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Brother Laser vs HP Inkjet Cost Per Page: 2026 Numbers

By Jon Levesque··Updated August 22, 2026

Prices and rankings come from BuyPerUnit's live retailer price tracking (Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg) and are verified against tracked listings before publish. How we verify prices →

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Key Takeaway

HP's tracked floor undercuts Brother's on remanufactured high-yield ink, but Brother's cheapest tracked laser-class cartridge flips the math. The August 2026 numbers, audited inline.

Brother Laser vs HP Inkjet Cost Per Page: 2026 Numbers

HP wins the tracked ink floor: $0.011244/page for a remanufactured 1,600-page OfficeJet Pro cartridge at Newegg, versus $0.063073/page for Brother's cheapest tracked ink listing — a 550-page cyan cartridge at $34.69. On laser supplies, Brother wins: the cheapest tracked laser-class cartridge runs $0.0022/page, and 2026 OEM index data puts Brother toner at 2.75¢–4.93¢/page versus HP ink at 0.48¢–4.90¢.

The Short Answer

HP wins the tracked floor: $0.011244 per page versus $0.063073 for Brother — a gap of $0.051829 per page, from Newegg listings checked August 22, 2026. But the headline hides a mismatch: Brother's cheapest tracked listing in this head-to-head is an inkjet cartridge — cyan ink for the MFC-J5330DW, MFC-J6530DW, and MFC-J6930DW — not the laser toner the keyword asks about. Anchor on actual laser supplies and it flips: our printer-ink tracking shows a 12,000-page SuppliesMAX cartridge for the Brother DCP-8070 at $25.99 ÷ 12,000 pages = $0.0022/page.

Price Per Page Breakdown

Brother side — one priced listing in this comparison's live data, plus the closest laser match from our category tracking:

  • Brother Cyan High Yield XL Ink-Jet Cartridge (MFC-J5330DW/J6530DW/J6930DW), 550-page yield — $34.69 at Newegg. $34.69 ÷ 550 = $0.063073/page.
  • SuppliesMAX Compatible Replacement for Brother DCP-8070, 12,000 pages — $25.99 at Newegg. $25.99 ÷ 12,000 = $0.002166/page, tracked as $0.0022/page.

HP side — seven live listings, all SuppliesMAX remanufactured, at Newegg:

  • OfficeJet Pro Yellow High Yield (7720/7730/7740/8200/8700 series), 1,600 pages — $17.99 ÷ 1,600 = $0.011244/page (the floor)
  • DeskJet/ENVY Color High Yield — $22.99, $0.047896/page
  • DeskJet/ENVY Black High Yield — $23.99, $0.049979/page
  • DeskJet/ENVY Color High Yield — $37.99, $0.079146/page
  • DeskJet/ENVY Combo Pack — $38.99, $0.081229/page
  • DeskJet/ENVY Black High Yield — $39.99, $0.083313/page
  • Envy 5540/5640/5660/7640/OfficeJet 5740/8040 Combo Pack — $59.99, $0.099983/page

These are individual cheapest-in-stock floor prices, not an average. For the record, the average across the 7 HP listings is $0.452790 ÷ 7 = $0.0647/page — slightly above Brother's single tracked listing at $0.063073. HP's floor wins; HP's typical listing does not.

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Floors are cheapest-in-stock snapshots, not averages or guarantees. Our methodology page explains how price-per-unit rankings are computed and how often listings refresh.

Same Capacity, Same Tier?

No — and the mismatch matters more than the price gap. The two floors differ on three axes: Brother's $34.69 cartridge is OEM-branded ink while HP's $17.99 unit is third-party remanufactured ink; yields differ (550 vs 1,600 pages); and Brother's listing serves inkjet machines, not the laser printers in the keyword. The closest apples-to-apples pair in our data is third-party-vs-third-party: SuppliesMAX's Brother DCP-8070 cartridge at $0.0022/page against SuppliesMAX's remanufactured HP DeskJet color at $0.047896/page — but those serve different printer classes (12,000-page laser-class vs 480-page inkjet). For the broader technology trade-off, see Laser vs Inkjet: Which Is Cheaper Per Page in 2026?.

What the Extra Cost Buys You

Paying Brother's $0.063073/page over HP's $0.011244/page floor buys, objectively:

  • OEM vs remanufactured. Brother's listing is a Brother-branded cartridge; HP's floor is a SuppliesMAX remanufactured unit.
  • Machine class. Brother's cartridge fits MFC-J5330DW/J6530DW/J6930DW inkjets; HP's fits OfficeJet Pro 7720-through-8745 machines.
  • Nothing else measurable. Both are single-color "High Yield" cartridges; neither listing carries warranty or yield-guarantee terms we can verify.

Flip to OEM-vs-OEM and the gap narrows to near-overlap: the 2026 Castle Ink price index puts Brother laser toner at 2.75¢–4.93¢/page and HP ink at 0.48¢–4.90¢/page.

When Each Makes Sense

  • Choose HP (remanufactured) if you want the lowest tracked cost per page — $0.011244 — and accept third-party reman ink in an OfficeJet Pro machine.
  • Choose Brother if you run a laser: the tracked DCP-8070 replacement runs $0.0022/page, and OEM Brother toner at 2.75¢–4.93¢/page competes with HP's OEM band of 0.48¢–4.90¢. Our HP vs Brother toner cost guide breaks down the toner side.

Verdict

On tracked floors, HP wins: $0.011244/page versus Brother's $0.063073/page, a $0.051829/page gap. On laser supplies — what the keyword actually asks about — Brother wins: $0.0022/page for the cheapest tracked laser-class cartridge, with OEM toner indexing at 2.75¢–4.93¢/page. Prices checked August 22, 2026 from Newegg listings; floors move, so treat both numbers as snapshots.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Brother laser printer cheaper per page than an HP inkjet?

On OEM supplies, roughly a wash: the 2026 Castle Ink index shows Brother toner at 2.75¢–4.93¢/page versus HP ink at 0.48¢–4.90¢/page. On third-party supplies, Brother's laser side wins in our tracking — $0.0022/page for the SuppliesMAX DCP-8070 cartridge versus HP's $0.011244/page remanufactured floor.

How much does Brother laser toner cost per page in 2026?

OEM Brother toner indexes at 2.75¢–4.93¢/page (2026 Castle Ink price index). PCMag measured the Brother HL-L3295CDW at 2.5¢/page black-and-white and 12.9¢/page color. Our cheapest tracked third-party Brother laser cartridge — SuppliesMAX's DCP-8070 replacement — runs $25.99 ÷ 12,000 pages = $0.0022/page.

What's the cheapest HP inkjet ink per page right now?

$0.011244/page: the SuppliesMAX remanufactured OfficeJet Pro yellow high-yield cartridge, 1,600 pages at $17.99 on Newegg, as of August 22, 2026. That is the cheapest-in-stock floor across HP's seven tracked listings, which run up to $0.099983/page.

Is remanufactured HP ink really about a cent per page?

The floor is — $0.011244/page works out to about 1.1¢. But four of HP's seven tracked remanufactured listings cost more per page than Brother's $0.063073 OEM ink cartridge, topping out at $0.099983/page for an Envy/OfficeJet combo pack. One cent is the best case, not the norm.

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