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The 6 Best Printers For Chromebook - Summer 2023 Reviews

Updated
Best Printers For Chromebook

As Chromebooks have become more common and widely used, most printers are fully compatible with Chrome OS, giving you many options. So, which are the best? To help you, we've compiled a list of the best printers, from premium, feature-rich all-in-ones designed for office use to cheap home models for the occasional print jobs. These printers work with Chromebooks out of the box without installing any drivers or third-party apps.

We've tested over 130 printers, and below are our recommendations for the best printers for Chromebook you can buy. You can also see our recommendations for the best home printers, the best inkjet printers, and the best all-in-one printers.


  1. Best Printer For Chromebook

    The best printer for Chromebook we've tested is the Brother MFC-L8905CDW, a color laser model designed for small or home offices. This all-in-one produces amazingly sharp documents, prints quickly at up to 32 pages per minute, and doesn't need much maintenance. The scanner produces high-quality scans and can process documents quickly, thanks to its automatic feeder with single-pass, double-sided scanning. Its page yield is excellent, so you don't need to replace the toner cartridges often. The drum also doesn't need regular replacement since it's good for about 30,000 prints.

    Like most printers, this printer has many variants with slightly different features, so if you don't need features like duplex scanning and NFC support, you can save some money with a cheaper variant like the Brother MFC-L8610CDW. You can see more details about the variants in the full review. Regardless of which variant you choose, the one thing that laser printers don't do well is photo printing, as laser printers tend to have a narrow color range and struggle to reproduce fine details.

    If you need to print photos or posters, get the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 instead. It's an all-in-one supertank inkjet model. It prints incredibly detailed and colorful photos and supports paper sizes up to 13" x 19". A full tank gets you thousands of prints, and you can easily refill the tank with bottles of ink, which are very cheap. It has some drawbacks, though, like the lack of an automatic feeder, slower printing speeds, and a higher price tag. You can get the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 variant if you want to save money. It gives you the same print quality as the ET-8550 but doesn't support wide-format paper sizes and has a smaller 8.5" x 11.7" flatbed scanner.

    See our review

  2. Best Upper Mid-Range Printer For Chromebook

    Our best upper mid-range pick is the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw, a color laser all-in-one. It has the same features as the Brother above and produces documents that look just as good. It yields significantly more color prints and is easier to maintain because its toner cartridges contain the drum, so you don't have to replace it separately. The tradeoff is that it prints slower at 22 pages per minute, and that speed is only achievable via a wired USB or Ethernet connection, which is inconvenient. Scan speed is also slower but pretty respectable at 14 pages per minute. Cheaper variants are available, like the Canon Color imageCLASS MF654Cdw, which lacks duplex scanning and fax functionality. You can see more details about the variants in our full review.

    If you don't need color printing, get the Brother MFC-L2750DW. This monochrome laser all-in-one produces high-quality documents, warms up quickly, and prints up to 36 pages per minute. It doesn't cost much to maintain, as it yields a large number of prints, and replacement toner is cheap. Also, there's only one cartridge to replace. The lack of color printing is the main drawback, so you must be sure you won't need to print any color documents. The scanner supports single-pass duplex scanning but is somewhat slow, as it can only process up to seven pages per minute through the feeder. There are less expensive variants without duplex scanning or Ethernet if you want to save more money, and you can also get this printer bundled with high-yield cartridges.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range Printer For Chromebook

    If you need something modest for general home use, get the Brother MFC-J4335DW, an all-in-one inkjet model. It's more compact than the laser models we recommend above, so it takes up less space, and you still get plenty of features, like an ADF-equipped scanner and plenty of connectivity options. It's fully compatible with Chrome OS and works straight out of the box without installing drivers or third-party apps. This model only has Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. If you need Ethernet or external storage support (to print off a USB flash drive), you can go with the Brother MFC-J4535DW variant, but expect to pay a little more.

