The 5 Best Laptops for Web Browsing Reviewed

A smooth, web browsing experience is the minimum that you expect from a laptop.

Whether you are browsing for your next holiday or doing a bit of research, you want a laptop that will be responsive, quick, and versatile.

Luckily, you have lots of options when it comes to laptops for web browsing.

This is because the technical specifications and requirements for browsing are very basic. Pretty much every laptop should be able to handle web browsing.

Not all laptops are created equal, however.

In this article, we will take a look at what you need from a web browsing laptop.

We will also dig deeper into some of the best web browsing laptops on the market.

We’ve not only researched the technical side of buying a new laptop, but we’ve collated hundreds and thousands of customer reviews.

This means you can choose the right laptop for you without the hassle of trawling through pages of customer feedback.

So, sit back, relax, and have a browse through our selection of laptops.

Urgently need to do a bit of online retail therapy? Here’s our top pick:

Best Laptops for Web Browsing

1. Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop

If we look at the specifications, this laptop ticks all the boxes.

It has 4GB RAM, 128GB memory thanks to its SSD hard drive, and an AMD Ryzen 3 processor.

There is plenty of power and memory for surfing the web, online shopping, and even streaming TV and films.

The processor and RAM work together nicely to create a quick and responsive laptop that won’t lag behind your needs.

The screen is 15.6 inches and is full HD. You may not notice the HD feature when browsing but if you use Netflix or any other streaming app, the quality will be perfect.

The screen resolution is what most customers seem to be blown away by. The color projection and sharpness of the image is unbelievably good for a laptop at this price!

This laptop also benefits from narrow bezels around the screen. This means that you get to use as much of the screen as possible. No letterbox viewing with this laptop!

The backlit keyboard is a nice touch and will enable you to surf the web late into the night if you wish. When you stop typing, the light fades so you can watch movies in peace.

Overall, this laptop is an absolute steal. It can handle all your browsing, shopping, and streaming and won’t cost a fortune!

2. Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) – Cobalt

This is the second generation of the Microsoft Surface Laptop.

It is not a Surface Pro which means it can’t change into a tablet. Just putting that out there to avoid any disappointment.

Now onto the specs.

With 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, this is perhaps a little super powered for just browsing the internet. However, it leaves you with the opportunity for further computer-related tasks.

The speed of this machine is fantastic. It can handle multiple processes efficiently and quickly. You’ll have absolutely no issues with shopping, browsing, or streaming online.

There are a host of features in this laptop that you won’t find at lower price points. The flashiest of which is the touch screen.

On a laptop, the touchscreen is slightly redundant, especially as it doesn’t convert to a tablet. To further limit the usefulness of the touch screen, you need to buy the stylus separately. This will set you back around a hundred dollars.

The display is crystal clear HD. Honestly, the resolution of this laptop and the color display can’t be beaten. Blacks are truly black and colors are bright and vibrant.

Another great feature is the pretty much silent keyboard. It still has a good feeling when you type but there’s no more clicking.

There are a few issues with the laptop which are only really a problem because of the price tag. No backlit keys, limited USB slots, and fairly poor speakers may not have been an issue on a cheaper laptop.

However, the Surface Laptop 2 is not a cheap budget laptop.

3. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14′ Laptop

Lenovo’s IdeaPad range has been a favorite with many people for a long time.

These laptops tend to be reliable workhorses who keep powering through.

The IdeaPad 3 has 8GB RAM and an AMD Ryzen 5 processor. That is a fair amount of power at your fingertips.

This laptop can handle web browsing without flinching and can probably handle some light gaming and editing too.

The memory is pretty decent which will allow you to install a few more games and software. It benefits from being an SSD which is infinitely more reliable.

The screen is a decent size and the narrow bezels make it feel bigger than it is. However, the display is not as clear as other laptops. It is full HD but the colors are fairly dimmed and there seems to be a general lack of clarity.

The keyboard is highly praised by customers. It is not backlit but the membrane coating seems to give it a soft but tactile feel and response. It is fairly quiet but by no means silent.

