Brother MFC-L2710DW vs Canon imageCLASS MF275dw: Budget Laser MFPs Compared

If you want laser reliability with a scanner and a fax at the lowest sensible price, the Brother MFC-L2710DW and the Canon imageCLASS MF275dw are the two machines that keep appearing. Both are competent, both will run for years, and the differences are narrower than in most comparisons. What separates them is consumable philosophy and a few pages per minute.

Specifications side by side

On paper these are close cousins. Same ADF size, same tray capacity, same connectivity, same class of display. Brother is quicker; Canon is marginally more compact and rated for slightly higher recommended volume.

Running costs: bundled drum or separate?

Brother wins on cost per page: roughly 3.9 cents with TN760 plus drum amortisation against about 5.2 cents for Canon's high-yield cartridge. Over 5,000 pages that is around $65 in Brother's favour.

Canon's counter-argument is simplicity. The Cartridge 071 includes the drum, so there is one part to buy, one thing to fit, and no drum counter to reset or worry about. For a household or a very small office that values not thinking about consumables, that has genuine value.

Brother's other advantage is the aftermarket. TN730 and TN760 compatibles are abundant and cheap, which can cut the effective cost per page below 2 cents. Canon's cartridges are cloned too, but the market is smaller and a poor batch affects image quality immediately because the drum is inside. See third-party ink and toner.

Everyday use and print quality

Both produce clean, dense business text and neither will disappoint on ordinary documents. Brother's output is slightly heavier; Canon's marginally finer on small type. At this level neither difference should decide a purchase.

Brother is faster and its first page arrives sooner from sleep. Canon's scanner software is slightly better organised, and its scan-to-network-folder setup through the web interface is clearer than Brother's. Both ADFs are single-sided, so two-sided originals need manual turning on either machine.

Neither has a touchscreen, which means multi-step operations such as configuring scan destinations are done through the small LCD or, better, through the printer's web interface from a computer.

Who each printer suits

Choose the Brother MFC-L2710DW if

• Cost per page is your main criterion.
• You want access to a large, cheap compatible toner market.
• Speed matters: 32 ppm against 29 is a modest but real difference.
• You are outside North America, where Brother toner pricing is particularly strong.
• You do not mind tracking two consumables.

Choose the Canon imageCLASS MF275dw if

• You want a single consumable with the drum included.
• You prefer Canon's scanning software and web interface.
• You want a slightly more compact machine.
• You intend to use genuine cartridges regardless.
• Simplicity matters more than the last cent per page.

Setup, apps and drivers

Brother's setup uses Brother Mobile Connect, which superseded Brother iPrint and Scan. The full driver package on Windows and macOS is straightforward, and the printer also works driverless through Windows printer settings using IPP. No account is required.

Canon uses Canon PRINT on mobile and Canon IJ Setup or the UFR II driver package on desktop. Canon's embedded web interface is the better of the two for configuring scan destinations, address books and department IDs.

Both support AirPrint and Mopria Print Service fully, so mobile printing works without either vendor app.

Known weaknesses and common errors

Brother MFC-L2710DW

Brother's toner sensor produces a replace toner message before the cartridge is genuinely empty, and the drum end of life counter fires at 12,000 pages regardless of physical condition. Both have documented reset procedures where the part is still producing clean pages.

The Unable to Print 46 waste toner counter appears on high-mileage units and halts the printer. ADF pickup rollers glaze after a few thousand sheets, producing skewed scans that clean up with a rubber-restoring wipe.

Canon imageCLASS MF275dw

Canon's all-in-one cartridge is the main cost complaint, and firmware has become progressively stricter about non-genuine cartridges. Because the drum sits inside the cartridge, a poor compatible batch shows up as banding or grey background immediately rather than gradually.

Network setup is the routine support ticket, particularly on hidden SSIDs or 5 GHz-only networks; see Canon printer will not connect. The ADF separation pad wears at high sheet counts and causes double-feeds; it is a cheap, user-replaceable part. Model-specific help lives in our Canon printer support guide.

Regional availability and part numbers

• United States and Canada: Brother MFC-L2710DW with TN730/TN760 toner and a DR730 drum; Canon imageCLASS MF275dw with Cartridge 071 and 071H.
• United Kingdom and Ireland: Canon sells the same machine as the i-SENSYS MF275dw. Brother's model keeps its name but uses TN-2410/TN-2420 toner with a DR-2400 drum.
• Australia and New Zealand: Canon lists the i-SENSYS MF275dw; Brother Australia sells the MFC-L2710DW with TN-2430/TN-2450 toner and a DR-2325 drum.

Canon's imageCLASS and i-SENSYS ranges are the same hardware with different regional branding. Brother region-codes its toner, so cartridges do not cross markets.

Fax, scanning and the small details

Both include a fax modem with a handset socket and both support fax forwarding to email, which is how most people actually use fax now: receive electronically, send on the rare occasion a recipient insists. Setup is comparable, though Canon's web interface makes address book entry less tedious.

For scanning, both offer scan-to-email, scan-to-folder and scan-to-USB. Canon's destination configuration is clearer and its handling of modern Windows shares is more forgiving, which matters because SMBv1 is disabled by default on current Windows and is the most common reason scan-to-folder fails on either brand.

Neither has a touchscreen, so plan to configure both from a browser rather than the front panel. Once destinations are stored, day-to-day operation is a matter of two or three button presses on either machine.

Verdict

Choose the Brother MFC-L2710DW if you want the lowest running cost. At roughly 3.9 cents per page with genuine toner, and well under 2 cents with good compatibles, it is the cheaper machine to own by a clear margin, and it is faster into the bargain.

Choose the Canon imageCLASS MF275dw if you would rather buy one consumable and forget about it. The bundled drum removes an entire category of maintenance messages, and Canon's scanning setup is the more polished of the two.

For alternatives with duplex scanning or higher volume, see how to choose a home office printer, or the Brother and Canon support hubs.