If youre itching to turn your great ideas into a video but cant afford the most powerful video editing laptops, weve got you covered, with some great recommendations for video editing on a budget
In this guide, weve come up with some recommendations of fantastic video editing laptops under $1000, proving that you can still get great results without breaking the bank.
Our Recommendations
- Acer Nitro 5 Best Overall
- Apple MacBook Air [2020] Best In Features
- Asus Zenbook 13 Best Battery Life
- HP Envy x360 [2020] Best In Price
- Dell Precision M3520 Best In Build Quality
1. Acer Nitro 5
The Gaming laptop thats great for both professional tasks and gaming.
Not all of us are into gaming. Still, youll have to admit that gaming laptops come with some of the best specs for creative tasks such as video editing. Under the $1000 radar, we could only find one laptop that could trump the others, its the Acer Nitro 5.
The Acer Nitro 5 has a tremendously good performance section. It comes with a 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H Processor. The processor can be boosted up to 4.1GHz clock speed. Dont worry about your laptop heating up as it features the Acer CoolBoost technology
The GPU is much better compared to the other laptops on this list. Youll be getting yourself an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. The Nitro 5 comes with 8GB DDR4 2666 MHz RAM and 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD. You can also add another SSD later as there are 2 x PCIe M.2 slots.
The Nitro 5 has a 15 full HD widescreen IPS LED. The visuals are great as you might already know thanks to fewer bezels. This laptop has a decent battery life of 8 hours and it also has the latest WI-Fi 6 technology.
Though it lacks microSD slots, its the best laptop under $1000 for video editing. There isnt any competition.
Pros
- It features a 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H Processor.
- Up to 4.1GHz clock speed.
- The Acer CoolBoost technology doesnt let the laptop heat up.
- The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU is the perfect GPU for budget video editing.
- 15 FullHD [1920×1080] display
- 2 x PCIe M.2 slots.
- 8GB RAM and 256 GB NVMe m.2 SSD.
- Has a decent battery life of 8 hours.
Cons
- It lacks a microSD slot.
2. Apple MacBook Air [2020]
The only way to go Mac on a tight budget
There are several reasons you might choose a Mac over a PC for video editing. Some people simply prefer using macOS to Windows, and the Mac is the only platform supported by Final Cut Pro X, Apples own high-quality video editing software. If you want an up-to-date Apple laptop that costs under $1000, the MacBook Air is the way to go!
The MacBook Air might have the word Air in the name but its specs arent lightweight! The Macbook air comes with the latest 10th gen 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor. It supports Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz. And the 4MB L3 cache is helpful for multi-tasking as it accelerates the cores up.
The display of the MacBook Air is nothing new to talk of. It has a 13.3-inch [diagonal] LED-backlit Retina display with IPS technology. The retina display as we all know enhances visuals to make them more color accurate. The display has 227 pixels per inch and supports millions of colors. It also has a 16:10 aspect ratio.
The MacBook air uses SSD storage and you can get either the 256 or the 512 GB version. It also has a decent battery life of 12 hours on a full charge. Though the screen colors can seem a bit less vibrant at times, its still the best budget Mac Os computer for video editing under $1000.
Pros
- It comes with the latest 10th gen 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor.
- It supports Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz.
- The 4MB L3 cache is helpful for multi-tasking as it accelerates the cores up.
- The retina display enhances visuals to make them more color accurate
- The display has 227 pixels per inch and supports millions of colors
- Up to 512GB SSD.
- Decent battery life of 12 hours.
Cons
- The screen color can seem a bit less vibrant at times.
3. Asus Zenbook 13
Thin, light, and powerful
The Zenbook range first made a name for itself by being like a super-thin Windows PC laptop similar to Apples MacBook Air, for far less cash.
Today though, the Zenbook has acquired a personality of its own, now coming in countless variants. Great value is something that hasnt gone away though, with the Zenbook 13 offering a lot of computing power for under $1000, which makes it perfect for video editing on a budget.
The Zenbook 3 uses the latest 8th generation Intel Core i5-8250U Quad-Core Processor. The processor speed can be boosted up to 3.5GHz. It also has a 6M cache that accelerates multi-tasking greatly. The extra cache and cores are very helpful for video editing.
The storage and RAM section of this laptop is something that hasnt been tampered with. It features a fast 256GB SATA SSD and 8GB LPDDR3 RAM. The chassis is quite light at around 2.5 lbs
The display of the ZenBook 13 performs exceptionally well. Youll be getting a 13.3-inch wide-view Full-HD Nano-edge bezel display. Thanks to the nano-bezels, the visuals are visible. It also has a mammoth battery life of 14 hours. It charges quite fast too as it takes just 49 minutes to charge up to 60% capacity.
Though it lacks discrete graphics, itll hardly matter with such high specs as this laptop. For budget-oriented video editors, this could be a perfect win.
Pros
- It uses the latest 8th generation Intel Core i5-8250U Quad-Core Processor.
- The processor speed can be boosted up to 3.5GHz.
- The 6M cache accelerates multi-tasking greatly.
- It features a fast 256GB SATA SSD.
- Fast 8GB LPDDR3 RAM.
