Best Chromebooks for kids in 2023

One of the cool parts of ChromeOS, which powers Chromebooks, is that it is simple and easy to learn when compared to Windows and even MacOS. Chromebooks are also fairly inexpensive, which makes them the perfect option for a younger child. Other than that, Chromebooks are very secure, and you can even add parental controls easily. You even can play games on Chromebook via cloud gaming services like Steam, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Xbox GamePass.

So, if you’re looking for a new computer for your kid, a Chromebook is perfect for just about everything. In this guide, we’ll pick out some of our favorites for kids. We’ll be looking at various categories, price ranges, and features. There’s a Chromebook for just about every child. Here’s the full list!

Our picks for the best Chromebooks for kids in 2023

Acer Chromebook Spin 714

Best overall

All the best features

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is the best Acer Chromebook for kids. It’s efficient enough for most tasks thanks to Intel’s 12th-generation CPU. It’s also great for multimedia since the screen is set at a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, and you get a garaged stylus to ink on the screen.

Pros

• 12th-generation Intel CPUs
• 16:10 aspect ratio screen
• Good port selection
• Garaged stylus

Cons

• A little heavy
• A little expensive

If you’re looking for the best Chromebook for an older kid approaching tween years, then we suggest the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. This Chromebook is one of the best Chromebooks you can buy right now for your money, and it is certain to impress them. The specs are modern, Acer is known for making great Chromebooks, and there are many ways they can use this Chromebook (tent, stand, laptop, or tablet).

An older kid typically won’t want a slow Chromebook, and this one will be anything but. This Chromebook has a 12th-generation Intel Core i5-1235U under the hood, which is what you’ll usually find in Windows convertibles of the same nature. No matter what your kid wants to do with this Chromebook, be it installing Roblox, playing Android games, or even web browsing, it will work just fine. The 8GB of RAM and the traditional SSD will help them out, too, as both make the system speedy when compared to others on our list that come with 4GB of RAM or slower eMMC storage.

This Chromebook also has a great display and keyboard. It sports a 16:10 aspect ratio 1920 x 1200 display, which is great for multitasking and opening a lot of apps at once. As for the keyboard, it’s backlit, so if your kid likes to sneak in social media before bed, they can do so without turning on the lights.

And let us not forget the garaged stylus. Kids can draw on the screen and send notes to friends, take notes during class, and even draw pictures to share with friends. The stylus sits right inside the side of the device and won’t ever get lost. We do like the selection of ports, too, as it includes USB-A, Thunderbolt, as well as HDMI.

Of course, an older kid might travel with a Chromebook to a friend’s house or even school. For that, this Chromebook will do pretty well. It’s plenty portable, coming in a 3.04 pounds. It’s also quite thin at just 0.70 inches.

HP Chromebook x2 11

Best tablet for younger kids

Small screen for small hands

The HP Chromebook x2 11 is one of the smallest ChromeOS tablets so it’s ideal for younger kids. You also get a pen and keyboard included, so a kid can use the tablet for both work and play. The Qualcomm SoC under the hood helps with long battery life, too.

Pros

• Long battery life
• Includes pen
• Comes with keyboard case

Cons

• Not the most powerful tablet

Our top pick is for older kids, but for younger children, we suggest the HP Chromebook x2 11. You’ll get a tablet with an included keyboard that’s compact, portable, and affordable.

This ChromeOS tablet is one of the smallest out there right now. It has an 11-inch display and weighs just 1.05 pounds. That makes it perfect for a child to hold in a stroller or when out and about. It’s not too heavy. The included keyboard also means you can protect the screen when the tablet is put away.

Another reason this tablet makes our list has to do with the display. A kid might not really need a big screen at a young age, so this 11-inch display hits the sweet spot. It also packs a high 2.1K resolution and can hit 400 nits of brightness. That means movies or saved content will look great on the screen. You can save a movie to the tablet and just hand it to them to watch.

And speaking of traveling, a way to keep a kid busy is by handing them a coloring book. With this tablet, HP includes an HP Pen, so you can download drawing apps or a coloring book from the Google Play Store and have your kid color using the pen on the screen. It’s similar to what you get with the iPad Air. It just sticks to the side of the device when you’re done.

Capping things off is its great battery life. When we reviewed it, we found that it can last for the entire day thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c SoC that’s being used inside. That ARM-based SoC also means that Android apps will run great, too.

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5

Best tablet with an OLED screen

Ideal for watching movies and videos

$399 $499 Save $100

For older, kids, the IdeaPad Duet 5 is a great Chromebook to consider buying. It has a fantastic OLED screen that brings content to life, as well as an Arm-based chip inside that helps increase battery life. This ChromeOS tablet, though, is lacking in ports, and the stylus isn’t included with the purchase.

