What is the best all-in-one printer for home use?

For most homes, the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 offers the best value — it prints, scans, copies, and faxes with extremely low running costs (0.3p per black page). If you print mainly text and want laser reliability, the Brother MFC-L2710DW is the better choice.

Do I need an ADF (automatic document feeder)?

An ADF saves significant time if you regularly scan or copy multi-page documents — tax returns, contracts, school worksheets. Without an ADF, you must manually place each page on the flatbed. For occasional single-page scanning, a flatbed-only printer is fine.

What is the difference between an all-in-one and a multifunction printer (MFP)?

They are the same thing. 'All-in-one' and 'multifunction printer' (or MFP) both describe a device that combines printing, scanning, and copying — and sometimes faxing — in a single unit.

Is a laser or inkjet all-in-one better for a small office?

Laser is generally better for small offices due to faster print speeds, sharper text, lower cost per page at volume, and no ink drying issues. However, ink tank printers like the Canon MAXIFY GX4050 now rival lasers on cost per page while adding colour printing.

Can all-in-one printers scan to email?

Most modern all-in-ones can scan to email, either directly from the printer (if connected to your network) or via the manufacturer's app on your phone or computer. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e, Canon MAXIFY GX4050, and Epson ET-4850 all support this feature.

Best All-in-One Printer 2026: Print, Scan & Copy

Most people need one printer that does the lot — printing, scanning, copying, maybe the odd fax. And honestly, a good all-in-one (or multifunction printer, if you want to sound technical) is the best way to do that without cluttering your desk with separate devices.

I’ve tested and recommended loads of these over the years, and the gap between good and bad is enormous. Some are brilliant. Some will bleed you dry on ink. Here are the ones I’d actually spend my own money on in 2026.

What Actually Matters When Choosing

Automatic Document Feeder (ADF): If you ever scan or copy anything longer than a single page — tax returns, contracts, school worksheets — an ADF saves you from standing there feeding sheets one by one. Some ADFs scan both sides in one pass (duplex scanning), which is properly useful.

Automatic Duplex Printing: Double-sided printing without manually flipping pages. Saves paper, looks professional. Every printer on this list has it.

Fax: Yes, it’s 2026. Yes, some solicitors and NHS departments still use fax. If there’s any chance you’ll need it, get a model with fax built in — you can’t add it later.

Cost per page: This is where manufacturers get you. Ink tank printers can cost 0.3p per black page. Cartridge inkjets can cost 10p+. That’s a 30x difference. I’ve put the real numbers below.

Print speed: Measured in pages per minute (ppm). Most homes don’t need more than 15ppm, but if you’re a small office churning through 500+ pages a month, speed starts to matter.

Best All-in-One Printers: Comparison Table

Printer	Type	Functions	ADF	Duplex	Speed	Cost/Black Page	Price
Brother MFC-L2710DW	Mono laser	Print/Scan/Copy/Fax	50-sheet	Yes	30 ppm	~3p	~£170
HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e	Colour inkjet	Print/Scan/Copy/Fax	35-sheet	Yes	22 ppm	~4p (XL)	~£200
Epson EcoTank ET-4850	Colour ink tank	Print/Scan/Copy/Fax	30-sheet	Yes	15.5 ppm	~0.3p	~£350
Canon MAXIFY GX4050	Colour ink tank	Print/Scan/Copy/Fax	35-sheet	Yes	18 ppm	~0.3p	~£380
HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe	Mono laser	Print/Scan/Copy	40-sheet	Yes	30 ppm	~4p	~£200
Brother MFC-L2860DWE	Mono laser	Print/Scan/Copy/Fax	50-sheet	Yes	34 ppm	~2.2p (XL)	~£250

1. Brother MFC-L2710DW — Best Budget Mono Laser All-in-One

Price: ~£170 | Type: Mono laser | Functions: Print, scan, copy, fax

This printer has been a best-seller for years and I keep recommending it because nothing else at this price does what it does. Print, scan, copy, fax — with laser reliability and running costs that’ll make you smile.

30 pages per minute is genuinely fast. The 50-sheet ADF means you can dump a stack of documents in and walk away. Auto-duplex is included. It just works.

The TN-2410 standard toner does 1,200 pages for about £35 (2.9p per page). The high-yield TN-2420 gets you 3,000 pages for ~£50 (1.7p per page). And because Brother printers don’t aggressively block third-party toner, you can get compatible cartridges for even less.

WiFi, USB, and Ethernet all included. Works with AirPrint, Mopria, and Brother’s own iPrint&Scan app.

The downside: No colour. At all. If you never print colour, that’s actually a strength — one less thing to go wrong, cheaper toner. But if you occasionally need a colour page, look at the Epson or Canon below.

Verdict: Best value all-in-one going. I’ve recommended this to at least ten people and none of them have complained. Well, one complained it was “too big,” but that’s laser printers for you.

