So you've decided to get an inkjet printer for its versatility, but you're having a hard time choosing a model; it's understandable! There's a wide range of inkjet printers to consider, from expensive, full-featured models to simple budget options. On top of that, the price of a printer doesn't always match its print quality. So, what should you look for when shopping for an inkjet model? There are many things to consider, such as the color and black print quality, printing speed, connectivity options, and whether you need features like a scanner or mobile app support. Also, don't forget about your print load, as the cost of replacement ink cartridges can add up quickly.
Below are our recommendations for the best inkjet printers you can buy. You can also check our picks for the best photo printers, the best home printers, and the best printer brands.
Quick Look
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Best Inkjet Printer
Build Quality8.0Black-Only Printing Cost0.006 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.027 US$/printColor Quality7.1Document Quality9.0Scanner7.8Speed8.9Estimated Black Page Yield4,921 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield2,532 printsThe best inkjet printer we've tested is the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850, an all-in-one designed for small or home offices. This supertank model produces amazingly sharp documents, prints quickly at up to 25 pages per minute, and yields thousands of prints from a full ink tank. Replacement ink is cheap, so you don't have to worry about high ownership costs, even if you print a lot. Its wide connectivity options make it easily accessible, and its ADF-equipped scanner lets you process multi-page and double-sided documents quickly at nine pages per minute.
As for photo printing, printed pictures look detailed and colorful but noticeably grainy. It's acceptable for documents and casual photos, but anyone requiring professional-grade reproductions can consider our pick for the Best Inkjet Photo Printer below, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310. The biggest downside of the ET-5850 is its high price tag. If you want something more affordable and don't mind compromising slightly, you can get the Epson EcoTank ET-5800 variant. It has the same features and provides the same print quality as the ET-5850; however, it's a little slower to print color documents and doesn't support borderless printing.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Inkjet Printer
Build Quality7.5Black-Only Printing Cost0.004 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.014 US$/printColor Quality7.2Document Quality9.0Scanner8.4Speed6.8Estimated Black Page Yield6,764 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield3,766 printsThe Epson EcoTank ET-3950 is our best Upper mid-range pick for an inkjet printer. While it's slower than the Epson ET-5850 above, it also delivers high yields and low running costs. This printer uses refillable ink bottles with excellent yields, providing thousands of pages before needing a refill. The ink is inexpensive, which makes the ET-3950 ideal for frequent or large print jobs. As the successor to the Epson EcoTank ET-3850, it introduces several small but meaningful upgrades that improve its overall performance. The automatic document feeder now supports duplex scanning, making it easier to work with multi-page documents, and the color accuracy has been refined for more natural photo printing. Photos appear detailed and vibrant, but not consistent enough for professional photo work.
It also includes USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet connections, along with Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service support, so users can print easily from pretty much any device. The ET-3950 produces crisp black text and good color prints, though colors may look slightly muted. Scanning performance is solid, although the results can be slightly overexposed. Print speeds are reasonable, producing a single page in about 25 seconds and up to 17 black or seven color pages per minute.
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Best Mid-Range Inkjet Printer
Build Quality8.0Black-Only Printing Cost0.014 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.078 US$/printColor Quality6.1Document Quality9.0Scanner8.6Speed8.1Estimated Black Page Yield2,280 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield825 printsOur best mid-range inkjet pick is the Brother MFC-J4335DW, a simple all-in-one model designed for home use and one of the best all-in-one inkjet printers we've tested. It's very cheap to maintain, as its ink cartridges last a long time and are relatively inexpensive. It produces high-quality documents, and while it doesn't have the best color range and accuracy, it still produces very detailed photos that are good enough to hang at home. Its overall printing speed is very good, though it's noticeably slower than the HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e above when it comes to black document printing, churning out 17 pages per minute.
The scanner processes documents quickly through its automatic feeder and produces outstanding scans, making it great for digitizing photos. Unlike our picks so far, it doesn't support duplex scanning, meaning you'll have to flip the pages manually when scanning double-sided sheets. If you need Ethernet connectivity or NFC support, you can get the more costly Brother MFC-J4535DW variant. It also has an additional 250-sheet input tray and a larger touch-sensitive display.
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Best Budget Inkjet Printer
Build Quality8.0Black-Only Printing Cost0.021 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.054 US$/printColor Quality6.6Document Quality9.0Scanner7.1Speed5.6Estimated Black Page Yield1,178 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield766 printsThe best budget inkjet printer we've tested is the Brother MFC-J1205W, also known as the Brother MFC-J1215W if you're shopping at Walmart. It's an inkjet model designed for people who print frequently but not with high volume. It has a sturdy build and a decent number of connectivity options, and it prints high-quality documents and decent-looking photos. Its ink cartridges last a long time and are relatively cheap, so the cost-per-print is exceptionally low.
There are a few compromises for its budget-friendly price, like its slow printing speed and the lack of an automatic document feeder. It's compatible with Brother's mobile app, which you can use to print, scan, copy, perform maintenance tasks, and order supplies.
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Best Cheap Inkjet Printer
Build Quality5.5Black-Only Printing Cost0.134 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.098 US$/printColor Quality7.0Document Quality8.5Scanner7.4Speed6.2Estimated Black Page Yield142 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield254 printsIf you only need a basic unit to get the job done and want to spend as little as possible, consider the Canon PIXMA MG3620. It doesn't feel particularly well-built and only has a basic flatbed scanner, but it prints good-quality documents and photos. The main drawback is its low page yield. It requires a lot of maintenance if you print in high volume, and you might end up wasting paper and time due to incomplete or faded prints.
