Laser printers are cheaper per page than cartridge inkjets in 2026 — a 2026 business comparison puts monochrome laser below inkjet at both ends of the range, and laser wins total cost of ownership above roughly 1,000 pages a month. Ink-tank inkjets change the math: the cheapest tracked refill bottle, Faslvink's 30,000-page set at $19.99, works out to about $0.00067 per page.
The 2026 Headline Numbers: Two Different Inkjets, Two Different Answers
"Which is cheaper per page, laser or inkjet?" is secretly two questions. "Inkjet" covers machines that cost 8–20 cents per color page on standard cartridges (Castle Ink's 2026 figure) and tank printers that sip bottled ink by fractions of a cent. A 2026 business comparison puts monochrome laser below inkjet black-and-white at both ends of the range, and color laser below inkjet color the same way. We don't reprint those cents figures — they aren't in our printer-ink tracking, and our rule is tracked prices or attributed quotes, nothing in between (methodology).
What our tracker does show is unambiguous: the 15 cheapest in-stock listings in our printer-ink category are all ink refill bottles for tank-style machines — Faslvink, OKGO!INK, OFCINK and others, mostly for Epson 502/522-bottle printers like the ET-2800 and ET-2850, named right in the listing titles. The five cheapest, with the division shown inline:
| Tracked listing | Price | Rated pages | Cost per page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faslvink refill bottle set | $19.99 | 30,000 | $19.99 ÷ 30,000 = $0.00067 |
| Faslvink refill bottle set | $17.96 | 24,000 | $17.96 ÷ 24,000 = $0.00075 |
| OKGO!INK 522 bottles | $16.79 | 18,000 | $16.79 ÷ 18,000 = $0.00093 |
| imtfzct 502 bottles | $17.99 | 17,000 | $17.99 ÷ 17,000 = $0.00106 |
| Trokliey ET-2850/ET-3850 5-pack | $24.99 | 19,000 | $24.99 ÷ 19,000 = $0.00132 |
Top Picks by $/page
View all →| # | Product | Capacity | $/page | Price | Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faslvink Compatible Ink Refill Bottles Replacement for Epson 502 Ink Black | 30 TB | $0.00067/page | $19.99 | Amazon |
| 2 | Faslvink Compatible Ink Refill Bottles Replacement for Epson 522 Ink Black | 24 TB | $0.00075/page | $17.96 | Amazon |
| 3 | 522 Ink Refill Bottles Compatible Replacement for epson 522 Ink ET-2800 Ink | 18 TB | $0.00093/page | $16.79 | Amazon |
| 4 | imtfzct Replacement for Epson 502 Ink Refill Bottles for ET-3760 ET2760 ET2750 ET-4760 ET-2850 ET-15000 ST-4000 ST-2000 ET-3710 ET-3850 ET-3750 ET-4850 ET4750 ET2700 ST3000 ET3700 Printer (2BK C M Y) | 17 TB | $0.0011/page | $17.99 | Amazon |
| 5 | Ink Refill Bottles ET-2850 ET-3760 ET-3850 (5 Pack) for ET 2850 ET3850 4850 | 19 TB | $0.0013/page | $24.99 | Amazon |
Faslvink Compatible Ink Refill Bottles Replacement for Epson 502 Ink Black
30 TB · Amazon
$0.00067/page
$19.99
Faslvink Compatible Ink Refill Bottles Replacement for Epson 522 Ink Black
24 TB · Amazon
$0.00075/page
$17.96
522 Ink Refill Bottles Compatible Replacement for epson 522 Ink ET-2800 Ink
18 TB · Amazon
$0.00093/page
$16.79
imtfzct Replacement for Epson 502 Ink Refill Bottles for ET-3760 ET2760 ET2750 ET-4760 ET-2850 ET-15000 ST-4000 ST-2000 ET-3710 ET-3850 ET-3750 ET-4850 ET4750 ET2700 ST3000 ET3700 Printer (2BK C M Y)
17 TB · Amazon
$0.0011/page
$17.99
Ink Refill Bottles ET-2850 ET-3760 ET-3850 (5 Pack) for ET 2850 ET3850 4850
19 TB · Amazon
$0.0013/page
$24.99
For contrast: Castle Ink puts a typical color page on standard inkjet cartridges at 8–20 cents — $0.08 to $0.20 per page against $0.00067 for the cheapest bottle set above. Those are different universes, and any "laser vs inkjet" answer that ignores tank printers is answering last decade's question.
Black and White: Laser Beats Cartridges, Then Meets the Tanks
Against cartridge inkjets, laser wins monochrome outright — the 2026 business comparison ranks laser below inkjet at both ends of the black-and-white ranges, and notes that above roughly 1,000 pages per month, laser "almost always wins" on total cost of ownership. That 1,000-page threshold is the real decision line for office buyers.
