The Best Time to Buy a Laptop in 2026: A Practical Buying Guide

The best time to buy a laptop is when a suitable configuration meets your budget and replacement deadline. Sale events can help, but neither an industry forecast nor a percentage-off badge establishes the lowest price for the PC you need.

This guide was updated on October 3, 2026. Advice to buy before June or Q3 2026 is no longer actionable. The comparison below focuses on current quotes, recent selling prices, and the cost of keeping an existing machine in service.

Why Are Laptop Prices Increasing in 2026?

Memory costs are one factor in PC pricing, alongside the processor, display, storage, warranty, inventory, and regional costs. Retail prices do not necessarily move by the same percentage as component contract prices.

In its February 26, 2026 forecast, Gartner projected a 17% increase in average PC prices during 2026 relative to 2025. That was a market forecast, not evidence that every laptop had already risen by 17% or a guarantee of future prices. It should not be used to claim that all manufacturers have implemented the same increases.

For a buying decision, record a dated quote for the exact configuration. A cheaper PC with less memory or a shorter warranty is not an equivalent comparison. See our hardware refresh planning guide for a fleet purchasing framework.

What Have Laptop Manufacturers Announced About 2026 Pricing?

Treat an announcement as applying to the products, region, and period it actually names. Reported projections, reseller quotes, and completed manufacturer-wide increases are different kinds of evidence.

Check quote validity, shipment date, and whether the seller can revise the price before fulfillment. A generic claim that every OEM raised all laptop prices by 15–45% does not provide a reliable basis for a purchase.

Which Laptop Categories Are Most Affected by Price Hikes?

Compare configurations rather than assuming an entire category is insulated. More RAM, a higher-capacity SSD, and a discrete GPU can increase the price, but the size of a retail increase still depends on the product and seller.

Apple's processor design does not establish protection from memory costs. Likewise, a premium Windows laptop is not guaranteed to retain its price. For business use, choose memory and storage against the applications you actually run, and consider whether they can be upgraded later.

When Is the Best Time to Buy a Laptop in 2026?

Back-to-school promotions, retailer events, Black Friday, and clearance offers are opportunities to compare prices. They do not guarantee a particular model will be discounted. Check the event's actual dates and terms before relying on it; expired Memorial Day and Prime Day offers should not be presented as current deals.

If waiting would create repair costs, lost work, or an unsupported operating system, include those costs in the decision. A hoped-for discount may not justify the delay.

Should You Lease or Buy Laptops for Your Business in 2026?

Purchase, leasing, and Device as a Service have different cash-flow and ownership consequences. Compare them over the same period with the same device specification.

Include:

• Total payments and any initial deposit or end-of-term buyout.
• Warranty, accidental-damage coverage, repair turnaround, and replacement availability.
• Deployment, management, return, and data-erasure responsibilities.
• Whether a refresh is included, optional, or subject to a new agreement.
• Taxes, finance charges, and conditions for early termination.

A fixed payment can improve predictability, but it does not mean a contract signed in a particular quarter locks every future component cost. Do not assume outright purchase is always cheapest or that every DaaS contract has the same refresh term.

How to Find the Best Laptop Deals in 2026

Create a comparison sheet with model, processor, RAM, SSD, display, Windows edition, warranty, seller, and total delivered price. Save the dated quotes so that changes are visible.

For an advertised sale, compare the recent actual selling price, rather than only the crossed-out recommended price. Check whether a coupon, membership, trade-in, or finance agreement is required.

Manufacturer outlets and refurbished programs can be useful alternatives. Confirm warranty duration, cosmetic grade, battery policy, return terms, and operating-system support. Discounts and availability vary; a refurbished unit is not automatically identical to a new one.

For Windows on ARM, test specialized applications, peripherals, VPN software, and drivers before committing to a fleet. See our ARM vs. x86 business laptop guide.

Compare Current Laptop Prices

Which Business Laptops Are Worth Buying Right Now?

Start with the requirements for each role and obtain current configurations and quotes. A model name alone does not establish processor, memory, manageability, battery life, or warranty; these can differ within a product line.

Use our business deployment guide to assess management and support requirements. For product comparisons, see ThinkPad vs. Dell vs. HP and our MacBook buying guide, then confirm specifications with the manufacturer and prices with the seller before ordering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are laptop prices going up in 2026?

Some published forecasts anticipate higher average PC prices because of memory costs, but a forecast is not a verified price increase for every laptop. Compare the exact configuration and current quote with its recent selling price.

When is the best time to buy a laptop in 2026?

Buy when a suitable configuration meets your budget and replacement deadline. If your existing PC is supported and reliable, compare sale windows and recent prices. Do not delay an essential replacement solely for a predicted discount.

Will laptop prices drop in 2026?

Individual models may be discounted or cleared even if average market prices rise. No reliable promise can be made for every model or future sale; track the configuration you actually intend to buy.

Is Black Friday still a good time to buy a laptop?

It can be a useful comparison window, but an advertised discount is not proof of the lowest price. Compare recent selling prices, specifications, warranty, and seller terms before ordering.

Which laptops are least affected by the 2026 price increases?

There is no dependable brand-wide ranking that guarantees the smallest increase. Prices depend on configuration, inventory, region, and seller. Apple designing its own processors does not establish immunity from memory costs.

Should I lease or buy laptops for my business in 2026?

Compare total payments, ownership or buyout terms, warranty, support, return conditions, and deployment costs over the same period. Leasing can help cash flow, but is not automatically cheaper or protected from every future cost increase.

Related Resources

• Business hardware refresh planning
• Laptops for business deployment
• Business laptop recommendations
• ARM vs. x86 business laptops
• Cloud PC vs. traditional PCs