Comparing Brother MFC-J1205W and HP OfficeJet 3830
- What is the maximum resolution of prints that can be produced by Brother MFC-J1205W and HP OfficeJet 3830?
- What is the maximum printing speed of the Brother MFC-J1205W and the HP OfficeJet 3830?
- What are the available connectivity options for the Brother MFC-J1205W and the HP OfficeJet 3830?
- What is the maximum paper size that can be handled by both the Brother MFC-J1205W and the HP OfficeJet 3830?
Experts recommend Brother MFC-J1205W more than HP OfficeJet 3830
As of 3 Jun 2023, experts prefer Brother MFC-J1205W over HP OfficeJet 3830, but both Printers have solid expert endorsements.
As per this month's meta ranking, Brother MFC-J1205W received 2 recommendations: from TechRadar (29 Nov 2022) and Rtings.com (3 May 2023). By contrast, HP OfficeJet 3830 received only 1 recommendation from Gadget Review (1 Jun 2023).
Rank | Change | Price | Printer | TechRadar ![]() | PhotoWorkout ![]() | BestReviews ![]() | PCMag ![]() | The Street ![]() | Digital Trends ![]() | Rtings.com ![]() | reviewed.usatoday.com ![]() | LD Products | Gadget Review ![]() |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | - | $97 | ![]() The Brother MFC-J1205W is a versatile printer with high-quality prints, multiple connectivity options, and the ability to handle different types of paper and media, but lacks automatic duplex printing and an ADF. | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - |
31 | N/A | $370 | ![]() | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
Curious to see this month's entire Inkjet Printers ranking? It's here
Endorsement summary:
- On 29 Nov 2022
TechRadar ranked Brother MFC-J1205W as #1
Rank Printer Comment #1 out of 10 Brother MFC-J1205W Larger cartridges give this inkjet an advantage... ... ... Source: www.techradar.com - On 3 May 2023
Rtings.com ranked Brother MFC-J1205W as #4
Rank Printer Comment ... ... ... #4 out of 7 Brother MFC-J1205W Best Budget Inkjet Printer... ... ... Source: www.rtings.com - On 1 Jun 2023
Gadget Review ranked HP OfficeJet 3830 as #3
Rank Printer Comment ... ... ... #3 out of 7 HP OfficeJet 3830 Best Value... ... ... Source: www.gadgetreview.com
After counting and adding up the 67 expert endorsements of the June rankings, Brother MFC-J1205W outranks HP OfficeJet 3830. This is not to say that HP OfficeJet 3830 is a bad option. Like Brother MFC-J1205W, it is recommended by experts, but less.
Customers like HP OfficeJet 3830 noticeably more
At ReviewFinder we prefer to focus on professional product reviews, because customer reviews can be disproportionately affected by unrelated factors such as delivery, specific seller listing problems, and, of course, fake reviews. With that said, below is the summary of consumer sentiment.
HP OfficeJet 3830
CS of 10 is similar to a 4.8 star review, CS of 0 is similar to a 2 star review.
HP OfficeJet 3830, the pricier option, tends to get more favorable reviews than Brother MFC-J1205W.
As can be seen in the chart above, median best-selling printer receives a consumer score of 7.4 (good). HP OfficeJet 3830 ranks higher than that and Brother MFC-J1205W ranks lower than that.
Brother MFC-J1205W | |
HP OfficeJet 3830 |
In comparison:
8.0 Great
|
Median best-selling Printer |
HP OfficeJet 3830 is more popular than Brother MFC-J1205W
It's fairly safe to say that HP OfficeJet 3830 is a more popular printer than Brother MFC-J1205W, based on its 30,000+ reviews. Popularity is determined based on product sales. Note that older and cheaper products tend to sell more.
