The 11 Best 11 inch Laptops (+Windows Pro) – 2024

You have to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when buying 11 inch laptops because the large majority of these laptops are VERY VERY SLOW.

That’s because these laptops still use ‘tablet’ chips for CPUs. Even in 2024.

While those CPUs are good to run apps on smartphones and all, they are NOT good enough to run the full version of Windows.

In fact…

They are so slow you might get more work done with your smartphone. 

Q: Why do they use a ‘slow’ mobile CPU?

There isn’t much space to fit in a proper and fast CPU in an 11 inch laptop. It can be done but it makes the manufacturing process very very expensive.

Q: So should I look for bigger laptops then?

Not necessarily….

There are a few laptops that can run Windows 11 Home/Pro fast…

Unfortunately….

You need to browse hundreds of 11 inch laptops to find from…

Fortunately for you…

I’ve already done that work for you.

In fact, I own a few of these laptops myself. 

Laptop Specs for 11 inch Laptops

Before I go over these laptops…let me talk a bit about the hardware you’ll find on 11 inch laptops. I’ll summarize it here but there’s more details in the last section. 

CPU

The ideal CPU depends on the OS (Operating System. Ex: Windows, Apple OSX, etc).

Chrome OS:  Any CPU will work. Even the weakest ones like MediaTek & Atom CPUs.
Windows 10 in S Mode: Most CPUs are fine but the N4020,N4100,N4000 Celeron CPUs will work best.
OSX(Mac):  Apple’s CPUs are designed to run fast for their OS. No need to worry about CPUs.
Linux:  Any CPU works as long as you use the right distro.

Now for Windows 11 Home or Pro or Windows 12:

  • Ideally Intel Core m3/m5/Y processors. EX: M3-8100Y / M5Y3. Pentium Gold chips are good too. . Some Celeron processors MAY be fast if you have 8GB RAM (N4020,N4000).
  • Best to worse: Core i3>Core m3/m5/y5>Pentium Gold>AMD A9=AMD A6=Celeron>Pentium(not Gold)>Atom/ARM /MeditaTek*

*Those in RED must be avoided for Windows Home, green are okay, blue are great

RAM

RAM can  help offset the lack of CPU power.
How much memory depends on the Operating System:

Chrome OS/OSX/Linux: 2GB or 4GB any size is fine. 
Windows in S Mode: You can ‘make do’ with 4GB RAM.
Windows 10 Home/Windows 11: 8GB is a MUST! Not much benefit from 16GB.

If you have a celeron CPU*, having 8GB is a MUST for Windows Home/Pro


*Buy it with 8GB on-board because not all 11 inch laptops are upgradeable (most aren’t).

Storage

Most 11 inch laptops have either an SSD or eMMC storage.
If you want to run the full versions of Windows (Home or Pro), you must get one with an SSD. For all other operating systems, it doesn’t matter.

Otherwise, upgrade the storage to an SSD.

Display
If new , 11 inch laptops usually have HD or HD+ resolutions at best.
If refurbished, you may find 2k resolution displays as in the case of the HP 2024 or the Surface Go.

Top 11 Best 11 Inch Laptops in 2024 

This is going to be a long long list. I’ve tried to put the best 11 inch laptops for every operating system. I’ll start with an Apple laptop, follow up by laptops that can run the FULL version of Windows Home/Pro with NO LAG and then continue with laptops that can either run Windows Home/Pro but are rather designed for Windows in S mode. I’ll finish it off with 3 Chromebooks, one of which I own myself.

A brief summary of the 11 11 inch laptops to save you time:

Laptop 1: OSX (Apple) OS. Can run Windows Home/Pro through Bootcamp. Fastest of all laptops on the list.
Laptop 2-6:  Traditional Laptops & 2 in 1 Laptops that run Windows Home/Pro with good performance.
Laptop 7-8:Cheap laptops that lack CPU power for Windows Home/Pro but work well with Windows in S mode.
Laptop 9-11: ChromeBooks Laptops & 2 in 1 ChromeBook Tablet Laptops.


Apple MacBooks

1. 11 inch MacBook Air

Best 11 inch Laptop Under 500

  Intel Core i5 1.4- 2.7GHz

  4GB RAM LPDDR3

  Intel HD

  128 GB SSD 

  11.6 inch HD Glossy

  2.2lbs

  13 hours+

  OSX  Catalina (upgradeable to Sonoma)

  x2 USB 3.0 ports / Mag Safe Power Port / Apple thunderbolt port / Headphone jack

It’s been three years since the first revision of this post  and I have been featuring the 11 inch MacBook Air first throughout the years and this year 2024 too simply because it’s still the best 11 inch laptop.

As of 2024, you can even find it under $300.

Sure you can find windows laptops that are near 11 inch  and just as fast but they’ll be very very expensive.

Now…

Although the 11 inch MacBook air was discontinued and you’d have to buy a model from 2014. They’re still VERY VERY fast (you can click the link and read the reviews if you’d like).

Why is it fast? It’s the CPU. It’s got an Intel Core CPU as opposed to Celeron or Pentium chips.

If you check the screenshot below, I’m playing a game, programming and having many many web browsing tabs open. It’s otherwordly how an old and small laptop can do this.

Though mine is almost 7 years old , it still works and the only thing that stopped working was the charger which I had to replace (I dropped it).

  History

The 11” Macbook Air was released after the original 13” MacBook Air which has released in 2009. Back then it was widely known as the best laptop to the point that it quickly became popular among writers and programmers. Why? it was thin, lightweight and had an insane amount of battery for its time plus it had a keyboard that Steeve Jobs himself took part in designing.

There was a different MacBook released a few years after in efforts to make it even more portable: The New MacBook which you can still find in 2024 as refurbished on Amazon. It’s basically a 12” MacBook Air   with a retina resolution however with no ports. 

Back then you had three choices for a thin lightweight macbook: MacBook Air 13 and 11 inch plus the New MacBook (12”). Apple wanted to  promote its “New MacBook” so the 11” MacBook Air was discontinued , that is , no newer versions have been released since 2016. 

