One of the components of a laptop that factor into the device’s being convenient and portable is the battery. Despite not being the only powerhouse, a laptop battery is what makes the device popular with people who want to get their digital life on the go.
No matter which brand you trust and which specific model you purchase, the battery is sure to lose its utility over time and reckons the need for a replacement, and this is where you’re going to know “how much does a laptop battery cost?”
A straightforward answer can be $20-$200 depending on the brand and model of your laptop, place where you buy from, and the condition and specifications of the battery being chosen. Thus, the actual cost of replacing laptop battery can’t be determined without certain matters.
You’ve options to choose from. You can buy a completely new battery, or it can be a used model or even clones are available. Again, you can get one from the manufacturer, or some marketplaces that sell them at a considerably lower price.
So, there’re many things that can affect laptop battery cost. How can you make all of these considerations, and still find the most suitable one for your money? Good question! This article answers all this for you!
What Determines the Cost of New Laptop Battery?
There’re certain numbers that come with any battery. All these numbers translate into the laptop battery price that you would see on the list provided by the seller. The numbers are assigned through technical terms, such as mAh, Watts, Voltage, and Cells. Let’s get familiar with them.
mAh (Milliamp Hours)
It tells us how much energy battery stores. This particular term is directly associated with the capacity of your battery. How long a battery lasts depends on how high or low the mAh rating is. For example, a battery that comes with 5500 mAh lasts almost twice as long as the one with 3000 mAh. The price of the higher mAh rating is also higher than the lower one.
Many batteries available in the market come with higher mAh ratings than the ones from the manufacturer. These batteries can be compatible with your device, but the price can still be nearly the same as the brand-new one.
Whr (Watt Hour)
This term tells us how much energy a laptop uses per hour. Look at the different devices and computer peripherals to see their ratings. Whr is the amount of energy/power consumed in an hour. 1 Whr should be equal to 1 Watt of electrical power consumed for an hour. So, laptops with higher Whr ratings require batteries with larger capacities which ultimately affect their prices.
Voltage (V)
Your laptop requires a certain volume of electricity to operate. The measurement of this volume is called voltage. Batteries produced by different manufacturers come with variable voltage ratings, but this difference doesn’t cause any incompatibility issue for your device. Fortunately, you may see multiple versions of one particular battery with all identical specifications but different voltage ratings which have something to estimate the cost.
Number of Cells
Maybe, you’ve heard about 4 cells, 6 cells, and even 9 cells when comparing among batteries. Each cell carries a certain capacity. For example, a particular model with 9 cells delivers about 50% more capacity than the same with 6 cells. It seems easy, but technically, it isn’t.
As you compare the batteries of different laptops, you need to multiple mAh with voltage, a mathematical operation that presents you milliwatt hours. A 7.4 V battery with 3100 mAh should give you 22,940 milliwatt hours which is equivalent to 23 watt-hours.
This calculation may not always be 100% accurate because all laptops don’t have the same power requirements. In addition, all operating systems and hardware components of a laptop don’t consume the same amount of power.
Batteries that have bigger capacities than others are often heavier and more productive with higher Whr ratings. A 9-cell battery is on the heavier and more powerful side than a 6-cell variant even though the form factor can be same.
So, the number of cells is an important factor. Here’s a general guideline to help you understand the voltage rating of battery cells.
- 1 cell rated at 3.6 Volts or 3.7 Volts equals to 3.6V or 3.7V
- 2 cells rated at 3.6 Volts or 3.7 Volts each equal to 7.2V or 7.4V
- 3 cells rated at 3.6 Volts or 3.7 Volts each equal to 10.8V or 11.1V
- 4 cells rated at 3.6 Volts or 3.7 Volts each equal to 14.4V or 14.8V
Laptop Battery Price by Brands
Here’s a quick presentation of the prices of batteries from all major laptop brands. Please be noted that the prices are subject to change upon factors like models and other conditions. The prices mentioned herein are for the products from original manufacturers. Other versions of these products in the market may cost 20%-50% lower than the prices here.
- Cost of Acer Laptop Battery: A new battery would cost $50 to $110 and an old version would take $20-$50.
- Cost of Asus Laptop Battery: A new battery would cost $55 to $120 and an old version would take $25-$60.
- Cost of Dell Laptop Battery: A new battery would cost $80 to $130 and an old version would take $30-$70.
- Cost of HP Laptop Battery: A new battery would cost $50 to $140 and an old version would take $20-$60.
- Cost of Lenovo Laptop Battery: A new battery would cost $30 to $200 and an old version would take $25-$70.
- Cost of Toshiba Laptop Battery: A new battery would cost $45 to $95 and an old version would take $15-$30.
Cost of New MacBook Battery
Services from Apple with regards to a new battery start at $129. The price can go up to $199 as mentioned on Apple’s official website. But, you can find other cheaper versions at a surprisingly low price ($50 to $100). These batteries may be compatible with a MacBook, but with these products, you cannot always expect very good performance.
Note to Remember
As you’ve learned about the alternatives to the manufacturers’ batteries, you should be a little bit practical. Those products may come with higher capacities and at lower prices. After checking the full specs, you may end up buying one of them and stop asking “how much does a laptop battery cost?”
But, you can’t just happen to prioritize the low price. Those places can be full of dishonest sellers who won’t tell you anything for real. So, avoid the temptation and use the knowledge you’ve acquired from this article to find a suitable laptop battery.