We've purchased over 175 printers and tested them with the real-world demands of home use in mind. For example, your family might want to scan delicate old photos for posterity, print colorful cards for special occasions, or have a reliable device for the occasional essay or shipping label. Our testing is exhaustive to provide you with an accurate representation of a printer's capabilities.
We evaluate scan quality for image clarity and fidelity, and to ensure prints resemble their originals, we assess color accuracy and reproduction. Our maintenance testing covers necessary upkeep so you can find a printer that's easy to manage, no matter how frequently you print. Of course, a low cost-per-print is a must to help your family stay within its budget; our ink and toner yield testing informs our recommendations, as no one wants to get stuck constantly refilling ink or with high recurring costs. So, whether you're shopping for the best home office printer with tons of features or a simple budget device that can get the job done, we can help you find the best printer for your home's needs.
Below are our recommendations for the best printers for home and home office use that you can buy. If you're looking for some other options, check out our picks for the best all-in-one printers, the best photo printers, and the best office printers.
We've tested over 170 printers since 2020 with one goal in mind: to give you reliable, unbiased reviews that help you choose the right printer for your needs. To keep things fair, we purchase every product ourselves from major retailers, just like you would. Each printer then goes through a thorough, standardized testing process that evaluates all the key factors you should consider when buying a new model. From build quality and cost per print to color accuracy and overall performance, we provide as much detail as possible to guide your decision.
Want to learn more about our methods? Look at our How We Test Printers article for a deep dive into our testing procedures.
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Best Home Printer
Build Quality8.0Home8.0Document Quality8.0Scanning7.4Estimated Black Page Yield4,978 printsEstimated Color Page Yield3,319 printsBlack-Only Printing Cost0.004 US$/printSee all our test resultsColor Printing Cost0.026 US$/printThe best home printer we've tested is the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500, an all-in-one inkjet model that produces beautiful, vibrant photos. It's important to note that the ET-8500 is a cheaper variant of the flagship Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550. They're both excellent printers; the main difference is that the ET-8550 has a larger 8.5" x 14" flatbed scanner and supports wide-format paper up to 13" x 19", which is only relevant for people who need to print things like posters, making the cheaper ET-8500 a better option for most households.
This model produces sharp, high-quality documents and incredibly detailed photos. It warms up quickly and prints up to 15 black or 10 color pages per minute. As you may have guessed from the model name, this is a supertank printer with a refillable ink tank instead of cartridges. A full tank gets you thousands of prints, and replacement ink is cheap, so you don't have to worry about high ownership costs. Also, refilling the tank is easy; even less tech-savvy people can do it with little trouble. The flatbed scanner is great for digitizing photos, as it captures even the tiniest details; however, there's no automatic feeder, so you must scan each page manually when processing multi-page documents.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Home Printer
Build Quality9.0Home7.7Document Quality9.5Scanning9.4Estimated Black Page Yield2,311 printsEstimated Color Page Yield2,422 printsBlack-Only Printing Cost0.036 US$/printSee all our test resultsColor Printing Cost0.125 US$/printIf you only print documents and don't mind a relatively large printer, the Canon Color imageCLASS MF665Cdw is an excellent choice and one of the best document printers we've tested. This all-in-one color laser printer delivers impressively sharp documents and yields thousands of pages, which keeps running costs low. Canon improved on the previous Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw, delivering slightly better print quality and faster performance while maintaining the same overall experience. You still get excellent print quality, high page yields, and a capable ADF. Unlike inkjet printers, you won't have to worry about clogged printheads. That said, its photo prints will be much less detailed and clear than what you can get with an inkjet. It prints up to 26 pages per minute in both color and black and white, and the built-in duplex-scanning ADF makes it easy to handle multi-page, double-sided documents. Cheaper variants with fewer features are available if you want to save some money.
For households that only print in black and white but still need the functionality of an all-in-one device, consider the Brother MFC-L2820DW. It produces high-quality documents, warms up quickly, and prints up to 33 pages per minute. It costs little to maintain, as it yields many prints, and replacement toner is cheaper than the Canon since there's only one toner cartridge to replace. The caveat is that, unlike the Canon, you'll have to replace the drum separately. The scan quality is excellent, although the MFC-L2820DW lacks duplex scanning; higher-end variants, like the Brother MFC-L2885DW, support duplex scanning, but they're hard to find.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Inkjet Home Printer
Build Quality7.5Home8.3Document Quality9.0Scanning8.5Estimated Black Page Yield6,764 printsEstimated Color Page Yield3,766 printsBlack-Only Printing Cost0.004 US$/printSee all our test resultsColor Printing Cost0.014 US$/printIf you're looking for a high-volume all-in-one printer that's affordable to run and also capable of printing high-quality photos, the Epson EcoTank ET-3950 is a great alternative to the Canon Color imageCLASS MF665dw. The Epson's inkjet system produces significantly superior photo prints, offering a much wider color gamut and excellent fine detail. Like the Epson ET-8500, it uses refillable ink cartridges with outstanding yields. The ink bottles are also relatively inexpensive, making this printer ideal for large print jobs. It produces excellent black-and-white documents and good color documents. However, like all inkjet printers, this printer can clog if it's left unused for long periods. While many maintenance tasks are included, it can still be a bit of a hassle for people who print infrequently.
