The best HP printers, in my experience, deliver great document and image quality in prints, offer good page-per-minute (ppm) speeds, and can be economical to run in the long-term with the company's Instant Ink subscriptions and refillable SmartTank models. The US brand offers a range of inkjet, laser, and refillable ink tank models to suit just about any printing needs (there's one unit sitting next to me right now). So, my team and I have rounded up all the top recommended HP printers we've tested.
Our team has reviewed over 200 of the best printers and best small business printers, and in our tests, the best HP printer is the HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202nw, a refillable laser printer that's precise, fast, and delivers high-quality print-outs. For office inkjet models, check out the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 and the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e (known as the 9010e in the UK), while the HP Envy Pro 6420 is ideal for the home. During our comprehensive review process, we compare print quality and overall performance, time speeds, and assess all features and functionalities for printing documents, photos, and everything in between.
The best HP printers of 2024 in full:
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Best HP printer overall
The HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202nw is a refillable toner tank printer which should cut down waste and costs. Generally, ink refills cost around 60% less than standard toner cartridges.
Set-up is really easy - we only experienced a minor issue with the Wi-Fi Direct password - and simplified further ably assisted by the excellent HP Smart companion app. The app also proved to be a good place to preview, print, and scan, since the monochrome display is admittedly small.
What really sets this HP printer apart is its ingenious cartridge-free laser printing- and in our testing, it was brilliantly executed. First, the printer contains the toner, delivering the powder straight into the tank without any possibility of spilling it. Then there's the reload kit. This sees you re-fill the reservoir with ink by plunging a syringe-like device into the top of the machine. It's that simple. Less mess, reduced waste, and in our experience probably the most fun we've ever had refuelling a printer.
Print delivery systems aren't the only area given attention here. The unit itself seems built to fit on pretty much every desk. Part of that space-saving footprint is an unusual 150-sheet paper tray, which projects from the front of the machine, allowing the the printer to be shallower than others.
Exactly as you expect from a laser printer, print quality is consistent, clean, and excels at text. What really holds back the Neverstop is its print and scan resolution. Frankly, 600 x 600dpi is an entry-level figure for any printer. We kept wanting just that bit more from it, especially when printing images. We also felt the print speeds a little slow for a laser printer. In practice, the Epson EcoTank ET-M2140 inkjet was faster for us (and as an inkjet, it's slightly cheaper, too).
However, on the whole, it performed well and the only feature we really missed was the ever-useful auto-duplex mode. Overall, this is a smart all-in-one laser printer with a smart app to go with it. And the cheaper injector refill system is outstanding.
Read our full HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202nw review.
Best HP printer for the office
The HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 is a smart-looking office printer with good print quality and quick speeds.
This is the successor to the HP Officejet Pro 8720 - although you wouldn't know it to look at it. Unlike the 8720 model's smooth, pebble-like design, this is a monolith, stark and sharp. This new professional look actually leaves the 9025 around 39% smaller than its predecessor.
Despite that redesign, the printer is still takes up a significant amount of space - especially with the paper tray extended or the top-lid scanner opened. At 12Kg, we found it heavy, too.
But then, this is a printer that's really for dedicated offices and home offices. And our own tests show this is where the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 excels - particularly when you need documents in a hurry.
A five-page Google Docs document of 1866 words printed in 22 seconds, taking less than seven seconds to complete the first page. We ran a separate test printing four photos in a Microsoft Word document. The printer kicked in after six seconds. The process was completed in less than a minute.
However, once we switched from default settings to maximum, best with photos from the menu, speeds were dramatically increased. 91 seconds for the first page; 4.15 minutes for all four pages to print. We also noticed photos on traditional office paper had some banding and slightly muddied at default print setting (an issue maximum resolution couldn't even solve). In other words, the OfficeJet Pro 9025 is really best for office documents.
Scanning speeds were just as impressive. We scanned a sample set of documents in 156 seconds, equating to speeds of roughly 27ppm for 72 pages or 36 sheets.
What really surprised, though, was the noise from the printer. Standing next to the printer, noise levels reached up to 64dB - we know, we measured it. We would've also liked a slightly larger LCD touchscreen display, although it is certainly bright and responsive, and there is a smart companion app that makes this easier.
Overall, we found the 9025 a solid all-rounder that's ideal for small- and medium-sized businesses who need to print a lot of documents fast.
Read our full HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 review.
Best home office HP printer
If you're looking for an office printer for home, the HP OfficeJet 9010e (US) or the OfficeJet 9015e (UK/EU) has a lot to offer. The inkjet printer boasts fax capabilities, self-healing Wi-Fi, and support for the HP+ ink subscription, for starters. There's a fair 250-sheet paper capacity, plus a 35-page automatic document feeder (ADF) that automatically scans both sides of a page. But with the specs out of the way, how does it perform?
