Having the best all-in-one printer at home can save you from having to pay to have things printed, scanned, or copied. As a bonus, you can get the best printers for under 50 Dollar.
Have things to print? You might need a cheap printer for school, your home office, or even personal use. In the age of digital everything, that might seem shocking. But no matter the reason, you’re sure to need to print something at some point. Most people do.
Your search for a new printer should start here. For personal or small home office uses, we’ve made a list of ten cheap printers that are proven to produce crisp, vibrant prints. Take a look at our reviews of the best budget printers below.
Comparison of 10 Best Printers Under $50 in 2020
| Image | Product Name | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
HP Envy 4520 Wireless All-in-One Photo Printer |
|
|
 |
Canon Pixma MG3620 All-In-One Color Inkjet Printer |
|
|
 |
HP Deskjet 1112 Compact Printer |
|
|
 |
HP DeskJet 2655 All-in-One Compact Printer |
|
|
 |
Canon MG2520 Color Photo Printer |
|
|
 |
Epson Expression Home XP-4100 Printer |
|
|
 |
Canon TS5120 Wireless All-In-One Printer |
|
|
 |
HP DeskJet 3634 Compact All-in-One Printer |
|
|
 |
Canon PIXMA TR4520 All in One Photo Printer |
|
|
 |
Canon PIXMA MG3020 Photo Printer |
|
Top 10 Best Printer Under $50 Reviews in 2020
These are our reviews of the ten best printers to suit your home and office needs. If what you’re looking for is a less expensive printer, these fulfill both requirements, as they’re also the best printers under $50!
1. HP Envy 4520 Wireless All-in-One Photo Printer
The Envy 4520 is a predominantly wireless-capable printer that you can use for any kind of everyday need. It can print, scan, copy – whatever you need it to do and expect from an all-in-one printer, and it can handle.
It sets up quickly with the 2.2-inch display and on-screen guide. While the printing quality is excellent, the scanning quality could be improved, particularly for images. It works fine for documents.
Additionally, you can print forms and measured pages on-demand. This includes ruled notebook paper, calendars, graph paper, and more. If you use any of those things regularly, it’s an appreciable bonus of this printer. It’s a unique feature that we felt needed to be pointed out.
Keep in mind that if you allow your printer to do so, it will automatically order new ink cartridges any time yours runs low. This is not a free service, even if you plan on recycling your old cartridges. You may want to make a note of this point and turn off the setting that triggers this function if you don’t have an immediate need to print things.
- It can print, copy, and scan as well as duplex print
- You can print from anywhere with AirPrint, wireless, or mobile printing
- Setup is simple with an intuitive on-screen guide
- It has internet form printing options available on-demand
- The ink cartridges are expensive to replace, and your printer attempts to order more every time you run low.
- The scanner isn’t the greatest for photos but is fantastic for documents
2. Canon Pixma MG3620 All-In-One Color Inkjet Printer
If you happen to be a parent or student who’s on a budget, this is a fantastic inkjet printer for you. This is the best printer under $50. Print essays, projects, and more simply and efficiently. Since it’s an all-in-one printer, you can also scan, copy, and fax when you need to.
Whether it’s being used in a dorm room or home office, it will fit into most color schemes. That’s because it comes in black, white, or red, and has a rather sleek design to it. Part of that design is flawed, however, as this printer lacks a display.
This can make it hard to troubleshoot any problems because you have to either read the error code from your phone or decipher the blinking light. Still, if you want a reliable all-in-one printer for regular use, this is a great little printer that will suit almost all of your needs.
- It’s easy to print documents and images from an iPhone or Android
- Comes in three colors to match any home, dorm room, or home office
- Can be connected to a computer or laptop with a USB cable
- Comes with setup black and color inks
- It has no display screen for error messages, so you have to kind of guess what the problem is through error codes on your mobile device and the online manual
- If you run out of colored ink, it won’t print even in just black-and-white
3. HP DeskJet 1112 Compact Printer
If you really do just need a basic printer, we’ve got options that cover that, too. DeskJet 1112 is one of them. This machine is truly basic – that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but don’t expect it to come with all the bells and whistles.
There’s no wireless connectivity and no mobile printing with this printer, and it doesn’t do copies, scans, or faxes. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the best printers, especially under 50 dollars.
What it is is compact. It will fit in nearly any available space you have for it. It’s also energy-efficient, so no matter how much printing you have to do, you won’t be racking up a high energy bill.
- Consistently and reliably prints color images and text
- It’s energy-efficient and compact
- Great for students needing a basic printer or for simple home uses
- Has a hardware warranty for one year
- It’s extremely basic – all it does is print, and there is no wireless connectivity or mobile printing
- The starter cartridges don’t last very long
4. HP DeskJet 2655 All-in-One Compact Printer
This is another all-in-one printer that comes with some of the newer features included for convenience. For example, it has Wi-Fi Direct, which means you can connect your smartphone or tablet to the printer for a variety of jobs without any kind of network.
