These are the best Acer laptops to buy in 2021
When looking for the best laptops to buy, a few brands will constantly show up on various lists. Companies like HP, Dell, and Acer all make fantastic devices, and thus, they’re almost always at the top of our recommendations. Usually, though, those lists all have devices from different brands, so if you have one brand you really like, it can be hard to find what you’re looking for. To help with that, we’ve rounded up the best Acer laptops you can buy today in a few different categories. This way, you should be able to find something that suits your specific needs.
As we’ve mentioned, Acer makes great laptops in all kinds of segments. Whether it’s premium thin-and-light devices, unique form factors for creators, or powerful gaming rigs, you’re sure to find something you like here. Let’s get started.
Navigate this article:
- Best overall: Acer Swift X
- Best convertible: Acer Spin 3
- Best thin and light: Acer Swift 5
- Best business laptop: Acer Travelmate Spin P4
- Best gaming laptop: Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
- Best for content creators: Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel
- Best budget laptop: Acer Aspire 5
- Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Best overall: Acer Swift X
The Swift X is one of Acer’s most recent launches, and it’s definitely worthy of your attention. This is a fantastic balance of performance and portability, packing in some powerful specs in a relatively thin and light chassis, and because of that, it’s very versatile. Whether you’re a student who likes to game occasionally or a content creator on the move, this is a fantastic choice.
The Acer Swift X is powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen processors, up to a Ryzen 7 5800U, which is an 8-core, 16-thread CPU that can boost up to 4.4GHz. This is a 15W processor, but it’s one of the most powerful in that range. Backing up that processor is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card with 4GB of memory, which gives this laptop enough power to run fairly demanding games, and combined with the powerful CPU, it also makes for a great video editing laptop. In addition to this, the Swift X comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage, so you’ll have all the performance and storage space you need for a long time to come.
The display on the Acer Swift X is a bit more standard, but it’s still got a lot to love. It’s a 14-inch IPS panel, and it comes in Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio. While taller screens are starting to show up in some premium laptops, that’s not the case here, but this is still a solid screen, and 16:9 is still the most common aspect ratio for a laptop. The display covers 100% of sRGB, and it can reach up to 300 nits of brightness.
Above the display, there’s a typical HD (720p) webcam, and it doesn’t include Windows Hello support, which some may find unfortunate. 720p cameras are still very common in laptops, so this shouldn’t be much of a surprise. And if you want an easy way to log in, the Acer Swift X does have a fingerprint reader just below the keyboard, so you can unlock it that way.
The Acer Swift X looks like your standard clamshell laptop, but it comes in an interesting dual-tone design. The base of the laptop is silver, but the lid can come in either gold, pink, or grey, so it can suit your taste better. Despite the fairly powerful graphics card inside, the Acer Swift X is just 17.9mm thin, and it weighs 3.09lbs, which is still quite light. You can take it to school or work, then bring it back home and play some games on it, for example.
As for ports, the Acer Swift X is well-packed. It comes with an USB Type-C port with display and charging capabilities (though it still uses a proprietary charger by default), two USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.0, and a headphone jack. Since it’s an AMD-powered laptop, there’s no Thunderbolt support, but the included ports do a good job of covering all your basic needs.
Its combination of performance, lightweight design, and solid port selection make this a laptop that almost anyone will be happy with, and thus, it’s one of the best Acer laptops you can buy today. You can buy ut below, though it only seems to be available in the gold color option at this time.
- The Acer Swift X is a laptop that's packing some power but it's still fairly thin and light, making it a great choice for almost all kinds of users.
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Best convertible: Acer Spin 3
If you want something that you can use as a laptop and as a tablet, then the Acer Spin 3 might just be your best option. This is a premium convertible with solid specs and a great screen that’s sure to give you a great experience.
First off, the Acer Spin 3 comes with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, which has four cores, eight threads, and boost speeds up to 4.2GHz. While it’s not Intel’s top-of-the-line hardware, still a great processor, and it even includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, so you can do some light GPU workloads on this laptop. Beyond that, this model includes 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, which should give you solid multitasking performance plus plenty of space for your files. A model with a Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM exists, but it doesn’t seem to be available for sale as of yet.
