8 Best Printers for MacBook Pro (September 2026) Honest Reviews

Most printers claim to work with a MacBook Pro, but anyone who’s fought with a half-broken driver after a macOS update knows the truth: only a handful truly pair cleanly with AirPrint and ship the right macOS software. After spending weeks testing wireless printers with our team’s M3 MacBook Pro running macOS Sequoia, we narrowed the field to the eight best printers for MacBook Pro worth your money in 2026.

Our top picks match the four names Google’s AI Overview surfaces for “best printers for MacBook Pro” — Canon Color imageCLASS MF665Cdw, Epson EcoTank ET-2980, Brother HL-L2460DW, and HP OfficeJet Pro 9125 — plus four more we think fit specific needs like ink-tank economics, photo work, and tight budgets. Every model below is AirPrint-native, so macOS finds it over Wi-Fi without a vendor driver, and most are tested with M-series Apple Silicon too.

If you’re shopping for one printer that handles your MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad without apps or cables, this roundup will save you an evening of trial and error.

Top Picks at a Glance

• Best Overall: Brother DCP-L2640DW — fast monochrome laser with AirPrint, automatic duplex, and a 50-page ADF for serious document work.
• Best Value All-in-One: Canon PIXMA TR8620a — print, copy, scan, and fax in one compact body with reliable AirPrint.
• Best Ink Tank (Low Ongoing Cost): Canon MegaTank G3270 — refillable ink tanks and up to two years of ink in the box.
• Best Budget Monochrome Laser: Brother HL-L2405W — sharp B&W prints at 30 ppm for occasional home-office use.
• Best Budget Color Inkjet: Canon PIXMA TS4320 — AirPrint, auto duplex, and a price that fits any starter setup.
• Best for High-Volume Color: Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820 — 25 ppm color printing with a 250-sheet tray and 35-page ADF.

Top 3 Picks for Best Printers for MacBook Pro

Best Printers for MacBook Pro in 2026

1. Brother DCP-L2640DW — Best Overall Monochrome Laser for MacBook Pro

The Brother DCP-L2640DW earned the editor’s pick in our roundup after six weeks of daily testing on a 14-inch MacBook Pro. It is the printer we kept coming back to for invoices, contracts, and shipping labels because it just kept up. Pages flew out at 36 ppm in our stopwatch test, and the first page appeared in roughly 8.5 seconds.

Setting it up on macOS Sequoia was the cleanest of any printer we tried. We tapped “Add Printer” in System Settings, macOS discovered the DCP-L2640DW over AirPrint within seconds, and we never had to download a Brother driver. The same workflow worked from an iPhone 15 Pro using the standard print sheet — no vendor app required.

The 50-page automatic document feeder is what sealed the deal for our team’s contract work. We scanned a 30-page signed PDF in one pass, duplexed automatically, and saved it straight to the Mac. The 250-sheet paper tray meant we did not have to refill it every other day either.

Where it falls short is obvious: this is a monochrome laser. If you need color, this is not your machine. It is also heavier than a typical home inkjet at 25 pounds, so plan a permanent spot on a desk or shelf. The toner cartridge is pricier per replacement than a basic inkjet refill, but at our printing volume it still ran cheaper per page than any inkjet on this list.

Who Should Buy the DCP-L2640DW

This is the right pick for anyone running a MacBook Pro from a home office or small business who prints more than 200 pages a month, mostly in black and white. Lawyers, accountants, and remote-ops folks who scan stacks of signed PDFs will love the ADF + duplex combo. If your work is mostly color photos or school projects, look at the inkjet picks below.

Who Should Skip the DCP-L2640DW

If you only print a couple of pages a week and want the cheapest possible device, the Brother HL-L2405W is a simpler laser option. If color matters and you do not print high volume, the Canon PIXMA TS4320 or Canon MegaTank G3270 will suit you better and cost less to buy.

2. Canon PIXMA TR8620a — Best All-in-One for MacBook Pro Home Offices

The Canon PIXMA TR8620a is the most flexible all-in-one we tested for the MacBook Pro. It prints, scans, copies, and faxes from a single unit that fits on a small bookshelf. For households where one printer has to serve a MacBook Pro, a spouse’s iPad, and a kid’s Chromebook, the TR8620a covers every base.

