The Best Laptops For Video Editing under $1000 will pack powerful features and specifications. The more you spend, the better the laptop you will buy. This article will highlight the best premium options, the cheapest options that beginners can buy plus an explanation of the most important factors you need to consider before you buy.
What are the best laptops for video editing under $1000?
Best Overall: Acer ConceptD 5
An impressive large-screen laptop with a high 4K resolution. Powered by a powerful Intel Core i7 processor with 16 GB RAM and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 2060 graphic card.
Best video editing laptop under 1000$
- Acer ConceptD 5: Best Overall
- Apple MacBook Air: Best Runner-Up
- Lenovo Legion 5: Best 4k Laptop Video Editing
- HP Pavilion Flagship 15.6: best cheap laptop
- Acer Aspire 5: best budget
- Acer Swift X: Most Portable
- Acer Nitro 5 – best gaming laptop for video editing
- Asus VivoBook 15 – The best laptop for video editing under $500
- ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022): best budget laptop under 500 for video editing
Acer ConceptD 5: The Best Laptop For Video Editing under $1000
- Screen Size: 15.6 inches, IPS Display
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Pixels 4K UHD
- Processor: Intel Core i7 Processor
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL
- RAM: 16 GB
- Backlit Keyboard
- Security: Fingerprint Reader
- Storage Space: 1 TB SSD
- Windows 11 Pro
- Battery Life: 9 hours
- Connectivity: Thunderbolt ports on both sides of the laptop plus SD cards support
The Acer ConceptD 5 Creator Laptop is our best overall pick. It has a sleek and durable all-metal design with thin modern bezels around the front screen area. This futuristic looks and feels like a premium laptop and is very attractive for creatives.
It comes with a stunning large 16-inch screen with crisp and clear 4K UHD resolution at 3840 x 2160 pixels. The IPS Display and 4K resolution screen will allow you to view your videos in rich and vivid colors and edit both 4K and 5K videos without lags. Colors might seem slightly over-saturated but will not affect your edit quality.
To enable smooth running and multitasking, this laptop comes with a powerful Intel Core i7 Processor and 16 GB RAM which is capable of multitasking running both Design software like Photoshop and more complex video editing software like Premier Pro or Final Cut.
Although it has a dedicated AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, that further speeds it up, I noticed that it was generally slow when rendering videos. It was however not too bad and I can work with it.
Raw video footage is usually very large sized. This means that video editors must consider the storage space size on their laptops. You will need a lot of space to install applications and save both your raw photo files and raw video footage. Laptops with SSD hard drives are faster and more silent than HDD ones.
The Acer ConceptD 5 comes with a 1 TB storage space SSD which will be fast in file retrieval and turn edit videos faster without any lags.
If you like working on the go or away from the office, the laptop has an improved battery life lasting up to 9 hours which is more than a full day working period. The battery life matches other more expensive models like the Predator line of laptops. Video editing professionals like it because you can continue working even with power interruptions or during your travel.
For connectivity, you will have Thunderbolt ports on both sides of the laptop plus SD card support. This is perfect for professionals who keep moving their edited files to other devices. Additionally, it allows you to use external storage options which is perfect.
Pros
- Durable metallic build with a slim and modern design
- Long battery life
- Powerful performance that allows it to be used for a variety of professional tasks such as Graphic Design
- Quiet Fans even when running complex applications
- Large storage space with Thunderbolt ports on both sides plus SD card support
Cons
- Colors will appear over-saturated
- Poor Speaker Quality
Apple MacBook Air: Runner-Up
- Screen Size: 13.3 inches
- Resolution: 2560 x 1600 pixels Liquid Retina Display
- Processor: M1 Chip
- RAM: 8 and 16 GB
- Storage: 256 GB to 2 TB SSD
- Backlit Keyboard
- Security: Touch ID
- Battery Life: 18 hours
The MacBook Air, just like the MacBook Air Pro 13, has a powerful ARM-based Apple M1 chip. This processing power combined with 8 and 16 GB RAM options has qualified it to be second on this list. It will run video editing software without any problems whatsoever.
The M1 processor is very system-friendly and will run 3.5x faster while consuming less power. This means that your 18-hour battery life will usually sustain your system for the whole video editing day and more without having to recharge regularly.