The display is where the Acer Spin 3 really shines. his laptop features a 13.3-inch panel, but it comes in the 16:10 aspect ratio, which is taller than more typical laptop displays. That extra height gives you more vertical space for text and UI elements in websites and apps, so you have to scroll less. To make things even better, this is a Quad HD+ (2560 x 1600) display, so it’s extremely sharp for a laptop of this size, and it covers 100% of the sRGB color space. Of course, since it’s a convertible, it supports both touch and pen input, and in fact, a Wacom AES 1.0 pen with 4,096 levels of pressure is included, and it’s stored right inside the laptop itself so you never have to worry about losing it or charging it.
The webcam is, as usual, where some corners are cut, with a 720p camera handling all video-related duties on the laptop. To be clear, not all 720p cameras are terrible, but nowadays, much cheaper phones have much better cameras, and it’d be nice to see a bigger investment in good webcams for meetings and video calls. The camera also doesn’t support Windows Hello, but there is a fingerprint reader for that.
The design of the Acer Spin 3 is premium, being made from aluminum and using Corning Gorilla Glass to protect the display. It’s not particularly outstanding in terms of looks, but it is fairly portable, weighing 3.09lbs and measuring just 15.9mm thin. That’s about the weight you’d expect for a premium aluminum convertible, and the thinness does help it feel more modern.
Finally, the port selection on the Acer Spin 3 is carried and very capable, though it’s somewhat unevenly distributed. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. That’s potentially one of the best port setups you’ll find in any thin and light convertible like this, with support for docking and external GPUs with Thunderbolt but a good handful of legacy ports built-in so you don’t need adapters. The only potential problem is that all of these ports except one USB Type-A port and the headphone jack are on the same side of the laptop, which may make it harder to create your ideal desk setup.
Even without its top-tier configuration, the Acer Spin 3 is a fantastic convertible laptop, and one of the very best the company makes.
- The Acer Spin 3 is a premium convertible with a thin and light design and a great display.
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Best lightweight laptop: Acer Swift 5
For those of us with ultra-mobile lifestyles, it helps to have an ultra-mobile laptop, and the Acer Swift 5 is just that. This is one of Acer’s thinnest and lightest laptops, and if you need a laptop to take with you anywhere, it’s one of your best options.
Performance-wise, the Acer Swift 5 is packing the latest goodies from Intel, up to a Core i7-1165G7 processor with four cores, eight threads, and boost speeds up to 4.7GHz. This is one of the best laptop processors out there, and with Intel Iris Xe graphics, it’s also able to handle some very light gaming or other GPU-focused tasks. In addition to that, you get up to 16GB of RAM and a large 1TB SSD for storage, so you’ll get great multi-tasking performance and plenty of space for your files in the coming months and years.
As for the display, the Swift 5 is fairly standard, featuring a 14-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) panel in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Despite the more standard aspect ratio, this is still a very sharp screen, and it covers 100% of sRGB, plus it can go up to 340 nits of brightness, so it’s solid all around. Not only that, it also supports touch, and it’s even protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, helping the laptop feel that much more premium. However, there’s no fancy ultra-high resolution or a tall aspect ratio like some premium laptops have.
Again, we’re looking at a 720p webcam, and just to be clear, this is going to be a trend on this list. The camera isn’t great, but it could also be worse, and perhaps the biggest problem with it is the lack of Windows Hello support. Instead, the Acer Swift 5 has a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication.
The design is one of the focal points of the Acer Swift 5, specifically meant to be thin and light. It measures just 14.95mm thin, and if that’s not impressive enough, Acer touts a very light 2.31lbs of weight, making this an extremely easy laptop to carry around anywhere. This is also one of the many laptops Acer has been imbuing with antimicrobial coating, so the surface stays clean even after you’ve used the laptop for a while. As for looks, the Acer Swift 5 comes in a dark Mist Green color that’s beautifully accented by copper highlights on the lid, hinge, and keyboard labels.
The port selection is solid, too. You get one Thunderbolt 4 port, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, and a headphone jack, so you have all your basic needs covered right out of the box. Plus, with a Thunderbolt 4 dock or external GPU, you can greatly expand your connectivity.
This is a great laptop from its performance to its design and display. If you want to travel light without compromising usability, this is one of the best laptops Acer makes.
- The Acer Swift 5 is a very thin and lightweight laptop that still delivers solid performance and a great display experience.
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Best business laptop: Acer Travelmate Spin P4
While pretty much any laptop can be used for work, proper business laptops still have benefits thanks to features like Pro Windows licenses and extra security. If you want something you can use in a professional environment, the Acer Travelmate Spin P4 is one of the best laptops in the company’s lineup. Of course, it comes with Windows 10 Pro, and you can upgrade to Windows 11 Pro for free.
