Updated Feb 13, 2024 at 05:01 pm
By Ryan Lim
overview 6 comments
As Chromebooks have become more common and widely used, most printers are fully compatible with Chrome OS, giving you many options. So, which are the best? To help you, we've compiled a list of the best printers, from premium, feature-rich all-in-ones designed for office use to cheap home models for the occasional print jobs. These printers work with Chromebooks out of the box without installing any drivers or third-party apps.
We've tested over 135printers, and below are our recommendations for the bestprinters for Chromebookyou can buy. You can also see our recommendations for the best home printers, the best inkjet printers, and the best all-in-one printers.
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Best Printer For Chromebook
Brother MFC-L8905CDW 10
Family
8.2
Small/Home Office
9.2
Student
8.7
Black & White
9.1
Photo
4.7
Expected Maintenance
8.5
Estimated Black Page Yield
2,907 printsEstimated Color Page Yield
1,446 printsScanner Features
9.7
Cost-Per-Print
8.6
Printing Speed
8.9
Connectivity
9.0
See all our test results
The best printer for Chromebook we've tested is the Brother MFC-L8905CDW, a color laser model designed for small or home offices. This all-in-one produces amazingly sharp documents, prints quickly at up to 32 pages per minute, and doesn't need much maintenance. The scanner produces high-quality scans and can process documents quickly, thanks to its automatic feeder with single-pass, double-sidedscanning. Its page yield is excellent, so you don't need to replace the toner cartridges often. The drum also doesn't need regular replacement since it's good for about 30,000 prints.
This model is only one of many variants in the series. If you don't need features like duplex scanning and NFC support, you can save some money with a cheaper variant like the Brother MFC-L8610CDW. You can see more details about the variants in the full review. Regardless of which variant you choose, the one thing that laser printers don't do well is photo printing, as laser printers typically have a narrow color range and struggle to reproduce fine details.
We have two recommendations for photo printing: theEpson EcoTank Pro ET-5850and theEpson EcoTank Photo ET-8550. The former is a more office-oriented model with faster printing speeds andmore features, like an ADF with duplex scanning, while the latter produces higher-quality photos. Both use a refillable ink tank instead of ink cartridges andyield thousands of prints, so you won't have to worry about high ownership costs. The downside is that they're more expensive upfront.
See our review
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Best Upper Mid-Range Printer For Chromebook
Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw 18
Family
8.3
Small/Home Office
8.8
Student
8.6
Black & White
8.4
Photo
5.0
Expected Maintenance
8.5
Estimated Black Page Yield
2,409 printsEstimated Color Page Yield
2,442 printsScanner Features
9.4
Cost-Per-Print
9.1
Printing Speed
7.1
Connectivity
9.0
See all our test results
Our best upper mid-range pick is the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw, a color laser all-in-one. Ithasthe same features as the Brother above and produces documents that look just as good. Ityields significantly more color prints and is easier to maintain because its toner cartridges contain the drum, so you don't have to replace it separately. The tradeoff is that it prints slower at 22 pages per minute, and that speed isonly achievable via a wired USB or Ethernet connection, which is inconvenient. Scan speed is also slower but pretty respectable at 14 pages per minute. Cheaper variants are available, like the Canon Color imageCLASS MF654Cdw, which lacks duplex scanning and fax functionality. You can see more details about the variants in our full review.
If you don't need color printing, get theBrother MFC-L2750DW. Thismonochrome laser all-in-oneproduces high-quality documents, warms up quickly, and prints up to 36 pages per minute. It doesn't cost much to maintain, as ityields a large number of prints, and replacement toner is cheap. Also, there's only one cartridge to replace.The lack of color printing is the main drawback, so you must be sure you won't need to print any color documents. ItsADF scanner supports single-pass duplex scanning but isslow, processing onlyseven pages per minute. There are less expensive variants without duplex scanning or Ethernet if you want to save more money, and you can also get this printer bundled with high-yield cartridges.
See our review
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Best Mid-Range Printer For Chromebook
Brother MFC-J4335DW 3
Family
8.2
Small/Home Office
8.2
Student
8.4
Black & White
8.5
Photo
7.3
Expected Maintenance
6.0
Estimated Black Page Yield
2,280 printsEstimated Color Page Yield
825 printsScanner Features
7.6
Cost-Per-Print
9.5
Printing Speed
8.1
Connectivity
7.0
See all our test results
If you need something modest for general home use, get the Brother MFC-J4335DW, an all-in-one inkjet model. It's more compact than the laser models we recommend above, so it takes up less space, and you still get plenty of features, like an ADF-equipped scanner and plenty of connectivity options. It's fully compatible with Chrome OS and works straight out of the box without installing drivers or third-party apps. This model only has Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. If you need Ethernet or external storage support (to print off a USB flash drive), you can go with the Brother MFC-J4535DW variant, but expect to pay a little more.
This printer uses four ink cartridges—the usual cyan, magenta, yellow, and black—and yields around 2000 black and 800 color prints. This means you won't need to replace the ink cartridges often unless you print a lot, and even then, the cartridges are relatively cheap, so your maintenance cost won't rise too quickly. It produces outstanding black and color documents and is pretty fast, pushing out 17 black or 15 color pages per minute. As for photos, it prints very fine details but struggles to reproduce bright, saturated colors and very light and dark shades.
