As two of the biggest tech giants on the planet, Acer and Lenovo hold a huge market share. 25% of the computers and laptops on the planet belong to the Lenovo brand alone. Acer holds a share of 5.7%, which may not be as impressive, but is still a staggering amount.
Both brands have clawed their way to the top over the last decade thanks to their approach to innovation, stellar customer support, and impressive flagship ranges.
But which brand is better?
To answer this question requires some investigation; it isn’t clear-cut. In fact, the best brand will most likely change depending upon your specific wants and needs. Both brands excel in some fields, and both brands have a few negative points to consider.
We examine both brands and how they perform across several different categories. This should make it a lot easier to decide between the two if you are stuck on the fence.
Acer Laptops Overview
With a small initial capital of $25,000, Stan Shih Chen Jung and a small group of friends started the company known as Acer in 1976. To begin with, the company was called “Multitech International,” and their initial focus was on the electronic handheld games market and distributing semi-conductors sourced from developing countries.
By 1988, the company had evolved drastically, and through several bold decisions and a focus on innovation, their revenue had reached $25 million.
By 1990, this increased to a ridiculous $1 billion, an increase of 40x in two years. By utilizing local parts and decreasing production costs, they became the number one selling computer brand across most of Asia and many places in South America.
By 1994, they increased revenue to a staggering $3.2 billion, increased their profit margin to $210 million, and were the 9th biggest vendor of computer technology in the world.
In 2007, they acquired two major rivals, Packard Bell and Gateway. The integration of these two companies rocketed them up the rankings to become the 4th biggest PC manufacturer globally by 2012.
Today, Acer has a strong focus on innovation. Their budget range of laptops comes with a surprising amount of power and bang for buck, and their gaming range has innovative features not found anywhere else.
This allows them to consistently make it to the top of the charts across a number of different categories.
Pros & Cons of Acer Laptops
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
Lenovo Laptops Overview
The computing behemoth that we know and love, Lenovo, was created by a team of 10 skilled computer engineers back in 1984 in Hong Kong—starting with just $30,000 in capital. All 10 of these engineers were members of the Institute of Computing Technology, which allowed them instant approval from the Chinese government.
With a mission to become the world’s greatest technology company, Lenovo has been dominating the budget-friendly computing market, and more recently, the affordable high-end gaming market for a number of years now.
The main fields that Lenovo is competing in are the budget range, the workstation range, and the gaming range. In all of these fields, Lenovo offers incredible price to performance and manages a lower price tag on average than all of its competitors.
This focus on offering high-performance computing at a lower cost has enabled them to take a huge market share across the planet.
Pros & Cons of Lenovo Laptops
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
Acer Vs Lenovo: Key Differences Compared
These categories are the ones we think are the most important. Different people will prioritize what they want differently. Once you know what you want from your laptop, you will quickly identify which brand is better in the optimal areas for you.
Design & Construction (Build Quality)
Acer has two approaches when it comes to design, flashy and plain. The flashier models, like those of Acer's high-end gaming range, look visually stunning and come with a number of premium features that help them stand out.
Then you have the other end of the spectrum. Laptops like the Swift look plain and come with a more pedestrian styling. One thing that stays the same across all of their ranges, however, is their build quality.
Acer has an impeccable approach to build quality which ensures all of their laptops are well put together.
Lenovo utilizes high-end parts, but often their laptops come lacking in terms of style. Their laptops are usually powerful but bland to look at. This is especially true across their workstation range. In terms of build quality, Lenovo is a mixed bag.
Their workstations come with military-grade testing as standard, making them nearly indestructible. Their budget-friendly range and the Legion Gaming Range, however, lack the same attention to detail.
Winner: Acer
Hardware & Components
Both Acer and Lenovo are brands that originated in Asia, giving them similar benefits when it comes to sourcing hardware and components. This means both Acer and Lenovo offer laptops and computers that have the newest generation of hardware inside.
When it comes to implementing these parts, Lenovo laptops are built to last with powerful parts. This is usually at a trade-off for design and build quality but enables them to offer laptops that are more powerful than their price tag suggests.
Across the board, Lenovo tends to have a stronger approach to the hardware used.
Winner: Lenovo
Related: Asus Vs Lenovo Laptops Compared
Tech Performance
Both of these brands offer incredible solutions to modern computing problems. Lenovo cannot be beaten in terms of their workstation range.
With a huge level of customizability, you can make their X1 range as powerful as you need it. Their budget range also performs well on paper, allowing for more power per dollar spent.
Acer takes the lead in gaming performance, with laptops that are just that little bit more polished than the Lenovo competition.
Acer is also more willing to utilize AMD parts in their laptops. This may or may not be a deal-breaker to some of you, especially those who are into their overclocking.
Overall, we have to give this point to Lenovo.
Winner: Lenovo
Related: Lenovo Vs HP Laptops Compared
Durability
The Lenovo Thinkpad is a laptop that is designed to take a beating. Lenovo utilizes rigorous MIL-STD 910G testing on this range which ensures they are impossible to kill.
This testing covers 18 simulated drops and hours of vibration simulation. They get tested at an altitude of 15,000 feet and are subjected to 7 separate 24-hour high-end cycles of intense sunlight exposure.
They also get tested against sand and dust, as well as humidity and extreme temperatures. Finally, they are even tested against fungus.
