What Printer Has the Cheapest Ink? Best Low-Cost-Per-Page Printers in 2026

When you buy a printer, you're really signing up for a long-term relationship with its ink. A $60 printer that costs $40 every two months in ink will cost far more over its lifetime than a $150 printer with a lower cost per page. This guide shows you which printer types and specific models give you the cheapest ink in 2026.

Understanding Cost Per Page

The right metric for comparing ink costs is cost per page (CPP) — the price of one cartridge divided by its ISO-rated page yield. A standard OEM inkjet cartridge typically costs 5 to 15 cents per black page and 10 to 25 cents per color page. The printers below significantly undercut those numbers.

Important note: using compatible (third-party) ink cartridges instead of OEM cuts per-page costs by 40 to 60% on virtually any printer. So even a mid-range printer becomes very economical with compatible ink from Castle Ink — more on that below.

Category 1: Supertank Printers (Cheapest Per Page Overall)

Supertank printers — the Epson EcoTank series and the Canon PIXMA MegaTank series — use large ink reservoirs you fill with bottled ink rather than cartridges. The result is an extremely low cost per page — often under 1 cent per black page and 2 to 3 cents per color page.

The trade-off is a higher upfront price (typically $200 to $400), but most supertank printers ship with enough ink in the box to print thousands of pages. Popular models include the Epson EcoTank ET-2800, Epson EcoTank ET-4850 (see on Amazon), and the Canon PIXMA G3270. If you print regularly and hate buying ink, these are the cheapest printers to run over time.

Category 2: High-Yield XL Cartridge Printers (Best Balance of Price and Flexibility)

If you don't want a supertank, choose a printer with XL or XXL cartridge options. High-yield cartridges print more pages per cartridge, lowering per-page cost — and with compatible XL cartridges, you go even lower.

• HP ENVY Inspire 7955e — Compatible with HP 78XXL cartridges. See on Amazon.
• Canon PIXMA TR8620a — Uses high-yield PGI-280 XXL and CLI-281 XXL cartridges. Our compatible versions are at Castle Ink. See on Amazon.
• Brother MFC-J4335DW — Brother's INKvestment Tank system reduces how often you replace cartridges. Compatible LC406XL cartridges from Castle Ink deliver excellent value. See on Amazon. We've also written about the best paper for this printer: Best Paper for the Brother MFC-J4335DW.

Category 3: HP Instant Ink Compatible Printers

HP's Instant Ink subscription charges a flat monthly fee based on pages printed, starting around $1 to $3/month for light users. For someone who prints 15 to 50 pages consistently each month, it can be very cheap. Compatible printers include the HP ENVY 6400 series. The caveat: Instant Ink cartridges are DRM-locked and stop working if you cancel. If you want flexibility, use compatible cartridges instead — see our post on Best Paper for the HP Envy 6400.

Category 4: Laser Printers (Cheapest for High-Volume Black-and-White)

If you primarily print black-and-white documents in high volumes, a monochrome laser printer will beat any inkjet on per-page cost. A standard toner cartridge for a Brother HL-L2350DW yields around 3,000 pages at roughly 1 to 2 cents per page. With compatible toner cartridges from Castle Ink, that drops further. See our Inkjet vs. Laser Printer guide for a full comparison.

The Biggest Money-Saver: Compatible Cartridges

Regardless of which printer you choose, the single biggest lever for reducing ink costs is switching from OEM cartridges to high-quality compatible cartridges. Castle Ink compatible cartridges for HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother printers deliver OEM-equivalent print quality at 40 to 60% less — all with free shipping and a satisfaction guarantee. We cover the full picture in Why Is Printer Ink So Expensive? (And How to Pay Less).