Printing Cost Per Page Calculator
Find the true cost per printed page from ink or toner price and yield, page coverage, colour cartridges, paper, duplex and drum — plus what a print run, a month and a year cost, the printer’s own cost per page, and the break-even point against another printer.
How it works
Effective yield = rated yield × 5% ÷ your coverage · Black ink per page = cartridge price ÷ effective yield · Colour ink per colour page = number of colour cartridges × colour cartridge price ÷ effective colour yield · Paper per page = ream price ÷ sheets per ream (÷ 2 double-sided) · Drum per page = drum price ÷ drum yield · Cost per page = black ink + colour share × colour ink + paper + drum · Printer per page = printer price ÷ pages over its life · Break-even pages = printer price difference ÷ cost-per-page difference
The sticker price of a printer says little about running cost — the consumables do. Cost per page is the sum of the ink or toner cost (cartridge price divided by its rated page yield), the paper cost (ream price divided by sheets, halved when you print on both sides) and, for lasers with a separate drum, the drum cost. Manufacturer yields assume roughly 5% page coverage, so the calculator scales the yield by your coverage: at 20% a cartridge lasts about a quarter as long. A colour page uses black plus the colour cartridges, so choose Colour, enter the colour cartridge price and yield and the share of pages you print in colour to get a blended cost. Multiplying by monthly volume is what makes a "cheap" printer with pricey cartridges reveal its true cost; under More options you can spread the printer’s purchase price over the pages it will print and compare it with another printer to find the break-even page count.
Worked example
A $65 cartridge rated for 1,300 pages is $0.05 of ink per page. Paper at $6 per 500-sheet ream adds $0.012, so each page costs $0.0620. A 250-page run costs $15.50, and 2,000 pages a month costs about $124 ($1,488 a year, 18.5 cartridges). Printed double-sided the paper falls to $0.006 and the page to $0.0560. If the pages average 10% coverage instead of 5%, the cartridge lasts 650 pages and the page costs $0.1120. For colour, a laser with $29.99 toners rated 3,000 black and 2,300 colour pages costs 1.00¢ for black plus 3 × 1.30¢ for cyan, magenta and yellow: 4.91¢ of toner per colour page.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my real cost per page higher than the spec?
Rated page yields assume about 5% coverage — sparse text. Dense documents, colour and photos use far more ink or toner, so real-world cost per page can be several times the quoted figure. Enter your typical coverage to see the adjusted yield: double the coverage roughly halves the pages.
Should I include the printer’s purchase price?
For total cost of ownership, yes. Under More options enter the printer price and how many years you will keep it; the calculator spreads it over the pages you print and shows the total cost per page. With low volumes the printer itself can cost more per page than the ink.
How is a colour page costed?
A colour page uses the black cartridge plus each colour cartridge, so its ink cost is the black cost per page plus the cyan, magenta and yellow costs per page (or one tri-colour cartridge). Choose Colour, and set the share of your pages that are in colour to get a blended cost per page.
Does double-sided printing halve the cost?
It halves only the paper cost, because each side still uses the same ink or toner. With cheap paper and expensive ink the saving per page is small; with costly paper it is larger.
When does a more expensive printer pay off?
When its lower running cost has covered the price difference: break-even pages = price difference ÷ difference in cost per page. A printer that costs $160 more but saves 4¢ a page pays off after 4,000 pages. Turn on the comparison under More options to see the break-even and a 3-year total for both.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.