Best Cheap Printer

If you want the best cheap printer for your home without paying a premium for replacement ink, the Epson EcoTank ET-2400 is the single smartest purchase you can make in 2026, saving you up to 90% on ink costs over its lifetime. Finding a reliable printer at a budget price has never been easier, yet the sheer number of options on the market makes choosing the right one genuinely overwhelming, especially when you factor in ink costs, print quality, and wireless reliability. Whether you need a workhorse for daily document printing, a compact unit for occasional use, or a full-featured all-in-one that can scan and copy alongside printing, the options covered here span every realistic home and small-office need.

The hidden cost of cheap printers has always been expensive ink cartridges, and savvy buyers in 2026 are finally wising up to the total cost of ownership rather than just the upfront sticker price. A printer that costs $49 upfront but requires $30 cartridges every month ends up costing you far more than a $200 model with economical ink refills, so understanding the ink model is the single most important factor in your buying decision. You can explore the full range of printers available across categories at our printers hub, where we break down options by use case and budget.

This guide covers seven of the strongest affordable printers available right now, from basic inkjet all-in-ones to fast monochrome laser printers, giving you a clear picture of which machine fits your specific printing habits and household needs. We have tested these units across everyday use cases — printing homework assignments, scanning documents, copying forms, and printing photos — to give you recommendations grounded in real-world performance rather than spec-sheet promises. If you are printing primarily for a household with kids or a home education setup, our dedicated best printer for homeschool guide goes even deeper on family-friendly features.

Editor's Recommendation: Top Picks of 2026

• #
  Preview
  Product
  Rating
• Bestseller No. 1
  
  HP DeskJet 2755e Wireless Color Inkjet-Printer, Print, scan, Copy, Easy Setup, Mobile Printing, Best-for Home, 6 Month Instant Ink Trial Included, White (Packaging May Vary)
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• Bestseller No. 2
  
  Epson EcoTank ET-2400 Wireless Color All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer with Scan and Copy – Easy, Everyday Home Printing, Black
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• Bestseller No. 3
  
  Canon PIXMA TS3720 Wireless All-in-One Printer for Basic Home Printing, White
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• Bestseller No. 4
  
  HP LaserJet M110w Wireless Black & White Printer, Print, Fast speeds, Easy Setup, Mobile Printing, Best-for-Small Teams
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• Bestseller No. 5
  
  Brother HL-L2460DW Wireless Compact Monochrome Laser Printer with Duplex, Mobile Printing, Black & White Output | Includes Refresh Subscription Trial(1), Works with Alexa
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• Bestseller No. 6
  
  Epson Workforce WF-2930 Wireless All-in-One Printer with Scan, Copy, Fax, Auto Document Feeder, Automatic 2-Sided Printing and 1.4" Color Display,Black
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• Bestseller No. 7
  
  HP DeskJet 4255e Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Scanner, Copier, Best-for-home, 3 month Instant Ink trial included. This printer is only 2.4 ghz capable. AI-enabled (588S6A)
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Detailed Product Reviews

1. HP DeskJet 2755e Wireless Color Inkjet Printer — Best Budget All-in-One

The HP DeskJet 2755e earns its place as the go-to entry-level all-in-one by delivering clean, 1200 DPI color prints at a price point that undercuts almost everything else in its class, while still offering print, scan, and copy functionality in a compact, white chassis that fits comfortably on any desk or shelf. You get dual-band Wi-Fi with HP's self-reset wireless connection technology, which means the printer automatically reconnects after a network hiccup rather than forcing you to sit through a tedious manual setup sequence every time your router reboots. The 64MB RAM handles standard home print jobs without noticeable lag, and the 60-sheet paper input tray supports labels, envelopes, cards, photo paper, and plain paper, giving you flexibility well beyond what the price tag might suggest.

HP bundles a six-month Instant Ink trial with this printer, which is a genuinely compelling value-add if you print infrequently and want predictable monthly costs based on page count rather than ink volume. Mobile printing via the HP Smart app works reliably across both iOS and Android, and you can print directly from cloud storage services without needing a computer in the loop at all. The print speed is modest — typical for an entry inkjet — but for everyday home tasks like printing recipes, school forms, travel documents, and occasional photos, the 2755e delivers consistently acceptable results without costing you a fortune upfront.

