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-L3230CDW

Staff pick

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 25 pages per minute (ppm). Add built-in wireless printing, and you can see why this tops our list as one of the best laser printers under $300.

$230 at Amazon $230 at B&H

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 $300 at Adorama $299 at B&H

Best home office printer

Lexmark CS331dw

The Lexmark is an affordable office helper that does everything well. Two-sided printing happens at up to 26 ppm, and printing over Wi-Fi from anywhere in the house or office is a cinch. When you need a fast print with impressive resolution, the Lexmark is where to put your money.

$279 at Amazon $279 at Walmart $300 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.

$294 at Amazon $294 at B&H

Works with Alexa

HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw

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 22 ppm, does double-sided documents and graphs, and comes with enhanced security for your office network.

$299 at Amazon $299 at Office B&H $300 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 all-in-one 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. Which is the best laser printer under $300?

Our favorite color laser printer is the Brother HL-L3230CDW We love this model because it delivers on quality in a compact package. This small printer whips out professional quality, vivid color documents at 25 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.

And when you want a smart printer that syncs with Alexa, grab the HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dn. It works with envelopes, paper, card stock, labels, and photo paper, plus you can reorder ink using your voice.

If you're having trouble instaling your printer, check out our guide on how to install a printer using the Windows Update Catalog driver on Windows 10.