Best Time to Buy a Laptop: Monthly Price Calendar 2026

After tracking laptop prices across 47 models for the past three years, we've identified clear patterns in when prices drop. Buying at the right time can save you $100-400 on the same laptop. Here's the month-by-month breakdown.

The Annual Laptop Price Cycle

January-February: Post-Holiday Clearance

Retailers clear holiday inventory. Last-generation models see 15-25% discounts. This is one of the best times to buy if you don't need the absolute latest processor.

The ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED typically drops $100-150 during this window as retailers make room for spring refreshes.

March-April: New Model Announcements

Intel and AMD announce new processors at CES (January) and ship them in March-April. Current-gen laptops get small discounts ($50-100) as retailers anticipate new inventory. Not the best time to buy — wait two more months.

May-June: Pre-Summer Sales

Memorial Day (late May) brings 10-20% discounts across the board. This is the second-best buying window of the year.

Memorial Day is especially good for: Gaming laptops and premium ultrabooks. The Apple MacBook Air M3 often sees its first significant post-launch discount around Memorial Day.

July: Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day (mid-July) brings aggressive laptop discounts, but mostly on last-gen models and budget options. Premium laptops rarely see deep Prime Day cuts. Gaming laptops from ASUS, Acer, and Lenovo typically see the best Prime Day deals.

August: Back to School

The back-to-school season runs mid-July through early September. Student-targeted laptops see 15-25% discounts. Apple offers education pricing year-round but adds gift cards ($100-150) during their back-to-school event.

The Acer Aspire 5 is a perennial back-to-school favorite that drops to its lowest price during this window.

September-October: Transition Period

New models are fully in stock. Last-gen models are being cleared. Modest discounts (10-15%) on outgoing models, but nothing spectacular. If you need a laptop now, buy the new model at full price — it'll hold its value longer.

November: Black Friday / Cyber Monday

The single best time to buy a laptop. Discounts of 20-35% are common across all categories. Even Apple products see meaningful discounts from third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.

Read our full laptop guide →

December: Holiday Shopping

Prices creep back up from Black Friday lows but remain 10-15% below regular retail through mid-December. Last-minute shoppers pay near full price.

Category-Specific Timing

Gaming Laptops

Best: Black Friday (November), Prime Day (July) The ASUS ROG Strix G16 dropped 28% on Black Friday 2025.

Business Ultrabooks

Best: Memorial Day (May), Black Friday (November) Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell XPS lines see their deepest discounts during these windows.

MacBooks

Best: Back to School (August — Apple gift card promo), Black Friday (November — third-party retailer discounts) Apple rarely discounts directly, but Amazon and Best Buy consistently offer $100-200 off.

Chromebooks

Best: Back to School (August), Prime Day (July) Chromebook prices are already low, but they routinely drop to $150-200 during these sales.

Budget Laptops (Under $500)

Best: Prime Day (July), Black Friday (November) Budget laptops see the most aggressive percentage discounts because retailers use them as door-busters.

Price Tracking Strategy

Don't trust "was" prices on Amazon. Retailers regularly inflate the reference price before a sale to make discounts look bigger.

Use CamelCamelCamel (camelcamelcamel.com) to view the complete price history of any Amazon product. Install the browser extension and you'll see a price chart on every Amazon listing showing the real highs and lows.

Set price alerts. CamelCamelCamel and Honey both let you set a target price and get emailed when the product drops to that level. Set your alert at 15-20% below the current price and wait.

Check multiple retailers. Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Costco, B&H Photo, and manufacturer direct stores all run independent sales. The best deal on any given day might be at any one of them.

Read our full ultrabook guide →

The Bottom Line

If you can wait, November (Black Friday) is the best month to buy any laptop. If you can't wait that long, Memorial Day and Prime Day are your next best bets. And always check the price history before buying — if a product is at or near its all-time low, pull the trigger regardless of the calendar.

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