Is the HP 63XL/65XL combined ink cartridge worth it?
By Lena Fischer, office & workspace · updated 2026-07-26
Worth it if you just want the right cartridge without the guesswork

Worth it, if you print occasionally and hate guessing which number your printer needs
around $45price at time of review — check Amazon for current
- Worth it ifYou're not sure whether your printer takes a 63 or 65 cartridge and want that decision made for you
- Skip it ifYou print hundreds of pages a week and would save more with an ink tank printer
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You're standing in front of the printer aisle, or scrolling on your phone, squinting at a string of numbers on the side of your old cartridge. Is it a 63? A 65? The label wore off months ago and the printer just says "low ink" in that flashing orange way that makes you want to throw the whole machine out the window. This is the exact moment a cartridge hp ink search is supposed to solve, and usually it just adds more numbers to be confused by.
Here's the bit that actually matters: HP has combined the 63 and 65 cartridge lines into one part. Those used to be separate products because different printer generations wired their cartridge contacts and ink formulations slightly differently, so a 65 wouldn't physically work in a 63 slot and vice versa. This cartridge is built to satisfy both sets of contacts and both ink chemistries at once, so instead of matching a number, you're matching your printer model, which is the thing you actually know off the top of your head. That's the whole trick: it collapses two buying decisions into one. On top of that, it's a high-yield cartridge, roughly 300 pages, meaning it's built with more ink packed into the same cartridge shell, so the tray you print your kid's school forms or the odd boarding pass on doesn't need swapping every few weeks. It's still a standard ink cartridge under the hood, not a refillable tank, so the yield and the price scale together the way they always have with HP.
You're not really buying ink here, you're buying certainty that you grabbed the right part before you even opened the box. The high yield just means you get to forget about the printer for longer, which for most home setups is the whole point.
Worth it if
- You're not sure whether your printer takes a 63 or 65 cartridge and want that decision made for you
- You print occasionally rather than constantly
- You want a higher page yield so you're not reordering every month
Skip it if
- You print hundreds of pages a week and would save more with an ink tank printer
- Your printer isn't on the compatible model list
- You're chasing the lowest possible cost per page above all else
Not for high-volume home printing, where a refillable ink tank printer pays for itself faster
If you own a compatible DeskJet, Envy, or OfficeJet and print in short bursts, an email attachment here, a form there, this is a quiet yes: buy once, stop thinking about it. If you print constantly, photos, documents, a home business's worth of pages every week, the per-page cost of any cartridge system like this adds up fast, and an ink tank printer will save you more than any single cartridge ever could.
Check price on Amazon · around $45 or Add it to your Amazon cart to sit on it
Before you go
Can I use generic ink cartridges in my HP printer?
Many HP printers accept third-party cartridges, but print quality and printer error messages can vary, so an HP-made cartridge like this one avoids that guesswork.
Are generic HP printer cartridges worth buying?
They're usually cheaper upfront, but the tradeoff is less consistent print quality and occasional compatibility warnings from the printer itself.
Full spec sheet
| Model Name | HP 63/65XL Black Ink Crtg |
|---|---|
| Brand | HP |
| Ink Color | Black |
| Page Yield | 300 |
| Compatible Devices | Printer |
| Special Feature | Fade Resistant |
| Compatibility Options | OEM |
| Color | Black |
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