Run the break-even with tracked bottle prices and the picture shifts. Monthly consumable spend at three volumes:
| Monthly volume | Cheapest tracked bottle ($0.00067/page) | Standard cartridges (Castle Ink, 8–20¢ color) |
|---|---|---|
| 500 pages | 500 × $0.00067 ≈ $0.34 | $40–$100 |
| 1,000 pages | 1,000 × $0.00067 = $0.67 | $80–$200 |
| 2,000 pages | 2,000 × $0.00067 = $1.34 | $160–$400 |
Two caveats keep this honest. First, the cartridge column uses Castle Ink's color-page range, not black-and-white — we have no verified B&W cartridge figure and won't invent one. Second, if you're shopping ink at that scale, our 2,000-pages capacity view ranks bottle sets by price per page at exactly that volume.
Color Pages: Where Cartridge Inkjets Get Expensive
Color is where cartridge inkjet economics fall apart: 8–20 cents per page on standard cartridges, per Castle Ink's 2026 guidance, and the 2026 business comparison ranks laser color below inkjet color across its ranges. PCMag's 2026 laser coverage adds the counterweight — replacing a full color toner set (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) can cost more than the printer itself, and PCMag publishes no dollar figure for that, so neither will we.
For toner-side math by brand, see our guide to HP vs Brother toner cost per page. Castle Ink's quality point also stands: inkjet handles skin tones and gradients better, so if your color pages are photos, cents-per-page isn't the whole decision.
When Inkjet Is Actually Cheaper per Page
Wirecutter's 2026 pick for "the cheapest prints" is an ink-tank-style inkjet all-in-one — and its writeup includes no cost-per-page figure at all. Our tracker fills that hole: the cheapest tracked option is Faslvink's 30,000-page refill set → at $19.99, which is $19.99 ÷ 30,000 = $0.00067 per page. Across the verified sets, the range runs from that floor to $36.99 ÷ 16,000 = $0.0023 for the QIOCKTO 16K set.
Castle Ink also notes that switching to high-yield XL or compatible cartridges cuts the 8–20 cent color cost — but publishes no resulting figure, so treat "cuts" as direction, not a number. Their framing of inkjet's edge is purchase price: all-in-ones carry the lower upfront cost, while the per-page fight goes the other way once tanks and toner enter the equation.
The Catch: Three Unpriced Claims and Compatible Ink
Keep three unpriced claims straight when reading 2026 printer coverage. PCMag says a CMYK toner set can outcost the printer — no dollars given. Wirecutter calls its ink-tank pick "the cheapest prints" — no $/page given. Castle Ink says XL and compatible cartridges shrink the 8–20 cent color cost — no resulting figure given. Meanwhile, the verified bottle listings above are third-party compatible ink (Faslvink, OKGO!INK, OFCINK — not Epson-branded), and their prices reflect exactly that.
Verdict: Which Is Cheaper Per Page in 2026?
Against cartridge inkjets, laser is cheaper per page in 2026 — the 2026 business comparison ranks it lower for both monochrome and color, and above roughly 1,000 pages a month it "almost always wins" total cost of ownership. But the cheapest per-page printing we can put a verified number on is ink-tank inkjet: $0.00067 per page at the Faslvink floor versus 8–20 cents for a color page on standard cartridges. Low volume, color, and photos favor a tank inkjet; high-volume black-and-white favors laser; cartridge inkjets win on the receipt and lose on every page after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a laser printer cheaper per page than an inkjet in 2026?
Against cartridge inkjets, yes — the 2026 business comparison ranks monochrome and color laser below inkjet at both ends of their ranges. Against ink-tank inkjets, nothing among the verified listings and cited ranges we reviewed beats $19.99 ÷ 30,000 pages ($0.00067/page) from the refill-bottle category.
What does a black and white page cost on a laser vs an inkjet?
Specific laser cents-per-page figures aren't in our tracked data, and we don't reprint unverified numbers. What we can audit: the cheapest tracked ink listing runs $0.00067 per page (Faslvink, 30,000-page rated set at $19.99), and the 2026 comparison ranks laser below cartridge inkjet for mono pages.
How many pages per month make a laser printer worth it?
About 1,000. The 2026 business comparison draws the line at roughly 1,000 pages per month — above it, laser "almost always wins" on total cost of ownership.
Are ink-tank inkjets cheaper per page than laser printers?
On consumables, tracked bottle prices run $0.00067–$0.0023 per page (Faslvink 30K at $19.99; QIOCKTO 16K at $36.99 ÷ 16,000). But no verified laser per-page figure exists in our data, so we won't declare a winner — Wirecutter calls its ink-tank pick "the cheapest prints" without publishing a number either.
Do high-yield XL cartridges close the cost-per-page gap with laser?
Castle Ink says XL and compatible cartridges cut the 8–20 cent color-page cost, but publishes no resulting figure. The honest answer: they shrink the gap by an unquantified amount. The quantified route to cheap pages is bottled ink.