The 25 best Labor Day laptop deals

Labor Day is a big deal in the laptop industry. Retailers need to reduce the stock of products that came out earlier in the year to make room for new launches during the fall. That’s great news for you, since it means big sales on new laptops that were just released. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and more are offering excellent deals during the holiday.

Also: The best Labor Day 2024 deals: Shop Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and more

It also just so happens to coincide with back-to-school sales, making it a great time to spring for a new device. We’ve gone hands-on with dozens of laptops and computers this year and kept watch over some of the best deals. Here are the best deals we’ve encountered so far on a variety of laptops from different price points. 

Our favorite laptop deals for Labor Day 2024

• Apple MacBook Air M1 for $649 (Save $50): Walmart is offering Apple’s M1 laptop for a price drop. It’s one of the least expensive ways to get a brand-new, lightweight Mac with excellent performance.
• Acer Aspire 3 for $439 (save $60): Acer Aspire laptops are some of our favorite budget models on the market. Grab the Aspire 3, a great machine for everyday use, for even less at Walmart this weekend.
• Galaxy Book 4 Pro 360 for $1,299 (Save $600): Samsung’s sleek and ultraportable 2-in-1 convertible comes with a gorgeous 16″ dynamic AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, and an included S Pen stylus. The Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and up to 16GB of RAM make for a high-performing and versatile laptop/tablet combo.
• Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 for $825 (Save $104): One of our favorite 2-in-1 laptops is marked down for Labor Day, just in time for college students looking for a new device to take to campus. It’s a portable, flexible, and high performing 2-in-1 that we called out in our hands-on review for being a great bang-for-your-buck option. 
• Apple MacBook Air 15″ for $1,099 (Save $200): Apple’s M3 MacBook Air is as high-performing as it is portable, with a thickness of less than half an inch and Apple Silicon’s powerful M3 processor. 
• MSI 16″ Creator 16 AI Studio Laptop for $2,929 (Save $70): We went hands on with this behemoth of a laptop earlier this year and praised it for its massive memory capacity, powerful processor, and 2TB of storage. This is the studio laptop, and it comes with an NPU for embracing AI-powered workflows.
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 for $1,096 (Save $303): We went hands-on with the latest generation of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon line earlier this year and were impressed with its smart design and high performance. Last year’s version is still a solid choice, however, especially at $300 off.
• HP Newest 14″ Ultra Light Laptop for Students for $249: If you’re looking for a portable, inexpensive laptop to bring to school or the office, it doesn’t get much more affordable than this. 
• MSI Prestige 13 for $799 (Save $250): We tested MSI’s Prestige 13 earlier this year and couldn’t help but compare it to the MacBook for its sleek, ultraportable form factor. Creators will love the performance and, at this price, could act as a secondary or travel machine that’s more than ready to tackle visual workflows. 

Best gaming laptop deals for Labor Day 2024

• Acer Nitro 5 for $850 (Save $250): The Acer Nitro 5 is a solid budget gaming laptop, particularly at this price point. It includes an Intel 13th Generation Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card.
• HP Omen for $999 (save $400): The 16-inch HP Omen gaming laptop with an Intel Core i9 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card comes with a 1 TB SSD, and is a great deal at $400 off at Best Buy.
• Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 Gaming Laptop for $3,149 (Save $490): Among Lenovo’s slew of gaming laptops, the 9th-generation Legion Pro 7i is crowned as champion. Under the hood is a 14th-generation Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card with 32 GB of memory. Plus, it has a 2TB SSD to go along with everything. Simply put, the Legion Pro 7i is a beast.   
• Lenovo 16″ Legion 5 Laptop for $1,299 (Save $300): Lenovo’s Legion line of gaming laptops has a diverse lineup of products, and if you’re looking for a gaming laptop closer to the $1,000 price point, the Legion 5 is your jam. Well-equipped with an Intel Core i9 processor, RTX 4060 graphics card, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and 240 Hz QHD display, this is a great deal for this laptop.
• Acer Predator Helios 16″ Gaming laptop for $1,129 (Save $520): Armed with an Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, and a 16-inch display with a blazing 165Hz refresh rate, this is a $1,600 gaming laptop marked down to an unbeatable price. 
• MSI Thin A15 15.6″ Gaming laptop for $849 (Save $150): With a 144Hz refresh rate monitor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, MSI’s aptly-named Thin gaming machine brings solid hardware to an ultraportable build. 
• MSI Katana A15 Gaming laptop: $1,100 (Save $200): The 15.6-inch gaming laptop has a Ryzen 7 processor paired with a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and 1TB of storage for $1,099, which is a full $200 off the regular price. 
• HP Envy 16″ Ultra XGA Touchscreen Laptop for $1,099 (Save $400): HP’s iconic line of gaming laptops combines high-performing hardware and accessibility, and this laptop is no exception. The high-end Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, 1TB of storage, and Intel Core i7 processor for just over $1,000 is a steal. 
• Acer 16″ Predator Triton Neo 16 Gaming Laptop for $1,499 (Save $400): Acer’s Neo 16 gaming rig comes with the top-tier 16-core Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, making for an absolute beast of a machine for the price. 