In operation, the 9010e/9015 is smooth and quiet. And we found it very easy to use with the small, but responsive touchscreen. You can also use the excellent HP Smart app, which we generally recommend using for previewing, printing, and scanning.
It performed fairly well in all of our tests. Print-outs were consistent and crisp, and produced at a fair speed. HP's 22ppm claim for mono simplex pages is accurate. However, we did experience slow downs when using auto-duplex mode.
Black text is bold and legible, even with smaller font sizes. On monochrome photos, using large pools of black, we did spot horizontal lines on the image. Thankfully, this issue wasn't seen when printing images in color. But we noticed photos on glossy paper lacked the sense of depth and detail you'll find in true photo printers. so we wouldn’t recommend this model if that’s your intended use case.
While it struggles with photos on photo paper, elsewhere print quality is high. Taken as a whole, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e/9010e is as smart as it looks with all the core functionality a small business needs at a fair price.
Read our full HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e/9010e review.
Best HP printer for home
The HP Envy Pro 6420 is a compact all-in-one with just about every feature you need from a home printer. That includes the always-welcome ADF, auto-duplex mode, and Bluetooth printing.
We’ve seen lots of clever 'small-in-one' printers. Printing, scanning, copying and faxing rolled into a device that can fit into a drawer. But credit to HP, it's done well to build in a 35-page ADF without adding too much bulk. Under our tests, the printer operated slowly but quietly, with an almost tuneful rhythm to each print job.
At this price-point, print quality is surprisingly strong, especially for glossy photographs. Photocopies were faithful to the original, although lighter in color. The ADF worked steadily and quickly when scanning multiple documents. Best of all, we experienced no paper jams during the test.
HP estimates the Envy Pro 6420 is capable of 10ppm print speeds, which we found to be about accurate. It also claims to reach 20ppm in draft mode. This we we didn’t reach, and wouldn’t recommend because of the compromise in quality. Saying that, the print-scan resolutions are good at 1200x1200dpi.
However, we did have a few issues with the printer. Maintaining that sleek build means cuts elsewhere, though. Unlike most AIOs, there's no LCD screen here. Just a simple backlit control panel with six illuminated buttons. Trust when we say, be careful not to accidentally press the i-button, unless you want to print out an information page. The main input paper tray is somewhat limited at 100 sheets of A4 or forty sheets of photo paper. Output is even lower - just twenty-five sheets, or ten photos. And we would've liked to see duplex scanning. But our biggest issue is, there's just not enough ink in the box. We received a low ink warning after printing just twelve pages.
If you don't mind supplying a few extra cartridges before you start, the HP Envy Pro 6420 is an otherwise solid, feature-packed home printer.
Read our full HP Envy Pro 6420 review.
Best business HP printer
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw mono-laser printer is squarely aimed at SMBs - with a large 250-sheet paper capacity and rapid-pace 30ppm print speeds. Other signs of the business-centric focus of this unit include scanning to email, duplex printing, and wireless connectivity for up to five users.
To us, the multi-function printer (MFP) operated more swiftly and smoothly than most printers, turning out remarkably fine copy print. Black text on plain paper is superb, and we clocked the printer running at about 28 pages per minute. Scanning can be admittedly slow, while resolution is capped to 600 x 600 dpi for some reason. On the other hand, at least it’s in full colour, and you can at least choose to save or email the file as a PDF, JPG, TIFF, or PNG.
Compared to inkjets, laser printers aren't typically the best for printing images and diagrams. So, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality on display here. With a 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution, we noticed plenty of fine detail and shading in black and white photo prints. It does feel tall on the desk - in part, a result of that deep paper tray and top-loading ADF. However, the overall footprint is relatively compact, and feels well-made.
Overall, it’s hard not to be impressed by the printer’s speed and quality of plain text documents, quietly filling the out tray of the M227fdw. However, the scanner resolution is limited, and we did feel the replacement toner cartridges are expensive. And it is a monochrome printer - for full color printing, there’s the HP Color LaserJet Pro M277dw.
Read our full HP LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw review.
Best HP printer for photos
Most inkjet printers from HP deliver good results when printing photos, but we especially like the high-resolution HP OfficeJet 8012e (known as the OfficeJet 8010e
in the UK and EU).
Unboxing this printer, we were struck by how similar it looks to the slightly larger l HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e/9010e. Like that printer, the 8012e/8010e delivers a smart and functional design. However, it's not as compact as we'd like, and the plastic panels - made from 15% recycled plastics - felt somewhat wobbly and insubstantial.
In tests, we found performance was good - although it's not quite as good as HP's stated claims. HP estimates the first page should be printed in 13 seconds for mono; 17 seconds for colour. We found that to be optimistic. Mono print speeds of 18ppm seem more accurate. And it takes twice as long in auto duplex mode.