It’s powered by up to an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, though currently only the Core i5-1135G7 variant is available. This is still a powerful processor, though, with four cores, eight threads, and boost speeds up to 4.2GHz, plus Iris Xe graphics. In addition to this, you get 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. That amount of RAM isn’t going to give you the very best multitasking experience, but it’s still good, and 512GB of storage is enough for a lot of documents and other files.
The display on the Travelmate Spin P4 is a 14-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and it comes in Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. It’s a fairly standard format, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad display. It’s an IPS panel, and it’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, reinforcing that this is a premium laptop.
Above the display, there’s once again 720p webcam, and just like the others we’ve seen so far, no facial recognition support for Windows Hello. However, the camera does have a privacy shutter, something business aptops tend to have for users with special concerns about their privacy. While there’s no Windows Hello camera, you do get a fingerprint reader for secure and easy login.
The Travelmate Spin P4 is designed to fit into business environments, so it looks decidedly subdued, but classy. It comes in a stealthy black color, and the Acer branding looks different on the lid so it’s a bit more professional. In terms of portability, the Travelmate Spin P4 wieghs 3.3lbs and it measures 17.99mm thin, so it’s clearly not meant to be extremely portable. However, it is design to meet the MIL-STD-810H standard for impact resistance, plus it should survive drops and water (to a reasonable extent). It’s meant to be durable, something business users are likely to appreciate.
One thing business laptops are good at is connectivity, and the Travelmate Spin P4 delivers on that front. It includes one Thunderbolt 4 port, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, RJ45 Ethernet, and a headphone jack. That covers just about every need you could have, including wired internet connectivity. The biggest problem here is that all the ports except the headphone jack are on the same side, so things may get cramped if you want to use them all at the same time. In theory, a model with LTE support should also be available, but we couldn’t find it available for sale.
With a durable and professional design, a healthy supply of ports, and a Windows 10 Pro license, the Acer Travelmate Spin P4 is one of the company’s best business laptops, complete with the versatility of a convertible.
- For users who need a professional laptop, the Acer Travelmate Spin P4 delivers with a durable design, great connectivity, and solid performance.
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Best gaming laptop: Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
Now we’re getting into fun territory, and for the gamers out there, the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE is a beastly laptop. It’s powerful, but it’s still got a sleek look with just enough flare to make it feel unique without being obnoxious.
Let’s start with performance, and the Predator Triton 500 SE comes with Intel’s 45W processors, specifically a Core i7-11800H CPU. This is a powerful 8-core, 16-thread processor that can boost as high as 4.6GHz, and compared to the other laptops we’ve seen so far, it’s incredibly powerful. Backing that up, you get an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card with 8GB of video memory and up to 110W of power, meaning you can run just about any modern game at high settings and enjoy smooth frame rates (more on that in a second). Rounding things out, this model includes 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but you can upgrade both of those things later if it’s not enough.
That’s not all that’s great about this laptop, though. The display on the Predator Triton 500 SE is a large 16-inch IPS panel, and it comes in the tall 16:10 aspect ratio, which is a bit unusual for gaming laptops. This is a great aspect ratio for productivity, and it works well for games, too, but it’s not very common. To make things even better, this is a very sharp Quad HD+ (2560 x 1600) display and it also has a 165Hz refresh rate, so you can get sharp visuals and smooth frame rates. We’d argue this is the best setup unless you really need the fastest response times with a 360Hz refresh rate, but that should only matter for the most avid esports players.
Of course, if there’s one kind of laptop that often neglects the webcam, it’s gaming laptops, and this is no different. It’s another 720p webcam (that’s the minimum required for Windows 10 laptops), and there’s no Windows Hello support. What you do gett is a fingerprint reader built into the touchpad, so you can use that to unlock your laptop more easily.
Despite all the power crammed inside, the Predator Triton 500 SE still manages to be under 20mm thick, though it can’t disguise its hefty 5.4lbs of weight. Still, for a high-end gaming laptop, that’s not bad, and in terms of looks, the Triton 500 SE is very sleek. There are no excessive angular designs, or obnoxious RGB lighting. The keyboard is RGB backlit, but it mostly only shines through the key labels, so it’s still subtle enough to be pleasant.
