HP Smart Tank 5101 Review (2026): Honest Pros, Cons & Who It's Really For

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How we evaluate printers: This review is based on Castle Ink's printer ranking methodology, which weighs aggregated customer reviews, professional review cross-checks, total cost of ownership, and specs/feature fit. Read our full ranking and recommendation methodology.

Looking for more options? Check out our full roundup: 10 Best Home Printers (2026).

QUICK VERDICT

The HP Smart Tank 5101 is an entry-level refillable ink tank all-in-one aimed at households that print moderate volumes and want to escape the cost of HP's cartridge-based printers. At around $170, it ships with up to two years of ink included, and the ink-tank economics are the printer's clearest selling point. Owner feedback is more mixed than HP's cartridge lineup, though, at 3.8 stars across 4,700+ ratings — reliability and Wi-Fi connectivity complaints show up often enough that it's worth testing thoroughly right after setup.

→ Check the current price of the HP Smart Tank 5101 on Amazon

AT A GLANCE

• Functions: Print, scan, copy
• Print speed: Up to 12 ppm black, 5 ppm color
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only — no 5GHz band)
• Ink: Refillable tank using HP 31 (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow, 50ml) and HP 32XL (Black, 135ml) bottles, up to 2 years included
• Duplex: Not listed as a feature — manual double-sided printing only
• Typical price: Around $170 (list $259.99)
• Amazon rating: 3.8 / 5 stars (4,700+ ratings)

WHO THIS PRINTER IS FOR

• Households that print a moderate volume of documents and photos and want to avoid the ongoing cost of cartridge-based HP printers.
• Buyers who want up to two years of ink included in the box before needing a refill.
• Anyone comfortable with 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi rather than needing a 5GHz connection.
• Casual home or classroom use where occasional slower print speeds and manual duplexing aren't a dealbreaker.

WHO SHOULD SKIP IT

• Buyers who want rock-solid reliability out of the box — a meaningful share of owners report connectivity drops, driver issues, or units that struggle to print at all.
• Anyone who prints frequently from a phone and wants borderless edge-to-edge results; several reviewers report photos getting cropped more than expected when printing from mobile.
• Households needing automatic duplex printing — it isn't listed as a feature on this model.
• Buyers who need a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection; this model only supports 2.4GHz.

WHAT PEOPLE LOVE ABOUT IT

• Ink savings are the most consistently praised feature — owners frequently describe going months without refilling and escaping expensive HP cartridge pricing.
• Print quality for everyday text and graphics is described as comparable to HP's cartridge printers.
• Setup is straightforward for many buyers, especially when using the HP Smart app to guide the process.
• Good fit for classroom and homework printing needs, according to several reviewers.

THE LEGITIMATE COMPLAINTS

• Reliability is inconsistent. A meaningful share of 1-star reviews describe units that wouldn't connect to Wi-Fi, wouldn't install drivers properly, or stopped printing entirely within months.
• Wi-Fi drops are a recurring theme, sometimes requiring a power cycle to reconnect, especially at longer distances from the router.
• Mobile printing can crop more of the image than expected, particularly for photos and labels.
• The ink-level window on the front of the tank can be hard to read; several owners suggest checking levels through the HP Smart app instead.
• No automatic duplex printing, unlike some competing tank printers in this price range.

HOW IT COMPARES

CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE: HP SMART TANK 5000

If you want very similar ink-tank economics for slightly less, the HP Smart Tank 5000 covers the same core print/scan/copy functions at a marginally lower price.

UPGRADE PICK: HP SMART TANK 6001

If you need fax, an automatic document feeder, or more reliable dual-band Wi-Fi, the HP Smart Tank 6001 adds those for roughly $30 more.

INK AND SUPPLIES FOR THE HP SMART TANK 5101

The Smart Tank 5101 uses HP 31 ink bottles (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow — 50ml each) and an HP 32XL Black bottle (135ml), refillable directly into the printer's built-in tank rather than swap-in cartridges. As of this writing, Castle Ink doesn't carry a compatible or remanufactured alternative for this specific ink-tank bottle family. See our companion guide, What Ink Does the HP Smart Tank 5101 Use?, for the full breakdown.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Does it support automatic double-sided printing? No, automatic duplex isn't listed as a feature on this model.

Does it work with 5GHz Wi-Fi? No — the Smart Tank 5101 only supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks.

How much ink comes included? HP estimates up to two years of ink for typical home printing volumes from the included bottles.

Is genuine HP ink required? HP recommends genuine 31/32XL ink bottles for this tank system; third-party refill options are limited for this specific bottle family.

BOTTOM LINE

The HP Smart Tank 5101 delivers genuine ink savings over HP's cartridge printers, but reliability and Wi-Fi connectivity complaints are common enough that you should test it thoroughly within your return window. It's a reasonable pick for light-to-moderate home printing if you go in with realistic expectations.

→ Check the current price of the HP Smart Tank 5101 on Amazon

SHOP COMPATIBLE INK & TONER AT CASTLE INK

The Smart Tank 5101's HP 31/32XL ink-tank bottles are a specialty format, and Castle Ink doesn't currently carry compatibles for them. If you also own standard inkjet or laser printers, Castle Ink can save you 50–70% off OEM pricing on those:

HP ink cartridges · Brother ink cartridges · Canon ink cartridges · Epson ink cartridges

See also: 10 Best Home Printers (2026)