The Real Cost
of Printing
Cost-of-ownership verdicts on 59 inkjet printers — from budget cartridge machines to supertank flagships — ranked by what they cost to keep printing, not their sticker price. Start with inkjet vs laser.
Our Top Picks
One standout for every way people print — ranked on cost per page, not the sticker price.
Canon MegaTank G3290
Canon’s sub-premium answer to the EcoTank — bottle-fed running costs without the supertank-premium entry price.
Canon PIXMA TS6520 Wireless Color Inkjet Printer Duplex Printing
The best-rated budget all-in-one we cover: dual-band Wi-Fi, automatic duplex, and an easy setup at a low sticker.
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500
The ET-8500 is the photo-first EcoTank, and on photos it earns its 4.
HP OfficeJet Pro 8125e Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer
Capable office hardware and good output, hated for the HP+ apparatus that surrounds it.
Browse by Category
Four cost tiers across 59 tracked models. Find the one that matches how you actually print.
Budget Inkjet Printers
Low-upfront cartridge all-in-ones, ranked with the cartridge tax priced in — cost per page decides this tier, not sticker price.
Supertank Printers
EcoTank, Smart Tank and MegaTank refillables — high upfront, cheap ink; ranked by refill economics, break-even point and clog risk.
Photo Inkjet Printers
Photo-first and borderless models — saturated color, deep ink sets and wide-format media, ranked by cost per print.
Office Inkjet Printers
OfficeJet, WorkForce, Brother and business PIXMA models — ISO ppm, ADF, duplex and duty cycle at office volume.
Latest Reviews
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How We Research
Every recommendation is backed by data, not opinion. Here is what goes into a verdict.
We price the ink, not the printer
Every verdict opens with cost per page — cartridge sets against bottle refills — because the cheapest printer to buy is usually the dearest to own.
Owner reviews, read worst-first
We mine the one-star reviews before the five-star ones across all 59 models, pulling the clog reports, Wi-Fi setup failures, and running costs the spec sheet leaves out.
Cross-referenced, never copied
Numbers get checked against RTINGS lab data, manufacturer page-yield figures, and community threads — three sources before a figure reaches a verdict.
We will tell you to skip it
Independent, with no sponsored placements. When a printer is a cartridge trap or a clog risk, the verdict says so — a yes only counts when we are willing to say no.
Run your own cost-per-page math
Sticker price is the bait; ink is the bill. Tell the calculator how much you print and what your ink costs, and it returns the real monthly cost — and the month a supertank's higher price pays itself back.
Popular Comparisons
The pairwise matchups buyers actually search — settled on running cost, not specs.
The Knowledge Base
Ad-free explainers that put running cost next to the spec sheet. Start with the decision, then go as deep as you like.
Start with the decision
By brand
Print media & materials
Printer Questions, Straight Answers
Why are printer cartridges so expensive?
It is the razor-and-blades model: the printer sells near cost and the real margin lives in the consumables. A budget DeskJet-class cartridge set can run close to the printer's own sticker price, so a machine that looked cheap on the shelf quietly becomes the expensive one to own. That is exactly why every verdict here prices the ink system before the hardware, and why cost per page — not the launch price — decides the rankings.
Are ink tank printers worth it?
For steady printing, yes. A supertank pre-pays years of ink in its higher sticker price, then drops cost per page to a fraction of cartridge rates. Print only a few pages a month and that premium never earns itself back.
Is inkjet or laser cheaper to run?
For plain black text at volume, a mono laser usually wins. Add color, photos, or a mixed household pile and a supertank inkjet takes the lead — our inkjet vs laser guide walks the exact math.
What is the cheapest printer to run per page?
A refillable tank model. Bottle ink rated in the thousands of pages runs far cheaper per page than any cartridge machine.
Do ink tank printers clog if you leave them idle?
They can. Liquid ink dries in unused nozzles, and recovery burns ink through cleaning cycles. Usage rhythm beats brand here: steady weekly printing keeps any inkjet healthy, while months of idle time favor a laser.
Which printer brand is most reliable?
No brand wins every job. Epson owns the supertank conversation, Canon undercuts on tank value, HP builds the most polished office all-in-ones, and Brother is the quiet long-haul text pick. Match the ink system to your volume first, the badge second.
Inkjet Printers notes that actually mention the tradeoffs
Occasional updates on inkjet printers evidence, price movement, and buyer-fit changes.
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Find Your Printer's Real Price
Fifty-nine printers, four cost tiers, one rule: the cheapest machine to buy is rarely the cheapest to own. Start with the tier that matches how you actually print.