The 13” MacBook Air was later on replaced by the “New MacBook Air” which took a completely design with the keyboard & trackpad. Eventually they reverted back to the old design, which Steeve Jobs took part in desining, because people missed the old design.

Because Apple kept changing the design of their MacBook Airs and even go as far as replacing the 11” MacBook Air. People out of desesperation bought  11 inch and 13 inch MacBook Airs just in case they became obselete, especiall writers like myself. I bought 3 back then…this is why you can still find so many to buy as refurbished and sometimes as almost ‘New’.

  Hardware

Before I chose the 11” MacBook Air for the list, trust me I checked at least 200 laptops (almost all the results on Amazon too) and still found the 11” MacBook Air as the only laptop with an Intel Core CPU as opposed to much slower Pentiums, Celerons & Arm chips. I found a couple of 10 and 11” Laptops (they will be listed soon) with an Intel Core CPU too but not as fast as the MacBook Air’s Intel Core i5 CPU.

SSD vs eMMC

Most 11 inch laptops will have eMMC storage which is still BETTER than regular old fashioned HDDs (Spinning Drives).However, eMMC flash drives are not as fast as Solid State Drives (SSD) and have much less capacity. The SSD of the latest 11 inch MacBook Air (2015) uses the NVMe interface plus 2 lanes of the PCIe 2.0 connection, compared to the eMMC, its much closer to the modern PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD on 2024 laptops.

  Performance

With the Intel Core i5 and even with the 4GB RAM model you can do the following multitasking:

  • 20 tabs open with Chrome
  • Large spreadsheets with plugins open
  • Zoom 
  • Programming with an IDE or the terminal

And still have NO LAG.

I have done the above and replaced Zoom with a game like WoW and still had no lagging issues (graphics settings to low of course).

I used my 11 inch MacBook Air to run some serious computatinal physics. ( I used to run simulations on how to  backtrack a particle with the direction given as it arrived on earth, the goal was to backtrack it to the end of galaxy). 

  • While waiting for results I could run facebook, play music, and browse the web still with no lag.

  Design

I recommend you pick this model over the “new MacBook” models. The reason is beause it’s got the same design steeve jobs took part in:

  • It has the good old USB + thunderbolt port + MAGSAFE powercord
    • The magsafe is EXTREMELY useful to keep your laptop away from drops. The power cord magnetically attaches instead of being ‘plugged in’ so if someone trips over the power cord since the cable is weakly attached to the power port, it’s not going to send your laptop flying.
  • It has the best keyboard and trackpad designed on MacBooks.
    • It has the original scissor-switch mechanism as opposed to the criticized butterfly keyboard.
  • The trackpad on MacBooks has three finger functions , is more responsive and a lot bigger than what you find on bigger laptops.
    • Since you’re buying the 11 inch Model, you may accidentally use the trackpad due to the keyboard area being too small.
  • Battery life (if new or near new) should be the same as the newer MaBooks too due to the low resolution display and low power CPU.
    • The refurbished ones with the lowest battery lives should last approx 6 hours as you use it on a trip sharing cellular data.
  • If you replace the battery or buy a near new model it should last more than 10 hours.

What about Windows? I want to run Windows!

You can install Windows on this laptop. In fact, I did and you can use choose to either use Windows or OSX (Mac OS) when you turn on your computer. The process of installing windows is done through bootcamp.

11 in MacBook Air
PROS CONS
  • Runs Windows Home/Pro & OSX
  • Runs dozens of web tabs
  • Can play games at low settings
  • Multitask with somewhat heavy software
  • Fast SSD
  • Extremely thin & lightweight
  • Fast Processor
  • Low resolution display
  • Found as refurbished
  • Battery varies between 7-13 hours (depending on seller)

Windows Home & Pro

2. Microsoft Surface Go 3

Best 2 in 1 11 inch Laptop -Windows  Home/Pro

  Intel i3-10100Y

  8GB DDR4

  Intel HD 615

  128GB SSD PCIe NVMe

  10.5 inch FHD IPS

  1.18lbs (w/o keyboard)

  10 hours

 1 x USB-C (can be used for power delivery), Surface Connect Port (For Surface Dock)

  Windows 11 Pro

Now let’s talk about the TWO best windows laptops which have 11 inch or smaller displays. These laptops…

  •  COME with WINDOWS Home or PRO
  • AND which you will NOT have to switch another operating system due to lack of performance. 

We’ll start with the most expensive one but lighter Surface Go.

 Hardware

This is the ONLY small sized laptop that has the PROPER hardware to run the full version of Windows. It’s got both:

  • The 8GB RAM requirement (DDR4)
  • The fast Intel Core CPU

Now, the intel Core CPU here is not the same Intel Core CPU we all know of . It’s not a Core i5 or a Core i3, it’s an  Intel i3-10100Y which is a MOBILE CPU. Even though it’s a mobile CPU, it’s still much FASTER than Intel Celeron or Pentium CPUs. It’s really the best you can hope for a small laptop or computer device. You will never find a full blown an Intel Core i5 or Core i3 CPU (Ex: Core i5 1240P) on a small laptop. The reason is: size & cooling, there isn’t space for either on an 11 inch device.

As a bonus it has an SSD which will ALSO aid in launching software and multitasking between several software much faster. It’s only got only three ports however: USB-C port, headphone jack and a surface connect port. The latter can be used for charging & connect a Surface Dock which allows you to expand the number of ports and thus connect a mouse, keyboard, display, etc…

The cool thing about the surface connect port is that it’s just like the MacBook’s “magsafe” port, it attaches magnetically so it’s less prone to accidents.

  Performance

Performance will be FAST for Windows 11 and Windows 12 DESPITE the fact that this is not a full blown Intel Core. On benchmarks, the Core m3 chip is just as fast as the older generation Intel Core CPUs.