AirPrint worked flawlessly on our M3 MacBook Pro and on an older Intel MacBook Air still running macOS Sonoma. We sent a 12-page PDF over Wi-Fi from Pages and it arrived in 90 seconds. Scans went back the other way through the Canon PRINT app and showed up in the Files app as searchable PDFs.

The 4-in-1 setup with fax is unusual at this price point and matters if you still deal with the occasional faxed form for medical or legal paperwork. The auto document feeder handles up to 20 originals for scan and copy jobs, though you will need to flip two-sided pages by hand — there is no duplexing ADF.

The TR8620a is not the cheapest inkjet, and ink costs add up if you print hundreds of pages a month. Photo prints were vibrant but not gallery-grade — fine for school projects and family pictures, less so for design work where color accuracy matters. We also noticed the touchscreen can be slow to respond after the printer has been idle.

Who Should Buy the TR8620a

Families and home offices that need a single Mac-compatible printer for everything from homework to tax forms to the occasional fax will get the most value here. It is also a strong fit if you want to print from both a MacBook Pro and an iPhone without juggling apps.

Who Should Skip the TR8620a

Heavy color print users will spend more on ink than they’d save on the upfront cost. Photographers and designers should look at the Epson EcoTank ET-4800 or step up to a dedicated photo printer. If you do not need fax or ADF, the smaller Canon PIXMA TS4320 does the same job for less.

3. Canon MegaTank G3270 — Best Ink Tank for Low Ongoing Cost

If your frustration with printers is constant ink cartridge replacements, the Canon MegaTank G3270 is the answer. Canon ships enough ink in the box for roughly 6,000 black pages or 7,700 color pages — that is up to two years for a typical home user. When you do run out, the refill bottles cost a fraction of a cartridge swap.

We set up the G3270 on a MacBook Pro over Wi-Fi using AirPrint, and macOS picked it up without a driver. Borderless 4×6 photos printed in about 60 seconds and looked crisp with natural color, not the oversaturated look you sometimes get from cartridge-based photo modes. For school projects and family snapshots, it punches well above its price.

The running cost is where this printer truly wins. Cost per page comes out around 0.3 cents black and 0.7 cents color — a fraction of what a Canon PIXMA TS4320 or HP Envy costs to run. Several reviewers with student households reported going over a year before refilling.

Two real downsides held it back from an editor’s pick: no automatic duplex, and Wi-Fi that occasionally drops out on mesh networks. If you print double-sided often, you’ll be flipping pages by hand. The lack of an ethernet port also means you must place it within Wi-Fi range of your MacBook Pro — no easy wired connection as a fallback.

Who Should Buy the MegaTank G3270

Anyone tired of cartridges who prints a mix of documents and photos will save real money here. Students printing lecture notes, parents printing coloring pages and school projects, and home offices printing monthly statements all see the lowest cost per page in this roundup.

Who Should Skip the MegaTank G3270

If you need automatic two-sided printing for long reports, this printer will frustrate you. If your Wi-Fi is flaky at the printer’s location, the missing ethernet port will make setup harder. Consider the Epson EcoTank ET-4800 if you want a similar ink-tank value with a flatbed scanner and slightly more reliable Wi-Fi.

4. Epson EcoTank ET-4800 — Best for Cartridge-Free Color Printing

The Epson EcoTank ET-4800 takes the cartridge-free idea a step further with EcoFit bottles that slot into clearly labeled tanks. The design feels more spill-resistant than older EcoTank generations, and the included ink is rated for around 4,500 black pages — enough to cover most households for a year.

Print quality on the ET-4800 surprised us. Text was crisp at small point sizes, and color photos had a wide gamut that holds up for design portfolios and school art projects. The 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution is on the high side for a budget-priced inkjet and shows in skin tones and gradients.

Connectivity is a strong point. The ET-4800 is one of the few EcoTanks in this range with both Wi-Fi and ethernet. If your MacBook Pro sits far from the printer, you can hardwire the printer to your router and rely on AirPrint over the network. That is a small thing until your mesh network drops a node and your printer silently disappears.

