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HP Instant Ink: is it worth buying an HP printer for?
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HP Instant Ink charges you a fixed monthly fee to print a certain number of pages. It means you don't have to remember to regularly buy new printer cartridges, as HP sends them to you. But does that really save you money? We reveal when it might and when it might not, as well as alternatives that can save you more.
In our expert guide to HP's Instant Ink subscription service, we explain what it is and how much it costs, helping you weigh up the pros and cons compared with buying ink the traditional way.
Shopping for a new printer? See our expert pick of the best home printers to discover which models impressed us in our lab tests, including tank models that will only cost you a few pounds a year in ink
What is HP Instant Ink?
Available on most HP wi-fi printers, HP Instant Ink is a different way to pay for your ink and prints at home.
With an Instant Ink subscription, you don't actually pay for the ink cartridges. Instead, you pay a monthly subscription to print a set number of pages on your home printer. You can print whatever you want – text, images or photos – up to the agreed monthly set limit of pages.
HP automatically sends you ink cartridges (delivery costs and recycling methods are included in the subscription) whenever you need topping up. Unless you exceed your page allowance, the monthly fee is all you'll pay towards the ink. There's also an option to receive paper as part of the plan.
To get started with Instant Ink, you can subscribe through the brand's website. All you need is an eligible printer – typically that's most HP printers manufactured in the past five years (many new HP printers will also offer Instant Ink as part of their setup process). HP has a handy list of HP Instant Ink-compatible printers here.
HP's third-party ink cartridge blocking practices
HP cartridge inkjet and laser printers contain HP's dynamic security feature. This limits the use of third-party cartridges but does not block third-party ink completely. Dynamic security allows you to use remanufactured cartridges – these retain the HP chip or circuitry, are refilled with ink and rebranded by third parties.
Remanufactured cartridges can be more expensive than third-party cartridges sold for other printers without dynamic security, but can be significantly cheaper than HP's own original ink cartridges. Find out which ink retailers we recommend for these – see best cheap printer ink cartridges you can trust.
Some very old HP cartridge printers may not have dynamic security. Note that HP's terms for signing up for HP Instant Ink include allowing automatic updates to your printer. So if you have an older HP printer without dynamic security, be aware that, in principle at least, it's possible HP could install dynamic security on your printer when you sign up for HP Instant Ink. This is unlikely to be reversible.
Watch out for HP+
HP+ is a cloud service built in to certain HP printers launched in 2021-2025. Owners were encouraged to sign up when setting up their printer with the offer of a three-month free trial of HP Instant Ink and an additional one year’s extra warranty (on top of the one already provided). It requires an HP account and an internet connection.
Importantly, HP+ also requires original HP ink cartridges for the entire lifetime of your cartridge printer. You won't be able to use cheaper remanufactured (refilled) cartridges offered by third parties.
Once you've opted into HP+, this decision, unfortunately, cannot be reversed.
Think very carefully if you want to be able to use third-party ink cartridges at any point in the future with your HP printer, before signing up to HP+.
HP tank printers, which use bottled ink or toner rather than cartridges, are unaffected by HP's cartridge-blocking practices and can still use third-party bottled ink. See all of our HP ink tank printer reviews.
HP Instant Ink compatible printers
To join the Instant Ink scheme, you need an HP printer that’s compatible with the service. If you have an HP printer, it's highly likely it's compatible, unless yours is a particularly old model (or doesn't have wi-fi).
Head to the HP website to find out if your printer is eligible for HP Instant Ink – just enter its model name and number into the search box. If your device isn't listed, it's not eligible.
If you have an HP Smart Tank printer, which is refilled with bottled ink rather than cartridges, then we wouldn't recommend having an Instant Ink subscription. Tank printers are extremely cheap to run, so Instant Ink is much more expensive.
Also, tank printers hardly ever need refilling. In our annual printer ink survey, most owners have only needed to refill their tank printer with ink once, if ever. To avoid any worry about running out, it's far cheaper to simply keep a spare set of bottles on hand.
To see which HP Instant Ink printers are genuinely worth your money, check our HP printer reviews.
How much does HP Instant Ink cost?
Some HP printers offer a free trial to Instant Ink for up to three months, but you'll have to sign up for a subscription afterwards.
HP offers the following ink plans:
- Light – £1.79 a month for 10 pages
- Occasional – £4.49 a month for 50 pages
- Moderate – £6.49 a month for 100 pages
- Frequent – £13.49 a month for 300 pages
- Business – £28.99 a month for 700 pages.
Unused pages are allowed to roll over, but only for a maximum of three times the number of pages on your monthly service plan. If you were on the 50 pages a month plan, for example, you could never roll over more than 150 pages in total.