That isn’t to say that Acer laptops are not durable. In fact, with their high build quality, most Acers are tough. They just aren’t as tough as the Lenovo Thinkpad and its rigorous bombproof design.
Winner: Lenovo
Related: Dell Vs Lenovo Laptops Compared
Display
Acer does a better job when it comes to the display panels that they utilize. Across the board, their screens score better in terms of color, brightness, and quality. This is especially the case when we look at their offerings for gaming.
Acer utilizes faster refresh rates and better FPS in its gaming laptops. This means that if you are serious about gaming or e-sports, you will be better off choosing an Acer. They also offer a great range of 4K laptops with crystal clear displays perfect for binging on 4K content.
Winner: Acer
Innovation
You don't become one of the biggest tech giants in the world without a strong focus on innovation. Both brands are examples of this.
Lenovo takes the lead; however, they tackle a more comprehensive field of problems across their ranges. Their workstations are a prime example of this, and their approach to AAA+ gaming in their Legion range is helping them bring affordable gaming to the masses.
Acer does its fair share when it comes to innovating too. Their gaming range and premium productivity laptops utilize premium hardware that turns heads.
The AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Swift 3, for example, competes with both the Dell XPS 13 and Macbook Pro, both of which are the flagship models of their respective brands. The amazing thing? The Swift costs 50% of what they do.
The Predator Triton 900 utilized an industry-first rotating design that could swivel both forwards and backward.
In short, Lenovo tends to be more innovative at the lower end of the price range, and Acer tends to be more innovative at the top end.
Winner: Tie
Battery Life
The importance of battery life is usually subjective to your needs. Someone who spends all day utilizing their laptop as a workstation in the office or in class at school, for example, will rarely need to use their laptop away from power outlets. This means they can utilize stronger parts and a better display as battery life isn’t important.
To get good battery life, you will need to sacrifice either cost or performance. This means that laptops with lower power and screen quality tend to have longer battery life.
This means that Lenovo, with its main focus being affordability, usually has laptops with a longer battery life out of the box.
Winner: Lenovo
Customer Support
In terms of customer support, both Lenovo and Acer have faced criticism for their customer support.
While Lenovo offers great warranties and support via live chat, speaking to an actual person over the phone is extremely difficult. Acer faces similar problems, with customers complaining that it takes a long time to get a response.
When people finally get in touch with either company, however, it should be noted that the actual advice and response of both brands are excellent. It just takes a long time to get to that point.
Winner: Tie
Price
When you zoom out and look at all the many ranges of laptops that they produce, Lenovo has a reputation for being the most well-priced laptop brand on the market. Lenovo is especially effective at producing laptops with a performance level that scores higher than their price-tag would suggest.
If you want to squeeze every drop of performance from every dollar you want to spend, then you will usually be better choosing a laptop from Lenovo.
Acer offers a better build quality overall, and this is reflected in the price.
Winner: Lenovo
Business Laptops
Lenovo dominates the business range of laptops category. Their Thinkpad range is a staple in offices around the world, thanks to their ridiculous level of customization and military-grade testing.
They may look a little boring, but looks can be deceiving. Plain and simple? Maybe. Perfect fit for the job? Definitely.
Winner: Lenovo
Gaming Laptops
The Acer Predator range is really something to behold. With plenty of innovation around things like cooling technology and new AMD CPU's they generate maximum power and maximum cooling. This allows Acer to offer a laptop that oozes capability on the battlefield.
Lenovo is no joke in the gaming world, either. Still, their focus is on making gaming affordable, and while their Legion range of laptops comes with plenty of power, they lack the innovation that the Predator range comes with.
Winner: Acer
Related: Acer Vs Dell Laptops Compared
Budget Laptops
Lenovo is the undisputed king of the budget range laptop. Their laptops come with price tags that are lower than their competition without sacrificing power. This makes Lenovo laptops a popular choice for students.
They may look simple, but this is the way Lenovo works; they put in more expensive parts and sacrifice the styling that causes their competitors to be more expensive.
Acer does have a great range of Chromebooks, however, which are perfect for anyone shopping on a budget who does not mind utilizing the Chrome OS operating system.
Winner: Lenovo
Acer Vs Lenovo FAQs
Which Model Is Better Between The Lenovo Legion Y530 Vs Acer Predator Helios 300?
In terms of raw power, the Helios has more fire in its belly. With a stronger GPU and more SSD storage, it will allow you to game to a higher level. The Legion does come with a much more palatable price tag, however.
Related: Acer Vs HP Laptops Compared
Which Model Is Better Between The Lenovo Miix 320 Vs Acer One 10?
These two share an almost identical spec list. The only place where either gain an advantage is weight. The Lenovo weighs 1.07 KG, whereas the Acer One 10 weighs 1.27KG, a slight difference, but those pounds might make the difference in your decision.
Conclusion
We hope that by the end of this article, we have made any decision you have to make that little bit easier. Both companies are fantastic, and both brands excel in innovation and research, and development.
Neither is a bad choice, so use what we have shown you to figure out which brand is better for your specific needs, and we are sure you will make the right decision.
Andrew White is the founder of TechGearoid, a leading technology review & information website that is designed to help consumers make better decisions when it comes to their IT purchases. As a specialist tech writer (nerd) with over 10 years of experience, he enjoys writing about everything there is to do with modern technology & the newest market innovations. When he isn’t providing value for his readers, he’s usually drinking coffee or at the beach. Andrew lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and family.