If you’ve waited for a MacBook deal that doesn’t feel like one, a near-mint 13-inch MacBook Pro straddling the $325-$399 range is an unusually good deal. What you’re getting is a known entity in the Apple workhorse category, complete with blistering Retina display, zippy SSD storage and contemporary ports — all for less than half what this laptop would go for new, which is exactly the sort of value students, remote workers (and future office overlords) and frequent travelers are chasing right now.
What You Really Get For Under $400
The model you want is the 2017 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, usually in Grade A refurbished condition — that means it should look like new and come with a one-year warranty — with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. That storage is noteworthy — many budget laptops even cheap Macs ship with 256GB or less — so you’ll have plenty of additional space for creative applications, large photo libraries and offline files without reaching for external drives.
Inside is a 3.1GHz dual‑core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz), Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 and four Thunderbolt 3/USB‑C ports for charging, displays and fast peripherals.
The 13.3‑inch Retina display is at 2560×1600 at about 500 nits of brightness—still sharp and color‑accurate for photo edits, presentations, and streaming. Touch ID makes it easy to log in and buy with Apple Pay, but the Touch Bar holds dearly onto timeline scrubbing, emoji favourites and in‑app shortcuts.
“Grade A” is key. In refurb-palaver speak, that means generally mint appearance, fully functional components and minimal evidence of wear. In addition, many of the refurbishers promote an 80%+ battery health minimum and a tight return window; Consumer Reports has long warned consumers to check those table stakes before making a purchase.
Performance: Enough for even your working day
No, it’s not going to outpace Apple’s new M‑series chips. In broad synthetic benchmarks, the 2017 dual‑core i5 falls drastically behind an M1 or M2—frequently less than a third of their multi‑core performance in comparisons frequently appearing in the Geekbench Browser and reviews on sites such as AnandTech. But the gap in headlines doesn’t say it all for real-world tasks.
For email, music, dozens of browser tabs, light photo edits in Lightroom, 1080p video cutting and Zoom calls—all tasks I need to handle simultaneously—this MacBook Pro remains snappy—especially with the fast 512GB SSD.
Streaming and simple exports are assisted by hardware HEVC/H.264 acceleration. If your day is Word, Web, Slack and the occasional edit, you’re going to be absolutely fine. If you’re working with multi‑cam 4K timelines, massive Xcode builds or 3D renders, look elsewhere.
Software support is also practical. This model is officially supported up to macOS Ventura, which still receives security patches along with the latest updates. At least with patches, Apple is committed to kicking off the curb only the current macOS and its immediate precursors, no matter what you buy now from an Intel-era set of models.
The caveats: Keyboard, battery, ports
This generation features Apple’s butterfly keyboard, which was the subject of a broad service program after widespread reliability complaints. Many units have already had a top‑case replacement — where possible, ask the seller about service history. iFixit, which rated the 2016-2017 Pro family poorly in terms of repairability, also points out that battery replacements are “considerably more laborious” than on earlier unibody Macs, so prefer machines with documented battery health and warranty.
On the plus side, you do get four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports—twice the number that most entry-level modern Airs offer—that allow for dual 4K displays, fast NVMe external drives and charging from either side of the system. (Plan to budget in a compact USB‑C hub or at least a couple of adapters: Once you add an extra $20–$40 for dongles, the overall outlay still remains well south of the price of an entry-level Mac.)
Value math vs. shopping new
Put the price in context. Today’s 13‑ or 15‑inch MacBook Air starts at $999 at retail, with occasional temporary reductions, and that includes the same size of SSD and both USB‑C ports. This renewed Pro offers twice the storage and twice the ports, for well under half price. That cost delta can pay for a year of cloud backup service, a good USB‑C monitor or professional app license.
Refurbished tech also often retains its value. Others, including analysts at IDC and Counterpoint, have said there is robust interest in the secondhand smartphone and PC markets, with its hardware historically holding resale value greater than most. If you keep it in good shape, some day later you can recoup a meaningful portion — another quiet advantage of buying below $400.
Check the list before you click “buy”
Check Grade A condition, 8GB/512GB and whether it comes with a real 61W USB‑C power adapter. Request the battery cycle count, photos of the chassis and display and confirmation that Activation Lock is removed. Check the return window and at least a 90‑day warranty; many well-regarded refurbishers will match or beat that. These little implemented small steps are very effectively helpful in avoiding surprises.
Who this MacBook Pro is for
Students, writers, sales teams and small business owners will get a great looking machine that feels like it’s meant to be bit onto. Creators who work mainly in photos or light 1080p video will be good; heavy video, 3D and ML workloads should aim for an M‑series Mac. It’s hard to beat at this price as a secondary laptop for travel or a dedicated Zoom and Office workhorse.
Bottom line A near‑mint condition 13-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for less than $400 is an outright killer deal. It is not the latest and it is certainly not the speediest, but against what most people actually use a laptop for — and what they want to spend, anyway — it’s the smart buy.