HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw vs Brother MFC-L2820DW: Which is the best laser printer for small business use?
Find out which one of these printers is more versatile, works faster, and costs less per page
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A small business printer has to do more than print a clean page. It has to keep up with the everyday paperwork that moves through an office, handle shared use without slowing people down, and make sense as an investment once you look past the sticker price. That’s what makes finding the best laser printer for small business use so tricky.
Two models can look similar at a glance, then start to separate once you look at the practicalities like speed, monthly volume, scanning, paper handling, and the kind of workload they’re actually built to support. The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Printer and Brother MFC-L2820DW are both strong black-and-white all-in-one options for small businesses, but a closer comparison makes it easier to see where each one fits and which one has the stronger case overall.
Quick comparison: HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw vs Brother MFC-L2820DW
| HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw | Brother MFC-L2820DW | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $659 / $0.03 per page | $279.99 / $0.033 per page |
| Print Speed | 42 ppm | 34 ppm |
| Print quality | 1200 x 1200 dpi | 1200 x 1200 dpi |
| Volume | 80,000 maximum monthly pages | 35,000 maximum monthly pages |
| Best for | A small business group of up to 10 users | Light-duty small offices wanting smaller upfront costs |
What is the best laser printer for small business, feature by feature?
Use and setup
Both printers cover the core office functions. They print, scan, copy, and fax. They also both have dual-band Wi-Fi, Ethernet, automatic two-sided printing, and a 50-page automatic document feeder, so the basic capabilities are there either way.
The real difference is in how these printers handle shared office work. The Brother MFC-L2820DW keeps things fairly simple. It has a compact footprint, a 2.7-inch color touchscreen, and a rated print noise of 49 dB, which could be a plus in a smaller workspace.
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw makes a stronger case once the printer is doing more work for more people. It is intended for up to 10 users, and that shows up in the parts of the machine that affect workflow.
A simple touchscreen gives you quick access to the core features, including dual-sided single-pass scanning to save time on paperwork.
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw also has dual-sided single-pass scanning, a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, a 250-sheet main tray, and a 150-sheet output bin. It even includes self-healing Wi-Fi, HP Web Jetadmin, and HP Wolf Pro Security, which is specifically designed to help protect small businesses.
For a lighter office with simpler needs, Brother covers the basics well. For a busier team that needs one printer to handle more without slowing things down, HP has the advantage.
Winner: HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw
Print speed
Print speed is one of the clearest differences here. The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw prints up to 42 pages per minute, while the Brother MFC-L2820DW tops out at 34 pages per minute. That may not sound dramatic at first, but it starts to matter quickly in an office that is constantly printing invoices, contracts, reports, handouts, and forms. Eight extra pages per minute can shave real time off the workday. The HP also has a first-page-out time as fast as 6.1 seconds, so shorter jobs move faster, too.
Brother is still fast enough for a lighter-duty office. Thirty-four pages per minute is perfectly usable, and for smaller workloads, it may feel completely fine. However, if speed is one of the main things you care about, the HP has the stronger case.
Winner: HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw has the speed and paper handling to make a busy office run more smoothly.
Cost
Pricing a laser printer for a small business is not just about the sticker price. Upfront cost matters, but so does what the printer will cost to run over time. The Brother MFC-L2820DW costs $279.99, while the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw costs $659 right now, but it goes on sale very frequently. Brother has the clear advantage on purchase price right now, but the difference is less significant when HP is running a promo.
The running costs are much closer.
Brother comes in at about $0.033 per page, compared with the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw at about $0.03 per page, so the bigger pricing difference is what you pay to get the printer into the office in the first place. That makes Brother the easier choice for a solo owner, a very small team, or an office with lighter printing needs.
The main thing to keep in mind is that a lower upfront cost does not always mean better value. If your office ends up needing faster speeds, higher volume, or better support for shared use, the savings can start to look smaller over time. Still, on direct cost, Brother wins here.
Winner: Brother MFC-L2820DW
With speeds up to 42 ppm and a first page out in about 6 seconds, this printer keeps things moving even during a busy workday.
Print quality and volume
Print quality is effectively even. Both printers print at 1200x1200 dpi, sharp enough for the kind of black-and-white business documents most offices deal with every day. Contracts, forms, invoices, reports, and internal paperwork should look crisp on either one. The bigger difference is how much work each printer is ready to handle. The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 80,000 pages, compared with 35,000 pages for the Brother MFC-L2820DW. The HP also has a recommended monthly print volume of 750 to 4,000 pages, while Brother is recommended for up to 2,500 pages per month. That gap tells you a lot about where each printer fits.
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw has the advantage in a few important areas:
- Faster print speed
- Much higher monthly volume
- Dual-sided single-pass scanning
- Scans become searchable files
- Better fit for shared office use
Brother makes sense for lighter workloads, but the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw is the better match for a small business that expects its printer to stay busy.
Winner: HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw
Best overall laser printer for small business
The Brother MFC-L2820DW makes sense for a smaller office that wants to keep the upfront cost down and does not need as much speed or volume. It covers the essentials well, and for lighter-duty use, that may be enough.
But if the question is which printer makes the stronger case for most small businesses, the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw comes out ahead. It prints faster, handles a heavier monthly workload, and does a better job supporting shared office use. Print quality is basically a tie, so once you move past that, the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw has more room to handle the kind of steady day-to-day work many small businesses need.
Winner Overall: HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw makes the strongest case for most small businesses, with faster print speeds, higher monthly volume, and the kind of workflow support that matters once one printer is serving a whole team.