The formula
Cost per page is the sum of four parts:
- Toner or ink: cartridge price divided by its rated yield.
- Drum or imaging unit: the same, if the drum is a separate part. Many small lasers build the drum into the toner cartridge, in which case this is zero.
- Paper: the ream price divided by 500.
- Electricity: the certified annual consumption, times your rate, divided by the pages you print in a year. Every model page in the register shows the certified figure.
Service, repairs and the purchase price itself are left out, because they do not scale with pages. For a leased copier they are in the service contract instead; see how copier leases work.
Use the ISO yield, not the box
Yields are measured under ISO/IEC standards so that makers can be compared: ISO/IEC 19752 for monochrome toner, ISO/IEC 19798 for color toner and ISO/IEC 24711 for inkjet. Each prints a standard test page until the cartridge runs out. Your pages will not match the test page, so your real yield will differ, but the ISO figure is the only one that is comparable between brands.
A "starter" cartridge shipped in the box often holds far less than a replacement, and many printers offer standard and high-yield cartridges. The high-yield one almost always costs less per page.
Color is several costs in one
A color laser has four toners, and a color page draws on all of them. Work out cyan, magenta and yellow per page the same way and add them to the black, or use the maker's published color cost per page if it quotes one under ISO/IEC 19798.
Where electricity matters
For a desktop printer it is a small fraction of a cent per page. It starts to matter on machines that sit idle most of the day, which is why ENERGY STAR measures typical weekly consumption including sleep, and why the printer register ranks machines by energy use for their speed.
Small-office laser printers
Affiliate linksA mono laser is still the cheapest way to print text. Check the toner yield and the price of the high-yield cartridge before the printer price.
Brother
Brother HL-L2460DW Wireless Compact Monochrome Laser Printer with Duplex, Mobile Printing, Black & White Output | Includes Refresh Subscription Trial(1), Works with Alexa
Brother
Brother DCP-L2640DW Wireless Compact Monochrome Multi-Function Printer, Copy, Scan, Duplex, Mobile Printing
Canon
Canon imageCLASS LBP122dw - Wireless Monochrome Duplex Laser Printer
Canon
Canon imageCLASS LBP172dw - Monochrome Duplex, Wireless Laser Printer, Single Function, Home Office, Mobile Ready, 1 Year Limited Warranty, 35 PPM, White
Prices retrieved from Amazon on 2026-09-29 and may since have changed; the price on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. No manufacturer pays for a place in this list.