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A woman using a label maker to organize her work files. Credit: DYMO

The Best Label Makers of 2023

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

A woman using a label maker to organize her work files. Credit: DYMO

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Editor's Choice Product image of Dymo LabelManager 160 P
Best Overall

Dymo LabelManager 160 P

Boasting multiple fonts, text styles, typographic symbols, and emojis, this ergonomically minded is a great option for use at home or at the office. Read More

Pros

  • Multiple font sizes and emojis
  • Ergonomic
  • Great build quality

Cons

  • No screen lighting
  • Requires disposable or rechargeable batteries
Product image of Brother P-Touch PTD210

Brother P-Touch PTD210

While this label maker offers printing options a-plenty, its design and the fact that its power adapter is sold separately, disappointed us. Read More

Pros

  • Great section of fonts, templates and symbols
  • Multiple label size options

Cons

  • Requires both hands to use
  • Keyboard too small for touch-typing
  • Power adapter sold separately.
Product image of Brother P-Touch PTD450

Brother P-Touch PTD450

This label maker's feature set is geared towards power users. Unless you need to print barcodes, there are better options out there. Read More

Pros

  • AC adapter included
  • Can print Bar Codes
  • Computer connectivity via USB

Cons

  • Most key features will only appeal to power users
Product image of Brady BMP21-PLUS

Brady BMP21-PLUS

While its rugged build quality may appeal to some, using this label maker's keyboard can be a frustrating experience. Read More

Pros

  • Great for left or right-handed users
  • Rugged build quality

Cons

  • Poor label performance during testing
  • No AC adapter
  • Keyboard difficult to use.
Product image of Dymo LabelManager 420P

Dymo LabelManager 420P

While we like its backlit display, AC adapter and rechargeable battery, this power-hungry label maker can't be used while the battery is charging. Read More

Pros

  • Backlit display
  • Rechargeable battery

Cons

  • Can't be used while charging
  • Lots of fonts, but limited printing options

An organized closet can be the key to a stress-free day. Grabbing a box and knowing exactly what's inside makes finding what you need super easy. But who can always remember the exact contents of every single box? That's where a simple chunk of plastic comes in handy. I'm talking about the joys of labels—particularly, clearly printed labels on easy-to-read tape.

Label makers—like our favorite, the Dymo LabelManager 160 Portable (available at Amazon) — are the best tools to keep your belongings well organized. Any container that's labeled means you'll always know what's inside, especially when you need to track shipping labels or find your tax papers. But not all label makers are easy to use. Some now have extra features, like letting you print label barcodes or symbols. Others will connect to computers or smartphones to add images or barcodes. So we decided to take the time to recommend our top picks to you.

Editor's Note:
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
A person holds a Dymo LabelManager 160 portable label maker.
Credit: Dymo

The Dymo LabelManager 160 portable label maker is our top recommendation thanks to its combination of performance and value.

Best Overall
Dymo LabelManager 160

Our favorite label maker may not include a few features that we'd appreciate—like a backlit display, a larger clip art selection, and it doesn't connect to a computer—but its keyboard and thermal printer do a great job at popping out legible laminated strips of paper that you can slap on all your stuff.

It includes six font sizes, eight text styles, 228 symbols, and clip art.

The value is excellent, too. It's a sturdy product at less than a third the price of most of the closest competitors.

The DYMO 160 is easy to hold in one hand while you type with the other. A QWERTY-style keyboard makes typing a breeze. The limited menus on the device are intuitive, with the font being adjustable after typing the label in.

While it’s true that without a backlight you can't make labels in a dark place and you'll have to purchase your own batteries, the limited complexity still feels worth the trade-off in price.

Pros

  • Multiple font sizes and emojis

  • Ergonomic

  • Great build quality

Cons

  • No screen lighting

  • Requires disposable or rechargeable batteries

Product image of Brother P-Touch PTD210
Brother P-Touch PTD210

Brother makes some of the most popular label printers on the market, so much so that we tested four for this guide, and the Brother P-touch PTD210 is our favorite of the bunch because of all the label-making features it includes. There is a selection of 14 fonts, 600 symbols, 98 frames, and even some templates to choose from.

The Brother PTD210 even saves 30 labels for you to reprint whenever you need them again. The menus are intuitive and user friendly.

However, the size of the keyboard is too small to touch-type, so it’s really best to hold it in two hands and use your thumbs to type.

Generally, the Brother tape tested very well in both the water and freeze tests. The tape is available in a wide range of sizes and colors. If barcodes are part of your label-printing needs, this model is not able to accommodate that.

It also didn't include any source of battery power in the box, so make sure to pick up some batteries or purchase the optional AC adapter.

