Is It Better To Buy Or Lease A Printer?

If you’re investing in a new office printer, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether to buy it outright or lease it. Both options have their advantages, but the right choice depends on your budget and your print requirements.

In this guide, we’ll compare buying vs leasing a printer, explore the key differences between the two and explain why leasing has become the preferred option for many businesses, as well as why it might be better for you. By the end, you’ll have a clearer understanding of which approach is likely to offer the best value for your organisation.

Buying vs Leasing a Printer At a Glance

Leasing a Printer	Buying a Printer
Lower upfront costs	Larger initial investment
Predictable monthly repayments	One-off purchase
Maintenance and support services can be included	Repairs and servicing paid separately
Easier to upgrade as your business grows	Equipment can become outdated
Helps preserve business cash flow	Full ownership from day one
Often suits growing SMEs and larger organisations	Often suitable for low-volume users

Why Are So Many Businesses Choosing to Lease Printers?

Modern office printers now support scanning, cloud workflows, document security and everyday business processes, making them a much bigger investment than basic desktop devices.

Leasing allows businesses to access suitable equipment without a large upfront cost. Payments are spread over an agreed term, capital stays available for other priorities and maintenance or support can often be included.

For growing SMEs, that makes leasing less about avoiding ownership and more about staying equipped, supported and financially flexible.

Is Leasing a Printer Actually Cheaper?

It depends on how you measure the cost.

Buying may appear cheaper because you eventually own the printer, but the purchase price is only part of what the device will cost over its lifetime.

Think Beyond the Purchase Price

Consider two businesses using the same Canon multifunction printer. One buys it outright, while the other leases it with a service agreement.

Over the next three years, the business that purchased the device may also need to pay separately for servicing, repairs, replacement parts and unexpected maintenance.

Those ongoing costs often determine whether buying or leasing offers better overall value.

6 Reasons Businesses Choose Leasing Instead of Buying

Every business has different priorities, but there are several reasons why leasing has become the preferred option for so many organisations.

Protect Your Cash Flow

Buying a business printer outright can use up a large part of your equipment budget.

Leasing spreads the cost instead, keeping more money available for recruitment, marketing, software, laptops or other areas of the business.

You still get the printer you need, but without tying up as much working capital.

For growing SMEs, that can be more useful than owning the printer from day one.

Make Costs Easier to Plan

Printer repairs are difficult to predict. Lease payments are not.

With a fixed monthly cost, it is easier to budget for printing alongside your other business expenses. Maintenance, engineer support and servicing can also be included through a managed print agreement.

This gives you a clearer idea of what your print setup is likely to cost each month and reduces the risk of unexpected bills.

Access More Suitable Equipment

When buying outright, businesses often choose the printer that fits the immediate budget rather than the one that best suits the workload.

Leasing can make a more capable device affordable.

That might mean choosing a printer with:

• Faster double-sided scanning
• Greater paper capacity
• Secure print release
• Better support for larger teams
• Lower running costs per page

These features can have a much bigger impact on productivity than simply choosing the cheapest model available.

Reduce the Cost of Downtime

A printer fault can affect more than printing.

Invoices may be delayed, documents cannot be scanned and staff can lose time trying to work around the problem.

With a suitable lease and service agreement, support may include engineer call-outs, genuine Canon parts, remote monitoring and ongoing maintenance.

This means faults can be dealt with quickly and, in some cases, identified before they cause wider disruption.

Upgrade More Easily

Your printing requirements may look very different in three or four years.

You may have more employees, higher print volumes or a greater need for scanning and secure document handling.

Buying can leave you with a printer that still works but no longer suits the business. Leasing makes it easier to review your setup and move to a device that better reflects how your team now works.

Spend Less Time Managing Printers

Most businesses do not want to spend time monitoring toner, arranging repairs or working out whether an ageing printer is still cost-effective.

Leasing alongside a managed print service can take much of that work away from your team.

Your staff can focus on their jobs while your print provider helps keep the equipment running properly.

When Does Buying a Printer Make Sense?

Buying can still be the better option for businesses with simple requirements. It may suit your SME if:

• You print only occasionally
• One or two people use the printer
• You only need basic printing and scanning
• Your requirements are unlikely to change
• You are comfortable arranging repairs yourself

A sole trader printing a few documents each week may not need the flexibility or support that comes with leasing.

However, once several employees rely on the same printer each day, the benefits of leasing often become much more valuable.

In short: Buying gives you ownership. Leasing gives you more predictable costs, easier access to support, capital available for wider business improvements and greater flexibility as your business changes.

What Costs Do Businesses Often Forget About?

When comparing leasing a printer vs buying, it’s easy to focus on the upfront cost or monthly payment. In reality, that’s only part of the picture.

A printer will usually be in your office for several years, so it’s worth thinking about everything it will cost during that time – not just what it costs to get it through the door.

Think Beyond the Purchase Price

If you buy a printer outright, you’ll also need to consider things like:

• Repairs and replacement parts
• Ongoing maintenance
• Unexpected downtime
• Future upgrades or replacement
• The time spent managing the device

These costs aren’t always obvious at the start, but they can quickly add up, particularly if your printer is used throughout the working day.

This is why many businesses compare the total cost of ownership (TCO) rather than simply choosing the cheapest printer available.

Downtime Can Be More Expensive Than Repairs

Imagine your office printer stops working on a busy Monday morning.

Your accounts team can’t print invoices. Customer paperwork can’t be scanned. Staff begin sharing another device or looking for temporary workarounds.

The repair itself may only take a few hours, but the disruption to your business can last much longer.

For organisations that rely on printing every day, keeping the printer available is often just as important as keeping costs down.

Choosing the Right Printer Matters Just As Much

Whether you decide to buy or lease, choosing the wrong printer can end up costing far more than choosing the wrong payment option.

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is focusing on the specification sheet instead of how they’ll actually use the printer.

A faster printer isn’t always better. Neither is the cheapest model.

The best printer is the one that’s matched to your workload.

Common Mistakes We See

Businesses often:

• Buy a printer that’s too small for their monthly print volume.
• Pay for features they’ll rarely use.
• Choose a desktop printer when a multifunction device would save time every day.
• Underestimate how much scanning they’ll be doing in the future.

The result is usually the same – SMEs end up replacing the printer much sooner than expected or spending more on running costs than they anticipated.

Should You Buy or Lease a Printer?

There isn’t a universal answer to this question because every business works differently.

Buying may be the right choice if you:

• Print relatively little.
• Have a fixed budget available.
• Don’t mind arranging servicing yourself.
• Expect to keep the same printer for many years.

Leasing is often the better option if you:

• Print every day.
• Want to avoid a large upfront investment.
• Prefer predictable monthly costs.
• Need ongoing maintenance and support.
• Expect your business to grow.
• Want the flexibility to upgrade in the future.

Rather than asking “Which is cheaper?“, it’s usually better to ask “Which option will support my SME best over the next five years?“

Conclusion

Whether it’s better to buy or lease a printer ultimately depends on how your business operates. While buying can suit organisations with lower print volumes and straightforward requirements, leasing often provides greater flexibility, predictable costs and ongoing support for businesses that rely on printing every day.

If you’re still unsure which option is right for you, get in contact with our team at Zora. We can help assess your printing needs and recommend the most suitable Canon printer or photocopier device that will help fulfil all your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions