Switching to cheap printer ink cartridges can slash how much you spend on your printing. We reveal the best cheap printer ink cartridge brands and retailers, as well as the ones to avoid.
Looking for the best cheap printer ink cartridges? Printer manufacturers such as Canon and HP would much rather you use their own-brand printer ink in their printers. But in our survey of more than 7,500 inkjet printer owners, the highest-rated printer ink brands were all cheaper third-party printer ink brands.
Our research shows you're better off spending less on your cartridges and opting for cheaper third-party printer ink. Provided, that is, you know which third-party brand to choose – which is why you need to read the results of our in-depth research.
We also asked our inkjet owners about their shopping experiences. The three top-rated ink cartridge brands also top our ink cartridge online retailer table. This is great news, as our results will make it easy for you to buy cheap, good-quality printer ink cartridges from a recommended retailer.
Printer ink brands rated – find out which cheap printer ink cartridges are best
We asked more than 7,500 inkjet owners to rate their cartridges – from both original-branded and third-party brands – for print quality, ease of use, value for money, and overall satisfaction. You can use our results to buy cheaper ink cartridges from a brand recommended by actual customers.
Inkredible is our only Which? Recommended Provider. Not only were its cartridges highly rated by users in our survey, as you can see from our table below, but it produced the best third-party results in our lab test and came joint second in our best online ink retailer rankings.
Below are the ink brands from best to worst, based on our survey. You can see them plus read the results of our lab ink quality test results (keep reading) as you are a logged-in Which? member.
| Brand | Customer Score | Print Quality | Ease of use | Value for money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Ink (175) | 87% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| First Call Inks (366) | 85% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Inkredible (138) | 83% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Stinkyinks (330) | 83% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Refresh Cartridges (248) | 82% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Colour Direct (97) | 81% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| IJTdirect (77) | 81% | |||
| Cartridge Save (107) | 81% | |||
| Think (66) | 80% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Cartridge Discount (51) | 80% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Ink Factory (43) | 78% | |||
| Cartridge People (211) | 78% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Office World (76) | 78% | |||
| Cartridge World (67) | 75% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Printer Inks (68) | 75% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Tesco/ Tesco Value (57) | 67% | |||
| Brother (100) | 66% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Canon (1,550) | 62% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Epson (531) | 58% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| HP (56) | 56% | ★ | ★ | ★ |
Table notes: Survey conducted in April 2022 with 9,522 Which? Connect panel members. Ink cartridge sample size 7,524. We needed at least 30 responses for a brand to be included. Individual sample sizes are in brackets. Print quality based on our survey of member satisfaction (we also tested the five top scorers against original ink cartridges to check quality). Ease of use based on installing and using the ink. Customer score is based on satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the ink brand if asked.
Our lab ink quality test results
We wanted to make sure that the top-scoring brands really offer the best print quality, so we also sent cartridges from the five top-rated brands to our expert lab to test how well they print images, photos, text, and graphics, and how many pages each cartridge produces. We then compared them with the big-brand equivalent.
Our Which? Recommended Provider, Inkredible, came the closest to the original ink. The images and photos produced by some of the third-party inks lacked punch and the text was slightly milky, but the cartridges from Inkredible produced prints with good colours and shadows. Although in our survey, Inkredible's customers told us they were satisfied with the quality, our lab's comparative test revealed it was the best of the bunch.
Where third-party inks all hold their own is when printing text. So it's only really worth buying big-brand ink if you want to print the very best-quality photos – particularly as all the third-party cartridges we tested produced more pages than the original inks.
Click the link if you want to go to the Inkredible online store.
More on the third-party brands in this year's printer ink survey
First Call Inks
First Call Inks offers a wide range of remanufactured cartridges on its website Firstcallinks.co.uk. All of its cartridges are guaranteed for a year.
Inkredible
Inkredible stocks multiple cartridges online, as well as its own brand of compatible ink, in the Inkredible online store. It offers a standard one-year guarantee against faults, defects, and damage, and will offer a replacement or reward points if cartridges are deemed defective between 12 to 36 months after purchase.
Internet Ink
Internet Ink is a Nottingham-based store that also sells its compatible cartridges from the Internet Ink website. It offers free next-day delivery in the UK and a one-year guarantee on faulty products.
Refresh Cartridges
Refresh Cartridges sells a wide range of remanufactured cartridges & original cartridges. It offers free shipping and up to a three-year guarantee on ink and toner cartridges from the Refresh Cartridges website.
Stinkyink
Stinkyink stocks original and third-party inks for a wide range of printers. The Stinkyink website is easy to browse, and there’s a 12-month guarantee on all cartridges. It also promises to repair or replace your printer, if it's within warranty, in the unlikely event that its cartridges do cause irreparable damage.