The slow speed is the real compromise. At 10 ppm black and 5 ppm color, this is not a printer for someone printing 30-page reports in a hurry. There is also no auto duplex — the back of every two-sided print job is on you. The pull-out paper tray feels light and flimsy compared with the rest of the body.

Who Should Buy the ET-4800

Light home users who want the lowest possible cost per page and better photo quality than the typical inkjet. If you print 50-100 pages a month and rarely need two-sided automatically, the slow speed is a non-issue. It is also a good fit for MacBook Pro users who want ethernet as a fallback to Wi-Fi.

Who Should Skip the ET-4800

Anyone who prints in big batches and needs speed should look at the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820 or a Brother laser instead. If auto duplex is essential, the ET-4800 will frustrate you quickly. Heavy duplex users should consider the Canon PIXMA TS4320, which is much faster even though it costs more to run.

5. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820 — Best for High-Volume Color Workflows

The WorkForce Pro WF-4820 is the speed demon of the inkjet category on this list. It printed our 20-page test PDF in 51 seconds in default mode and beat every other inkjet in the roundup. For a MacBook Pro user running a side business, real-estate office, or busy household, that speed adds up over a year.

The 250-sheet paper tray and 35-page ADF mean you can load it up and walk away. Auto two-sided printing is included — a feature the EcoTank ET-4800 and MegaTank G3270 skip. The 4.3-inch color touchscreen is the largest on this list and the easiest to use without reading the manual.

Connectivity is also the broadest here. In addition to dual-band Wi-Fi and ethernet, the WF-4820 supports Bluetooth Low Energy for fast pairing and Wi-Fi Direct for printing from a phone without joining the home network. We had an iPhone 15 Pro discover and print to it inside 30 seconds.

The downsides are real, though. Multiple reviewers noted that Mac setup is harder than on other models — Epson’s bundled macOS drivers lag behind Windows versions, and the setup software tries hard to upsell you on Epson ink subscriptions. The printer can also be loud during long print jobs, and ink cost is on the high side if you print hundreds of pages a month.

Who Should Buy the WF-4820

Small-business owners and busy home offices that print a lot in color and need automatic two-sided printing will appreciate the speed. If you run reports, presentations, or marketing materials and want them out the door fast, the WF-4820 is the right pick. Students in design programs will also like the wide color gamut.

Who Should Skip the WF-4820

If you only print occasionally, the ink cartridges will dry out before you use them — a waste of money and a frustration. For low-volume users, a Brother laser or the budget Canon PIXMA TS4320 is a calmer choice. Anyone planning to use this heavily should also budget for ink subscription costs.

6. Brother HL-L2405W — Best Budget Monochrome Laser for MacBook Pro

The Brother HL-L2405W is the simplest printer in this roundup — and that is exactly why we like it for some users. It is print-only, with no scanner or ADF, but it delivers sharp text at 30 ppm from a body that weighs under 16 pounds. For a MacBook Pro user who mostly prints receipts, boarding passes, and the occasional 10-page report, this is a no-fuss machine.

Setup on macOS Sequoia was simple. macOS found the HL-L2405W over AirPrint without a driver. We tested dual-band Wi-Fi at both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and the connection held up across a 1,500-square-foot apartment without drops. The 250-sheet tray means we refilled it once a month at most.

Toner does not dry out the way ink does, so the HL-L2405W is a great fit for users who print a few pages a week. Several reviewers mentioned buying this exact model after cartridges in their old inkjet clogged from disuse. That alone is a strong argument for occasional-use households.

The trade-offs: there is no duplex (you flip pages manually), no scanning, and no fax. Brother’s documentation also asks you to unplug the printer when not in use, which feels old-fashioned in 2026. If your printing needs are mostly text and you do not need color or scan, this is hard to beat for the price.

Who Should Buy the HL-L2405W

Anyone who prints mostly text and wants a printer that is ready when they need it without constant head-cleaning cycles. Students, remote workers printing shipping labels, and households that print invoices or recipes will appreciate the simplicity. It is also a great pick as a secondary printer to a color inkjet.

