PC gaming is great - however, there tends to be one caveat; it can be very expensive! Building your own gaming setup can be rewarding, as you can customise every component to your needs, but what if you don’t have either the finances or the desire to do this; a cheaper alternative to consider could be a gaming laptop. Along with the obvious cost benefit, you also get the advantage of portability.
Of course, depending on what spec you want: costs will vary. With that in mind, we have put together this comprehensive guide to help you consider the option of spreading the cost of your next purchase. Most retailers offer a great selection of gaming laptops with brands from Acer to MSI boasting differing levels of power and performance to match your needs.
Interest Free Finance | Buy Now Pay Later Finance | Pay Monthly Finance | Pay Weekly Finance
Finance is a popular option, often being the best way to remove the various financial boundaries standing between you and all the benefits that a gaming laptop has to offer. But where is best to take out gaming laptop finance? Luckily, we’ve scoured all the best finance deals applicable to gaming laptops, so you don’t have to. We’ve researched which UK retailers offer gaming laptop finance plans and on what terms.
Interest free gaming laptop finance
Spreading the cost on a new gaming laptop doesn’t get easier than opting for a 0% finance plan. It is, after all, the only dedicated option that guarantees you pick one up for nothing but the original cost – hence why it’s also referred to as interest free. Your average gaming laptop will cost you anywhere between £600 and £2000. Price obviously depends on specs, higher performance is gonna lead to a higher price, you'll need to shop around to find the right gaming laptop to suit your needs. You won’t need to pay this in one lump sum when securing an interest free gaming laptop finance option from any one of the following UK retailers:
AO’s 0% interest credit is offered over a period of 12 months, typically payable in monthly instalments. You won’t have to pay any admin fees or anything up front and the sign-up process is ostensibly very simple. AO also features a wide range of gaming laptop units, including from such top-tier brands as Asus, MSI and Razer - each one available on next-day delivery. If you find a model of laptop you want cheaper than AO has it you can also take advantage of their price match guarantee which would mean you're financing at zero interest at the best price. The 0% interest instalment plan is only available on certain products where AO is running a promotion and won't always be available. This means you'll have to keep an eye out at checkout for if interest-free finance is currently available for the gaming laptop you're interested in. Also, AO only offers interest-free finance on products over £200 which should be no issue for a gaming laptop as they're always going to exceed this minimum price.
Every aspect of finance from Argos is done through what’s known as an Argos Card, where customers can purchase any item in the catalogue (gaming laptops included) on a 0% interest plan for up to 12 months. You can sign up for an Argos Card either online or in store. A huge perk is that you can pay this back at a rate that suits you, accruing no interest if the full amount is paid before the interest free period comes to an end. If you do not pay in full by the relevant date you will be charged interest of 34.9% APR variable.
Currys interest free gaming laptop finance
Currys are one of the biggest retailers for tech in the UK so as a result they have a great selection of gaming laptops. They also have two solid 0% interest deals available right now with their 6-month pay-delay plan and their 12-month interest free credit plan for laptops. The 6-month interest-free deal is more tablet and workstation based however if you're looking for a gaming laptop the 12-month plan could be right up your alley with 131 gaming laptops currently available covering plenty of price points depending on your needs/budget. To take advantage simply go to checkout with any of the laptops covered in these promotional interest-free deals and choose that payment option. You'll then pay back monthly over the length of your interest-free payment plan to settle the amount.
For arguably the widest variety of gaming laptops, ebuyer.com also offers spread payment pay monthly gaming laptop finance, at 0% interest with PayPal credit. You need to spend over £99 and you can opt to finance your gaming laptop over 6-12 months on 0% interest. If you wish to spread payments over longer periods of 12, 24 or 36 months then you will have to pay 14.9% interest back on your gaming laptop purchase.
EE Store (formerly BT Shop) has one of the best offerings when it comes to interest-free gaming laptop finance thanks to their incredibly reasonable and flexible PayPal credit options. You can potentially pick up a gaming laptop and pay 0 interest over 36 months if you spend over £999. EE Store don't have the largest selection of gaming laptops but there's enough there that one may suit your needs.