Just like the Acer ConceptD 5, you will have an ergonomically designed backlit Keyboard and a slim and sleek design. Additionally, it also has a Touch ID option for security. Unfortunately, it is slightly smaller than the Acer ConceptD5 with a 13.3-inch screen size and 2560 x 1600 pixels Liquid Retina Display resolution.
This display type on this laptop is unique. It has P3 color gamut support making the screen display colors with great accuracy. This is an essential feature for you as a video editor.
The Apple MacBook Air has excellent power and can handle massive projects like 4K videos and Final Cut Pro without any lags or noise. It has the recommended SSD storage hard drive with a variety of sizes from 256 GB to 2 TB SSD. One downside is that you will not be able to use a MicroSD card to upgrade the storage despite 256 GB being too small.
Storage upgradability is a challenge and you will have to buy the larger size laptops every time you wish to upgrade. MacBook Air like many Apple devices does not come cheap.
Pros
- Long Battery Life at 18 hours
- 3.5x faster M1 Chip processor
- Large RAM
- Backlit Keyboard
- Great display with high-resolution
Cons
- Expensive
- Poor storage space upgradability
Lenovo Legion 5 – Best Laptop For 4k Video Editing
- Screen Size: 15.6 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Full HD
- Brightness: 250 nits
- AMD 6-Core Ryzen 5 4600H
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage Space: 1TB SSD
- Backlit Keyboard with MTC Mousepad
- GeForce RTX 1650Ti Graphics
- Windows10
- Battery Life: 15 hours and 13 minutes
- Dimensions: 14.3 x 10.22 x 0.94 inches
- Weight: 5.07 lb
As the best overall, Laptop For Video Editing Under 1000$ this Lenovo Legion 5 does not top for no reason. First, is the unique design and external build visible through the beautiful shine of the aluminum lid and diamond-cut edges.
At first sight, you will love the Lenovo Legion 5. The sturdy lid houses the vitals of the laptop while the plastic base ensures everything else is held in the right place. The hinges are strong, thus enhancing user experience by guaranteeing a steady screen with no wobbles.
As a video editing laptop, the keyboard with dark gray keys is highly responsive, with a well-lit backlit keyboard that’s colorful enough for a poorly lit environment. You will enjoy typing and gaming with this one. The large touchpad, covered in Mylar, guarantees accuracy and smoothness.
As a video editor, it requires large sizes of storage memory and very fast RAM. This laptop provides you with two SODIMM slots that allow storage of up to 64 GB of memory.
It has an expansive battery life of up to 15 hours and 13 minutes, while online and 9 hours for video playback. In regards to the display, this laptop offers a selection of options for QHD and FHD panels both with a refresh rate of 165 Hz.
Its overall brightness is key and colors are true to color as the contrast ratio which stands at 1130:1 is enough for its normal functioning.
Pros
- Expandable and upgradeable storage and memory
- Features a MUX switch
- Courtesy of the AMD Ryzen CPU makes it easy to handle complex workloads.
- Provides powerful GPU options.
- The CPU and GPU have an internal mechanism for temperature control
Cons
- The fan gets noisy, with an overload.
- Ghosting happens as a result of a slow time response
- Quite difficult to access the laptop’s internals.
- Substandard speakers
- Lousy webcam
Acer Aspire 5: best budget laptop for video editing
- Screen Size: 15.6 inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor: 3.5 GHz ryzen_3_3350u
- RAM: 4 GB
- Graphics Card: AMD Radeon Vega 6
- Storage Space: 128 GB SSD
- Security: Fingerprint Reader
- Backlit Keyboard
- Battery: up to 10 hours
The Acer Aspire 5 is one of the cheapest laptops for video editing with a large screen and the longest battery life in this review. The laptop runs for up to 10 hours, way above the other laptops in this review that range between 5 and 8 hours of battery life.
The screen size comes in at 15.6 inches which is large and comfortable enough for video editing. Additionally, full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution meets the optimal recommended resolution.
Unfortunately, the screen uses an LED technology display which is not the best. As mentioned earlier, IPS screen display technology is more clear and more recommended. A good 3.5 GHz Ryzen Processor and AMD Radeon Vega 6 graphics card, help you easily multitask when using this laptop.
Unfortunately, the RAM and storage space is low at 4 GB and 128 GB respectively. The storage space is adjustable, but the RAM will be a challenge when tackling complex 4K video edits.
