Best Used Laptop 2025 – an honest review from 1IT e-store

The 2025 figures have now been tallied, and I, along with my ‘big analysis team’ (i.e., myself, my thoughts, and sometimes my dreams), have processed the results. And to be honest, the answer to the question ‘which used laptop was the best in 2025’ was surprisingly clear.

The most successful model was the HP ProBook 445 G8.

I’m intentionally keeping the exact quantities under wraps this time – otherwise, you might feel that if you buy one, all your friends and relatives will soon have the same machine. It’s not that bad, though. What I can say is that this model has been a consistent sales hit, and stock levels are still such that all conditions are in place for it to have an equally strong start to 2026.

If you don’t want to read further and want to go straight for a ‘sure thing’, then:
See ProBook 445 G8 offers here → [link]

But if you’re interested in what actually happened in the 2025 market, read on.

Manufacturers’ Race: Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Fujitsu

Looking at the used business-class laptop market by manufacturer, 2025 saw a tight race between Lenovo and HP. In the end, Lenovo narrowly came out on top – the difference was so small it was practically a photo finish in sports.
Lenovo edged out HP by just 12 laptops.

Dell came in a solid third, but with a noticeable gap from the top spot.

Fujitsu came in fourth – which is a bit sad, as it’s actually an underrated manufacturer. In my personal opinion, Fujitsu has very good build quality and a great design. If I had to rank manufacturers purely by my own preference, my order would probably be: HP, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Dell. But the market isn’t driven by my emotions, but by buyers’ choices, and in 2025, Fujitsu landed in fourth place this time.

Smaller manufacturers were already quite clearly lagging behind. Perhaps in 2026, some of them will manage to surprise and break the ‘hundred sales mark’ – we’ll see.

Model Podium: ProBook, ThinkPad, and Latitude

In terms of models, the top three were very clear:

1. HP ProBook 445 G8 – the people’s favorite
2. Lenovo ThinkPad T14 (Gen 1) – a reliable workhorse
3. Dell Latitude 5420 – a balanced business-class option

The success of the ProBook is based on simple logic: good performance, reasonable price, a 14-inch screen, a robust chassis, and an AMD Ryzen, which provides an excellent price-performance ratio for everyday work.

ThinkPad… well, a ThinkPad is a ThinkPad.
It’s a legend. The keyboard, durability, that ‘tool feel’ rather than a toy feel. People who do a lot of office work, writing, analyzing, programming – they often ask for a ThinkPad by name even before we get to specific models.

The Dell Latitude 5420 is a similar quiet workhorse: it doesn’t draw attention, but it gets the job done and is ideal for both the office and home office.

Unfortunately, Fujitsu’s first model only reached the end of the second ten in the rankings – otherwise, it would have been especially nice to say that the entire podium was equally divided among the four major manufacturers.

Cheap New vs. Used Business Class – Real Stories from the Store Shelf

2025 again brought several situations where people came into the store with their ‘new and affordable’ laptops, with a slight panic in their eyes.

One typical case:
A new laptop was bought, but the screen was black and nothing could be done. It turned out the machine only had MS-DOS, not Windows. Buying Windows separately, however, means an additional cost of about 100 euros. And even after that, the problem would remain: 4 GB of memory and a weak Celeron processor that could barely run Windows.

In such situations, we always reach the same point:
for the same or even less money, you can get a used business-class laptop with:

• a decent processor

• sufficient memory

• SSD

• legal Windows

• a robust chassis

• and most importantly – a warranty

A business-class machine is not a lottery. It’s a tool. And if a 1-year warranty isn’t enough for you and you want an even more secure feeling, for just €50, all computers can also be purchased with a 2-year warranty.

Memory, Prices, and the 2026 Outlook

At the end of 2025, memory prices took a significant leap. That’s why a good rule of thumb is simple:

• 8 GB RAM – suitable if you use the internet, Office, and a reasonable number of browser tabs

• 16 GB RAM – if you do serious multitasking, keeping dozens of tabs and multiple programs open simultaneously

Regarding 2026, I have a pretty strong feeling:
The HP ProBook 445 G8 isn’t going anywhere.
Stock levels, interest, and pricing all indicate that this model will continue to perform strongly.

I myself will most likely remain an HP user in 2026 – although I know very well that many still have old memories of the HP Pavilion, which at the time was not exactly a benchmark for quality. Today’s business-class HP, however, is a completely different beast.

Lenovo and Dell will certainly remain strong players, and if a particularly good model catches my eye, I’ll be the first to recommend it – regardless of the logo on the lid.

If you’re looking for a reliable and reasonably priced business-class laptop, it’s worth starting with an overview of the entire selection:
👉 See all used laptops in the 1IT e-store – Used Laptops