Label Maker Review
I truly believe that labeling a container makes it eight times more likely that I’ll put an item back away when I’m done, and in this label maker review, I’m hoping to help you decide which label maker is best for you! (This post contains affiliate links)
You can click below to watch me review each label maker, or keep reading.
There are so many options in a variety of price ranges, and I’m confident that there’s a label maker out there for every need and budget.
Dymo Label Maker
Price at Time of Posting: $29.99
Operation: The Dymo Label Maker uses six AAA batteries, or you can charge it with a cable.
The Good, The Bad, The Otherwise: This label maker is lightweight which makes it easy to take it with you on the go. I love how it has multiple font options, plus emojis and symbols that you can print. It also allows for printing double lined labels. The label tape is super easy to change out, and you can purchase it in multiple colors. Honestly, if I could only have one label maker, I would probably choose this one because of how easy it is to use especially considering the variety of options it offers.
Mechanical Dymo Label Maker
Price at time of posting: $9.99
Operation: The Mechanical Dymo Label Maker has nothing electronic. If you need to make labels during a power outage (which would be an odd need, but it could happen!) this would definitely be the one you need.
The Good, The Bad, The Otherwise: This label maker takes longer to operate than its electronic sister. You have to turn the dial to the letter you want, and then press the punch. Then turn to the next letter, and press the punch. You get the idea. If you had a lot of labels to make, this label would take quite a bit of time. That said, you get a beautiful, old fashioned label to show for all your work! Plus there are several colors of label tape available.
Brother P-Touch Cube
Price at time of posting: $59.99
Operation: The Brother P-Touch Cube must be paired with an app on your phone. It charges via a charging cable.
The Good, The Bad, The Otherwise: I ordered this label maker specifically for the purpose of reviewing it for this post, but I honestly considered not even including it. Simply put, I couldn’t get it to work! It paired with the app, but I never could get it to print correctly. The label was always misaligned with the scissors and so it cut at weird points. It also came with an extremely small amount of sample tape, so I ended up running out of tape and couldn’t get it to print any useful labels. It’s possible that I just got a bad model, but if you were able to get this to work, there are a lot of options for customizing your labels in the app.
Niimbot
Price at time of posting: $36.99
Operation: The NiiMbot label maker has a rechargeable battery that charges pretty quickly. You must connect to an app on your phone to use this label maker.
The Good, The Bad, The Otherwise: The NiiMbot does require that you use an app on your phone to design your labels, but I found it super easy to use. In the app you can change the text size and the font that you want to use on your label. The one thing that is super unique about this label maker is that instead of printing on label tape, it prints out little stickers. Honestly, I think this would be better described as a mini sticker printer than a label maker. It’s a super nifty little device, but if you’re wanting to make long labels, this won’t be the right fit for you.
One other thing to note is that the NiiMbot makes a quite loud noise whenever it powers on or off or pairs to Bluetooth. It’s not a deal breaker, but it sure will surprise you the first few times!
Cricut Joy
Price at time of posting: $149.00
Operation: The Cricut Joy must be plugged into an outlet to operate. Labels must be designed on your phone, iPad, or computer.
The Good, The Bad, The Otherwise: The Cricut Joy is a mini Cricut machine, so it does a lot more than just making labels, but if you are a lover of labels, this is definitely the cream of the crop. You can make a whole host of different shapes and sizes, and I have an entire tutorial here on how to make pantry labels using the Cricut Joy. This particular label maker is definitely for the craft lovers!
As you can see, there are all sorts of label makers available! And this review didn’t even mention my hack for quick and easy labels: freezer tape and a sharpie. No matter what you choose to use, make sure you label your organized spaces so you can always quickly find what you’re looking for!
Elisa Says
I have an older (but very similar) version of the Dymo label maker at the top of the list, and I just wanted to add a couple of things I like about it: (1) The labels are exactly the right size for labeling file folders – my file cabinet looks really organized and uniform now that I’ve replaced my old hand-written labels. (2) It seems like it uses a lot of batteries (mine takes 4 AAs) but it doesn’t use much power to run. I’ve only had to replace them once in nearly 10 years. (Even when it said the battery was low, it lasted a LONG time.)
I’ve also got a vintage version of the mechanical one, that makes the old-school embossed labels. Mine’s the “professional” one, that lets you switch out the font wheel. I can’t say I use it often, but it’s a sentimental favorite: my mom used one to label the boxes of toys in our room when we were kids. Does a label-making mom make for organized children? It’s worth a try!
Janet Says
I love my Dymo label maker, it’s an older version & uses 4 AA batteries. I have used it to label my kitchen pantry containers, kitchens open shelving canisters, medicine drawers, bathroom items, craft room supplies, garage boxes, bedroom clothes storage tubs, linen press, stationary… basically everything lol. Things are just easier when organised. The 4 batteries seem to last forever, even when it states that the battery was low. I have only recently replaced the batteries. I also remember my dad had one of the old mechanical dymo label makers, loved it as a kid.
Claire Fanger Says
Laura, I am looking for a Label Maker (portable) that uses 1″ labels. Do you recommend one? I don’t have a cri-cut.
I do own the DYMO 280, but I can only use up to 1/2″ with it, and have had problems loading the tape and it getting jammed.