Head-to-head · Best Laser Printers

Brother MFC-L2900DW XL vs Brother MFC-L3780CDW

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

Brother MFC-L3780CDW comes out ahead by a clear margin (3.8 vs 4.5). The gap is mostly about budget-conscious color laser users — read the strengths below before deciding.

Ranked #4 in Best Laser Printers

Brother MFC-L2900DW XL

3.8

5 sources$379.99as of Jul 31

The Brother MFC-L2900DW XL is a black-and-white laser all-in-one built for small businesses and home offices. PCMag's M. David Stone praised the fast printing speed and the duplex capabilities. Lifewire's Jerri Ledford found it effective for scanning and faxing but louder than she expected. It connects over wireless or Ethernet and works with the major cloud services. Reliable black-and-white printing and scanning is what you get; color output and quiet operation are not.

Strengths

— Fast print speed up to 36 pages per minute
— Includes duplex printing for saving paper
— Good-quality color scanning up to 1200 DPI

Watch-outs

— Loud operation, including audible beeps during use
— Setup can be fiddly, especially on Mac systems

$379.99 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best Laser Printers

Brother MFC-L3780CDW

4.5

4 sources2 derived$569.98as of Jul 31

The Brother MFC-L3780CDW is a color laser printer for home and small office use, running at 24 pages per minute. PCMag reviewer David English praised its reliability and ease of use, and pointed out it fits people who print mostly black and white with occasional color. Wireless connectivity, scanning, and copying are all covered, but there's no fax and scanning is black and white only.

Strengths

— Prints at 24 pages per minute
— Supports wireless printing
— Includes scanning and copying functions

Watch-outs

— No built-in fax capability
— Limited to black and white scanning

$569.98 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

Brother MFC-L2900DW XL

The Brother MFC-L2900DW XL stands out with its impressive 36 pages per minute speed, surpassing the HP M283fdw and Brother DCP-L2640DW, but it's louder and more difficult to set up on Mac systems than the Brother MFC-L3780CDW. It also lacks color scanning, unlike the HP M283fdw, which offers better photo quality.

Brother MFC-L3780CDW

The Brother MFC-L3780CDW outperforms the HL-L2460DW and DCP-L2640DW in print speed at 24 pages per minute, but lacks fax support and only offers black-and-white scanning, unlike the more feature-rich HP M283fdw. Compared to the MFC-L2900DW XL, it's less noisy but also less versatile in color scanning capabilities.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Brother MFC-L2900DW XL	Brother MFC-L3780CDW
Print Speed	36 ppm	24 pages per minute
Functions	Print / Scan / Copy / Fax	Print, Scan, Copy
Connectivity	Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, Wireless, Wi-Fi Direct	Wireless
Paper Capacity	250 sheets	250 Sheet Tray Capacity
Display	3.5 inch, color	3.5" Touchscreen Color Display
Color	Monochrome	color
Paper Size	Letter, Legal, Executive, A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Folio (8" x 13")	Letter, Legal, Executive, A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Folio
Dimensions	16.1" (W) x 16.6" (D) x 12.5" (H)	18.2" (W) x 16.1" (D) x 15.8" (H) / 47.8 lbs.
Duplexing	—	Duplex Printing, Copying & Scanning

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