 16:9 • 250 nits |
13.5-inch touchscreen 2256x1504px • 3:2 • 400 nits |
| Processor | 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10110U | 10th Gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7 |
| Memory | 4GB DDR4 | 8-16GB DDR4 SDRAM |
| Storage | 32-64GB eMMC or 128GB SSD |
128-256GB SSD |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 • BT 5.0 | Wi-Fi 6 • BT 5.0 |
| Ports | 2x USB-C 1x USB-A microSD card 3.5mm Audio jack |
2x USB-C • 1x USB-A HDMI • microSD card 3.5mm Audio jack |
| Peripheral features | Backlit keyboard USI stylus support |
Backlit keyboard USI stylus support Project Athena certified |
| Audio | 2x2W stereo speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Battery | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Dimensions | 12.2"x8.4"x0.67" | 11.83x9.25x0.66in |
| Weight | 2.97lbs | 3.02 lbs |
| MIL-STD 810G durability | ❌ | High/Low temps Rain • Humidity Vibration • Shock 4-foot drops |
| AUE Date | June 2028 | June 2028 |
If you're in love with the 3:2 aspect ratio on a laptop — many adore it for being able to see further down a webpage at one time — or you want that 2K resolution for when you're watching Netflix between video calls, then Acer might earn its upgrade here. I personally prefer 16:9 over 3:2 because I like the wider screen for split-screening and I dislike how far back the keyboard sits on 3:2 laptops, but to each their own.
Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook vs. Acer Chromebook Spin 713: Which should you buy?
The only real drawback to the Lenovo Flex 5 is that the standard configuration has 4GB RAM. 4GB is enough right now, but 8GB is more futureproof, and the 8GB version is harder to find in stores apart from members-only Costco. If you're the type to keep 50 tabs open all the time or just have to have all the top-end specs, then the Spin 713 is an easy choice for you, otherwise the Flex 5 is a better value and an easier buy.
If you're going to grab the Acer Spin 713 and don't need it right this second, you might want to wait and check Best Buy every couple of days. Since its initial launch last summer, there's been at least one sale a month on the Spin 713 to bring it down to either $550 or $530. List price is a good value, but sales are always better right?
Affordable workhorse
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5
Get great performance without breaking the bank
Lenovo knows how to deliver a great Chromebook on a budget, and the Flex 5 checks all the boxes you need in a long-lasting 2-in-1 Chromebook: a 1080p touchscreen, a backlit keyboard, a USB-A port of older peripherals, and battery to last the whole day.
Upgrade pick
Acer Chromebook Spin 713
From $629 at Amazon $629 at Best Buy
For power, glory, and bragging rights
Acer hit an absolute home run with the Spin 713, giving you a 2-in-1 Chromebook that's powerful enough to last you for eight years without running out of space, RAM, or processing power. That 3:2 touchscreen with 2K resolution is also one of the most beautiful on a Chromebook today.
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