One of the best e book reader to purchase proper now

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 cellphone. An e book reader presents a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and plenty of embody additional options, like adjustable frontlighting. Some actually are pocketable. Others are waterproof or supply bodily page-turning buttons, whereas a couple of even allow you to take notes.

I’ve been utilizing e book readers for practically 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 space and backbone: 6.8-inch display, 300ppi decision / Storage: 8GB or 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist 

Should you principally purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll desire a Kindle, and the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite is the only option for most individuals. Beginning at $139.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra 2 — my high non-Amazon e book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for most of the identical options. These embody a big 300pi show and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and pleasant 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 adverts. It additionally has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon function to search 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 is dependent upon providing cut-rate reductions to drag you into its content material ecosystem. You probably have Prime and purchase numerous Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is the only 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 by means of Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo supply gross sales, too, nevertheless it’s onerous for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen adverts except you pay $20 additional to do away with them. It’s additionally too huge to carry comfortably with one hand. Maybe the Kindle Paperwhite’s greatest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles apart from Hearth tablets — is that it’s not straightforward to learn books bought exterior of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle e book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. In contrast to 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, for those who typically store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or Google Play Books or many different e book shops), you possibly can’t simply learn these books on a Kindle with out utilizing a workaround. There are methods to transform and switch file codecs so you possibly can learn on the Kindle and vice versa, nevertheless it’ll take a few additional steps.

Nonetheless, for those who don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts procuring from Amazon, you’ll be very happy with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Learn our full overview of the Kindle Paperwhite.

Dimensions: 5.69 x 6.36 x 0.35 inches / Weight: 215 grams / Display space and backbone: 7-inch display, 300ppi / Storage: As much as 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist 

The Kobo Libra 2 is a superb various to an Amazon e book reader, particularly for readers exterior the US. It’s simply as good because the Paperwhite, with most of the Paperwhite’s standout options, like waterproofing, USB-C assist, and a 300ppi show. It doesn’t work as effectively with Amazon’s ecosystem, in fact, nevertheless it presents a couple of additional perks that make the e-reader, in some methods, much more pleasant to make use of.

For one factor, it helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB. It’s additionally a lot simpler to straight borrow books from the Overdrive library system, whereas native assist for Pocket means you possibly can learn your saved articles offline. The Libra 2 additionally comes with easy-to-use bodily buttons and begins at 16GB of storage, double the capability of the bottom Paperwhite. There aren’t any annoying lockscreen adverts to take care of, both. Plus, as an alternative of a flat-front display, the show is barely recessed into the body. I cherished that because it meant I didn’t by chance faucet the display and skip a web page, as I typically did with the Paperwhite. It additionally saved the display cleaner and — mixed with the vast facet bezel — made the Libra 2 extra snug to carry.

The Kobo Libra 2 is my favourite e book reader to make use of. I saved having to restrain myself from utilizing it on a regular basis to provide the opposite e-readers on this checklist a good probability.

Nonetheless, at $189, it prices $50 greater than the ad-supported Paperwhite, although it’s solely $20 greater than the ad-free Paperwhite. That hole widens much more when the Paperwhite is on sale, which it frequently is. Plus, as anyone whose digital library consists primarily of Amazon ebooks, I discovered the truth that I couldn’t simply and shortly learn my huge assortment of Kindle books irritating. You are able to do it, however you’ll must convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which might take time, particularly you probably have a big library. But when these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra 2 offers you one of the best digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on this checklist.

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

The bottom-model Kindle ($99.99 with adverts) 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 value vary, and its 16GB of storage is double even that of the Paperwhite. It even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging. 

