The 3 Best Label Makers of 2025
Top pick
This label maker trades a built-in screen and keyboard for an easy-to-use smartphone app. It’s compact and portable, prints quickly, and automatically cuts labels. And Brother’s design software offers plenty of customization options.
Of all the label makers we tested, the Brother P-touch Cube Plus was the machine we reached for most often.
Not only was this Bluetooth-only label maker one of the easiest and most convenient to use, thanks to the device’s smartphone pairing and auto-cutting mechanism, but it also printed consistently crisp labels that survived almost every durability test.
With a small footprint and a built-in rechargeable battery, it’s easy to toss into your bag to bring to the office or carry around your home as you organize. And it allowed the most creative freedom of any model we tested, thanks to Brother’s multiple design apps.
It’s super simple to set up. The Cube Plus comes with everything you’ll need to get started, including two cartridges of Brother TZe Label Tape (24 mm plain white and 24 mm gold glitter), a USB charging cable, and a QR code printed on the machine itself that prompts you to download the P-touch Design&Print2 app (iOS and Android). Once downloaded, the app walks you through how to pair the device to your smartphone via Bluetooth.
It prints clean, sharp labels quickly. This label maker printed more quickly than others we tested and consistently produced labels that didn’t smudge or smear. Its auto-cutting mechanism ensures that every label is uniform in length, which saves time and effort when batch-printing large quantities of the same label and eliminates the need to keep a pair of scissors on hand for trimming.
To make clear labels, look for label cassettes described as “black on clear,” like these Brother labels, which prints black text on clear tape. (Always be sure to double-check that the labels you’re buying will work with your label maker.)
Its compatible apps are user-friendly and allow for creative freedom. Most Bluetooth-enabled Brother label makers, including the Cube Plus, are compatible with two different mobile apps: Design&Print 2 and iPrint&Label (iOS and Android). Though both create and print labels, Design&Print 2 has a stronger focus on creativity, with a catalog of over 130 fonts, plus more than 450 symbols and emojis and more than 60 frames and patterns. iPrint&Label offers just the basics for more-practical labels. And if you want to ditch your phone or tablet entirely, the P-touch Editor software for Mac and PC lets you design and print labels from your computer instead. All three apps are easy to use.
The Cube Plus can print on tape up to 24 mm wide, and the Design&Print 2 app automatically detects the width of the tape you load and either adjusts the label to fit the parameters or warns you that your label might not look like the preview unless you make adjustments.
The printed labels are durable and water resistant. Most labels from top brands like Brother and Dymo are described as “water resistant” rather than “waterproof,” so while they aren’t meant for long-term use in wet conditions, these labels should stand up to occasional splashes and even a couple rounds in the dishwasher before they start to fade or delaminate.
In our testing, we’ve found Brother’s TZe tape to be superior to other tapes we tested. The labels not only survived multiple dishwasher cycles without fading or budging but also peeled off cleanly, leaving behind little residue. While other brands of tape (including chief rival Dymo’s) peeled off or curled when stuck on textured surfaces, the Brother tape held on tight, adhering as easily to coarse glitter scrapbooking paper as it did to the smooth plastic of a water bottle. (Keep in mind, however, that the machines themselves are not waterproof.)
It can print multiple lines. For things like water bottles, file folders, or organizing cables, you probably won’t need to print more than one line of text per label. But if you need to print address labels or contextual descriptions for your scrapbook, the Cube Plus can print up to four lines of text on 24 mm tape, which provides more flexibility than some other printers offer.
The Cube Plus can also print out barcodes and QR codes, and its ability to print up to 99 copies of the same label at once can save time if you’re labeling stock or packing up orders.
It saves frequently printed text. The Cube Plus offers 100 memory slots for frequently used labels, which is on the higher end among the models we tested. And even if you forget to save a label for future use, the app’s “print history” tab keeps a record of everything you’ve printed recently.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- It can waste tape. The P-touch Cube Plus spits out 2.5 centimeters (or about an inch) of tape before each new print, which quickly adds up if you’re making one-off, unique labels. No amount of fiddling with settings can prevent this tape waste.
While all label makers we tested wasted tape, including Dymo’s best sellers, it’s extra frustrating because Brother’s tape costs around $13 per 8-meter cartridge (about 26.2 feet). We think the quality and durability of TZe tape makes it worth the splurge, but the Cube Plus is also compatible with cheaper, off-brand tape. We haven’t tested any of these alternatives and can’t speak to how they hold up over time.
- Bluetooth connection can be finicky. We also found that the Cube Plus has to be manually connected to Bluetooth every time it’s turned on, rather than remembering our devices and connecting automatically, as other Bluetooth-enabled makers we tested were able to do. Reconnecting doesn’t take long—you’ll have to go to your phone’s Bluetooth menu and tap the device—but this is still an annoying quirk.
- It’s expensive. At $100, the Cube Plus costs more than other Bluetooth-only and hybrid label makers. Though we think its ease of use, robust printing capabilities, and excellent print quality makes it worth the higher price tag, we’d suggest checking out the cheaper Brother P-touch Cube if the Plus is too rich for your blood.
