Upgrade to a laser printer for less than $300

Couple the low cost of toner with the speed and precision of today's laser printers, and you get a winning combination of quality and affordability. Perfect for the office and home, laser printers of today are speedy, reliable, and have an ink supply that seems to go on forever. If you're looking for the best color laser printer under $300 that's worth every penny, here are our favorites.

Speedy compact

Brother HL-L3210CW

Staff Favorite

Smaller than old school laser printers, the compact Brother can slide on to a counter or desktop and still leave room for other gadgets. This model's tray holds 250 sheets of paper, and it prints at a rate of 19 pages per minute (ppm). Add in built-in wireless printing, and you can see why this tops our list.

$200 at Amazon $200 at Adorama $252 at Walmart

Secure printing

HP LaserJet Pro M255dw

Confidential information stays where it should with this HP. Built-in security essentials detect and stop attacks in their tracks. This business-class color printer pushes out up to 22 ppm, has automatic two-sided printing, and an easy-to-read, 2.7-inch color touchscreen.

$299 at Amazon $299 at Adorama $299 at B&H

Versatile office tool

Lexmark MC3224adwe

The Lexmark is a multifunction office helper that does a little bit of everything. It copies, faxes, scans, and prints in full color. Two-sided printing happens at up to 24 ppm, and printing over Wi-Fi from anywhere in the house or office is a cinch. When you need a single tool that can replace many, the Lexmark is where to put your money.

$244 at Amazon $247 at Walmart $240 at OfficeDepot

Speedy printing

Xerox Phaser 6510

The Xerox Phaser quickly prints out high-quality documents with a 1200x2400 dpi resolution and does Pantone color matching. Secure HTTPS helps keep sensitive documents private while Wi-Fi makes it easy for users to print from nearby mobile devices. This speed machine also prints up to 30 pages per minute, which is one of the fastest on our list.

$261 at Amazon $280 at Staples $241 at Newegg

Works with Alexa

HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dn

This smart business printer comes with Alexa inside, so you can perform tasks and reorder toner with your voice. The speedy HP prints up to 28 ppm, does double-sided documents and graphs and comes with enhanced security for your office network.

$299 at Amazon $299 at Office Best Buy $299 at Office Depot

Laser printers don't have to break your budget

Laser printers used to be out of reach for most consumers because of their weighty price tags. Inkjet printers became household and office assets due to their lower initial pricing and the fact that they printed in color. Inkjet cartridges, however, don't last as long as laser toner, and they aren't precisely wallet-friendly either. And then came color laser printers that were affordable, and that changed everything.

Our favorite color laser printer is the Brother HL-L3210CW We love this model because it delivers on quality in a compact package. This small printer whips out professional quality, vivid color documents at 19 ppm. The paper tray holds 250 sheets of paper, and a manual feed slot boasts the ability to handle a variety of paper types and sizes, including envelopes.

If you're looking for a business-class model, go with the HP LaserJet Pro M255dw. It has a beautiful 2.7-inch color touchscreen, does 22 ppm, dual-sided printing, and supports a wide variety of paper types.

When you need a printer that can also scan, copy, and fax, grab the Lexmark MC3224adwe. It prints beautiful two-sided color documents at 24 ppm, plus it can copy, fax, and scan documents over Wi-Fi.