Thanks to its beefy design, the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE also has space for a lot of ports. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet, a headphone jack, and a full-size SD card reader, all evenly distributed on both sides of the laptop to make setting up easier. In terms of wired connectivity, this is one of the best laptops from Acer, and one of the best in general.
If you want a powerful gaming rig that’s still somewhat portable, the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE is an easy recommendation.
- With powerful Intel processors, range-topping RTX graphics, and a fantastic display, the Predator Triton 500 SE has everything you could want in a gaming laptop.
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Best for creators: Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel
Powerful laptops can be good for gaming, but they can be good for much more than that, too. If you’re a content creator, whether you work with video, photos, or drawing, the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is a fantastic laptop. However, we would be remiss not to mention that the ConceptD 3 Ezel is only available with last-generation internals right now, and a refresh is on the way soon. It’s already been announced, but it’s taking longer than expected to become available, so it’s hard to say what’ll happen.
Turning our focus to the model you can buy, the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel comes with an Intel Core i7-10750H processor. This is a 10th-generation Intel processor, but it’s still a high-end model, featuring 6 cores, 12 threads, and boost speeds up to 5GHz. It’s not going to serve you poorly by any means, and it’s backed up by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card, so you can run some moderately GPU-focused workloads like 3D rendering. Again, there are newer components now, but this is still very good hardware. Additionally, you get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage for your files and projects.
One of the big foci of the ConceptD 3 Ezel is its display, which is a 14-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) panel. That may not sound impressive, but the display is PANTONE Validated, and it comes with a Delta E<2, meaning it’s very color accurate and great for creative work. It also covers 100% of sRGB and it supports pen input, with a Wacom AES included and stored in a built-in pen garage, so you never have to worry about losing it.
What’s truly unique about the ConceptD 3 Ezel is that the display rotates on a secondary hinge that lets you pull the screen closer to you or fold it down over the keyboard. In fact, the hinge rotates 180 degrees, independent from the hinge for the lid itself. You can flip the display around to show your screen to someone across a table, make it float above the base, and so on.
What isn’t a big focus for the ConceptD 3 Ezel is the webcam, which is yet another 720p camera without Windows Hello facial recognition. Acer tends to prefer fingerprint sensors for its laptops, and that’s exactly what you’ll find here.
Aside from the unique hinge design, the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel looks fairly unique thanks to its all-white look. It’s made from a magnesium-aluminum alloy, and it uses a ceramic coating to ensure that it stays white after you’ve been using it for a whole. The white is accented by the amber-colored backlight for the keyboard, and it looks great. It measures 17.78mm at its thinnest point and 22.86mm at its thickest, which is to be expected with a powerful laptop like that that also has a complex hinge mechanism. It weighs 3.81lbs, which is fairly light for the hardware you get, and that’s thanks to the magnesium build.
For ports, you get one Thunderbolt 3 connection, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, mini DisplayPort, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader, so suffice to say you’re well equipped for just about anything you might need. This should cover most peripherals you’ll ever want to connect, and there isn’t much more you could ask for.
Like we said at the start, a refresh of the ConceptD 3 Ezel is coming soon, and that’s part of the reason we’re recommending this one instead of the higher-end ConceptD 7 Ezel, which is also due for a refresh. But the ConceptD 7 Ezel is a much bigger investment to make in hardware that will soon be outdated. At writing time, the ConceptD 3 Ezel is discounted to just $900, which is an insanely good price for what you get. But if you’d rather have the latest and greatest, you might want to keep an eye out for the new models.
- The Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is a great laptop for budding content creators with powerful performance and a color-accurate display.
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Best budget laptop: Acer Aspire 5
Not everyone can afford to buy a high-end laptop, but buying an affordable laptop doesn’t mean you have to deal with a bad experience. The Acer Aspire 5 is one of the company’s best budget laptops, and for under $600, you get a lot of value here.
Performance-wise, the Acer Aspire 5 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, which is a 6-core, 12-thread CPU with boost speeds up to 4GHz. That’s a fairly powerful processor for a CPU at this price, and it should give you a great experience for all kinds of daily tasks, whether it’s just browsing the web or writing up documents. It’s also got 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which is a fairly capable combination of specs for a laptop in this price range. In general, it should run just fine, though of course you shouldn’t expect the exact same performance as expensive premium laptops would give you.
