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Finding a budget color printer that doesn’t eat you alive in ink costs is the real challenge. The ongoing cost of replacement cartridges often exceeds the printer’s purchase price. This guide focuses on ink costs, print speed, and paper handling for home and small-office use.
I’m Mo Maruf — the founder and writer behind The Tools Trunk. This guide is built by comparing the manufacturers’ published specifications and the patterns across verified customer reviews, so you get each pick’s real strengths and trade-offs instead of marketing spin.
You’ll see how print speed, paper handling, and ink efficiency stack up across the leading affordable models to find the budget color printer that fits your real printing habits.
Our Picks at a Glance
How To Choose The Best Budget Color Printer
Estimate your monthly print volume to match the right printer to your workload. A homework-and-photo printer needs low ink costs, while a business document printer needs high speed and capacity.
Ink costs: the hidden price tag
Replacement cartridges are the primary ongoing cost of any inkjet printer. Starter cartridges are often partially filled, yielding fewer pages than standard replacements. Look for printers with higher-yield cartridge options or subscription services to lower the per-page cost.
Paper handling: capacity and feeders
A larger paper tray reduces the frequency of refills during busy printing sessions. An automatic document feeder (ADF) lets you scan or copy a whole stack of pages without feeding them one by one. An ADF and larger tray save time in busy households and small offices.
Quick Comparison
| Model | Best For | Color Speed | B&W Speed | Paper Capacity | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon PIXMA TR4720★ Best Overall | Occasional home use | 4.4 ppm | 8.8 ipm | 100 sheets | Amazon |
| Epson WF-3823Top Performer | Small offices on a budget | 11 ppm | 21 ppm | 250 sheets | Amazon |
| Canon PIXMA TR7120 | Hybrid workers | 9 ppm | 14 ppm | — | Amazon |
| HP Envy 6155 | Families and students | 7 ppm | 10 ppm | 100 sheets | Amazon |
| Brother MFC-J1410DW | Home and small offices | 9 ppm | 16 ppm | 150 sheets | Amazon |
| Brother MFC-J1365DW | High-volume ink savings | 9 ppm | 16 ppm | 150 sheets | Amazon |
| HP Envy Photo 7975 | Photo printing at home | 10 ppm | 15 ppm | — | Amazon |
In‑Depth Reviews
1. Canon PIXMA TR4720 All-in-One Wireless Printer
The crowd’s favorite budget all-in-one, prized for its low entry cost and fax capability.
The TR4720 is the printer people buy when they want one machine that does everything without spending much. It prints, copies, scans, and faxes — a rare combo at this level — and its automatic 2-sided printing saves paper on school reports and work docs. The 100-sheet tray is fine for light weekly use, and the auto document feeder lets you scan a stack of pages hands-free.
Buyers report the setup is genuinely easy through the Canon PIXMA app on both iPhone and Android. The catch: this is not a speed demon. Color documents crawl at 4.4 pages per minute, and black-and-white comes in at 8.8 ipm — so it’s built for occasional home jobs, not a busy office. Some units have arrived with a snapped feeder or failed after a few hundred pages, so treat the plastic gently.
Where it shines is ink flexibility. It accepts low-cost generic cartridges, which keeps the long-term cost down — a big deal when the printer itself is budget-priced. A few owners mention the photo colors look washed out, so temper expectations for borderless 4″ x 6″ prints.
What wins people over
- Genuine 4-in-1 functionality including fax
- Works with inexpensive generic ink cartridges
- Auto 2-sided printing at this price point
The trade-offs to know
- Slow color speed at 4.4 ppm
- Fragile feeder on some units
- Bulky footprint for a home printer
Best for: households that print a few pages a week and want scanner, copier, and fax in one low-cost box.
Think twice if: you print big batches often — the slow speed and small tray will frustrate you.
2. Epson Workforce Pro WF-3823 Wireless Color All-in-One
A speed-focused office machine that blows past typical budget printers on every metric.
If the Canon above is a weekend driver, this Epson is the commuter car. It churns out black-and-white documents at 21 ppm and color at 11 ppm — more than double the speed of the TR4720. The 250-sheet tray holds two and a half times more paper, so you aren’t constantly reloading during a busy workday.
Epson’s PrecisionCore Heat-Free Technology delivers crisp text and DURABrite Ultra instant-dry pigment inks for professional-looking output. The 2.7″ color touchscreen and Epson Smart Panel app make navigation simple, and setup works through Bluetooth Low Energy on your phone. A 35-page auto document feeder handles multi-page scans with ease.
The honest concern here is ink: this printer is designed to run exclusively on Epson Genuine cartridges, and non-genuine ink can void the warranty. One frustrated buyer reports being out of ink after just 200 pages, though many others got 100+ pages from the starter cartridges alone. The 4.2-star rating across several hundred owners tells a mostly happy story, with the recurring gripe being wireless connectivity that occasionally drops.