Buy the Brother MFC-L2710DW on Amazon.co.uk

2. HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e — Best Colour Inkjet All-in-One

Price: ~£200 | Type: Colour inkjet | Functions: Print, scan, copy, fax

HP’s flagship home office all-in-one, and it does strike a good balance. It’s one of the faster inkjets around at 22 ppm (black), and the colour output is sharp and professional.

The 35-sheet ADF does single-pass duplex scanning — scans both sides of a page simultaneously. That’s a genuine time-saver if you’re digitising contracts or multi-page forms. Auto-duplex printing, WiFi, Ethernet, USB — all standard.

HP 937XL cartridges put the cost per black page at about 4p, colour at around 8p. Not terrible for a cartridge inkjet, but compared to the ink tank printers below? Expensive.

HP+ and Instant Ink are options. Instant Ink starts at £2.49/month for 50 pages (colour included), which can work out if your volume is consistent. But HP+ needs a permanent internet connection and an HP account, and it locks out third-party cartridges. A mate of mine signed up, then his broadband went down for two days and the printer refused to print anything. He was not amused.

Verdict: A solid all-rounder with fast scanning and good output. But the running costs are a weak point compared to ink tank alternatives. Buy this if you trust HP’s ecosystem.

Buy the HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e on Amazon.co.uk

3. Epson EcoTank ET-4850 — Best for Running Costs

Price: ~£350 | Type: Colour ink tank | Functions: Print, scan, copy, fax

If I could only recommend one colour all-in-one, it’s this. The ET-4850 demolishes the competition on running costs, and it’s not even close. The included ink bottles print roughly 7,500 black and 6,000 colour pages. That’s enough to last most home offices well over a year.

Replacement bottles? About £10 for black, £8 each for colour. Cost per page works out at 0.3p black and 0.7p colour. When you’re used to spending 5-10p per page on cartridge printers, those numbers feel almost fictional.

Beyond the economics, it’s a proper printer:

30-sheet ADF with duplex scanning
Auto-duplex printing
Fax built in
250-sheet paper tray
WiFi, Ethernet, USB
2.4-inch colour touchscreen

Print speed is 15.5 ppm for black — slower than the laser options, but fine for most home office work.

The honest downside: £350 is a lot upfront for a printer. And it’s still an inkjet, so if you leave it unused for months, the ink can clog. Weekly use? No issue. Monthly? Probably fine. Leave it six months? You might have problems. For more on this, see our comparison of inkjet vs laser for infrequent printing.

Verdict: The smartest long-term investment for any home or small office that prints regularly in colour. A colleague bought one last year and reckons she’s spent about £15 on ink in 12 months. Previously she was spending that every couple of months on cartridges.

Buy the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 on Amazon.co.uk

4. Canon MAXIFY GX4050 — Best Ink Tank for Small Business

Price: ~£380 | Type: Colour ink tank | Functions: Print, scan, copy, fax

Canon’s answer to the Epson EcoTank, and it’s built for slightly more demanding use. Faster at 18 ppm (black), 35-sheet ADF, WiFi and Ethernet, and included ink yields that are genuinely impressive:

Black: up to 6,000 pages
Colour: up to 14,000 pages

That colour yield — 14,000 pages from the box — is remarkable. If your office prints a lot of colour documents, that’s a significant advantage over the Epson.

Running costs match the Epson at about 0.3p per black page. The MAXIFY build is more robust than Canon’s consumer PIXMA range, with a duty cycle of up to 45,000 pages per month. This is built for a small office, not just a spare bedroom.

Paper handling is thoughtful: 250-sheet front cassette plus a 100-sheet rear tray for envelopes and thicker media. Auto-duplex standard. Canon’s cloud solutions let you scan-to-cloud and print-from-cloud directly from the control panel.

The downside: At £380, it’s the most expensive printer on this list. And it’s an inkjet, so the clogging risk exists if you’re not using it at least weekly.

Verdict: If you’re a small business printing in volume — especially colour-heavy documents — this is the better pick over the Epson. The build quality and colour yield justify the premium. For home use, the Epson is probably sufficient.

Buy the Canon MAXIFY GX4050 on Amazon.co.uk

5. HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe — Best Compact Laser All-in-One

Price: ~£200 | Type: Mono laser | Functions: Print, scan, copy

This sits neatly between the basic HP LaserJet M110we (print only) and the bigger Brother models. You get scanning and copying via a 40-sheet ADF, auto-duplex printing, and a footprint that won’t dominate your desk.

30 ppm — same speed as the Brother models that cost more. HP 135A toner does 1,100 pages for ~£45 (4.1p per page). The 135X high-yield version: 2,000 pages for ~£65 (3.25p per page).

