Cheapest Ink for the Canon PIXMA MG3620 (2026): Every Option Priced Per Page

Last updated: October 28, 2026.

Quick answer: The cheapest ink for the Canon PIXMA MG3620 is a remanufactured PG-240XXL black, and it is not close. Our remanufactured Canon PG-240XXL black is $24.99 for 600 pages, about 4.2 cents a page, against $47.99 for the genuine PG-240XXL (8.0 cents) and $33.99 for the genuine PG-240XL at only 300 pages (11.3 cents). That is a 48% saving on the XXL and a 63% saving per page over the genuine XL. LD Products sells its remanufactured XXL for $22.99, $2 under ours. The only caveat is Canon's one-time "ink level cannot be detected" prompt, cleared by holding Stop for five seconds; there is no chip lockout and no subscription to weigh, because the MG3620 is not eligible for Canon's PIXMA Print Plan.

We'll say the obvious thing up front: we sell these cartridges, so our pick is a seller's pick. The table below has Canon's prices (via Staples and an OEM reseller, since Canon's own store no longer lists the MG3620), ours, and LD Products, 4inkjets, Staples' house brand and an Amazon OEM reseller. Where another seller is cheaper, we say so.

The MG3620 has been discontinued for years; Canon USA keeps only a support page for it, and the Walmart listings that remain are out of stock. It is nonetheless one of the most widely owned home inkjets around, a 2015-era printer that refuses to die, and its PG-240 / CL-241 cartridges serve a large installed base from the MG2120 through the TS5120. Our model guide is at What ink does the Canon PIXMA MG3620 use.

What ink does the Canon PIXMA MG3620 use?

Two FINE cartridges with the printhead built in: a PG-240 black and a CL-241 tri-color. The black comes in three fill levels and the color in two. Yields below are Canon's ISO/IEC 24711 figures from its MG3522 yield sheet, which covers the same cartridges.

• Canon PG-240 Black (5207B001), 180 pages; Canon CL-241 Tri-Color (5209B001), 180 pages
• Canon PG-240XL Black (5206B001), 300 pages; Canon CL-241XL Tri-Color (5208B001), 400 pages
• Canon PG-240XXL Black (5204B001), 600 pages
• Canon PG-240XL / CL-241XL 2-pack with photo paper (5206B005)

The same cartridges fit the PIXMA MG3520, MG3522, MG2120, MG2220, MG3120, MG3220, MG4120, MG4220, MX372, MX392, MX432, MX452, MX472, MX512, MX522, MX532 and TS5120.

Canon PIXMA MG3620 ink prices compared: OEM vs Castle Ink vs other sellers

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

LD Products' remanufactured XXL at $22.99 is $2 under ours, 3.8 cents a page against our 4.2. We are close rather than cheapest, and what we offer for the difference is same-day dispatch from Greenlawn, NY on weekday orders by 4 PM ET, a US phone line, chip-version disclosure on every listing (for this chipless family we say exactly that), replacement or refund on any cartridge that arrives defective, and a full year to return it. On a cartridge family this old, that return window matters, because stale stock is a real problem.

Our pick: remanufactured PG-240XXL black

The remanufactured Canon PG-240XXL black is the obvious choice for an MG3620. Canon rates the XXL at 600 pages, twice the XL, and the remanufactured version costs about $3 more than a remanufactured XL. At $24.99 it covers a full year of printing at 50 pages a month, and it is a genuine Canon shell with Canon's nozzle plate, cleaned, refilled and tested. There is no reason for anyone to buy a 180-page standard PG-240 at $25.95 when the same money buys 600 pages.

The trade-off is the same as any remanufactured FINE cartridge: the printer stops tracking ink level for it once you clear the detection prompt, so you will not get a low-ink warning before it runs dry. If you print enough to care, the PG-240XXL 2-pack at $55.95 keeps a spare on hand. Note that per cartridge the 2-pack is slightly more than two singles at today's prices, so buy singles unless you want them in one box. And if $2 is the deciding factor, LD's XXL is cheaper.

Other Castle Ink cartridges for this family: Remanufactured Canon PG-240XL Black ($21.95, 300 pages), Remanufactured Canon CL-241XL Tri-Color ($25.95, 400 pages) and the PG-240XL + CL-241XL 2-pack ($44.95, 700 pages).

No chip, no lockout: what the MG3620 actually does with third-party ink

PG-240 and CL-241 are chipless integrated-printhead cartridges. There is no clone chip for Canon to block, Canon has never issued a firmware update that disables third-party 240/241 ink, and the MG3620 is too old to be enrolled in any subscription that could lock it. The only gate is ink-level detection. When a refilled or remanufactured cartridge goes in, the printer reports "the remaining ink level cannot be correctly detected" (error 1686) and waits. Canon's error manual gives the fix: hold Stop for five seconds, after which printing resumes and level monitoring is turned off for that cartridge.

Canon's position on warranty is narrow and worth quoting accurately. Its manual says "Canon shall not be liable for any machine malfunction or damage caused by refilled ink tanks" (Canon manual), and its forum staff tell owners that damage attributed to third-party ink is not covered (Canon community forum). For an MG3620 the point is academic; the one-year warranty expired long ago for nearly every unit in service. The practical issues are different. Because the printhead rides on the cartridge, streaks, missing lines and U162/U163-type errors on cheap marketplace units trace to worn nozzles on over-recycled shells. And because this family is more than a decade old, some retail stock, genuine Canon included, has sat on shelves long enough to dry out. Buy from a seller who states a shelf life and will take the cartridge back.

What does ink for the Canon PIXMA MG3620 cost per year?

Assumptions: 50 pages a month, 600 a year, black text, at Canon's ISO yields. One remanufactured XXL covers the whole year.

PIXMA Print Plan verdict: There is nothing to decide. Canon's PIXMA Print Plan eligibility list covers only newer TR and TS models, and the MG3620 is not on it. MG3620 owners buy cartridges, which at this volume means $25 to $87 a year in black depending on which option you choose. That makes the bulk XXL route the only way to lock in a low per-page cost, and it is also the simplest: one cartridge a year. If you are curious how your own volume changes the math, our ink cost calculator will do it for any page count.

How to choose a Canon PG-240 / CL-241 cartridge

• Buy the PG-240XXL, not the XL. Canon rates it at 600 pages against 300, and remanufactured XXLs cost about the same as XLs, $22 to $25.
• Expect the "ink level cannot be detected" prompt with any remanufactured cartridge; hold Stop for five seconds once and it clears.
• Choose remanufactured over "new compatible." The printhead is on the cartridge, and a remanufactured unit keeps Canon's original nozzle plate.
• The CL-241 is a single tri-color tank. If you rarely print color, set the printer to black-only so an empty color does not block text printing.
• With no subscription available for this model, a pair of XXL blacks is the cheapest way to lock in roughly 4 cents a page.
• Check dates. This cartridge family is over a decade old and some retail stock is stale; a dried genuine cartridge is a common cause of "no black" complaints.

Canon PIXMA MG3620 Ink FAQs

The bottom line

An MG3620 is about as cheap to feed as a cartridge inkjet gets, provided you buy the right cartridge. The remanufactured Canon PG-240XXL black at $24.99 for 600 pages is one cartridge a year for most owners, about 4.2 cents a page, with no chip, no firmware and no subscription to think about. LD's XXL is $2 cheaper if that tips it for you. Either way, skip the standard PG-240 and the genuine XL, which cost two to three times as much per page.

Related reading: best compatible ink brands, compatible vs OEM Canon ink, cheapest ink for the Canon PIXMA TR4720, which printers have the cheapest ink, and the Canon ink cartridge collection.