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 Dell Inspiron Touchscreen Laptop is a budget-friendly option for those needing a laptop for video editing. It is powered by an Intel Quad-Core i5-1155G7 processor, which should provide sufficient performance for basic video editing tasks. Its 32GB RAM is more than adequate, ensuring smooth multitasking and rendering processes. The 1TB SSD offers ample storage space for storing large video files and fast read/write speeds, which is crucial for video editing efficiency.

The 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, with its anti-glare and touchscreen features, provides a decent visual experience, although the 220 nits brightness might be low for some users who work in brighter environments. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics is a downside for intensive video editing as it may struggle with more demanding tasks compared to a dedicated GPU.

The laptop includes a good range of ports (USB, HDMI, headphone/mic jack, SD card reader) and connectivity options (Wi-Fi 5 & Bluetooth), which is beneficial for connecting external devices and peripherals. The Windows 11 Pro operating system is robust, and the inclusion of a numeric keypad is a plus for those who need it for data entry or shortcuts. This Dell Inspiron model is a strong contender for budget video editing with its ample RAM and SSD, though the lack of a dedicated graphics card may be a limitation for more serious video editing needs.