Labor Day HP deals

Labor Day Chromebook deals

Labor Day MacBook deals

• Apple MacBook Air M1 for $649 (Save $50): Walmart is offering Apple’s M1 laptop for a price drop. It’s one of the least expensive ways to get a brand-new, lightweight Mac with excellent performance.
• Apple MacBook Air 15″ for $1,099 (Save $200): Apple’s M3 MacBook Air is as high-performing as it is portable, with a thickness of less than half an inch and Apple Silicon’s powerful M3 processor. 

More Labor Day 2024 laptop deals

• Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 Business Laptop for $724 (Save $45): Lenovo’s quintessential ThinkPad line of laptops are durable workhorses that are designed to handle office tasks with ease.
• Dell Inspiron 15 for $399 (Save $230): With 8 gigs of RAM and 512GB of storage, this is a great sale price on one of the most well-rounded laptops on the market. 
• Lenovo IdeaPad 1 Laptop for $304 (Save $25): Lenovo’s IdeaPad 1 is a solid budget pick for a work laptop, with enough hardware to cover day-to-day productivity. 
• Asus Vivobook 15 (2023) for $269 (Save $60): Last year’s Vivobook is highly marked down, but it still has the sharp, FHD display the series is known for, along with a Ryzen 3 processor and 8 gigs of RAM. 

FAQs

When do Labor Day sales begin in 2024? 

Labor Day is Monday, September 2nd, 2024, but many products will go on sale before that date. However, we can’t guarantee that these laptops will stay at their sales prices after the holiday has passed. 

Are laptops really cheaper during Labor Day sales? 

Absolutely. Some of the markdowns on these laptops are the lowest we’ve ever seen. Labor Day holds a unique position in the calendar year because it’s after all the product launches of the first half of the year, yet before the huge ramp-up in sales for the holidays. 

When is the cheapest time of year to buy a laptop? 

Labor Day and back-to-school season are typically some of the best times a year to find laptop deals, so if you see a good one, we’d recommend jumping on it. However, if you can wait another few months, Black Friday is sure to see some of the best laptop deals of the year as well.

What is the best 2-in-1 laptop for Labor Day?

There are a few excellent 2-in-1 laptops on sale for Labor Day, including one of our most recommended picks: The HP Envy X360, which you can find for 25% off. In my review, I said that this 16-inch 2-in-1 has “all the features that consumers actually want in a convertible: a gorgeous display, beefy speakers, and a suite of hardware to back it up, resulting in solid performance and a satisfying media experience at a mid-range price point.” You can also find deals on the Galaxy Book 4 Pro 360 and the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1.

How did we choose these Labor Day deals?

ZDNET only writes about laptops that we actually think are good deals. We’ve gone hands-on with quite a few of these exact products this year, and if we haven’t, we’re at least familiar with the line of laptops they come from and their predecessors. Typically, we look for deals that are at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops. 

We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we’re recommending. Our recommendations may also be based on our own testing — in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. 

When will these deals expire? 

Deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We’re sorry if you’ve missed out on this deal, but don’t fret — we’re constantly finding new chances to save and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.