10 Best Cheap Laptop For Video Editing 2025 in the United States

The Apple 2025 MacBook Air with the M4 chip is a lightweight and portable option that brings impressive power and efficiency for video editing in the budget category. Its 10-core CPU combined with an 8-core integrated GPU provides smooth performance for editing tasks, especially with Apple’s hardware-accelerated video processing for formats like ProRes and HEVC. The 16GB of unified memory is generous and helps run multiple apps smoothly, which is important when working on video projects. The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display delivers bright visuals with sharp details and supports a billion colors, making it great for color-accurate editing on the go.

Battery life is excellent, lasting up to 18 hours, so you can work unplugged for extended periods. Connectivity includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports and MagSafe charging, offering flexibility for external drives and displays, although the storage at 256GB SSD is somewhat limited for large video files, so external drives will likely be necessary. The MacBook Air also benefits from tight integration with macOS and Apple software, providing a smooth editing experience with apps like Adobe Creative Cloud.

While its integrated graphics may not match dedicated GPUs found in more expensive machines, which might slow down very demanding rendering tasks, this MacBook Air is a strong contender for those prioritizing portability, display quality, and battery life on a budget. However, if extensive storage or top-tier graphics power is needed, additional investment might be required.

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is a powerful gaming laptop that shows promise for video editing, thanks to its robust specifications. It features a high-performance Intel Core i7-13650HX processor, which will handle video rendering tasks efficiently. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU further enhances its capability for graphics-related tasks, making it suitable for users who work with video effects or high-resolution footage. With 16GB of DDR5 RAM, multitasking becomes seamless, allowing you to run editing software alongside other applications without slowdowns. The 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD provides ample storage space for your projects and ensures quick load times, which is crucial when working with large video files.

On the display side, the 16-inch FHD panel with a 165Hz refresh rate offers vibrant colors and smooth visuals, although it does not have 4K resolution, which may be a limitation for some video professionals looking for finer detail. The laptop is equipped with advanced cooling features to maintain performance during long editing sessions, which is a significant plus.

However, one downside to consider is its weight of 5.51 pounds, which makes it less portable compared to lighter alternatives. Battery life is also a critical factor for video editing, and while the specs don’t explicitly mention this, gaming laptops typically have shorter battery life when under load. Lastly, the gaming-centric design and features may not appeal to all video editors who prefer a more understated look.

The Apple 2024 MacBook Pro offers impressive capabilities for video editing, thanks to its powerful M4 Pro chip with a 14-core CPU and a 20-core GPU. This ensures smooth performance and efficient handling of demanding tasks such as rendering and encoding videos. The 24GB unified memory is adequate for most video editing applications, and the 512GB SSD storage provides fast access to files, although you might need additional storage for larger projects.

The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display is excellent for video editing, boasting high brightness levels, a wide color gamut, and a high resolution, which will help you see fine details and true colors in your projects. Battery life is commendable, offering up to 24 hours of video streaming, which means you can work unplugged for extended periods. Connectivity options are robust, including three Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI port, and an SDXC card slot, making it easy to connect external devices and transfer files quickly.

However, the price point may not align with the 'cheap' laptop category as Apple products typically come at a premium. While it excels in performance and display quality, it may not be the most budget-friendly option for those strictly looking for a low-cost video editing laptop.