Best places to buy cheap ink online
84% of Which? members in our survey buy their printer ink online, and it's usually the cheapest place to buy your ink cartridges. Amazon and eBay are popular online choices, but neither is the highest rated in our survey of thousands of Which? members.
| Brand | Customer service | Range of ink | Finding your ink | Replacing faulty cartridges | Value for money | Customer score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firstcallinks.co.uk (355) | 87% | |||||
| Internet-ink.com (205) | 85% | |||||
| Inkredible.co.uk (117) | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ | 85% | |
| Refreshcartridges.co.uk (252) | 85% | |||||
| Justinkandpaper.com (68) | - | 85% | ||||
| Stinkyinkshop.co.uk (445) | 84% | |||||
| IJTdirect.co.uk (72) | - | 82% |
As well as claiming the top spots as best ink brands, First Call Inks, Inkredible (our Which? Recommended Provider) and Internet Ink are our best online ink retailers. Others that scored well were Refresh Cartridges, Just Ink and Paper, and Stinkyink.
Customers in our survey thought these retailers had brilliant customer service and that finding specific cartridges and replacing any faulty ones were a breeze.
The top of our table lacks the big brands. Canon, HP, and Epson are bottom of the 21 retailers in our survey.
Best places to buy cheap ink on the high street
Tesco and Currys are the most popular high street shops for buying ink cartridges – but neither comes top of our retailers.
You can see our full results, below, as you're a logged-in Which? member.
| Brand | Customer service | Range of ink | Value for money | Customer score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lewis (44) | ★ | - | ★ | 67% |
| Argos (89) | ★ | ★ | ★ | 66% |
| Wilko (68) | ★ | ★ | ★ | 61% |
| Ryman (72) | ★ | ★ | ★ | 60% |
| Tesco (275) | ★ | ★ | ★ | 58% |
| Asda (46) | - | ★ | ★ | 55% |
| Currys (124) | ★ | ★ | ★ | 50% |
More on the brands in this year's online printer ink retailer survey
First Call Inks
First Call Inks offers a wide range of remanufactured cartridges on its website, Firstcallinks.co.uk. All its cartridges are guaranteed for a year.
Internet Ink
Internet Ink is a Nottingham-based store that also sells its compatible cartridges from the Internet Ink website. It offers free delivery in the UK and a one-year guarantee on faulty products.
Just Ink And Paper
This retailer sticks to its mission statement – it only sells ink and paper. The Just Ink And Paper website stocks three brands: Canon, Epson, and HP. These are all original inks, so you can expect to pay a premium.
Refresh Cartridges
Refresh Cartridges stocks original and third-party inks along with, oddly enough, kids' toys and games. It offers a three-year guarantee on faulty cartridges, as well as free next-day delivery.
Stinkyink
Stinkyink stocks original and third-party inks for a wide range of printers. The Stinkyink website is easy to browse, and there’s a 12-month guarantee on all cartridges. It also promises to repair or replace your printer, if it's within warranty, in the unlikely event its cartridges cause irreparable damage.
Do cheap ink cartridges work?
We know you can make huge savings by choosing third-party inks rather than original inks. However, many people are put off by potential complications or problems with using them. Our survey revealed the most common concerns people had were third-party cartridges not working in their printers, ink leakages, and poor print quality.
While it's possible that even supposedly compatible ink won’t work in your printer, major problems are rarer than you might think. In fact, of those in our survey who use third-party cartridges regularly:
- Only 3% experienced cartridges not working in their printer.
- Only 1% had any leaks.
- Just 2% thought the print quality was poorer than expected.
If you do have problems, though, there are often things you can try to make the ink work.
- Cartridge not recognised This is the most common issue you’ll face when using third-party ink. The printer brands aren't keen for you to use anything but their own ink. Try re-inserting the third-party cartridge, as this might solve the problem. Resetting the printer and trying again also often works.
- Clogged print head As the consistency of third-party ink can be slightly different from the original ink, it can clog up the print head. You’ll notice this as you’ll have dots in your prints or missing colours. Run the printer’s cleaning cycle, as this might clear the blockage.
- Leaking cartridge This can be an issue with third-party cartridges, but it can be down to how the cartridge was inserted. Try to get a tight seal, but don’t press too hard when you do this as it could damage your printer.
- Update your printer drivers If your printer isn’t printing, or has other problems, make sure you update the printer driver on your computer and on the printer itself. This can often solve any printing problems you’re having.
How to recycle your used ink cartridges
Every year, millions of ink cartridges are needlessly dumped into UK landfill. And while most of the big brands have freepost recycling schemes for their own cartridges, they often won’t accept third-party ones. However, some retailers like Stinkyink offer a recycling service for all the ink and toner cartridges they sell, including original and third-party cartridges.
Some larger supermarkets and office supply shops have dedicated recycling bins for printer cartridges – something to keep an eye out for when you’re out shopping. If all else fails, there’s a good chance your local recycling center will take used cartridges off your hands.
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