Top 5 printers for under $150

Published February 05, 2015

Some all-in-one printers are pricey, but we've found a few great models that cost less than $150, just in time for your holiday shopping. Combining print, copy, scan, and sometimes fax functions in one device, these five printers would be great for students, busy parents, or even for those who have a home office. (Ink costs for the first three printers are moderate, and comparable. The Canon Pixma MG5520 uses somewhat less ink, and the HP Envy 4500 somewhat more.)

Epson Expression Premium XP-810 ($130)

This Epson offers very good overall performance, churning out very good photos and text. It has a large 3.4-inch display screen, which lets you preview photos before you print them. A separate tray for 4x6-inch photo paper and a memory-card reader are handy if you'll be printing lots of photos. The auto-duplexing and auto document feeders, along with the built-in fax function, are great for business users. Wireless connectivity lets you print photos and other documents from your mobile devices.

For more on printers, check out our buying guide.

Canon Pixma MG7120 ($130 )

This Pixma prints very good photos and excellent text. It offers a number of options for wireless, cloud-based printing when used in conjunction with Canon's printing mobile app. You can insert a memory card from your camera into the printer and preview images on the 3.5-inch touch screen display. The separate tray for snapshot-sized paper is a plus if you print lots of photos.

Epson Expression Premium XP-610 ($100)

This Epson is a great choice if you want the solid performance of the XP-810 but are willing to give up a few features to get a lower price. The quality of photos and text is just as good, and print speeds are comparable. But the XP-610 doesn't have a fax function, auto-document feeder, or Ethernet connectivity (so you can't network it among several devices) and the LCD is smaller (2.5 inches) and isn't a touch screen. It does offer wireless printing capability and a memory-card reader.

Canon Pixma MG5520 ($70)

This all-in-one is among the lowest-priced printers of this type. It offers performance similar to its higher-priced sibling, the Pixma MG7120, printing excellent photos and text. But it lacks some features, including Ethernet connectivity (for networking) and memory-card slots. Like the MG7120, it offers a variety of wireless options for cloud-based printing when used in conjunction with Canon's printing mobile app. It's not the quietest printer we've tested but it is a bargain, and its ink costs are a bit lower than on the other models listed here.

HP Envy 4500 ($100)

Here's an HP to consider if you want very good printing at a modest cost. You won't get a lot of extras, but it does include wireless printing and an auto-duplexing feature that makes it easy to print on both sides of a page. You can't replace individual ink colors, so you may be wasting ink depending on what you print, and its monthly ink costs are higher than for some of the other models here. Also, it's a bit noisy. But overall, it's a well-priced, solid performer.

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