Compare 3 Microsoft products, from the Surface Pro to the Surface Laptop 13-inch, with 12 cheaper alternatives starting at about $600. The biggest saving on a close match is about 50%: the Apple iPad Air 11" (M4) instead of the Surface Pro. Each swap says what you give up for the lower price.
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Pick one to see every cheaper swap, what you save and what you give up.
Same brand, lower price: cheaper models from Microsoft itself.
Same brand · instead of Surface Pro $1,499
$1,049Save $450
You give up: Smaller 90Hz LCD screen, an older chip and no OLED option.
Same brand · instead of Surface Laptop 13.8-inch $1,600
$1,300Save $300
You give up: Lower-resolution 1920 x 1280 screen and a 6-core chip instead of 10-core.
Same brand · instead of Surface Laptop 13-inch $1,300
$1,150Save $150
You give up: An older 8-core Snapdragon X Plus chip instead of the X2 Plus, and 256GB of storage instead of 512GB.
How many of the swaps on these pages each brand makes.
Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-21PT-R641, Ryzen 5 7520U, 16GB/512GB) at about $600, listed instead of the Surface Laptop 13.8-inch ($1,600). What you give up: Plastic build and a much slower Ryzen 5 7520U chip.
the Surface Pro: the Apple iPad Air 11" (M4) is a close match for about $749 instead of $1,499, roughly 50% less.
Yes. 4 of the 12 swaps on these pages are cheaper Microsoft models, such as Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch, Microsoft Surface Laptop 13" (2nd Edition, Snapdragon X2 Plus, 16GB/512GB) and Microsoft Surface Laptop 13" (1st Edition, Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB/256GB).
On these pages: Apple (3 swaps), Dell (2 swaps), Acer (1 swap) and Lenovo (1 swap).
Every swap is a product sold in the US that does the main job of the original. Close match is another brand with similar features, Same brand, cheaper is an older, smaller or renewed model from the same maker, and Budget pick is the cheapest thing that still does the job. On each page, Closest match is the close match nearest the original in price, and Lowest price is the cheapest swap. We compare published specs, retailer listings and reviews; we don't test products ourselves.
A cheaper product is cheaper for a reason. Each swap says what you give up, like weaker noise cancelling, a smaller screen or a shorter warranty, so you can decide if the savings are worth it.
Prices are typical US prices from retailer listings and price trackers, last checked October 2026. They are not live Amazon prices, which change often. When a price couldn't be confirmed, the page says “Check price on Amazon” instead of showing a number.
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