The 5 Best Laser Printers of 2026, Ranked by Real Users
A laser printer is one of those purchases you make once and live with for a decade, so getting it right matters more than getting it fast. This guide covers five picks for five different buyers: the Best Overall do-it-all, a Best Budget pick that keeps costs down, a Best Color all-in-one, a Best for Busy Offices workhorse, and a Most Compact model for tight spaces. The Brother HL-L2480DW takes the top spot because it does everything most home offices actually need, fast and without fuss. Read on for the full breakdown of each pick, what to watch for when you shop, and answers to the questions buyers ask most.
| Product | Connectivity | Print Quality | Print Speed | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Best BudgetBrother HL-L2405W | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 9.5 | See PriceAmazon |
 Best ColorCanon imageCLASS MF753Cdw II | 8.5 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7.0 | See PriceAmazon |
 Most CompactHP LaserJet M110w | 8.0 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 9.0 | See PriceAmazon |
 Best for Busy OfficesHP LaserJet Pro 4001dn | 6.5 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | See PriceAmazon |
 Best OverallBrother HL-L2480DW | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | See PriceAmazon |
Brother HL-L2405W
Best for
This is the printer for the person who prints boarding passes, school forms, and the occasional contract, and wants it to just work. With 2,396 reviews behind it, it is the proven cheap way into laser printing. If your needs ever grow past printing, you will wish you had bought the Best Overall pick.
Why we love it
At $139.99 it undercuts every other serious printer here by a wide margin while still offering dual-band Wi-Fi and the Brother mobile app for printing from your phone. The 250-sheet tray matches the overall pick, so you are not refilling paper constantly. Compared with the HP M110w, you get a fuller-size machine with a bigger tray and a stronger 4.1-star rating for only $40 more. The main sacrifice is scanning: this is print-only, so the Brother HL-L2480DW is the better buy if you ever copy or scan.
Pros
- $139.99 price with 4.1-star rating
- Dual-band Wi-Fi plus mobile printing
- 250-sheet paper tray
- Manual feed slot for envelopes
Cons
- Print-only: no scanning or copying
- No touchscreen or advanced control panel
- Slower and less featured than the Best Overall pick
Verdict
Yes, if your printing is documents and labels and you can live without a scanner. If you need to scan or copy even occasionally, step up to the Brother HL-L2480DW instead.
Canon imageCLASS MF753Cdw II
Best for
This is for the small business or home office that prints color proposals, flyers, or school projects and also needs to scan, copy, and fax. It replaces four devices with one. If your color printing is rare, the mono Best Overall pick is the smarter buy.
Why we love it
It is the only pick that does everything in color: print, scan, copy, and fax, all with wireless and automatic duplex printing. That 4-in-1 versatility is unmatched here; the Brother HL-L2480DW cannot print a single color page. The $494.94 price is steep, but buying a separate color printer and scanner would cost as much and eat twice the desk space. For a true color all-in-one, this is the one to get.
Pros
- Color printing plus scan, copy, and fax
- Wireless with automatic duplex
- All-in-one convenience in one box
Cons
- $494.94 is the highest price in this guide
- Only 273 reviews, the fewest of any pick
- Color toner costs more per page than mono
Verdict
Yes, if you need color and an all-in-one in a single machine and the $494.94 price fits. If you only need color printing without scanning, the Best Overall pick plus a cheaper color option elsewhere saves money.
HP LaserJet M110w
Best for
This is for the dorm room, the studio apartment, or the corner of a desk that barely fits a laptop. It is built for 1 to 3 people printing a few pages a week, not for an office. Anyone printing more volume should look at the Best Budget pick instead.
Why we love it
HP markets it as the world's smallest laser in its class, and at $99 it is also the cheapest printer in this guide, which makes it an easy fit for tight spaces and tighter budgets. Wireless with self-reset means it reconnects on its own instead of dropping off the network, and the HP Smart app handles mobile printing well. Compared with the Brother HL-L2405W, you give up the 250-sheet tray for a printer that fits where no full-size machine can. The trade-offs are real: 21 ppm is the slowest speed here and the 3.9-star rating trails the pack. For light, space-constrained printing, though, nothing else here disappears onto a shelf the way this does.
Pros
- World's smallest laser in its class
- $99.00, the cheapest pick
- Wireless with self-reset connection
- HP Smart app for mobile printing
Cons
- Blocks third-party toner cartridges
- Only 21 ppm, the slowest here
- Print-only with no scanning
Verdict
Yes, if desk space is your binding constraint and you print lightly. If you have room for a full-size machine, the Brother HL-L2405W gives you a bigger tray and better ratings for $40 more.
HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn
Best for
This is for the team of up to 10 people sharing one printer over the office network, churning out reports and contracts all day. It is built for throughput and security, not for a living room. Home users should buy the Best Overall pick and its wireless instead.
Why we love it
At 42 pages per minute it is the fastest printer in this guide by a clear margin, outpacing the 36 ppm Brother HL-L2480DW by nearly a fifth. HP Wolf Pro security with customizable settings is a genuine differentiator for offices handling sensitive documents, and automatic duplex printing comes standard. The Ethernet-only connection is the honest catch: there is no Wi-Fi at all, so this belongs on a wired office network. For raw office throughput, nothing else here keeps up.
Pros
- 42 ppm, the fastest speed here
- HP Wolf Pro security built in
- Auto 2-sided printing
- Rated for up to 10 people
Cons
- No wireless: Ethernet only
- Blocks third-party toner cartridges
- Print-only, no scanning or copying
Verdict
Yes, if you run a small office on a wired network and print in serious volume. If anyone needs to print from a phone over Wi-Fi, the wireless Brother HL-L2480DW is the better fit.
Brother HL-L2480DW
Best for
This is the printer for the home office that does a bit of everything: contracts to print, receipts to scan, the occasional copy. With a 4.5-star rating it is the best-reviewed full-featured machine here. If you print strictly in high volume over a wired network, the HP 4001dn is faster; everyone else should start here.
Why we love it
This is the complete package: 36 pages per minute, a flatbed scanner, and every connection option that matters with dual-band Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB. The 2.7-inch touchscreen with scan-to-cloud support makes it feel far more premium than its $249.98 price, and the 250-sheet tray means infrequent refills. Compared with the Brother HL-L2405W, you get scanning, a touchscreen, and Ethernet for about $110 more, which is money well spent if you ever touch a scanner. It earned its 4.5 stars the hard way: by being the printer most buyers never think about again.
Pros
- 36 ppm print speed
- Dual-band Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB
- 2.7-inch touchscreen
- Flatbed scan glass
Cons
- Monochrome only, no color printing
- $249.98 costs more than budget picks
- Pushes a toner subscription service
Verdict
Yes, if you want one printer that handles printing, scanning, and copying for a home office without compromises. If you only ever print, save money with the Brother HL-L2405W; if you need color, look at the Canon imageCLASS MF753Cdw II.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are laser printers better than inkjet printers?
For black-and-white documents, yes. Laser printers produce crisper text, print much faster, and their toner cartridges do not dry out between uses the way inkjet cartridges do. Inkjets still win for photo printing and cost less upfront, so match the technology to what you actually print.
How much does laser printer toner cost?
A standard toner cartridge typically prints 1,000 to 3,000 pages, and high-yield versions can double that. Replacement cartridges run roughly $40 to $120 depending on the model, which works out to a few cents per page. That is usually cheaper per page than inkjet ink, especially at higher volumes.
Do I need a color laser printer?
Only if you print color regularly. A color laser costs more upfront and every color page costs several times what a black-and-white page does. If your color printing is occasional, a monochrome laser for daily work plus a print shop or inkjet for the rare color job is the cheaper setup.
Can a laser printer scan and copy?
All-in-one laser printers include a scanner and copier, either a flatbed glass, an automatic document feeder, or both. Print-only models like the Best Budget and Most Compact picks cannot scan or copy at all, so choose an all-in-one if you ever need to digitize or duplicate documents.
Are laser printers good for photos?
Not really: laser printers are optimized for sharp text and graphics, not the smooth color gradients of photographs. If photo printing matters to you, an inkjet photo printer is the better tool, but for everything else on paper the laser wins.
Honorable Mentions
Brother MFC-L2820DW
Prints at 36 ppm with a 50-page automatic document feeder and scan speeds up to 23.6 ipm, making it the fastest document machine in this guide. It costs a bit more than the overall pick for speed you may not need.
See PriceAmazonCanon imageCLASS LBP646Cdw
Prints in color at 26 ppm with automatic duplex and a 250-sheet cassette for $249, far less than full color all-in-ones. It is print-only, so pair it with a phone scanner app.
See PriceAmazonHP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101sdw
A 4.5-star monochrome all-in-one with 35 ppm printing, auto duplex, and a 50-sheet document feeder for $229. A strong option if you prefer HP's ecosystem and app.
See PriceAmazon
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