Best Printer for Your Home or Office in 2025: Tested by Our Experts - CNET

Jun 24, 2025

Whether you’re working from a home office, doing schoolwork or running an Etsy store, you might require a printer to turn digital documents into physical ones or print images. The best printers also let you scan, opening up a more paperless world. After testing more than 30 models in the past two years, I can tell you that while most printers do the same thing, some do it much better and more efficiently than others. If you are looking to buy a laser printer, an inkjet printer or any other kind of printing machine, this is the best time to buy one, thanks to the July 4 sales and upcoming Amazon Prime Day 2025 offers.

For a home office with just one or two people using it, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e is the best overall choice. The print speed was excellent and all the printed words were crisp and clear. This isn't a photo printer, and it shows, but it works well enough for daily imagery tasks. If you're using it to print brochures or Word documents, this is an almost perfect printer for you.

What we updated: June 2025

Updated to bring the latest pricing as well as offer more comparison information in our tables.

Why I like it:Of the printers I've tested so far, the OfficeJet Pro is the most versatile. It allows work-from-home business people to scan, copy and print with ease, while offering up decent image quality for the occasional printed image. It also comes with three months of free ink, based on a standard use if you sign up for HP Plus. While HP Plus gives you extra helpful app choices free and the ink, the downside is you can only use HP inks while subscribed to it.

The last model had some issues with graphics and imagery, but this new upgrade is much better. The graphics in my brochure testing were sharp and accurate and the images were a little dotty but still looked good from the inkjet printer. The text was excellent, with clearly defined edges, even the Comic Sans parts. It's a bit larger than some of the printers I tested but the deep paper tray and auto-feed for the scanner make the size worthwhile.Who is it best for?

If you work from home but need all the advantages of an office printer, the OfficeJet Pro is an excellent choice. In terms of sheer printing speed, the HP is ahead of most inkjets in its price range. It printed the 10 pages in just 32 seconds and scanned and printed them in 58 seconds. Not as fast as laser printers maybe, but still impressive.

Who should avoid this?

If you're a hard-core image connoisseur looking to print dozens of high-resolution images, there are better machines for you. The OfficeJet Pro 9125e is so good because it's a generalist for the average person working from home or a small family. If you are printing hundreds of pages this won't be right for you either. You'll need a laserjet for that.

Why I like it:

The Brother laser printer is the standard for any small business. It prints extremely quickly -- just 25 seconds for 10 full pages -- and every page was crisp and clear. The color printing works well, too, with the web page test showing excellent images on every page. It's a workhorse that has yet to fail me. I'm also a big fan of the excellent Wi-Fi connection. It's been solid since I first turned the Brother on and works perfectly from every device I've tested it with. Just connect and print every time.

Who is it best for?

If you use your printer consistently in a small business setting, I recommend the Brother. The 250-page paper tray is a little limiting so if you're printing giant essays, it may not be the way to go but for a laser printer in an office of two people, it's a real winner.

Who should avoid this?

If you are a photography buff, this isn't the right printer for you but it wasn't too bad for printing home photos. I wouldn't use this for a big office, as the paper tray size is limiting.

Why I like it:

For a printer that costs a little under $100 at most retailers, this Brother all-in-one is punching above its weight. Photos came out clear and sharp, as did the graphics on the website and brochure test. Even the text was very sharp. For an all-in-one printer at this price, it did every job well.

Who is it best for?

If all you need is a printer for very occasional use, like the odd ticket here or there, maybe printing out some homework, or some images for your child to color in, then I recommend this printer. It does a good job and is exceedingly cheap.

Who should avoid this?

This isn't going to the right printer for someone who uses one every day. If you run a business from your home and you need paperwork, our best overall is a better choice. This is for having in the house when you need it, not for everyday use.

Why I like it:

DTF printing is a fairly new technology that combines the color choices of screen printing with the ease of heat transfer vinyl, which you might see on a Cricut vinyl cutter. To use it, you print a full-color image onto a special film, cover the back in a special powder, and cook it in a small oven to create an adhesive layer. From there, you use a heat press to seal it into an item of clothing or other surface. Procolored makes several DTF printers, with the Panda F8 being a more consumer-friendly version than their other, larger machines. It works very well to make small batches or products, so using the Panda F8 to print unique clothing items for your Etsy store is better than using a Cricut or sublimation printer, especially for shirts that are not white.

