What is the difference between a Chromebook and a laptop?

Written on 17 September 2026

Chromebooks sit next to ordinary laptops in every electronics shop, often for a fraction of the price. That price difference immediately raises the question of what you give up for it.

We do not sell Chromebooks ourselves, so this is a comparison with no ulterior motive. You read what the device is, what it does well, and where it gets in your way.

What exactly is a Chromebook?

A Chromebook is a laptop that runs ChromeOS, the operating system from Google. The hardware is that of an ordinary laptop: a screen, a keyboard, a processor and memory.

A Chromebook is a type of laptop that runs Chrome OS, and the difference is in the software. Where Windows installs programs on a hard disk, a Chromebook does its work largely in the browser and gets its apps from the Google Play Store and the Chrome Web Store.

Brands such as Acer, Lenovo and HP build Chromebooks, just as they build Windows laptops and Apple builds its MacBooks. So it is not a brand but a category, defined by the operating system.

How does Chrome OS work?

ChromeOS is built around the Chrome browser. You start up in an environment where tabs and web apps take the place of installed software.

You sign in to a Chromebook with your Google account. That brings your Gmail, your Google Docs and your files in Google Drive along straight away, which makes setting up a second device a matter of minutes.

Updates run automatically in the background and install themselves on the next restart. You do not have to do anything for it, which is a noticeable difference from the update routine many people know from Windows.

A laptop and a Chromebook side by side: which operating systems?

The practical distinction: a Chromebook is made for browsing, email and documents, and a traditional laptop runs everything you install on top of that.

What are the advantages of a Chromebook?

The price is the first thing you notice. A new laptop with Windows often costs more than twice a Chromebook, because it has powerful hardware in it and this has lighter hardware.

It starts up quickly and stays quick. No years-long pile of installed software gathers to slow the system down.

Battery life is usually good, because an efficient processor with a simple operating system asks for little. And management is easy: schools set up hundreds at a time with one login per pupil.

What do you run into?

The software is the biggest limitation. If you need a program that only exists for Windows, that is the end of it, and that applies to many accounting packages and virtually all specialist business software.

The storage is tight. With 32 or 64 GB you are forced to work in the cloud, and a photo library or videos do not fit locally.

Without an internet connection part of it falls away. There is an offline mode for Google Docs and a few apps, but you have to switch it on in advance and it does not cover everything.

Then there are peripherals. A printer or scanner with its own Windows drivers does not always work with it, and you usually only discover that once the device is already on your desk.

Which apps and programs run on it?

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are the default, and those work in the browser. Microsoft Office runs as a web version or as an app from the Play Store, with fewer features than the desktop version on Windows.

Android apps from the Google Play Store work on most Chromebooks. That widens the possibilities considerably, although those apps are made for a phone screen and sometimes feel awkward on a laptop.

What does not work are programs you download from the internet as a Windows installation file. That is the hard limit.

Who is buying a Chromebook a good idea for?

For anyone doing internet, email, documents and video calls, it is a fine device. Schools working with Google Workspace do well with it, and as a second laptop for the sofa it is more than adequate.

For students it depends on the course. As soon as software comes into play that only runs on Windows, you get stuck in the middle of an academic year.

For business use it is rarely the right choice, unless your organisation is entirely inside Google Workspace. The comparison between the two is set out in more detail in laptop or Chromebook.

When is a refurbished laptop the better choice?

The argument for a Chromebook is almost always the price. And that is exactly where the comparison that is rarely made sits: for the money of a new Chromebook you buy a refurbished business laptop with Windows, an i5 or i7 and 16 GB of memory.

You then get a full operating system, ample storage and hardware designed for years of daily use. A Lenovo ThinkPad T490s or a Dell Latitude 7320 sits in the same price bracket as a mid-range Chromebook.

If what you want is precisely the simplicity and the low price of ChromeOS, then a Chromebook is a defensible choice. Weigh it up on the software you need and not on the price tag alone.

How long does a Chromebook get updates?

Every Chromebook has an end date for automatic updates, set by Google per model. After that date the device keeps working, and no more security updates arrive.

That date is tied to the model and not to your purchase date. If you buy a device that has been on the shelves for a few years, the remaining support can be shorter than you expect.

Google has extended that period over the years, but the principle stands: there is a hard limit. With a second-hand Chromebook, always check first how many years are left.

This is a difference from a Windows laptop that is rarely mentioned. There the hardware decides whether you still get updates, and with a processor from the 8th Intel generation or newer Windows 11 simply carries on.

So with a refurbished business laptop you are not buying a clock that is running down. As long as the device meets the system requirements, it keeps receiving security updates.

In brief

A Chromebook is a laptop on ChromeOS in which you work mainly in the browser and in Google Drive. It is cheap, starts quickly, lasts a long time on a charge and updates itself, and against that stands the fact that Windows software does not run on it, that storage is tight and that you are limited without internet. For browsing, email and documents it is more than enough; as soon as specific software comes into play you get stuck. For the same amount you buy a refurbished business laptop with Windows and 16 GB of memory, and for most people that is the more versatile choice.

Why refurbished at DSL Tech?

Every laptop at DSL Tech is checked on more than 30 points and comes with a 2-year warranty. Customers rate us 9.0 on average, you pay securely by iDEAL or in three instalments with in3, and order before 12:00 and your laptop arrives tomorrow.

This article is part of our complete guide buying a refurbished laptop, with grades, warranty, the right specs and the brands set out side by side.

Sources

• Google: what ChromeOS is and how a Chromebook works
• Consumentenbond: laptops and Chromebooks compared
• Microsoft Support: Windows, the comparison with ChromeOS