Best Brother printers

Brother produces some top-quality laser printers that do well in our expert lab tests, but not all its models are worth buying – so read our reviews to make sure you pick a good one.

Brother also makes inkjet printers, but it's lost ground to rivals such as HP and Epson in that area.

Find every model we've tested in our expert Brother printer reviews.

If you're shopping for a new printer, see our pick of the best home printers and find out which models have impressed in our test lab.

Best Brother printers

Brother printers have mostly impressed in our tests. Several of its laser printers have earned our prestigious Best Buy recommendation, and some are even Eco Buys – meaning they'll produce good-quality prints without huge running costs. 

However, Brother's inkjet models aren't quite as good, according to our independent tests – some only just miss out on our Don't Buy warning. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view our best Brother printers in the table below. If you’re not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access to our best printers plus all our online reviews, including laptops, phones and electric cars.

Pricing and recommendations correct as of May 2024.

Use our expert printer reviews to pick a great model for your budget. 

Is Brother a good printer brand?

We asked more than 15,000 Which? members and the general public to tell us about the problems and experiences they’ve had with their tech brands over the past six years.

We’ve pulled together our survey data and independent test results – with insights from our printer experts – to give you an in-depth look at each brand.

Which? members can log in to see our verdict. 

If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access to our verdict on Brother, including how pleased its customers are with the brand and how likely Brother printers are to develop a fault. You'll also get access to all our online reviews - from printers and laptops to electric cars.

Find out more about how all the big printer brands compare in our survey - see which printer brand to buy.

Brother printers compared: which range is best for you?

• Brother's consumer HL models are all standard laser printers. They can cost just a few hundred pounds, but go into the thousands for the higher-end models.
• Printers with DCP in their name are multifunction (or all-in-one) models that can't fax. They can be either laser or inkjet printers.
• If you want a fax function, go for the higher-end MFC models. They can be either laser or inkjet.
• Models with a J in the name are the inkjets, and models with L are laser.
• If you see a DW (sometimes lower case as 'dw'), then the printer has duplex (it automatically prints on both sides of the page) and wi-fi to connect to the internet wirelessly.

Looking for a new printer? Keep your costs down by choosing one of our Eco Buy printers.

Can I use other inks in my Brother printer?

Original-brand cartridges can be expensive, and many printer users would rather use third-party inks. But from our surveys, we know that many of you are worried about third-party cartridges not working in your printer.  

We asked Brother in June 2023 whether any of its printer models actively prevent the use of third-party inks. Brother recommends using its own inks, but confirmed that all its printers accept third-party inks. 

Third-party ink brands consistently outperform original brands in our annual survey – customers are pleased with their good print quality and fantastic value for money. 

See which are the best cheap printer ink cartridges.  

Recently tested Brother printers

We've rounded up a selection of Brother printers below, which have recently been through our tough printing tests.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the Brother printers we've tested recently . If you’re not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Join Which? Tech support

Our experts explain things clearly so that you can resolve issues and feel more confident using your devices. 

Get unlimited 1-2-1 expert support:

• by phone – clear guidance on choosing, setting up, using and resolving issues with your home tech devices
• by email – outline the issue and we’ll email you our answer
• by remote fix – we connect securely from our office to your home computer and resolve issues while you watch
• in print – Which? Tech magazine, six issues a year delivered to your door.

You can join Tech Support for £4.99 a month (cancel any time) or £49 a year.