Best Home Printers 2025 – Forbes Vetted

Any good home printer can be expected to prints clear text and images, but some of the best home printers also do other things, like let you print directly from your phone and scan images. Some can fax, as well. After testing over a dozen printers, we chose HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e as the best home printer thanks in large part to its fast, reliable printing and intuitive, integrated app.

But HP isn’t the only great home printer we tested. Others on our list, like the HP Envy 6555E, are a great choice for those that want a printer without spending hundreds of dollars. For a laser printer, the Brother HL-L2460DW XL should be your go-to. After rigorously printing, scanning, faxing and more, here are the best home printers you can add to your home office right now.

Best for:

• Homes and small offices
• Rapid printing, scanning and copying

Skip if:

• You don’t print enough to get value from the ink subscription
• You want your print jobs in order

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e takes the top spot for best home printer overall: It has the best blend of printing quality, price and speed to get print jobs to you quickly and effectively. Our tester timed printing from her PC, and from pressing the print button to the last of a six-page test landing in the tray, it took 35.6 seconds. From the moment the first page hit the tray, it took exactly 23 seconds, so it lines up pretty closely with HP’s claim of 22-second print jobs for its “normal” quality setting. It’s not the fastest print job in comparison to the other printers tested, and it slows considerably if you put it on the “best” print setting, but it was the most consistent.

The top lid for the scanner is heavy, and you need to fully open it for it to stay in place; otherwise, it slams right back down. It also features an intuitive 2.7-inch touchscreen display, thought for those with larger hands, it may be in your best interest to opt for a home printer with a larger display.

Really, though, it feels like nitpicking, considering that the print quality was the best we tested. Grayscale and color print jobs came out looking sharp and clear, especially the radial gradients testing. For those frequently work from their mobile device, you can also use the HP Smart App to help you print; our tester loved the app because it was convenient and easy to use. Another nice perk: For parents, the HP Printables located in the app allows you to source and print DIY coloring books for your kids. It also comes with three months of the HP Instant Ink subscription, which detects when you’re low on ink and automatically orders it for you starting at $1.49 per month. But unless you’re printing oodles of paper, we recommend against this subscription model.

It’s also important to note that the ink cartridges are the real cost driver here: The replacement set of four EvoMore ink cartridges costs $239. With HP’s claim the black cartridge prints up to 2,500 pages and color 1,650 pages, amounting to 3 cents per black and 9 cents per color page.

Our testing noted also that every once in a while, the print jobs didn’t print in order. If you’re printing large amounts of paper, you may want to consider another printer on our picks, but it didn’t happen often enough to warrant too much concern.

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Best for:

• Printing without spending a fortune on a printer and paper
• Students and teenagers who need a printer for the occasional paper due

Skip if:

The HP Envy 6555E is a great choice for those that don’t want to spend a fortune on a printer. At around $160, it’s frequently on sale for around $100. But it’s not only the attractive price that nabbed this as the most affordable option: For a supposedly “no frills” all-in-one printer, our tester felt that it was packed with features, including faxing for those that need it.

In terms of its design, it’s a hefty beast; our tester was surprised at its size but felt it was still a lower profile compared to other options on the market. Setup was mostly easy, but she noticed that, “you have to push upward instead of downward to install the cartridges,” a counterintuitive step that prolonged the process a bit. The small touchscreen display on the bottom left corner of the machine showed our tester the progress of the print jobs and error messages to help you troubleshoot.

The biggest drawback: print speed. Both monochrome and color print jobs come out very slowly. Our tester noted that it took 70 seconds for the printer to start printing the first page. A 10-page monochrome double-sided print job took about three minutes. Once the machine “warms up,” though, it prints faster: The test page that took 70 seconds to warm up took 20 seconds to print. It’s still not fast, so if you’re only printing the occasional page, this printer will suit your needs just fine.

And, of course, the all-in-one model can print, copy, scan and fax, and the HP smart app allows you to scan and print from your mobile device. Colors and prints are high quality, and for the price, it’s hard to beat. Our tester noted that, “I’d recommend it for people with slightly more cramped desk space and people with tighter budgets, like students.”

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Best for:

• High outputs across an array of different documents
• Printing, scanning, faxing—you name it, this printer can most likely do it

Skip if:

• You only do an occasional page here and there
• You need to print quickly—print times vary wildly

If you need a do-it-all printer, you can’t go wrong with the Brother MFC-L3780CDW: It comes jam-packed not only with the ability to print, copy, scan and fax, but it also has intuitive phone functions to help you scan and print from your mobile device. Yes, it’s a beast and takes up a ton of space, according to our tester, but for the space it uses, it feels “targeted at small business,” and “an especially busy household—perhaps a few teenagers who need to print a lot for school.”