The Epson ET-3950's scanner is also very feature-rich. It includes all the functions you might expect. Its automatic document feeder supports both duplex printing and duplex scanning. The scanning quality falls a bit short compared to some other options, but it should be serviceable for most uses. The ET-3950 also features the usual USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet connectivity, as well as support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, making it easy to print from various devices. If you're looking for a model with a fax function, Epson's otherwise identical Epson EcoTank ET-4950 is worth a look. If you don't need an automatic document feeder for your scanner, the cheaper Epson EcoTank ET-2980 is also an excellent alternative. It produces similar printing results and has the same outstanding page yields.
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Best Budget Home Printer
Build Quality8.0Home6.4Document Quality8.5Estimated Black Page Yield1,273 printsEstimated Color Page YieldN/ABlack-Only Printing Cost0.039 US$/printSee all our test resultsColor Printing CostN/AMany people only need a printer that can take care of return labels or is ready to use once or twice a year for important documents. If this sounds like you, we recommend the Brother HL-L2460DW or one of its variants. Each variant offers slightly different specifications, so depending on your budget and needs, you can choose a model with more or fewer features. These print-only monochrome laser printers get the first page out quickly and offer fast print speeds, between 32 and 34 pages per minute. Connectivity options can include USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet, and more expensive variants have features like automatic duplex printing.
The main advantage of monochrome laser printers is their low maintenance requirements and costs. Their cartridges yield many pages before needing replacement, and unlike inkjet printers, you don't have to worry about printhead clogging. But there are some trade-offs. These printers are more expensive upfront than cheap inkjet printers, like the Canon PIXMA MG3620 we recommend below. Also, as print-only units, you must be sure you won't need to scan anything. Finally, the out-of-the-box printing quality for these models isn't what you would expect from a Brother laser printer, although you can still produce sharp-looking documents if you tweak a couple of printer settings.
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Best Cheap Home Printer
Build Quality5.5Home7.2Document Quality8.5Scanning7.0Estimated Black Page Yield142 printsEstimated Color Page Yield254 printsBlack-Only Printing Cost0.134 US$/printSee all our test resultsColor Printing Cost0.098 US$/printIf you want to spend as little as possible upfront, we recommend the Canon PIXMA MG3620. While it prints sharp documents and colorful, detailed photos, printers at this price point come with more compromises. It's slow, only printing up to nine black or three color pages per minute. Also, unlike the models above, it yields significantly fewer prints, meaning you'll have to replace the ink cartridges more frequently. And while you can get XL high-yield cartridges, they'll still yield fewer prints than our other picks. Finally, since it uses a tri-color cartridge, you must replace the entire cartridge if one color runs out, which is wasteful.
On the upside, it supports automatic double-sided printing, which is a nice feature to have in this price range. It also has a good range of connectivity options, including USB and Wi-Fi, and support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service; it's compatible with Canon's mobile app. The scanner performs decently; scans are detailed but look a little washed out.
Notable Mentions
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Epson EcoTank ET-2400:
If you're looking for a printer with color printing and outstanding page yields, consider the Epson EcoTank ET-2400 instead of the Brother HL-L2460DW. While it will certainly need more maintenance than the Brother, it includes a flatbed scanner and is very cheap to run over time.
See our review -
Canon PIXMA TR8620a:
The Canon PIXMA TR8620a is a good photo printing alternative to the Brother HL-L2460DW. It produces colorful, detailed pictures but doesn't yield as many pages, so you'll have to pay more for ink.
See our review -
Brother MFC-J4335DW:
If you can find it in your region, the Brother MFC-J4335DW is an excellent mid-range alternative to the Epson EcoTank 3950. It delivers outstanding print quality and page yields for less.
See our review
Recent Updates
Feb 02, 2026:
Replaced the now-discontinued Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw with its successor, the Canon Color imageCLASS MF665Cdw. It has very similar performance, with slight improvements in print speed and print quality. Renamed the Epson EcoTank ET-3950's category to the 'Best Upper Mid-Range Inkjet Home Printer' as it's a better description of this printer's position. We also had to remove the now-discontinued Brother MFC-J4335DW from our main picks, but we still mentioned it as an alternative for people who can find it in their region.
Oct 24, 2025:
Added the Epson EcoTank ET-3950 as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range Printer' that can also print good photos. Added the Epson EcoTank ET-2980 as a Notable Mention instead of the Epson EcoTank ET-3850. While the latter could be a good option on sale, its successor the ET-3950 brings in some useful improvements that make it a better choice overall.
Mar 12, 2025:
We've removed the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 from our Notable Mentions as it's no longer available and made edits throughout for clarity.
Jan 07, 2025:
We've verified that our recommendations are available and represent the best choices. We also made small edits for clarity and concision.
Nov 11, 2024:
We've verified that all our recommendations are available and represent the best choices. We've also made edits for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best printers for home and home office use. In addition to test results, we factor in price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you would like to do the work of choosing the best printer for home use yourself, here's a list of all our printer reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no printer is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.