Key Points
- Our choice for the #1 Best Overall HP printer you can upgrade to today is the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e.
- As you look at the best HP printers, you need to consider ink cost, paper capacity, and wireless printing capabilities.
- When choosing a printer, it helps to think through how much printing you are really going to do on average each month.
For as long as anyone can remember, Hewlett-Packard has been at the forefront of the computer age. Like IBM and Apple, HP is a staple of an industry that is now one of the most prevalent aspects of our society, which includes laptops, desktops, and printers. Ever since the first HP printer was introduced back in 1988, the company has made it part of its success story to not only lead the world in computer production but also in printers as well.
As home offices continue to pop up around the world in a post-pandemic era, printers play an even more important role in ensuring projects and tasks get done. No matter how much the world wants to go paperless, we’re still years away from that being a reality.
Let’s take a look at the six best HP printers you can purchase today to give your home office a much-needed upgrade.
- Best Overall: HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e
- Best Value: HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e
- Best for Small Business: HP Color LaserJet Pro Multifunction M479fdw
- Best Budget: HP DeskJet 3755
- Best for Portability: HP OfficeJet 250
- Best Ink Capacity: HP Smart Tank 7301
#1 Best Overall: HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e
- 6 free months instant ink subscription
- Fast print speeds up to 24 ppm in black and 20 ppm in white
- HP Smart App includes 24 month subscription
- Great choice for small and home office businesses
When you need a printer that is reliable, durable, and professional enough for a home office, look to the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e as the answer.
Right away the 9025e jumps out as it offers six months of HP’s instant ink subscription, which provides you enough ink to print around 700 pages a month. At the end of the six months, you can opt-in to pay a monthly fee and save up to 50% on monthly ink deliveries.
Aside from ink, the 9025e delivers all-in-one functionality that includes printing, copying, scanning, and faxing as well as automatic two-sided printing. Another highlight of the 9025e is its connection to HP’s smart app available on iOS and Android. Through the app, you can easily print, scan, and copy directly from your phone, from anywhere you have an internet connection.
Overall, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e delivers around 24 prints per minute for black and white copies with 20 ppm for color. The input holds around 500 sheets while it can output around 100 during a single print. HP also provides two years of warranty coverage, which adds a little extra peace of mind and helps 9025e stand out as one of the best HP printers. Check out the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e on Amazon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The 9025e delivers excellent prints that can output up to 100 pages per minute. | The HP smartphone app isn’t as navigation friendly as it should be. |
| You receive six months of free ink, which is good enough for hundreds of prints. | The $299 price tag might be higher than most home offices want to spend. |
Best Value: HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e
- Faster prints at 20 ppm for black
- Syncs with QuickBooks and Google Drive
- Print remotely using the HP Smart app
- All-in-one functionality with printing, copying, scanning, and faxing
One of the best values in the HP printer lineup, the OfficeJet Pro 8035e is an absolute steal for your home office, especially when you can find it on sale.
Often discounted to as low as $189, the 8035e offers eight months — that’s right! — eight months of free ink delivery. The free ink from HP is based on around 100 prints per month, but once you do run out, the same 50% discount applies if you sign up for the HP home delivery ink subscription.
Part of the appeal of the 8035e is just how well it can help keep you organized. Capable of syncing directly to QuickBooks, Google Drive, or using Smart Tasks, you can help keep your business or department completely organized. Whether this is in the form of scanning receipts or business documents directly on your smartphone from the HP app, there is little excuse to not feel ready for each business day with the HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e.
The print speed adds up to 20 ppm for black or 10 ppm for color as well as a 225-sheet input and 60-sheet output. Check out the OfficeJet Pro 8035e on Amazon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| When the 8035e can be found on sale, it’s an incredible value. | Overall print speed is slower than most printers for the same price |
| Eight months of free ink delivery is hard to ignore |
Best for Small Business: HP Color LaserJet Pro Multifunction M479fdw
- Prints 28 ppm for faster prints
- Automate complicated workflows
- 250-sheet input tray
- Built-in Wi-Fi Direct
For the home office that needs a printer with some real power behind it, the HP Color LaserJet Pro Multifunction M479fdw is the answer.
The name may be entirely too long, but there is little else to complain about with the M479fdw. As a printer that can hit up to 28 pages per minute on a 250-sheet tray, you can also make solid use of a 50-sheet auto document feeder when you really need to get into some deep printer action.
The built-in Wi-Fi Direct easily connects to your smartphone through the printer itself so you don’t need to rely on the HP smartphone app or even your local Wi-Fi connection. As soon as you connect to the printer, a 4.3-inch touchscreen helps you navigate through all of the M479fdw’s menu settings with ease. This includes settings like printing directly from a USB-A flash drive, which comes in handy more often than you might consider.
Another perk for small businesses is the inclusion of HP’s Wolf Pro security features, which ensures the printer is safe against any type of malicious cyberattack. Check out the HP Color LaserJet Pro Multifunction M479fdw on Amazon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The built-in Wi-Fi Direct service ensures you can print anytime, as long as you have power. | Even for a small business, $680 for a printer might be hard to swallow. |
| Offers a heavy input of 300 sheets and an output capacity of 150 sheets | There is no free ink provided by HP, unlike more consumer-friendly machines. |
Best Budget: HP DeskJet 3755
- Four months of ink delivered to your home
- Prints 8 ppm in black, 5.5 ppm in color
- 60 sheet input tray, 25 sheet output capacity
- Connects with iCloud, Dropbox and Google Drive
Looking at budget printers offers up dozens of possibilities but few budget-friendly printers do everything as well as the HP DeskJet 3755.
