Best Compatible Toner for HP 414X & 414A (2026): With Chip vs No Chip

Last updated: October 28, 2026.

Quick answer: For an HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dw or MFP M479fdw, the cartridge we would buy is our compatible HP 414X black with chip at $99.95 for a rated 7,500 pages, which is 1.3 cents a page against 3.1 cents for the genuine W2020X at $235.89, a saving of about 58%. If you still have your empty genuine HP 414X and are willing to move its chip, our 414X black no-chip is $49.95, about 79% under HP. That with-chip or no-chip choice is the whole decision on this family. The caveat that matters is dynamic security: every M454 and M479 is built to block cartridges with a non-HP chip, HP's April 2022 firmware did exactly that, and a reused HP chip is the only thing HP says it will not block.

We'll say the obvious thing up front: we sell these cartridges, so our recommendation is not neutral. To make up for that, the table below puts LD Products, 4inkjets, Staples, CompAndSave, YB Toner and two marketplace brands next to our own prices, and on the with-chip cartridge most of them are cheaper than we are. This post covers which printers take HP 414, what every option costs per page as of October 2026, how to decide between with-chip and no-chip, and what HP's firmware has done to this family so far.

What printers use HP 414A and 414X toner?

HP 414A and 414X are the same four cartridges (W2020, W2021, W2022, W2023) in standard and high-yield fills, for HP's 2019-generation Color LaserJet Pro 400 series. None of these printers is an HP+ model; there is no "e" version of the M454 or M479, so the Original-HP-only lock on newer HP printers does not apply here. Dynamic security does.

• HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dw, M454dn and M454nw
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw, M479fdn, M479dw and M479fnw
• HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M455dn and MFP M480f
• HP Color LaserJet Managed E45028dn

HP 414X prices compared: OEM vs Castle Ink vs other sellers

Prices checked October 2026 at the sellers' sites; they change often.

On the with-chip cartridge we are not the cheapest and the table shows it. LD, 4inkjets and CompAndSave sell a with-chip 414X black for about $55, and YB Toner sells a whole with-chip set for $80.95, less than our single black at $99.95. Only Staples' remanufactured unit costs more than ours. On the no-chip cartridge we are close to the pack: our $49.95 black is $5 under LD's with-chip price. What we charge for across both is a product page that says exactly which chip arrangement you are buying, stock in Greenlawn, NY that ships the same day on orders placed by 4 PM ET Monday through Friday, a 1-year return window with a full refund, US phone support, and a promise to replace or refund any cartridge that arrives defective. You can see what that costs.

Our pick: with chip or no chip?

This is the decision, so here is how we would make it. Buy the 414X with chip ($99.95 black, $109.95 per color) if you want the cartridge to install like a genuine one: pull the old one out, push the new one in, and the printer reads toner level normally. The price of that convenience is exposure. A new aftermarket chip is what HP's dynamic security is designed to detect, and HP has blocked them before on this exact printer. With-chip only makes sense with firmware updates set to notify-only, and with a seller who will swap the cartridge if an update ever catches it, which we will within the 1-year window.

Buy the 414X no chip ($49.95 black, $59.95 per color) if you have your empty genuine HP 414X and ten minutes. You pry the chip off the spent HP cartridge and seat it on ours; the printer then sees what HP calls a "reused HP chip", which HP's own statement says it accepts. The costs: a reused chip already reports empty, so the printer shows a non-HP or "Cartridge Low" notice for the life of the cartridge and you judge by print fade; the chip can be damaged coming off; and chips must match by color and capacity, since a 414A chip on a 414X cartridge will not report correctly. Done right, no-chip is both the cheaper option and the one most resistant to future firmware. It is the one we would use on our own M479.

The rest of the Castle Ink HP 414 range, all compatible: with-chip 414X cyan, yellow and magenta ($109.95 each); no-chip 414X cyan, yellow and magenta ($59.95 each); and with-chip 414A in black ($69.95), cyan, yellow and magenta ($79.95 each). A full 414X set is $429.80 with chips or $229.80 without, against $1,204.56 genuine. Skip the 414A unless you print very little: our 414A black is 2.9 cents a page, more than twice our 414X with chip.

Dynamic security and the 10.00.46 firmware block

HP's store page for the M479fdn describes it as a "Dynamic security enabled printer" and says plainly: "These printers use dynamic security measures to block cartridges using a non-HP chip or electronic circuitry." This is not a theoretical warning. In April 2022 an automatic firmware update for the M454dn/dw/nw, M479dw/fdn/fdw, M455dn and M480f began rejecting aftermarket chips with the message "Indicated cartridges blocked for containing non-HP chip. Event code: 10.00.46" (The Recycler). Chip maker Chipjet warned of a further LaserJet 400-series lockout in March 2023 (Actionable Intelligence), and HP has since made older firmware images hard to find, so rolling back is not a reliable fix (CopyTechNet).

Even Staples has been caught by it: a reviewer of Staples' remanufactured 414 set reported the color cartridges were not detected after a firmware update, and Staples replied that an updated-chip revision exists (Staples review). A cartridge carrying a genuine HP chip, whether a remanufactured unit like Staples' or a no-chip compatible with your own chip transferred, is what HP means by a "new or reused HP chip" and is not blocked, at the price of a permanent used-cartridge notice and no level gauge. A cartridge with a new aftermarket chip works today and may not after the next update. Before you install one, set firmware updates to notify in the printer's embedded web server or HP Smart. If an update ever blocks one of ours, call us.

How to choose an HP 414X cartridge

• Decide chip strategy first. With-chip installs like genuine and shows toner level but is the version HP targets; no-chip needs your old HP chip moved over and then counts as a reused HP chip, which HP says it accepts.
• Keep your empty genuine cartridges. A no-chip compatible only works with a genuine 414 chip of the same color and capacity.
• Set firmware updates to notify, not automatic, before installing any with-chip compatible.
• Buy 414X, not 414A. Genuine 414X black is 3.1 cents a page against 4.9 for 414A.
• Ask what the seller does if the printer blocks the chip after an update. LD and Staples replace under their guarantees; marketplace sellers mostly say "contact seller."

HP 414X Compatible Toner FAQs

The bottom line

For an M454 or M479, buy the compatible HP 414X with chip at $99.95 if you want a drop-in cartridge and will keep auto-updates off, or the 414X no-chip at $49.95 if you have your old HP chip and want the version firmware cannot touch. Either is a long way under $235.89 genuine. LD, CompAndSave and YB Toner sell with-chip cartridges for less than ours; their numbers are in the table. What we add is chip disclosure, US stock and a year to send it back.

Related reading: best compatible ink brands, best compatible toner for HP 210X, compatible vs OEM HP ink and toner, does compatible ink void your warranty, and our HP toner cartridge collection.