How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Printer in the UK?

Author : Sandeep iih | Published On : 06 Oct 2026

There is no single price for renting a printer in the UK. A basic desktop machine for a small office and a high-volume colour multifunction device for a busy department sit at very different ends of the market, and the monthly cost reflects that. What you pay depends on the type of machine, how much you print, what the agreement includes and how long you commit to it.

Because suppliers set their own prices and quote according to your needs, this guide does not offer fixed figures. Instead, it explains what makes up a rental quote, which factors push the price up or down, and where extra charges tend to appear, so you can judge a quote on its merits.

What a printer rental quote is made of

Most quotes split into two parts. The first is a fixed charge for the use of the machine, usually billed monthly or quarterly. The second is a charge for the pages you actually print, often called a click charge. Black and white pages are normally priced lower than colour pages, and larger paper sizes such as A3 can carry a higher rate than A4.

Some suppliers bundle everything into one flat monthly fee with a set page allowance. Others keep the two parts separate and invoice you after reading the machine's meter. Neither approach is automatically cheaper. A flat fee gives you certainty, while a pay-as-you-print structure rewards you in quieter months and penalises you in busy ones.

Alongside those two elements, check for one-off costs. Delivery, installation and network set-up are sometimes included and sometimes charged separately.

What affects the price

The machine itself

A compact mono laser printer costs far less to rent than a floor-standing colour multifunction unit with a stapling finisher, large paper trays and fast print speeds. Features such as scanning to email, double-sided printing, secure release printing and A3 capability all add to the specification, and the rental charge tends to follow.

Your monthly print volume

Volume affects both sides of the quote. A machine built for heavy use costs more to rent, but the cost per page can fall when the volume is high. Choosing a device that is too small for your needs can backfire, because a machine pushed beyond its intended duty cycle is more likely to need servicing. Choosing one that is too large means paying for capacity you never use.

Colour versus black and white

Colour pages are priced higher, sometimes several times higher than mono pages. If most of your documents are text only, it may be worth setting colour printing to be switched off by default, or using a mono machine for routine work and keeping colour for occasions that need it.

Contract length

A longer term usually spreads the cost over more months and can reduce the monthly figure. A shorter term gives you more flexibility but is often priced higher per month. Whether the saving is worth the commitment depends on how settled your office and printing habits are.

Service level

Agreements differ in how quickly an engineer is expected to attend, whether toner is sent automatically and whether parts are covered. A more comprehensive service package may cost more, but it can save on unexpected repair bills and downtime. Local coverage can also matter here, and businesses in the east of England often look at office printer rental Essex suppliers with engineers nearby.

A worked example (illustrative figures only)

Imagine a small accountancy practice printing around 3,000 black and white pages and a few hundred colour pages each month. To keep the arithmetic simple, suppose a supplier quoted a fixed monthly charge of £40, a mono rate of 0.5p per page and a colour rate of 5p per page. Those numbers are invented for illustration and are not a guide to real prices.

The monthly bill would be the fixed charge plus 3,000 mono pages at 0.5p (£15) plus 300 colour pages at 5p (£15), giving £70 before VAT. If the practice printed twice as many colour pages one month, the colour element would double, but the fixed element would stay the same.

The point of the example is the method rather than the numbers. Ask each supplier for their fixed charge and per-page rates, then apply them to your own typical volumes. That is the only reliable way to compare two quotes.

Costs that are easy to overlook

Several charges can sit outside the headline figure, and it is worth asking about each of them before signing.

VAT. Most business quotes are given excluding VAT, so the amount you actually pay will be higher.
Minimum volume or minimum billing. Some agreements charge for a minimum number of pages even if you print fewer.
Excess usage. Going over an included allowance may be billed at a higher rate.
Consumables. Toner is often included, but paper, staples and certain parts may not be.
Relocation or removal. Moving the machine to another office or returning it at the end of the term can carry a fee.
Early termination. Leaving before the end of the term may mean paying some or all of the remaining rental.

None of these is unusual, and none is necessarily a problem. They only become a problem when they are discovered after the contract has been signed.

How renting compares with buying

Renting spreads the cost into regular payments and often includes servicing, which suits businesses that prefer a predictable outgoing and do not want to handle repairs themselves. Buying involves a larger upfront payment but may work out cheaper over a long period if you print at low volumes and look after the machine well. Maintenance, toner and the eventual need to replace the device all belong in that comparison. A fuller breakdown is available in this look at Printer Rental vs Buying, which sets out how the costs compare over several years.

Getting a fair quote

Start by working out how many pages you print each month and how many of those are colour. Your current machine's page counter, or a few months of toner and paper invoices, will give you a workable estimate. Note any features you genuinely need, such as A3 printing, finishing or secure printing.

Then ask at least two or three suppliers to quote on the same basis. Compare the fixed charge, the per-page rates, what is included, the contract length and the exit terms, rather than looking at the monthly total alone. If you are new to the arrangement and want to understand how the agreements themselves work, this guide to Printer Rental Businesses UK explains the process from enquiry to installation.

The cheapest quote on paper is not always the cheapest in practice. A realistic estimate of your own usage, applied to each supplier's rates, will show you which one really is.