Which is the best chromebook?

Credit: Konstantin Savusia/Shutterstock.com

There are a huge number available, so we've compiled this guide to help point you in the right direction.

Overall winners: The Dell Chromebook 11 and the Acer Chromebook 15 both take the top title, though for different reasons.

The Dell Chromebook 11 is easy on the pocket and almost indestructible, while the Acer Chromebook 15 has an unusually large screen and plentiful storage.

Although they started out as a niche - and predominantly education-based - product, chromebooks have now hit the mainstream, with manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP all offering an array of devices.

Chromebooks are designed to be used online, and to make use of the cloud for storage. This means that they do away with much of the hardware found in laptops.

The result is a cheaper, lighter machine with longer battery life.

For the purpose of this guide, we've ignored anything above £300 (chromebooks only really make sense when they're cheap).

We've also only included devices that are able to run Android apps. Chromebooks were originally designed to be used solely with Google's apps, but more recent machines provide access to Google Play store - thus vastly improving their versatility and appeal.

Acer Chromebook 15 © Acer

Price

Winner: The Dell Chromebook 11 is £215, making it the cheapest in our selection.

Cost is key when shopping for a chromebook. Though prices can reach £1,000 for Google's own-brand devices, there are plenty to choose from in the sub-£300 market.

At a glance

Though it won't win any awards for its screen size, the indestructible Dell Chromebook 11 is a good investment for £215.

Those willing to spend more can get chromebooks boasting more storage and touchscreen functionality. However, at around the £500 mark it's probably worth considering whether purchasing a budget full-size laptop would be a better option.

Dell Chromebook 11 © Dell

Storage

Winner: The Acer Chromebook 15 is the best in its price range in terms of storage, shipping with 32GB.

Chromebooks differ from normal laptops in that files are backed up to the cloud rather than being stored on the device. As the provider of the chromebooks' operating systems, Google offers 100GB of online storage with every machine.

While cloud storage is all well and good, you'll want enough space on the device itself for your offline needs, such as watching movies when there's no internet connection.

The storage capacity on individual chromebooks tends to range from 16GB to 64GB, though there are marked exceptions. The Google Pixelbook, for instance, comes with between 128GB and 512GB of storage.

Chromebooks costing less than £300 tend to ship with 16GB. Expect to pay upwards of £400 for 64GB machines.

Google Play improves chromebooks' versatility and appeal © Google

Screen Size

Winner: The Acer Chromebook 15 combines a large 15.6 inch HD screen with a relatively high resolution of 1,920 x 1,080.

Chromebooks tend to have smaller screens than laptops - for example, the Asus C101's is just 10.1 inches. Even the top-end Pixelbook is relatively small at 12.3 inches.

The reason for the smaller screens is portability - chromebooks are designed to be used on the go.

Nevertheless, there are devices available with larger screens. The Acer Chromebook 15 is the leader in this respect, with a 15.6 inch HD screen featuring the "ComfyView" anti-glare display and decent resolution.

Weight

Winner: The Asus C300SA weighs just 1.4kg despite having a relatively large 13.3 inch screen.

For a device that's designed to be carried around all day, a chromebook's weight is worth considering.

The heaviest chromebook is, unsurprisingly, the Acer Chromebook 15. Its large 15.6 inch screen gives it a weight of 2.2kg.

By comparison, the Asus Chromebook C201 (with its 11.6 inch screen) weighs just 0.9kg.

Probably the best weight-to-screen ratio however is the Asus C300SA, which has a respectable 13.3 inch screen and a weight of 1.4kg.

Build quality

Winner: The Dell Chromebook 11 is best placed to withstand the rigours of a life in transit, having passed US Military Standard testing for durability, pressure, temperature, dust, humidity, shock and vibration.

Chromebooks are designed to be more portable versions of laptops, with many targeting the student market in particular.

These lightweight machines tend to have smaller screens and a rugged body.

The Dell Chromebook 11 is the king of the chromebooks in this respect. As well as being able to survive falls, fluctuations in temperature, and a fair amount of pressure, the device also has a spill-resistant keyboard and trackpad.

More recently, manufacturers have started offering up sub-£300 chromebooks with bigger screens - great for watching Netflix or working with multiple browser windows open.

However, these machines tend to have rather thin plastic (or at best, part aluminium) bodies that aren't really up to much abuse.

Asus C300SA © Asus

Conclusion

The £280 Acer Chromebook 15 and the £215 Dell Chromebook 11 are our top picks, as both represent great value.

The Acer Chromebook 15 is the better machine in terms of screen size, resolution and comfort when typing. The Dell Chromebook is, by comparison, hardier, lighter and cheaper.

While there are better chromebooks out there, their additional cost tends to outweigh any benefits

For example, the Google Pixelbook is the best chromebook currently available, but its £1,000 price tag puts it beyond the means of most chromebook users.

Given that you can get so much without having to pay more than £300, there seems little point breaking the bank for what are, in essence, secondary devices.