What is a reasonable laptop budget per role?
Prices shift yearly, but the ratios hold. Three tiers cover most SMBs. Hardware vendors gladly send a role-based advice sheet.
Try this first
- 1Tier 1 (office/sales): mid-range business laptop, 14 inch, 16 GB / 512 GB. The standard role worker.
- 2Tier 2 (finance/management/heavy users): premium business, 14 or 16 inch, 32 GB / 1 TB.
- 3Tier 3 (design/dev/data): high-end with strong CPU and maybe GPU, 32-64 GB. Spec headroom pays back over 4 years.
- 4Plan accessories per workstation too: dock, monitor, headset, keyboard, mouse. Reserve at least 25% of laptop price for peripherals.
When to bring us in
We keep a current shortlist per tier (two or three models) and can share it. Saves you the comparison work.
See also
- Should we buy or lease laptops as a 5-person company?Both work. Lease is predictable but pricier over the term; buying needs cash and your own depreciation. The difference is mostly admin.
- Is buying refurbished smart or asking for trouble?For office work fine, if from a serious vendor with warranty and a clean OS install. The trap is shady marketplace listings.
- How much RAM and SSD for office work in 2026?Rule of thumb for knowledge work: 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD as a comfortable minimum. 8 GB already feels tight; 32 GB is for heavy tools.
None of the above fits?
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Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.