Pros

• Includes a keyboard
• Arm-based chip great for Android apps
• OLED display is vibrant

Cons

• Stylus optional
• Limited ports

While the smaller screen and smaller keyboard on the HP Chromebook x2 11 are great for younger kids. There’s still a second tablet worth considering for kids who might be older. It’s the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5. This tablet has a bigger screen, a bigger keyboard, and a much better kickstand. Yet it still has an Arm-based chip like the HP Chromebook x2 11 does, but it’s a newer second-generation version.

Anyway, the thing that made the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 great for us during our review period was the fact that Android apps ran smoothly on it, and the OLED display. The FHD 1920 x 1080 resolution OLED display really brought the content on the screen to life and made it easier to get work done. The 16:9 aspect ratio hit the sweet spot, and made colors in YouTube videos pop so that they’re crisp and alive. Even the brightness was great, with us finding that it was “off the charts.” And we can’t forget the speakers, which are loud and clear, so much so that we found you don’t need headphones.

Beyond that OLED screen, the keyboard is something that a kid will be sure to enjoy as well. It’s not cramped like other detachable keyboards might be, and the key travel is great. Combine that with the integrated kickstand, and a kid might be able to use this device for school. This is a true 2-in-1 and not just a regular cheap tablet.

Under the hood, meanwhile, this tablet has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2, which is slightly faster than the original model. We found there was no lag when using this tablet beyond just media computing and for tasks like web browsing and switching Android apps. There are just two things we don’t like about this tablet, and it’s the fact that you don’t get a stylus like you do with the HP Chromebook x2 11. Also, port selection is quite limited, making a dongle a must.

Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3

Best for education

Durable with long battery life

$170 $179 Save $9

The Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook is a great option for young students. It’s not the most powerful device, but it’s the perfect size for a kid and is really portable since it is sleek and slim. Battery life is also great thanks to the Arm-based SoC.

Pros

• Compact and portable
• Has volume rocker on the side
• Long battery life

Chromebooks are popular in education, which is why our third pick is used in many schools and is a popular buy with parents: the Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook. This sub-$200 Chromebook packs a convertible, compact form factor, lots of ports, and is overall a great buy.

For education, what matters most is portability and style since you don’t want a kid carrying a heavy laptop in their bag or even taking up a lot of desk space at home. This Chromebook measures 11.5 x 8.48 x 0.77 inches and is just under 3 pounds. If you’re keeping track, that’s about the size of a college-ruled notebook.

On CPU power, the Lenovo Flex 3 is not a high-powered device, as it comes with a Mediatek MT8183 SoC along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB eMMC storage. This CPU is popular in lower-end Chromebooks, but it’s great for powering the web-based work a kid in elementary or middle school might have.

This is one of Lenovo’s Flex devices, so a kid can pull back the screen from the hinge and fold it over and place it on the table to watch lesson replays or their favorite movies. The 11.6-inch HD display is great for this, as it comes in at 1366 x 768 resolution. It’s not that sharp, but it’ll make sure that your kid stays focused on the task at hand.

Finally, kids will get a lot of ports, including a modern USB-C port for connections to newer SSDs. Otherwise, you’ll get USB-C, USB-A, a headphone jack, and microSD card slot. There’s even a volume rocker, which makes it easy for a kid to control the volume when listening to a class lesson.

Samsung Chromebook 4+

Best clamshell

Durable with long battery life

Kids who want a traditional clamshell Chromebook will enjoy the Samsung Chromebook 4+, It has a big 15.6-inch screen tucked inside a thin and light chassis that resembles an older MacBook Pro.

Pros

• Big 15.6-inch FHD screen
• Sleek design
• Lots of configurations available

Cons

• CPU isn’t fast
• No backlit keyboard

So far, we’ve talked a lot about tablets and 2-in-1s, but kids might put those devices through abuse. If that’s something you’re worried about, then a traditional clamshell laptop is probably a better option. In this category, we suggest the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 4+. It has a big screen, decent specs, and looks good without getting too expensive.

The Galaxy Chromebook 4+ has a great form factor. On the surface, it looks a lot like a MacBook Pro, with a silver finish and a screen with slim bezels. However, it’s better for kids since it’s primarily made of plastic, which can take a lot of wear and tear.

On the surface, this device looks a lot like a MacBook Pro, with a silver finish and a screen with slim bezels. However, even though this is a 15-inch laptop, it is quite compact for what it is, but it’s still large. It measures 14.16×9.64×0.65 inches and weighs 3.75 pounds.

The screen comes in at Full HD (1920×1080) resolution. It’s not typical to see this in a Chromebook of this size. If you hand this over to a kid, they’ll be able to multitask and open more than one thing on the screen.

In terms of processing power, you’ll get an Intel Celeron N4000 processor paired with 4GB of RAM. You might be led to think this is slow, but Google has worked on tweaking ChromeOS for CPUs just like this one. ChromeOS is a lightweight operating system, and for the tasks a kid does (school, YouTube, or social media), this will do just fine.

