RE: budget laser printers
As I mentioned in my previous post, they generally come with what is called a "starter" toner unit. Similar to how inkjets are marketed (lowest retail price being a priority to entice consumers) most low- and mid- tier lasers will come with a toner pack good for (in the US) about 500 pages (for some reason, the Brother units are 1500 in Canada. I say "for some reason" because there doesn't seem to be any real price difference between the different market models).
This lowers the retail price. But when you shop, be sure to ask or confirm what it comes with, and I would suggest buying a full toner unit when you buy the printer (use the starter unit until it dies, then replace) or at least check out the prices, and figure the cost of both into your shopping.
Note that Brother offers two sizes of replacement toner units (I don't know for sure, but suspect, it's common in the industry with other makes), it's cheaper per page to get the larger one, but regardless be sure you are comparing apples to apples when shopping with regard to capacity. Not surprisingly, when you see a price online or in a flyer, it's inevitably the smaller unit.
Also, if you are new to laser printers, know that there are two consumables in every laser printer. One is the toner cartridge, the other is the drum head. You generally need to replace the drum head less often, but there is a catch.
Some lasers incorporate the toner and drum in a single package (eg H-P). That will impact the replacement cost.
Others (Brother among them) sell separate toner and drum units.
The toner/drum units means the drum is regularly replaced and is usually trouble free. However, if the drum does die, you will lose all the toner as well.
With the Brother units I've never actually had to replace the drum, but it's said to budget for one every three toner cartridges.
The drum will last the longest if you only print text, and the shortest if you print full page photos or lots of images. Laser printers do not reproduce images as well as inkjets, may as well get that out of the way, but it's certainly adequate if you're not printing photos for display.
Although inkjets have improved, note that laser ink is permanent. Inkjets can smudge if the paper ever gets wet, which might matter if you make shipping labels or print envelopes or business cards. Also, you can use a laser for some other things like making printed circuit boards, if you're a hobbyist.