The print speeds are a little slower compared to others we tested: It takes 45.5 seconds from pressing the print button to the last page of a five-page job landing in the tray, and it spews out smaller print jobs in as little as 25.1 seconds. Again, most of that time comes from the printer booting up, since once the first page began printing, for the three-page job, it took 8.6 seconds. There’s another factor playing into these times, too; our tester also noted that these print times are averages, since the jobs varied wildly during testing. The printer also works seamlessly with your phone to print, scan and send documents back and forth between devices and comes with cloud integrations.

For small businesses, it also comes with a unique feature: NFC authentication for extra security. It has three different paper trays, including a 30-page multipurpose tray for envelopes and other media. You can also use Brother’s Refresh EZ print subscription to automatically send you replacement cartridges when the printer senses your ink is low, and our tester notes that the printer offers a complimentary first four months’ service.

It’s also pretty expensive at around $500. If you plan to only print an occasional page every so often, this is not the printer for you. If you’re seeking a printer that can handle volume and has extras like programmable shortcuts and the ability to fax, then you can’t go wrong with this printer.

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Best for:

• Getting automatic double-sided printing for larger-scale print jobs
• Its slew of HP Smart App integrations that include compatibility with Google Drive and Dropbox

Skip if:

• You want to print in color
• You want a more high-tech printer

The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101SDW’s design is solid and compact, but the paper tray feels a little flimsy. It has a small LCD display with physical buttons to direct the printer to copy, scan and print. Otherwise, using these buttons in conjunction with the display felt very intuitive as our tester printed jobs from both his laptop and the HP Smart App.

Printing is pretty speedy on this device: We output six pages in 32 seconds from the second we pressed the print button. HP says the first page comes out in as little as 6.6 seconds, but when we tested a three-page print job, we noted that the entire job took 23 seconds from pressing print on the PC. From the first page to the final page landing in the tray, we timed six seconds, so there’s a little bit of a disconnect here.

During the entirety of our testing, we also noted no jamming issues. Like our top pick, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e, the software allows you to scan to email, a network folder and a USB drive. It also allows for remote printing and has support for Google Drive and Dropbox, which our tester liked. Like the rest of the HP printers on our list, the HP Smart App features a host of useful features including editing scans and on your mobile device and sending them to print.

One major perk is that it makes double-sided prints automatically—no need to print one page and then finagle the paper tray to print the other side. However, we found one caveat that may give some pause. It only offers black-and-white print jobs, so don’t expect any color. For those printing black-and-white jobs on the regular, you can’t go wrong with this device. Yes, you’ll have to spend a little more, but it’s not as expensive as our premium pick on the list.

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Best for:

• Printing paper quickly—it can take as little as 13 seconds
• Printing out grayscale or monochrome sheets economically

Skip if:

• You need color print jobs
• You need scanning and copying

For a laser printer, the best laser home printer moniker goes to the Brother HL-2460DW XL. The printer itself is solid and sturdy—just keep in mind that according to our tester, the black plastic surface is prone to smudge marks. It also has both an automatic and a manual feeder so you can print a host of mixed media as needed, from envelopes to labels. The buttons are big and the display is very basic, which we felt was a boon: It’s very easy to use and operate.

Prints came out clear without smudging. The print speeds were also pretty fast. It took 24 seconds for six single-sided pages to print from pressing the print button to the last. From the first page hitting the tray, it took 13 seconds, on average. Double-sided printing was little longer; a three double-sided print job took 35 seconds in total.

The printer also comes with a built-in app that allows you to print from your mobile device. During testing, this was the speediest of all: 22 seconds from start to finish, and once the printer booted up, the print took five seconds for a photo print. But that comes with a serious caveat: It can only print in monochrome, so don’t expect any color. It can handle 4,200 pages before the toner requires a replacement, and you can opt into the Brother Refresh EZ Print Subscription, which can reorder toner for you when it gets low.

There are a few major drawbacks. For one, it only prints, so you can’t scan or copy. Our tester really liked that it didn’t offer these features, as it didn’t feel overwhelming when you’re only worried about printing.

Another issue is the firmware—both Brother HL-2460DW models had firmware update issues that required a detailed deep dive with customer service to fix. If you can stomach this issue, this is a great printer to get most jobs done.

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Other Home Printers We Tested

We tested a slew of home printers. The competition was stiff; these are the ones that didn’t quite make the cut but are still worthy of your consideration.

HP DeskJet 4155E (Discontinued): Our former pick for the best budget printer, we really liked its speed. From the first to last page, it took 29 seconds for a four-page print job and took another seven seconds to boot up for a total of 36 seconds. It’s also one of the most compact printers we tested, so it’s great for smaller apartments or offices. The new budget pick, the HP Envy 6555E, edges it out with a sleeker design and an overall better build for office spaces. The HP DeskJet 4155E is also discontinued.

