The most effective e-book reader to purchase proper now

Author’s be aware: Amazon Prime Day will happen on July sixteenth and seventeenth. Whereas we don’t know what offers the occasion will deliver, we anticipate to see reductions on lots of the e-readers featured on this information. Till then, keep updated with our roundup of the finest early Prime Day offers.

Any e-book reader will allow you to cram a Magnificence and the Beast-sized library’s price of books in your pocket, however so will your telephone. An e-book reader provides a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and lots of embrace additional options, like adjustable frontlighting. Some actually are pocketable. Others are waterproof or provide bodily page-turning buttons, whereas a couple of even allow you to take notes.

I’ve been utilizing e-book readers for almost a decade, and I’ve gone hands-on with dozens, from the Kindle Paperwhite to lesser-known rivals just like the Pocketbook Period. Whether or not you need one thing your child can throw towards the wall or a water-proof, warm-glow Kindle that gained’t spoil your spa ambiance, these are one of the best e-book readers for everybody. 

Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x .32 inches / Weight: 205 grams / Display screen space and backbone: 6.8-inch display screen, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist 

For those who principally purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll need a Kindle, and the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite is your best option for most individuals. Beginning at $139.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra Color — my prime non-Amazon e-book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for lots of the similar options. These embrace a big 300pi show and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and pleasing studying expertise. The latter additionally conveniently improves sleep by reducing down on blue mild that interrupts melatonin manufacturing. 

That heat white frontlighting is a bonus over the cool white of the $99.99 base-model Kindle, and in contrast to the bottom Kindle, the Paperwhite has IPX8 water resistance. The $189.99 Signature Version Paperwhite additionally has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen advertisements. It additionally has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon function to seek out in an e-reader.

Amazon is the most important on-line retailer on this planet, and it dominates the US e-book market, so Kindle homeowners have entry to benefits homeowners of different e-book readers don’t. A lot of Amazon’s {hardware} technique relies on providing cut-rate reductions to drag you into its content material ecosystem. You probably have Prime and purchase lots of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is your best option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely straightforward to purchase and skim its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale, and Prime members get extra free content material via Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo provide gross sales, too, but it surely’s exhausting for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen advertisements except you pay $20 additional to do away with them. It’s additionally too massive to carry comfortably with one hand. Maybe the Kindle Paperwhite’s greatest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles except for Hearth tablets — is that it’s not straightforward to learn books bought outdoors of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle e-book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. Not like Kobo and different e-book readers, Kindles don’t assist EPUB recordsdata, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, in case you typically store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or Google Play Books or many different e-book shops), you’ll be able to’t simply learn these books on a Kindle with out utilizing a workaround. There are methods to transform and switch file codecs so you’ll be able to learn on the Kindle and vice versa, but it surely’ll take a few additional steps.

Nevertheless, in case you don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts purchasing from Amazon, you’ll be very happy with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Learn our Kindle Paperwhite evaluation.

Dimensions: 5.69 x 6.34 x 0.33 inches / Weight: 199.5 grams / Display screen space and backbone: 7-inch display screen, 300ppi (black-and-white), 150ppi (coloration) / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Kobo Stylus 2 assist, Bluetooth audio assist 

The Kobo Libra Color is a wonderful various to Amazon’s e-book readers, particularly for readers outdoors the US or anybody who doesn’t wish to faucet into Amazon’s ecosystem. Kobo’s newest slate provides lots of the standout options discovered on the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite — together with waterproofing, USB-C assist, and a 300ppi show — together with a couple of perks that make it extra useful and pleasing to make use of.

The colour show is the obvious. The Libra Color makes use of E Ink’s newest Kaledio coloration display screen know-how, which supplies soothing, pastel-like hues that also pop in direct daylight. It’s not as sharp as studying in monochrome — the decision drops to 150ppi when viewing content material in coloration — but it surely’s a pleasant contact that makes viewing a wider vary of content material extra nice. E-book covers and comics, whereas nonetheless muted, have an added layer of depth, even when the colours are nowhere close to as vivid as that of a conventional LED pill.

