HP Instant Ink: is it worth buying an HP printer for?

HP Instant Ink will save you from having to regularly buy new printer cartridges. Instead, you pay a fixed monthly fee to print a certain number of pages. But does that really save you money?

In our expert guide to HP's Instant Ink subscription service, we explain what it is and how much it costs, helping you weigh up the pros and cons compared with buying ink the traditional way. 

Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about HP Instant Ink, including prices for ink and also toner plans (for laser printers). We also have details on how the brand's printers perform under the scrutiny of our rigorous, independent tests.

Shopping for a new printer? See our expert pick of the best home printers to discover which models impressed us in our lab tests

What is HP Instant Ink?

Available on a selected range of HP wi-fi printers, HP Instant Ink is a different way to pay for your ink and prints at home.

With an Instant Ink subscription, you don't actually pay for the ink cartridges. Instead, you pay a monthly subscription to print a set number of pages on your home printer. You can print whatever you want – text, images or photos – up to the agreed monthly set limit of pages.

HP automatically sends you ink cartridges (delivery costs and recycling methods are included in the subscription) whenever you need topping up. Unless you exceed your page allowance, the monthly fee is all you'll pay towards the ink. There's also an option to receive paper as part of the plan.

To get started with Instant Ink, you can subscribe through the brand's website. All you need is an elegible printer, which is most HP printers manufactured in the past five years (many new HP printers will also offer Instant Ink as part of their setup process) – HP has a handy list of HP Instant Ink-compatible printers here.

What is HP+?

HP+  is a cloud service and app from HP. Once HP+ is activated, you get a three-month free trial of HP Instant Ink and one year’s extra warranty (on top of the one year already provided) for your printer. It requires an HP account and internet connection.

Importantly, HP+ also requires original HP ink cartridges for the lifetime of your cartridge printer. It will be embedded on your printer and requires the use of cartridges with original HP chips or circuitry. This is, unfortunately, irreversible.

Think very carefully if you want to still be able to use third-party ink cartridges before signing up to HP+. HP tank printers, which use bottled ink or toner rather than cartridges, are unaffected by HP's cartridge-blocking practices and can still use third-party bottled ink. See all of our HP ink tank printer reviews.

HP's third-party ink cartridge blocking practices

HP+ is not the same as HP's Dynamic Security; the latter blocks some third-party cartridges, but still allows you to use refilled (commonly called 'remanufactured') cartridges rebranded by third parties that retain the unmodified HP chip or circuitry. These can be more expensive than third-party cartridges sold for other printers without Dynamic Security, but may still be significantly cheaper than HP's own original ink cartridges.

Note that HP's terms for signing up for HP Instant Ink includes allowing automatic updates to your printer. So if you have an older HP printer without Dynamic Security blocking third-party ink cartridges without original HP circuitry, be aware that, in principle at least, it's possible HP could install Dynamic Security on your printer when you sign up for HP Instant Ink.

HP Instant Ink compatible printers

To join the Instant Ink scheme, you need an HP printer that’s compatible with the service. Head to the HP website to find out if your printer is eligible for HP Instant Ink – just enter its model name and number into the search box. If your device isn't listed, it's not eligible.

To see which HP Instant Ink printers are genuinely worth your money, check our HP printer reviews.

How much does HP Instant Ink cost?

Some HP printers offer a free trial to Instant Ink for up to three months, but you'll have to sign up for a subscription afterwards.

HP offers the following ink plans:

• Light – £1.49 a month for 10 pages
• Occasional – £3.99 a month for 50 pages
• Moderate – £5.49 a month for 100 pages
• Frequent – £11.99 a month for 300 pages
• Business – £25.49 a month for 700 pages

Unused pages are allowed to roll over, but only for a maximum of three times the number of pages on your monthly service plan. If you were on the 50 pages a month plan, for example, you could never roll over more than 150 pages in total.

Pages printed over your limit are charged at £1 for every additional 10 pages, or you can increase your subscription level.

If an ink cartridge is running low, your printer automatically alerts HP via the network connection and a new cartridge is posted to you.

Prints not coming out as they should? Your ink jets could be the reason. Find out how to fix white lines when printing

Does HP Instant Ink work out cheaper?

