I think performance wise, the acer is better with the i5 chip. If you have an iPhone etc, it could make more sense to buy the MacBook. Although personally, with the education pricing I'd get the i5 air or even the pro, although I get that you have a budget and that these exceed it.
If you can, head to a store and check them out (not ideal because of lockdown). The usage which you have mentioned doesn't require huge operating power as such, so I think factors such as battery longevity are more important than processing power, for example. Although a factor worth considering is the current apple keyboard. If you do not have any experience with using it, I would 100% recommend checking it out before you purchase as many people have found that they do not like it.
Overall: if you enjoy the connectivity of your devices and the Mac OS in general, get the Mac. If you fancy a change, get the acer. They're both great laptops which will do the job.