Who is it best for?

This is for any small business creative who makes shirts or other apparel for sale. If you have an Etsy store where you sell your creations, having a DTF will pay for itself in short order.

Who should avoid this?

My biggest issue with the Panda F8 is the need for it to be in constant use. The ink delivery system is unstable, so it needs constant use to keep it from getting stale. That's fine if you have a lot of orders, but if you don't, you'll need to print stuff anyway to keep it going. If you aren't going to be filling orders every day, or at least printing every day, then this might not be for you.

Why I like it:

The Canon Pixma TR4720 isn't winning any awards in any category. In all of my testing, it came out around the middle of the pack in just about every category. While that could be seen as a negative in a printer that costs several hundred dollars, for one that is as cheap as the Pixma, it's encouraging.

When printing on glossy paper, the Pixma scored better in color reproduction than other, more expensive all-in-one printers. Some printers suffer from dimpling when printing images, but the Pixma didn't, and the skin tones were far better on the Canon image than on other brands.

Who is it best for?

The Pixma is for all those people who want a printer in the house but don't have a specific use case. You might want to print the occasional picture for the fridge or a small document. It's perfect for owning and using once a month.

Who should avoid this?

If you actually need a printer on a daily basis, choose our best overall pick. If you want a truly great image printer, try our best photo printer list. The Pixma is great for occasional use, not for long term enjoyment.

Why I like it:

HP's latest Smart Tank is a midlevel all-in-one with some really nice features and a few that are missing. In all our tests, it did very well, especially the website printing test, where all the graphics were as crisp and clear as the text. The image test was good too, although not as good as that of the more expensive Smart Tank 7301. The colors were vivid and there was no sign of chromatic aberration. There was a little grain in the image, but nothing that better paper couldn't fix.

Who is it best for?

Overall, the 5101 is a good choice if you want excellent color re-creation at a reasonable price. And because it's an ink tank system, the ink should last at least a year, even if you use it daily.

Who should avoid this?

The large ink is great but it would be helpful if it had a large paper tray too. If you're likely to print a large number of documents, then a good laser printer is still the better option.

Why I like it:

Brother has recently entered the sublimation market with the SP1 and it's a pretty impressive offering. Like all modern printers, it has Wi-Fi printing and, using the Artspira app on your phone or tablet, you can create really great layouts for printing just about any design on anything you can heat press. I appreciate its easy use, although I wish the inks were a little bigger. The price is excellent for a sublimation printer too.

Who is it best for?

There are plenty of options if you're looking to convert a standard printer to use sublimation ink, but if possible, you should buy a dedicated printer like the Brother SP1 for the job if you have a small business or Etsy store that relies on sublimation.

Who should avoid this?

This is not a normal printer. If you're looking to print documents, then pick our best overall. This sublimation printer is for those who want to make art to sell.

Why I like it:

I like the Munbyn thermal printers a lot. My use case is simply for printing postage labels, and for that, it works incredibly well but it can also print fun labels that my daughter enjoys sticking around the house. It prints very fast and every label comes out crisp and clean. This is important if you want your packages to reach their destination. I would have liked a built-in holder for the roll of labels to keep the footprint small but that doesn't really detract from the usefulness of the machine.

Who is it best for?

Anyone who sends a lot of packages could use a printer like this. We use one in the CNET office to send our review products back and it never fails. You can also use it to make creative labels for your products, such as jars and boxes.

Who should avoid this?

Like the sublimation printer above, this is not a normal printer. If you're looking to print documents, then pick our best overall. This is specifically for thermal labels for shipping or for fun stickers for your kids.

Not all of the printers we test make it to the top table. Some of them are good but don't quite make the top of our list, some we replaced with a new version and some are so bad that we omitted them entirely. Here are some of the home printers that nearly made it or have been on the best list but replaced by different models.

I love a tool that is for one purpose and it does that purpose almost perfectly. The Nelko thermal printer is specifically designed to print labels for packages -- although it does print other labels, too -- and if, like me, you have an Etsy or Shopify store, it can be invaluable.

