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HP 218 Toner 4-Packs: Which Set Should You Buy?

An HP 218 toner 4-pack is one order of all four colors — black, cyan, yellow and magenta — for the 3201dw and MFP 3301. You can buy it as standard-yield 218A or high-yield 218X, Original HP or compatible, with or without a chip. This page puts the set options we track side by side; the 218A and 218X 4-pack pages go deeper on each.

Content updated:

Every HP 218 set at a glance

Lowest checked price per set type, before sales tax. Open a set for every listing, seller and warranty line.

Original HP set Pages (HP yield) Lowest checked price Set vs singles
HP 218A 4-pack Original HP · standard yield · W2180A + W2181A + W2182A + W2183A ~1,300 black
~1,200 per color 		$353.89Best Buy $3.67 less than four singles
HP 218X 4-pack Original HP · high yield · W2180X + W2181X + W2182X + W2183X ~3,200 black
~2,500 per color 		$511.89Best Buy $4.67 less than four singles
Mixed set: 218X black + 218A colors Original HP · marketplace seller · W2180X + W2181A + W2182A + W2183A ~3,200 black
~1,200 per color 		$498.00Walmart $104.44 more than four singles
HP 218X color 3-pack (no black) Original HP · marketplace seller · W2181X + W2182X + W2183X ~2,500 per color $474.99Walmart $73.32 more than four singles
Compatible set Lowest checked price Lowest with chip included Chip states (6 priced sets)
Compatible 218A 4-pack 2 priced sets · seller-stated yields $211.96CompAndSave · Chip not stated $216.99True Color Toner (TCT) at True Color Toner Chip not stated ×1 · Chip included ×1
Compatible 218X 4-pack 4 priced sets · seller-stated yields $105.59INKFUN · Chip included $105.59INKFUN at Walmart Chip included ×3 · Chip not stated ×1

Compatible sets are separate products with their own seller-stated yields. Listings with contradictory data are left out of this summary.

218A or 218X 4-pack?

Both sets fit the same printers. An HP 218A 4-pack holds about 1,300 black and 1,200 color pages per cartridge; an HP 218X 4-pack about 3,200 and 2,500. At checked prices the 218X set costs about 1.4× as much as the 218A set for about 2.5× the black pages and 2.1× the color pages — so per page, high yield usually wins if you print regularly.

Printing only now and then? The cheaper 218A set ties up less money, and toner sitting in a drawer earns nothing. Printing weekly or more? The 218X set means fewer swaps and, usually, a lower cost per page. The 218A or 218X calculator works it out for your own volume.

Original HP or compatible set?

The cheapest compatible 218X set with a declared chip costs $406.30 less than the cheapest checked Original HP 218X 4-pack. That saving comes with conditions: compatible yields are the seller's own claims, the chip has to be accepted by the printer, and an HP firmware update can change what the printer accepts. Original sets from marketplace sellers can also differ — some listings say they are sold without manufacturer warranty. The full point-by-point comparison is in original vs compatible HP 218 toner, and every compatible set is listed on the compatible HP 218 toner page.

Compatible 4-pack with chip or no chip?

Compatible sets are sold in four chip states. Only a set whose listing says the chip is included is ready to install; a "no chip" or "chip transfer" set needs the chips from your empty HP cartridges, and a listing that says nothing is treated as not ready.

  • Compatible 218A sets: 1 × chip not stated, 1 × chip included.
  • Compatible 218X sets: 3 × chip included, 1 × chip not stated.

What each state means for the 3201dw and MFP 3301 — and for the toner level display — is explained in HP 218 toner with chip vs no chip.

Mixed sets for heavy black printing

Black runs out first in most offices. Two Original HP combinations answer that: a mixed set of 218X black plus 218A colors (W2180X + W2181A + W2182A + W2183A), checked at $498.00, and the HP 218X color 3-pack (no black) (W2181X + W2182X + W2183X), checked at $474.99, for when you buy black separately. Both come from marketplace sellers; the details are on the 218X 4-pack page.

Frequently asked questions about HP 218 toner 4-packs

Is an HP 218 4-pack cheaper than single cartridges?

Not automatically. HP sells the cartridges individually; U.S. "4-packs" are retailer or marketplace bundles of the same four Original HP cartridges (for example model W2180AQ1 or W2180XQ1). Our checks have found a four-pack that cost more than the same four singles at the same retailer, and another that cost less.

Always compare the set price with the sum of the four single prices on the 4-pack pages. Some marketplace sets are sold "without manufacturer warranty" — read the listing title before you buy.

Why do you show a different page yield for compatible cartridges?

Because a compatible cartridge's yield is the seller's own claim, not HP's. We never copy HP's ISO figure onto a third-party product. If a seller states no number — or contradicts itself — we show no cost per page for it.

Many U.S. sellers happen to state the same figures as HP (1,300/1,200 for A, 3,200/2,500 for X) at "5% coverage"; they are still labeled as seller claims.

Should I buy HP 218A or HP 218X?

Both fit the same printers and print the same quality; the difference is how much toner is inside. HP states about 1,300 pages for 218A black and about 3,200 for 218X black; for the colors about 1,200 versus 2,500 (ISO/IEC 19798, continuous printing).

Which one is cheaper per page follows from one division: price ÷ stated yield. That depends on today's prices, not on how much you print — our 218A vs 218X page does the math with the prices we checked.

Your volume decides something else: how many cartridges you buy per year, how much cash you tie up at once and how often you swap. Light users may prefer 218A's lower upfront price; heavy users save swaps with 218X.

Do your prices include sales tax?

No. U.S. prices are shown before sales tax, because the tax depends on your address and is only calculated at checkout. Where the listing showed the shipping cost, we add it and label the result "before sales tax"; where shipping was not shown, we say so instead of treating it as free.

Sources (3)

Facts from HP, retailers and standards bodies are labeled as such. Calculations (cost per page, yearly cost) are estimates by 218toner.com. Last reconciled on .