Whether you travel a lot for work or want to create souvenirs for special occasions like a wedding, you can find a portable printer to meet your on-the-go printing needs. Portable printers vary dramatically in size and weight depending on what you need to accomplish, and they also tend to be more specialized than their desktop counterparts. A portable inkjet printer is the way to go for printing text documents or receipts, and some even come with a scanner; know that these units tend to be larger and heavier. By contrast, consider a portable photo printer if you want to capture the moment and print photos on the fly. There are a variety of portable photo printers to choose from, depending on the style and size of photos you're interested in. You can find larger inkjet units that produce modern borderless prints on glossy photo paper or compact, handheld models for vintage-style portraits or small prints.
Below are our recommendations for the top portable printers and best portable photo printers. If you're after desktop models without a large footprint, check out our recommendations for the best small printers. Or, consider our picks for the best iPhone printers and the best photo printers.
Quick Look
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Best Portable Printer
Build Quality6.0Document Quality8.5Color Quality6.2Recurring Costs6.6Advertised Battery Life~225 printsTested Charging Time129 minSpeed3.1Estimated Black Page Yield167 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield123 printsThe best portable printer we've tested is the HP OfficeJet 250. This all-in-one inkjet printer is a one-stop shop for your printing and scanning needs on the go. It produces sharp documents, and its sheetfed scanner produces high-quality scans. You can connect to the printer via Wi-Fi or USB, and there's support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, making it easy to print from your smartphone or tablet. This printer is also compatible with the HP Smart App, letting you start print jobs, use your device's camera to scan, and access pre-made content like birthday cards, worksheets, etc.
This model's downside is that it's slow, even for a portable printer, as it only prints three black or six color pages per minute. Also, its ink cartridges run out quickly, so you might need to carry a few extra cartridges. The cost-per-print is decent as the cartridges are relatively cheap, although color printing can still get expensive if you print a lot. You can get XL cartridges that'll last longer, and the printer also accepts third-party ink, which can help save some money. Finally, while this printer is small compared to desktop models, it's still the largest model on our list.
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Best Mid-Range Portable Printer
Build Quality6.0Document Quality8.5Color Quality5.8Recurring Costs6.4Advertised Battery LifeN/ATested Charging Time133 minSpeed5.6Estimated Black Page Yield142 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield166 printsIf you're willing to trade scanning capabilities for a lower price tag, consider the HP OfficeJet 200. This inkjet model is the smaller sibling to our top pick, the HP OfficeJet 250; the 200 is often on sale, and its best value is at or below $300 USD to make up for the lack of scanning capabilities. It produces comparable documents to its bigger brother, and it actually prints slightly faster at six black and four color pages per minute. Its color ink yield is also better, although it's still low compared to desktop models, so consider getting XL cartridges if you print a lot.
Beyond this, connectivity is the same; you can connect to the printer via Wi-Fi or USB, and there's support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service. One area this printer struggles with is photo printing. While photos look detailed, they're noticeably different from their originals due to the printer's subpar color accuracy and narrow color gamut. If you need a portable inkjet printer that produces great photos, check out our next pick, the Canon PIXMA TR160, for that usage.
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Best Portable Photo Printer
Build Quality6.5Document Quality7.5Color Quality6.7Recurring Costs7.8Advertised Battery LifeN/ATested Charging TimeN/ASpeed4.8Estimated Black Page Yield179 printsSee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield217 printsIf you need a top-tier printer for printing photos while on the move, the Canon PIXMA TR160 might be just what you're looking for. Replacing the Canon PIXMA TR150, it offers the same great performance. This compact, print-only inkjet model offers USB and Wi-Fi connectivity, and it's compatible with Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service. It's also available with an optional rechargeable battery, making it a great travel companion. Photo prints are vibrant and sharp, though they can show some graininess. Keep in mind that frequent or high-volume printing will require regular ink cartridge replacements, as the yield is only about 217 color prints.
Still, the cartridges are affordable, giving the TR160 the lowest cost-per-print among our featured models. The optional battery is also impressive, offering up to 330 prints per charge and recharging fully in just two hours. If you're looking for something even more compact to toss in a bag or purse, also consider our next recommendation, the Polaroid Hi-Print Generation 2.
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Best Compact Photo Printer
Build Quality7.5Color Quality5.5Recurring Costs4.8Advertised Battery Life~20 printsTested Charging Time40 minSpeed0.8Estimated Black Page YieldN/ASee all our test resultsEstimated Color Page Yield20 printsThe Polaroid Hi-Print Generation 2 is our recommendation if you're looking for the best portable photo printer that's compact. Right off the bat, adjusting your expectations is important; this printer produces nicely detailed photos, but it can't match portable inkjet printers, like the Canon PIXMA TR160 above, for color or photo quality. But if you want to let guests print photos during a special occasion or want to capture the moment for a night out on the town, this printer is the best. It produces 2" x 3" portraits using Polaroid's proprietary Hi-Print Generation 2 photo paper. Plus, thanks to its small size and light weight, it easily fits in a bag or purse.
Regarding connectivity, this printer only works with Android and iOS smartphones or with Chrome OS devices via a Bluetooth connection and its Hi-Print mobile app. You can get the printer on its own or in a bundle with packs of photo paper. Unfortunately, its photo paper is very expensive, so know that the recurring costs will quickly add up if you print a lot. Also, its battery life lasts just 20 prints, so you'll want to keep the charging cable close.
Notable Mentions
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Canon SELPHY QX20:
Another great option for 2" x 3" portraits is the Canon SELPHY QX20. It produces a slightly wider range of colors, particularly brighter tones, while the Polaroid Hi-Print Generation 2 is better at reproducing fine details. These printers produce slightly different-looking photos at different sizes, so you may prefer one over the other. Just know the Canon is usually more expensive.
See our review -
Fujifilm instax Link WIDE:
If you want a compact photo printer that gets closer to a vintage aesthetic, then the Fujifilm instax Link WIDE is the perfect choice. It has a wider color range and superior accuracy to the Polaroid Hi-Print Generation 2, and its battery lasts longer; however, photos aren't as detailed, and it can't perform borderless printing.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jun 09, 2025:
Replaced the now-discontinued Canon PIXMA TR150 with its successor, the Canon PIXMA TR160, in the 'Best Photo' category.
May 06, 2025:
We've made minor text changes for clarity and conciseness. Our picks remain the same.
Apr 07, 2025:
Minor text changes for clarity. No change in recommendations.
Mar 11, 2025:
We've replaced the Canon SELPHY Square QX10 with the newer Canon SELPHY Square QX20 in our Notable Mentions as it's more portable while delivering comparable photo quality. We also made small edits for clarity while verifying that our recommendations are available and represent the best options.
Feb 10, 2025:
We've verified our recommendations are available and represent the best choices. We also made small edits for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best printers for on-the-go use for most people. In addition to the 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.