Overall, this is a mid-range laptop in terms of price and quality. It’s a good choice for web browsing but it won’t blow you away.

4. ASUS F512JA-AS34 VivoBook 15 Thin And Light Laptop

This is a sleek, lightweight laptop that will be able to cope with browsing, streaming, and shopping.

It has 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and uses an Intel i3 processor which makes it pretty much ideal for browsing the internet. Beyond that, it’s capabilities are limited.

Speed-wise, the VivoBook is pretty quick. Startup is especially fast with no loading or logo screens to sit through.

When searching and shopping online, you’ll be able to flick between tabs and windows without losing too much speed. More complex websites and applications might chug a little bit depending on what else you have running.

The major issue with this laptop is the screen. Despite being full HD the display is just sort of limp. There’s a grayish hue that permeates everything, no matter how bright your screen is. It gets a bit tiresome on the eyes.

The backlit keyboard is perfect for late-night shopping and the keys have a solid, responsive feel. The keyboard is pretty quiet but feels substantial. It has a quality feeling to it which is unusual at this price.

5. Newest HP Pavilion Intel Pentium Silver

A bit chunky compared to similarly priced laptops, the HP Pavilion is perfect for browsing the internet.

With only 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage, this is approaching the bare minimum requirements for a useful laptop.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you only want to surf the web. However, the price does feel a bit much for such a basic machine.

It works at a fairly decent pace, handling a few tabs with no issue. However, the RAM can quickly fill up when you try to do more than one thing at a time. Complex web pages will probably slow the speed quite a bit.

The keyboard is light but responsive. It does feel a bit more flimsy than similarly priced laptops but it does the job.

The screen is a really good size and has a fairly decent resolution. Colors feel bright enough and the shadows and blacks are pretty deep.

This is a ‘good-enough’ laptop. It will do the job but it won’t go above and beyond.

Laptops for Web Browsing Buyers Guide

System Requirements

Launching an internet browser like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge is not very labor-intensive for a laptop.

These programs are fairly simple and don’t need a lot of power to run. This is good news as it means that you can easily find a laptop that meets your needs.

A laptop intended for web browsing should have the following:

2GB RAM
128GB SSD / HDD storage
Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor or higher

These are all you need to worry about in terms of making sure your laptop can access and browse the internet.

Other things you might want to consider include the screen size and touch screen capability.

These are a personal preference rather than must-haves.

Let’s look at the requirements in a bit more detail so you can understand why they’re necessary.

RAM

RAM stands for random access memory. It is how the computer runs different programs and software.

You can think of RAM as the place where programs exist while they are open. Like an ethereal plane of existence just for your computer programs.

Each program or piece of software will take up some of the RAM space. For bigger programs or multiple programs, you need more RAM.

Internet browsers can be RAM hogs if you have lots of tabs open. Google Chrome is one of the worst offenders for this.

If you are just using one or two tabs for shopping or reading, then you won’t have much of an issue with a 2GB RAM laptop. It won’t be super quick but it will be adequate.

If you are a messy browser with multiple tabs and windows open you might want to consider getting a laptop with a bit more RAM. You don’t need loads, 4 or 8GB will be more than sufficient.

One thing to remember is that while more RAM will help your internet browser work slightly faster, it won’t affect your internet speed.

If you have a poor internet connection, you’ll still be buffering and loading no matter how much RAM you have.

Storage

Storage is the space on your computer where you can keep all your files. It is provided by the hard drive.

If you just want to browse the internet, you aren’t going to need a lot of storage space. As long as you have enough space to download the internet browser you are fine.

In most cases, your laptop will have an internet browser pre-installed. On Windows computers, it will be Microsoft Edge. Apple computers will pre-install Safari. If you prefer to use Google Chrome or Firefox, for example, you’ll need to download these.

Generally, these browsers only take up about 100MB of storage space. Even the smallest hard drive will be able to manage that!

We recommend around 128GB so that you have space to download images or documents from the internet if you need them.

