By Kaitlyn Wells and Ben Keough
From the beginning of Wirecutter’s existence, we’ve been testing printers, totaling nearly 550 hours of research and trying dozens of models.
In general, we’ve found that a black-and-white, print-only laser machine is the way to go for most people, and the Brother HL-L2460DW is the best one you can get. This printer is reliable, cheap to buy and run, and simple to operate. And unlike an inkjet printer, it won’t clog if you leave it sitting idle for weeks or months at a time.
If you need to scan occasionally, consider a mobile scanning app rather than a printer with a built-in scanner. But if you have more demanding business needs that require more frequent scanning, if you want to print in color, or if you like to print glossy photos to stick on the fridge, take a look at the other printers we recommend below.
The research
Affordable and reliable: Monochrome laser printer
Budget pick
If you don’t need to print in color on a regular basis, and need to scan only occasionally, this is the best printer you can buy. It’s reliable, cheap, and easy to use.
Buying Options
Who this is for: This model is ideal for people who don’t need a printer on a daily basis but still appreciate having one for the few times a year when they need to print.
Why we like it: The Brother HL-L2460DW is simple, fast, dependable, easy to set up, and affordable to operate. And because it’s a laser printer, it can sit for weeks or months between print jobs and start up again without trouble.
Although it’s a budget model, it isn’t short on features. For the typical $160-ish asking price, you get automatic duplex printing capability, a large 250-sheet paper tray, reliable Wi-Fi connectivity, and the option to use high-yield toner cartridges—which means you don’t have to buy them as often. This printer works with Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android.
As for print quality, in our testing to choose the best laser printer, we found that this model is more than good enough for any text-based document, but it might need a few settings tweaks to produce a graphics-heavy document that you’d want to hand out to other people. It’s also extremely compact, so it can fit in tight spaces where other printers can’t go, such as a bookcase shelf.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- It’s a little flimsy, and the packaging isn’t great. If you buy one, be sure to check for any plastic parts that might have gotten bumped out of place in transit.
- Brother’s software is mediocre. We don’t recommend printing via Brother’s iPrint&Scan software, because it produces excessive, detail-destroying contrast.
- Chromebooks, Google Cloud Print, and this printer may not get along. The HL-L2460DW’s default settings might prevent it from working with Google Cloud Print. To get it working, you need to disable IPv6 in the Networking section of the printer’s web control panel.
- It does only one thing. This may be obvious, but keep in mind that this machine prints only in black and white, and it can’t copy, scan, or fax.
Specs
Dimensions: 14.0 by 7.2 by 14.2 inches
Weight: 15.6 pounds
Pages per minute (stated): 36
Cost per page: 2.8¢
Learn more in our full guide to the best laser printer.
The best all-around home printer: Inkjet all-in-one
Top pick
This business-class machine checks all the boxes for a home office or small business: It’s faster, sharper, more durable, and more secure than our other picks.
Who this is for: Families—particularly those with school-age kids—or anyone who needs a machine that can reliably do it all should like this model.
Why we like it: The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e isn’t HP’s most powerful inkjet all-in-one, but it is the best one for most people. It is remarkably easy to set up and use, hitting the sweet spot of speed, print quality, and reliability in a way that other printers can’t match.
Its running costs are reasonable at 3.2¢ per page for black-and-white pages and 12.8¢ for color, with the option to join HP’s Instant Ink program for set-and-forget refills and cheaper color printing. (Though you should do your research before opting into Instant Ink or the HP+ program.) The printer’s sleek design also helps it stand out from stodgy-looking competitors.
The 9125e is plenty fast for just about anyone who plans to use it in a home or home-office setting. HP rates it at up to 22 pages per minute for black-and-white documents and 18 ppm for color. In our testing, it got pretty close: With a text-only Google Docs file, it printed at a rate of 21.4 ppm single-sided.
We also like the 9125e’s bright, capacitive touchscreen display, which makes it easy for you to navigate the menus in comparison with the single-line, monochrome, non-touch displays found on other printers, like the Brother HL-L2460DW. And the HP Smart desktop and mobile app makes it easy for you to scan to or print from all of your devices.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- Be careful with HP+ and Instant Ink. HP uses coercive tactics to try to get you to opt in to both HP+ and Instant Ink during the printer-setup process, and you should think twice before doing so. Joining HP+ permanently prevents you from using third-party ink and requires your printer to be connected to the internet at all times in order to print.
- It has a single 250-sheet paper tray. Although that’s a standard size for a home printer (it’s the same as on our print-only laser pick), it may be less than what some people want for home and home-business purposes. You’ll need to manually swap out your plain letter paper whenever you need to print on something else, such as labels or an envelope.
- The touchscreen could be bigger. The relatively compact real estate makes hitting the smallest on-screen buttons, such as the gear icon that takes you to the settings menu, somewhat difficult. Be prepared for a few frustrating mis-taps.
Specs
Dimensions: 17.3 by 20.46 by 10.94 inches (maximum)
Weight: 20.48 pounds
Pages per minute (stated): 22 monochrome, 18 color
Cost per page: 3.2¢ monochrome, 12.8¢ color
Learn more in our full guide to the best all-in-one printer.