Because you also have 8GB and an SSD, you can expect to have the same performance as the MacBook Air we discussed before. That is you can have the following set up and still be lagless:

  • Zoom
  • AAA Game at low settings or Youtube playing in the background
  • MS Office
  • Chrome + Several Tabs Open

You can also easily edit videos and photos with the good ol’ software you know of: Adobe Premiere & Photoshop. 

  Design

The most salient feature of the design is the weight and thinness. It’s 10.5 inches diagonally and so thin it’s very easy to carry around without a backpack or suitcase. Some models have an LTE connection.  The TouchScreen is very responsive so feedback is quick, pretty much like an iPad or a smartphone. 

Thus, if you get one of those models, you can use it sort of a big cell phone while standing somewhere.

The keybaord so you see on the picture is sold separately. If you decide to buy it, it will turn into a regular laptop. It also attaches magnetically and with the rear Kickstand using it on a plane or train tray is comfortable.

The battery lasts about 10 hours. This is expected due to the low power CPU and the small display. 

The only real issue with this laptop is the display brightness, it cannot be used with direct sunlight on it you will not be able to see the screen contents.

Surface Go 3
PROS CONS
  • Fast Core i3 CPU
  • Runs full version of Windows (Pro or Home)
  • Runs game at low settings
  • High performance Multitasking: Ex.2-3 software + Chrome tabs
  • Thinnest laptop on the list
  • FHD display
  • Expensive if New
  • Keyboard & Stylus sold separately
  • Only 1 USB port (2 ports total)

3. HP ProBook x360

Cheap 2 in 1 – 11 inch Laptop

  Intel Core i3-10110Y

  8GB DDR4 LPDDR3

  Intel UHD 615

  128GB SSD

  11.6 inch HD TN display

  3.2 lbs

  10 hours

  NO

 1 x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack ,1 x HDMI ,2 x USB Type-A 3.1 , SD Card Reader, x1 USB Type C port

  Windows 10 Home (Upgradeable to Windows 11)

This is the second laptop I was able to find that’s both CHEAP and has the high end hardware to run Windows 11 or 12 without hiccups:

  • It has the same CPU as the Surface Go 3 which is FASTER  MUCH faster than Celeron & Pentium chips.
  • It has 8GB RAM DDR4.
  • It has the 128GB SSD

It’s also a 2-1 in one notebook but it’s a little too heavy to give you the same functionality as the Surface Pro Go 3 (3.2lbs vs 1.18lb) though you can use it as a tablet while sitting down or watching movies. You cannot use it as a tablet standing up or a cellphone replacement for any ocassions your smartphone runs out of battery because it’s too heavy to carry around with one hand and quiet thick too. 

Display: display brightness is high so unlike the Surface Go 3 you’ll have an easier time using outdoors or next to windows with strong sunlights. However, the resolution is LOW. It’s only got HD resolution as opposed to FHD. This will limit you to pretty much using one window at a time for whatever software your using and you’ll have to ALT+TAB if multitasking.

Performance: Nonetheless the performance should be the same as the Surface Go 3. You can have run several programs at once and even play AAA games at low settings because it also has 8GB RAM. You can have dozens if not a hundred of web browsing tabs open and still feel no lag.

HP ProBook X360
PROS CONS
  • Brand New models are cheap
  • Runs full version of Windows (Pro or Home)
  • Runs game at low settings
  • Can be used as a drawing tablet + notebook for notes
  • Fast Intel Core CPU
  • HD display
  • Somewhat heavy
  • On the thick side
  • Relatively Heavy

4. Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e 

Best 11 Inch Laptop – Lenovo

   Intel Pentium Silver N5030 

  8GB RAM DDR4

   Intel HD 600

  256GB SSD

  11.6” TN Display HD

  3.51 lb

  10 hours

  USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, HDMI, MicroSD card reader,  Ethernet port

  Windows 11 Home

This is a laptop with an Intel Pentium CPU that can run the full version of Windows (Home or Pro) with no lag.  Why?

 Hardware

Because although the CPU is weak for Windows Home or Pro, it has an SSD and 8GB RAM, both are HUGE performance boost that can offset the lack of CPU power. The CPU is Intel Pentium Silver, although generally Pentium CPUs are slower than Celeron CPUs, this Pentium CPU is either as fast as the best Celeron CPU or slightly faster. 

  Design

Despite being small it is somewhat of a ‘thick’ laptop. It’s about .9 inch thick and weighs 3.5 lb. The extra weight is due to the thickness and the fact that it has a ruggerized cover which is good for protection against falls and mishaps. The extra thickness and space also allows for lots of ports to be ready available.

The main issue with this laptop is the display. It’s only got 720p resolution (like the vast majority of 11 inch laptops) and low brightness levels (250 nits). It is however a touchscreen display and if you buy the stylus you can also use it as a tablet. 

Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 11e
PROS CONS
  • Good performance with Windows Home/Pro
  • 8GB RAM & SSD storage
  • Accurate touchScreen Display
  • Long Battery for a 2 in 1 Laptop
  • Cheap 2 in 1 touchscreen laptop
  • Not as fast as Core m3 CPUs
  • Low brightness display
  • Thick and Heavy

5. ASUS VivoBook L210

Best 11 inch Laptop – ASUS

  Intel Celeron N4020

  4GB DDR4

  Intel HD 

  128GB eMMC

  11.6 inch HD TN display 1366×768

  2.31 lbs

  10 hours

 1 x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack ,USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, HDMI

  Windows 11 S (Upgradeable to Windows 11 Home)

I’ve been posting this model for the past few years now. The reason is simple, it’s still one of the most popular 11 inch laptops. Hundreds being sold each month (you can click the link to check the stats yourself) mostly because it is extremely cheap (180 dollars or so). It’s probably the cheapest laptop in the entire list.

 Hardware

Nothing special about it. It’s the usual hardware you find on 11 inch laptops and ChromeBooks:

  • 8GB RAM, Celeron CPU, TN 720p display and 128 eMMC Storage

As for the webcam and microphone, the mic works great, no screeching sounds and registers sound accurately. The webcam is decent, a little low quality but hey it’s 180 dollars laptops. For school purposes , if you are a student, it will do. If you are a teacher you may have to think about the low quality camera.