If you’re picky about aesthetics, this printer comes in plain white or with an attractive blue trim that will fit in most modernly decorated rooms. It’s small enough that it won’t take up a noticeable amount of space in your dorm room or home office.
The input and output trays extend and fold up, so you can decide just how much space you want it to use. This printer has been known to eat up a lot of ink while working, so be aware of that ahead of time and order some additional cartridges just in case. Additionally, it may lose wireless connection, particularly with computers or laptops, so have a USB cord on standby.
- Comes with a white or blue trim that looks appealing
- You can print and scan through the mobile app for convenience
- Won’t take up a lot of space in your home, dorm, or home office
- Great for all of your printing, copying, and scanning needs
- Uses a lot of ink compared to its competition
- Sometimes it stops printing or gets disconnected during a job
5. Canon MG2520 Color Photo Printer
If you get this printer, go in knowing exactly what it is you’re paying for. It’s great at quickly printing black-and-white text and images, and takes a little longer to produce colorful images and documents. But it does both beautifully.
After a quick installation, this printer is ready to dish out any printing jobs you give it. Paper loads into the machine easily through the top, and it comes with both black pigmented ink and colored dye cartridges.
It is small, and that includes the paper catch. We’re not big fans of how short it is, but some people don’t mind it and may even prefer it. Higher-volume jobs should be done in increments to avoid jamming issues, so keep that in mind.
- Prints quickly, up to eight pages per minute in black and white and 4 per minute in color
- Comes with dye colored ink and black pigment ink
- This printer begins working immediately after a quick, simple installation
- Paper loads easily at the top
- The printer seems to jam easily, especially with higher volume jobs
- The paper catch is shorter than we like and doesn’t seem actually to catch the paper
6. Epson Expression Home XP-4100 Color Printer
One of our favorite things about the XP-4100 is the color LCD display that it features. You can pop it out and adjust it to up to a 45-degree angle, which makes it easier to see exactly what you’re doing. Additionally, it’s very easy to hear and feel that you’ve pressed a button, and navigation is simple.
You can manually enter details like passwords for the Wi-Fi with this display, but that may take a considerable amount of time. Primarily, this is because you have to use the navigation keys to cycle through letters, numbers, and symbols, including capital letters.
It’s small and compact but not as tiny as some other models, so keep that in mind when ordering it. It also uses a rear-mounted slot for feeding the paper in, so be sure that wherever you place it, there’s space behind it to account for that.
Our favorite thing about this printer is that it can be operated not only wirelessly, but with voice commands as well. That’s a stellar feature for convenience. It will also print from SD and micro SD cards, but you will need an adapter for the micro SD card to go that route.
Also, it can be a bit sow with scanning and copying. The reproduction quality can also be a little questionable at times, depending on the kind of paper you’re feeding into the printer. But if those things don’t bother you, this is one of the best printers under 50 USD that you’ll find.
- Comes with Wi-Fi Direct and can print from most mobile devices
- Color LCD for easy navigation and setup
- Can operate with voice commands
- Uses a collapsible rear-mounted vertical slot to feed paper in
- You can’t use any refillable cartridges or ink
- The copying capabilities leave something to be desired in speed and clarity
7. Epson Expression Home XP-4100 Wireless Color Printer
If you want a printer that works well and uses cartridges that won’t break the bank, the Canon TS5120 might be a fantastic fit for your home or small office. Additionally, you can use different sizes of cartridges, including XL-sized ones.
Depending on how much you plan to print or copy, this could help you to save a bit of money in the future. The wireless and Bluetooth capabilities may seem a little spotty from time to time, so have a USB cable ready just in case it happens to be one of those days.
But, it works great for printing from your phone or other mobile devices most of the time, we didn’t notice many problems with that. The construction leaves a lot to be desired, though. It just feels fragile.
This is especially true with the paper tray, which can be a bit sensitive during handling. Keep that in mind and exercise caution when moving or adjusting this printer, and you shouldn’t have any problems. If you’re careful with it physically, this is the best all-in-one printer under $50 to meet your printing needs.
- Comes in either black or white to fit your space’s decor
- Can use different size ink cartridges including XL
- You can print from several mobile apps for wireless printing, copying, and more
- Has a flimsy, sensitive paper tray
- The BlueTooth and wireless seems a little spotty
8. HP DeskJet 3634 Compact All-in-One Wireless Printer
DeskJets are typically some of the better InkJet type printers you can get. They’re remarkably good at printing pictures and images. The DeskJet 3634 is no exception and can print gorgeous, borderless images like it’s no work at all.