Studying on its six-inch display feels just a little extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra 2. Nonetheless, the flip facet is that its small measurement makes it pocketable, mild, and straightforward for small fingers to carry. Mixed with its comparatively reasonably priced value, the Kindle can also be one of the best e book reader for youths — particularly within the youngsters model Amazon sells for $20 extra. It shares the identical precise 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 youngsters entry to hundreds of youngsters books and audiobooks totally free. After that, although, you’ll must 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. Nonetheless, you do get one thing extra essential: snappier responses. On many 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 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 nice, nevertheless it’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 must pay additional to do away with adverts. But when you are able to do with out all of that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for below $100.

Learn my full overview of the Kindle.

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Display 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 essentially the most due to its glorious note-taking talents. You possibly can straight write on pages, and the notes won’t 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. 

You can even sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line, and Kobo may even convert handwriting to typed textual content. Amazon rolled out an identical functionality for the Kindle Scribe, however it may well solely convert handwriting to typed textual content while you export notebooks and never as precisely. Against this, Kobo allows you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but in addition from inside a pocket book itself.

The Elipsa 2E additionally presents different useful note-taking instruments. It’s even succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. You can even insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll robotically snap it into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. There’s additionally an amazing choice 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 if you need the identical storage capability, however that places it at basically the identical value because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as an alternative.

I additionally suggest the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Be aware Air 2 Plus, though it, too, presents a lot better writing instruments than the Kindle Scribe. That’s as a result of it prices a whopping $449 and in addition isn’t as available within the US market. The Onyx Boox Be aware 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 possibly can obtain a number of studying apps, together with each the Kindle and Kobo apps. Nonetheless, Kindle and Kobo notes didn’t present up on the Onyx Boox Be aware Air 2 Plus — and you’ll’t annotate their books wherever as simply as you possibly can on their respective units.

Be aware-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be a very good e-reader, nevertheless it comes with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo e-readers. There’s assist for a variety of file codecs, however you possibly can’t simply learn Kindle books with out changing them first. Its 227ppi show can also be barely much less sharp than the 300ppi display discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra 2. Nonetheless, the ten.3-inch display does stability issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s not likely a noticeable downside.

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

Should you’re searching for a non-Amazon various that’s extra reasonably priced than the Kobo Libra 2, the Kobo Clara 2E is price a glance. It sells for $139.99 and in addition presents waterproofing in addition to a pointy, 300ppi show, nevertheless it lacks buttons. As I discussed in my overview, I additionally favored that it doesn’t include adverts however discovered it’s not as quick because the Kindle Paperwhite. Nonetheless, now that I’ve used the e-reader for fairly a while, I discover it’s snappy sufficient, and the occasional lag isn’t as distracting as I imagined it’d change into. The Libra 2 remains to be sooner, although.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the brand new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. Should you personal numerous digital books from Barnes and Noble, this might be a very good Kindle various. In any other case, I’d nonetheless suggest the Kobo Libra 2 to everyone else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an effective e-reader with rather a lot to supply, together with a stunning 300ppi display, waterproofing, bodily page-turning buttons, and even a headphone jack. Nonetheless, it’s simply not as snappy, which makes setting it up, shopping for books from the machine itself, and navigating the interface a gradual ordeal. It didn’t assist that the display generally froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the machine whereas in the course of a e-book.

Kindle Oasis and Kobo Sage

Lastly, I didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which has bodily page-turning buttons, a bigger display, and was thought of a high-end machine when it was launched in 2019. At this level, although, it’s so outdated that it’s not even listed as part of Amazon’s official Kindle lineup and lacks some options even the bottom Kindle presents — like USB-C assist. That makes it much less interesting at $249.99 — assuming, in fact, you possibly can even discover it in inventory.

If you’re prepared to pay that a lot for a high-end reader, I’d check out the Kobo Libra 2 or the Kobo Sage as an alternative. The latter is $239.99 ($30 off), but not solely does it include buttons, USB-C, and a bigger display, however you may also use it to take notes. The eight-inch display feels very cramped to jot down on, although, so I wouldn’t suggest it as a major note-taking machine. 

Replace March sixth, 2024: Adjusted costs and a few formatting whereas including new associated hyperlinks.