The 6 Best Printers for Homeschooling of 2026, Ranked & Reviewed

Our verdict: The printer that stops ink from being your biggest homeschool expense.

The Epson EcoTank ET-2400 is a cartridge-free color printer, scanner and copier that refills from bottles, ships with ink included and connects by Wi-Fi. Bottled ink costs a fraction of cartridge pricing per page, so a family printing worksheets every week stops watching the ink gauge.

It ranks first because it fixes the expense that sinks most homeschool printers. The Brother laser is cheaper per page for text, but only prints black. The Canon and Epson WF-2930 add feeders at the cost of cartridge ink.

Buy it if you print color and black-and-white pages every week. The caveats are no listed document feeder and a higher upfront cost, so skip it if you print only a handful of pages a month.

Ink system

Refillable EcoTank bottles

Functions

Print, scan, copy

Connectivity

Wireless

Price bucket

$100-200

Our verdict: A text-first workhorse that never dries out between school terms.

Brother's DCP-L2640DW goes all-in on black text: a laser engine, automatic two-sided printing, copy and scan, and wireless and mobile printing from a body small enough for a school desk. Toner does not dry out, so after a summer off the printer still works on the first morning of term. Duplex halves paper use on thick packets.

It ranks second because it prints only black and white and sits in the highest price bucket here. The EcoTank wins when lessons need color maps or diagrams.

Buy it for text-heavy curricula with daily worksheets. Skip it if your lessons rely on color printouts. Skim your curriculum's sample pages first, because science and art units often assume color.

Engine

Monochrome laser

Duplex

Automatic 2-sided

Functions

Print, copy, scan

Price bucket

$200-500

Our verdict: The affordable pick for parents who archive every graded page.

Canon's PIXMA TR4720 is a budget color inkjet that feeds its scanner from a stack tray, prints wirelessly from phones and tablets, and keeps a legacy fax built in. A feeder lets a parent scan a stack of graded worksheets without lifting the lid for each page, which matters when you archive records.

It ranks third because cartridge ink adds up at homeschool volumes, and fax is a legacy extra. It costs far less up front than the EcoTank, which suits trial-year budgets.

Buy it if you scan stacks of graded work. Skip it if you print more than a few dozen pages weekly. For heavy printing, the ink bill will eventually exceed the savings on the machine.

Feeder

Auto document feeder

Type

Color inkjet all-in-one

Mobile

Mobile printing support

Price bucket

$50-100

Our verdict: Duplex and a feeder on one budget inkjet, with cartridge ink as the price.

Epson's Workforce WF-2930 prints on both sides of the page automatically and also feeds multi-page scans, with a 1.4 inch color display and a cartridge-based ink system. Duplex plus a feeder is rare at this price, and it covers packets as well as scans.

It ranks fourth because cartridge ink costs more than the tank models, and the control display is tiny. It beats the Canon TR4720 on duplex, which the Canon listing does not mention.

Buy it for moderate printing with paper-saving duplex and multi-page scans. Skip it if you print heavy color every day. A busy household will feel the cartridge cost within a term.

Duplex

Automatic 2-sided

Feeder

Automatic document feeder

Display

1.4-inch color

Price bucket

$50-100

Our verdict: Tank-style savings with a small footprint, minus a document feeder.

The HP Smart Tank 5101 is a refillable-tank all-in-one that ships with two years of ink, printing, scanning and copying over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Two years of ink offsets the premium that tank printers usually carry, and the compact body fits a small desk.

It ranks fifth because it has no document feeder and works only on the 2.4GHz band. It beats the DeskJet on running cost, but trails the EcoTank on documented ink supply.

Buy it for tank savings on a tighter budget. Skip it if your router offers only a combined 5GHz network. Check the Wi-Fi band before ordering, because the printer simply will not connect on 5GHz.

Ink system

Refillable tanks

Starter ink

Two years included

Wi-Fi

2.4GHz only

Price bucket

$100-200

Our verdict: A low-risk way to learn your real print volume first.

HP's DeskJet 4355 is a compact, low-cost starter that prints, scans and copies over Wi-Fi and includes a three-month Instant Ink trial. As a first printer, it lets you learn your actual page count before you commit to a tank model.

It ranks last because there is no feeder listed and cartridge ink adds up. The trial is a subscription, so read the terms before you enroll.

Buy it as a low-risk starter for new homeschoolers testing real print volume. Skip it if you already print daily, because the running cost will outpace the savings. Once your volume is clear, move to the EcoTank, which suits steady weekly printing.

Type

Color inkjet all-in-one

Trial

3-month Instant Ink

Connectivity

Wireless

Price bucket

$50-100