The quality is there, however. Black text is dark, clear, and legible at small point sizes. Mixed colour documents also look crisp with no running between colours. Having said that, the pigment-based inks (rather than dye-based inks) mean colors and photos can sometimes appear subdued. When we printed photos on photo paper, they looked sharp, but lack the vibrancy you get from a dedicated photo printer. Honestly, that's disappointing given the optimized print resolution should be is 4800 x 1200 dpi. But it's better than many when it comes to office printers for photos. If you're looking for a mobile photo printer, see our HP Sprocket Studio review.
Elsewhere, copies of test pages made with the flatbed scanner, or stacked up in the ADF printed well, but had a slightly soft-focus appearance compared to the originals. Perhaps that's expected with a low copy resolution of just 600dpi.
Overall, the HP OfficeJet 8012e/8010e is whole lot of printer for the money and it certainly does come with most of the key features most users will need.
Read our full HP OfficeJet 8012e/8010e review.
Best portable HP printer
The HP OfficeJet 250 is a companion device for when you're printing from multiple locations or working on the go. Don't let the size fool you. This portable printer lets you print, scan, and copy in a shell small enough to fit into a suitcase or backpack. It's not so light that you won't notice it, though, weighing around the same as 1.5 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Proving that good things really do come in small packages, it offers surprisingly sharp print quality, alongside features such as manual duplex printing, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and USB connectivity. Impressively, there's a 10-sheet ADF, a 50-sheet input tray, and a rechargeable battery for true portability.
When the team at sister site Tom's Guide tested out the HP OfficeJet 250, they reported excellent print speeds. Text prints were clocked at at 9 ppm. On battery power, text printed at 7 ppm. A six-page PDF of text and color graphics took 1:57. Photo printing was also fast - a 4 x 6-inch glossy photo printed printed in just under 38 seconds at default settings and just under 50 seconds on the high quality setting.
Thankfully, that speed didn't compromise image quality. High-quality photo prints were rich and detailed. Text documents were crisp and clear. On the scanning side, both photos and documents were faithfully captured, although some text edges showed slight blunting.
The printer's output quality is slightly above average for text, photos, and graphics. The text prints may not be good if you use super tiny fonts. Nonetheless, this is an incredibly useful printer for users on the road who often need a portable printer and scanner.
Best large-format HP printer
In our experience, the HP DesignJet Studio 24 features everything a designer, architect or engineer needs from a large-format plotter.
Dye-based ink is used for the DesignJet Studio 24 in the C, M and Y color cartridges while the black ink is pigment-based. However, it must be said (and should be expected) that cartridges for this printer are quite expensive. However, you can print across a variety of media from A4 to A1 - and that includes glossy photo paper and heavy paper up to 280 g/m2. Unlike some plotters, you can even automatically switch between media in the sheet feeder and the roll feeder.
We found the large-format printer prints quickly, consistently and to a high standard. Where it really excels is complex architectural drawings on plain rolled paper. Here, we saw the printer's ability to reproduce crisp, unwavering straight lines on a grand scale. Color printing appeared vivid and well contained, maintaining a professional aesthetic.
We found print speeds were quick for a printer of this type. In our tests, it turned out an A1-sized poster from the roller in approximately 26 seconds. In fact, the printer actually holds onto the page for a moment, letting the ink dry before cleanly cutting it away.
As a printer primarily aimed at architects and engineers, rather than photographers, we noticed that it wasn't adept at printing photos on photo paper. While the detail and accuracy was great, colors were muted, with images feeling dull and flat.
If you need up to A1 prints, we found the sleek HP DesignJet Studio 24 to be a revelation. Even with the stand, it's relatively small, and not cumbersome compared to many large-scale plotters. And the print quality, especially with large complex line drawings, is impressive.
Read our full HP DesignJet Studio 24-in review.
Best for small teams
HP's Smart Tank Plus 555 is an entry-level refillable ink tank printer that includes enough bottled ink in the box for 12,000 black pages or up to 8,000 colors. There are, however, some trade-offs - what you save in ink costs, for example, is off-set by a lack of certain key features, such as auto-duplex mode.
Having said that, there's still much to admire about the Smart Tank Plus 555. However, it offers dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE. And, like so many of the best HP printers, it makes excellent use of the equally excellent HP Smart companion app for iOS and Android.
This means you can set-up and operate the printer directly from your smartphone. Going the whole hog with wireless printing, it's also compatible with Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print 2.0, and Android printing.
Print speeds are surprisingly quickly, serving up mono prints at 11ppm or 22ppm in draft mode. and can handle almost any printable media up to A4 in size.
Overall, it's a good choice for those working in small teams who don't need fancy features, but do need fast, reliable printing - and don't want to mess around with unintuitive interfaces.
