Both families use HP's W202 part numbers, and both fit the HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dn and M454dw, the Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479 series, and the Color LaserJet Enterprise M455dn and MFP M480f. The choice is not about compatibility — it is about how much you print.

The Head-to-Head Numbers

	HP 414A (standard)	HP 414X (high yield)
Black cartridge	W2020A	W2020X
Cyan cartridge	W2021A	W2021X
Magenta cartridge	W2023A	W2023X
Yellow cartridge	W2022A	W2022X
Black yield	About 2,400 pages	About 7,500 pages
Color yield (each)	About 2,100 pages	About 6,000 pages
Fits	M454dn, M454dw, MFP M479 series, Enterprise M455dn, MFP M480f	Same printers
Best for	Light, occasional printing	Regular and heavy printing

Yields are the manufacturer ratings at 5% page coverage. Notice the pattern in the part numbers: the codes are identical except the last letter — A for standard, X for high yield. If you remember nothing else from this page, remember that letter.

Every Cartridge, Color by Color

Each color is its own cartridge with its own part number, and you replace only the one that runs out. Our compatible versions, one by one:

HP 414A (standard yield)

• W2020A Black — about 2,400 pages
• W2021A Cyan — about 2,100 pages
• W2022A Yellow — about 2,100 pages
• W2023A Magenta — about 2,100 pages

HP 414X (high yield)

• W2020X Black — about 7,500 pages
• W2021X Cyan — about 6,000 pages
• W2022X Yellow — about 6,000 pages
• W2023X Magenta — about 6,000 pages

What the Difference Costs: Cost per Page

Yield only matters once you divide price by pages. Using the prices on our own compatible cartridges, checked live on November 2, 2026:

Compatible cartridge (Clever Supplies)	Price	Rated yield	Cost per page (black)
HP 414A black (W2020A)	$64.75	2,400 pages	About 2.7 cents
HP 414X black (W2020X)	$50.05	7,500 pages	About 0.7 cents

And for a full four-color change:

Compatible set (Clever Supplies)	Price
HP 414A four-color set	$250.68
HP 414X four-color set	$151.97

Prices change over time, so check the product pages for today's figures — but the shape of the result is consistent with this family: on a cost-per-page basis the high-yield cartridge is the cheaper way to print, and at the time of writing our compatible 414X set was also the lower upfront purchase. Run your own division before you buy; any honest comparison of A against X should survive that arithmetic.

The Volume Test: Three Typical Owners

The occasional printer — under 100 pages a month. A 414A black cartridge lasts you about two years. Toner does not expire quickly, but there is little reason to tie up money in a 7,500-page cartridge you may not finish for five years. Buy the 414A, or the 414X only if the set price happens to be lower on the day — as it was when we checked.

The working home office — 300 to 800 pages a month. This is 414X territory. A black 414A would need replacing roughly every three to eight months, and every swap is a small interruption plus a delivery to wait for. One 414X covers the same ground with a third of the swaps and about a quarter of the per-page cost on our compatible pricing.

The small team printer — 1,000+ pages a month. Do not buy standard yield at all. At this volume a 414A black lasts about ten weeks; a 414X lasts over seven months. High yield also smooths your ordering: one planned purchase instead of a recurring minor emergency.

The Color Side of the Story

Most comparisons fixate on black, but these are color printers, and the color cartridges follow the same pattern: 2,100 pages per 414A color against 6,000 pages per 414X color. If your printing is mostly black text with the occasional color page, your color cartridges will age slowly and standard yield is defensible for color even if you choose high yield for black — the printer accepts any mix, cartridge by cartridge. If you print color documents, flyers, or reports regularly, treat color the same way as black and go high yield across the set; a four-color set also saves you three separate mid-job surprises.

The Honest Word on Compatible Cartridges

Both the 414A and the 414X exist as genuine HP cartridges and as compatible cartridges made by independent manufacturers, including ours. The genuine cartridge is the manufacturer's own product. A compatible is built to the same fit and rated yield and typically sells for substantially less — the prices in the tables above are our compatible prices, which is exactly why the per-page figures look the way they do.

What should you expect from a compatible? The same installation, the same page count rating, and — with a cartridge that carries the correct chip for these models — normal toner-level reporting. These HP models use cartridge chips, so buy from a seller who states chip compatibility for the 414 family rather than discovering a recognition error at install time. And hold any seller, us included, to the basics: the exact printer list on the product page, a stated yield, and a clear returns policy if the cartridge is defective on arrival. If a listing will not tell you those three things, that is your answer about the listing.

You can browse everything for the most common printer in this family on our HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dn toner page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I mix 414A and 414X cartridges in the same printer? Yes. Each color slot is independent. Many owners run a high-yield black alongside standard-yield colors, or the reverse. The printer does not require the set to match.

Will a 414X physically fit where a 414A was? Yes. The cartridges share the same fit for the same printers; the X version simply contains more toner. There is nothing to modify and no setting to change.

Is the print quality different between 414A and 414X? No. It is the same toner formulation family and the same printers. The difference is capacity and cost per page, not sharpness or color.

My printer shipped with 414A cartridges. Must my first replacements be 414A too? No. The cartridges in the box do not lock you into a tier. Your first replacement can be 414X in any or all colors.

Which one is cheaper overall if I print very little? Whichever has the lower purchase price on the day you buy — at very low volume you may never reach the page count where per-page math dominates, so upfront price and not wasting toner matter more. Check both product pages; at the time of writing, our compatible 414X was listed below our compatible 414A in both single black and set form.

Do 414A and 414X fit printers outside the M454 and M479 lines? Within the data covered here, the family also fits the HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M455dn and MFP M480f. Do not assume it fits other LaserJet models — check your printer's model name against the product page list before ordering.