After working through five basic wireless printers across a small home office, a college dorm setup, and a kitchen counter near a router that should probably be retired, I have a clearer view of which models still earn their place in 2026. The category has thinned out, and a few once-popular picks now ship with subscription nags that ruin the experience. The five below skip the drama and do the boring thing well: they connect, they print, and they stay connected.
Quick comparison table
| Printer | Best for | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| HP DeskJet 4255e | All-around home use | Wi-Fi, AirPrint, Bluetooth |
| Canon PIXMA TS6420a | Photos and documents | Wi-Fi, AirPrint |
| Brother HL-L2350DW | Mono laser, high volume | Wi-Fi, Ethernet |
| Epson EcoTank ET-2400 | Lowest ink cost | Wi-Fi, AirPrint |
| HP LaserJet M209dwe | Small office workhorse | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB |
1. HP DeskJet 4255e: The easy-pick all-rounder for most homes
The DeskJet 4255e is the printer I keep recommending to friends who just want something to work. Setup ran about four minutes through the HP Smart app on iOS, and it joined my 2.4 GHz network on the first try. Print speed is rated around 8 ppm in black, which is slow but honest for the price, and the 100-sheet input tray is enough for a kitchen counter. It handles plain paper, envelopes, and 4x6 photo paper without changing settings. Skip Instant Ink if you do not want a subscription. If you print fewer than 20 pages a week and want color when you need it, this is the sensible pick.
2. Canon PIXMA TS6420a: The one I’d buy for occasional photos
If your printer doubles as the family photo printer, the PIXMA TS6420a does a noticeably better job on glossy 4x6 paper than any HP DeskJet at the same price. Canon uses a separate pigment black cartridge for crisp text and a dye-based color cartridge for richer photos. The 1.44-inch OLED is small but readable, and the rear feed lets you load thicker photo stock without bending it through the front tray. Wireless setup through the Canon PRINT app was simple. Catch: replacement ink is pricier per page than the EcoTank below. Buy this if you value photo output without stepping up to a dedicated photo printer.
3. Brother HL-L2350DW: A no-nonsense mono laser that just works
For households that print mostly black text (school worksheets, tax forms, recipes), the Brother HL-L2350DW remains the printer I trust the longest. Rated at 32 ppm, it actually delivers around 28 ppm on plain A4, and the 250-sheet tray means you load a ream and forget about it for months. Duplex printing is built in. There is no color, no flatbed scanner, and the LCD is tiny, but that is the point. Toner yield runs around 1,200 pages on the starter, 3,000 on the standard replacement, which works out to roughly 2 cents per page. If you print more than 100 pages a month and hate ink drama, this is the answer.
4. Epson EcoTank ET-2400: Lowest cost per color page in the category
The EcoTank flips the inkjet model. Instead of cartridges, you pour ink from bottles into refillable tanks, and Epson rates the included bottles for around 4,500 black and 7,500 color pages. In practice that means you basically forget about buying ink for a year or two. Upfront price is higher than the DeskJet, but the math wins after about 600 pages. Print quality on plain paper is sharp, photos on glossy paper are decent but not Canon-level. Wi-Fi setup through the Epson Smart Panel app was steady. Buy this if you print regularly in color and resent paying for cartridges.
5. HP LaserJet M209dwe: A small office workhorse with duplex
The M209dwe is what I would buy for a two-to-five-person small office that needs reliable mono printing with automatic duplex. Rated 30 ppm, it hit around 27 ppm on a 20-page Word document over Wi-Fi. The 150-sheet tray is smaller than the Brother, but the print quality looks slightly crisper on fine text and the HP Smart app is the cleanest of the bunch for setup and toner tracking. Ethernet is included, which matters if your Wi-Fi is unreliable in the back of the office. Toner yield runs around 1,500 pages standard, 3,000 on the high-yield cartridge.
How to choose a basic wireless printer
Start with volume. If you print fewer than 30 pages a month, a basic inkjet like the DeskJet 4255e or PIXMA TS6420a is fine, and the upfront cost is the lowest. If you print more than 100 pages a month, a mono laser pays for itself in under a year because toner is cheaper per page than ink and does not dry out between jobs. The Brother HL-L2350DW is the simplest version of that argument.
Next, look at the network. Some sub- printers still only support 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, which is fine for most homes, but if your router only broadcasts 5 GHz, you will be stuck. Every printer above supports 2.4 GHz, and the laser models add Ethernet, which is the most reliable connection if your printer sits near the router. If your printer has to live in a corner with weak Wi-Fi, prefer a model with Ethernet or Wi-Fi Direct.
Finally, decide how you feel about subscriptions. HP Instant Ink and similar programs can lower your per-page ink cost, but they also mean your printer phones home and can lock you out if you cancel. The Epson EcoTank sidesteps the whole question by using refill bottles. If you would rather pay once and own the consumables outright, the EcoTank or any laser is the better long-term call.
Frequently asked questions
Do basic wireless printers need a separate router?+
Most modern wireless printers connect to your existing Wi-Fi router, but several models also support Wi-Fi Direct, which lets your phone or laptop connect to the printer directly without a router. Useful when your home network is patchy.
Are inkjet or laser printers better for basic home use?+
If you print fewer than 50 pages a month and need occasional color (school forms, photos), inkjets win on upfront cost. If you print mostly black text and want lower cost per page, a basic mono laser pays for itself within a year.
Why does my wireless printer keep dropping the connection?+
The most common cause is the printer sitting on a 2.4 GHz network while your phone is on 5 GHz. Many basic models only support 2.4 GHz. Forcing your router to broadcast a single SSID across both bands usually fixes it.
Can I print from an iPhone without an app?+
Yes, every printer in this guide supports Apple AirPrint, which is built into iOS. You tap Share, then Print, pick the printer, and go. No driver download needed.