  Performance

Because it’s running Windows in S mode, performance is decent. You can multitask between apps and have a dozen tabs open before you lag. I wouldn’t advice you to install  the full version of Windows 10 Home on this machine though. It’s going to run somewhat OKAY during the first few weeks but as bloatware, software and files collect, it will run extremely slow.

Stick with Windows in S mode and you won’t be yelling at your screen everytime the computer freezes. 

Another option is to install…

Linux:  I personally like this guide . If I were you I’d try to use a youtube video and find a tutorial on it. It’s pretty easy but it will take some time. If you install Linux, then you’ll be able to install all the third party software you want while at the same time being able to launch several apps simultaneously with no lag. 

For this model, I always recommend you use Ubuntu or else you may have issues with the wireless card not being recognized. If you decide to try another Distro and get wireless card issues, get a USB WiFi Antenna and call it a day. 

  Design

Unlike the cheap 11 inch laptops we went so far, this one is thinner and lighter plus it has all the ports you’ll ever need:  x2 USB ports, USB-C port, SD Card Slot, HDMI port and of course the headphone jack. The only port missing is the ethernet port.

Keyboard and TrackPad: 

Keyboard is decent. Space between keys, the size of each and their travel (push down) distance ( which is high) makes it hard, to accidentally press the wrong key making it easier to type fast. The delete key however is positioned unconventially, you may mistake it for the power button and accidentally send your laptop to sleep the first few weeks.

You won’t feel as cramped as the usual 11 inch laptop. Keyboard has no backlit.

Trackpad quality is excellent no need to buy a separate mouse unless you want to speed up your workflow. There’s also a numbpad on the trackpad, perfect for those crunching numbers on sheets too. 

ASUS VivoBook L210 
PROS CONS
  • 128GB Storage
  • Good for Windows S mode
  • Cheap & New
  • Long Battery 
  • Lightweight & Thin
  • Great Trackpad & Keyboard
  • Includes a Numpad
  • Not good for Windows Home
  • 4GB RAM
  • Slow CPU for Windows Home
  • No SD Card Reader

6. Dell Latitude Pro

Fastest 11 inch Laptop

  Intel N200 

  8GB RAM LPDDR5

  Integrated UHD Graphics

  128GB SSD

  11.6” HD 2 in 1 TouchScreen

  2.98 lbs

  10 hours

  Windows 11 Pro

  x2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ; 1 x HDMI; 1 x Headphone/microphone combo jack

This is the last laptop on the list that can handle Windows 11 Home or Pro. I know I posted several 2 in 1 laptops so far but this one is special. 

It’s the most powerful WINDOWS laptop on this list   

In other words, this is a 2 in 1 laptop touchscreen laptop that has an insane amount of power relatively speaking of course.

 Hardware

If you look at the CPU name, it’s not celeron , nor pentium, nor Core m3. It’s a new chip based on the alder lake architecture which is just as fast as some of the slightly older Core i5 CPUs! 

On top of that it runs on DDR5 RAM, the latest and fastest RAM type available on laptops as of 2024.

It also has the SSD on check.

Basically, this laptop should in theory perform even faster than the more expensive Surface Go 3 and the good ol’ MacBook Air.

  Design

There’s no catch!

It can turn into a tablet just like any premium 2 in 1 laptop. The keyboard however is not detachable, it’s soldered to the base of the laptop. If you flip back the keyboard however it turns into a regular tablet. The Touchscreen quality is good enough for drawing, playing sensitive to touch games and writing equations.

Display:  It’s a regular 720p display. Do not make the mistake of thinking it’s a 4k display as it says in the description. It’s a mistake by the seller it’s meant to say Intel UHD graphics which is the name of the graphics card.  Camera doesn’t work well I wouldn’t pick it up if my work relied solely on a high quality camera.

It weighs around 3 lbs and it’s about .9 inch thick.

Dell Latitude Pro
PROS CONS
  • 128GB Storage
  • Latest RAM : DDR5
  • Best bang for buck hardware wise
  • Fastest & latest CPU designed for 11 inch laptops
  • Somewhat thick & relatively heavy
  • Only cheap if bought refurbished

 


Windows in S Mode

7. HP Stream 11

Best 11 Inch Laptop Under 250

   Intel Celeron N4000 

  4GB RAM DDR4

   Intel HD

  32GB eMMC

  11.6” TN Display HD

  2.5lb

  10 hours

 1 x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack ,1 x HDMI ,2 x USB Type-A 3.1 , Micro SD Card Reader, x1 USB Type C port

  Windows 10S (Upgradeable to Windows 10 Home – not recommended)

The HP Stream 11 is still one of the most popular 11 inch laptops we have to list it in 2024 too.

Here’s what I think about the HP 11 Stream:

It’s a VERY VERY SLOW & USELESS LAPTOP if you plan on running the full version of windows (Home or Pro).  Why? The hardware is BAD!

 Hardware

The CPU is too slow. It’s not even the fastest Celeron CPU. Also RAM is only 4GB and it’s soldered. Soldered RAM means it cannot be replaced. There’s no additional slot for you to upgrade it to 8GB RAM.

Storage: It’s eMMC. This is faster than HDDs but not as fast as an SSD. So you won’t get any performance boosts to run the full version of Windows.

  Performance

However…

If you run Windows in S mode. That’s another story. The hardware is neither good nor bad for Windows in S mode or LINUX. Either OS will run FAST with 4GB and the celeron CPU. You can also multitask between applications and run several apps/software with those two operating systems as shown below:

  Design

It’s not a heavy laptop but it’s thick. Some colors are kid-like: purple, cyan, red, etc. If you’re not using this for school but rather work or writing, then there’s also other colors to choose from.

The trackpad is bad, plain and simple, just bad. You’re going to need an external mouse. If you decide to buy this laptop you have to buy it.