Best HP printers: FAQs
What's the difference between HP printers?
The main difference between HP printers is their ink type. You can find inkjet, laser, and ink tank printers across the company’s home and office line-up.
In general, inkjet printers are cheap upfront, but they’re slow and the ink cartridges are expensive to buy. They excel at photo printing. Laser printers are expensive, but it’s a long-term investment, with reduced costs of toners and a faster print speed. They are ideal for text documents. Ink tank printers are refillable, so it’s cheaper and there’s less weight.
The other difference is the range, with HP printers for the home, office, and even design studios. You can tell the difference by their name.
DeskJet and Envy: Home printing
The Envy and DeskJet are HP’s home printing line-up, so they’re a good all-rounder for documents and photos. These printers have a small footprint, usually compact enough for most modern desks. A 100-sheet paper capacity is the absolute minimum we’d recommend for modest home printing. DeskJet’s are a better choice for larger families and small businesses. Print speeds vary, but the faster the better here without sacrificing print quality.
OfficeJet and LaserJet: Offices and home offices
Often set-up for small teams and multiple users, OfficeJet and LaserJet printers are more robust, with generally higher print quality. The best HP LaserJet printers excel at text documents. Paper capacity tends to be higher than home printers. In this range, we recommend a fast printer that holds at least 250 sheets, auto-duplex mode and an ADF.
DesignJet: Designers
DesignJet is the company’s range of large-format plotters, reserved for engineers and architects.
What is the life expectancy of a HP home printer?
A good printer should last about 5 years.
As a rule, expect 3 to 5 years from any standard desktop printer - whether it’s from HP, Epson, or any other brand. Laser printers usually have a longer lifespan than inkjet models. And longevity can be increased depending how you use it, how often, and general maintenance,
How to choose the best HP printers for you
Category
Most printers for the home and office are inkjet, laser, or ink tank printers. In our experience, inkjet printers are cheap to buy but more expensive to run. laser printers are more costly for the unit, but are cheaper to run in the long-term. Ink tank or refillable printers are also more expensive than traditional inkjet units, but are more cost-efficient with reduced waste. For more ideas, we've reviewed the best inkjet printers, the best laser printers, and the best ink tank printers.
Use
You’ll want to consider what kind of printing you primarily need — is it image oriented or text-heavy? If it's more of images, then you'll want to look at the best photo printers, as these are designed to deliver high-quality images even on glossy photography paper. Laser printers are a getter choice when printing documents, particularly at high-volume.
Features and functions
It's important to select the functions you need - the best all-in-one printers let you scan, print, copy, and even fax. But they may not be worth the investment if you're only using it as a printer. Likewise, if you're printing a lot of materials, check for extras like an automatic document feeder (ADF) and auto-duplex scanning and printing, as this will speed up the process. You may also want to check the printer’s connectivity options. control panel usability, and Wi-Fi functionality.
Budget
The more features and functions your printer has, the more expensive it will be. So once you know what you're printing and how often, you can set a realistic budget.
If you're going to be doing a lot of printing, then you'll want a printer that has the output capacity and that comes with plenty of toner and ink. It’s also essential for you to check the price of the printer's ink cartridge because if it’s too expensive, you’ll end up spending a lot on printing in the long run. It's best to opt for printers with super low ink costs if you're going to be printing out hundreds of pages every month. You'll often find even the best HP printers available in the the Prime Day printer deals and Black Friday printer deals when sales go live.
Speed
Print speeds are a factor, so look for the fastest printers in your budget - so long as they don't sacrifice overall print quality. Remember, if speed is the most important factor, it may be best choosing a wired connection over the best wireless printers.
Want to see a different brand? We also reviewed the best Epson Printers, best Canon printers, and best Brother printers, too.
How we test the best HP printers
Our expert review team have tested hundreds of printers for personal and business use - including the best printers for Mac, best label printers, and even the best sublimation printers for graphics, logos, and marketing assets.
All the printers we source for testing are measured on our test bench, and the results are critically compared with every other model we have reviewed. Instead of relying on manufacturer-given figures, we use a stopwatch app to time the entire process using a standard ten-page document.
To analyze the print quality of the best HP printers, we test the same set of documents across all machines. The test pages include text of varying font sizes and colors, mixed image and text pages, and photos. Then there's a series of test patterns to assess color fidelity, contrast, and sharpness.
We also calculate running costs and consider each product's design and build quality.
You can find out more in the guide How we test printers at TechRadar Pro
Get in touch
- Find the best deals on HP printers with our HP discount codes.
- Want to find out about commercial or marketing opportunities? Click here
- Out of date info, errors, complaints or broken links? Give us a nudge
- Got a suggestion for a product or service provider? Message us directly
