Office & WFH · Head-to-head
Epson EcoTank ET-4850 vs Brother MFC-J4335DW
Which should you buy? Here's the honest call, pulled from our full The Best Home Printers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
The EcoTank ET-4850 is the pick if you print enough to care about ink cost, thanks to refillable tanks and no subscription strings. The Brother MFC-J4335DW is the smarter value if you'd rather spend less upfront and still print cheaply.
Epson EcoTank ET-4850
Buy itA cartridge-free tank that makes cheap-per-page printing the default, not a subscription.
- Refillable ink tanks cut running cost dramatically versus cartridges - owners report years between top-ups
- Full feature set: auto document feeder, auto two-sided printing, color touchscreen, Ethernet, and fax
- You buy plain bottled ink from anyone - no chip lockouts or enrollment required
- Highest upfront price of the group, so the savings take time to pay back
- Owners occasionally report Wi-Fi drops and that idle print heads can need a cleaning cycle
Brother MFC-J4335DW
Buy itThe low-drama value pick: cheap per page, ships with a huge ink supply, and just keeps working.
- Hybrid ink-tank system ships with up to a year of ink in the box and stays inexpensive per page
- Reliability and stable wireless are the recurring themes in owner reports
- Fast for the class with auto two-sided printing and an affordable entry price
- Small non-touch control screen feels dated next to rivals
- Photo output is fine, not standout - this is a document-first machine
Side by side
| Epson EcoTank ET-4850 | Brother MFC-J4335DW | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | Households and home offices that print enough to care about long-term ink cost and want zero subscription strings. | Anyone who mostly prints documents and wants the least fuss and lowest cost without a big upfront outlay. |
| Price tier | $$$ · premium | $$ · mid-range |
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 - A cartridge-free tank that makes cheap-per-page printing the default, not a subscription. Choose the Brother MFC-J4335DW instead if anyone who mostly prints documents and wants the least fuss and lowest cost without a big upfront outlay.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Home Printers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).