This is the best Chromebook deal I’ve found for Black Friday

The $199.99 Acer Chromebook Plus deal at Costco is by far the best Chromebook deal for Black Friday, and you can get it even if you aren’t a member of the discount club. “Chromebook Plus” signals a premium device, and this Chromebook can be yours at a true bargain price.

Costco’s $199.99 deal on the 14-inch Acer Chromebook Plus was discovered by my colleague Alaina Yee as she was poring through the discount retailer for a personal purchase.

The Costco deal says it’s for members only, but we both created an account without a membership, then checked to see if the deal was still available — and it was, although Costco adds a surcharge of 5 percent for non-members in certain cases, this one included. That upped the price to $214.98 with surcharge, plus shipping and handling. That’s still an excellent deal of roughly 40 percent off (down from it’s usual $349.99) and a fantastic price for a Chromebook Plus.

There are no compromises here, either. This Chromebook has a 14-inch 1080p screen, 8GB of RAM, and an Intel Core i3-N305 processor. That’s exactly what I look for in a Chromebook: at least a 1080p screen at 14-inches or bigger for comfortable viewing. And I hate worrying if opening too many tabs or applications will slow down the machine, which is avoided with 8GB of RAM. I don’t care so much about the processor, but the Core i3-N305 is pretty powerful with 8 cores with 8 threads, versus the dual-core (two threads) Celeron N4500 CPUs that typically power budget Chromebooks.

We feature other Acer Chromebook Plus machines in our list of the best Chromebooks, but the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 that we list as the best high-end Chromebook costs a whopping $699. Compared to that, this is a solid machine at a significantly lower price! Get the 14-inch Acer Chromebook Plus for $199.99 at Costco.

We’re also tracking other Chromebook deals for Black Friday, too. Some may argue that the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i deal for $369 at Best Buy is even better — the Flex 5i is our highest-rated Chromebook, after all — but for $199.99, I think the Acer Chromebook Plus offers more bang for your buck.

Don’t forget these crucial accessories!

Picking up a Chromebook during Black Friday sales can save you hundreds. But why stop there? You can save even more money by accessorizing your Chromebook with the extra things it needs while these sales last. We’ve detailed must-have laptop accessories here, but here’s a cheat sheet with three especially crucial items:

• USB hub: Get a USB hub to expand the number and kinds of ports available for your Chromebook. Hiearcool’s USB-C hub is an affordable and capable USB-C hub with myriad ports, including 2 x USB-A ports, microSD and SD card slots, and an HDMI port. Get it on Amazon.
• Mouse: Using a mouse instead of your Chromebook’s trackpad can speed up productivity if your Chromebook is mainly used for work. A mouse you can rely on for all your needs, and one that feels oh-so-comfortable in your hand, is the Razer DeathAdder V2 X HyperSpeed. Get it on Amazon.
• Laptop sleeve: A good quality sleeve will protect your Chromebook from the inevitable bumps, scratches, and drops that happen over time. Amazon’s choice for laptop sleeve is the BOOEUDI, which is shockproof and made from neoprene. Browse sizes at Amazon.