See our review
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Best Budget Printer For Chromebook
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W 1
Family
7.9
Small/Home Office
7.2
Student
8.0
Black & White
7.3
Photo
7.6
Expected Maintenance
6.0
Estimated Black Page Yield
1,178 printsEstimated Color Page Yield
766 printsScanner Features
6.2
Cost-Per-Print
9.5
Printing Speed
5.6
Connectivity
7.0
See all our test results
Our best budget pick is the Brother MFC-J1205W, also known as the Brother MFC-J1215 at Walmart. This all-in-one is a good option if you don't print all that often and only need basic features. It has a sturdy build, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity, and a flatbed scanner with extendable lid hinges. It produces high-quality black and color documents, although you'll have to be patient, as it only prints nine black or six color pages per minute. Printed photos look detailed but overly dark, as the printer has trouble reproducing bright, saturated colors.
This printer yields around 1100 black and 700 color prints from a set of ink cartridges, and the cartridges arecheap, so your maintenance cost is exceptionally low. Of course, as it's a budget model, it's missing features like an automatic document feeder and Ethernet connectivity. Still, it's a good option if you want something affordable and don't mind a few tradeoffs.
See our review
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Best Cheap Printer For Chromebook
Canon PIXMA MG3620 4
Family
7.6
Small/Home Office
6.2
Student
7.3
Black & White
6.7
Photo
7.7
Expected Maintenance
7.0
Estimated Black Page Yield
225 printsEstimated Color Page Yield
210 printsScanner Features
6.2
Cost-Per-Print
7.9
Printing Speed
6.2
Connectivity
6.0
See all our test results
Last but not least, the cheap printers. Our pick is the Canon PIXMA MG3620, a basic inkjet all-in-one model. It isn't super sturdy, lacks a display, and only has a flatbed scanner with no ADF, but it produces sharp documents and good-looking photos. The main drawback is its low page yield of around 200 black and color prints. Also, since it uses a tri-colorcartridge, you must replace it even if one color runs out, wasting usable ink. The cost-per-print is still low because the cartridges are cheap; it just needs a lot of maintenance.It's still a good option if you only need to print one-off projects once in a blue moon; otherwise, it's best to get a model with better page yields, like the Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W above.
See our review
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Best Compact Printer For Chromebook
HP DeskJet 3755/3772 1
Family
6.1
Small/Home Office
4.8
Student
5.6
Black & White
5.2
Photo
6.9
Expected Maintenance
5.5
Estimated Black Page Yield
111 printsEstimated Color Page Yield
42 printsScanner Features
6.1
Cost-Per-Print
4.3
Printing Speed
4.0
Connectivity
7.0
See all our test results
For small places like a dorm or bedroom, the HP DeskJet 3755 is a good option. You may find it under a different model number as it changes depending on the region and retailer, like the HP DeskJet 3772 or 3722; you can see the variants in our full review. It's a super compact all-in-one with Wi-Fi and USB connectivity and a sheetfed scanner. It produces reasonably sharp documents and very detailed photos; however, it's slow, as it can only print up to five black or three color pages per minute.
Unfortunately, its page yield is very low at around 100 black and 40 color prints. The cartridges are cheap, but the cost will still add up quickly if you print a lot, so this is best suited for people who only print occasionally. There's no need to install drivers or third-party apps to use the printer; it works fully with Chrome OS devices straight out of the box.
See our review
Notable Mentions
- Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw/MF751Cdw: The Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw/MF751Cdw is a great alternative to the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. It has nearly the same features as the Brother except for its smaller flatbed scanner, which can only scan up to 8.5" x 11" sheets, while the Brother can scan up to Legal size (8.5" x 14"). The Canon also has slower scanning and printing speeds and costs more to maintain because the toner cartridges don't last as long. See our review
- HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e: If you prefer an inkjet model, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e is a good alternative to the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw. It prints slightly faster when connected wirelessly and produces much nicer photos. It comes with six months of free ink through HP's ink replenishment subscription service. Unfortunately, subscribing to the service will block you from using third-party cartridges, even if you cancel your subscription later. If you don't care for the ink subscription, you can get the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025, though it may be harder to find. See our review
- Canon PIXMA TR8620a: If you want higher-quality photos, the Canon PIXMA TR8620a is a good alternative to the Brother MFC-J4335DW. It produces more colorful pictures with less grain but doesn't yield as many pages, so you'll have to pay more for ink. See our review
- Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803: The Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 is also a good alternative to the Brother MFC-J4335DW if you have a large print load. The printer costs slightly more, but you'll save more money in the long run because it yields significantly more prints. However, it doesn't have an automatic feeder and prints slower. See our review
- Brother HL-L2325DW: The Brother HL-L2325DW is a great budget model and a good alternative to the Brother MFC-J1205W if you only need to print black-and-white documents. The downside is that it doesn't have a scanner. See our review
Recent Updates
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Feb 13, 2024: Minor text edits for clarity. No changes in product picks.
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Nov 15, 2023: Minor changes to include the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 as an alternative to the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. Added the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e and the Canon PIXMA TR8620a as Notable Mentions.
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Sep 15, 2023: Replaced the Brother MFC-L2750DW with the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw because the Canon can print in color and is only slightly more expensive than the Brother.
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Jul 18, 2023: Small text changes to improve clarity. No change in recommendations. Added the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 and the Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 as Notable Mentions.
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May 24, 2023: Replaced the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw with the Brother MFC-L8905CDW because the Canon is discontinued.
All Reviews
Our recommendations aboveare what we think are currently the best printers for Chromebookyou can buy. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all ourprinter reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While noprinter is perfect for every use, mostare goodenough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.