Why it earns the price
- Office-level speed: 21 ppm black, 11 ppm color
- Large 250-sheet tray for fewer refills
- Vivid, professional-grade print quality
What to watch
- Genuine Epson ink required to protect warranty
- Occasional Wi-Fi connectivity hiccups
- Setup instructions can be unclear
Reach for this if: you run a home office or small business printing stacks of documents daily.
Look elsewhere if: you want the cheapest possible ink refills — Epson locks you into its own cartridges.
3. Canon PIXMA TR7120 Wireless Color Inkjet Printer
The hybrid worker’s compact companion with dual-band Wi-Fi and an intuitive OLED screen.
The TR7120 is built for the person working from home who needs a reliable all-rounder in a small footprint. Its defining feature is dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz), which keeps the connection stable even in a crowded wireless environment. The 1.42″ monochrome OLED display gives you ink levels and printer status at a glance.
Print quality is the standout — buyers consistently praise sharp text and vivid colors from the 2-cartridge hybrid ink system. It handles documents and photos up to 8.5″ x 11″ with or without borders, and automatic 2-sided printing cuts paper use in half. An auto document feeder means you can scan or copy a multi-page stack without feeding each sheet by hand.
At 14 ppm black and 9 ppm color, it’s respectably quick for a home printer. The trade-off is ink consumption, which a handful of owners say doesn’t last long. The small paper tray is another mild complaint, and some buyers lost Wi-Fi connection after a restart — fixed by assigning a fixed IP address, but that’s a technical step for the average user.
What makes it click
- Stable dual-band Wi-Fi connection
- Sharp text and vivid colors praised by owners
- Compact size fits a small desk
Heads up
- Ink cartridges run out faster than some rivals
- Small paper tray limits batch jobs
- Wi-Fi can drop after a restart
Grab it for: a tidy home office printing a mix of documents and photos without fuss.
Skip it for: high-volume printing where ink longevity matters more than print quality.
4. HP Envy 6155 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer
A family-minded all-in-one that pairs HP’s trusted brand with a 3-month ink subscription trial.
The Envy 6155 targets the classic family workload — homework, school forms, and borderless photos. It prints up to 10 ppm in black and 7 ppm in color, which is plenty for everyday jobs. The 2.4″ touchscreen is HP’s most intuitive color display, making menu navigation simple even for kids.
What sets this apart is the 3-month trial of HP Instant Ink, a subscription service that delivers replacement cartridges to your door before you run out. The starter box includes an HP 68 Setup Black Cartridge (~120 pages yield) and a Tri-Color Cartridge (~75 pages yield). HP’s P3 technology is designed to make prints look as vibrant on paper as they do on screen, and the printer is made with at least 60% recycled plastic.
Buyers across the board find setup easy and print quality solid for the price. The mixed feedback centers on wireless connectivity — some connect flawlessly, others deal with dropped connections. A 100-sheet input tray is on the smaller side for a family, and the software occasionally refuses to scan to a computer. The dual-band Wi-Fi auto-detects and resolves connection issues, which helps most of the time.
Why families like it
- 3-month Instant Ink trial included
- Easy touchscreen operation
- Vibrant, true-to-screen color output
Worth noting
- Wireless connectivity can be inconsistent
- Only works with original HP cartridges
- 100-sheet tray fills up fast
Choose it for: a family that wants a trusted brand, simple touchscreen controls, and a subscription option to avoid ink emergencies.
Think twice if: you refuse to use HP-branded ink — non-HP cartridges are blocked.
5. Brother Work Smart 1410 Wireless Color Inkjet All-in-One
A cloud-connected workhorse whose scan quality earns raves from home-office owners.
Skip the computer entirely with the Brother 1410—its 2.7-inch color touchscreen links straight to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive, so you can print from or scan to cloud storage in a few taps. That direct connection saves real time if you are a freelancer or student juggling files across devices.
Scan quality is the single most-praised feature — buyers consistently call it excellent, which matters if you digitize contracts or notes. The 20-sheet auto document feeder handles multi-page scans, and automatic duplex printing cuts paper use. It prints up to 16 ppm in black and 9 ppm in color, with a fast first page out in about 6.2 seconds black.
Setup earns strong marks for being straightforward, with easy cartridge installation. The 150-sheet paper tray is reasonable for a home office. A few owners find the wireless connectivity occasionally finicky and the print speed slower than expected, while others note it runs a bit loud. One buyer had trouble sourcing proprietary ink, so check cartridge availability before committing.
The cloud advantage
- Direct printing and scanning to major cloud apps
- Excellent scan quality, the top praised feature
- Fast first page out at ~6.2 seconds
Consider this
- Wireless connectivity gets mixed reviews
- Only two starter cartridges in the box
- Audible noise while printing
Best for: cloud-heavy users who scan to Google Drive or Dropbox daily and want a compact printer.
Look elsewhere if: you need quiet printing or rely on third-party ink — this one prefers Brother Genuine LC501 cartridges.