Brother HL-2460DW ($159 at Amazon): One of the only differences between this printer and the best laser printer pick, the Brother HL-2460DW in-box toner yields only around 700 pages compared to the XL which can print up to 4,200 pages. For those that print an occasional page here and there, we felt this printer was speedy and clear, with an average print time of around 25.1 sections from pressing the print button to the last page landing in the tray. It was also fairly consistent in these print speeds.

HP Smart Tank 7301 ($300 at Amazon): The HP Smart Tank printed gorgeous photos from the printer onto photo paper, according to our tester. It also has an impressive ink “cartridge” that can print 8,000 color pages and 6,000 black-and-white pages. Our major complaint? You have to pour the ink from six-inch tall bottles into the cartridge trays. The display is also too small to be fully functional, and our tester questioned whether it was intentional to encourage you to use the app.

Canon ImageClass MF465DW ($300 at Staples): Originally our premium printer pick, the Canon ImageClass MF465DW covers the basic functionalities well—and adds a slew of extras like printing passport photos, Apple AirPrint and much more. You can also send received faxes to email or file servers, too. Our tester liked the 5-inch LCD touchscreen panel but felt there was so much it was a little overwhelming for casual print jobs. It doesn’t feature NFC badge authentication, for those that feel it’s worth the investment. The toner cartridges are also a little smaller, and our tester noted it lasts around 1,350 for monochrome and 680 for color.

HP Smart Tank 5101 ($180 at Amazon): The HP Smart Tank 5101 isn’t plug-and-play and required a few setup steps from our tester. Moreover, the printhead cover was confusing and difficult to remove when it was time to add liquid ink to the cartridges. Our tester liked the print speed and felt that its ID copy option can help you scan both sides of the page with useful prompting. However, the display is too small and counterintuitive. “It’s not perfect, but so far, I’m happy with it,” our tester noted once she got past the difficult setup.

Brother MFC-J5855DW ($300 at Amazon): The Brother MFC-J5855DW wowed our tester for printing clear, vibrant images and its auto document feeder allows you to feed up to 50 pages of paper into the printer—and it allows duplex printing. But while the duplex printing is there, duplex scanning isn’t offered on this machine. Our tester also noted that print times varied wildly for this printer, but outside of those two minor complaints.

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Why Trust Forbes Vetted

Our editorial team consists of tech experts who live to research, test and write about all things digital. Seriously: Some staffers on our team, including executive editor Dave Johnson, have authored multiple books on the subject. We’ve also built a robust library of tech guides for building your home office, including the best laptops for working from home and the best modem-router combos.

• This story was authored by consumer tech editor Rebecca Isaacs, who oversees tech content for Forbes Vetted. She’s been writing about tech for over six years.
• Every contender on this list was tested by a Forbes Vetted staff member. We spent hours printing, scanning and faxing hundreds of pages to test each printer. We also dived into the software features to get a sense of how each accompanying app worked.
• In order to keep our insights and recommendations fresh, we recently retested and rescored every home printer on this list. In our latest March 2025 update, we added a couple new picks, most notably our new budget pick, the HP Envy 6555E.
• We research any new releases or newly upgraded models of bestsellers and compare the aspects to ones we’ve tested. We also comb through reviews to identify the perks and quirks of each model.
• We consulted with John Yensen, President of Revotech Networks Ltd., and Sean Otmishi, Founder and Senior Management Consultant at TAF Solutions, for expert insights on what to look for when choosing the best home printer.
• We also seek firsthand insights from Forbes Vetted staffers who’ve used these printers for their own home offices. We also identify any that haven’t been tried for formal testing.

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How We Tested The Best Home Printers

We prepared for testing home printers by collecting a group of panelists from the Forbes Vetted team. In the end, a dozen total panelists tested over 13 different printers for over two months, taking detailed notes and snapping photos of the entire process. Our panel testing considered:

• Build quality: All of our picks felt sturdy and well-made. We carefully reviewed various printer displays, taking into account the size and ease of use for touchscreens. We also tested printer tray hinges and mechanisms to see how well they held up after opening and closing multiple times, checking to see whether we felt they would hold up over time.
• Print speed: For print speeds, we tested in two ways: We timed the printing duration from pressing the print button to the last page landing in the tray; and we timed the print duration from when the first page came out to the last page. We reviewed it against the company’s listed print speeds to make sure each printer held up to its claimed print speed.
• Print quality: To be considered as one of the best home printers, we printed hundreds of pages, checking for ink blotting, color accuracy and more. We compared printed pages to make sure the printers we chose printed accurate, detailed documents and images consistently.
• Extra features: Many of the printers on this list came with useful extra features, like app extensions, phone integrations like scanning from your phone and printing a document and more. We rigorously tested these to make sure they were worth your time.

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