When it comes to choosing from the best label makers then you have plenty of choice, from pocket-sizes devices, wireless label makers and all-in-one machines. There are even small craft machines now that can create custom designed stickers and labels.
My list includes the best label printers for the home as well as the best label printers for small business; if you need to make a lot of shipping labels, for instance, having a handheld label maker can be an excellent way to streamline the process. For those who run Etsy shops or similar businesses, it can be a real time-saver. Whether you're looking for a label maker for home or business use, you may want to scroll down to our section on how to choose the best label maker, where we run through some basic features.
There are plenty of good label maker brands out there – I've included products by Brother, Dymo, Epson, Niimbot and others, as well as one of the best Cricut machines for printing vinyl labels. If you're looking for something a little fancier, then check out our guide to the best embossing machines, which provide a great way to add a little flair to a homemade label. Or if you're just after barcode and packing labels, read our guide the best thermal printers.
The best label makers available now
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The best label maker overall
One of the sleekest, most up-to-date label makers, the Brother P-Touch Cube Plus PT-P710BT is a fully connected device that can be connected to Apple computers and PCs, as well as iOs and Android.
Paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth and you have all its printing tools at your fingertips, not to mention a huge bank of fonts via Google and Apple.
Labels go up to an inch in width, which is wider than most other label makers. You also can order colourful or glittery printing tape directly from Brother to jazz up your labels. There are 60 varieties of labels and stickers, so there is lots of choice and ensures you can make labels for all occasions, including work and crafting.
CB rating: 5/5 stars
The best home label maker
The Epson LabelWorks LW-C610 is a fantastic label maker for crafters and the home. It can print labels between 4 to 24 mm wide and uses Epson's cartridge system, so you just clip in the tape cart and go (there's an auto-cutter too).
This label maker can be paired to mobiles and desktops, via Bluetooth. It's not the quickest but it prints at 360 dpi, making it one of the sharpest and best quality label makers on my list.
There are 50 tape label finishes to choose from, including a smart gold metallic out of matt black. The Epson app is superb, crammed with fonts and decals, and is incredibly easy to use. If you need special labels for your Etsy arts and crafts, this is the machine. Read my Epson LabelWorks LW-C610 review for more.
CB rating: 5/5 stars
The best retro style label maker
The Niimbot B21 is a vintage style thermal printer that makes wide 20 - 50 mm stickers and labels. This may lack some of the plush tape finishes of the Epsons but it can print faster (though at a lower resolution).
You can't talk about the Niimbot B21 without mentioning the mid-century modern retro design – it looks lovely. This is ideal for craft stores that need a decent label maker and a talking point for customers.
This uses the Niimbot app, which is fine but has some fonts and decals locked behind a subscription. What is great, however, is you can take photos on your mobile and the app converts and prints them. The Niimbot B21 is very unique. Read my Niimbot B21 review for more details.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
A small label maker for quality prints
When it comes to small but handy label makers the Epson LabelWorks LW-C410 is a good option. It uses the same excellent Epson app as the LW-C610 but makes narrower labels (up to 18mm, so larger than some small label makers).
The print quality is good but lower resolution than the LW-C610, but again it uses Epson's excellent app and cartridge system, and mix of high quality tapes and stickers, including metallics and coloured vinyl.
While it is small, there are smaller label makers, and the LW-C410 takes six AA batteries which adds to the weight. What I do love is the this label maker has an auto-cutter, which reduces waste. Read my Epson LabelWorks LW-C410 review for more details.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
The best cheap label maker
The Niimbot D110 label maker is a fun and practical little thermal printer for creating small stickers for home and celebrations. It may not offer the same results as the Epsons but it's easily the best cheap label maker on my list.
The sticker rolls used by the Niimbot D110 are small (up to 12mm) but come in a mix of colours and styles, including handy tags and illustrated stickers for birthdays and parties. This is super-easy to use as well – you literally drop in a sticker roll and print.