Compact enough to fit on a bookshelf or desk, this printer is perfect for when you need to copy, scan, or print. As an AirPrint-compatible printer, you can quickly sync up to any Apple device and immediately connect to the cloud from the likes of iCloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
No matter where you print from with the best HP printers, you’ll get your first four months of ink free if you enroll in HP Instant Ink. After the four months are over, you can take advantage of ink discounts by as much as 50% off retail pricing.
Capable of printing eight pages per minute in black or 5.5 ppm in color, the HP DeskJet 3755 won’t win any awards for speed but it doesn’t have to. Even so, it still offers a 60-sheet input capacity and 25 sheets of output. Aside from paper, you can also print on envelopes, which can be a very useful feature depending on your business. Check out the HP DeskJet 3755 on Amazon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| One of the most budget-friendly HP printers on the market | Eight pages per minute is not the fastest print speed on the market |
| Includes four months of free ink with enrollment in HP Instant Ink | Does not do terribly well with printing pictures |
Best for Portability: HP OfficeJet 250
- Includes Wi-Fi Direct for mobile printing as well as Bluetooth
- Charges within 90 minutes while the printer is off
- 2.65-inch color touchscreen
- 10-sheet auto document feeder
Portable printers are not likely top of mind for many offices, but in the instance you need a printer you can take on the go, the HP OfficeJet 250 is the best option.
Measuring 14.96 x 7.8 x 3.6 in size, the OfficeJet 250 is decidedly portable while still maintaining 10 pages per minute with black prints and 7 ppm with color. Plus, you get a 10-sheet auto document feeder alongside a 50-sheet input capacity.
Controlling the OfficeJet 250 is done through the built-in 2.65-inch color touchscreen or through the HP smartphone app. Within the app, you can look at how much ink you have left, print from Dropbox, Google Drive, or print photos.
Best of all, the HP OfficeJet 250 comes equipped with a built-in battery you can use on the go without cords. The long-lasting battery takes 90 minutes to fill up, giving you instant access to prints in the car, at a coffee shop, or wherever the road may take you. Check out the HP OfficeJet 250 on Amazon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| An outstanding portable printer that you can take on the go | Does not include any HP Instant Ink bonus subscription |
| Has a functional built-in touchscreen for controlling prints | The touchscreen is a little small to do anything but simple functions. |
Best Ink Capacity: HP Smart Tank 7301
- Includes enough ink for 8,000 color pages and 6,000 black pages
- 35-page automatic document feeder
- 15 ppm for black, 9 ppm for color
- Spill-free ink refills
Looking at the best HP printers for ink capacity will lead you to the HP Smart Tank 7301, which is the best choice for many people.
In fact, HP is so confident about ink capacity with the 7301, they include up to two years of original HP ink bottles with every purchase. This amount is good enough for up to 8,000 color pages or 6,000 black pages, which is a huge bonus before you even set up the Smart Tank 7301.
When you do need to refill, you can use the spill-free bottles and easily get back to printing in no time. As soon as you fill up with ink and need to print, the smart buttons on the front of the printer will help instruct you on how to copy, scan, and print. Prints can be done at around 15 pages per minute in black or 9 ppm in color.
A 250-sheet input tray gives you plenty of paper to print from as well as the capacity for 100 pages on the output. There is even space to print up to 30 envelopes in a single print session for quick mailers right from your home. Check out the HP Smart Tank 7301 on Amazon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comes with up to two years of ink for up to 6,000 black pages | For all of the available ink, printing should be a little bit faster. |
| Spill-free ink reloading makes it easy to quickly refill | Does not do well with pictures so the focus should be on regular prints |
How to Pick the Best HP Printer: Step-by-Step
As you start to choose among the six best HP printers, there are a few considerations to keep in mind before making a purchase.
- Print speed
- Capacity
- Ink refills
- Size
Print Speed
Depending on the type of business you own or run, print speed can play a major role. Are you rushing to print something ahead of a meeting or just casually printing for use later? The answer might help you look at the best HP printers on this list and determine which one you should upgrade to today.
Ideally, the faster the print speeds, the better, but that usually comes at a cost of the machine itself as well as ink costs as you go through prints faster.
Capacity
As you look at capacity, think through your print needs and how many pages you need to print at once. If you are looking to print a quarterly report or a college-level thesis, you want a bigger capacity. However, if you are looking to print out flight reservations to go see clients or family every now and then, this is a much different use case. In cases like the latter, you can get by with one of the HP printers that don’t require having a large capacity for hundreds of pieces of paper.
Ink Refills
There was a time not too long ago when ink refill costs were a significant part of any business. Today, ink subscriptions and ink that comes with printers have helped mitigate some of these costs, but that’s not to say ink prices are still in the customer’s favor. You should consider subscribing to HP’s ink subscription where you can get up to 50% off ink deliveries, which can add up to huge savings over time.
Size
The size of the best HP printers varies, with some being able to take up half of the size of a desk or others, like the HP OfficeJet 250, which is small enough to fit in a backpack and take on the go. Your needs around capacity and print speed will play a role in size, but so too will the amount of space you have available in an office.
Using the Best HP Printers: What It’s Like
Using any of the six best HP printers that you can upgrade to today is going to help deliver a better experience than you likely have right now. Today’s printers are faster, cheaper, and can do more than printers even from just a few years ago. Print speeds haven’t improved as much as you might like to think they have, but the ability to print from your smartphone, refill ink at a lower cost, and scan faster have all gotten much better.
There is no question that going paperless is still the ideal path for most businesses, if only because it’s better for the environment. However, until going paperless can happen at scale, having a printer is an office requirement.
Printing from your smartphone or tablet is one of the biggest enhancements over the last few years and it’s made working in a home office so much easier. Being able to sit on a sofa and print a presentation or picture is just a magical quality that has made office life just a little bit easier.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©New Africa/Shutterstock.com.