A home-office powerhouse: Color laser printer
Top pick
This model produces crisp text and vibrant graphics, and has a low operating cost. But you can only use HP toner with it, so be prepared to pay full price come replacement time.
Buying Options
You save $100 (19%)
You save $100 (19%)
You save $100 (19%)
Who this is for: This type of printer is great for home-office workers and small-business owners, or people who print in color often and simply don’t want to deal with the clogs that can plague inkjets.
Why we like it: The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw offers an easy setup process, great printing quality, and reasonable operating costs for your home-office or small-business needs.
We had this laser printer up and running in no time thanks to an intuitive touchscreen that walked us through the process in under 10 minutes. Plus, mobile Wi-Fi printing and the optional HP Smart app make printing sans computer a breeze.
In our tests, it printed out clear, crisp text down to a font size of 3 points, so even the tiniest of subscripts in legal documents and footer text in charts will remain legible. It also printed high-quality, vibrant graphics and can even crank out good-looking photos (just not glossies) for book reports or presentations.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- You don’t get much toner in the box. Like most laser printers, the 3301fdw comes with a skimpy set of “starter” toner cartridges good for 600 black-and-white and 500 color pages. High-yield replacements (HP 218X) are rated for 3,200 monochrome and 2,500 color pages, but a full set costs around $450. Be prepared to shell out for replacement toner within the first year or so.
- It’s big and heavy. This model weighs more than twice as much as our budget laser pick (the Brother HL-L2460DW), takes up significant space on a desk, and probably won’t fit on a bookshelf due to its nearly 19-inch depth.
Specs
Dimensions: 16.85 by 18.58 by 17.91 inches (maximum)
Weight: 37.7 pounds
Pages per minute (stated): 26 monochrome, 26 color
Cost per page: 3.1¢ monochrome, 17¢ color
Learn more in our full guide to the best laser printer.
Gallery-worthy prints at home: Photo printer
Also great
The P700 consistently delivers excellent-quality prints with long-lasting pigment inks. It also offers a color touchscreen and other appealing features. The premature need to replace the ink, however, is not so user-friendly.
Who this is for: Serious photographers, or those who aspire to be, should go for this kind of printer.
Why we like it: The Epson SureColor P700 is capable of delivering gallery-quality prints up to 13 inches wide, and it can print panoramas up to 10 feet long. It can also print on a huge variety of media, including metal and CDs.
Though its color photos caught our eye while we were testing for the best photo printer, we especially loved its black-and-white output, which is as close as you can get to traditional darkroom prints at home. Those prints will last you a long time, too: The P700’s UltraChrome HD pigment ink is one of the longest-lasting consumer-level inks.
The touchscreen interface is a cut above what you can get from most rivals. Ink costs are reasonable, and you can buy extra-large-capacity tanks, so you’ll need to fill up less often. In addition to Wi-Fi, this printer has USB and Ethernet connections for faster printing.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- The driver installation doesn’t hold your hand. Although the physical setup of the printer is pretty straightforward, we found installing the drivers to be a challenge since there wasn’t a lot of instruction after “connect the printer to your computer.”
- Using third-party papers can get complicated. But if you take some time to learn how to use the Epson Media Installer software that’s installed along with the driver, you should be able to use a lot of different papers successfully.
- The paper feed struggles with stacks of glossy paper. The only way we got it to work reliably was by inserting one sheet at a time.
- Its starter ink is pretty skimpy. The machine doesn’t indicate this when you install the inks, but you’ll know they’re almost done when the printer starts to give the “low ink” warning way sooner than you expect.
Specs
Dimensions: 20.3 by 14.5 by 17.3 inches
Weight: 35.3 pounds
Cost per milliliter of ink: $1.52
Learn more in our full guide to the best photo printer.
This article was edited by Phil Ryan and Erica Ogg.
Meet your guides
Kaitlyn Wells is a senior staff writer who advocates for greater work flexibility by showing you how to work smarter remotely without losing yourself. Previously, she covered pets and style for Wirecutter. She's never met a pet she didn’t like, although she can’t say the same thing about productivity apps. Her first picture book, A Family Looks Like Love, follows a pup who learns that love, rather than how you look, is what makes a family.
Ben Keough is the supervising editor for Wirecutter's working from home, powering, cameras, and hobbies and games coverage. He previously spent more than a decade writing about cameras, printers, and other office equipment for Wirecutter, Reviewed, USA Today, and Digital Camera HQ. After four years testing printers, he definitively confirmed that they all suck, but some suck less than others.
Further reading
The Best Laser Printer
by Kaitlyn Wells and Ben Keough
The fast, reliable, and easy-to-use HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw is the laser printer we recommend for most home offices.
The Best All-in-One Printers
by Kaitlyn Wells and Ben Keough
The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e is our favorite all-in-one printer thanks to its ease of use, great print quality, and low cost of operation.
The Best Cheap Printers
by Phil Ryan
If you’re looking for an inexpensive printer, we think the Brother HL-L2350DW or the Brother MFC-J4335DW is your best option.
The Best Photo Printer
by Erin Roberts and Phil Ryan
If you want to make high-quality, long-lasting photo prints at home, the Epson SureColor P700 is the best photo printer to buy.