Where this printer shows its budget origins is in its ink efficiency during standalone cartridge use, since the standard cartridges are small and can drain faster than you expect on color-heavy documents, making the Instant Ink subscription genuinely useful for managing long-term costs. That said, as a pure entry point into wireless all-in-one printing, the DeskJet 2755e is hard to argue with at its price.

Pros:

• Genuinely affordable upfront cost with solid 1200 DPI print quality for everyday documents
• Dual-band Wi-Fi with self-reset technology eliminates frustrating manual reconnection steps
• Six-month Instant Ink trial included, reducing ink cost anxiety from day one
• Compact footprint fits easily on small desks and shelves without dominating the space

Cons:

• Standard cartridges are small and drain quickly on color-heavy documents without the Instant Ink subscription
• 60-sheet paper capacity requires frequent refilling during longer print jobs

2. Epson EcoTank ET-2400 Wireless Color All-in-One — Best for Low Long-Term Ink Costs

The Epson EcoTank ET-2400 is the definitive answer to the question of how to get cheap printing without sacrificing quality, because its cartridge-free supertank system eliminates the single biggest ongoing cost of inkjet ownership and replaces it with high-capacity ink bottles that cost a fraction of what standard cartridges charge per page. Each ink bottle set is equivalent to roughly 80 individual cartridges, and Epson estimates that replacement bottles cost up to 90% less than traditional cartridge replacements, translating into enough ink to print up to 4,500 pages in black or 7,500 pages in color before you need to spend another dollar on supplies. That math is nearly impossible to argue with if you are a regular printer user who has grown tired of being nickel-and-dimed by cartridge replacements.

The ET-2400 supports both wired and wireless connectivity, and its rear-feed input tray accepts up to 100 sheets — a meaningful upgrade over the 60-sheet tray on most budget inkjets — which means you spend less time babysitting paper levels during larger print jobs. The all-in-one functionality covers print, copy, and scan competently, and the wireless setup process is straightforward enough to complete in under ten minutes. Print quality is sharp and color reproduction is vibrant enough for everyday documents, school projects, and casual photo printing, though dedicated photo printers will outperform it on fine art reproduction.

The EcoTank ET-2400 does carry a higher upfront price than a basic budget inkjet, but that initial investment pays for itself quickly once you factor out recurring cartridge costs, and for anyone who prints regularly throughout the year, it becomes the smartest financial decision in this entire category. It is our top overall recommendation for 2026.

Pros:

• Cartridge-free supertank system saves up to 90% on replacement ink versus traditional cartridges
• Prints up to 4,500 black or 7,500 color pages per ink bottle set — extraordinary value
• 100-sheet rear-feed tray handles larger print jobs without constant paper reloading
• Reliable wired and wireless connectivity options suit both home and small-office environments

Cons:

• Higher upfront cost compared to basic budget inkjets requires a longer payback period
• No automatic duplex printing on the ET-2400, requiring manual page flipping for two-sided documents

3. Canon PIXMA TS3720 Wireless All-in-One Printer — Best for Dead-Simple Setup

The Canon PIXMA TS3720 is built around one core promise: get you up and printing as fast as possible with the minimum amount of setup friction, and it delivers on that promise consistently and without drama. Canon has refined the PIXMA line over many years into one of the most reliable inkjet platforms available, and the TS3720 represents that accumulated engineering knowledge applied to a compact, budget-friendly form factor that suits first-time printer buyers and anyone who simply wants a machine that works without technical headaches. If you want a deeper look at how different PIXMA models compare across the full lineup, our best Canon PIXMA printer guide breaks down the entire family in detail.

Print speeds land at approximately 7.7 images per minute in black and 4 images per minute in color, which is competitive for the price category and keeps everyday printing jobs from becoming a waiting exercise. The wireless setup process is genuinely streamlined, and Canon's mobile printing apps make it straightforward to send documents from your phone or tablet without touching a computer. You get full print, copy, and scan capability in a single unit, which covers the core needs of most home users without requiring you to invest in multiple devices.

