Printers are sold cheap so the maker can sell you ink forever. This ranks them by what they actually cost to run: the cost per page, and the real 2-year cost once you add ink to the purchase price. Spoiler, a $200 EcoTank often costs less over two years than an $85 inkjet.
Prices and ink costs reviewed 11 July 2026. Cost per page uses standard cartridge or tank yields; check the model for exact figures.
| Printer | Type | Black /page | Colour /page | Printer price | 2-yr real cost |
|---|
Ink-tank printers (EcoTank, MegaTank, Smart Tank) at well under 1¢ per black page. A cartridge inkjet costs 5-20¢/page, so it can cost more over two years than a pricier ink-tank. Mono laser is very cheap for text.
The printer is cheap; the money is in the ink. A $50-100 inkjet at 8-20¢/page burns more in ink than a $200 EcoTank that prints for a fraction of a cent. The 2-year cost column shows the truth.
Mono laser is cheapest for black text and never dries out. Ink-tank inkjet is cheapest for colour and photos. Colour laser is cheap for black but pricey per colour page. Match to what you print.
Printer price plus ink for ~1,500 black + 500 colour pages over two years, a like-for-like real cost where cheap cartridge printers lose to ink-tanks.