A laptop doesn't make a great impulse buy, like a pack of gum in the checkout line or a weird thingamajig you saw in a TikTok livestream.
Of course, if the computer you depend on for work, school, or entertainment randomly decides to kick the bucket, it likely requires immediate replacement (after recycling or repurposing it). Most people, however, can and should strategize before investing in a new machine they hope to use for years to come.
First, decide what's most important to you: a laptop with minty-fresh specs, or a laptop that costs less than usual? From there, I can point you to several key times to buy, based on my historical knowledge of laptop launches and deals. With the holiday shopping season approaching, I'll tell you upfront that we're heading into the best time to buy a laptop if you want the best bang for your buck. But if you're not quite ready to lock in, Black Friday isn't the only time to shop.
If you want the latest specs
For future-proofers and shoppers with cash to spare, splurging on the laptop of the moment can be more appealing than buying an older model at a discount.
Best time to buy: At launch
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a tech industry trade show that happens every year in January, is basically ground zero for next-generation Windows laptops. Major manufacturers like Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, MSI, and Razer treat their booths as runways for new computers with the latest processors, graphics cards, and/or cutting-edge features. Think rollable displays, weird lid attachments, and touchpads with built-in media controls.
While some of the laptops showcased at CES are just prototypes, many are fully fleshed-out devices, and a batch of them are available for preorder or purchase shortly after the event wraps. The rest typically hit the market by March or April.
There are two lone alpha wolves who don't make appearances at CES, one being Apple, which is known to take a couple of different approaches to new laptop launches. Apple usually hosts formal keynote events to mark an upgrade, which the public can watch via livestream. Other times, it just drops an unceremonious press release. That said, the company is pretty consistent about updating its MacBook Air and Pro lines annually. You can usually count on seeing new MacBook Airs in the spring (March or June) and new MacBook Pros in the fall (October or November). In 2026, Apple also dropped the first budget laptop, the MacBook Neo, alongside the M5 Air.
Microsoft also opts out of CES in favor of holding its own Surface laptop launch events, which typically happen in the spring (March or May) or fall (September or October). It's been operating on a two-year release cycle lately.
If you want a good deal
Any opportunity to save money is ultimately a win, especially after a year full of price increases (thanks, RAMageddon). Certain times of the year feature more (and steeper) laptop deals than others if you can overlook specs for a stellar value.
Best time to buy: On or near Black Friday
The fourth Friday in November isn't treated with the same sort of reverence it once was: Ever since Amazon started hosting Prime savings events in the fall, prompting other retailers to jumpstart their own year-end sales, "Black Friday" has become an informal season that lasts from early October into late November. Still, it remains the best time of year to grab a great laptop deal — and it's not just because stores like to take advantage of the holiday shopping surge.
Laptops get extra cheap around Black Friday (to the tune of 20 to 50% off) because it syncs up with when retailers and manufacturers are trying to offload their inventories ahead of next-gen refreshes at CES. For laptops that debuted at the beginning of the year, which are about to age out of their "current-gen" moniker, this often translates to year-round lows that knock hundreds of dollars off their normal sticker prices. Older laptops that are at least one generation removed, meanwhile, can plummet to the lowest prices of their entire lifespan as they're priced to move. (I've encountered some ancient Chromebooks on sale for less than $100 on Black Fridays past.)
Apple and Microsoft might not operate on the same product cycles as everyone else, but they often see rock-bottom discounts on older MacBooks and Surface laptops at third-party retailers (Amazon and Best Buy, in particular) during Black Friday. They also tend to drop initial deals on newly launched models. On Black Friday 2025, for example, they took $200 off the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro that debuted three weeks prior.
Apple and Microsoft technically host their own Black Friday sales, too, but they usually aren't much to write home about. The famously stingy Apple Store only doles out free gift cards or accessories with the purchase of older MacBooks, and the Microsoft Store's prices are often trounced by its third-party peers.
To wait or not to wait...
The real debate concerning Black Friday laptop deals revolves around whether consumers should shop early or hold off on buying until Black Friday proper, in case prices get even cheaper, and the answer boils down to whether you're eyeing specific models or specs. Retailers still reserve some deals for the actual holiday (always the Friday after Thanksgiving) even if their sales are weeks or months long, so it can be worth waiting to see which laptops get featured in that primetime slot. The trouble is that we rarely know what those featured laptops are ahead of time — and by the time they're live, the model you really wanted may be backordered or back to full price.
If you're married to a certain spec sheet and don't just want a good deal, period, I generally recommend buying a laptop as soon as it gets added to a Black Friday sale's roster. In the off-chance its deal improves, you can always tap the retailer's holiday price-match guarantee and/or return policy as a fallback plan.
Second-best time to buy: During back-to-school season
Whether it's a multitasking MacBook for a college freshman or a basic Chromebook for a fifth-grader, a laptop is a given on most school supply shopping lists. As such, laptop prices dependably tank in the summer to tempt students, their parents, and teachers preparing for the upcoming semester — typically from mid-June to early September.
The back-to-school season is so major for laptop purchases that it's the only time outside of Black Friday when the Apple Store runs one of its "sales," throwing in free gift cards or accessories with MacBook purchases from early June through early October. That's in addition to its usual education pricing, which saves students, parents, and faculty $100 on select MacBooks year-round.
It's worth mentioning that Amazon's flagship Prime Day sale falls during back-to-school season, and it's one of the only times when shoppers can source a slew of legitimately good laptop deals there besides Black Friday.
Crucially, Prime Day can also be lucrative for laptop shoppers because it prompts other retailers to run competing sales that often match or beat Amazon's prices. (Best Buy's Prime Day counter-programming is usually Amazon's toughest rival when it comes to tech deals.) Prices aren't quite as low as they are on Black Friday, but it's still enough to make Prime Day worth marking on your calendar.
Third-best time to buy: Over holiday weekends
Retailers are partial to offering deals on big-ticket tech purchases like laptops over federal holiday weekends, the big ones being Presidents' Day weekend (in mid-February), Memorial Day weekend (in late May), the Fourth of July, and Labor Day (in early September, coinciding with the end of back-to-school season). You won't find extreme discounts like you do in the thick of back-to-school season or Black Friday, but they're above average for the "off-season."
Honorable mention: Buy right after new models are announced
Pay attention to new laptop launches even if you don't want the latest tech, as they often trigger quiet sales or price drops on the older models they're replacing. For most laptop brands, this usually means deals start trickling out after the CES dust settles in late January and into February.
Apple and Microsoft refreshes are, again, a little less predictable timing-wise, but they're just as reliable when it comes to previous-gen discounts. You might recall the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air getting a permanent $100 price cut when its 15-inch counterpart debuted, then another $100 chop once the latest M3 version materialized. And the original Surface Laptop Studio went on sale for $500 off the week after its successor was announced.
How to tell if you're getting a good laptop deal
Being wary of third-party sellers and cross-checking listings between laptop retailers and manufacturers are two of the best ways to ensure you're making a smart purchase. I also recommend appraising discounts using price-tracking tools like camelcamelcamel and Google's Shopping Insights feature. They can tell you whether a laptop you're considering has ever gone on sale for cheaper, if at all.
Finally, consider bookmarking Mashable's shopping experts' deals coverage. In recommending laptop deals, we personally vet every single discount and stick with trusted sellers. Whether the computer you buy is brand new or just new to you, we strive to ensure you can confidently say your money was well spent.