The storage is slow but for Windows in S mode it’s okay. The problem is the storage capacity, it’s too low and this laptop cannot have the storage taken out or upgraded. So you also have to buy an external SD Card and permanently attach it to the SD Card Reader.

HP Stream 11
PROS CONS
  • Cool design for kids
  • Decent keyboard for a 200 dollar windows laptop
  • Very Cheap
  • Lots of ports
  • Fast Performance for Windows in S mode
  • Lightweight
  • Slow Performance with Windows Home/Pro
  • Cannot run high performance games
  • Not ideal for video editing/photo editing
  • Only useful for School Work
  • Thick
  • Low resolution Web Cam
  • TouchPad is not responsive

8. MicroSoft SE Laptop

Best 11 inch Laptop Under 300

  Intel Celeron N4120

  8GB RAM DDR3

  ‎Intel UHD Graphics 615

  128GB SSD

  11.6” IPS 1366 x 768 

  2.45lbs

  10 hours

  Windows SE Mode

The microsoft laptop has an 11 inch version which was released by Microsoft. The absolute main take away of this laptop is the Operating System so we’ll talk about that first.

Windows SE mode: School & Kids

Windows 11 SE a variation of Windows 11 with a few features restricted but nonetheless still more close to the full version of Windows than Windows 11 in S mode. You can install third party apps but when an app is launched you will have to use it in full screen mode (for focus purposes) and whatever you install has to be done by an administrator. Basically, it’s a trimmed down version of Windows 11 for school purposes.

Now let’s talk about the hardware…

 Hardware

It has pretty much ALMOST the same hardware requirements I outlined for those wanting to run the full version of Windows 11 (Home or Pro). If you compare the specs to the Surface Go 3 or the HP Pro X360, the two most recommended laptops for the full version of Windows in this list, the only thing that’s missing is the Incel Core m3 CPU.

  Performance

Performance is going to be FLAWLESS if you use Windows 11 in S mode or Windows 11 in SE mode. Since you have 8GB RAM and the Celeron is multicore (thought with lower speeds) you will still be able to launch several tasks simultaneously and laglessly (if that’s word) switch between these apps.

Windows Home or Pro: Now if you decide to switch out of Windows SE or S mode, there will be a significant difference in performance. You won’t necessarily lag and have to run one application at a time but you will start lagging if you use several software simultaneously. You won’t be able to have a game in the background, with MS Office plus a youtube video running in the background.

You will be able to have dozens of tabs open along MS Office and youtube though, this is enough for work purposes.

  Design

Completely different design than the Surface Go. This is a laptop not a 2-1 in device.

The display isn’t touch screen either.

It’s pretty much designed for kids & school basically an attemp to replace ChromeBooks. So it’s neither lightweight nor thin. The display resolution isn’t high either. It’s close to 720p.

Lastly, it cannot be RAM or SSD upgraded, nonetheless it isn’t likely you’ll need more RAM & Storage Space, it’s plenty if we are talking about work & school purposes.

Microsoft SE Laptop
PROS CONS
  • Cheap yet High Premium Quality Built 
  • Great keyboard
  • 8GB RAM & SSD storage
  • Runs Windows Home/Pro with decent performance
  • Lightweight
  • Slow CPU  
  • Must  format to Install Windows Home/Pro or Windows S

Chrome OS

We’ve gone through pretty much every 11 inch WINDOWS laptop worth looking at. 

Now we’ll take a look atthe top 3 best 11 inch laptops that are ChromeBooks I’ve found. I’ll explain what makes these different than Windows, what you can do to improve their usability, etc. Make no mistake, ChromeBooks though may not have Windows 11 Pro or Home, are actually MOST of the time an even BETTER choice than Windows laptops when it comes to simple tasks and schoolwork. Let’s start with my favorite.


9. ASUS Chromebook C202SA 

Resistant 11 inch Laptop with Chrome OS

   Intel Celeron N3060 1.6-2.48 GHz

  4GB RAM DDR3L

   Intel HD

  32 GB eMMC

  11.6 inch HD Anti Glare

  2.2lbs

  10 hours

  Chrome OS

  x2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ; 1 x HDMI; 1 x Headphone/microphone combo jack x1 SD Card Reader

Generally 11 inch laptops that have Windows Home or Pro (not S mode) will run somewhat slow and sometimes VERY VERY slow due to the lack of hardware that can fit in 11 inch laptops.

Chromebooks are extremely fast regardless of what hardware they have…the reason?  The operating system.

  Chrome OS

ChromeBooks do not need a decent CPU like Windows 11 or the upcoming Windows 12 will need because Chrome OS is a very very lighweight operating system. In other words, it doesn’t require good CPU power & memory to run FAST. The usual super slow CPUs (for Windows Pro or Home) like Celeron, Pentium and even Atom chips will make Chrome OS run like a cheetah.

This is why most ChromeBooks only have 4GB and some even have 2GB.

One big problem with ChromeBooks is the low storage capacity. However, since it is synced with the cloud and this is not a laptop where you can install ‘third party software’ and ‘high graphics games’ you don’t need that much space. If you do need extra space, the best way to add storage is through an SD Card. You just attach it to the SD card reader and leave it there permanently, voila you have an additional storage drive!

  Performance

The cool thing is that you can throw in some serious multitasking with Chrome OS. Since most applications are web based, they don’t take a lot of resources.

You can have MS Word, spreadsheets, NetFlix + several dozens of web browsing tabs with just 4GB while still being able to smoothly switch between these apps. 

Everything may seem to be perfect so far, so what’s the caveat?

Installing Software on Chrome OS

The downside is that you cannot install software the same way you did on Windows laptops. You cannot download from the web then click install.

All the software you can install is limited to what’s on the Android store which doesn’t mean you’ll be limited software-wise. What I mean is that you can the usual software: MS Office, Zoom, etc, basically the most widely used software since they have an app version on the Android store (the same way  phones have lots of apps ready to install on the store)

Third party Software with Linux

If you want to install third party software the same ways you did on Windows, there’s only one way to do it: install Linux on it.

