Printing Cost Calculator

Calculate per-page printing cost with inkjet vs laser comparison.

By Konstantin Iakovlev · Updated September 2026 · Source: IETF

Printer Type
Color Printing

Cost per Page

$0.02

Monthly Cost

$4.00

Annual Cost

$48.00

Cost Breakdown

Cost per Page$0.02
Monthly Print Cost$4.00
Annual Print Cost$48.00

Use the Printing Cost Calculator above to calculate your results. Enter your values and see instant results — all calculations run in your browser.

Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the information you provide and the assumptions described on this page.

How It Works

The price you pay per page is where inkjet and laser printers really diverge, and this tool lets you switch between the two using typical per-page costs built into the calculator. Seeing that figure clearly helps whether you're shopping for a new machine or trying to rein in what you already spend on printing.

Cost per page is a fixed average for each printer type: 5 cents for black-and-white and 20 cents for color on an inkjet, 2 cents and 8 cents on a laser. Monthly cost is pages per month × that rate, and annual cost is 12 times the monthly figure. There are no inputs for your own cartridge price, yield or paper; if you know your cartridge's price and rated yield, dividing one by the other gives a per-page ink or toner cost for your printer.

Paper is the line item most people leave out, and it can swing the per-page total more than they expect. Stated page yields deserve the same skepticism, since they assume light coverage; a page heavy with graphics burns through far more ink or toner than plain text does.

Example: Small Office Printing

  1. 1 Input: 200 pages per month, black and white, compared on a laser and an inkjet printer.
  2. 2 Laser: 200 × $0.02 = $4.00 a month, $4.00 × 12 = $48.00 a year.
  3. 3 Inkjet: 200 × $0.05 = $10.00 a month, $120.00 a year. Switching the laser to color raises it to 200 × $0.08 = $16.00 a month, $192.00 a year.
  4. 4 At 200 black-and-white pages a month the laser costs $72 a year less at the per-page rates. Your own cartridge price divided by its rated page yield gives a truer per-page figure for your printer.

Source: IETF · Last updated: September 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to print with inkjet or laser?
Laser printers have a higher upfront cost ($150-400) but lower per-page cost (1-3 cents for black and white). Inkjet printers are cheaper to buy ($50-200) but cost 5-10 cents per page. At this calculator's rates, laser saves 3 cents per black-and-white page, so 100 pages a month saves $3 a month, or $36 a year, toward its higher purchase price.
How much does it cost to print a page at home?
Black and white laser printing costs 1-3 cents per page. Color laser runs 8-15 cents. Inkjet black and white costs 5-8 cents and color inkjet 15-25 cents per page. These estimates include ink or toner and paper costs.
How many pages can I print from one ink cartridge?
Standard inkjet cartridges print 200-400 pages, while high-yield cartridges print 500-1,000 pages. Laser toner cartridges last 2,000-5,000 pages for standard and up to 10,000 for high-yield versions. Actual yield depends on coverage percentage.

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