Pros

  • Great section of fonts, templates and symbols

  • Multiple label size options

Cons

  • Requires both hands to use

  • Keyboard too small for touch-typing

  • Power adapter sold separately.

Product image of Brother P-Touch PTD450
Brother P-Touch PTD450

The Brother PTD450 has plenty of features to recommend it: a QWERTY keyboard, an included A/C adapter as well as the option to use batteries, computer connectivity through a USB cable. It includes 4 fonts, with 10 font styles, and more than 600 symbols. It will also print barcodes.

If you spend a considerable portion of your time creating several labels per minute or day, this label maker would be great for you. With the large keyboard, you can touch-type all those labels much more quickly than a hunt-and-peck style of typing used on the smaller models.

However, if you don't see yourself using it very often, and don't need the additional features, this label maker may not be worth the extra cost.

Pros

  • AC adapter included

  • Can print Bar Codes

  • Computer connectivity via USB

Cons

  • Most key features will only appeal to power users

Product image of Brady BMP21-PLUS
Brady BMP21-PLUS

We really wanted to like the Brady BMP21-Plus. It’s so rugged, you might even be able to label a polar bear in its Arctic home. With the sharp black rubberized and bright yellow accents, you’d be able to find it in that snowbank.

During the labels section of testing, the Brady BMP21-PLUS struggled to match the quality offered by the other label makers we tested. The white nylon cloth label had poor water resistance, peeling up at one corner and it left a residue on the wooden cutting board. While Brady does offer other label types, this roll of included label tape was disappointing.

The Brady BMP21-PLUS does not come with a power source in the box, so you'll need to purchase six AA batteries.

With an alphabetic order and 100 built-in symbols on the one-handed keyboard, the Brady was a bit of a struggle to use.

However, the menus were intuitive and easy to navigate. With two buttons to control the cutter, this label maker can be used by either right or left-handed folks, a thoughtful design approach.

For the price of this label maker, the full roll of labels was a nice bonus, but it’s reasonable that a tool in this price range should have a power adapter included.

Pros

  • Great for left or right-handed users

  • Rugged build quality

Cons

  • Poor label performance during testing

  • No AC adapter

  • Keyboard difficult to use.

Product image of Dymo LabelManager 420P
Dymo LabelManager 420P

If our best overall choice has an evil twin brother, it just might be this label maker. The DYMO 420P looks very similar to other DYMO label products with a sleek, one-handed design.

A larger, backlit display offers an expansive five-line space to create your labels in. Even if you forget to purchase batteries, the DYMO 420P has got you by including a dedicated rechargeable lithium ion battery and charger. However, the charger will not work without the battery pack installed—you get a very cheerful "BATTERY FAILED!” message if you try to run off the charger.

As for its evil side, the DYMO 420P is also demanding. When the charge was dropping down, it insisted on being plugged in for 10 minutes and then counted down the time.

Aside from being a bit power hungry, the DYMO 420P was clear about its ability to fit text onto the size of label tape. When I pushed to get a third line of text, it stopped me and showed “TOO MANY LINES!” The clarity of that message is appreciated.

This model features eight fonts, seven font sizes, 10 text styles and more than 200 symbols and clip-art images.

Pros

  • Backlit display

  • Rechargeable battery

Cons

  • Can't be used while charging

  • Lots of fonts, but limited printing options

What You Should Know When Buying a Label Maker

These mini-printers are relatively simple products, but the single job they need to do, they need to do really well. Here are a few features to look for when shopping for the perfect label maker.

Batteries—Very few label makers are ready to use, right out of the box. Some do not include an AC adapter to plug in, or AA or AAA batteries will need to be purchased separately.

Label Tape—Label makers require very specific cartilages depending on each brand, and in some cases, to each model. Most models will allow for a range of tape widths, going up to ¾ inches wide. For some brands, like Brother, there is also a range of different tape colors. Often there is a discount if you purchase through a company's website after signing up for their email list, so keep an eye out for savings.

Labels Stored—If there are a variety of labels that you expect to make frequently, like name labels, being able to store those labels in the label maker is a helpful feature. This way, anytime you need to print that label, it’s already set up and ready to select. Some label makers have this feature built-in. If the label maker connects to a computer or phone, it will have the ability to save labels as well.

Printing Barcodes—Not all label makers are able to print barcodes. Generally, if the label maker connects to a computer or a phone, you can put any image you like onto the label, including a barcode. For the label makers that do not attach to a computer or phone, barcodes are not an option.

Meet the tester

Rebecca Boniface

Rebecca Boniface

Contributor

Rebecca Boniface is a certified PADI dive instructor, full-time nomad, and DIY enthusiast.

See all of Rebecca Boniface's reviews

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