Laptops

Laptop Screen Repair Cost (Comparing HP vs Dell vs Lenovo)

If you have found your way to this article, you are probably reading it on your phone, staring at a major crack and heart-wrenching blackness where your Netflix shows usually play on your laptop. You are probably wondering, “how much does it cost to fix a laptop screen?”  

Luckily, you are in the right place because we have crafted this article to answer your questions. Hopefully, after reading it, you will be able to rest easy, or at least in confidence, knowing exactly what it is going to take to get your laptop running again. 

Unfortunately, laptop screen repair cost isn’t cheap. For many users, the cost of repairing vs replacing may not be worth it. If you have an older laptop or a low-range budget model, you might be better off shopping for a new laptop, especially if it is a high-end gaming display. 

The first thing you are going to need to do is to figure out two things. Firstly, is your laptop under warranty? If it is, you will have a better chance of getting it fixed for free or at a lower cost.  

Secondly, you will need to figure out how it broke. If it died on its own accord, you have even better grounds for a free repair. 

If you dropped it or spilt a drink on your laptop, you will most likely have water damage that needs to be fixed. This usually won't be covered under warranty. If you have caused the damage yourself or you are out of warranty, you will have to pay the full price to repair your screen.  

The best thing to do in this situation is to seek help from a reputable screen repair or laptop repair shop. The easiest way is to do this physically, but there are a number of good services you can use online too. 

Some laptop specialists focus on different brands. This makes it especially important to ring up in advance in order to save you a trip. They may not have the necessary tools to fix a Dell, for example, but may have the tools for an HP laptop. In terms of the cost, it will depend on a number of things.  

Firstly, they will need to find the parts. Older laptops or specialist models may not have the correct parts available any longer, or they may be ridiculously expensive. 

Next is the labor cost. Some laptop screens are easy to fix and will take next to no time at all. Some screens are a pain in the ass, and these may take many hours longer. This will, of course, raise the price. 

All in all, you will be looking at spending around ⅓ to ⅔ of the laptop's original cost in some cases. Occasionally it will be cheaper, but this is what we would budget for such a repair. 

Related: How To Fix A Laptop Screen With Colors And Lines

broken microsoft surface screen

Repairing A Laptop Screen Yourself 

For those with experience, or particularly nimble fingers, you could consider repairing the screen yourself. This is a bad idea if the laptop is important to you, as one wrong move may condemn the laptop to even further damage. 

If you are going to consider this route, you should look at buying a good laptop screen repair kit or laptop repair tools. Don't cheap out here; a good kit will make the job a whole lot easier. You should also make sure you follow an in-depth and easy-to-follow guide. A good place to find these is Youtube, and on the dedicated screen repair Reddit for your brand or laptop. 

Generally, we highly recommend that you take your laptop to a specialist shop. 

Related: How To Clean Fingerprints Off A Laptop Screen

laptop screen repair cost

Laptop Screen Repair Cost (Popular Brands Compared)

Certain brands will cost more than others to fix, but the following is a breakdown of each brand and how much the raw parts will cost to buy. This does not include labor or shipping & handling (when applicable).  

  • Dell  
    To buy a new display panel for a Dell laptop, you will be looking to pay between $35 and $110, dependent upon the model. 
  • Lenovo  
    For Lenovo laptops, the cost for a new panel will be between $40 and $75. 
  • HP  
    HP is another brand that is reasonably priced when it comes to replacing parts. Their panels will set you back between $40 to $75. 
  • Apple  
    As the brand with the highest original cost and highest quality screens, Apple MacBooks can be pricey to repair, especially when it comes to their screens. To buy a new retina panel, you could be looking at anything between $120 -$300, dependent upon your model. 
  • Asus  
    Asus laptops use panels that will cost between $45 and $80. 
  • Acer  
    Acer panels are similar to Asus panels and will also cost between $45 and $80. 

Conclusion

It is worth bearing in mind that you do not need to use your laptop's display panel to save and store crucial data from your laptop.

If you don't think the cost is worth replacing your screen, but you need the data stored on your laptop, take it to a data specialist or laptop shop, and they should be able to back up your data without using your screen. You could also plug your laptop into a good travel monitor and use the display that way, 

We hope that this information has been useful to you, and we sincerely hope you are reading this article proactively. If not, and you are looking at your broken screen with tears in your eyes, then we hope this article clarifies what your options are.