The main feature that stands out for this laptop is its large screen size and Full HD resolution. This will provide a perfect display for video editing on either Adobe Premier or any other editing application. Although it is good enough for simple photo editing and graphic design, the weak specifications will highly limit its video editing capabilities.
Pros
- Large screen size with Full HD resolution
- A good 3.5 GHz Ryzen Processor and AMD Radeon Vega 6 graphics card
- Affordable Price range
- Backlit Keyboard
- Fingerprint recognition
Cons
- Low 4 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD storage
HP Pavilion Flagship 15.6: best cheap laptops for video editing
- Screen: 14 inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Pixels FHD
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7
- RAM: 16 GB
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
- Storage: 512 GB SSD
- Battery Life: 6 Hours
As a laptop with the best dual storage, this laptop doubles up as an awesome video editing laptop as well as an incredible gaming laptop. It features the AMD Ryzen 5000-series CPU.
Fully Core i7 configured, the HP Pavilion is fitted with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD fitted with Nvidia graphics. For this budget, you get an awesome set of graphics within this laptop for your project.
The exterior is made of plastic, but very sturdy and solid. The keyboard has the keys decently spaced to allow movements of the fingers swiftly from one key to the next. On the right of the keyboard is the responsive Numpad for your calculations.
On the sides of the laptop are numerous ports with different functions: three USB ports, one USB-C port for video output and data transfer as well as an HDMI 2.0 port. Please note these ports are not usable for charging.
You can use the battery for up to 6 hours, and the base gets quite hot and loud when it gets busy. On the lower side, you might need to add an external microphone as the internal one is not as clear as you would expect.
Pros
- Little to no throttling.
- Expandable RAM
- Excellent NVIDIA graphics suitable for video editing
- Fast and powerful processor.
- Suited with ample connection options i.e. Wi-Fi 6 as well as ports.
- Upgradable storage
Cons
- In extreme use, the laptop gets hot, and loud and slows down.
- It has a limit to its display levels of brightness.
Acer Swift X – Best Budget
- Screen Size: 14.0″ Full HD IPS
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1165G7
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
- Security: Fingerprint Reader
- Keyboard: Back-lit KeyboardP
- Ports: USB Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 2.0, HDMI
- Battery Life: Up to 16 hours
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home
- Weight: Approximately 2.65 lbs
- Dimensions: 12.73 x 8.62 x 0.63 inches
- Additional Features: Includes a 32 GB USB Card
At just 3 pounds, with a 17.9 mm thickness, the Acer Swift X video editing laptop stands out as an ultra-slim portable laptop within this bracket. The size defies all odds, by housing the strong 16-thread powerful processor on AMD’s Ryzen 7 5899U. That runs the laptop quite fast, courtesy of the discrete Intel-made GPU.
It has a 14” display, with full 1920 x 1080 Pixels Full HD capabilities. Along the sides are slim bezels and the hinge that holds everything together.
It stands out over other laptops, because of its extensive battery life. For instance, you can watch your movies at maximum display brightness for close to 6 hours.
Such a decent watch time especially if you are exporting a video after editing. `It also features a collection of ports for data transfer and connectivity notably missing is a micro SD card reader port.
The touchpad has a smooth feel to it, complemented by the spacious keyboard even though at first use one might feel its shallowness. Take or hold virtual meetings through the webcam that produces good images but with little noise and grain.
Pros
- Excellent 2.5k display
- Numerous ports
- Superb GPU performance
- Versatile multi-core performance
- Light in weight
- Exceptionally long battery life
Cons
- Lacks a memory card reader slot
- Noisy fan
Acer Nitro 5: Best Gaming Laptop
- Display: 15.6 inches
- Resolution: 1920 by 1080 Pixels Full HD
- Processor: Intel Core i5
- RAM: 16 GB
- Camera: 720p webcam
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
- Storage: 256 GB or 512 GB
- Battery Life: 8 Hours
- Connections: USB-C ports, HDMI 2.1 ports, RJ45 ethernet jack, for LAN internet connection.
Acer Nitro5 is what we’d call a basic laptop with exemplified features to aid your video editing skills. It is thick, and bulky as it weighs 5.51 pounds measuring 10.67 by 1.06 inches.