The TS3720 does print single-sided only, which is worth noting if you regularly produce double-sided documents and want to avoid manually flipping pages, but for standard home use — homework, forms, photos, and correspondence — it performs reliably and affordably. Canon's ink cartridge ecosystem is well-established, with widely available replacement options across retail and online channels, making it easy to find supplies in a pinch.

Pros:

• Extremely fast and painless out-of-box setup that gets you printing in minutes
• Solid 7.7 ppm black print speed keeps everyday document jobs moving efficiently
• Full all-in-one functionality at an entry-level price point
• Canon's mature PIXMA platform ensures reliable long-term driver and software support

Cons:

• Single-sided printing only requires manual page handling for duplex documents
• Color print speed at 4 ppm is slower than some competitors at similar price points

4. HP LaserJet M110w Wireless Black & White Printer — Best Compact Laser

The HP LaserJet M110w is the printer you choose when you are done tolerating slow inkjet speeds and expensive color cartridges for documents that you only ever print in black and white anyway, and HP's claim of the world's smallest laser in its class is not just marketing — this machine is genuinely compact enough to fit in spaces where most laser printers simply cannot go. Laser printing technology produces text that is crisper and more durable than inkjet output, resistant to smearing and water damage, and at up to 21 pages per minute for black-and-white documents, the M110w is dramatically faster than any inkjet in this price range. According to Wikipedia's overview of laser printing technology, the process uses a drum unit and toner rather than liquid ink, which contributes to both the speed advantage and the long shelf life of printed pages.

HP backs this printer with its reputation as America's most trusted printer brand, and the M110w is designed specifically to serve small teams of one to three people who need professional-quality black-and-white documents without the complexity or footprint of a full office laser printer. The wireless setup is straightforward, mobile printing is supported, and the toner cartridges last significantly longer per dollar spent than inkjet cartridges on equivalent black-and-white page counts — making the M110w an economical long-term choice even accounting for its slightly higher upfront price versus budget inkjets.

The trade-off is obvious: no color printing, no scanning, no copying. If your printing needs are exclusively black-and-white documents — reports, contracts, forms, spreadsheets — the M110w is unmatched at this size and price point. If you need color or all-in-one functionality, look at the other options in this guide, but for pure document printing efficiency, this laser is the standout performer.

Pros:

• Up to 21 ppm black-and-white print speed far outpaces any budget inkjet alternative
• World's smallest laser printer in its class fits into genuinely tight desk spaces
• Toner cartridges deliver lower per-page cost than inkjet cartridges for black-and-white printing
• Laser output is crisp, smear-resistant, and durable compared to inkjet text

Cons:

• No color printing capability — strictly black and white only
• No scan or copy functionality — print-only design limits versatility

5. Brother HL-L2460DW Wireless Compact Monochrome Laser Printer — Best for High-Volume Home Office Printing

The Brother HL-L2460DW sits at the top of the affordable monochrome laser category in 2026 by combining a blazing 36 pages-per-minute print speed with automatic duplex printing in a compact chassis that connects via dual-band wireless (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Ethernet, or USB — giving you more connectivity flexibility than almost any other printer in this price tier. Brother has built a well-deserved reputation for monochrome laser reliability in home and small-office environments, and the HL-L2460DW represents that reputation at a genuinely accessible price point without stripping out the features that make these printers worth owning. If you print a high volume of documents each month and want the lowest cost-per-page available in a compact form factor, this is the machine you want.

The Brother Mobile Connect app lets you manage the printer remotely, check toner levels, order genuine supplies, and print from your mobile device from practically anywhere — a legitimately useful feature set for home offices where the printer and the user are not always in the same room at the same time. Automatic duplex printing is a standout inclusion at this price point, saving you both paper and time on double-sided documents without requiring you to manually flip pages mid-job. The Alexa integration is a bonus for smart-home users, though it is unlikely to be the deciding factor for most buyers.

Brother's Refresh subscription trial for toner is included, offering a convenient replenishment path if you prefer automatic supply management rather than remembering to reorder manually. This printer does not scan or copy — it is a dedicated print-only device — but for home offices and small teams printing text documents at volume, the HL-L2460DW delivers professional output at a pace and price that is genuinely difficult to beat among cheap printers in this category. Pairing it with a standalone scanner from our best cheap document scanners guide gives you a complete document workflow at a budget-conscious total cost.

