Printer Ink Cost Per Gallon (2026): What Every Major Cartridge Really Costs

Last updated: September 17, 2026. By Bill Elward, Founder, Castle Ink. This page carries no affiliate links.

Quick Answer: How Much Does Printer Ink Cost Per Gallon?

Genuine inkjet printer ink costs a median of about $12,400 per gallon in 2026, based on Castle Ink's analysis of 13 popular HP, Canon and Brother cartridges at their manufacturers' list or national-retail prices. The most expensive cartridge in the sample, the HP 67XL Black, works out to roughly $34,000 per gallon — it holds about 4 mL of ink and sells for $35.99.

For comparison, that's about 10 times the price of Dom Pérignon champagne by volume, about 1.7 times the price of Chanel N°5 perfume, and more than 2,800 times the price of gasoline.

Key Statistics at a Glance

• $12,403 per gallon — median price of genuine inkjet ink across 13 cartridges (September 2026).
• $34,059 per gallon — HP 67XL Black, the priciest ink by volume in the sample ($9.00 per millilitre).
• $5,927 per gallon — Brother LC75Y Yellow, the cheapest in the sample. Even the cheapest ink in the sample costs nearly five times as much per gallon as Dom Pérignon champagne.
• 4 of 13 cartridges exceed $30,000 per gallon — all of them small HP "XL" cartridges holding 8 mL of ink or less.
• 5.8× — the spread between the most and least expensive ink per gallon.
• Bigger cartridges are far cheaper per gallon: the HP 950XL (44.5 mL) costs about $6,100 per gallon, less than a fifth of the HP 67XL.

Printer Ink vs. Other Expensive Liquids (Price Per Gallon)

Sources: Castle Ink analysis (ink); chanel.com US price, $190 per 100 mL (perfume); Total Wine US price, $247.97 per 750 mL (champagne); AAA national average for regular unleaded, Sept. 16, 2026 (gasoline); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average price, Aug. 2026 (milk).

Is Printer Ink the Most Expensive Liquid in the World?

Not quite, but it is one of the most expensive liquids an ordinary household buys. Lists of the world's most expensive liquids are topped by things almost nobody purchases — scorpion venom, some snake venoms and certain laboratory reagents, which can run into the millions of dollars per gallon. Among everyday purchases, though, printer ink routinely beats luxury perfume and fine champagne on a per-gallon basis. At the high end, a gallon of HP 67XL ink costs about as much as a new compact car.

Full Data: Genuine Ink Cartridge Price Per Gallon

Prices from the Castle Ink Printer Ink Price Index (captured Aug. 14, 2026): manufacturer US stores where still sold, otherwise Staples or Office Depot shelf prices (HP 61XL, 63XL, 65XL, 950XL, 951XL, 96, 98). One U.S. gallon = 3,785.41 mL. *See methodology notes on volume sources.

Why Does Printer Ink Cost So Much Per Gallon?

The short version: most printer makers sell the printer cheaply and make their money on cartridges. The ink itself is a precisely engineered fluid, but its manufacturing cost is a small fraction of the shelf price. Cartridges also carry printheads (in many HP and Canon designs), chips that communicate with the printer, and packaging — and cartridge sizes have trended smaller over time, which keeps the entry price low while pushing the per-gallon price up. We cover the full economics in Why Is Printer Ink So Expensive? (And How to Spend Less).

Why Small Cartridges Cost the Most Per Gallon

The data shows one clear pattern: ink volume, not sticker price, drives the per-gallon cost. The four cartridges above $30,000 per gallon each hold 8 mL or less. Cartridges holding 17 mL or more all land between about $6,000 and $12,000 per gallon. The same pattern appears in cost per printed page — every cartridge above 12¢ per page in our Price Index yields 300 pages or fewer.

If you print regularly, the practical takeaways are:

• Buy the highest-capacity cartridge your printer accepts.
• Consider an ink-tank or high-capacity printer if you print more than a few pages a week — see our printer buying guide or take the 60-second PrinterIQ Finder quiz.
• Compare cost per page, not cartridge price — our Printer Ink Price Index found compatible cartridges cost a median 58% less per page than genuine ones.
• Look up the exact cartridge your model uses on our find ink by printer page before you buy.

Methodology

Price per gallon = cartridge price ÷ ink volume (mL) × 3,785.41.

• Prices come from the Castle Ink Printer Ink Price Index, captured August 14, 2026 — the manufacturer's own US online store where the cartridge is still sold there, otherwise a national retailer (Staples or Office Depot). Promotional and subscription pricing (including HP Instant Ink) is excluded.
• Ink volumes are the fill volumes published by the manufacturer where available. HP does not list ink volume on its US store, so HP volumes come from HP's own Canadian and Australian store listings. Regional versions of a cartridge (marked *) can hold slightly different amounts — for example, HP lists the 950XL at 44.5 mL in Canada and 53 mL in Australia; we used the lower North American figure. Where no manufacturer figure was published, we used retailer specification listings (marked "Retailer spec").
• Exclusions: Cartridges in our Price Index without a verifiable ink volume (including Epson 676XL, Brother LC406XL, HP 61XL/65XL Tri-Color, HP 63XL Black and Canon PG-245XL) were left out. Laser toner is a powder, so it is not included in a per-gallon comparison.
• Limits: Not all ink in a cartridge reaches the page — some is used in printhead cleaning and some remains when the printer reports "empty" — so the real cost per gallon of ink actually printed is higher than shown here.

Disclosure: Castle Ink sells compatible and remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, which is a commercial interest readers should weigh. Every figure above can be checked against the sources named.

Cite This Data

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a gallon of printer ink?

Genuine inkjet ink costs a median of about $12,400 per gallon in 2026, ranging from about $5,900 to $34,000 depending on the cartridge.

Is printer ink more expensive than gold?

No. A gallon of gold would weigh around 160 pounds and be worth millions of dollars. But printer ink beats almost every liquid people actually buy: the priciest ink in our sample costs about $34,000 per gallon.

Is printer ink more expensive than champagne or perfume?

Yes. The median genuine inkjet ink costs about 10 times more per gallon than Dom Pérignon champagne and more than 1.7 times as much as Chanel N°5 Eau de Parfum.

How much ink is in a printer cartridge?

Standard and XL home inkjet cartridges in our sample hold between about 4 mL and 21 mL; large office cartridges such as the HP 950XL hold around 45 mL. A U.S. gallon is 3,785 mL — roughly 950 HP 67XL cartridges.

Why is printer ink so expensive?

Printer makers typically sell printers near cost and earn their profit on cartridges. Read our full explainer: Why Is Printer Ink So Expensive?