We also want to mention one downside. This Chromebook doesn’t come with a backlit keyboard. Depending on how you look at it, that might be good. Your kid won’t be tempted to use it at night since the keycaps will be hard to see. Or, they can use it with your permission with the lights on in the room.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2

Best for streaming

For kids who love Netflix

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is the best Chromebook for kids who love multimedia. The Chromebook sports a QLED display which is more color-accurate than a standard IPS display. The display also supports an S Pen (sold separately) so your kid can draw on the screen.

Pros

• Vibrant QLED display
• Striking red colorway
• Affordable at under $1,000

Cons

• Older Intel CPUs
• Limited port selection

This Chromebook, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, is a long-term investment that lasts for kids who might be into streaming and watching a lot of online videos on sites like YouTube. It comes with great specs, great display, and great value, and it’s great for streaming and multimedia.

We say all that because this Chromebook is unlike any other on the market, primarily because it has a QLED panel. The panel is 13.3 inches in size and sports an FHD resolution of 1920 x 1080. QLED is important, as other Chromebooks in class have IPS and LCD panels that aren’t as vibrant. For making streaming content look as good as possible, QLED is the best option, with better contrast and more accurate color spectrums. There’s also pen support, but the S Pen is not included and will cost extra.

This Chromebook also has good processing power. This one comes with two options: the Intel Celeron 5205U or Core i3-10110U. The Core i3 option is more future-proof and ensures that you’ll have no issues in the future with Android apps or opening multiple web pages. Intel’s Core processors are higher-powered and handle multitasking a lot better.

The other thing that makes this a good long-term buy is the overall design. It’s a really durable machine that’s lightweight and thin. It has an aluminum chassis, so that means you can hold it easily with one hand and travel around with it. The keyboard is backlit, too, so it can be used at night. If there’s one thing to complain about, though, it’s the lack of ports. There are only USB-C ports. You’ll have to buy your kid a dongle to keep on hand for connections to USB drives or displays.

Acer Chromebook 516 GE

Best for gaming

Best for student gamers

Student gamers and older kids will love the Acer Chromebook 516 GE. This device was made in close partnership with Google and Acer and can run Steam games thanks to the 12th-generation Intel CPUs. It also has a 120Hz screen and an RGB keyboard.

Pros

• Vibrant QLED display
• Striking red colorway
• Affordable at under $1,000

Cons

• Older Intel CPUs
• Limited port selection

The new Acer Chromebook 516 GE is one of a handful of Chromebooks designed for cloud gaming that you’ll find in 2023. This means it is hard not to suggest for any kid who might be into video games and services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Nvidia GeForce Now and Steam. The display is amazing, as is the keyboard, the overall design, and the CPU power under the hood. Just keep in mind that for cloud gaming, the Chromebook will need to be connected to the internet, but most cloud gaming Chromebooks (like this one) also work with Steam in beta, so you can play games offline.

One of the top reasons we suggest the Acer Chromebook 516 GE for gaming has a lot to do with the CPU. This Chromebook is powered by a 12th-generation Intel CPU, specifically an Intel Core i5-1240P processor. With specs like these, you can install Steam in beta through ChromeOS and enjoy playing lighter titles offline that don’t need a dedicated GPU.

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE also has a great display. The device comes with a 16-inch 2560 x 1600 resolution display with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It means that ChromeOS and your games will look their best and perform smoothly. Outside of gaming, the high-resolution 16-inch panel makes it super easy to multitask.

As for the design, this isn’t a plastic Chromebook. It’s built tough; the top and bottom covers are made of aluminum, while the palm rest has a plastic finish for durability. For kids who might be rough with their devices, this Chromebook will easily stand up well against drops and the frustrations that a kid might take out on it when gaming. Just note that it’s on the larger side, at 14.04 x 9.83 x 0.84 inches and 3.75 pounds in weight.

Best Chromebooks for kids: The bottom line

We’ve now come to the end of our list of the best Chromebooks for kids. The very best Chromebook for most kids will be the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. It’s a Chromebook with a great 12th-generation Intel CPU, as well as a fantastic 16:10 aspect ratio display, that supports inking. Most kids will be able to use this Chromebook to speed through classwork and even enjoy the device for leisure tasks like using Android apps and drawing on the screen.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714

The best Chromebook for kids

With all the good features

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is the best Acer Chromebook for kids. It’s efficient enough for most tasks thanks to Intel’s 12th-generation CPU. It’s also great for multimedia since the screen is set at a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, and you get a garaged stylus to ink on the screen.

Beyond that, younger kids and adults on a tight budget will love the HP Chromebook x2 11 since it has a small screen and comes with a keyboard. Then, for education, the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3 is a durable and compact Chromebook at a great price. If you didn’t find something on this list, then don’t worry too much. There are a ton of great Chromebooks you can buy that aren’t just for kids, including specialty business Chromebooks, as well as Chromebooks for drawing. There’s a ChromeOS device for everyone to enjoy, no matter your needs.