The best Chromebooks for kids are the ones you can afford, which is why we've collected the top Chromebooks across multiple price ranges. Chromebooks are a natural fit for students and classrooms, as they've long been heralded for their kid-friendliness and simplicity.
But don't let the simplified interface fool you: The best Chromebooks can offer your child a full computing experience, with optional Linux integration as well as Android apps.
All Chromebooks are not the same, so we've collected a variety of favorites below. Some are more rugged, while others convert from laptops to tablets. They don't all have touchscreens, either. Port selection for plugging in peripherals (like an additional keyboard and mouse) varies as well.
These are the best Chromebooks for kids we've seen to date, based on our own hands-on testing and reviews.
The best Chromebooks for kids you can buy today
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If you're looking for a device that doubles as a tablet, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is a solid choice for under $300. It comes with a detachable keyboard with a touch-sensitive trackpad, just like on traditional laptops. Plus, in tablet mode, the Chromebook Duet has a great optimized version of Chrome that makes it easy to see what's in your other tabs. Don't plan on co-opting this device when your child is done with it, though—the keys are most definitely kid-sized.
The Duet's 10.1-inch display is impressively sharp for a tablet at this price, and the speakers are loud enough that your child can hear instructions without headphones. Coupled with nearly 13 hours of battery life, the Chromebook Duet is an affordable double-duty performer. The tablet mode is so capable that your kid can finally have their own and you won't need to share yours with them anymore.
Check out our full Lenovo Chromebook Duet review.
Acer’s Spin 311 is exactly what many people expect of a Chromebook: Small, inexpensive, and capable enough to handle work and light play every day. For students, children, or anyone looking for an extremely portable machine that gets the essentials right, the Spin 311 is a solid choice that can compete with some of the best Chromebooks of comparable price. Right now the Acer Spin 311 is just $199 at Amazon, but only for Prime members.
It’s a highly functional unit with one of the best laptop keyboards we've yet seen on a Chromebook. And while the dim, low-resolution screen isn't exactly a joy to watch movies on, that may not be a big problem when it's primarily intended for school use. However, the screen — built with tough, antimicrobial Gorilla Glass — should be durable enough to handle some heavy use, making it a great choice for kids.
Read our full Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review.
The Lenovo Duet 3 (or Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3, depending on where you buy it) is a great Chrome tablet that can be yours for as low as $359. This is effectively a bigger, more expensive follow-up to the Chromebook Duet Lenovo released in 2020, which still crowns this list thanks to its versatility, durability and affordability.
We loved the original Duet for its great battery life, solid performance and decent packed-in keyboard cover, all of which could be had for roughly $250. Lenovo's new Duet 3 costs a bit more, but it also delivers a bigger, brighter display, more ports, and the added power of a beefier Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chip. It's one of the best Chrome tablets you can buy — one of our editors chose this Chromebook rather than an Android tablet — and the fact that Lenovo includes the keyboard cover at no extra cost helps it double as a surprisingly effective 2-in-1 Chromebook. While the original Duet further is a better buy if you're short on cash, those who can afford it will be well-served by this excellent Chromebook.
Read our full Lenovo Duet 3 Chromebook review.
For something with a little more power still in the Asus family, there’s the Chromebook Flip C434. People like this one for its premium design, featuring thin display bezels and a sleek aluminum exterior. The 14-inch touch screen is large and vivid and can last up to 10 hours on a full charge.
Unfortunately, you’re not gaining anything in ports with the price uptick, since the slim design of the Chromebook Flip C434 takes precedence. There is a USB-A port and two USB-C ports, as well as a microSD card insert. You might consider budgeting for a compatible adapter for this particular Chromebook or an external mouse, as its touchpad is a bit too finicky to be precise. If you need more power, Asus offers this model with either a Core i5 or Core i7 processor with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage for $650 and $700.
If your child needs a big screen, a powerful processor, and 8GB of RAM, consider going all-in on the Acer Chromebook 714. This laptop comes in several configurations, including a latest-generation Intel Core i3 and Core i5. The one we suggest for older kids is priced at $650 for the Core i3 and 64GB of storage, though you can get the $500 variant with a 2.3GHz Intel Pentium 4417U and still get it bundled with 8GB of RAM. That’s plenty of memory for sifting through tabs in Chrome and launching multiple apps at a time.
Whichever hardware configuration you choose, you’re getting the same all-aluminum, aesthetically-pleasing chassis on the Chromebook 714 along with a backlit keyboard and a responsive touchpad. The exterior is also fingerprint-resistant, so it stays looking smooth, and there’s a fingerprint scanner for locking up the device from the prying eyes of nosy parents. The only caveats to consider here is the Chromebook 714 doesn’t have the most vibrant display or boomy speakers.
How to choose the best Chromebook for your kid
Kids don't need all the bells and whistles of a premium Chromebook. They need something functional enough to check them into class and help facilitate participation. Chromebooks running lesser-known processors such as the MediaTek Helio P60T and the Intel Celeron N4000 are undoubtedly able, but they're not workhorses akin to the Intel Core M3 and Core i5 processors. For something more powerful and capable of flying through several Chrome tabs at a time, plus Android apps where applicable, 8GB of memory is a minimum requirement. At the very least, you won't have to worry about discrepancies in battery life between the models mentioned here because education-focused Chromebooks run on the least-taxing specifications.
For a child who is mostly stuck at the desk doing schoolwork, a traditional laptop-type Chromebook will suffice, though you'll want to choose an exterior that's easy to wipe down when messes occur. If your child prefers a mouse to navigate, select one with a standard USB input. It simplifies the process of connecting a mouse, and you don't have to worry about buying a compatible USB-C dock. For squirmier tykes, a 2-in-1 Chromebook tablet has the same functionality as a desk-bound Chromebook, but with the flexibility of doing schoolwork in a beanbag chair or another extremely comfortable situation.
When it comes to screen size, an 11-inch display is ample enough for younger kids. Older kids and middle-schoolers will benefit more from a larger display, or anything 13-inches and over. If you don't like the display of the Chromebook--perhaps it's a bit washed out, or you realize it's uncomfortable for your child--you can always invest in the USB hub mentioned above to tack on HDMI and connect to an external monitor.
Lastly, since Chromebook models aren’t typically refreshed annually, be keen on whether or not the Chromebook model you choose will receive software and security updates down the line. Most of the Chromebooks featured here are set for updates until 2026. (Google offers a helpful support page if you want to look up a specific model.) This ensures compatibility with software and that your child’s laptop isn’t exposed to any major security vulnerabilities. You may have to perform some manual parenting maintenance to ensure the device stays up to date.
How we test the best Chromebooks for kids
To find the best Chromebook for kids we run every machine we review through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use.
We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter. For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include JetStream 2 (a Web-based benchmarking suite that runs over five dozen tests designed to measure how well systems handle the kind of applications they’re most likely to encounter on the Internet) and a custom battery test that tasks the machine with browsing the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.