It fits perfectly in a regular backpack. Secondly, you will notice ports on three out of four edges. The ports have different functions.
For instance, the two ports on the right are USB 3.2 charging ports for other devices such as smartphones even in sleep mode. The other USB-C ports and HDMI 2.1 ports perform other functions. Notably, it has an RJ45 ethernet jack, for LAN internet connection.
The display’s resolution is 1920 by 1080, with a refresh rate of 144Hz. It measures 15.6”, with a surrounding of bezels which makes it thick.
In line with that, is the 720p webcam located above the display. Going down is the standard keyboard, conjoined with a number pad on the far right of the keyboard housing. It is smooth to use but with basic key design. You will not miss a regular-sized touchpad on the left part of the deck.
In regards to performance this Nitro 5, is fitted with the Intel Core i5- 12500H processor. Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU. The RAM is 16GB while the internal storage is 512 GB of SSD storage. Enough specs for your video editing tasks.
Pros
- Incredible functional port selection
- Budget-friendly
- Excellent display, with a great no-frills finish.
Cons
- Low storage capacity for heavier projects.
- Low battery life
ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022): best budget laptop under 500 for video editing
- Screen Size: 15.6″
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels FHD Display
- Color gamut: 100% sRGB
- Processor: Intel Core i7
- GPU: GeForce RTX 3060
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 512 GB SSD
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- Battery Life: 8 Hours
The ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022) is another budget laptop for video editing. Just like the Acer Aspire, it features a large 16-inch screen size with an impressive Full HD resolution.
Although it has an older Windows 11 Home operating system, the ASUS TUF Dash F15 features a better Intel Core i7 processor and 16 GB RAM. This will perform like premium laptops under 1000$ and is perfect for 4K and 8 K video editing.
You will have a slower Intel Core i5 processor but we recommend you avoid it for the best experience. To save files and install applications, you will have a large 512 GB SSD storage space and a modern Windows 11 operating system.
Pros
- Powerful Processor and large RAM
- Good display
- 8 hours battery life
- Good value for money
Cons
- Intel Core i5 processor is slow
- Poor Color Gamut or accuracy
Asus VivoBook 15 – The best laptop for video editing under $500
- Screen size: 15.6 inches
- Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels Full HD screen
- Processor: 10th Generation Core i3
- RAM: 8 GB
- Graphics Card: Intel UHD Graphics
- Storage Space: 128 GB SSD
- Weight: 3.75 pounds.
- Battery: up to 6 hours
The Asus Vivo Book 15 runs on one of the latest ranges of CPUs available on the market today. It runs on a 10th-generation Core i3 processor with 8 GB of RAM. The core processor plus an Intel UHD Graphics card will be useful for video editing and fast rendering.
A good processor and RAM, plus an Intel UHD Graphics card, make the laptop fast and easy to use for multi-tasking. The graphics card has a base clock of 300 MHz and a maximum of 900 MHz. This makes it faster than many other similarly priced GPUs.
The ASUS Vivo Book 15 Thin and Light Laptop takes the spot for the Best Laptops for Video Editing under $500. The body and build of this laptop greatly borrow from ASUS premium Zen Book laptops, only cheaper.
First of all, you will have more than three different color alternatives to choose from if you go for this laptop. You can either choose Slate Grey, Transparent Silver, or Peacock Blue.
We liked these 3 color options and leaned more toward the sleek Transparent Silver as the best look. The colors appear on top, but the back is a sturdy polycarbonate material.
The silver and slate gray colors contrast with the black keyboard and white lettering for a nice, cool look. The keyboard is also backlit for a cool look, especially in low-light conditions. What’s great is that the backlight is adjustable, and you can even turn it off to save battery life.
Keys are spaced out, like on a MacBook Pro keyboard, for a comfortable typing experience. Unlike the back, the mouse and keyboard area is smooth and feels nice to feel and touch when using.
To add to the ergonomic keyboard design, the slight angular tilt on the keyboard makes it comfortable to use as you type. The tilt is also important as a cooling system for the laptop, with cold air flowing underneath. The space also allows for a good sound experience.
When it comes to durability, the laptop’s body is made of strong polymer with a matte color body and shiny aluminum coated logo finish, which makes it feel and look like a more expensive premium laptop for almost half the price.