Pages printed over your monthly allowance are charged at £1.50 for every additional 10-15 pages (the number varies depending on the plan), or you can increase your subscription level.
If an ink cartridge is running low, your printer automatically alerts HP via the network connection and a new cartridge is posted to you. While HP advertises you'll 'never run out' of ink, this does assume predictable printing: if you suddenly printed lots when ink is low, you may indeed run out.
Does HP Instant Ink work out cheaper?
Of course, the killer question is whether or not a monthly subscription to Instant Ink offers better value than buying your own ink cartridges as and when you need them. The answer to this really depends on what you print and how regularly you print.
This also assumes you want to stick with original ink, as you can use third-party remanufactured cartridges with most HP printers – and this is usually cheaper than Instant Ink for most users. See our cheap ink cartridges guide.
You're not paying by how much ink you use, but by how many pages you print. If you print lots of text, you won't be using much ink. So won't be making the most of your Instant Ink subscription. Instead, you'd be better off with third-party remanufactured ink cartridges (assuming you haven't opted into HP+).
If you print heaps of colour graphics or photos, this gets you the most value out of an Instant Ink subscription, as photos use lots of ink – and you're paying by page, not by how much ink you use. Be aware that a single line of black text counts as a page. So if you accidentally trigger a big print job and exceed your monthly limit, you could end up with a hefty bill.
In our expert printer reviews, we base how much each printer will cost to run on an average usage scenario of printing 30 pages a month (20 pages of black text and 10 pages of colour graphics):
- £69.91 a year – average cartridge HP inkjet printer using HP cartridges in our tests
- £1.77 a year – average tank Which? Best Buy HP inkjet printer using original ink
- £21.48 a year – 10 pages a month HP Instant Ink subscription
- £53.88 a year – 50 pages a month HP Instant Ink subscription.
If you want to use HP's own ink, the cheapest way is to buy a tank printer, rather than use HP Instant Ink. Based on our research, a tank printer will typically cost you around £2 a year in ink.
What if you want to stick with your cartridge printer?
For most users, selecting remanufactured cartridges from one of our cheapest Which? Recommended Provider third-party ink providers is likely to be cheaper than using HP's Instant Ink service.
As part of our annual printer ink survey, we asked thousands of inkjet printer owners about their experiences, allowing us to score third-party ink brands based on print quality, value for money and ease of use.
Third-party ink brands scored particularly well in our latest survey – users value their combination of good quality and affordability. But it is important to choose one of the best brands.
With the best third-party ink cartridges, you're unlikely to be able to tell the difference in quality or compatibility compared to HP original ink. The only exception is if you plan to display photos in direct sunlight, as our tests show original ink holds up better (although all inks fade in sunlight).
However, it would be cheaper to use third-party ink for your usual printing, and an online printing service for occasional display photos (our photo book providers also offer this service).
- We've rated the best cheap ink cartridges, and where to buy them, based on customer service and value.
- Got a laser printer? See our best cheap toner cartridges.
Our expert tests uncover the models that don't cost a fortune to run. See our expert pick of the best cheap printers to buy and run.
Cancel your HP Instant Ink service: how to stop a subscription
If you're no longer happy with your HP Instant Ink subscription, or no longer need it, you can cancel at any time without having to pay a penalty. The cancellation will be effective at the end of your monthly billing cycle.
What you need to do
You can use your HP Instant Ink account to cancel your subscription. Just follow these steps:
- Sign in to your HP account.
- Under Status, see the drop-down menu that lists printers.
- Select the printer you wish to cancel. To confirm you are looking at the right printer, see Print History.
- Choose My Account and then Account Settings.
- Select Cancel my HP Instant Ink Subscription.
For more details on this process, check HP's Instant Ink cancellation page.
Are HP printers good?
HP is one of the largest printer manufacturers around, offering a selection of inkjet and laser models. We're constantly going hands-on with HP printers in our lab, on a mission to uncover models that are cheap to run yet still turn out high-quality prints.
Our rigorous tests have uncovered some fantastic Best Buy and Eco Buy HP printers. One of our highest-scoring HP models to date impresses with fast text printing and incredibly low running costs. However, not every HP printer is equal – some models under £100 are let down by high printing costs and mediocre print quality.
Many of the HP printers we've tested have a feature known as dynamic security. This limits what third-party ink can work in your printer, meaning third-party providers need to offer remanufactured third-party cartridges (effectively refilled HP cartridges). It can also be added through a software update, so even if you have an old HP printer that can use any third-party ink for now, that might not be the case forever.
For more details on this major brand, see our in-depth guide to the best HP printers.