Pros:

• Exceptional 36 ppm print speed — among the fastest in this price range for monochrome laser
• Automatic duplex printing saves paper and time on double-sided documents
• Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz) plus Ethernet and USB for maximum connectivity flexibility
• Brother Mobile Connect app enables remote management and mobile printing from nearly anywhere

Cons:

• No color printing — monochrome black-and-white output only
• No scan or copy functionality limits it to printing tasks exclusively

6. Epson Workforce WF-2930 Wireless All-in-One Printer — Best for Home Office Versatility

The Epson Workforce WF-2930 is the most feature-complete affordable printer in this roundup, packing in wireless printing, scanning, copying, faxing, an auto document feeder, automatic two-sided printing, and a 1.4-inch color display into a single machine at a price that remains within the budget category — making it the clear choice if you need professional-grade all-in-one functionality without paying professional-grade prices. Epson's heat-free printing technology is a genuine differentiator here: the permanent printhead is designed to last the life of the printer, eliminating one of the most common failure points in budget inkjet machines and reducing your long-term maintenance burden considerably.

The 1.4-inch color display makes navigation genuinely easier than the button-only interfaces you find on stripped-down budget printers, and the Epson Smart Panel app extends that ease of operation to your smartphone or tablet, letting you set up, manage, and troubleshoot the printer from your mobile device without needing to consult a manual. The auto document feeder handles multi-page scan and copy jobs without requiring you to stand over the machine feeding pages one at a time, which is a significant convenience upgrade for anyone who regularly processes contracts, tax documents, or multi-page forms.

Epson's leading-edge printing technology delivers sharp text output alongside vibrant color graphics that hold up well across the range of document types you encounter in a typical home office environment. The automatic two-sided printing feature works reliably and reduces paper consumption meaningfully over time. If you are looking for a single printer that handles every document task your home or small office generates — including faxing, which many budget printers have dropped entirely — the WF-2930 is the most capable and well-rounded choice on this entire list.

Pros:

• Comprehensive all-in-one feature set including fax, ADF, and automatic duplex printing
• Heat-free technology with permanent printhead designed to last the printer's full lifespan
• 1.4-inch color display simplifies navigation compared to button-only budget printers
• Epson Smart Panel app provides effortless mobile setup and management capabilities

Cons:

• Inkjet cartridge running costs apply — no supertank savings like the EcoTank ET-2400
• Larger physical footprint than the compact all-in-ones in this guide due to the ADF and extra features

7. HP DeskJet 4255e Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer — Best AI-Enabled Budget Printer

The HP DeskJet 4255e brings something genuinely new to the affordable all-in-one category in 2026: HP AI formatting assistance that cleans up web pages and emails before printing them, removing unwanted banners, navigation menus, and awkward layout breaks that typically result in wasted pages and half-printed columns when you send web content directly to a printer. For households that regularly print recipes from cooking sites, email confirmations, financial statements, and web-based forms, this AI cleanup feature is a practical daily convenience that saves both ink and paper without requiring any manual formatting work on your part.

The 4255e prints at up to 8.5 pages per minute in black and 5.5 ppm in color — respectably fast for a budget inkjet — and the auto document feeder, combined with a 60-sheet input tray, handles the volume of a busy home without constant intervention. You get full color print, copy, and scan functionality alongside wireless connectivity via the HP Smart app ecosystem, which is mature, reliable, and regularly updated with useful features. HP includes a three-month Instant Ink trial to help you evaluate whether the subscription model fits your usage pattern before committing.

The 4255e does operate on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only, which is worth noting if your router prioritizes 5GHz traffic or if you have congestion on the 2.4GHz band in your home — it is not a dealbreaker for most users, but it is a genuine spec limitation compared to dual-band printers in the same category. Overall, the AI-assisted formatting and solid all-in-one feature set make this the best choice for tech-forward households that want a smarter, more paper-efficient printing experience at a budget price.

