You have a lot of options to buy a cheap printer, but the real savings come from thinking about both the printer price and the ink cost over time.

Fast answer

If you just want quick, solid options:

  • Big retailers: Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon (new and refurbished models, frequent sales).
  • Review sites: PCMag, TechRadar, RTINGS for “best cheap/budget printers” lists.
  • Types that usually save money long‑term:
    • Monochrome laser printers (cheap per page, great if you only need black‑and‑white).
* Ink‑tank / EcoTank / MegaTank style printers if you print a lot in color (bottled ink is much cheaper per page).

Where to buy a cheap printer (right now style)

Think of this as three “lanes”: big stores, online marketplaces, and refurbished/older models.

1. Big retailers (easy and predictable)

These are good if you want simple returns and local pickup.

  • Walmart – Has regular and refurbished printers, often under 100 USD; you’ll see basic inkjets and compact lasers from Brother, HP, and Epson with free shipping or in‑store pickup.
  • Best Buy – Has an “inexpensive printers” and “best budget all‑in‑one” sections, where you can filter by price; user reviews help you avoid models with clogging or setup headaches.
  • Office supply stores – Often run periodic sales on low‑end models and bundle deals with paper or ink (varies by country, but the same brands and models as above typically show up).

2. Online marketplaces

These matter if you’re chasing lowest price and you’re okay shopping by model number.

  • Amazon – Huge selection and lots of discounts; you’ll see popular cheap models like the HP DeskJet 2755e and Canon Pixma MG3620 around the 60–90 USD range when on sale.
  • Brand stores via marketplaces – Canon, Epson, HP, Brother sometimes sell “renewed” or open‑box units with warranty through big marketplaces, which can be significantly cheaper than new.

3. Refurbished and “renewed” units

If your priority is “as cheap as possible,” refurbished is often the sweet spot.

  • Major retailers (Walmart, sometimes others) list restored or refurbished printers like compact Brother laser models under 100 USD with limited warranty.
  • Many budget lists mention that older‑generation models can be great value if you don’t care about the newest app features, as long as ink/toner is still widely available.

What kind of “cheap” do you want?

The trick is: the cheapest printer to buy is often not the cheapest to own.

1. Cheap to buy today

If you print rarely (boarding passes, a few school pages, tickets):

  • Basic all‑in‑one inkjets like Canon Pixma MG3620 or HP DeskJet / Deskjet 27xx / 42xx series are commonly under 90–100 USD when discounted.
  • These are fine if you only print occasionally and don’t mind that the ink is relatively expensive per page.

2. Cheap to run long‑term

If you print regularly (school essays, home office, side hustle):

  • Ink‑tank printers (Epson EcoTank, Canon MegaTank, etc.) cost more upfront but use bottled ink that can cut ink costs by roughly 80–90% versus cartridges.
  • For black‑and‑white only, a monochrome laser printer is often the best long‑term budget pick; toner lasts thousands of pages and these are often praised for low cost per page and reliability.

Example: one budget guide highlights the Epson EcoTank ET‑2850 as a relatively affordable ink‑tank all‑in‑one that is much cheaper to run than typical cartridge printers, even though the sticker price is higher.

Recommended “cheap printer” directions

Here’s a simple way to narrow things down based on how you’ll use it:

  • “I just need something for very occasional home use.”
    • Look at HP DeskJet and Canon Pixma MG3620‑type machines on Walmart, Best Buy, or Amazon and choose whatever is on sale with good reviews.
  • “I print a lot of black‑and‑white documents, want reliability.”
    • Search for a budget Brother or Canon monochrome laser; reviewers frequently rate these as the best cheap‑to‑run printers for home offices.
  • “I print a lot in color, want the lowest ink costs.”
    • Check cheap EcoTank / MegaTank / ink‑tank models (e.g., Epson EcoTank ET‑28xx series) from big retailers; cost‑per‑page is much lower than standard inkjet cartridges.

You can also cross‑check any model you find by searching for “best cheap printers” on sites like PCMag, TechRadar, and RTINGS to see updated recommendations and see if that model still looks like a good deal.

Quick HTML table of example places to look

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Place to buy</th>
      <th>What you’ll find</th>
      <th>Why it’s good for cheap printers</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Walmart</td>
      <td>New and refurbished inkjet and laser printers (HP, Brother, Epson, Canon)</td>
      <td>Frequent deals, low entry prices, free shipping or pickup options for budget models</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Best Buy</td>
      <td>“Inexpensive” and “budget all‑in‑one” printer sections with user reviews</td>
      <td>Easy filtering by price, brand, features, plus in‑store pickup and returns</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Amazon</td>
      <td>Large selection including popular budget models like HP DeskJet and Canon Pixma</td>
      <td>Many discounts and bundles, lots of user reviews, convenient delivery</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>PCMag / TechRadar / RTINGS</td>
      <td>Curated “best cheap printer” and “best budget printer” recommendation lists</td>
      <td>Helps you figure out which cheap models are actually good and which to avoid</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Refurbished sections (e.g., Walmart restored)</td>
      <td>Restored monochrome lasers and all‑in‑ones at lower prices</td>
      <td>Good if you want the lowest upfront cost but still a known brand with some support</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Tiny TL;DR

  • Shop Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon for discounted basic inkjets and budget lasers.
  • If you print often, look at ink‑tank or monochrome laser models so your “cheap printer” doesn’t become “expensive ink.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.