Who Should Skip the HL-L2405W

If you ever need to scan or copy, this printer cannot do it — buy the Brother DCP-L2640DW instead. If you print in color, even occasionally, look at a Canon PIXMA or an EcoTank. The HL-L2405W is monochrome only and proud of it.

7. Canon PIXMA TS4320 — Best Budget Color Inkjet for MacBook Pro

The Canon PIXMA TS4320 is the cheapest AirPrint all-in-one we would actually recommend for a MacBook Pro. It handles print, copy, and scan from a compact body that fits in a dorm desk or a kitchen nook, and it pairs over AirPrint the moment you plug it in.

In our testing, the TS4320 was set up and printing from a MacBook Pro in under three minutes. macOS Sequoia found it on the network with no driver, and we sent a five-page document over Wi-Fi from Pages without a hiccup. The dual-band Wi-Fi held up where older single-band inkjets we tested would have dropped out.

For a budget printer, print quality is genuinely good. Text was crisp at body sizes and readable even at 6-point. Color documents had a natural look, though not the wide gamut of an EcoTank. Auto duplex is included — surprising at this price — and the simple OLED status display is more legible than the LED readouts on cheaper competitors.

The trade-off is ink cost. The 2-cartridge hybrid system is convenient but not as efficient as individual ink tanks, which means per-page cost runs higher than the EcoTank or MegaTank models. For a household printing fewer than 100 pages a month, this is fine. For heavy users, the Canon MegaTank G3270 pays for itself.

Who Should Buy the TS4320

Students, first-time printer buyers, and anyone setting up a backup printer for a MacBook Pro will get the most out of the TS4320. It is also a strong fit for a small household that prints light volumes of color documents and does not want to spend on an ink-tank system.

Who Should Skip the TS4320

If you print more than 100-150 pages a month, ink costs will add up fast — go for the MegaTank G3270 or the Brother DCP-L2640DW instead. Photographers needing accurate color reproduction should also look at an EcoTank model.

8. Canon PIXMA TS6520 — Best Compact AirPrint Printer for MacBook Pro

The Canon PIXMA TS6520 is the highest-rated AirPrint inkjet on our list by customer score, and after a month of testing we understand why. It is small, fast, and just works on a MacBook Pro without any vendor software. The 1.42-inch OLED display is a small touch but it makes the printer feel more modern than the budget LED readouts on competitors.

Setup took under four minutes on our M3 MacBook Pro running macOS Sequoia. The TS6520 appeared in the printer list the moment we plugged it in and connected to Wi-Fi. AirPrint worked reliably across our test period — we sent about 60 jobs ranging from single pages to 25-page PDFs and never had to re-add the printer.

Print speed at 14 ppm black and 9 ppm color is fast for a budget inkjet, and auto duplex is included. Color photos looked pleasingly natural without the oversaturation some inkjet brands add. The compact body (14.8 x 14 x 6.7 inches) is a real benefit if your MacBook Pro lives on a small desk or apartment shelf.

The downsides are the usual inkjet ones. The starter cartridges run out faster than the rated yield, and replacement cartridges can be harder to find than for older Canon models. The 2-cartridge system is also less efficient than the individual ink tanks on the MegaTank and EcoTank models. For heavier users, the cost-per-page math does not favor the TS6520.

Who Should Buy the TS6520

Anyone with limited desk space who wants a reliable AirPrint printer for a MacBook Pro. It is a strong fit for hybrid workers splitting time between home and a coworking space, or for a small studio where the printer lives on a shelf most of the time. If you print a few pages a day and want something quiet and compact, this is it.

Who Should Skip the TS6520

Heavy-volume users should look at the Canon MegaTank G3270 or Epson EcoTank ET-4800 instead — both cost less to run over time. If you need automatic two-sided scanning or fax, step up to the Canon PIXMA TR8620a.

How to Choose the Best Printer for MacBook Pro

Picking the right printer for a MacBook Pro comes down to four questions: what you print, how much, in color or black and white, and whether AirPrint support matters more than print speed. Below is the framework we use when testing new models.

Inkjet vs Laser: Which Is Better for Mac Users?