The big decision you need to make is whether to go with a solid-state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD).

The difference between the two is their physical construction.

HDDs have physical disks that spin around and an arm that reads and writes on the disk. It’s like a record player inside your laptop.

SSD are newer and use memory chips rather than a disk. They tend to be smaller and can have several memory chips to increase their capacity.

Overall SSDs are better. They are less likely to break as there are no moving parts, they take up less space in your computer, they are quicker and they use less energy and processor power.

Most new laptops tend to have SSDs. They can be slightly more expensive than HDDs but this discrepancy is reducing thanks to modern assembly practices.

Processor

Processors or computer processor units (CPU) are the brains of your laptop. They tell all the component arts what they should be doing.

Just like in humans, complex actions need big brains. This is why there is an endless stream of progressively more powerful CPUs.

Internet browsing is a fairly basic action. As such, your laptop doesn’t need a whole lot of brainpower. You don’t need the latest processor to skim Wikipedia articles or fill a shopping basket.

Intel is perhaps the most well-known CPU company. There is no shortage of laptops with Intel processors.

At the time of writing, Intel’s latest consumer CPU is the Intel i9. This is an expensive CPU and overpowered for simple web browsing. You will get by just fine with an Intel i3.

The main thing to consider when choosing a CPU is the clock speed. This is measured in GHz and is a measure of how fast the processor, and by extension, the laptop, can operate.

For browsing the internet you only need about 1.3GHz. If you are going to be using complex sites with lots of data and interactive elements then you’ll want a little more.

The Intel i3 has a minimum GHz of 3.4 GHz which is more than enough.

Physical Properties

Screen Size

This is the first personal preference choice you’ll need to make.

The screen size affects the overall size of the laptop. Smaller screen sizes have correspondingly smaller keyboards. Often smaller laptops sacrifice the number pad and reduce the size of the space bar.

For internet browsing, you don’t need a dedicated number pad, so you can get away with smaller screen sizes.

It may take a few days to get used to a smaller keyboard but it won’t ruin your overall experience.

Most laptops tend to be between 13 and 15 inches. Those closer to 13 will be more portable. It’s important to remember that 15-inch laptops are still portable but they will take up more space and be heavier.

You need to think about whether you want something small you can slip into a bag or something a bit bigger that will be easier to read.

Personally, I like larger screens because my eyesight isn’t great. If you are lucky enough to not need glasses, then you’ll probably have no issue with a smaller screen.

Touchscreen Capabilities

This is an added extra rather than a requirement. Touchscreen laptops are generally 2-in-1 laptops.
Essentially, these are laptops that can flip or disconnect from the keyboard to become a tablet.

It’s a bit of a flashy trick but it can make things like writing on documents and drawing much easier than using a trackpad.

Again, for internet browsing, this isn’t necessary but it can make the laptop a bit more useful if it can turn into a tablet.

For more information on what to look for in a web browsing laptop, watch this video:

Frequently Asked Questions

Do laptops have built-in WIFI?

Unfortunately, not.

However, you can get laptops that have 3g data plans just like your phone or tablet. These need to be bought through a cell service company like AT&T or Verizon.

The selection is quite limited and you’re more likely to see tablets or 2-in-1 laptops like a Microsoft Surface Pro offered.

Do I need internet security software?

Yes. A thousand times yes!

I know it’s a bit of a hassle to select the right level of coverage and it’s an added expense. However, in the long run, it will save you a lot of money on laptop repairs. Not to mention it keeps your data safe from evil internet pirates.

Most laptops will have some form of antivirus or internet security pre-installed. Usually, this is a trial offer. Make sure to get some form of protection after the trail.

You can get basic security software for free from a lot of companies.

Is an internet browser the same as a search engine?

No.

A browser is a piece of software that is stored on your laptop. It allows you to access the internet when opened.

A search engine is a website that you can use to search the internet.

You don’t need to install search engines but you do need to install browsers.

If you wanted to, you could have multiple search engines open within one internet browser by opening new tabs.

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