Moreover, the Libra Color works with the Kobo Stylus 2 (bought individually), which suggests you’ll be able to spotlight textual content with numerous colours or take notes utilizing Kobo’s built-in notebooks. It’s also possible to reap the benefits of among the extra superior capabilities discovered within the Kobo Elipsa 2E, permitting you to unravel math equations, convert handwriting into typed textual content, and insert diagrams. This lets the Libra Color operate as a mini pocket book of types, although I wouldn’t use it as a major note-taking system for the reason that seven-inch show can really feel cramped to write down on.

The colour show is barely a part of the enchantment, although. The Libra Color additionally lacks lockscreen advertisements — not like the bottom Paperwhite — and packs bodily page-turning buttons, which really feel extra intuitive to make use of than tapping both aspect of the show. The speedy e-reader additionally helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB recordsdata, and makes it a lot simpler to borrow books from the Overdrive library system. Native assist for Pocket, in the meantime, means you’ll be able to learn your articles offline in case you’re somebody who makes use of the long-standing bookmarking app.

Nevertheless, at $219.99, the Libra Color prices $70 greater than the entry-level Paperwhite — and that’s with out Kobo’s $69.99 stylus, which is required for performing sure duties. That hole widens additional when the Paperwhite is on sale, which it frequently is. There’s additionally the truth that the Kobo can’t simply faucet into Amazon’s huge library of ebooks, which might be irritating in case you’ve amassed a set of Kindle titles through the years. It may be completed, however you must convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which is hard and might take time.

But when these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra Color will provide you with one of the best digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on our record. It’s my private favourite, if nothing else.

Learn our Kobo Libra Color evaluation.

Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.3 x 0.32 inches / Weight: 158 grams / Display screen space and backbone: 6-inch display screen, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Different options: USB-C assist, Bluetooth audio assist 

The base-model Kindle ($99.99 with advertisements) is one of the best low cost e-book reader. Its 300ppi decision makes textual content clearer and simpler to learn than the lower-resolution screens on different e-book readers in its worth vary. Plus, it even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging. 

Studying on its six-inch display screen feels just a little extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, the flip aspect is that its small dimension makes it pocketable, mild, and simple for small arms to carry. Mixed with its comparatively inexpensive worth, the Kindle can also be one of the best e-book reader for youths — particularly within the children model Amazon sells for $20 extra. It shares the identical actual specs however is ad-free with parental controls, a two-year prolonged substitute assure, and a case. It additionally comes with one yr of Amazon Youngsters Plus, which grants children entry to hundreds of children books and audiobooks without spending a dime. After that, although, you’ll need to pay $79 per yr.

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have additional conveniences just like the bodily page-turning buttons discovered on Barnes & Noble’s entry-level e-reader, the Nook GlowLight 4e. Nevertheless, you do get one thing extra essential: snappier responses. On a lot of the different entry-level e-book readers I examined, together with the GlowLight 4e, I needed to wait a couple of seconds after tapping the display screen for the web page to show. The Kindle, as compared, supplied no perceptive lag.

There are different tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, not like the Paperwhite, and battery life is sweet, but it surely’ll final you three weeks tops — not months, just like the Paperwhite. And since it’s an Amazon e-book reader, you’re additionally locked into the Amazon ecosystem and need to pay additional to do away with advertisements. But when you are able to do with out all of that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for below $100.

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Display screen space and backbone: 10.3-inches, 227ppi decision / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Handwriting to textual content conversion, magnetic stylus, Bluetooth audio assist 

Of all the massive e-book readers I examined, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out probably the most due to its glorious note-taking talents. You possibly can immediately write on pages, and the notes is not going to disappear, which makes for a extra intuitive note-taking expertise than the Kindle Scribe, which solely helps on-page notes on choose Kindle titles. In any other case, you’re restricted to creating annotations on playing cards which are like disappearing sticky notes. 

It’s also possible to sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line, and Kobo may even convert handwriting to typed textual content. Amazon rolled out the same functionality for the Kindle Scribe, however it could actually solely convert handwriting to typed textual content whenever you export notebooks and never as precisely. In contrast, Kobo permits you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but additionally from inside a pocket book itself.