One last thing: if you only print the occasional one-off project, consider going for a budget laser printer instead. Inkjet printers are prone to clogging if they sit unused for long periods, so you can quickly end up spending more on replacement ink cartridges than you did on the printer itself. See our picks for the best laser printers, too.
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Best Inkjet Photo Printer
Build Quality9.0Black-Only Printing Cost0.029 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.376 US$/printColor Quality9.0Document Quality9.5Speed1.8Estimated Black Page Yield551 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield383 printsFor those looking to print photos, we recommend the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310. This pigment-based inkjet model uses nine ink cartridges to produce amazingly detailed, colorful, and color-accurate pictures. Plus, it has a 'Chroma Optimizer' cartridge, which applies a coating to seal printed photos, giving them better uniformity, shine, and longevity. It supports various paper sizes up to 70 inches in length, making it a great option for creating posters and signs. You can use it to print documents, too; just know that it prints extremely slowly at one document page per minute and doesn't support automatic duplex printing.
Unfortunately, you'll need a separate device if you want to scan anything since this is a print-only unit. You'll also need a fair amount of desk space, as it's a pretty big device. Its cost-per-print is okay; the ink cartridges yield a decent number of pages and aren't overly expensive, but because there are ten cartridges, your recurring costs will still add up quickly if you print a lot. You can buy the cartridges individually, though, which will help save some money, as you won't have to spend unnecessarily on cartridges you use less often.
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Best Wide Format Inkjet Printer
Build Quality7.5Black-Only Printing Cost0.029 US$/printColor Printing Cost0.126 US$/printColor Quality6.3Document Quality8.0Scanner7.6Speed7.2Estimated Black Page Yield1,444 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield641 printsThe HP OfficeJet Pro 9730e is a great choice if you need a wide-format printer for your office. This all-in-one is great for printing posters, charts, and blueprints, as it supports paper sizes up to 11" x 17". Its regular ink cartridges yield a fairly high number of prints, roughly 1,400 black and 600 color prints, and XL cartridges are available, which have an advertised yield of 2,500 black and 1,650 color prints. It produces very sharp documents and prints relatively quickly for an inkjet model. For photo printing, it has a decently wide color gamut and color accuracy, but printed photos look very grainy, with overly warm skin tones.
The scanner is feature-rich; its flatbed scanner supports up to 11" x 17" paper, and its ADF supports automatic duplex scanning. However, the scan quality is mediocre, as its overly aggressive image processing removes a lot of fine details. Like the HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e above, this model comes with three months of free ink through the HP+'s ink subscription service; just know that the same limitations apply, meaning you won't be able to use third-party cartridges down the road, and the printer will require a constant internet connection to print, even if you use a USB connection. If you want to check out some other options, see our recommendations for the best 11" x 17" printers.
Notable Mentions
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Canon PIXMA G4270:
If you have a large print load, the Canon PIXMA G4270 is a good alternative to the Brother MFC-J4335DW. It costs slightly more upfront but yields significantly more prints, so it's cheaper to maintain over time. The scanner supports manual duplex scanning, but it has trouble capturing fine details, which isn't ideal for digitizing photos. It prints slower at nine black or three color pages per minute and only supports manual duplex printing.
See our review - Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830: The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830 is a good option if you want something in the same price range as the Brother MFC-J4335DW but need automatic duplex scanning. The documents it produces don't look as good as the ones made by the Brother, but the pictures do, as it has a wider color range and better accuracy. The downside is that it yields significantly fewer prints, so you'll have to spend more on ink. See our review
- Brother MFC-J1010DW: The Brother MFC-J1010DW is a good alternative to the Canon PIXMA MG3620 if you need an automatic document feeder or faster printing speed. However, it's more expensive and yields fewer color prints. See our review
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Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550:
For those who print a lot of photos and don't want to worry about high maintenance costs, get the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 instead of the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310. Its refillable ink tank yields significantly more prints, and its replacement ink is much cheaper. Plus, you get a scanner for digitizing your artwork. However, it's far less color-accurate, as it tends to oversaturate colors.
See our review -
Epson EcoTank ET-2400:
The Epson EcoTank ET-2400 is a budget-friendly alternative to the Canon iamgePROGRAF PRO-310 that produces very detailed and colorful pictures. It's significantly cheaper, and it yields thousands of prints since it's a supertank model. However, it has a narrower color range and isn't as color-accurate. It also lacks support for Apple AirPrint or Mopria Print Service.
See our review
Recent Updates
Oct 24, 2025:
Replaced the HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e with the Epson EcoTank ET-3950 as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range' pick since it provides better yields and better print quality.
Apr 30, 2025:
Replaced the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 with the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 because the PRO-310 has better color accuracy and supports more media types.
Jan 27, 2025:
Replaced the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 with the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 because the Pro-300 is discontinued and no longer available.
Oct 30, 2024:
We've replaced the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840 with the HP OfficeJet Pro 9730e as the 'Best Wide-Format Inkjet Printer' since it performs better overall and added the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 as a cheaper alternative for the 'Best Inkjet Photo Printer.' We've also made small edits for clarity.
Aug 08, 2024: We've done a major overhaul of this article, introducing a new format and new performance usages.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best printers for most people. In addition to test results, 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.