Best Laser Printers Under $200

Best Cheap Laser Printers

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Best Cheap Laser Printers
Mayuree Moonhirun/shutterstock

FIT TO PRINT

Inkjets are the go-to choice for most consumers shopping for a personal printer. They're often cheap and good for printing photos at home. But for students or small businesses that primarily print pages and pages of text, a laser printer may be the better choice. Laser printers are quick, efficient, and potentially money-saving machines. Although they are generally pricier than inkjets and toner is far more expensive than ink, the cost per printed page is often lower. There are also highly-rated laser printers in the same price range as inkjets. Cheapism.com has identified top laser printers under $200 with popular features and good reputations among experts and consumers. We've also highlighted a couple of other models worth considering.

Brother HL-L2340DW
Courtesy of amazon.com

BROTHER HL-L2340DW

Good Monochrome Laser Printer Under $200
Price: $109 | Buy it from Amazon

Pros:

- Automatic two-sided printing.
- Large 250-sheet input tray.
- Pretty good print speeds (up to 27 ppm).
- Supports Wi-Fi Direct.
- Toner Save mode.
- Small and lightweight.
- Wirecutter's pick for best laser printer.
- No. 1 best seller on Amazon with an average of 4 stars and nearly 4,000 reviews.

    Cons:

    - No color printing.
    - Below average graphics quality, experts say.
    - Print quality on default setting isn't quite as sharp as competitors.
    - No Ethernet connection.
    - Some buyers complain of trouble setting up wireless printing.

      Takeaway: Consumers appreciate the low price, small footprint, and fast high-volume printing of this Brother laser printer for home and business use. Shopping around for toner and opting for a high-yield cartridge can bring down the cost per page to as little as 2 cents.

      Brother HL-L5200DW
      Courtesy of amazon.com

      BROTHER HL-L5200DW

      Best Monochrome Laser Printer Under $200
      Price: $199 | Buy it from Amazon

      Pros:

      - Very fast printing (up to 42 ppm).
      - Low cost per page (2.7 cents).
      - High-quality text printing in expert testing.
      - Several connection options, including Wi-Fi Direct.
      - Large 250-sheet input tray and 150-sheet output tray, plus 50-sheet multipurpose tray.
      - Automatic two-sided printing.
      - PCMag Editors' Choice.

        Cons:

        - Can't scan, copy, or fax.
        - No color printing.
        - Below-average graphics quality in testing.
        - LCD menu can be a little tricky to use and displays only one line.

          Takeaway: Brother's HL-L5200DW is our top overall pick among budget laser printers. Although it's not an all-in-one model and doesn't print in color, it epitomizes the appeal of a laser printer: It's blazing-fast, inexpensive to operate, and turns out terrific-looking text. Buyers heap compliments on this model and have few complaints in reviews.

          HP LaserJet Pro MFP M130fw
          Courtesy of amazon.com

          HP LASERJET PRO MFP M130FW

          Good Monochrome All-in-One Laser Printer Under $200
          Price: $179 | Buy it on Amazon

          Pros:

          - Compact, lightweight all-in-one design.
          - 2.7-inch color LCD touchscreen.
          - 35-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning and copying multiple pages.
          - Several connection options including Wi-Fi Direct.
          - Sharp text output in PCMag testing.

            Cons:

            - Below-average graphics and image quality.
            - No color printing.
            - No automatic two-sided printing.
            - Cost per page is rather high (3.9 cents).

              Takeaway: The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M130fw multifunction printer has more features than most budget competitors, including a large LCD touchscreen and a 35-sheet ADF. It goes through toner fairly quickly, which bumps up the cost per page, but buyers like this printer quite a bit.

              Dell E515dw
              Courtesy of amazon.com

              DELL E515DW

              Best Monochrome All-in-One Laser Printer Under $200
              Price: $120 | Buy it from Dell

              Pros:

              - 35-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning and copying multiple pages.
              - Automatic two-sided printing.
              - Several connection options, including Wi-Fi Direct.
              - Relatively small and lightweight for a multifunction printer.
              - Prints good-quality text quickly, according to multiple expert tests.
              - Large 250-sheet input tray.