The Elipsa 2E additionally provides different useful note-taking instruments. Just like the Kobo Libra Color, it’s succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. It’s also possible to insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll robotically snap them into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. There’s additionally an incredible collection of pen sorts and ink shades. 

True, the Kindle Scribe begins at $60 much less, however the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage. You can step as much as the 32GB Kindle Scribe in order for you the identical storage capability, however that places it at primarily the identical worth because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as a substitute.

I additionally suggest the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Word Air 2 Plus, though it, too, provides significantly better writing instruments than the Kindle Scribe. That’s as a result of it prices a whopping $449 and likewise isn’t as available within the US market. The Onyx Boox Word Air 2 Plus additionally comes with too many distracting extras, like an easy-to-access music participant and the Google Play app retailer preinstalled so you’ll be able to obtain a number of studying apps, together with each the Kindle and Kobo apps. Nevertheless, Kindle and Kobo notes didn’t present up on the Onyx Boox Word Air 2 Plus — and you’ll’t annotate their books anyplace as simply as you’ll be able to on their respective gadgets.

Word-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be a superb e-reader, but it surely comes with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo e-readers. There’s assist for a variety of file codecs, however you’ll be able to’t simply learn Kindle books with out changing them first. Its 227ppi show can also be barely much less sharp than the 300ppi display screen discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, the ten.3-inch display screen does steadiness issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s not likely a noticeable disadvantage.

There are another e-book readers I examined that I didn’t function above however are nonetheless price highlighting. Listed below are probably the most notable:

For those who’re in search of a non-Amazon various that’s extra inexpensive than the Kobo Libra Color, the brand new Kobo Clara Color — the successor to the Kobo Clara 2E — is price a glance. At $149.99, the ad-free e-reader prices greater than the Kobo Clara 2E (which you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase), however I feel it’s price the additional $10. It continues to supply the identical six-inch show and IPX8 waterproof design, however the e-reader now provides coloration. Plus, it’s noticeably sooner — one thing I used to be completely satisfied to see, contemplating the occasional lag on the Clara 2E typically obtained on my nerves. You don’t get the Clara Color’s bodily buttons or stylus assist, however that’s a good tradeoff at this worth level.

I’m presently ready to get my arms on the $280 Boox Palma, which my colleague David Pierce is an enormous fan of. The smartphone-sized, 6.1-inch e-book reader runs on Android and might entry the Google Play Retailer, that means you’ll be able to obtain a wider collection of apps, from Amazon’s personal Kindle app to varied note-taking apps. That stated, it’s too sluggish to essentially use apps that might be distracting, like TikTok or Instagram, so that you most likely don’t want to fret about dropping focus or distractions in the identical you’ll with a pill or a extra succesful system. I’m curious to see the way it holds up towards different e-readers I’ve used, even when I haven’t examined many small-screen fashions.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the brand new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. For those who personal lots of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this might be a superb Kindle various. In any other case, I’d nonetheless suggest the Kobo Libra Color to all people else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an efficient e-reader with quite a bit to supply, together with a stunning 300ppi display screen, waterproofing, bodily page-turning buttons, and even a headphone jack. Nevertheless, it’s simply not as snappy, which makes setting it up, shopping for books from the system itself, and navigating the interface a sluggish ordeal. It didn’t assist that the display screen typically froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the system whereas in the course of a e-book.

Lastly, I didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which has bodily page-turning buttons, a bigger display screen, and was thought of a high-end system when it launched in 2019. Amazon not lists the getting older e-reader in its official Kindle lineup, nonetheless, and it lacks some options even the bottom mannequin provides, together with USB-C. That makes it much less interesting at $249.99 — that’s, assuming you’ll be able to even discover it in inventory. For those who’re keen to pay that a lot for a high-end reader, I’d check out the Kobo Libra Color as a substitute.

Replace, July Eleventh: Up to date to incorporate a hyperlink to our evaluation of the Kobo Libra Color and Kobo Clara Color and point out the Boox Palma, in addition to to accommodate numerous worth adjustments.