No fax on this one. If you need faxing, it’s the Brother MFC-L2710DW or MFC-L2860DWE.

HP+ is optional during setup — adds mobile fax and some security features, but requires permanent internet and blocks third-party toner. Honestly, I’d skip HP+ unless those features are genuinely valuable to you.

For more on laser printer benefits, see our guide to the advantages of laser printers and our best laser printer for home roundup.

Verdict: Good compact laser all-in-one for home offices that don’t need fax or colour. The running costs are higher than Brother’s, though, which takes the shine off.

Buy the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe on Amazon.co.uk

6. Brother MFC-L2860DWE — Best Premium Mono Laser All-in-One

Price: ~£250 | Type: Mono laser | Functions: Print, scan, copy, fax

The upgraded version of the MFC-L2710DW, and you can feel the difference. Colour touchscreen instead of clunky buttons, faster printing at 34 ppm, NFC tap-to-print, and better toner yields.

The TN-2510XL high-yield cartridge does 3,000 pages for ~£65 — 2.2p per page. That’s among the cheapest mono laser running costs you’ll find anywhere. The 50-sheet ADF supports single-pass duplex scanning (both sides in one go), which is a genuine upgrade from the 2710DW.

More features:

Colour touchscreen — much nicer to use than the older button panel
NFC — tap your Android phone to print
256MB memory — handles complex documents without choking
Gigabit Ethernet — fast network printing
Fax with 400-page memory
Secure function lock — useful if multiple people share the printer

The build quality is noticeably better than the 2710DW. This feels like a proper business machine.

Verdict: Worth the £80 premium over the MFC-L2710DW if you’re printing regularly. The duplex scanning alone saves a surprising amount of time. Best mono laser all-in-one on the market right now.

Buy the Brother MFC-L2860DWE on Amazon.co.uk

Home vs Small Office: Which Do You Need?

For Home Use (Under 200 Pages/Month)

Text only: Brother MFC-L2710DW (£170) — cheap, reliable, includes fax. Dead easy choice.
Text + colour: Epson EcoTank ET-4850 (£350) — running costs are basically nothing
Occasional use: HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe (£200) — toner won’t dry out, ever

For Small Office / Home Office (200-1,000 Pages/Month)

Text only: Brother MFC-L2860DWE (£250) — fastest, lowest cost per page, duplex scanning
Text + colour: Canon MAXIFY GX4050 (£380) — built for volume
Mixed documents: HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e (£200) — decent all-rounder with fast scanning

For higher volumes, also check the printers in our best laser printer for home guide.

Cost Per Page: Real Numbers

What you’ll actually pay per page using the most economical toner/cartridge option:

Printer	Black Cost/Page	Colour Cost/Page	Based On
Brother MFC-L2710DW	1.7p	N/A	TN-2420 (3,000 pages)
HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e	4p	8p	937XL cartridges
Epson EcoTank ET-4850	0.3p	0.7p	Ink bottles
Canon MAXIFY GX4050	0.3p	0.5p	Ink bottles
HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe	3.25p	N/A	135X (2,000 pages)
Brother MFC-L2860DWE	2.2p	N/A	TN-2510XL (3,000 pages)

The ink tank printers (Epson and Canon) are 5-10x cheaper to run than cartridge printers. The trade-off is a higher purchase price that takes 6-12 months to earn back.

Key Features Explained

ADF (Automatic Document Feeder): Feeds a stack of pages for scanning or copying automatically. A 50-sheet ADF handles a typical contract without you babysitting it. Duplex ADFs scan both sides in one pass — brilliant for double-sided originals.

Duplex printing: Double-sided printing, automatically. Saves paper, looks professional. Every printer here does it.

Fax: Sends and receives faxes over a phone line. Still needed by some solicitors, GPs, and government departments in the UK. The Brother and Canon models include it; the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe doesn’t.

NFC (Near Field Communication): Tap your phone against the printer to start a print job. Nice in a shared office, not essential at home.

Ethernet: Wired network connection. More reliable than WiFi, especially in offices with loads of devices. All printers here have WiFi; the Brother and Canon models add Ethernet.

My Top Recommendation

Honestly, if I were buying an all-in-one today, I’d get the Epson EcoTank ET-4850. It does everything — print, scan, copy, fax — with running costs so low they’re essentially free. The £350 purchase price pays for itself within months if you print regularly.

If you only need black-and-white, the Brother MFC-L2710DW at £170 is hard to argue with. Fast, reliable, cheap to run, includes fax. It’s the printer I recommend to anyone who says “I just need something that works.” For the premium upgrade, the Brother MFC-L2860DWE adds duplex scanning and a touchscreen for £80 more. Worth it if you’re a busy home office.

For a full breakdown of laser vs inkjet, check our laser vs inkjet printer guide and the HP vs Epson vs Canon comparison.