HP increases Instant Ink printing prices by up to 50%: What are the alternatives?

HP DeskJet
(Image credit: HP)

Late in 2021, HP decided to end its popular “free ink for life” plan, which allowed its customers to print up to 15 pages per month. 

Now there's a double whammy: HP printer owners that have embraced the Instant Ink subscription service have been told that their subscription price will go up (potentially by up to 50% in some cases) in March 2022.

The changes are two-fold; first, the smallest plan sees a 33% reduction in its allowance (15 to 10), while its price remains the same (essentially a stealth increase from 6.67p/c to 9.9p/c) while moderate and frequent plans (50 and 100 pages) see a fixed increase of £1 or $1 (depending where you are) to £2.99/$2.99 and £4.49/$4.49, a rise of 50% and 29% respectively.

The remaining plans, which are likely to be less popular, have not seen a rise in price yet. The price of extra page sets (usually £/$0.1 each in lots of 10) and unused page rollover have remained the same. At $/£0.03, the most expensive plan also has the cheapest price per page.

What is the best alternative to HP Instant Ink?

The changes appear to be global and have been criticized on HP’s customer forums. “So, all in all I’m disgusted with HP, even before our relationship got off the ground,”  one member wrote -- pretty much summing up how most users feel.

As for all subscription services, Printing-as-a-service (or PAAS) has grown in popularity with HP being the innovator and the main driver, especially in the home printer market.

Instant Ink has been a big success, with HP revealing in October 2021 that it had 10 million users, generated $500 million revenue annually and a 30% annual revenue and subscriber growth. It is the most popular printing subscription services out there, by a wide margin.

The best alternative to subscription services like HP Instant Ink are so-called CIS (continuous ink system) printers and we’ve got a list of the best ink tank printers at the ready. Popular with hobbyists and DIYers at the turn of the century, big printer vendors have embraced them as competition from compatible ink cartridges became more intense.

Most major brands (HP, Epson, Brother, Canon) have at least one of these Supertank printer models: INKvestment, Ecotank, Megatank, Smart Tank. They all share the same philosophy: big ink reservoirs that can be refilled, a steep (but totally acceptable) buying price and a large footprint.

TOPICS
Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

Read more
Canon PIXMA TS3350 printer on a white background
I've rounded up five printers with cheap running costs, refillable ink systems and high-yield cartridges for long-term savings
HP LaserJet Pro M15w
Best cheap printer of 2025: My top 10 cost-cutting picks
Inkjet printer in an office
Best inkjet printer of 2025
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom photo plans get a huge price hike, but there's a way to avoid it
HP LaserJet Pro 3000 on modern office desk
Now HP printers are being bricked following firmware update
Don't miss HP DeskJet 4255e printer
This HP DeskJet 4255e Wireless printer is a great all-rounder - and its on sale now
Latest in Pro
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today
Racks of servers inside a data center.
Modernizing data centers: an efficient path forward
Dr. Peter Zhou, President of Huawei Data Storage Product Line
Why AI commonization is so important for business intelligent transformation and what Huawei’s data storage has to offer
Wix automation
The world's leading website builder aims to save businesses time with new tool
Data Breach
Thousands of healthcare records exposed online, including private patient information
China
Juniper patches security flaws which could have let hackers take over your router
Latest in News
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #1147)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #378)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough