Best Inkjet Printers Under $100 for First-Time Buyers in 2026
Six sub-$100 inkjet printers for people buying their first home printer, weighing setup ease, ink cost, and reliability over extra features.
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Buying your first home printer is mostly about avoiding regret — a printer that’s cheap upfront but burns through expensive ink cartridges will cost more over a year than a slightly pricier model with cheaper ink. This guide covers six inkjet printers under $100 for first-time buyers, weighing purchase price against realistic ongoing ink cost.
1. HP DeskJet 2755e — best simplest setup
The DeskJet 2755e is aimed squarely at someone who has never set up a printer before — HP’s app walks through Wi-Fi setup step by step, and the printer works with HP’s Instant Ink subscription if you’d rather pay a flat monthly fee than buy cartridges as needed. It’s not fast and it’s not built for heavy volume, but for occasional home printing it’s about as low-friction as printer setup gets.
Street price: $40-$60.
2. Canon Pixma TS3722 — best print quality for the price
Canon’s Pixma line has a long-standing reputation for producing sharper text and more accurate color than most printers in this price range, which matters if you’ll occasionally print photos or graphics rather than just text documents. Setup is straightforward through Canon’s app, and cartridges are widely stocked at any store that sells office supplies.
Street price: $50-$70.
3. Epson Expression Home XP-4200 — best for lower long-term ink cost
Epson’s cartridges tend to run slightly cheaper per page than HP or Canon’s standard cartridges at this price point, which adds up if you’re printing more than the occasional document. It also supports Epson’s ink subscription plan, giving a first-time buyer the choice between pay-as-you-go cartridges and a flat monthly cost depending on which fits their habits better.
Street price: $50-$75.
4. HP Envy 6055e — best if you also need occasional scanning
The Envy 6055e adds a flatbed scanner and copier to the same basic footprint as the DeskJet, useful for a household that occasionally needs to scan a document or make a copy but doesn’t want to pay for a dedicated all-in-one office printer. It stays under $100 and covers most of what a household actually needs a printer for beyond plain printing.
Street price: $70-$95.
5. Canon Pixma TR4720 — best for light photo printing
For a first-time buyer who wants to occasionally print a photo without stepping up to a dedicated photo printer, the TR4720 handles both document and casual photo printing reasonably well for its price. It also includes basic fax and scan functions, which is unusual at this price tier and useful for anyone who still occasionally needs to fax a form.
Street price: $60-$85.
6. Epson EcoTank ET-2400 — best if you print often enough to justify it
The EcoTank line uses refillable ink tanks instead of cartridges, and while the upfront price sits at the top of this list, the cost per page drops dramatically compared to any cartridge-based printer here. For a first-time buyer who already knows they’ll print regularly — school projects, homework, small business use — this is the pick that avoids the classic mistake of buying cheap and then paying for it in ink.
Street price: $90-$130 (occasionally on sale under $100).
How to get the best price
- Compare the printer’s price against a full set of replacement ink cartridges before buying — the cheapest printer on the shelf is often the most expensive option once you factor in a year of ink.
- Set a price-tracking alert around back-to-school season (July-September) and Black Friday, when entry-level inkjet printers see their deepest annual discounts.
- Check whether the manufacturer’s ink subscription plan (HP Instant Ink, Epson ReadyPrint) makes sense for your print volume — it can beat cartridge pricing for moderate, regular use.
- Look for open-box or manufacturer-refurbished listings at Best Buy, which routinely price identical hardware 20-30% below new.
For a first printer, resist the urge to buy purely on sticker price — the printer itself is usually the smallest cost over its lifetime once ink is factored in. Pick based on how much you’ll actually print and whether a subscription or pay-as-you-go ink model fits your habits, and any of the six printers above will serve a typical household well.