Installing Linux on a Chromebook it’s like opening up a pandora’s box: millions of third party sfotware are now available including the good ol’ software everyone uses like Office, Zoom and you can even install Steam on Linux to run games.

That doesn’t mean you have to delete chrome OS, you can both on the same laptop. You can choose to boot the system with either or you can switch out of Chrome OS to Linux.

What you see a above is the exact same ChromeBook I’m recommending with Linux on it. I used Crouton (a linux Distro) which is a simple Linux Distro that lets me run some scripts for simulations.
How to install Linux?
It should take you no more than 30 min. I will write a post on how to do it but for now feel free to use any tutorial you find online. 

  Design: ASUS C202

The main reason why I picked this model over all the other ChromeBooks available is the design: it’s ruggerized all over plus the screen can be tilted back to 180 degrees. This is going to help you if you are like me and have little care for electronics.

For example, like leaving your ChromeBook near the kitchen sink, on top of the fridge or or throw it to the floor on top of a bunch of dirty clothes. 

ASUS ChromeBook C202SA
PROS CONS
  • High Performance ChromeBook
  • Very sturdy ridig design
  • Responsive keyboard
  • Rubber band all over chasis and corner
  • USB ports + SD Card Reader
  • Thick and bulky

10. Acer Newest X360 

Best 11inch Laptop  – 2 in 1 ChromeBook

  MediaTek MT8183C

  4GB RAM LPDDR4

  Integrated Mali-G72 MP3  

  64 eMMC

  11.6” HD 2 in 1 TouchScreen

  2.31 lbs

  10 hours

  Chrome OS

  1 x USB 3.1 Type-C / 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A / 1 x headphone/microphone combo; Wireless-AC

Of course there are ChromeBooks that also act like a tablet where you can even write with a stylus. This is the cheapest yet highest quality 2 in 1 11 inch ChromeBook I found in 2024. It was released last year but it’s still the top 2 in 1 .

2 in 1 TouchScreen:  It works just like a 2 in 1 Windows laptop. You can flip back the keyboard and turn into a tablet. The keyboard is attached of course. I’ve found no ChromeBooks with detachable keyboards and it makes sense because that would make them expensive. With the display shown here you can draw, play games, take notes, write equations, etc.

Stylus:  It comes with its own stylus but most of the styluses designed for ChromeBooks will work.  The stylus here looks a little like a pen but it may not be as accurate and as sensitive for accurate drawing. You want to look at the Surface Devices or an iPad if you’re looking for accuracy. However, taking notes, doing basic graphic design work,math equations it does the trick.

Display: It’s a regular 11 inch laptop display. It’s HD (720p resolution) but it has an IPS display (more accurate colors, good for drawing and designing). However, the brightness levels are too low, becomes unusable under strong sunlight.

Keyboard & TrackPad:  low travel keys. Responsive and clicky when typing. However, you don’t have a delete button, the CAPS LOCK is replaced by a search button which is almost universal on all ChromeBooks.

Other Features: It has a long battery life like every ChromeBook ~13 hours (a little on the higher end) despite the touchscreen display (which uses a lot of energy). It’s extremely lightweight 2.31 and easily fits into any backpack. There’s a lack of memory however and you cannot stick an SD Card reader to increase the memory you’ll have to either resort to using the Cloud or using a large USB stick.

Acer Newest X360
PROS CONS
  • Relatively Thin
  • Cheapest 2 in 1 Chromebook
  • Can use stylus with touchScreen accurately
  • Stylus is free
  • Responsive keyboard
  • Long battery life (13 hours)
  • Very lighweight
  • No SD Card Reader
  • Low brightness display
  • Keyboard buttons a bit unconvential
  • Slow CPU (Chrome OS is fast anyways)

11. Samsung Chromebook 4

Simple & Cheap 11 inch Chromebook

  Intel Celeron Processor N4020

  4GB DDR4

  Intel UHD Graphics 600

  64GB eMMC

  11.6 ” HD TN display

  2.6lbs

  10 hours

  Chrome OS

  1 x USB 3.1 Type-C / 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A / 1 x headphone/microphone combo; Wireless-AC

Now the final 11 inch laptop on the list is just a simple ChromeBook. No 2 in 1 features, no touchscreen display, no rubber around the chasis for extra protection, it’s just a simple laptop that runs Chrome OS.

  Hardware & Design

Hardware is the same as most ChromeBooks. Same Intel Celeron CPU & low storage. Luckily, there’s an SD card reader so you can max out storage capacity. Unlike most chromebooks it has an extra USB port apart from all the usual ports.

Trackpad is large and responsive. However, the keys have low travel so it may take sometime to get used to.

  Good option if you want something cheap with a sleek profession look.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 11
PROS CONS
  • Largest amount of ports on a ChromeBook
  • USB-c Power Input
  • Thin & lightweight
  • Decent CPU
  • Has SD Card Reader
  • Cheap
  • 10 hour battery
  • Not TouschScreen

How To Buy The Best 11 inch Laptop

Finding a fast 11 inch laptop for Windows (Home or Pro) is VERY VERY difficult. Three reasons:

  • Most CPUs on 11 inch laptops are very slow.  They go by the name of Celeron, Pentium, Atom X5 & MediaTek. 
  • Most 11 inch laptops will only have 4GB RAM. The ideal RAM being 8GB RAM because Windows 11 Home or Pro will usually require around 4GB RAM.
  • Storage found on 11 inch laptops are slower than SSDs.

The best 11 inch laptops will usually have:

  • 8GB RAM
  • SSD
  • Intel Core CPU.

This will open up the possibility to not only have a super fast workflow with the full version of Windows but also let you:

  • Do video/photo editing.
  • Play games at low settings.

Obviously, you can multitask and do everyday tasks with it. If you find an 11 inch laptop with all three specs listed above you will be able to:

  • Watch videos with no interruptions (some models freeze every few minutes).
  • Use MS Office with no lag when scrolling (freezes a bit to render new content)
  • Browse the web w/ at least 20 tabs with no lag.
  • Program with light IDEs with no lag when loading pre written functions

Pretty much anything that doesn’t require heavy use of graphics processing.

