Best Laptop for Work From Home Under 20000

As convenient as mobile phones and tablets are for everyday life and use, it’s hard to beat a laptop or a desktop computer for more serious kinds of work. But serious work does not always mean that you need the most powerful and expensive laptop to get things done efficiently.

Here is a list to help you find the best laptop for work from home under 20000 so that you can be on your way to getting a ₱1 million annually as a Remote Filipino Worker (RFW).

best laptop for remote work under 20000

What to Expect

Before we go into our list of recommendations, it would be best to give you an idea of what you can expect from laptops within this price range.

This price range is the entry-level for any modern laptop and costs around the same price as a mid-range smartphone. At this price point, you can expect a fully-functional device that can run Windows but it won’t necessarily be able to run demanding programs or do multitasking smoothly. 

For Work – These devices are functionally sufficient for light work, internet browsing, and for office-based work. They’ll be good enough for jobs that are mostly clerical in nature or involves lots of document writing.

For Gaming – These laptops will lack the horsepower needed for gaming, with the exception of browser-type and retro games that you can run on emulators.

Build Quality – In terms of build quality and features, most laptops at this price range will have a number of compromises and missing features that you’d see in more expensive models. Most of them will have lower screen resolutions, lower color accuracy and they likely won’t have a backlit keyboard.

Battery Life – On the flip side, because these devices are a bit underpowered, a good number of these devices have decent battery life, ideal if you need to carry bring your laptop where access to a wall socket may be an issue.

Who Are These Laptops For?

  • Article Writers
  • General VAs
  • Copywriters
  • Tutors/Teachers
  • Working Students

How To Get the Most Mileage Out of These Devices

Because of the low RAM and relatively weak CPUs found in these systems, more power users or multitaskers may find these laptops uncomfortable to use.

Regardless, if you’re short on cash, you can get by with these laptops. Finding a laptop with expandable memory is a great way to improve your experience with the laptops in this class (RAM).

RAM modules are reasonably priced and will significantly improve your workflow experience, particularly if you have a lot of browser tabs open at the same time. A single 8GB RAM module costs around P2,000, while a 16GB RAM module can be purchased for as little as P3,500.

If you intend to do so, always check with the vendor to see if the RAM on the laptop can be upgraded and if they can install your purchased RAM for you without voiding the warranty.

Recommendations: Best Laptops for Under 20000

1. Asus Notebook X415MA-BV365W

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Specifications

CPU: Intel Celeron N4020

Discrete/Dedicated GPU: None

RAM: 4GB DDR 2400MHz (Expandable)

Storage: 1TB HDD (Expandable through Addition of SSD)

Display: 14.0″ | HD

Operating System: Windows 11 Home

Price: ₱19,995 at Villman & iTech

This laptop will provide you with most of what you’ll require but very little of what you’d want in a work-from-home laptop. It has enough storage space and CPU processing power for browser-based and MS Office-based work without encountering too many issues.

Its default RAM configuration of 4GB is small by 2022 standards, but you can upgrade it. If you decide to upgrade your RAM, a configuration of 8-12GB is recommended for this type of device.

It has a large 1TB HDD as its storage device, which makes it ideal for storing large media files & apps. On the downside, loading times will be noticeably slower than on a similar device with an SSD. You could remedy this by adding an SSD in its expansion slot to improve app and window loading times.

Overall, it provides everything you could reasonably expect from a device at this price point. This unit places functionality above comfort. It isn’t the fastest laptop, but it is adequate for most daily word processing and browser-based work.

2. Lenovo Ideapad 1 1-14IJL7

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Specifications:

CPU: Intel Celeron N4500

Discrete/Dedicated GPU: None

RAM: 4GB DDR 2400MHz (Expandable)

Storage: 128GB EMMC (Expandable through Addition of SSD)

Display: 14.0″ | 1366 X 768 | 220 Nits | 45% NTSC

Operating System: Windows 11 Home

Price: ₱19,000 at Laptop Factory

This device will perform similarly to the ASUS X415MA, with the main difference being that the Lenovo Ideapad 1 has a faster but smaller 128GB EMMC storage as opposed to the ASUS’ 1TB HDD.

The 128GB storage is a bit limited in terms of capacity, but it will significantly improve loading speeds. This is ideal if you don’t intend to install large apps or store large files on your device, but it can be limited in other ways. You can avoid this problem by installing an SSD or having an external storage device.

Its webcam is adequate for video calls with clients and classroom discussions for students and teachers alike. Laptop Factory has a fairly detailed review of this unit, including a video of the webcam in action.

3. Lenovo IdeaPad D330-10IGL 82H0000JPH

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Specifications:

CPU: Intel Celeron N4020 (2C / 2T, 1.1 / 2.8GHz, 4MB) 

Discrete/Dedicated GPU: None

RAM:  8GB LPDDR4-2133 (Soldered) 

Storage: 128GB EMMC 5.1

Display: 10.0″ | 1280 X 800 | 300 Nits | 10-point Multi-touch, detachable

Operating System: Windows 10 Pro

Price: ₱14,995 at Villman

The Lenovo IdeaPad is an interesting 2 in 1 laptop/tablet hybrid device that runs on Windows 10. It has the processing power that you can expect at this price point, which isn’t much, but it will still be good enough for document writing and web browsing

What’s surprisingly good about this device is that it has 8GB of RAM, which is fairly high at this price point. That amount of RAM will be sufficient for most web browsing and document writing-related tasks as long as you don’t plan to open too many programs at once.

Another feature that sets this device apart from other units is that it’s a 2-in-1 laptop in a small and portable form factor. Considering its price and size, it’s a great step up from budget phones if you want a bit more power and screen real estate than a phone but doesn’t like the bulkiness of a full-blown laptop.

4. CHUWI MijaBook - 13.3-inch

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Specifications:

CPU:  Intel Celeron N3450

Discrete/Dedicated GPU: None

RAM: 8GB LPDDR4

Storage: 256GB SSD

Display: 13.3″ IPS | 3K (3200 x 1800) 

Operating System: Windows 10

Price: ₱14,999 at Villman

It’s hard not to recommend this laptop from Chuwi. It has a high-resolution panel with good viewing angles, a decent amount of RAM, and a fast and fairly large storage device. 

This device hits above its weight class in almost all respects, except for its processor. Most of the time, you’ll see specifications such as these in devices in the P20K range and above. 

As briefly mentioned, its processor is arguably its weakest attribute, but it should still be enough for most kinds of clerical and day-to-day word processing and office-based tasks.

Considering that Chuwi is a fairly newer laptop brand made available here in the Philippines, we have yet to see how truly reliable and sturdy their devices are. But at least on paper, this device is hard not to recommend for those on a budget.

General Recommendation

Each of our recommended laptops above has different reasons for being good picks, depending on your personal requirements and preferences. Some of them were recommended for their hardware specifications, and some are recommended for their upgrade capability or their portability.

At the end of the day, choosing a computer is all about knowing your personal needs and preferences and choosing a device that will match those needs. The better those 2 criteria match up, the better your overall experience will be.

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Jack Mina

Jack Mina, the co-founder of Remote Filipino Worker and Gigant.com.ph, has been in the digital freelancing industry for over 8 years. His aim is to help independent professionals and freelancers develop long-term and successful careers using the internet as their primary tool.

He spends his free time cooking, gaming, and taking care of his pet cat Gremmie.