    It uses four ink cartridges—the usual cyan, magenta, yellow, and black—and yields around 2000 black and 800 color prints. It means you won't need to replace the ink cartridges often unless you print a lot, and even then, the cartridges are relatively cheap, so your maintenance cost won't rise too quickly. It produces outstanding black and color documents and is pretty fast, pushing out 17 black or 15 color pages per minute. As for photos, it prints very fine details but struggles to reproduce bright, saturated colors and very light and dark shades.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Printer For Chromebook

    Our best budget pick is the Brother MFC-J1205W, also known as the Brother MFC-J1215 at Walmart. It's a good inkjet all-in-one option if you don't print all that often and only need basic features. It has a sturdy build, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity, and a flatbed scanner with extendable lid hinges. It prints high-quality black and color documents, although you'll have to be patient, as it only prints nine black or six color pages per minute. It's not bad for photo printing; it prints very detailed pictures but has trouble reproducing bright, saturated colors and darker tones.

    This printer yields around 1100 black and 700 color prints from a set of ink cartridges, and the cartridges are cheap, so your maintenance cost is exceptionally low. Of course, as it's a budget model, it's missing features like an automatic document feeder and Ethernet connectivity. Still, it's a good option if you want something affordable and don't mind a few tradeoffs.

    See our review

  5. Best Cheap Printer For Chromebook

    Last but not least, the cheap printers. Our pick is the Canon PIXMA MG3620, a basic inkjet all-in-one model. It isn't super sturdy, lacks a display, and only has a flatbed scanner with no ADF, but it produces sharp documents and good-looking photos. The main drawback is that it only has a black and tri-color cartridge, yielding about 200 black and color prints. The cost-per-print is still low because the cartridges are cheap; it just needs a lot of maintenance.

    Since it only has one color cartridge, you must replace it even if one color runs out. It's a good option if you only need to print one-off projects once in a blue moon; otherwise, get a model with better page yields, like the Brother MFC-J1205W above.

    See our review

  6. Best Compact Printer For Chromebook

    For small places like a dorm or bedroom, the HP DeskJet 3755 is a good option. You may find it under a different model number as it changes depending on the region and retailer, like the HP DeskJet 3772 or 3722; you can see the variants in our full review. It's a super compact all-in-one with Wi-Fi and USB connectivity and a sheetfed scanner. It produces reasonably sharp documents and very detailed photos; it's a little slow, as it can only print up to five black or three color pages per minute. The main drawback is its page yield, as the ink cartridges are only good for about 100 black and 40 color prints.

    The cartridges are cheap, but the cost will still add up quickly if you print a lot, so this is best suited for people who only print occasionally. There's no need to install drivers or third-party apps to use the printer; it works fully with Chrome OS devices straight out of the box.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw/MF751Cdw: The Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw/MF751Cdw is a great alternative to the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. It has nearly the same features as the Brother except for its smaller flatbed scanner, which can only scan up to 8.5" x 11" sheets, whereas the Brother can scan up to Legal size (8.5" x 14"). The Canon also has slower scanning and printing speeds and costs more to maintain because the toner cartridges don't last as long. See our review
  • Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300: If you need to print photos, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 is a good inkjet alternative to the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. The main downside is that it's a print-only unit, so you'll need a separate scanner to scan anything. Also, its maintenance cost is much higher because the ink cartridges run out fairly quickly. See our review
  • Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850: The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a great inkjet alternative to the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. It produces better photos and is cheaper to maintain; however, it doesn't print as quickly, and its scanner doesn't perform as well. It's also more expensive. See our review
  • Brother HL-L2325DW: The Brother HL-L2325DW is a great budget model and a good alternative to the Brother MFC-J1205W if you only need to print black-and-white documents. The downside is that it doesn't have a scanner. See our review
  • Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803: If you have a large print load, the Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 is a good alternative to the Brother MFC-J4335DW. The printer costs slightly more, but you'll save more money in the long run because it yields significantly more prints. However, it doesn't have an automatic feeder and prints slower. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Sep 15, 2023: Replaced the Brother MFC-L2750DW with the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw because the Canon can print in color and is only slightly more expensive than the Brother.

  2. Jul 18, 2023: Small text changes to improve clarity. No change in recommendations. Added the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 and the Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 as Notable Mentions.

  3. May 24, 2023: Replaced the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw with the Brother MFC-L8905CDW because the Canon is discontinued.

  4. Mar 30, 2023: Minor structure change. Added the HP DeskJet 3755/3722 as the 'Best Compact Printer for Chromebooks'.

  5. Jan 31, 2023: Minor text changes to improve clarity. Added the Brother HL-L2325DW as a Notable Mention. No change in recommendations.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best printers for Chromebook you can buy. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.

If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the 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.