Pros:

• HP AI formatting removes junk from web pages and emails before printing, saving ink and paper
• Strong all-in-one feature set including color printing, copy, scan, and auto document feeder
• Print speeds up to 8.5 ppm black and 5.5 ppm color are solid for the budget inkjet category
• Three-month Instant Ink trial included to help evaluate subscription printing economics

Cons:

• 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only — no 5GHz support may cause connectivity issues in congested wireless environments
• Standard inkjet cartridge running costs apply without subscribing to Instant Ink

How to Pick the Best Cheap Printer

Calculate Your Real Cost: Upfront Price vs. Total Cost of Ownership

The single biggest mistake budget printer buyers make is evaluating printers solely on their purchase price rather than their total cost of ownership over one to two years of regular use. A $50 printer that consumes $25 cartridges every two months costs you $200 in ink alone in your first year, making the $130 Epson EcoTank ET-2400 look like a bargain by comparison even though it costs more than twice as much upfront. Calculate how many pages you realistically print per month, find the cost-per-page for each printer's ink or toner system, and multiply that out over 12 to 24 months to get your actual total cost before making a buying decision.

Inkjet printers generally cost less upfront but more over time if you print regularly, while laser printers and tank-based inkjets like the EcoTank reverse that equation with lower per-page costs and higher initial investment. If you print only occasionally — a few pages per week — a basic inkjet remains the pragmatic choice, and our best printer for infrequent use guide covers that specific use case in much greater depth than a general roundup can.

Inkjet vs. Laser: Match the Technology to Your Needs

Inkjet printers handle color printing, photos, and mixed-media documents well, making them the right choice for households with children doing school projects, users who occasionally print photos, and anyone needing a full-color all-in-one machine at a budget price point. Laser printers produce sharper, more durable black-and-white text at higher speeds and with lower per-page costs on monochrome output, making them the correct choice for anyone who primarily prints text documents and values speed and reliability over color capability.

The Brother HL-L2460DW at 36 ppm and the HP LaserJet M110w at 21 ppm are in a completely different performance tier from the inkjets in this guide when it comes to black-and-white document printing speed, and that gap matters meaningfully if you print contracts, reports, or multi-page documents regularly throughout your workday. If you need color output, an inkjet remains your only option at budget price points, but go in understanding that color inkjet printing will always cost more per page than monochrome laser printing on equivalent volume.

All-in-One Features: What You Actually Need vs. What Sounds Useful

Most buyers assume they want every feature available — print, scan, copy, fax, ADF — without asking themselves how frequently they actually use each function in practice. If you have not sent a fax in the past two years, do not pay extra for fax capability; if you only scan documents a few times a year, a simple flatbed is adequate and a premium ADF is wasted money. The Epson Workforce WF-2930 is the right choice for users who genuinely use all of those features regularly in a home office context, while the Canon PIXMA TS3720 or HP DeskJet 2755e serve households that mostly just need to print and occasionally scan.

Automatic duplex printing — the ability to print on both sides of a page automatically — is a feature worth paying attention to at budget price points because it saves paper, reduces print jobs, and makes finished documents look more professional. The Brother HL-L2460DW and the Epson Workforce WF-2930 both offer automatic duplex; most other budget printers require you to flip pages manually, which is tedious on anything longer than four or five pages.

Wireless Connectivity and Mobile Printing: Non-Negotiable in 2026

Every printer on this list supports wireless connectivity, which reflects the reality that wired USB printing has become essentially obsolete for home users who print from laptops, tablets, and phones rather than desktop computers with a dedicated cable connection. What varies between models is wireless reliability, band support (2.4GHz only vs. dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz), and the quality of the companion mobile apps that handle mobile printing, ink monitoring, and remote management. HP's self-reset dual-band Wi-Fi on the DeskJet 2755e and Brother's dual-band support on the HL-L2460DW are meaningful advantages over single-band alternatives in households with congested wireless networks.

For households using Chromebooks, tablets, or relying heavily on cloud printing from Google Drive, Dropbox, or email attachments, verify that the printer's mobile app supports your preferred workflow before purchasing, since most modern budget printers support these use cases but the quality of the app experience varies enough to matter in daily use.

Frequently Asked Questions

The cheapest printer you can buy is never the one with the lowest sticker price — it is the one whose ink costs you the least over the next two years.