Whether you're already an avid ebook reader, switching over from physical books or just looking to start reading more, having a dedicated device for digital books can make all the difference. The convenience of having new books at your fingertips makes you more likely to read regularly, plus there's the advantage of carrying your entire library in one slim e-reader. While many assume Amazon's Kindle is the only worthwhile option, you might be surprised by the variety of alternative e-readers available.
I've been reviewing e-readers since the first Kindle launched in 2007. Most e-readers use E Ink technology -- an energy-efficient display designed to mimic printed paper. This gives e-readers excellent visibility outdoors in bright sunshine, unlike phones and tablets that often appear washed out in direct sunlight. While E Ink displays were once strictly black and white, newer color options are now available with E Ink color displays, like the new Kindle Colorsoft and Kobo Libra Colour.
If you're looking to shop new e-readers, Amazon still has the best digital "ecosystem" for ebooks and many of the best e-readers out there. The newly updated Kindle Paperwhite (2024) currently tops our recommendations, and it's the best option for the money if you find it on sale. If you prefer something simpler, however, Amazon's slightly improved entry-level Kindle (2024) is a great choice. For those seeking non-Amazon alternatives, the Kobo models we've included are outstanding options.
Read more: How to Get Free E-Books From Your Local Library
Best e-readers of 2025
Like
- Slightly larger 7-inch 300 ppi high-resolution display
- Higher contrast ratio and faster page turns
- More advanced lighting scheme than entry-level Kindle
- Fully waterproof
Don't like
- No dedicated page-turn buttons
- Power button still on bottom of device
- Costs $20 to remove ads
Like the entry-level Kindle, the new Kindle Paperwhite also costs $10 more than the previous Paperwhite base model. But the changes to the Paperwhite seem more substantial. Amazon has reduced the size of the bezel around the screen (at the bottom of the device), so instead of a 6.8-inch diagonal E Ink display in a similar-sized chassis, you get a larger 7-inch screen. The device itself is also slightly thinner, has the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle and 25% faster page turns. Amazon is touting it as the fastest Kindle yet -- the page turns and refresh rates do seem noticeably quicker.
Like
- Slightly faster page turns and brighter light than previous model
- 300 ppi high-resolution display with slightly higher contrast
- Built-in light and USB-C charging
- Good value ($50 less than Kindle Paperwhite)
Don't like
- Not waterproof
- Lacks more premium feel of Kindle Paperwhite
- Costs $20 to remove ads
The entry-level Kindle, which Amazon simply calls the Kindle, weighs only 158 grams and is equipped with a 6-inch E Ink display with a pixel density 300 pixels per inch. It's the smallest and lightest Kindle in the line. The specs are similar to the previous Kindle, but you now get slightly faster page turns, a higher contrast ratio and a front light that's 25% brighter at its max setting -- Amazon says the light is now as bright as the Paperwhite's. Ever since Amazon upgraded it with a sharper display and built-in light, it's sort of become a Paperwhite Mini. It's missing a few features like waterproofing, but it costs significantly less than the real Paperwhite. That said, at $110, this new model, which has 16GB of storage, costs $10 more than the previous-generation Kindle, so the price is creeping up a bit.
Like
- Color E Ink display combined with Amazon's new customized technology
- Faster page turns (similar performance to new Paperwhite)
- Auto-adjusting front light
- IPX8 waterproof
- Wireless charging
Don't like
- Expensive
- Power button is still on bottom of device
- No page turn buttons
The Kindle Colorsoft is Amazon's first ever color Kindle, which brings book covers, graphic novels and comic books more to life than a monochrome E Ink display and allows you to highlight text in different color options. The Colorsoft uses the same oxide backplane with custom waveforms as the new Paperwhite (2024). Amazon says the custom display includes a new light-guide with nitride LEDs that, when combined with custom algorithms, enhances color and increases brightness. The E Ink display (it uses E Ink's Kaleido color filter) is 300 ppi for black and white and 150 ppi for color.
Like
- Text and images appear sharp on large 10.2-inch, 300 ppi display
- Writing feels smooth and natural
- Adjustable warm light with 35 LEDs
- Can mark up PDFs, other docs
- Easy to send documents to device
Don't like
- Pretty weighty and pricey
- Needs a cover with a built-in stand
- Can't mark up Kindle e-books (or DRM-free ePub ebooks)
- New second-gen Scribe is coming out soon
The Scribe's size and weight make it more of a burden to carry around, especially when you consider the smaller baseline Kindle can fit into a coat pocket. In all, the Scribe strikes a deft balance between a large-format e-reader and an E Ink note-taking tablet. Folks will probably have some quibbles about the Scribe's high price and the robustness of its markup and note-taking capabilities, although Amazon continues to improve its functionality and feature set with firmware upgrades.
Like
- E Ink Kaleido 3 display
- Auto-adjusting front light
- Waterproof
- Physical page-turn buttons
- Less expensive than Kindle Colorsoft
- Power button is well-placed on back
- Compatible with Kobo Stylus 2
Don't like
- Little bit larger than Kindle Colorsoft
- Stylus 2 costs $70
Kobo makes a couple of color e-readers. The smaller Clara Colour has a 6-inch screen and costs $150, while the larger Libra Colour ($230) has a 7-inch screen and is compatible with Kobo's Stylus 2 (available separately for $70), which allows you to store handwritten notes on the device. The larger screen makes more sense for color, especially if you're viewing graphic novels or comic books (even a 7-inch screen is a little small for reading those types of content). You can also highlight text in different color options like you can with the Kindle Colorsoft.