Of course, the killer question is whether or not a monthly subscription to Instant Ink offers better value compared to buying your own ink cartridges as and when you need them. The answer to this really depends on how much printing you do.

Text pages are generally cheap to print, so if you only print black text, buying one of the best cheap printer ink cartridges can be cheaper than using an Instant Ink plan.

In our expert printer reviews, we estimate how much each printer will cost to run – based on an average usage scenario of printing 20 pages of black text and 10 pages of colour graphics each month. 

• £2.09 a year – average Best Buy HP inkjet colour tank printer cost using branded ink. 
• £11.88 a year – 10 pages a month Instant Ink subscription.
• £35.88 a year – 50 pages a month Instant Ink subscription.

However, with Instant Ink, note that a full A4 colour photo counts as a page, but so does a single line of black text. If you regularly print a lot, especially colour pages or photos, Instant Ink could save you money over regular HP cartridges.

This cost could come down if you shopped around for good-value third-party ink cartridges, although bear in mind that some HP printers block third-party cartridges. Discover the best cheap ink cartridges, based on our survey of thousands of ink users plus our stringent lab tests.

Our expert tests uncover the models that don't cost a fortune to run. Which? members can use the Eco Buy filter in our printer reviews – alternatively, consult our expert pick of the best cheap printers to buy and run.

Is HP Instant Ink worth it?

If you want to print a mixture of text documents, photos and images, and are happy with signing up to a subscription service, then HP Instant Ink could be the right option for you. It favours regular users who do a wide range of printing. If you only print the occasional text document, then it's not for you.

However, just as with a phone contract, if you do make the switch to Instant Ink you may need to become more conscious of what you are printing.

Even the smallest dot of ink on a page will be counted as a printed page as part of your monthly allowance. So, if you accidentally trigger a big print job and exceed your monthly limit, you could end up with a hefty bill.

Cancel your HP Instant Ink service: how to stop a subscription

If you're no longer happy with your HP Instant Ink subscription, or no longer need it, you can cancel at any time without having to pay a penalty. The cancellation will be effective at the end of your monthly billing cycle.

Your HP Instant Ink cartridge will stop working when your subscription ends, and you will need to return the cartridge to HP (free of charge). To continue printing, make sure you have standard HP ink cartridges ready to use in your printer when your subscription ends. 

You can use your HP Instant Ink account to cancel your subscription. Just follow these steps:

1. Sign in to your HP account.
2. Under Status, see the drop-down menu that lists printers.
3. Select the printer you wish to cancel. To confirm you are looking at the right printer, see Print History.
4. Choose My Account and then Account Settings.
5. Select Cancel my HP Instant Ink Subscription.

For more details on this process, check HP's Instant Ink cancellation page.

HP Instant Ink vs other types of printer ink

A poor printer will go through ink at an alarming rate, which means you'll regularly have to pay to keep it topped up.

Our testing shows that refillable ink tank printers tend to be much more economical than printers that use ink cartridges. Head to our refillable tank printer reviews to find the best model for you. 

As part of our annual printer ink survey, we asked more than 9,000 inkjet and laser printer owners about their experiences, allowing us to score ink brands based on print quality, value for money and ease of use. Third-party ink brands scored particularly well – users value their combination of good quality and affordability.

• We've rated the best cheap ink cartridges, and where to buy them, based on customer service and value. 
• Got a laser printer? See our best cheap toner cartridges.

Are HP printers good?

HP is one of the largest printer manufacturers around, offering a selection of inkjet and laser models. We're constantly going hands-on with HP printers in our lab, on a mission to uncover models that are cheap to run yet still able to turn out high-quality prints.

Our rigorous tests have uncovered some fantastic Best Buy and Eco Buy HP printers. One of our highest-scoring HP models to date impresses with fast text printing and incredibly low running costs. However, not every HP printer is equal – some models under £100 are let down by high printing costs and mediocre print quality.

Some of the HP printers we've tested have a feature known as Dynamic Security. This stops non-HP ink from working in your printer, meaning you're locked into the brand's ecosystem. It can also be added through a software update, so even if you use third-party ink for now, that might not be the case forever.

For more details on this major brand, see our in-depth guide to the best HP printers.

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