Top five best laser printers for 2021

Which? tests all the latest laser printers, ranging from simple, standard models only able to print, to feature-rich all-in-one machines, with copy and scan functions, too.

Whatever the type, Best Buy laser printers will turn out speedy, top quality black text letters and crisp office graphics prints that light up the page.

Despite lower running costs, laser printers tend to cost more than inkjets. So it's important you don't get stuck with a poor quality laser model – scroll down to see the laser printers we'd urge you to avoid.

In the table below, we've picked out five great monochrome laser printers (only able to print in black-and-white). If you want a laser model that can print in colour for photos or images, head to our Best colour laser printer guide.

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Some of the models we've selected aren't recent launches, but they're still some of the highest performing printers out there. You can check our printer reviews page for new reviews monthly. The table above was updated in November 2020.

Not found the laser printer for you? Browse all of our laser printer reviews

And here are three laser printers to avoid 

Good laser printers are built to turn out efficient, top quality prints at an affordable cost. However, we find in our testing plenty of bad models, too. 

While bad laser printers aren't as costly to run as poor inkjets overall, they're still less efficient than Best Buy or higher scoring models. And their print quality is often mediocre, too. Better value for your money can be found elsewhere.

Laser vs inkjet: which is better?

If you want sharp text prints that come through quickly, a laser printer is the way to go. While the printer itself is generally more expensive than an inkjet, the printing cost on a laser tends to be lower.

A laser printer’s toner cartridges are pricier to replace than an inkjet’s ink cartridges. But, each one can print a lot more pages, so you’ll easily get your money’s worth.

What’s more, few inkjets can match a laser for speed or high-quality text. Black-and-white laser printers start from around £40, while a colour laser printer or a multi-function, all-in-one printer, with scan and copying features, will cost you upwards of £60.

Sharp text, rapid print speeds and fast colour prints are all hallmarks of a great laser printer, but look for additional features, such as double-sided printing or multiple print trays. These features will cost you more, but if you need to print a lot of long documents or flip between printing on plain and headed paper they can save you time and money.