The screen is perfect for video editing, with a 15.6-inch size. Additionally, it is full HD with 1080p resolution. The matte finish of the screen also reduces the amount of light emitted and protects your eyes. Additionally, the screen is free from light reflection because it will not show reflections in the room.
Despite this, the overall verdict on the screen is not the best because of several factors.
Although the screen is great for indoor use, using it outside is a challenge because it only displays 230 nits of brightness. Furthermore, the low-light matte screen makes the colors appear less vivid and colorful, even with great resolution.
The LCD screen technology is older than the current IPS technology. This is evident, especially when most graphics appear unclear when you view the screen from an angle.
ASUS did a great job on the specs and pricing of this laptop, but they compromised on some important aspects that could have made this the perfect laptop.
What should you Consider when Buying a Video Editing Laptop?
A good laptop for video editing must have specifications that are ideal for running video editing software. If not, you will experience annoying lags when you try to edit your videos. Below are some of the most important specifications to have in mind when choosing the best laptop for video editing under a $1000 budget.
Processor (CPU)
A good processor and RAM will also determine how fast your computer works during editing. For the best experience, we recommend Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i9 with multiple cores. The more Cores on your CPU, the faster the processing.
A large RAM will ensure smooth multitasking without lags. We recommend 32 GB but 16 GB RAM is not bad. More RAM will be better for large video files and editing 4K video files.
Graphic Processing Unit (GPU)
Nvidia RTX 3080 and some AMD Radeon versions are ideal for editing videos. For the best experience, choose a laptop with a dedicated graphics card and high Video random-access memory (VRAM).
Make sure your selected video editing software is compatible with your GPU for the best experience.
Monitor Size
A large display with high resolution and accurate color display is recommended for video editing. Full HD or 4k resolution and above is the best.
Storage Space
Raw footage is usually very large. To work efficiently you need a Laptop with large storage space to save files and install your editing software. A fast SSD with partitioned configuration with space for operating system and saving files is recommended.
Other accessories that can speed up your workflow include a programmable mouse and keyboard. You can set the keys to your favorite go-to functions when editing.
Top Picks for the Best Video Editing Laptop under $1,000
| Feature | Acer ConceptD 5 | Acer Aspire 5 | HP Pavilion Flagship 15.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Best overall | Best budget | Best cheap |
| Screen Size | 15.6 inches | 15.6 inches | 14 inches |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 Pixels 4K UHD | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 1920 x 1080 Pixels FHD |
| Processor | Intel Core i7 | 3.5 GHz Ryzen 3 3350U | AMD Ryzen 7 |
| Graphics Card | AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL | AMD Radeon Vega 6 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti |
| RAM | 16 GB | 4 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage Space | 1 TB SSD | 128 GB SSD | 512 GB SSD |
| Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Security | Fingerprint Reader | Fingerprint Reader | Fingerprint Reader |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Home | Windows 10 |
| Battery Life | 9 hours | Up to 10 hours | 6 hours |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much RAM do you need for video editing?
For the best experience, we recommend 32 GB RAM. 16 GB will still work but might be slow when editing 4K videos. If you want a regular graphic design laptop for editing Photos or vectors, then 8 GB RAM is ideal. Laptops with 4 or 2 GB RAM will be too slow. They are best suited for simple office tasks like working with Microsoft Office applications.
If you are editing basic videos or photos, a 2.5 Hz Intel Core i5 processor will be good enough. However, it will be slow in rendering and lag a lot when you try to edit 4K videos and above.
A 2.5 HZ quad-core processor is good enough for basic video editing. However, for optimal performance or editing 8K and 4K videos, 3.0 Hz speed is the best. This is because of the heavy nature of these types of videos. For the best experience with such large files, we recommend Intel Core i7 or Core i9. The best display will have Full HD or 4K resolution and above. Larger screen sizes are better than smaller ones.Can you use a laptop to edit videos?
Yes, there are laptops that pack features powerful enough to be used for video editing. However, not all laptops can be used for this task. When choosing the best one, it is important to consider the screen size and resolution, Processing power, RAM, Storage space, and battery life.
Can you use Chromebooks as laptops for video editing?
Chromebooks have a low storage space and run on a ChromeOS. It is therefore not possible to use them as video editing devices. Their specifications and operating systems can not run many of the standard editing applications available.