The downside to the D110 is it prints at 203 dpi so the results can be a little jagged, but for home use or fun with the kids and at school it's ideal – and cheap. Read my Niimbot D110 review for more details.
CB rating: 3/5 stars
A good fun and mobile label maker
The MakeID Label Maker Machine is a smart little label maker that is smaller than a mouse and comes with over 20 fonts, 300+ stickers and more than 60 border designs so you can creative out of the box.
This connects to an Apple or Android app for mobility and can be used with a number of pre-cut label sticker tapes, including dots, grids and flat colours. The MakeID even has room to store extra tape. The downside? It only makes labels, not barcodes or QR codes.
What really impresses about this small label maker is it prints at 300 dpi, so its quality can match some of the larger label makers on my list. This does, however, make it a little slower than the Niimbot D110 and some others that print at 203 dpi.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
A value business label maker
The Brother PT-H110 has everything you need to make labels already built into it. You have three fonts to choose from, as well as 15 frames and symbols for extra potential.
The label cutter on the side of the Brother PT-H110 works nicely and makes cutting off your label very intuitive and efficient, minimising wasted tape. It can take 3.5mm, 6mm, 9mm, and 12mm tape widths, giving you a decent amount of flexibility.
We found this to be a simple and effective to use, this is a great pick. See our Brother PT-H110 review for more information.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
Best for native controls
The DYMO Label Manager 500TS offers 10 on-board fonts, 25 font sizes, and 32 text styles. It also has a touchscreen that makes it very easy to navigate options.
The DYMO Label Manager 500TS can store up to 500 frequently used options. These are easy to navigate back to, so if you're a small business with several different types of label that you need to print frequently.
This has a rechargeable battery, and it can also be connected to your PC or Mac using a USB cable, which allows you to customise your labels with fonts or graphics.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
The best do-all mini-printer
The YUEOU Pocket Printer A9 Pro is a small thermal printer that can be used to create labels, messages, lists, barcodes and QR codes; but its wide 56mm and 77mm thermal paper width and 304dpi resolution means it can also be used to printer photos and images and create labels with more uses.
WhileYUEOU Pocket Printer A9 Pro's images are greyscale and printed onto greyscale paper the resolution remains good. This printer is controlled via an app and supports USB and Bluetooth connectivity. If you're happy with a non-specialist label maker this is a good choice.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
Best for embossing
The best label makers have come a long way since the battery-free, embossing models were created. Recently though, we've been seeing that classic black embossed font all over spice cupboards, home offices, and other basic labelling tasks.
While it cannot rival thermal label printing for speedy use and font selection, the DYMO Embossing Label Maker is battery-free and simple to operate. It also brings a classic and nostalgic look that can't be replicated. Simply turn and click to choose your desired character, and you can pack your DYMO Embossing Label Maker away to take it on the go.
CB rating: 3/5 stars
Best for crafting
The Cricut Joy is a brilliant option for those who want to make vinyl labels. Because it's designed to cut vinyl, it is perfect for making all manner of stickers, including labels. We've tried out the Joy and know that you can use it for more than just vinyl, it's suitable for making labels and stickers out of vinyl, cardstock, and even iron-on materials.
You will need to use Cricut software to design and print your labels. This is a more than a label maker, but it is perfect for those who want to make creative and fun labels using downloadable art and a huge range of fonts. For more information, see our full Cricut Joy review.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
Best compact label maker
An Amazon-exclusive, the Phomemo D30 Mini Label Printer is a neat little label maker that's perfect for organising your fridge, your wires, and especially spices.
As the name suggests this is a tiny device; it's only the size of a smartphone, so needless to say, it won't fit larger printing tape, but it takes on smaller tasks with very little effort.
Pair it with the compatible app to print your labels over Bluetooth. While the range of fonts is limited, there is a large selection of emojis, borders, and icons. It can also print in colour, which is fun for making creative labels to use in your day-to-day life.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
Best for smaller labels
The Phomemo-M110 Label Maker is another more modern option, with Bluetooth to pair and print directly from a smartphone or tablet. The Phememo app includes 124 preset templates.