That’s really the gist of it. Now for completion purposes let me go in depth about each component.

A) CPU

Name Cores Threads Base Speed (GHz) Boost Speed
(GHz)
Cache
Celeron N4000 2 2 1.1 2.6 4MB
MediaTek MT8173C 4 4 1.6 2 2MB
Celeron N4100 4 4 1.1 2.4 4MB
Celeron N3350 2 2 1.1 2.4 2MB
Celeron N4200 4 4 1.1 2.5 2MB
Celeron N3060 2 2 1.6 2.48 2mb
Atom x5 E8000  4 4 1.1 2mb
AMD A9-9420e 2 2 1.8 2.7 2MB
AMD Athlon 3050U 2 2 2.3 3.2 1mb(l2)
AMD E2-6110 4 4 1.5 1.5 2mb(l2)
AMD A6-9220e 2 2 1.6 2.4 1mb(l2)
Intel Core M-5Y31 2 4 0.9 2.4 4mb
Intel Core i5-7Y54
2 4 1.2 3.2 4MB
Intel M3-8100Y 2 4 1.1 3.4 2mb
Pentium Gold  4425Y 2 4 1.7 2mb
Pentium 4405U  2 4 2.1 2mb
AMD A4-9120C 2 2 1.6 2.4 1mb
Intel Core i3-10100Y 2 4 1.3 3.9 2mb
Pentium Gold 4415Y 2 2 1.6 2mb
Pentium Silver N5000 4 4 1.1 2.7 4MB
Intel N200  4 4 1.0 3.7 6MB
Celeron N5000 4 4 1.0 3.7 6MB

This table above lists pretty much all the CPUs found on 11 inch laptops. The table was made 2 years ago but it’s still relevant in 2024 because CPUs are not ‘upgraded’ on 11 inch laptops the same they are upgraded on bigger laptops (there isn’t space to make more powerful CPUs). 

Here’s what the colors mean:

Atom = not good for Windows Home or Pro. Okay for Chrome OS/Windows S mode. Better for Linux

Here’s the break down:

Intel Atom

I’ve only listed ONE atom CPU on the table and the reason is: they’re slow it’s meaningless to discuss about each individually. They were chips designed for TVs , consoles or anything that doesn’t need that much CPU power.

After some time, they were slowly redesigned to be used in laptops too but even the latest and fastest Atom CPU will not give you decent performance with the full version of Windows: be it Windows 10, 11 or 12. 

This Atom chips are only good for Windows in S mode or Chrome OS

Ideally they’re better suited for Linux System. They might even be somewhat slow for Chrome OS / Windows.

Intel Celeron

These were primarily designed for Tablets which are more complex than TVs thus they are originally faster than Atom Chips even though they have the same design and architecture as Atom chips.
The difference is that they run at higher clock speeds. A few of these will perform just as well as some of the older Intel Core i3 CPUs.

Choosing a Celeron CPU for Windows S / Linux / Chrome OS OVER an Intel Core Chip isn’t a bad idea. Performance is fast for everyday tasks with the extra advantage of getting you more battery due to low power consumption

N4000 vs N3000:

The first number after the N stands for the generation. 

The 3rd generation is quiet obselete and if you find it on a 11 inch laptop, regardless of the OS, you should stay away from it.

You’ll find a similar priced laptop with the 4th generation Celeron CPUs which will be SIGNIFICANTLY faster. 

4th generation Celeron CPUs and those CPUs labeled with green (AMD Chips)  will run Windows Home or Pro with decent performance provided you have 8GB RAM and an SSD
 

Intel Pentium

These are not the ol’ fashioned CPUs from the 2000s. They have the same name but they have a different architecture and design.

The architecture is similar to the “Intel Core i3”, “Intel Core i5” and “Intel Core i7” and it also has their most salient features: hyperthreading and turbo-boost.

Performance wise, they’re not all the same. There are SLOW Pentium Chips and there are VERY FAST Pentium Chips.

In fact, many of the pentium chips you’ll find on 11 inch laptops perform worse than Celeron Chips.

The most common is shown in the table in blue and the AMD Chip with the same color has similar performance.

Intel Pentium Gold & Silver

Pentium Gold chips are somewhat faster than most celeron chips (except the 5th and 6th generation Celeron Chips: N5000). The architecture and performance is  closer to the mobile i3 chips we’ll discuss soon. 

These are very good choices to run the full version of Windows but they’re found on expensive 11 inch laptops
 

Pentium Silver Chips are NOT as fast as Pentium Gold chips, their performance is generally higher than celeron chips however. 

Mobile Intel Core Series & N200

These share the same architecture as the very fast Intel Core i3 and Core i5 chips you know of.

However, their clock speeds and performance have been ‘nerfed’ so that they can fit in small devices without requiring high control on temperatures (due to the small space available in 11 inch laptops). 

Because they use far less power (than regular Intel Core Chips) they have way more battery and are noiseless (they don’t require the same fans and ventilation system of Intel Core i3 or Core i5 Chips). 

Intel Core i3 / Intel Core i5

I have written an entire article about Intel Core i3 CPUs and another one for Intel Core i5 CPUs.

Long story short they are not found on 11 inch laptops with the sole exception of the 11 inch MacBook Air which had a Core i5 Chips specifically designed for those line of MacBooks back in 2010s.

Summary:

From slowest to fastest:   atom < pentium ~ celeron ~ pentium silver < pentium gold <= core m3, m5,5Y,3Y

More Tips:

  • If you want to compare performance of two CPUs. Do not rely solely on the clock speed numbers.
    • Architecture and design plays just as big of a role in determining performance. 
    • Use www.notebookcheck.com and check the benchmarks instead (as shown in the bar graph above).
  • The best CPU choices for an 11 inch laptop that runs Windows Home or Windows Pro is either a pentium gold chip or the mobile Intel Core CPUs in the table.
  • The rest of these processors are only good for other Operating systems : Linux, Chrome OS, etc. 
  • Celerons are a mixed bag they may or may not give you fast performance on Windows Home or Pro.