Most of the tests I've designed for this article don't apply to the Nelko, although the print speed per page is shockingly fast, so it is not comparable to the other printers here. It's also at the top of the pack of the thermal printers I've tested. The app-controlled Bluetooth connection makes it even easier to print shipping labels. Simply purchase them through Etsy on your phone and print them using the app. You can even crop the image to remove the white space. It's so simple I should have bought one years ago.

My only gripe with the Nelko is the lack of roller hooks. I like that the printer is small, but there is no room for a roll of thermal stickers, limiting you to single sheets, or jury-rigging something to fit.

First off, this is not a typical printer machine. The bulky square shape is not something you would want to see in a fashionable home office. It is solidly constructed, though, and unlike some of the other products in this price range, it doesn't have any creaky plastic pieces. It's built well and it shows.

Because of the extra paper tray, the Epson can hold a large amount of paper for use. This makes it perfect if you and another person use it daily. It prints fast too -- the fastest in our test, although scanning is a little slow. The graphic, text, and webpage text were all excellent, although the image quality on glossy paper was only good. But this is a workhorse, designed for high-volume text, not imagery.

My only real issue with the Workforce Pro was the size of the ink cartridges. It's great that there are two large paper trays to hold a lot of paper, but if the amount of ink you have doesn't match, then you'll have a problem.

The Sawgrass SG500 is purpose-built to print using sublimation ink and paper. It works great, too. You can print up a storm of artwork to put on T-shirts for the whole family. While this has a larger ink well than the Brother, the creaky feeling of the plastic and the extra hundreds of dollars it costs means it can't quite hit the top slot.

The Munbyn is good -- for a thermal printer. It printed quickly and its labels were crisp and sharp, with no issues reading barcodes. However, it fell when trying to connect to the app. I found the app needed a lot of work, and it failed to connect more times than it connected. It's also a hundred dollars more than its peers and not worth the extra money.

What you intend to print will determine the best printer for you. If you're mostly working with shopping lists, concert tickets, or travel itineraries, excellent print quality is arguably less important than print speed and price. If you're using your printer for professional materials or photo printing, then color accuracy, printing quality, and features like borderless printing will be primary considerations when choosing the right home printer.

The two main types of home printers are Inkjet and laser. Both have different benefits and pitfalls. There also other choices if you have specific needs.

All-in-one printers are almost ubiquitous at this point, and if you're looking for something for a small home office, there's no reason not to get one. Scanning and copying built-in alongside printing just makes sense for a small business.

However, if your printing needs are just photography-based, or one of the other niche types on this list -- like sublimation or thermal printing -- then an all-in-one may not be worthwhile. You want a printer that does one job very well, rather than a jack of all trades.

Another factor to consider is the cost of ink and ensuring you have enough ink to print everything you need. (There's nothing more frustrating than having a printer but no ink in the tank.) Inkjet printers use liquid ink to print, whereas laser printers use toner cartridges containing powder. Even if you're getting a great printer deal, be sure to research how to refill the ink, so you can choose the best printer for your overall budget. Some new printers include an ink subscription in their original price tag, so that may be something to consider.

For a long time, CNET's methodology for testing printers didn't change. Our original testing was designed in the days when Wi-Fi printers were rare and faxing was an important consideration when choosing a device. These days, Wi-Fi is standard, app-controlled printers are everywhere, and what and how we print has changed considerably. I designed a new set of printing parameters in 2022 that I hope will mesh with how we use printers nowadays.

The sale season is here and it is the best time to buy a printer. Amazon Prime Day 2025 sale is scheduled to take place July 8 to 11, and some early July 4 deals are already live. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of discounts on printers if you're considering purchasing one.

Ink subscriptions are becoming more common, with several printers on this list offering them as part of the original cost. Are they any good? It all depends on how much ink you use. If you're printing more than 100 pages a month, then yes, it likely is a good deal. Less than that and you may find you don't need it.

Most ink subscriptions offer you a certain number of months free, so it's worth trying it to see if it can fulfill your needs, but remember to cancel it before you're supposed to start paying if you don't want it.

The most common printer types are:

Printer prices can vary from $100 for simple budget printers, to $700 or more for complex printers that can seem like magic. The best home printers, especially the all-in-one printers that scan and copy as well, tend to sit at the $200 to $300 mark. If you need something only for text, you can get a good one for $150.