As opposed to printing directly on tape, the Phomemo-M110 Label Maker uses rolls of sticky labels exclusively. This means it's not the most versatile label maker, but is perfect for labelling kitchen jars, tins and spices.
There are two sizes available, but the largest is 0.48mm. Pair with festive or circular labels too with the Phememo shop on Amazon. Because it's wireless, the M110 Label Maker will need regular recharging, as it only has a 12-hour battery life.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
Best for labelling clothes
One of Brother's smartest domestic label makers, the Brother P-touch PT-D600 uses thermal printing on easy top-loading tape.
You can buy iron-on clothing label tape to use in this label maker, which makes a selection of colours from navy blue on white to black on pastel pink. Simply insert into the Brother P-touch PT-D600 and you'll be sorted for all your clothes labelling needs.
The labels are fully adjustable, with 14 fonts and a variety of widths and font sizes. You can print a maximum of seven lines per label and it has a memory of up to 99 labels, which is brilliant for those who need to re-print more labels once they've run out of their original run of prints. A great label maker for tagging clothes.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
Best for handmade tags
The Silhouette Mint is more of a craft label maker in a similar fashion to Cricut Joy, but if you're a craft seller and need to create suitable labels, this could be a good choice.
The idea behind the Silhouette Mint is it digitises the old stamp block label making technique; a thermal printing mechanism creates 3D reliefs that you can then use with special inks to stamp into labels. Each ink load lasts 50 stamps and gives that bespoke handmade finish.
If you want to create simple labels some of the Brother devices on this list are best. But for that handmade craft feel, the Silhouette Mint is excellent, though the inks are expensive.
CB rating: 4/5 stars
How to choose the best label maker
When choosing the best label maker, you need to consider what you'll use it for. For some, a label maker will facilitate a small business or store that's run from home, but others will simply want a label maker to organise their home with small sticky labels for spices and jars.
We included a range of sizes in this guide, and the size of the label maker is another important factor. It goes without saying that a small label maker can only print small labels, so if you need a generous width, you will have to go up in size when choosing the best label maker for you.
Should I consider connectivity in label makers?
Yes, connection is a big factor. Many more modern label makers can be used wirelessly, which means you can customise your labels from your phone and then send them over to your label maker to print. This is great for added fonts and styles, but it will mean that you need a Bluetooth connection at all times when printing labels.
Some will prefer a simple manual embossing label maker, which does not even require batteries, but most people opt for a digital label maker with a Blackberry-style keyboard to make it easy to type out your labels and adjust the font and size on one device.
How do label makers work?
Label makers tend to be pretty simple in terms of how they work. Typically, a label maker will use heat to apply your chosen text to a removable label that comes on a roll or strip of tape. This does mean, naturally, that you'll need to keep it stocked up with tape, and resupply on a regular basis if you're printing lots of labels.
Do label makers run out of ink?
Generally no. Label makers are thermal printers, meaning they transfer heat from a thermal print head onto specially treated labels made from heat-sensitive paper. This means no refilling ink cartridges and no messy spills. The only thing you need to be mindful of is ensuring you buy the correct labels that are made out of the right stuff; generally you can order refills directly from manufacturers like Brother or DYMO.
Are labels from label makers waterproof?
The specially treated thermal paper that most label makers use will generally stand up to a bit of water, as long as you wipe it off in quick fashion. They're not made to be submerged or drenched, but a splash with water shouldn't cause much of an issue.
What's the most versatile label maker?
The most versatile label maker is the Cricut Joy, because it doesn't just act as a label maker, it can cut out designs, too. That said, the Cricut Joy may be overkill for people who want to just print out a few simple labels for use in the home. For that purpose, we recommend the Brother PT-H110, which is simple and easy to use, and doesn't cost as much as the Cricut Joy.