This all-in-one printer will fit on nearly any desk, shelf, or table without a problem. It’s impressively compact, as much as can be expected. The printing speed is fairly decent and produces fantastic, high-quality images and documentation.
It also has an LCD display screen. This makes it simple to access the printer settings for specific tasks. It’s very intuitive and simple to read and navigate. Similar to other wireless printers, the connectivity may be spotty at times. This doesn’t seem to be a consistent problem with mobile devices, but can be with laptops or computers.
You’re also going to need a password in order to connect your printer to your mobile device. This can be difficult to find on your own, and you may need to contact customer service for further direction.
- It’s so compact it can fit on any desk, shelf, or table
- Features an intuitive LCD screen that makes it simple to access settings
- Has great borderless printing capabilities
- Prints at good speeds with great quality
- Your printer requires a password to connect to your mobile device, and it may be hard to find
- Wi-Fi connectivity might be inconsistent or spotty
9. Canon PIXMA TR4520 Wireless All in One Photo Printer
There are a lot of options with this printer right off the bat. You can order it in a black or white color with different ink packs, cartridges, and combination packs. This includes XL combination packs, which could help to save some money if you’re planning on printing a lot of documents or images as soon as it arrives.
It works best with a steady or fast Wi-Fi connection, so if you’re using sometimes unreliable satellite internet or anything similar or slow, you’ll want to go ahead and get a spare USB cable to use this printer. Setting this printer up is easy for any kind of operating system, including Linux.
That can’t be said for every printer, but this one is unique. It’ll print clear, vibrant images and text documents after it’s set up for your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Using the Canon Print App, you can print and scan from any cloud-based social media platform.
That means if you want to print a picture of you and your family on that last vacation, you don’t have to redownload or move the image, you can just print it off your profile. However, you should know that it doesn’t come out of the box ready to do all of these amazing things. If you want to use Google Cloud Print, you have to register the printer and set it up through that service, as well.
It’s compatible, but not ready, and that will take some work from you. But, if you use Apple products instead, it does come Apple Air Print ready. With all things considered and the unique features this printer offers, this printer had to make the list as one of the best printers.
- You can use some web services and applications to automatically print when you need to
- It connects seamlessly to the Canon Print App, which can be used to print and scan from cloud-based social media platforms
- Prints clear, vibrant colored images and text documents
- Works great with a steady or fast Wi-Fi connection available
- This printer has a remarkably easy setup, even on Linux.
- If you want to use Google Cloud Print, you have to register the printer and set it up. It’s compatible, but not ready.
- The control panel doesn’t have a backlight.
10. Canon PIXMA MG3020 Wireless Color Photo Printer
If you’re looking for a printer that’s somewhere between basic and not, the PIXMA MG3020 is probably a good fit for you. It’s great for any kind of basic printing, copying, and scanning needs.
It doesn’t fax, though, so if that’s something you need, you should choose another printer from our reviews above. On average, the set-up of this printer will take you less than ten minutes. This is true even if you’re not particularly technologically-inclined.
Remember that this is a more basic printer, and while it’s not totally base level, it can’t do things that some of the other models can do. For example, it can’t do book printing or double-sided printing. Primarily, this is because it draws in multiple sheets of paper at once to print with.
Additionally, wireless connectivity may not be up to par for most users. It’s fantastic with mobile devices, but for computers and laptops, you’re better off just connecting a USB and calling it a day. It will eliminate a lot of potential frustration and hassle that you might’ve felt otherwise.
It does come with a set of full-sized ink cartridges, and new ones are modestly priced. Being easy to use and having just enough functionality to suit most printing needs, it would be a mistake to overlook the MG3020. You can buy this printer for under $50.
- Comes with a set of full-sized ink cartridges
- Setup is simple, and on average takes less than ten minutes
- Fantastic for all your basic printing, scanning, and copying needs
- Cartridges for this printer are moderately priced
- The wireless printing might not work as well from a laptop or computer as it does with your mobile device, so have a USB cable ready
- You can’t really use it for double-sided printing since it draws in multiple pieces of paper at once.
Wrap Up
When you buy something you plan on using yourself, you want to make sure that you’re getting a reliable, quality product. No product is perfect they all have their flaws or downsides. It’s important to do the right research to make sure you get a product that suits all your needs with as few drawbacks as possible, though, and that’s why we’ve reviewed these printers for your consideration.
Whether you’re looking for a printer for your dorm room so you can print your projects and papers or you need something to print out contracts from your home office, the best printer under $50 is on this list. It will fit right into your daily life.
Having a printer readily available in your personal space can save you time, effort, and money if you invest in the right one. Hopefully, we were able to help you choose a printer for your needs with our reviews.