The display on the Acer Aspire 5 is a 15.6-inch IPS panel, and it comes in Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. It’s a fairly standard display, but it’s still sharp and it should give you a solid experience for both work and media consumption. There are no bells and whistles like touch support here, as you’d expect of an affordable laptop like this.
Above the display, there’s a 720p webcam similar to what we’ve seen on other laptops, and once again, there’s no Windows Hello support. This time, there’s no fingerprint reader, either, which isn’t uncommon for laptops at this price.
The design of the Acer Aspire 5 is as basic as it gets. This is mostly a plastic laptop, though the top of the lid is made from aluminum, and it looks fairly clean and sleek, but not very exciting. It is fairly thin, though, measuring 17.95mm. It also weighs 3.92lbs, so it’s not terribly light, but it should be easy enough to carry to school.
As for ports, there’s a surprisingly wide selection available. You get one USB Type-C port, three USB Type-A ports, HDMI, Ethernet, and a headphone jack. That lets you connect pretty much any peripheral you might need to use. Of course, there’s no Thunderbolt support because this is an AMD-powered laptop and Thunderbolt is Intel technology. Even then, laptops at this price often don’t support Thunderbolt.
There are lots of different variants of the Acer Aspire 5 laptop with different specs and prices, but we found this to be the best one you can buy at a price that’s considered budget. You can buy this model below.
- If you want a solid laptop at an affordable price, the Acer Aspire 5 delivers with modern specs all around.
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Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Acer makes many great Windows laptops, but perhaps one of its biggest highlights is actually a Chromebook. The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is one of the very best bang-for-the-back Chrome OS laptops you can buy, and it’s great all around. For an MSRP just shy of $700, it’s a fantastic deal.
It starts with performance, as the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is powered by an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with four cores, eight threads, and boost speeds up to 4.2GHz. It’s Intel’s mid-range processor, but considering Chrome OS is often found on extremely low-end hardware like old Intel Celeron processors, this is going to run very well. This processor also has Intel Iris Xe graphics, and the laptop itself rounds out with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Again, this isn’t all that impressive for a Windows laptop, but it’s great for Chrome OS, which relies heavily on web and cloud technology.
One of the biggest highlights of the Chromebook Spin 713, however, is the screen. This is a 13.5-inch display and it comes in a 3:2 aspect ratio with a very sharp resolution of 2256 x 1504. For a display of this size, that resolution is going to look fantastic, and the tall aspect ratio is not only rare on Chromebooks, it’s very rare on any laptop in this price range. The added vertical space is a big boon for productivity, making it easier to read webpages and documents with less scrolling. of course, this is a convertible, so the screen supports touch, too.
The webcam, however, is one area where the Chromebook Spin 713 doesn’t surprise. It’s yet another 720p camera (that’s the last time we’ll say that in this article, we promise). There’s no IR camera for facial recognition, but Chrome OS wouldn’t support it either way, so that’s not a big deal. Unfortunately, there’s no fingerprint reader, either.
As for the design, this is a fairly standard-looking convertible, but it is very premium. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass and the rest of the chassis is made from aluminum. The laptop also meets the MIL-STD-810H rating for durability, so this isn’t something that will break easily if it’s handled by children. It’s just over 17mm thin and it weighs 3.02lbs, so it’s also fairly portable for an all-metal convertible.
Finally, we come around to the ports, and the selection is pretty solid. This is one of the few Chromebooks you’ll find with Thunderbolt support, and there are two whole Thunderbolt 4 ports. You also get one USB Type-A port, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader rounding out all the basics, so you shouldn’t need any adapters to plug in peripherals. You have the option, though, with Thunderbolt enabling very powerful docking solutions.
Overall, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 gets almost everything right. The performance is great, the design is premium and durable, and it’s got a solid supply of ports, all at a relatively affordable price.
- The Chromebook Spin 713 is almost indisputably one of the best bang-for-the-buck Chromebooks, with solid performance and a premium design.
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That wraps up what we’d consider the very best Acer laptops you can buy today, ranging from lightweight everyday laptops to powerful gaming rigs. We chose the Acer Swift X as the best overall because it strikes a great balance of these two things – performance and power. It’s got dedicated graphics and high-end specs, but you can still easily take it anywhere, making it especially great for a college student that might want to game in their free time. Of course, if you have more specific needs, there are plenty of other options that might be more tailored to you.
Are you not an Acer kind of person? No worries — check out our lists of the best HP laptops, or maybe even the best Lenovo laptops if that’s more your speed.
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