- The 13.3-inch wide-view Full-HD has nano bezels.
- The mammoth battery life of 14 hours.
- Charges fast as it takes just 49 minutes to charge up to 60% capacity.
Cons
- No discrete graphics
4. HP Envy x360 [2020]
An AMD processor brings down costs, but has what counts for video editing
The HP Envy x360 laptop series is in no way a budget brand, with a superb specification, display, and design that features a lovely reflective surface and carefully engraved hinges. The 360 in the title refers to its bonus ability to flip the screen around to be used in tablet format.
As with the majority of other manufacturers, HP lists a truly dazzling array of Envy configurations on its website, offering models with both Intel and AMD processors and varying storage and memory capacities. This time though, its an AMD-powered system that has caught our eye.
The larger 15.6-inch Envy x360 now offers AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Hexa core processor. The base clock speed of 2.3 GHz can now be boosted up to 4 GHz this means that you can buy a very high-quality HP laptop thats powerful enough for video editing and still have change leftover on a $1000 budget, without compromising on its capabilities.
Though many may doubt what other good specs this laptop has, youd be surprised mate! At such a low price youll be getting an 8GB memory and 256GB PCIe SSD. Theres also a vast selection of ports including 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, and 1 x HDMI.
Even after all these, the entry-level discrete AMD Vega graphics chip does a great job of video processing. However, the tablet mode might seem to be a nuisance to some. But other than that there isnt anything that we can nitpick about. This laptop is that great.
Pros
- The 15.6-inch display has anti-glare technology.
- The latest AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Hexa core processor.
- Clockspeed can be boosted up to 4 GHz.
- Ultrafast 8GB memory and 256GB PCIe SSD.
- Theres also a vast selection of ports including 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, and 1 x HDMI.
Cons
- Video editing doesnt particularly benefit from tablet mode
5. Dell Precision M3520
Strong Intel processors, discrete graphics and an affordable starting price
Dell has built itself an excellent reputation in the corporate world through solid build quality and dependable performance across its three main laptop series Precision, Latitude, and Inspiron, along with the premium XPS series.
All these brands have plenty of models in all shapes and sizes. Its the Precision line that is aimed squarely at visual design, with the brand new 15.6-inch Precision M3520 catching our eye as a superb modern mobile workstation for video editing.
Its not the most portable laptop on the market, trading the ultra-thin design you find on the Asus Zenbook or Apple MacBook Air for raw performance under the hood.
The base model comes in well under $1000, and that gets you a 7th Generation i5-7440HQ Processor and NVIDIA Quadro M620 2GB GDDR5 discrete graphics card that will be able to accelerate plugins that rely on graphics performance. But wed advise that you might need to tinker with the specification.
By default, it has 16GB, DDR4-2400MHz SDRAM, a low-resolution screen, and a 512GB M.2 SATA Class 20 Solid State Drive. Upgrading any one of these will still keep things within budget. Theres a generous selection of ports too as it has multiple USB 3.0 ports. The battery life of 8-9 hours on a full charge should get you through the day without much stress.
Even though the performance of this workstation is a bit less compared to other workstation laptops, keep in mind that this is under $1000. Most other workstations cost twice that. If youre looking for a workstation under $100 pick this one. You wont be disappointed.
Pros
- A powerful 7th Generation i5-7440HQ Processor
- Discrete NVIDIA Quadro M620 2GB GDDR5 graphics.
- Fast 16GB, DDR4-2400MHz SDRAM.
- Ultra-fast 512GB M.2 SATA SSD.
- A generous selection of ports
- The decent battery life of 8-9 hours on a full charge
Cons
- Not as thin or light as other options
Conclusion
We live in an age where digital video has become fantastically simple to distribute through scores of online platforms. Video is a naturally brilliant tool for anything from brand promotion to simply sharing content within a community, and if you can create high-quality video and apply a professional touch, youre certain to find an audience for it.
To create, edit and master digital video and achieve great-looking results depends not just on having a good quality camera, but also plenty of skills at using video editing software such as DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere.
You also need a computer thats powerful enough to run the software and not grind to a halt when working on more complex creations, which may involve multiple video clips, images, audio and snazzy effects.
When it comes to choosing a laptop for video editing, its fairly obvious that the most expensive, most powerful modern laptops will give you the most flexibility to create and edit complex video projects, including when rendered at 4K resolution.
Have a larger budget? Dont miss our ultimate guide forrecommendations of high-end video editing laptops.
If your budget is somewhat restricted, those costly top-of-the-range laptops will be simply out of reach. But thanks to the falling prices and increasing performance of computer hardware, even when spending as little as $1000 on a new laptop, you should expect a specification that will still be more than powerful enough for video editing.
Affordable modern laptops now come equipped with hardware thats powerful enough to run video editing software. You can expect a quad-core processor, plenty of storage and memory, and possibly even a discrete graphics card that can fit into the budget, all of which will provide a serious performance boost in video editing software.
Granted, you might not be able to work with 4K video, and instead may have to opt for a lower editing resolution of 720p or 1080p. But the specification of a video editing laptop under $1000 will not impact your creativity, and you should still be able to bring your ideas to life, even if youre on a budget.