Like
- 300 ppi high-resolution display
- Built-in light
- No ads
- Fully waterproof
- USB-C charging
Don't like
- Screen may be a little small for some people
The Kobo Clara BW is the slightly upgraded version of the earlier Kobo Clara 2E, which was equipped with E Ink's previous-gen Carta 1200 display. Priced at an affordable $140, it's equipped with a 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 touchscreen with a 1,448x1,072-pixel resolution (300 ppi), is powered by a 1GHz processor and comes with 16GB of storage. It's also fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating, which means it can be fully submerged in up to 2 meters of water for up to 60 minutes. With the waterproofing, this feels like an enhanced version of Amazon's entry-level Kindle, which is not fully waterproof, although the Paperwhite is.
Like
- Large 10.3-inch display
- Upgraded processor
- Writing feels pretty smooth and natural
- Built-in light with adjustable brightness and color temperature
- Can mark up PDFs, other docs
- Supports lots of file types
Don't like
- Pretty weighty and pricey
- Needs a cover with a built-in stand
- Not as sharp of a 300 ppi screen as other readers
You get Kobo's upgraded ComfortLight Pro with adjustable brightness and color temperature and a 2GHz (up from 1.8GHz) quad-core processor with 32GB of storage. Even with the slight speed boost, an E Ink device like this still feels relatively sluggish compared to an iPad (using an Apple Pencil). The performance is decent enough and battery life remains a big strong point for E Ink devices. Like other e-readers, the Elipsa's battery life is rated in weeks rather than hours. The Elipsa supports 15 file formats natively (EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ and CBR).
Other e-readers we tested
Kobo Sage: With a larger 8-inch high-resolution screen, the Kobo Sage is the bigger sister to Kobo's Libra 2. It represents a good option for someone who wants a larger e-reader but doesn't want to go up to a jumbo tablet-sized e-reader. It's a little too pricey at its list price of $270.
Factors to consider when buying an e-reader
Amazon or not?
The big question for a lot of folks is simply whether to go with an Amazon e-reader (and Amazon's ebook ecosystem). Amazon does dominate the e-reading market but there are alternatives, including Kobo, Barnes & Noble and other "open" e-readers that allow you to import both DRM, meaning copy-protected, and DRM-free file formats. Amazon now lets you send DRM-free ePub files to its Kindle e-readers.
Budget
Naturally, you'll want to figure out how much you're willing to spend on a new e-reader. Amazon's 2024 entry-level Kindle is the most affordable with a list price of $110, and should see price drops of $25 off during flash sales. Larger "tablet" e-readers like the Kindle Scribe cost over $300.
Screen size
Some people are fine with smaller e-readers with 6-inch screens; others prefer them a little bit larger. The Kindle Paperwhite has a 6.8-inch screen, but you can also step up to a jumbo model with a 10.3-inch screen if you want a more tablet-like experience. The bigger e-readers do weigh more, however.
Waterproofing
If you plan on using your e-reader in the tub, around the pool or at the beach (or any body of water), you may want to consider getting a model that is rated as fully waterproof.
Lighting scheme
Some of the more advanced lighting schemes feature more LED lights and the ability to adjust both brightness and color temperature.
Screen resolution and pixel density
Even entry-level e-readers now come with so-called "HD" E Ink displays so you don't have to worry so much about having a crisp enough screen with sharp text. The key spec to look for is pixel density. 300 pixels per inch is what you ideally want, although some larger displays don't offer that. New color E Ink readers currently offer 300 ppi for black and white and 150 ppi for color.
Physical page-turn buttons
Most e-readers now have touchscreens, so you can turn pages by simply touching or swiping the screen. Some e-readers do have physical buttons that you can press to turn pages. Some people like having those physical page-turn buttons.
How we test e-readers
We test e-readers based on four key criteria: design, performance, features and value.
Design: We assess the look and feel of the device along with its build quality and ergonomics. We also note if the e-reader has physical page-turn buttons and whether it's made out of premium materials such as aluminum and what the texture of its finish is. Screen resolution and pixel density (how crisp text appears on the screen) also go into the design evaluation. And if the e-reader is rated as being waterproof, we fully submerge the e-reader to confirm that.
Performance: Performance not only includes how zippy/responsive the e-reader is but also how often the screen flashes to prevent ghosting of text and images (every so often the display essentially resets itself to wipe away any E Ink artifacts so to speak). We also take a look at the quality of the integrated light and how uniformly the light splays across the display. With e-readers that include support for a stylus, we check how much latency there is when using the stylus. We don't try to get exact battery life numbers (because e-readers are often rated for having weeks of battery life), but we do use the e-reader for several days, first with Wi-Fi on and then with Wi-Fi off.
Features: Most e-readers have a baseline set of features, but some have added features that we take into consideration.
Value: We determine value after considering the strength of the e-reader against all these criteria and what it's able to deliver compared to other e-readers.