                Cons:

                - No color printing.
                - Cost per page is on the high side (3.8 cents).

                  Takeaway: This monochrome multifunction printer from Dell includes plenty of features and delivers good performance, and it's relatively inexpensive up front. The most common complaint reviewers have is that the scanner lacks automatic duplexing, but that feature is uncommon at this price.

                  Samsung Xpress C430W
                  Courtesy of amazon.com

                  SAMSUNG XPRESS C430W

                  Best Color Laser Printer Under $200
                  Price: $178 | Buy it from Amazon

                  Pros:

                  - Low price for a color laser printer.
                  - Good quality black-and-white and color printing, according to consumer reviews.
                  - Easy to set up and connect to a wireless network.
                  - Connects to tablets and smartphones via NFC.

                    Cons:

                    - Can't scan, copy, or fax.
                    - No automatic two-sided printing.
                    - No menu screen on the printer.
                    - Included instructions are not very clear, some users say.
                    - Pricey toner cartridges and high cost per page (4 cents).
                    - Wireless connection is unstable, users report.
                    - Color printing can be slow.

                      Takeaway: The Xpress C430W from Samsung is one of the cheapest color laser printers you'll come across. It's not a multifunction model, but if you need to print full-color jobs as well as sharp-looking text documents, this model delivers.

                      Dell E525w
                      Courtesy of amazon.com

                      DELL E525W

                      Best All-in-One Color Laser Printer Under $200
                      Price: $180 | Buy it from Best Buy

                      Pros:

                      - Low price for an all-in-one color laser printer.
                      - Impressive graphics and photo quality in expert testing.
                      - 15-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning and copying multiple pages.

                        Cons:

                        - No automatic two-sided printing.
                        - Lower paper capacity than some competing models.
                        - Lackluster text quality for a laser printer, according to PCMag, though still better than most inkjets.
                        - Slow printing compared with other models in Computer Shopper testing.
                        - Very high cost per page for color printing (17.4 cents by Computer Shopper's calculation).

                          Takeaway: The Dell E525w is surprisingly inexpensive for an all-in-one color laser printer. If you want the benefits of a multifunction laser printer with the color printing capability of an inkjet printer, this is a good choice.

                          Canon ImageClass MF249dw
                          Courtesy of amazon.com

                          CANON IMAGECLASS MF249DW

                          Worth a Little Extra
                          Price: $204 | Buy it from Amazon

                          Pros:

                          - 50-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning and copying multiple pages.
                          - Automatic two-sided printing, scanning, and copying.
                          - Fast for the price (up to 28 ppm).
                          - High-quality printing, scanning, and copying in expert testing.
                          - Large 250-sheet input tray.
                          - Several connection options, including Wi-Fi Direct.
                          - Computer Shopper and PCMag Editors' Choice.

                            Cons:

                            - No color printing.
                            - Occasionally small parts of letters appeared cut off and grayscale images looked mottled in TopTenReviews testing.

                              Takeaway: The starting price is just outside our $200 limit, but the monochrome Canon ImageClass MF249dw is a favorite among expert reviewers. The extra money buys features such as a 50-sheet document feeder that supports duplexing, so it can automatically scan and copy both sides of each page.

                              Canon ImageClass MF634Cdw
                              Courtesy of amazon.com

                              CANON IMAGECLASS MF634CDW

                              Fully Loaded Laser Printer
                              Price: $340 | Buy it from Office Depot

                              Pros:

                              - 50-sheet automatic document feeder for scanning and copying multiple pages.
                              - Automatic two-sided printing, scanning, and copying.
                              - Several connection options, including Wi-Fi Direct.
                              - Razor-sharp text output, excellent graphics quality, and vibrant colors in expert testing.
                              - PCMag Editors' Choice.

                                Cons:

                                - High cost per page for color printing (16.4 cents by PCMag's calculation).
                                - Very heavy.

                                  Takeaway: The Canon ImageClass MF634Cdw is a pricier option, but if you need a multifunction color printer that can do it all, and do it well, this model is worth the extra cash. This is a good choice for office users who want to print presentation materials for clients or customers.