6. Brother INKvestment 1365 Wireless Color Inkjet All-in-One
A high-yield ink champion that bundles a 1,200-page black cartridge right in the box.
The INKvestment name is the whole pitch: the box ships with a black cartridge yielding 1,200 pages and a 500-page cartridge for each color. That’s a serious head start for anyone tired of buying ink a month after buying a printer. It’s the smart pick for a home office that prints a lot but wants to keep refill frequency low.
Performance is solid and consistent with its Brother sibling — up to 16 ppm black and 9 ppm color, with automatic duplex printing and a 20-page document feeder. The 1.8″ color display drives print, copy, and scan functions, and Wi-Fi Direct lets you print even without a network. The Brother Mobile Connect app handles printing straight from your phone.
Owners praise the compact footprint and front-loading cartridges that are easy to swap. Double-sided printing is reliably jam-free, with one owner reporting no jams after nine months. The honest downside: some users report higher ink consumption than expected, with one long-time Brother owner claiming it used roughly 10 times more ink than their previous model. Color output also lacks the intensity some want for craft projects.
The ink advantage
- High-yield 1,200-page black cartridge included
- Reliable duplex printing, no jams
- Compact design with easy front-loading ink
The catch
- Ink consumption can run high for some users
- Setup is less intuitive than rivals
- Colors lack vibrancy for photos
Pick this for: high-volume home printing where the bundled high-yield ink stretches your dollar.
skip it if: you print mostly photos — color intensity falls short for creative projects.
7. HP Envy Photo 7975 Wireless Color Inkjet Photo Printer
The photo specialist with a dedicated tray, delivering vibrant borderless prints for crafters.
Most budget printers treat photos as an afterthought. The Envy Photo 7975 makes them the main event with a separate photo tray, so you can load glossy paper and leave it ready for creative projects. It prints up to 10 ppm in color and 15 ppm in black, and an auto document feeder handles multi-page scans and copies.
Print quality is the headline — buyers consistently rave about vibrant, true-to-screen borderless photos. HP’s AI-enabled formatting automatically removes unwanted content from web pages and emails, so you don’t waste paper on awkward layouts. The large color touchscreen makes navigation easy, and it connects wirelessly to your phone with ease.
The trade-off is reliability. While many customers note flawless performance, a notable share deal with frequent reinstallations on Windows 11 and hour-long troubleshooting sessions. The included 3-month Instant Ink trial is a nice bonus, but the HP 64 cartridges it uses aren’t the cheapest on the market. At 11.2 pounds and with a generous 15.08″ x 18.11″ footprint, it needs real desk space.
The photo edge
- Vibrant borderless photo quality one of the best here
- Separate photo tray keeps glossy paper loaded
- Fast 15 ppm black speed for documents too
Know the risks
- Reliability and connectivity get mixed feedback
- Windows 11 setup can require troubleshooting
- Large footprint needs dedicated desk space
Choose it for: a home that prints photos regularly and wants gallery-quality color without a dedicated photo printer.
Reconsider if: you’re not comfortable with technical setup — this one is less plug-and-play than the Canon models.
Understanding the Specs
Pages Per Minute (ppm)
This is the printer’s speed rating — how many pages it can produce in one minute. Keep in mind manufacturers measure this with simple text documents, so real-world speed with graphics or photos will be slower. For a family printing homework, 7-10 ppm is plenty. A small office printing invoices all day will want 15 ppm or higher.
Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
The ADF is the slot on top that holds a stack of pages and feeds them through the scanner one by one. Without it, you’d have to lift the lid and place each page individually. If you scan or copy multi-page documents, an ADF is a major time-saver. A 20-sheet feeder handles most household jobs, while 35-sheet versions suit busier offices.
FAQ
What is the real cost of ink for a budget color printer?
Why do the starter cartridges that come in the box run out so fast?
Is a printer with fax capability still worth buying?
How important is automatic duplex printing?
What is an Automatic Document Feeder and do I need one?
Which budget color printer is fastest for black-and-white documents?
Will a budget printer work with my phone or tablet?
How much paper can a budget printer hold in its tray?
What is HP Instant Ink and is the free trial worth it?
Which budget printer makes the best-looking photos?
Final Thoughts: The Verdict
The crowd favorite for a true budget color printer is the Canon PIXMA TR4720 because it delivers 4-in-1 functionality and low-cost ink flexibility at the lowest entry price. If speed is your priority, the Epson WF-3823 more than doubles the print pace with its 21 ppm engine. For photo lovers, the HP Envy Photo 7975 with its dedicated tray is the one to reach for.
How We Picked
We do not accept paid placement. Every pick is matched to a real buyer and a real use-case; we do not hands-on test units.
Sources & Methodology
Specifications: manufacturer listings and product documentation. Review insights: verified customer reviews, as of August 2026. Pricing: not shown on this page (it changes often); check the current price via the retailer link.
As an Amazon Associate, The Tools Trunk earns from qualifying purchases. This does not affect which products we feature.