The Three Tiers, Priced Out

This Workhorse printer arrives with a full set of standard-yield cartridges in the box — 9,000 pages of black and 6,500 of each color — so the first replacement decision usually comes months after setup. When it does, the choice is about how often your team wants to open the front cover:

Cartridge	Yield	Our compatible price*	Cost per page
TN810BK (black)	~9,000 pages	$206.51	≈2.3¢
TN810C / M / Y (each)	~6,500 pages	$310.53	≈4.8¢
TN810XLBK (black)	~12,000 pages	$50.72	≈0.4¢
TN810XLC / M / Y (each)	~9,000 pages	$50.72	≈0.6¢
TN815BK (black)	~15,000 pages	$256.15	≈1.7¢
TN815C / M / Y (each)	~12,000 pages	$362.72	≈3.0¢

*Prices checked on our product pages on November 2, 2026; they can change. Yields are Brother's ratings.

Read that table carefully, because it holds a surprise: on our shelf right now, the high-yield TN810XL cartridges cost far less than both the standard TN810 and the super high-yield TN815. Brother designed the TN815 as its lowest-cost-per-page cartridge in genuine form, but in our compatible range the XL tier wins on price per page by a wide margin. The TN815 still earns its place in one situation — a fleet manager who wants the longest possible stretch between cartridge swaps (15,000 black pages) and is willing to pay for fewer touches. For everyone else, the TN810XL is the rational default for this printer.

Every Cartridge, Color by Color

• Black: TN810BK · TN810XLBK · TN815BK
• Cyan: TN810C · TN810XLC · TN815C
• Magenta: TN810M · TN810XLM · TN815M
• Yellow: TN810Y · TN810XLY · TN815Y

You can mix tiers freely — an XL black beside standard colors is fine — and each cartridge is replaced on its own schedule.

Swapping a Cartridge

1. Leave the machine on and open the front cover. 2. Slide out the drum unit assembly; each toner sits in its own color-coded slot. 3. Push the green lock lever and lift the spent cartridge straight up and out. 4. Unpack the replacement, rock it gently side to side four or five times, and remove the protective cover. 5. Press it into the matching slot until the lock lever clicks, slide the assembly back in, and close the cover.

Built for a Workgroup, Not a Desk

Two things about this model change how you should stock it. First, speed and capacity: it prints up to 42 pages per minute and starts with 620 sheets on board (520-sheet tray plus 100-sheet multipurpose tray), expandable to 2,700 sheets with the tower tray — a printer feeding that much paper burns toner in fleets, not drips, which is another argument for the XL tier. Second, security: the integrated NFC card reader and Triple Layer Security are there so jobs release only when the owner badges in. Secure release means fewer abandoned reprints, which quietly saves more toner than most offices expect.

The Set Worth Buying

Our TN810XL four-color set — one each of black, cyan, magenta and yellow in the high-yield size — is $154.66, against $202.88 for the same four cartridges bought one at a time: a saving of about $48. The honest counter-case still applies: colors rarely run dry together, so if only the black is empty, the single TN810XLBK at $50.72 is the smarter order and the set can wait until a full refresh is due. (A standard-yield TN810 set exists too, but at current prices it saves essentially nothing over its singles.)

Drum, Belt and Waste Box

The toner clicks into the DR810CL drum unit, rated around 100,000 pages — roughly eight to eleven toner cycles away, so it is a planned maintenance item, not a consumable to stock. Behind it sit the BU800CL belt unit (about 150,000 pages) and the WT800CL waste toner box (about 100,000 pages). We do not currently carry compatible versions of these three parts, so there are no links here on purpose; when the printer reports one near end of life, that is a genuine-part purchase, and the messages arrive with plenty of warning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the HL-L9430CDN really take the TN815? Yes. Brother lists the TN815 super high-yield series (15,000 pages black, 12,000 per color) as a replacement supply for this model — it is one of the Workhorse features that separates it from the HL-L9410CDN, which stops at the TN810XL.

Can I mix a TN815 black with TN810XL colors? Yes. Each slot reads its own cartridge; tiers can be mixed in any combination.

Why is the standard TN810 priced higher than the XL on your site? That is the current state of our shelf pricing for this family, and it is exactly why the cost-per-page column above matters more than the tier names. At today's prices the XL is cheaper to buy outright and cheaper per page.

How long does the drum last compared with the toner? The DR810CL is rated near 100,000 pages, so expect it to outlast roughly eight TN810XL black cartridges. The printer tracks it separately and warns you well ahead.

Does this printer print in color only, or black as well? Both. It is a full color laser that also handles high-volume monochrome work at the same 42 ppm rating.

Other Printers That Use TN810 and TN810XL

The wider enterprise platform shares these cartridges: the HL-L9410CDN, HL-L9470CDN, MFC-L9610CDN, MFC-L9630CDN and MFC-L9670CDN. One caution before you move cartridges between machines: the HL-L9410CDN and MFC-L9610CDN accept the TN810 and TN810XL only — the TN815 fits the other four models, not those two.

Ready to restock? Start from our HL-L9430CDN toner page, which gathers every cartridge and set that fits this printer.