Best Wireless Printers for Home Use: Picks and What to Look For

If you want a wireless printer for home use and mostly print documents, the Brother HL-L2460DW (print only) or Brother DCP-L2640DW (with scanner) are the steadier choices; if you print colour pages or photos, a refillable-tank model such as the Canon PIXMA MegaTank G3270 or Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is the better fit; and if you print only now and then, the HP Envy 6555e keeps the entry cost down. Wireless support is now standard, so the real differences are Wi-Fi bands, Wi-Fi Direct, Ethernet as a backup, app quality and what the printer costs to feed. This guide covers best wireless printers, best wifi printers and best wifi home printers using the makers’ stated specifications and what independent outlets report.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

#1 Pick

HP DeskJet 2923 Color Inkjet Printer | Wireless | All-in-One | Easy Home Printing | Color Documents | Mobile Compatibility | Print, Scan & Copy | Ideal Home Use

Check Price on Amazon →

#2 Pick

HP DeskJet 2955 Color Inkjet Printer | Wireless | All-in-One | Easy Home Printing | Color Documents | Mobile Compatibility | Print, Scan & Copy | Ideal Home Use

Check Price on Amazon →

#3 Pick

Canon PIXMA TS4320 – Wireless Color Inkjet Printer with Print, Copy, Scan | Cost Efficient Multi-Function Photo Printer, Copier, Scanner for Home Use, Compact Design, Easy Setup

Check Price on Amazon →

#4 Pick

Canon PIXMA TR4720 All-in-One Wireless Printer, Home Use with Auto Document Feeder, Mobile Printing and Built-in Fax, Black

Check Price on Amazon →

What “wireless” actually covers

Several features hide behind the word, and they behave differently at home.

• Router-based Wi-Fi: the printer joins your network and any phone or computer on it can print. Look for dual-band support (2.4 and 5 GHz) if your router combines or prioritises 5 GHz.
• Wi-Fi Direct or Wireless Direct: the printer makes its own network so a phone can print with no router in range. Useful in a dorm or holiday home.
• AirPrint and Mopria: driverless printing from Apple and Android devices. Both are listed by Brother and Canon on the models below.
• Ethernet: a cable fallback when Wi-Fi is weak. Several Brother models include it; most budget inkjets do not.
• USB: every model here keeps a USB port for setup trouble.

At a glance: wireless models compared

Brother HL-L2460DW: dependable network printing

Brother lists dual-band wireless, Ethernet, USB 2.0, AirPrint and its Mobile Connect app on this model, along with up to 36 ppm, a 250-sheet tray and automatic two-sided printing. It is compact at about 14 by 14.2 by 7.2 inches and 15.6 pounds. DigiLabsPro and other outlets call it a strong choice for most people who print text, and a secondhand report attributes the words “simple, dependable” to Wirecutter, though that page could not be read directly. The starter toner is about 700 pages; larger replacement cartridges exist, with one roundup citing around 4,200 pages for the biggest. Because it is a laser, it handles long gaps between jobs without drying out. If you need to scan, look at the next model.

Brother DCP-L2640DW: wireless print, scan and copy

This model adds a 50-page document feeder and flatbed to the same 36 ppm laser engine. Brother lists dual-band wireless, Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct, AirPrint, Mopria, Brother Mobile Connect and cloud links such as Google Drive and Dropbox on the touchscreen family. The unit measures about 16.1 by 15.7 by 12.5 inches and weighs about 25 pounds, so it needs more desk space. Some retailer guides single it out for households that also copy and scan. The sibling MFC-L2820DW adds fax and is Brother’s stated successor to the discontinued MFC-L2750DW.

Canon PIXMA MegaTank G3270: tank printing with strong Wi-Fi

Canon lists Wi-Fi on both bands including WPA3 security, plus Wireless Direct, the Canon PRINT app, AirPrint and Mopria. Ink is rated at up to 6,000 black and 7,700 colour pages in default mode, and the printer prints 11 ipm black and 6 ipm colour. It has a small 1.35-inch screen, a 100-sheet rear tray and no duplex, so two-sided jobs mean flipping pages manually. One reviewer measured colour yields below the official number, a common pattern for any tank system. It suits a family that prints homework, labels and the occasional photo from phones.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 and ET-2800

Epson’s maker page for the ET-2850 describes wireless printing with voice-activated printing and the Epson Smart Panel app, auto duplex, a flatbed scanner and ink bottles equal to about 80 cartridges, with up to two years of ink in the box. Yields are listed at 7,500 black and 6,000 colour pages per replacement set. The ET-2800 uses Wi-Fi 4 and Wi-Fi Direct; a reviewer reports it connects to 2.4 GHz networks only and has no Ethernet. If your router has separate band names, join the printer to the 2.4 GHz network during setup. Consumer Reports and a review site list the ET-2800 among top picks for general homes, and TechRadar reviews the ET-2850 favourably.

HP Envy 6555e: feeder and duplex at a low entry cost

HP lists dual-band Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, a 2.4-inch touchscreen, automatic duplex and a 35-sheet feeder, with ISO speeds up to 10 ppm black and 7 colour and a monthly duty cycle of 1,000 pages. TechRadar and Forbes Vetted both include it as a value pick. The condition is HP+: retailer listings mention bonus Instant Ink months at activation, and third-party guides say HP+ expects original HP cartridges and an online connection. A printer that needs to be online to print is a poor match for a home with unreliable internet, so read the terms before committing. The older HP DeskJet 2855e is cheaper still but has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n only and no automatic duplex.

Brother HL-L3280CDW: wireless colour laser

Brother lists Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct with a 2.7-inch touchscreen and up to 27 ppm in colour and black. Starter toners are about 1,000 pages each and the drum about 20,000. It is the heaviest model here at about 33.9 pounds and roughly 15.7 inches square. It makes sense for a home office or a household with several users on one network.

Wi-Fi setup tips that apply to all of them

• Put the printer within a reasonable distance of the router the first time you set it up; thick walls matter more than distance.
• If your phone and printer sit on different networks, such as a guest network and the main one, printing will fail. Keep them on the same network.
• Reserve a fixed address for the printer in the router if the maker’s app loses it after power cuts.
• If the router uses a combined 2.4 and 5 GHz name and a 2.4-only printer fails to join, temporarily switch the phone to 2.4 GHz.
• Where the printer has Ethernet, a cable is the most stable fix for a room with weak Wi-Fi.

Running cost for wireless models

Wireless does not change what the printer costs to run; supplies do. Mono laser toner has the lowest cost per page for text. Tank inkjets come next and win for colour. Cartridge inkjets cost the most per page. One review site that sells compatible ink puts its own estimates in the low single-digit cents per mono page for the EcoTank range, but those figures come from a seller and should be treated as rough. HP’s own cartridge yields for the DeskJet 2855e, listed at roughly 120 pages for the standard black and about 240 for the XL, show why light use only is the target.

Pick X if…

Alternatives

• Epson EcoTank ET-4950: a step up that TechRadar and Forbes Vetted name for home use, with more paper-handling and scanning features.
• HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e: Forbes Vetted’s overall pick for faster, busier households.
• Brother MFC-L3720CDW: a colour laser all-in-one that an expert quoted by NBC Select calls a very good option for varied needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do wireless printers need a router?

Not always. Models with Wi-Fi Direct or Wireless Direct, such as the Brother and Canon units above, can create their own network for a phone. For printing from a computer on your home network, a router is still the normal route.

Why does my wireless printer keep going offline?

Common causes are the printer and device being on different networks, a changed router address, or the printer sleeping with a weak signal. Restarting the router and printer, and using a fixed address, resolves most cases. The maker’s manual lists model-specific steps.

Is 5 GHz Wi-Fi important for a printer?

Not for speed, since print jobs are small. It matters for compatibility with routers that merge bands or disable 2.4 GHz. The Brother HL-L2460DW, Canon G3270 and HP Envy 6555e list dual-band support; the ET-2800 is reported as 2.4 GHz only.

Can I print from my phone without installing an app?

Yes on most models through AirPrint on iPhones and Mopria on Android, both listed for the Brother and Canon printers here. The maker apps add scanning and status tools.

Are wireless printers secure?

Canon lists WPA3 on the G3270, and the others use standard Wi-Fi encryption through your router. Keep firmware up to date through the maker’s app, change default admin passwords, and keep the printer off guest networks.

Which wireless printer is cheapest to run?

For black text, a mono laser with high-yield toner is generally the cheapest. For colour, tank printers such as the EcoTank and MegaTank lines are the lowest-cost options in most reviews.