The Best Home Printer of 2025, Tried And Tested By Experts

If you’re shopping for a new printer, the best choice depends entirely on how you plan to use it — whether you just need something reliable for the occasional black-and-white document, a versatile all-in-one for family and school projects, a heavy-duty color laser for business use, or a professional photo printer capable of gallery-quality results. With so many options on the market, it can be tough to know which model is right for your needs. To help make the decision easier, we tested and reviewed some of the top printers in each category, highlighting their strengths, drawbacks, and the type of user they’re best suited for.

Summary of best home printers:

Affordable and reliable: Monochrome laser printer, $179 at Amazon

The best overall: Inkjet all-in-one, $299 $209 at Amazon

A home-office powerhouse: Color laser printer, $569 at Amazon

Gallery-worthy prints at home: Photo printer, $829 $729 at Amazon

*All products featured on Manhattan Times are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.

1) Affordable and reliable: Monochrome laser printer, $179

This printer is a great choice for anyone who doesn’t need to print daily but still wants the convenience of having a reliable machine for the occasional print job. The Brother HL-L2460DW stands out as a simple, fast, and dependable printer that’s both easy to set up and affordable to maintain. Thanks to its laser technology, it can sit unused for weeks or even months and still power back on without issues. Its compact size makes it easy to tuck away on a bookshelf or in a small office space, so it’s never in the way.

Despite its budget-friendly price point, the HL-L2460DW comes packed with useful features. For around $160, you get automatic duplex printing, a spacious 250-sheet paper tray, dependable wireless connectivity, and compatibility with high-yield toner cartridges to reduce how often you need replacements. It’s also versatile when it comes to operating systems, working seamlessly with Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android. In our tests, text documents printed with sharp, clear quality, though graphic-heavy pages might require a few adjustments to look their best. Still, its compact footprint makes it a smart pick for smaller spaces where other printers might not fit.

There are a few minor drawbacks to keep in mind. The build feels a bit flimsy, and the packaging doesn’t offer much protection during shipping, so it’s worth checking for loose parts upon arrival. Brother’s iPrint&Scan software also leaves much to be desired, as it tends to add excessive contrast that diminishes detail. And while this printer handles black-and-white jobs well, it can’t copy, scan, or fax, so it’s best suited for those who only need straightforward printing.

Specs:
Dimensions: 14.0 x 7.2 x 14.2 inches
Weight: 15.6 pounds
Pages per minute: 36
Cost per page: 2.8¢

2) The best all-around home printer: Inkjet all-in-one, $299 $209

This printer is a strong fit for families — especially households with school-age kids — as well as anyone who needs an all-in-one machine that can reliably handle a variety of tasks. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e may not be HP’s most powerful inkjet model, but it’s the one that makes the most sense for most users. It combines ease of setup, reliable performance, and solid print quality with a balance of speed and affordability that makes it stand out from other options in its class.

Operating costs are fairly reasonable, averaging 3.2¢ per page for black-and-white and 12.8¢ for color prints. You also have the option to enroll in HP’s Instant Ink program for automatic refills and potentially lower color-printing costs, though it’s worth researching Instant Ink and the HP+ program before committing. The sleek, modern design of the 9125e also makes it more appealing than many of its bulky, utilitarian-looking competitors. In terms of speed, HP rates it at 22 pages per minute for monochrome and 18 ppm for color, and our tests came close, with text-only documents hitting 21.4 ppm on single-sided prints.

We also appreciate the 9125e’s bright, responsive touchscreen, which makes navigating menus significantly easier than the monochrome, non-touch displays found on many rivals like the Brother HL-L2460DW. The included HP Smart app for both desktop and mobile adds convenience by letting you scan and print from nearly any device, streamlining workflows across your home or office.

That said, there are a few drawbacks worth noting. HP pushes users aggressively to opt in to HP+ and Instant Ink during setup, and opting in comes with downsides: HP+ permanently disables third-party ink use and requires a constant internet connection to print. The single 250-sheet paper tray is standard for home printers but could be limiting for heavier use, forcing you to swap in paper when printing on envelopes or labels. And while the touchscreen is a welcome feature, it’s smaller than ideal, which can make tapping precise icons like the settings gear a bit frustrating.