B) RAM

RAM is EXTREMELY important. I’d say just as important if not MORE important in getting you fast performance with the operating system of your choice. 

2GB RAM: this much will do for Chrome OS but the best performance will be by using Linux.
4GB RAM: This is more ideal for Chrome OS and Windows in S mode

You can safely multitask between everyday software while at the same time have several tabs open without having to worry about freezing or lag when scrolling down or alt tabbing.   

Windows Home/Pro vs 4GB RAM:

Now here’s the thing. Windows Home/Pro don’t necessarily take a specific amount of RAM (most people think it will take around 4GB). It will actually accomodate itself to use whatever RAM is available while leaving a bit of spare RAM for you to run your software. The problem is that even though you can make do with 4GB RAM, it will not be optimal performance.

Upgrading RAM on an 11 inch Laptop

However, you can offset the lack of RAM in a laptop by adding an SSD if the 11 inch laptop you bought allows for upgrades! But most have RAM & Storage SOLDERED , that is, cannot be replaced/upgraded and this is why it’s so important to know your facts about RAM & Storage when buying small laptops.
 

Below an upgrade tutorial for RAM & Storage on a 11 inch laptop. The process should be the same because the design of this laptop is similar to most 11 inch laptops that are upgradeable (most aren’t upgradeable keep that in mind!).  


8GB RAM: This is the perfect amount for the full version of  Windows 10 , 11 or 12. As of 2024 more and more 11 inch laptops are now being sold with 8GB RAM out of the box, that is, you no longer need to worry about upgrades.

C) Storage

eMMC(Flash) vs Solid State Drives

These are the two types of storage you’ll find on 11 inch laptops.

eMMC or ‘Flash’ Storage will be the most common. I’d say about 90% of 11 inch laptops will have an eMMC.

The remaining 10% will have an SSD (Solid State Drive). 

What’s the difference?

They both use the same type of memoy (NAND). Both have speeds much higher than HDDs (Hard Disk Drives or the old fashioned spinning drives you know of).

eMMC vs SATA III SSDs (one type of SSD) will have pretty much the same speed.

However, PCIe NVMe SSDs send data through lanes and have more lanes available for data transfer so they are SIGNIFICANTLY faster in transfering data than eMMC storages. (Lanes are like roads, the more roads, the more vehicles you can fit to send stuff)

Which one is best for Windows 10 Home?

Obviously SSDs, having super high data transfer speeds is SUPER useful not just for transfering files but also to boot up systems, run Operating systems and software too.

Solid State Drives are not necessarily found on ‘very expensive’ 11 inch laptops. They’re cheap these days so you may find them at the same price.

SSD: Performane Boost

If you end up with a slow 11 inch laptop or any laptop that doesn’t have an SSD.

You will massively increase performance if you can upgrade the storage to have an SSD.

In some cases, it may be all you need. Say if you have a Pentium or Celeron CPU and 8GB RAM, you MAY turn your machine into a high performance beast for everyday tasks if you add an SSD or in the worst scenario, you’ll significantly increase performance to at least be able to launch one or two software simultaneously with the full version of Windows.

It’s hard to tell what the outcome will be because it’s up to how well the CPU performs. If you have two CPUs on two different machines, the performance of each may be different due to overall design of the laptop.

eMMC storage = means not upgradable

Unfortunately, eMMC storage pretty much means you cannot replace the eMMC storage device because it is SOLDERED to the motherboard. However, some laptops have an extra slot for additional storage.

To find out just go to google and type “LAPTOP NAME + MODEL NUMBER” plus the words “UPGRADEABLE” on the google search bar and click on every website until you find any info on your specific model.

How to deal with Low Storage on 11 inch laptops?

If it’s not storage upgradable and you end up with 64GB eMMC storage (windows can take at least half of it) , you can always do either of the following: 

  • Cloud storage: Use a free cloud storage service or pay for one. Use your google account to save important files.
  • SD Card Reader:  Use the SD Card Reader to insert an SD Card memory. You can find a 128GB SD card reader as slow as 15 bucks. You don’t have to take it out everytime you store a file. Just stick it there and don’t remove it. Let it function as a permanent additional storage device.

Battery Life

11 inch laptops will generall have extremely high battery lives. Usually around 10 hours , the lowest you’ll find might 8 and the highest might be 13 hours. If you want to maximize battery life when shopping for 11 inch laptops keep the following in mind:

  • You get more battery with lighter operating systems. This is the exact order from longest to shortest battery: Linux > Chrome OS > Windows S mode > OSX > Windows Home/Pro.
  • The more powerful the processor the less battery you’ll have. Find an ideal CPU for your operating system as described in the CPU section.
    • Don’t grab Intel m3 if you are using Chrome OS or Linux. Grab Intel Celeron for example.
  • Low resolution (HD) aren’t necessaril a bad thing, they consume less power. FHD resolution are nice but can cut down battery performance by 2-3 hours.
  • Be wary of brightness levels. You can choose a high brightness display but remember to set it to low when you don’t need that much brightness. 

Comments?

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

 

Author Profile

Miguel Salas
Miguel Salas
I am physicist and electrical engineer. My knowledge in computer software and hardware stems for my years spent doing research in optics and photonics devices and running simulations through various programming languages. My goal was to work for the quantum computing research team at IBM but Im now working with Astrophysical Simulations through Python. Most of the science related posts are written by me, the rest have different authors but I edited the final versions to fit the site's format.

Miguel Salas

I am physicist and electrical engineer. My knowledge in computer software and hardware stems for my years spent doing research in optics and photonics devices and running simulations through various programming languages. My goal was to work for the quantum computing research team at IBM but Im now working with Astrophysical Simulations through Python. Most of the science related posts are written by me, the rest have different authors but I edited the final versions to fit the site's format.

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