Laser vs Inkjet: The Real Cost Per Page

The laser-vs-inkjet debate is usually argued with sticker prices: toner cartridges cost $65–$235, ink cartridges cost $18–$70, so ink must be cheaper. Divide by pages and the picture flips. A toner cartridge that prints 7,500 pages is a fundamentally different purchase from an ink cartridge that prints 240 — even if the toner costs three times as much.

Here is what the cartridges we track actually cost per page, and the break-even math for choosing your next printer.

Toner: expensive box, cheap pages

Toner cartridges carry the scariest sticker prices in the category — and some of the cheapest pages. Across the toner we track, real cost per page runs about $0.023 to $0.063:

| Toner cartridge | Price | Cost / page | | --- | --- | --- | | TN229XL 4-color set (Brother-compatible, third-party) | ~$69.97 | ~$0.023 | | HP 414X Black High-Yield (LaserJet Enterprise M455, Pro M454) | ~$235.89 | ~$0.031 | | HP 218X Black High-Yield (LaserJet Pro 3201/3301) | ~$114.89 | ~$0.036 | | Canon 067 Black 2-pack (imageCLASS-compatible, third-party) | ~$49.99 | ~$0.037 | | HP 138A Black (LaserJet Pro 3001/3101) | ~$78.89 | ~$0.053 | | HP 134A Black (LaserJet M209/M234) | ~$64.89 | ~$0.059 | | HP 218A Black (standard yield) | ~$78.89 | ~$0.061 | | HP 206A Black (LaserJet Pro M255/M282) | ~$84.89 | ~$0.063 |

Notice how tight that range is. Even the "standard yield" toner cartridges stay near $0.06 per page. The $235 HP 414X looks outrageous on the shelf, but its ~7,500-page yield makes it one of the cheapest genuine cartridges per page we track.

Inkjet: a 40x spread

Inkjet is where cost per page goes haywire. Across the ink cartridges we track, the range is roughly $0.010 to $0.41 per page — a 40x spread inside one technology:

| Ink cartridge | Price | Cost / page | | --- | --- | --- | | Brother LC20EBK Super High Yield Black | ~$23.99 | ~$0.010 | | HP 962XL Black High-Yield (OfficeJet Pro 9010/9020) | ~$63.89 | ~$0.032 | | Epson 127 DURABrite Ultra Black | ~$33.99 | ~$0.034 | | HP 952XL Black High-Yield | ~$70.89 | ~$0.035 | | HP 910XL Black High-Yield | ~$56.89 | ~$0.069 | | HP 63XL/65XL Black High-Yield (DeskJet, Envy) | ~$28.89 | ~$0.096 | | Canon PG-245 Black | ~$25.00 | ~$0.139 | | HP 67XL Black High-Yield (DeskJet 2700/4100) | ~$35.89 | ~$0.150 | | Canon PG-260 XL Black | ~$40.99 | ~$0.410 |

The pattern: office-class inkjet (OfficeJet Pro, WorkForce, Brother MFC families) prints for $0.03–$0.07 per page, competitive with laser. Consumer inkjet — the small DeskJet, Envy, and PIXMA cartridges — runs $0.10–$0.41 per page, 2–7x more than any toner we track.

And the honest wrinkle that ruins a clean "laser wins" headline: the single cheapest cartridge per page in our entire catalog is an inkjet. The Brother LC20EBK works out to about $0.010 per page — under half the price of the best toner. Super-high-yield inkjet exists; it is just rare, and only fits specific Brother machines.

The break-even math

Laser printers usually cost more up front than basic inkjets. Whether that premium pays off is simple arithmetic:

Break-even pages = printer price premium ÷ per-page savings.

Worked example: a household inkjet using the HP 67XL prints at ~$0.150 per page. An entry mono laser using the HP 134A prints at ~$0.059. That is ~$0.09 saved per page. If the laser costs $90 more, it pays for itself after about 1,000 pages — roughly a year of printing 20 pages a week. Every page after that is savings.

Flip the volumes and the answer flips too. If you print 10 pages a month, break-even takes over eight years — the cheap inkjet printer wins, provided you accept one more caveat: ink dries out when idle, and a clogged or dried cartridge you replace half-full pushes your real cost per page far above the rated number. Toner powder does not dry, which quietly makes laser even stronger for occasional printers.

Which should you buy?

• You print regularly (20+ pages/week), mostly text: mono laser. Pages at $0.03–$0.06, no dried cartridges, break-even inside a year.
• You print rarely: laser still ages better (toner keeps), but a low break-even matters less — buy on printer price.
• You print photos or color pages: inkjet — but choose an office-class family (OfficeJet Pro, WorkForce) at $0.03–$0.07 per page, not a $0.10–$0.41 consumer cartridge.
• Whatever you buy: check the replacement cartridge's cost per page before buying the printer. The printer is a one-time cost; the cartridge family is a subscription you can't cancel.

Every cartridge we track is ranked cheapest-per-page first on the printer ink category page, and the cartridge-by-cartridge breakdown is in our printer ink cost per page guide. To run your own break-even numbers on any two cartridges, use the unit price calculator. Prices move constantly — confirm the live price before buying; the per-page math is what stays true.