Is it fair to say that printers are a necessary evil? It seems like most printers kind of... suck. Many of them are slow, loud and bulky, and if you’re not a business owner or student, you probably don’t own or need one... until that one extremely important document or photo needs to be printed and you’re left scrambling to find the closest FedEx or library that will let you use their printer. As someone who has dealt with that, hear me out: Even printer haters should have one at home.
It’s a purchase that can prevent major logistical headaches, whether you use it daily or only on occasion. Though it’s true that the market for good printers is pretty limited on a budget, some are worth your money according to reviewers and reputable product testers. Don’t worry; you don’t have to fork over more than $200 for any of the ones we found.
Whether you need an all-in-one printer for daily use, or just want a bare-bones option for printing every now and then without tearing out your hair in frustration, these under-$250 printers are good investments. Keep reading for our picks to transform your next printer experience from a nightmare into barely an inconvenience.
A small but mighty wireless all-in-one Brother inkjet printer
The Brother MFC-J4335DW is a budget-friendly Wirecutter pick, another all-in-one option that's better-suited for people who aren't printing as often but still want scanning capabilities and color printing. You can manage and operate the printer from Brother's mobile app, the paper tray can fit 150 sheets and the brand says that the four provided cartridges should last up to one year before you need to replace the ink.
Promising Walmart review: "I recently had to downsize my living/working quarters. I regretfully had to get rid of my Brother color laser printer, still fairly new, which was too big for my new space. This new Brother MFC-J4335DW fills basically the same needs but at one third the size. The ink technology is also very impressive especially when compared to previous inkjet printers I had. This is a must have for quality and wireless printing, copying, faxing and scanning. Perfect for a small office at home." — macmaitre
A reliable wireless Canon laser printer for basic printing jobs
Another CR recommended printer, the Canon imageCLASS LBP122dw scored perfect marks on predicted reliability, text quality and maintenance ink use, with an overall score of 74. This isn't an all-in-one model and doesn't print in color, but if you're only printing a text-heavy document now and then, you can save money on some of the bells and whistles of other models. It's also a laser printer, meaning it uses toner cartridges instead of ink cartridges — so if you go months without printing, you're less likely to be stuck dealing with clogging later.
Promising Amazon review: "I got this on a prime day sale and cost per dollar spent this is amazing. It works great and does all the simple things I need. If you want the basics to work easily on a budget then this printer is the right choice." — Anthony C. Hurst
An all-in-one wireless printer with over 15,000 5-star ratings
On Amazon, this little-printer-that-could HP DeskJet 4255e has racked up over 15,000 5-star ratings. It can print up to 8.5 pages per minute in black or 5.5 in color, has copying and scanning capabilities, can be operated from the HP app and you can get three free months of HP's Instant Ink when you activate HP+.
Promising Target review: "Great home printer! We had a dinosaur of a printer that was huge and wouldn’t update anymore. We knew we wanted another HP printer, so we decided on this little one. It’s been great so far. I’ve printed all kinds of things and even photos turn out great." — happy
A wireless Epson inkjet printer that's great for high-volume printing
Though it's just a printer and not a copier or scanner, reviewers on Staples call the Epson Workforce Pro WF-7310 a "workhorse," with many small business owners saying they use it for their day-to-day work. It can handle wide-format printing up to 13-by-19 inches, has a 500-sheet paper capacity and can print 25 black and white or 12 color pages per minute.
Promising Staples review: "I run a small business from home selling stickers and art prints. This printer was appealing to me for the wide format and use of pigment ink. It's lightning fast, makes high quality image prints, and was super easy to set up. Best yet, I didn't have to shell out $700+ for a Canon. Super happy with my purchase; highly recommend!" — Staples Customer
An all-in-one color inkjet printer for an unbeatable price
The Canon PIXMA MG3620 was small business owner-approved in past HuffPost coverage. You may not find a better deal on a color printer. It's wireless, can copy and scan, lets you print from a mobile device and comes in three colors (black, white or red). Reviewers tend to agree this isn't a heavy-duty printer, but if you need something small for smaller color print jobs, this is an affordable option.
Promising Amazon review: "Ideal printer for my home office. Easy set-up, great graphics, quiet, and easy to use. Way better than my old printer, which lasted for almost 20 years. It was also a Canon printer with the same footprint as this, so no difficulties with placement." — Jim H.
This HP black and white wireless printer that's "the smallest in its class"
Another printer recommended by testers at Forbes, the HP LaserJet MFP M140w is "the world's smallest laser in its class" according to the brand at 10.4-by-14.2-by-7.8 inches. It can print up to 21 pages per minute, has copying and scanning capabilities and has a 150-sheet paper tray. You can also print from your mobile device with the HP app.
Promising Amazon review: "This is a great option if you don’t need color. It’s small, lightweight, and fast. It uses a cartridge that makes lots of copies, so you are not buying expensive ink all the time. It also makes copies and scans. It was super easy to set up, and I can print from my phone or my ipad on my home wireless." — Rubolly
A highly-rated Brother monochrome laser printer
Promising Amazon review: "For the price, this is an amazing machine. Printing, copying and scanning all work very well and are simple to use. I found setup to be very easy. The included CD makes software installation a piece of cake and the software makes for easy and efficient printing and scanning from a desktop icon. You can also scan directly from the machine to your PC or laptop. I had another Brother laser printer for over five years which served me well but wanted to go paperless and needed a scanner. The document feeder makes multipage scanning and copying really easy. While the document feeder is supposed to be limited to 35 pages, I have found it will handle 50 pretty easily. Also, the provided software allows you to continue to add pages to a document so you can just continue to scan as many pages as you want to the same document. It's great. This isn't going to print, scan or copy 50 pages a minute, but the 30 or 35 it does isn't bad. I love it and would recommend it to anyone for home or small office applications." — Garry S. McGrath
This all-in-one HP OfficeJet Pro with multiple expert stamps of approval
Not only did Wirecutter call the HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e the best all-in-one printer, it's also recommended by Consumer Reports. It's wireless, can do color and two-sided printing, copying, scanning and faxing — all remotely from your phone with the HP app — and reviewers say it gets the job done fast. Your purchase includes three months of ink, and you can subscribe to receive new ink every month, if you think you'll be printing enough to need it.
Promising review: "I specifically bought this product because our last printer was a pain in the neck for scanning. We had to put each page in one in time. Then when that was done I would combine them to make a PDF. I could easily spend 15 minutes or more scanning one piece of mail. This printer allows me to put many sheets on the top and automatically scan them all front page and back page and turn them into a combined PDF file. Also I can be on the other side of the world and operate the printer using the web app." — D. Mann