Gone are the days of printers being tied to an outlet because portable printers are a totally a thing! It’s a godsend for personal use and business printing documents and photos right there on the spot.

What to Look For in a Portable Printer in 2025

Finding the right features in a portable printer are pretty straightforward, even more so when you decide beforehand what it is you need from it. Obviously, portability is key, but every printer here has that on lockdown.

Believe it or not, not all printers print in color, so first ask yourself if that’s something you need. It’s handy for business and photos, adding a splash of color to charts in the former and, well, giving life to memories for the latter.

Secondly, a portable printer should have the connectivity you need. Some printers might be Wi-Fi or Ethernet only, whereas others have Bluetooth. If you’re printing in a public area, then be sure to get a portable printer with Bluetooth.

Don’t forget about a power supply, either. The ultimate portable printer has one that’s rechargeable, but this usually comes at a premium or, in some cases, a separate purchase, like the Brother PocketJet PJ-883. If you can’t always get to an outlet, a power supply that works with.

Last but not least, and more as a caveat, keep in mind that portable printers aren’t as speedy as a fully-fledged at-home printer. That said, every portable printer here is going to do a fine job.

Best Portable Printer Overall: Brother PocketJet PJ-883

Not only does the Brother PocketJet PJ-883 print the most essential document types—A4, A5, legal, label, and rolls—it does so without using any ink whatsoever. This is because the PJ-883 is a thermal printer. Now, that does mean you’ll miss out on color, but what you get in return is worth the trade-off, especially if color is not a deal-breaker.

In terms of portability, very few portable printers can match the Brother PocketJet PJ-883. It’s 10 inches long and only 2.17 inches thick at its largest side, making it shorter than a ruler and barely thicker than the length of your thumb. And yet, despite its small and compact nature, this portable printer can print 13.5 pages per minute.

Lastly, the Brother PocketJet PJ-883 has numerous connectivity options. You may connect directly (via USB), over Wi-Fi, or via Bluetooth. Although it must be plugged into an outlet, Brother has a rechargeable battery you can fit it with.

Best Portable Printer Overall

Brother PocketJet PJ-883

The Brother PocketJet PJ-883 is the poster child of portability, being shorter than a ruler by two inches and 2.17 inches thick. And yet, it can print A4, A5, legal documents, labels, and rolls.

See at Newegg

$504 at Amazon

See at Brother

Best Budget Portable Printer: Canon PIXMA TR150

In terms of a budget portable printer, the Canon PIXMA TR150 makes our choice very easy. It takes most of the features of a common house printer and shrinks it down to a portable form factor, including a rear paper tray, which can handle 50 pages. While you normally need an outlet to plug it in, you can pick up the LK-72 rechargeable battery pack so you can take the PIXMA TR150 and print anywhere on the go.

First off, the Canon PIXMA TR150 is versatile. It can print documents (including envelopes) and photos as large as 8.5 x 11 inches. However, it does this at a speed of 9 PPM (5.5 PPM colored), which is a tad slow but serviceable, especially as a budget portable printer.

What makes the Canon PIXMA TR150 particularly easy to use is the 1.44-inch OLED display, and the printer itself lets you save five templates, which you can access right there on the spot.

Best Budget Portable Printer

Canon Pixma TR150

$179 $250 Save
$71

The Canon Pixma TR150 is an incredibly compact printer that’s easy to cart around in your backpack or suitcase. And despite its small form factor, it can hold up to 50 sheets of paper in the rear tray and it prints quickly and effectively.

$179 at Amazon

See at Canon

See at Best Buy

Best Portable Photo Printer: Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer

What do you do when you want to emulate the feeling of those old Polaroid cameras without actually having one (and without wanting to get a modern instant camera)? You get the Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer. It’s incredibly small in stature, and prints colorized photos right on the spot. More importantly, it offers tools to personalize said photos, which is great for helping to cement memories.

The Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer can print 3 x 5-inch photos simply by connecting to it via Bluetooth—it’s that simple. The real fun is adding flairs like collage prints, editable templates, borders, messages, stickers (over 1600), and even QR codes. Those QR codes can hide secret messages, tag locations, and even websites. In other words, it’s equally useful for personal use and business.

Best Portable Photo Printer

Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer

$133 $150 Save
$17

Being thin and barely wider than a smartphone, the Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer is easily portable. More importantly, you can immediately print photos, in color, that you took with your smartphone.

$133 at Amazon

See at Best Buy

Best Portable Label Printer: Labelworks Epson LW-PX300

Do you run a business? Or maybe you love labeling everything in your house. Either way, the best label printer is, hands down, the Labelworks Epson LW-PX300, which is also budget-friendly. Its biggest downside is the need for 6 AA batteries, but you can pick up rechargeable batteries, or the printer can be used with AC power if needed.

For starters, the Labelworks Epson LW-PX300 has a QWERTY keyboard and a sizable display, which gives you a preview of what you’re printing. Additionally, there are a lot of customization options—more than 170 label varieties, 80 frames, 14 fonts, and over 750 symbols at your disposal. Better yet, it drastically shrinks the amount of margin waste whenever you print something.

Best Portable Label Printer

Labelworks Epson LW-PX300

Whether you’re running a business or just like labeling stuff at home, the Labelworks Epson LW-PX300 is an easy solution to the problem. It features tons of customization and in a way that’s simple and unsophisticated.

See at Epson

$58 at Amazon

Best Portable Printer/Scanner Combo: HP OfficeJet 250

It’s quite impressive how good the HP OfficeJet 250 is. Although it’s arguably at the very limits of what a portable printer should be, you have a fully-fledged printer and scanner combo that you can take anywhere. And best of all? HP actually included a rechargeable battery—no separate purchase needed.

What’s most impressive is the HP OfficeJet 250’s performance. Not only does it print 10 pages (or 7 in color) in a minute, you can print as many as 225 ISO pages on a single charge. Better yet, you can get right back to printing another 225 pages in just 90 minutes, which is how long it takes to recharge.

As a bonus, the HP OfficeJet 250 is quite versatile, too. You can print letters, legal documents, statements, executive documents, cards, photos, and even envelopes either via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, or straight from your smartphone or tablet. The 2.65-inch color touchscreen makes using the printer a cinch.

Best Portable Printer/Scanner Combo

HP OfficeJet 250

$390 $490 Save
$100

With a speedy print speed and scanner, the HP OfficeJet 250 is the obvious choice for a printer/scanner combo, given that it’s also rechargeable and has a 50-page tray.

$390 at Amazon

See at HP

FAQ

Can I bring a portable printer on an airplane?

Yes, you may bring a portable printer onto an airplane. According to the TSA, it will need to be removed from your bag for x-ray screening.

How do I print from my Android phone?

Depending on your printer, there will either be a proprietary app or you connect via Bluetooth and or Wi-Fi.

If it’s Bluetooth, you must have Bluetooth enabled on your Android device, then press the Bluetooth button on your printer to make it discoverable. If it’s over Wi-Fi, you must connect your printer to your Wi-Fi.

In either case, open your photo app, then select ‘Share’ > ‘More’ > ‘Print’.

How do I print from my iPhone?

Similar to Android, you must first connect your printer to your Wi-Fi or use Bluetooth before it can become discoverable by your iPhone. It may also involve installing the printer’s proprietary app.

Once connected, find the document/photo you want to print, select it, then tap ‘Share.’ Afterwards, go down and select ‘Print.’