Best cheap toner cartridges for your laser printer

Buying new printer toner can run into hundreds of pounds a year. This is where we come in, as we know which brands offer the best cheap toner cartridges.

Based on our survey of printer toner customers, we can reveal the best cheap toner cartridge brands that match high-quality prints with excellent value for money. Plus the best printer toner online retailers, rated for service, value for money and the range of printer toner they offer. 

Not only did two cheap toner cartridge brands come top in our survey, but their print quality rating almost matches the more expensive, big brands. So you can use our results to save you money and know that you're not compromising on print quality.

Got an ink printer? We reveal the best cheap ink cartridges

Cheap toner cartridges – the best brands

We know that most laser printer users buy original toner because of the limited choice of third-party toner. But this can be a costly error. Provided you know where to buy from, you have more choice than you might think. Which is where we come in. We can show you the best places to buy good compatible and remanufactured cheap toner cartridges, often at a fraction of the price of originals.

Our survey of over a thousand toner cartridge users reveals they are much more satisfied with third-party cheap toner cartridges than original ones. The original toner brands were rated rock-bottom by actual users, compared to those using third-party rivals. 

It's not all down to the difference in cost either – users actually rated the top-placed third-party supplier higher than original brands for ease of cartridge installation, and gave it the same rating as original brands for print quality. So you get a great experience using the cheaper toner cartridges, and save a great deal of money, too.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the cheap toner cartridge brands that came out on top. If you're not yet a member, you will see the brands in alphabetical order but not the ratings. You can get instant access to our results if you join Which? – you'll also unlock all of our online reviews, including batteries, laptops and printers.

Need a new printer? See our expert pick of the best cheap printers to buy and run

More on the cheap toner cartridge brands

Your laser printer brand obviously doesn't want you to use third-party toner, so don't let it put you off. Many third-party providers offer a money-back guarantee on all the cartridges they sell, in case you do encounter a problem. Some also have a lifetime printer guarantee for their own-brand cartridges. 

So there's no reason to fear trying third-party cheap toner cartridges – in the unlikely event anything goes wrong, such brands will cover the cost of repairing your printer, or replace it if need be.

Cartridge Save 

Cartridge Save offers a replacement or refund if you encounter a problem with its third-party cartridges up to three years after purchase. It also promises to repair or replace your printer for free if its own-brand cartridges damage it. 

You can browse both original and compatible cartridges on the Cartridge Save website.

Stinkyink 

Stinkyink stock cartridges for a range of printers, including own-brand and original toner cartridges – so you can easily see the original and compatible cartridge options for your printer. It offers a 12-month guarantee on all of its cartridges and will replace your printer if it's within warranty, in the unlikely event that its cartridges cause an issue. 

The Stinkyink website also offers free delivery on all orders.

Cartridge People 

Cartridge People stocks a wide range of toner cartridges, including its own brand of third-party options. All own-brand cartridges are covered by its 'Lifetime Printer Guarantee', and it promises to fix or replace your printer if any faults develop as a result of using its own-brand cartridges. 

The Cartridge People website also offers free delivery on orders over £30.

Cartridge World 

Cartridge World offers free delivery on orders over £10,  and offers a two-year warranty on its own brand cartridges. The Cartridge World website also offers a discount club you can take advantage of for repeat orders, and it claims using its third-party cartridges do not affect your printer's 12-month warranty. 

In the unlikely event the Cartridge World toner cartridge causes an irrepairable problem with your printer, it promises to replace your printer free of charge.

Cheap toner cartridges – best places to buy online

It's not just the toner cartridges themselves that are important, but the experience of the retailers you buy them from. Third-party toner cartridges are usually only available online. 

The top two companies in our cheap toner cartridge retailer table are the same as the two that top our cheap laser toner cartridge brand results. So you're not compromising on either your buying or printing experience if you switch from original toner. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view our full results. If you're not yet a member, you will see the retailers listed in alphabetical order. You can get instant access to our results if you join Which? – you'll also unlock all of our online reviews, including batteries, printers and laptops.

More on the cheap toner cartridge retailers

Amazon

Amazon doesn’t make its own toner, but it does sell a wide range of original and third-party brands. It’s worth checking returns policies and guarantees with individual sellers before making a purchase. You can browse the range of cartridges on the Amazon website. 

Cartridge People 

Cartridge People stocks a wide range of toner cartridges, including its own brand of third-party options. All own-brand cartridges are covered for faults for up to a year, and it promises to fix or replace your printer if any faults develop as a result of using its cartridges. 

The Cartridge People website also offers an extensive guarantee for its third-party cartridges that in the event they cause an issue, they'll 'repair, replace or refund'.

Cartridge Save 

Cartridge Save offers a 100% money-back guarantee, which includes a one-year return window on unopened products. There’s also a three-year warranty on all own-brand cartridges, which covers 'any problem whatsoever'. 

You can browse both original and compatible cartridges on the Cartridge Save website.

Stinkyink

Stinkyink stocks original and third-party toner for a wide range of printers. The Stinkyink website is easy to browse, and there’s a 12-month guarantee on all cartridges. 

It also promises to repair or replace your printer if it's within warranty in the unlikely event its cartridges cause irreparable damage.

Refresh Cartridges 

Refresh Cartridges offers a wide range of both ink and toner cartridges, with 'no quibble returns' on all orders on its website refreshcartridges.co.uk. It also often offers 'multibuy' discounts so you can save even more if you buy in bulk.

Find out whether you should make the switch to an inkjet or ink tank – see our advice and expert pick of the best home printers

Cheap toner cartridges – why you can trust our recommendations

Our laser toner cartridge rankings are based on our annual survey of actual laser cartridge users – 1,025 users in our latest results. This means we're not just basing recommendations off buying a handful of samples. We gather together the year-to-year experiences of hundreds of laser printer users for the real truth on what works best and what doesn't. 

We only give recommendations and star ratings when we have 30 or more users reporting on that brand, so nothing is left to chance. Plus we rate the online retailers as well as the toner cartridges themselves. This means you get a win-win: save huge sums of money on third-party toner, and get a great experience doing so, too.

Tech tips you can trust – get our free Tech newsletter for advice, news, deals and stuff the manuals don’t tell you

How to recycle your used printer toner cartridges

Every year, millions of used printer cartridges are needlessly dumped into UK landfill. While most original toner brands have freepost recycling schemes for their own cartridges, they often don't accept third-party cartridges.

Some retailers, such as Stinkyink, offer a recycling service for all the ink and toner cartridges they sell. This includes original brand and third-party cartridges. Large supermarkets and office supply stores often have dedicated drop-off points for ink and toner, making them a good place to check first. 

If your nearby supermarkets don’t accept toner, there’s a good chance your local recycling centre will take used cartridges. Check the Recycle Now website for options in your area. 

You could also donate your cartridges via the Recycle4Charity website.

Do cheap toner cartridges work?

Our survey of actual users shows third-party toner cartridges work well if you choose one of the top-rated brands in our cheap toner cartridge brands table. 

Actual owners have rated how well the cartridges install in their printers – see our 'Ease of installation' star rating for each brand. They also rate the print quality as shown by our 'Print quality' star rating for each brand. 

Every brand has to have at least 30 actual users rating them to be in our tables. So you can be confident that if so many other users have had a great experience with that brand, you're also likely to.

Are you considering whether it might be worth getting a new laser printer? If so, head over to our expert pick of the best laser printers.