On top of offering some solid prices on gaming laptops, EE Store has the best PayPal credit purchasing options that will allow you to pick up a gaming laptop with interest-free monthly payments across a range of instalment plans. The table below shows examples of interest-free purchases across different periods ranging from 4 months to 36 months. The plan available to you is dependent on minimum spend so when it comes to gaming laptop you're looking at 24-36 months depending on what suits your needs. It's quite unlikely you're going to grab a gaming laptop for less than £499! A lot of options here and one of the most generous 0% interest-finance options available when picking up a gaming is definitely from EE Store.
Music Magpie is one of the few second-hand focused UK retailers that offer gaming laptops at a 0% interest rate. This credit plan uses Klarna and allows you to pay in 3 instalments on orders of £35 to £1000. One-third of the payment is taken at checkout then two further equal payments are taken on 30 days and 60 days post-purchase.
Laptops Direct allows you to buy a gaming laptop and pay for it over several months interest-free via PayPal Credit which is only available to you if the gaming laptop you opt for is over £99. You must pay within 4 months and if you go over the given date you will pay 21.9% APR. If you're looking to use PayPal credit interest-free over 12 or 24 months you will be better off looking at some other providers gaming laptop offerings such as EE Store or ebuyer as Laptops Direct only offer interest free for 4 months with PayPal credit.
Buy now pay later gaming laptop finance
Not got the cash to pay for the gaming laptop you want today? A buy now pay later finance plan from any of the retailers already mentioned will do the trick, giving you anywhere between 3 and 12 months to settle the account in full without accruing any interest. Argos is the one retailer where this maximum period is always guaranteed thanks to its Argos Card, which automatically puts any piece of tech priced at £199 or more onto a 12-month plan. If you can only afford to pay over a length of 6 months, however, AO.com is a safe bet for gaming laptop finance.
Pay monthly gaming laptop finance
Spreading the cost of your gaming laptop on a month-by-month basis is ideal for anyone who gets paid this way. And luckily, there are plenty of retailers that make this an easy option.
Currys and ShopTo offer pay monthly plans boasting an interest rate of 24.9% APR and the latter who offers it over 6 to 24 months, at only 14.9% APR representative, via PayPal Credit. Currys also offer 0% interest free plans on terms of 12, 24 or 36 months on selected products including several laptops.
Spread payment gaming laptop finance
Studio has a wide range of gaming laptops that are applicable to its flexible finance credit plan. The main benefit is that there’s no need to pay anything upfront and you don’t have to sign up for a credit card. Instead, all you need to do is place your order and apply for credit at checkout, paying the fee back over an agreed-upon period at 49.9% APR.
Pay weekly gaming laptop finance
Picking up a gaming laptop as part of the pay weekly plan works best for people who are forgetful. Paying week-to-week as opposed to month-to-month ensures that the credit is always on your mind, making it more likely that you’ll pay it off sooner to accrue less interest. Weekly finance isn’t as common as monthly or interest free, but there are a couple of places that offer this.
Argos’ approach to finance is a lot more flexible than most, and its Argos Card can be used in such a way that any gaming laptop bought using it can be paid for week-to-week. It allows members to enjoy periods of 3, 6 and 12 months of interest free credit, but gaming laptops easily qualify for the latter and payments can be made whenever suits you.
Gaming Laptop Zilch Credit Finance
Sign up to Zilch and you will receive credit immediately that you can split and use in many stores. This includes Amazon and Currys who both stock a lot of different gaming laptops. The limit you can split will vary based on whether you link your banking to the service or not. If you're looking to pay over a 6 week period Zilch could be perfect for you. The payment scheme then works as follows:
- 1st payment at Checkout = 25%
- 2nd payment after 2 weeks = 50%
- 3rd payment after 4 weeks = 75%
- Final payment after 6 weeks = 100%
Gaming Laptop deals
As is now hopefully the case, opting to purchase a dedicated gaming laptop on finance needn’t be as daunting as it initially sounds. All of the UK retailers listed above make it relatively easy to get started despite your preferred type of plan, removing all the typical financial barriers to let you swiftly get started in the realm of PC gaming.
If you have a bad credit history or rating it's highly unlikely you're going to be able to secure finance on a gaming laptop at any of the retailers mentioned in this guide.
NB: The information in this guide does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it’s right for your specific circumstances. The content in our guide focuses on finance options and interest rates, not the level of service offered.
