Color laser printers for small offices and home offices have settled into a competitive market where Brother and HP dominate. The Brother HL-L8360CDW ($349.99) and the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw ($399.99) are direct competitors — both duplex, both wireless, both aimed at businesses printing 500–2,000 pages per month. Wirecutter has historically favored Brother for lower running costs; HP's advantage is tighter integration with its Smart app ecosystem and generally better color accuracy on marketing materials.

Specs Comparison

Print Speed and Volume

The Brother HL-L8360CDW prints at 33 ppm in color and black — a fast rate for a small-office laser. Rated monthly duty cycle is 60,000 pages; recommended monthly volume is 750–4,000 pages. First-page-out time is approximately 16 seconds from ready mode. For a small team printing invoices, presentations, and reports, this keeps up with demand without waiting.

The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw prints at up to 35 ppm in color — marginally faster — with a monthly duty cycle of 50,000 pages and a recommended monthly volume of 750–3,000 pages. First-page-out is similar at about 15 seconds. In real-world use, both printers feel fast; the 2 ppm difference isn't perceptible in daily office use.

Running Costs and Toner

Brother's super high-yield toner cartridges (TN436) print approximately 6,500 pages (black) and 4,000 pages (color) per cartridge. A full set of four TN436 cartridges costs around $260–$300. That works out to approximately 2–3 cents per black page and 8–10 cents per color page — among the lowest in the class.

HP's 212X high-yield toner cartridges yield approximately 5,500 pages (black) and 4,500 pages (color). A full set runs $350–$400. Per-page cost comes out slightly higher than Brother — approximately 3–4 cents black and 10–12 cents color. Over a year of moderate office printing, the Brother saves $200–$400 in toner costs depending on volume.

Color Quality

HP's LaserJet Pro 4301fdw produces noticeably better color accuracy on graphics-heavy prints — marketing flyers, photo-quality product sheets, brand-colored presentations. HP's color calibration system produces more saturated, accurate hues. For a business where color fidelity on printed materials matters to clients, the HP is the better choice.

The Brother HL-L8360CDW's color is good but not exceptional — color photos and graphics look slightly flat compared to the HP. For text-heavy documents with occasional color graphs and charts, the difference is minimal. For color-critical marketing collateral, the HP has a visible edge.

Connectivity and App Ecosystem

Both printers have WiFi, Ethernet, USB, and mobile printing. The HP Smart app (iOS/Android) is polished — printing, scanning, supply ordering, and diagnostics in one clean interface. HP's Instant Ink subscription program can further reduce toner costs if your monthly volume is predictable. HP also offers HP+, a cloud printing service that adds features but requires registration.

Brother's iPrint&Scan app is functional but less refined than HP Smart. Brother's NFC printing and AirPrint/Mopria support mean most mobile scenarios are covered. Brother's firmware update history is solid — printers bought 5 years ago still receive feature updates.

Best For

• a: Small offices printing high volumes of text-heavy documents where per-page toner cost is the primary concern
• b: Creative businesses, marketing teams, or anyone printing color-critical materials where output quality justifies the higher running cost

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