To consider
Table: Top compared alternatives for Brother MFC-J1205W and HP OfficeJet 3830 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Epson XP-4100 | $110 | 2 expert recommendations | ||
![]() | Brother MFC-J1205W | $97 | 2 expert recommendations | ||
![]() | Brother MFC-J4335DW | $142 | 2 expert recommendations |
Rank | Change | Price | Printer | TechRadar ![]() | PhotoWorkout ![]() | BestReviews ![]() | PCMag ![]() | The Street ![]() | Digital Trends ![]() | Rtings.com ![]() | reviewed.usatoday.com ![]() | LD Products | Gadget Review ![]() |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | - | $97 | ![]() The Brother MFC-J1205W is a versatile printer with high-quality prints, multiple connectivity options, and the ability to handle different types of paper and media, but lacks automatic duplex printing and an ADF.
| 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - |
2 | - | $850 | ![]() The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a versatile all-in-one supertank printer that produces high-quality prints with sharp details and vivid colors, offers a wide range of connectivity options, and has scanning, copying, and faxing capabilities, making it a great investment for home or office use. | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - |
3 | - | Check price | ![]() The Canon Pixma MG3620 is a versatile and reliable printer suitable for home or small office use, offering high-quality prints, various connectivity options, and basic scanning and copying capabilities. | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | 5 | - | - | 6 |
4 | - | $576 | ![]() The Brother MFC-J995DW is an efficient and cost-effective all-in-one printer with excellent scanning and copying capabilities, as well as faxing capabilities, making it ideal for small businesses or home offices. | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | - |
Show all rows |
Expert reviews [4]
- with a score: 3
- without a score: 1
Highest score by PCMag | 80 |
Average score based on 4 reviews | 80 |
Lowest score by Rtings.com | 79 |
Score distribution:
80-100 | |
60-80 | |
40-60 | |
20-40 | |
0-20 |
Expert reviews [13]
- with a score: 8
- without a score: 5
Highest score by Gadget Review | 90 |
Average score based on 13 reviews | 76 |
Lowest score by Joe Sprinter Buying Guide | 48 |
Score distribution:
80-100 | |
60-80 | |
40-60 | |
20-40 | |
0-20 |
- NO INK REPLACEMENT FOR UP TO 1-YEAR(1): Experience truly uninterrupted printing, exceptional savings and super convenience with up to 1-year of ink using only the four cartridges provided in-box..Wireless, Wireless Direct, and USB connectivityMobile Compatibility : AirPrint, Wireless Direct, Brother Mobile Connect, Mopria
- Read more
- The main functions of this HP color inkjet photo printer: copy, scan, fax, wireless printing, AirPrint, touchscreen, Instant Ink ready so you'll never run out of ink, and more
- The power of your printer in the palm of your hand: The HP Smart app allows you to easily set up your printer, scan from your smartphone, order toner, and print from the cloud—such as iCloud, Dropbox and Google Drive
- Read more
Technical summary
Brother MFC-J1205W is a $97 injket printer.
HP OfficeJet 3830 is a $370 wireless injket printer with a built-in scanner, copier and fax.
It prints at the speed of 8.5 ppm (6.0 ppm in color). It's recommended montly page volume is 175 and maximum allowed page volume is 1000.
It can scan a stack of up to 35 papers (using Automatic Document Feeder), as well as custom-sized documents (such as passports) with its flatbed scanner. It has an extra perk of converting scans to PDFs.
HP OfficeJet 3830 allows printing via Wi-Fi, a mobile phone/tablet, AirPrint, a USB cable and an Ethernet cable.