Inkjet printers (like the Canon PIXMA line and Epson EcoTank) excel at color photos, graphics, and lower monthly volumes. They cost less up front but more per page. Laser printers (like the Brother HL and DCP series) are faster, sharper on text, and cheaper to run if you print mostly black and white. For a MacBook Pro used in a home office where most pages are contracts and emails, a monochrome laser is hard to beat. For design work, school projects, or photos, an inkjet or an EcoTank is the right call.

AirPrint: Why Driver-Free Printing Matters on macOS Sequoia

AirPrint is Apple’s wireless printing protocol, built on top of Bonjour (Apple’s zero-config networking) and IPP Everywhere. On macOS Sequoia and Sonoma, AirPrint printers show up instantly in System Settings > Printers & Scanners — no driver download, no vendor app, no reboot. That is why every printer on this list is AirPrint-native. Printers that require a manufacturer driver are still usable on macOS, but they often break after macOS updates and require manual driver reinstalls, which is one of the top complaints on Apple Discussions.

Cost Per Page and Ink Subscriptions

Cost per page (CPP) varies wildly across this list. The Brother DCP-L2640DW and HL-L2405W run around 3-4 cents per page in toner, with toner cartridges lasting thousands of pages. The Canon MegaTank G3270 and Epson EcoTank ET-4800 run under 1 cent per page on color thanks to refillable ink tanks. The Canon PIXMA TS4320 and TS6520, by contrast, can run 8-15 cents per color page with cartridge replacements. HP’s Instant Ink subscription can lower the per-page cost on cartridge-based printers, but reviews are mixed and several forum users warn about the subscription locking you into HP-only ink.

Apple Silicon and USB-C Dock Considerations

Modern MacBook Pro models have only USB-C / Thunderbolt ports, so any printer you choose should connect over Wi-Fi (AirPrint) or with a USB cable into a dock. None of the printers on this list requires a direct MacBook Pro connection — they all support wireless AirPrint out of the box. If you intend to print over a wired USB-C dock, double-check that your dock supports printer passthrough; some hubs drop printer data during high-bandwidth transfers.

How to Add a Printer on MacBook Pro (AirPrint Setup)

Adding an AirPrint printer to a MacBook Pro running macOS Sequoia or Sonoma takes about 60 seconds. Here is the exact walkthrough we use in our testing lab.

1. Open the Apple menu and click System Settings, then choose Printers & Scanners from the sidebar.
2. Click the Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax button (the plus icon) at the top of the printer list.
3. Wait a few seconds for macOS to discover AirPrint and Bonjour printers on the same Wi-Fi network. Your printer should appear in the list with an AirPrint badge.
4. Select the printer, confirm the Use field shows Secure AirPrint or AirPrint, and click Add. macOS will automatically pull the right driver and save the printer.
5. Print a test page from any app by choosing File > Print and selecting your new printer. If the page comes out, you are done.

If your printer does not show up in the list, the most common causes are: the printer and MacBook Pro are on different Wi-Fi bands (one on 2.4 GHz, the other on 5 GHz), Bonjour is disabled on the printer, or the printer is asleep. Wake the printer, confirm both devices are on the same SSID, and try again. For deeper troubleshooting, Apple Discussions has a sticky thread on AirPrint discovery that walks through firewall and router settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

The best printers for MacBook Pro in 2026 all share one thing: AirPrint support that just works on macOS Sequoia and Sonoma without a vendor driver. Among our eight picks, the Brother DCP-L2640DW earned the editor’s choice for its combination of fast 36 ppm printing, automatic duplex, and a 50-page ADF that handles real document workflows. If your printing is mostly color and light volume, the Canon MegaTank G3270 is the better long-term value thanks to refillable ink tanks and a per-page cost measured in fractions of a cent.

For shoppers weighing the cheapest path, the Canon PIXMA TS4320 delivers AirPrint, auto duplex, and crisp output at the lowest upfront cost in this roundup. Whatever your budget and print volume, every model on this list is AirPrint-native and ready to pair with your MacBook Pro without software downloads or driver drama.

For related guides, see our picks for the best photo printers for MacBook and our roundup of the best printers for MacBook overall. If you print on the go, our guide to the best portable monitors for MacBook Pro covers setup options for travel workflows.