Specs:
Dimensions: 17.3 x 20.46 x 10.94 inches (maximum)
Weight: 20.48 pounds
Pages per minute: 22 black-and-white, 18 color
Cost per page: 3.2¢ monochrome, 12.8¢ color

3) The best color all-in-one laser printer, $569

This printer is an excellent choice for home-office professionals, small-business owners, or anyone who frequently prints in color and wants to avoid the clogging issues that can come with inkjet models. The Brother MFC-L3780CDW offers speed, reliability, and advanced security features that make it particularly well-suited for handling sensitive documents such as legal or medical records.

One of the standout features is its responsive color touchscreen, which is much easier to navigate than the displays on many competing models, though the dark lower menu bar could pose challenges for users with limited vision. It also includes a front USB port, allowing you to print directly from a thumb drive or save scans to portable storage. In our testing, it delivered crisp text and vivid graphics with no visible banding, making it ideal for reports and presentations. While it can produce full-color photos, the results appeared slightly muted compared to inkjet or dedicated photo printers — so it’s better suited for office use than photo-quality printing.

The MFC-L3780CDW is built for heavier workloads than many alternatives. With a monthly duty cycle of 4,000 pages, nearly double that of the Brother HL-L2460DW, it’s better equipped for busy environments. Its bypass tray also accommodates nonstandard media like postcards and executive-size sheets, adding flexibility for special projects. Over time, it’s relatively cost-efficient to run, averaging about 2.5¢ per black-and-white page and 12.9¢ per color page when using super-high-yield toner cartridges — though the initial investment for a full set runs over $500.

That said, there are a few trade-offs. Brother’s one-year warranty is short compared with Canon’s three-year coverage and HP’s one-year plan with on-site service, though extended coverage is available starting at $103, which includes free repairs or next-day replacement shipping. Scanning quality is another weak point, as we noticed pixelation, muted colors, and some distortion in tests — but for typical office needs, these limitations aren’t likely to be dealbreakers.

Specs:
Dimensions: 16.85 x 18.58 x 17.91 inches (maximum)
Weight: 37.7 pounds
Pages per minute: 26 black-and-white, 26 color
Cost per page: 3.1¢ monochrome, 17¢ color

4) Gallery-worthy prints at home: Photo printer, $829 $729

This printer is designed for serious photographers, or anyone aspiring to produce professional-level images at home. The Epson SureColor P700 stands out for its ability to create gallery-quality prints up to 13 inches wide and panoramic images as long as 10 feet. It also supports an impressive range of media, from fine art paper to metal sheets and even CDs, making it one of the most versatile photo printers available.

During testing, its color prints were striking, but what impressed us most was its black-and-white output, which comes remarkably close to the look of traditional darkroom prints. Thanks to Epson’s UltraChrome HD pigment ink, these prints are not only beautiful but also highly durable, offering some of the longest-lasting results among consumer printers. The P700 also features an excellent tilting touchscreen interface that makes adjusting paper type and sizing simple — and it even shows your image progressing on-screen as it prints. With multiple connectivity options including Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet, it offers flexibility and faster printing speeds. Ink costs are relatively reasonable, and you can opt for larger-capacity tanks to reduce the frequency of replacements.

However, there are a few challenges to be aware of. Driver installation can be frustrating, as setup instructions are minimal once the printer is connected to your computer. Using third-party papers can also be tricky, though learning the included Epson Media Installer software can solve most compatibility issues. The paper feed has trouble handling stacks of glossy sheets, often requiring you to insert them one at a time for consistent results. And the starter ink supply is quite limited — the printer doesn’t make this clear at installation, but you’ll notice when you start seeing low-ink warnings sooner than expected.

Specs:
Dimensions: 20.3 x 14.5 x 17.3 inches
Weight: 35.3 pounds
Cost per milliliter of ink: $1.52

This completes our list of the best home printers. If you want more posts about the latest news, check our other home page here.