The Best Laser Printers You Can Buy
If you print more than the average person, you may want to consider ditching traditional ink printers for a laser printer at home. Laser printers have a few advantages over inkjet printers, the biggest of which is speed. Because there’s no ink to dry, laser printers generally print much faster. They also tend to be more cost effective, with toner cartridges costing more than ink cartridges up front, but printing more pages, although I’ve generally found ink tank printers even more economical if that’s your main concern.
The biggest downside to laser printers is typically a lower level of detail, particularly when mixing colors, so you’ll want to opt for something else if you plan on printing full color photos. Because they use heat to bond the toner with the paper, they may melt paper with plastic in it, like windowed envelopes or sticker sheets, so you’ll want to avoid them if anything but matte paper and cardstock are in the cards for you.
While I spent time with all of the printers below and found them satisfactory, I would still push most home users towards an ink tank printer. You’ll have a lower cost per page, lower upfront costs, and the option to print crisp photos and on alternative papers. Check out our roundup of the best printers I’ve tested for the most updated info.
Best for Most People
Of all the laser printers I’ve tested, I’ve been the most impressed with the Brother options for regular home use, and the 3280CDW is my pick of the bunch for most folks. It prints very quickly, requires little-to-no maintenance, and connects and prints consistently. It even does well with one sheets and other pages with simple color blocks, but like most laser printers, the color banding isn’t as appealing for photos or gradients.
Unlike my black and white only pick, it also includes a color touchscreen, which I found helpful for both setup and any random errors or notices that came up during everyday use.
Specs Maximum DPI 2,400 x 600 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB Paper Handling Input: 250, Output: 150 Grayscale Workhorse
If you truly never need color printing, you might also consider the Brother HL-L2460DW. What it lacks in color, it more than makes up for with even faster printing and crisp, warm pages. This simply appointed printer fits particularly well into situations like classrooms where you just need lots of printouts in a hurry, or for a warehouse shelf where it will print dozens or hundreds of packing slips on a daily basis. I’ve often found that printers with fewer features work more consistently, and this Brother strikes the right balance of functional and straightforward.
The biggest struggle here was getting the printer set up and connected. With a smaller readout and fewer buttons, you’ll need to be a little patient the first time.
Specs Maximum DPI 1,200 x 1,200 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB Paper Handling Input: 250, Output: 100
For Power Printers
If your side hustle involves printing hundreds of full page color brochures and scanning dozens of documents, the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw will be your favorite coworker. It has basically every feature you could ask for in a high-end laser printer, with a rapid printing speed at a high dpi. In addition to a flatbed scanner, the LaserJet Pro features a proper document scanner, which is particularly useful if you scan in a lot of signed forms or documents.
All laser printers struggle with complex colors, photos, and art, but the HP had smoother gradients and less banding than I saw on other color laser printers. I still wouldn’t use it as a primary photo printer, but it’s certainly a point in the OfficeJet’s favor, and helps justify the high price tag.
Specs Maximum DPI 600 x 600 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB Paper Handling Input: 250, Output: 100 Reliable Speed
The Xerox C320 takes all the speed and consistency of its much larger copy machine cousins and crams it into a housing that I’d call almost home office sized. It’s one of the fastest printers on the list, perfect for massive stacks of handouts or the latest draft of your upcoming novel. Given Xerox’s business heritage, setup took a little bit longer than some of my other picks, but my computer had no issues recognizing and printing to it, and it’s extremely consistent.
If you just need the printing and not the scanning, and only occasionally print in full color, the Xerox might be a better option in the long term.
Specs Maximum DPI 1,200 x 1,200 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB Paper Handling Input: 250, Output: 170
A Budget Option
I previously tested the HP LaserJet M209d, and despite being a little noisy, it was a decent black and white printer at a very appealing price. Unfortunately, the only way to connect was via USB, which I think was a bit too much of a limitation to fully recommend. As it turns out, the HP M209dw solves that issue by adding both Ethernet and Wi-Fi. It isn't the fanciest option, but it does provide an excellent value if you just need a basic laser printer.
Specs Maximum DPI 600 x 600 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB Paper Handling Input: 150, Output: 100
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