The MFC-J4335DW is the best-overall pick under $300, built around Brother's INKvestment Tank system that TechGearLab measured at roughly $250 over three years, half the lifetime cost of rival inkjets. It ships with up to a year of ink, prints fast at 20 ppm black, and RTINGS rates it ahead of the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e on build and speed. The trade-off is print quality that is good rather than best-in-class.
Full review
Running Cost and Value
The MFC-J4335DW's defining advantage is what it costs to run, not what it costs to buy. TechGearLab measured its overall estimated lifetime cost at around $250 over three years of ownership, which it called half the cost of any other printer it tested, and crowned it best in class for lifetime cost. That figure comes from Brother's INKvestment Tank design, a hybrid that pairs cartridges with an internal reservoir, plus up to a full year of ink supplied in the box.
For a home or home office that prints heavily, that running cost dominates the buying decision. A ream of black-and-white text was measured at roughly $5.50, far below cartridge-hungry rivals like the HP Envy 6555e or HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e. AppleInsider's verdict, decent but know what you're signing up for, is a fair caveat: the value is real, but the INKvestment system is proprietary, not a true open refillable tank like Epson's EcoTank line.
Speed and Performance
Speed is the MFC-J4335DW's second strength. Brother rates it at up to 20 ppm black and 19 ppm color, and TechGearLab measured roughly 11 simplex pages per minute in real use, calling it one of the fastest and most affordable options in its lineup of favorite home printers. RTINGS' direct comparison concluded the Brother beats the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e on print speed as well as build and yield.
Auto duplex printing and a 20-sheet automatic document feeder round out the productivity story, letting it handle two-sided documents and multi-page scans or copies without manual intervention. For a household that churns through documents, the combination of speed, duplex, and the ADF makes it a genuine workhorse rather than an occasional-use printer.
Print Quality
Print quality is where the MFC-J4335DW makes its trade-off. TechGearLab found it performed the worst in its text-quality assessment among the printers tested, and the consensus is that text and photos are decent rather than best-in-class. For everyday documents, spreadsheets, and the occasional graphic this is perfectly acceptable, but anyone printing presentations or photos to impress will notice the gap.
The 4800 x 1200 dpi resolution is adequate for home use, and reviewers agree the output is fine for the printer's intended job of high-volume document printing. The Canon PIXMA TR8620a is the better choice if photo quality matters, since its five-ink system with a dedicated photo black outclasses the Brother on glossy prints. The Brother trades a little quality for a lot of running-cost savings.
Features and Connectivity
The MFC-J4335DW is a full four-function all-in-one: print, copy, scan, and fax. Connectivity covers dual-band Wi-Fi, USB, and mobile and cloud printing, and it works with Alexa for voice-triggered tasks. The 150-sheet main tray is adequate for home use, though smaller than the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820's 250-sheet tray for higher-volume offices.
Setup is straightforward via the Brother app, and the in-box year of ink means most buyers will not think about supplies for a long time. The interface is basic compared to the touchscreens on the Canon PIXMA TR8620a or Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820, but it covers the essentials without fuss, which suits the no-nonsense, cost-focused buyer this printer targets.
Where It Falls Short
The MFC-J4335DW's weaknesses are print quality and tank-system caveats. It was the weakest performer in TechGearLab's text test, its photos trail the Canon PIXMA TR8620a, and the INKvestment Tank is a proprietary hybrid rather than a true open EcoTank-style reservoir, so you are locked into Brother's cartridge ecosystem to realize the savings. The 150-sheet tray also trails higher-capacity rivals.
The styling and interface are plain, and there is no large color touchscreen. None of these undermine the core value proposition, but they explain why a buyer who prioritizes photo output, a bigger paper tray, or a slicker interface might choose the Canon PIXMA TR8620a or Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 instead, accepting higher running costs for those benefits.
Who It's Best For
Choose the MFC-J4335DW if you print a lot of documents at home or in a home office and want the lowest long-term cost, with the convenience of a year of ink in the box. TechGearLab's lifetime-cost crown and RTINGS' head-to-head win over the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e make it the clear value-and-performance pick of this group for high-volume document printing.
Look elsewhere if photo quality is a priority, where the Canon PIXMA TR8620a leads, if you need a bigger paper tray for an office, where the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 fits, or if you want a compact home printer for light use, where the HP Envy 6555e is smaller and cheaper. The Brother is the workhorse value champion.
Strengths
- +Lowest lifetime running cost in its class via INKvestment Tank, about $250 over three years
- +Fast for a home AIO: up to 20 ppm black and 19 ppm color
- +Up to 1 year of ink in the box, with 3,000 black / 1,500 color page yields
- +Full print, copy, scan, and fax with a 20-sheet ADF and auto duplex
- +RTINGS rates it sturdier and faster than the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e
Watch-outs
- −Text and photo quality trail the best printers, weakest in TechGearLab's text test
- −150-sheet main tray is smaller than the Epson WF-3820's 250-sheet tray
- −INKvestment cartridges are a proprietary hybrid, not true refillable tanks
- −Plain styling and a basic interface compared to pricier rivals
How it compares
The best-overall value pick. Its INKvestment Tank lifetime cost undercuts the cartridge-based HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e, Canon PIXMA TR8620a, and HP Envy 6555e, and RTINGS rates it ahead of the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e on build and speed. The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 has a larger paper tray, and the Canon PIXMA TR8620a prints better photos, but neither matches the Brother's running cost.
Who this is for
At a glance: home and home-office users who print a lot of documents and want the lowest long-term cost.
Why you’d buy the Brother MFC-J4335DW
- Lowest lifetime running cost in its class via INKvestment Tank, about $250 over three years.
- Fast for a home AIO: up to 20 ppm black and 19 ppm color.
- Up to 1 year of ink in the box, with 3,000 black / 1,500 color page yields.
Why you’d skip it
- Text and photo quality trail the best printers, weakest in TechGearLab's text test.
- 150-sheet main tray is smaller than the Epson WF-3820's 250-sheet tray.
- INKvestment cartridges are a proprietary hybrid, not true refillable tanks.
Rating sources
“best in its class for overall estimated lifetime costs, at around $250 per three years of ownership”
“better than the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e in basically every relevant way, with a sturdier build, higher page yield, faster printing speeds, and superior print quality”
“decent, but know what you're signing up for”
Our 4.6 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