Are they good for Occasional Home Use

- No wireless printing
- Recommended Printing Volume
- No build-in Scanner/Copier
- Two-Sided Printing not supported
- No status display
- No touchscreen
- No flatbed scanner
- No ADF Scanner
- Wireless Printing
- Designed to print about 175 pages per month
- Built-in Scanner & Copier
- Two-Sided Printing not supported
- Status Display
- Touch Screen Status Display
- Flatbed Scanner
- ADF Scanner
- Borderless Printing
- Scan to PDF
Are they good for Small Office Use

- Wireless Printing not supported
- Recommended Printing Volume
- Two-Sided Printing not supported
- No Status Display
- No Automatic Document Feeder
- Can't scan to email
- Can't scan to PDFs
- No TouchScreen
- No Flatbed Scanner
- No Fax
- No Ethernet Port
- Wireless Printing
- Designed to print about 175 pages per month
- Two-Sided Printing not supported
- Status Display
- Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
- Can't scan to email
- Scan to PDF
- TouchScreen
- Flatbed Scanner
- Fax
- No Ethernet Port
Are they good for Heavy Office Use

- Wireless Printing not supported
- Recommended Printing Volume
- Two-Sided Printing not supported
- Does not have a status display
- No Automatic Document Feeder
- Print speed
- Scan-to-Email not supported
- No TouchScreen
- Can't scan to PDF
- No flatbed scanner
- No fax
- No Ethernet port
- Wireless Printing
- Designed to print about 175 pages per month
- Two-Sided Printing not supported
- Status Display
- Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
- Print speed is 8.5 pages per minute
- Scan-to-Email not supported
- TouchScreen
- Scan to PDF
- Flatbed Scanner
- Fax
- No Ethernet port

Is the price difference of $272 worth it?
The four main functions of printers are: printing, scanning, photocopying, and faxing. Either your device will be print only, print/scan/copy, or an all-in-one printer that does printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. Note that scanning and copying almost always come together, since the hardware for these features overlaps significantly. Generally speaking, all-in-one printers are larger, so those with space constraints may find this to be an inconvenience. Additionally, printers with a fax feature are typically more expensive. It would be wise to only consider this feature if you plan to fax often. If not, you’ll be satisfied with a print/scan/copy device.
Network printers can be wired or wireless. A printer with a wired network connection uses an Ethernet cord that connects directly to your router. A wireless printer connects to your home or office Wi-Fi network. Any computer also connected to your network can use your printer, whether it’s wired or wireless. You will have to install software, or printer drivers, on the computer before you can print. Also, there is a setup process for the printer to get it on the network. If your printer is not wireless, you’ll need to connect it directly to your computer via USB cable, which is not ideal if you have multiple users that need the printer simultaneously.
Outside of Wi-Fi, there are a number of ways a device can connect to a printer. If the printer is not wireless, you’ll have to connect to your printer via USB cable. Some people prefer using the wired connection because it allows for faster data transfers and quicker printing. Depending on the speed of your Wi-Fi and how strong the signal is, it can take time for the document to send from computer to printer over the network. Using a wired connection eliminates this issue. Other connections you may have are: Ethernet for wired connection to your network; Airprint or Google Cloud Print for quick direct printing over the cloud/internet; USB hard drive or memory card to print directly from storage devices; or PictBridge to print directly from cameras.
Printers with an LCD screen/display give you the option to control some settings directly on the printer, such as a one-touch print, scan, copy, or fax. You may also be able to adjust print quality, preview the print job, and/or view connection settings. Some screens are programmed to offer setup instructions for easy installation. For those who are not particularly tech savvy, this could be helpful.
- 1.17 watts sleep mode
- 2.83 watts standby mode
- 10 watts operation mode
- 0.1 watts Off
Brother MFC-J1205W is a popular and one of the cheapest options. It's in the top 3 bestselling printers and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 or Epson Workforce WF-2860 .
Brother MFC-J1205W is $251.67 less expensive than an average printer ($349).
HP OfficeJet 3830 is a top selling and one of the cheapest options. It's a #1 bestseller in printers category and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Canon Pixma MG2920 or Epson WorkForce WF-2630WF .
HP OfficeJet 3830 was released in 2015. There are a lot of newer printers on the market. Show newer Printers
HP OfficeJet 3830 is $219.01 less expensive than an average printer ($349).