Printer Ink Cost Per Page Calculator

Why Cost Per Page Matters

Printer manufacturers often sell inexpensive printers at a loss and make their profit on ink and toner cartridges, so the real cost of owning a printer is best measured in cost per page, not cartridge price alone. This calculator converts your cartridge's price and page yield into a true per-page cost, and projects your monthly and yearly ink budget.

How to Use This Calculator

• Enter the price of a single ink or toner cartridge.
• Enter the manufacturer's rated page yield for that cartridge (usually printed on the box, based on 5% average page coverage).
• Enter roughly how many pages you print per month.
• Adjust the coverage percentage if you print heavier documents (photos, dense graphics) than the standard 5% test page — higher coverage uses more ink per page.

The Formula Used

Cost per Page = (Cartridge Price ÷ Page Yield) × (Coverage % ÷ 100). Monthly Cost = Cost per Page × Pages Printed per Month. Yearly Cost = Monthly Cost × 12.

Worked Example

A $35 cartridge rated for 500 pages at standard coverage costs $0.07 per page. Printing 150 pages a month costs about $10.50/month, or $126/year. If your documents use twice the standard ink coverage (200%), your real cost per page doubles to $0.14, raising your monthly cost to about $21.

Saving on Printing Costs

Higher-capacity "XL" cartridges usually have a lower true cost per page than standard cartridges, even though the sticker price is higher. Draft mode and printing in grayscale for internal documents can also significantly reduce ink coverage and extend cartridge life.