Best ebook readers for 2024

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 gives a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and lots of embrace further options, like adjustable frontlighting. Some actually are pocketable. Others are waterproof or supply bodily page-turning buttons, whereas just a few 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 in opposition to the wall or a water-resistant, warm-glow Kindle that received’t destroy 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, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist 

For those who principally purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll desire 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 high non-Amazon e-book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for lots of the identical options. These embrace a big 300pi show and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and fulfilling 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 characteristic to search out in an e-reader.

Amazon is the most important on-line retailer on the earth, 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 tug you into its content material ecosystem. If in case you have Prime and purchase loads of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is your best option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely simple 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 supply gross sales, too, however it’s onerous for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen adverts until you pay $20 further to eliminate 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 Fireplace tablets — is that it’s not simple to learn books bought outdoors 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 information, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, when you usually 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, however it’ll take a few further steps.

Nevertheless, when you don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts buying 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, 300ppi (black-and-white), 150ppi (shade) / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Kobo Stylus 2 assist, Bluetooth audio assist 

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

The colour show is the obvious. The Libra Color makes use of E Ink’s newest Kaledio shade display expertise, 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 shade — however it’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 standard LED pill.

Moreover, the Libra Color works with the Kobo Stylus 2 (bought individually), which suggests you possibly can spotlight textual content with varied colours or take notes utilizing Kobo’s built-in notebooks. You can even 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 perform as a mini pocket book of types, although I wouldn’t use it as a major note-taking gadget because the seven-inch show can really feel cramped to jot down on.

The colour show is barely a part of the attraction, although. The Libra Color additionally lacks lockscreen adverts — in contrast to the bottom Paperwhite — and packs bodily page-turning buttons, which really feel extra intuitive to make use of than tapping both facet of the show. The speedy e-reader additionally helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB information, and makes it a lot simpler to borrow books from the Overdrive library system. Native assist for Pocket, in the meantime, means you possibly can learn your articles offline when 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 commonly is. There’s additionally the truth that the Kobo can’t simply faucet into Amazon’s huge library of ebooks, which will be irritating when you’ve amassed a group of Kindle titles through the years. It may be executed, however you must convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which is difficult and might take time.

But when these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra Color provides you with one of the best digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on our listing. 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, 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 worth vary. Plus, it even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging. 

Studying on its six-inch display feels a bit of extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, the flip facet is that its small measurement makes it pocketable, mild, and straightforward for small arms to carry. Mixed with its comparatively inexpensive worth, the Kindle can be one of the best e-book reader for teenagers — 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 12 months of Amazon Youngsters Plus, which grants children entry to 1000’s of children books and audiobooks totally free. After that, although, you’ll must pay $79 per 12 months.

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have further 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 vital: snappier responses. On many of the different entry-level e-book readers I examined, together with the GlowLight 4e, I needed to wait just a few seconds after tapping the display for the web page to show. The Kindle, as compared, provided no perceptive lag.

There are different tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, in contrast to the Paperwhite, and battery life is sweet, however 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 further to eliminate adverts. 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 essentially the most due to its glorious note-taking talents. You possibly can instantly 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. 

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 could solely convert handwriting to typed textual content once you export notebooks and never as precisely. In contrast, Kobo helps you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but additionally from inside a pocket book itself.

The Elipsa 2E additionally gives different useful note-taking instruments. Just like the Kobo Libra Color, it’s succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. You can even insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll routinely 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 if you’d like the identical storage capability, however that places it at basically the identical worth because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as an alternative.

Word-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can be an excellent e-reader, however 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 be barely much less sharp than the 300ppi display discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, 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 disadvantage.

There are another e-book readers I examined that I didn’t characteristic above however are nonetheless price highlighting. Listed below are essentially 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 nonetheless purchase), however I believe it’s price the additional $10. It continues to supply the identical six-inch show and IPX8 waterproof design, however the e-reader now gives shade. Plus, it’s noticeably sooner — one thing I used to be pleased to see, contemplating the occasional lag on the Clara 2E typically received 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.

The $379 Onyx Boox Go 10.3 is one other ad-free e-book reader you need to use to take notes. It’s glorious as a note-taking gadget, and it gives an impressively big selection of writing instruments and extra prebuilt pocket book templates than Kobo’s Elipsa 2E. Jotting down notes utilizing the built-in pocket book felt extra akin to writing on paper as nicely, and its slim design makes the gadget really feel extra like a standard pocket book. Like all Boox units, it additionally supplies fast entry to the Google Play Retailer, so you possibly can obtain a number of studying apps — together with each Kindle and Kobo apps. The slate’s crisp 300ppi show is sharper than that of the Kobo Elipsa 2E, too, which is a plus.

Nevertheless, compared to the easy-to-use Elipsa 2E, the Go 10.3 lacks a entrance mild and comes with a steeper studying curve. Notes you tackle a Kindle or Kobo gadget received’t switch over (and vice versa), and you may’t annotate books in both app utilizing the Boox. I additionally felt like entry to Google Play generally is a double-edged sword because it grants quick access to distracting apps, together with video games, streaming companies, and TikTok. It’s too gradual to make use of the latter, however it’s quick and comfy sufficient that I discovered myself taking part in round with the Phrase Search app far too usually. For me personally, I would like my e-reader to be devoid of such distractions — it’s one of many greatest issues that distinguishes it from a pill, in any case. However when you’ve received extra self-control than I do, the Go 10.3 could possibly be price a glance.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the brand new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. For those who personal loads of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this could possibly be an excellent Kindle various. In any other case, I’d nonetheless suggest the Kobo Libra Color to everyone else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an effective e-reader with rather a lot to supply, together with a beautiful 300ppi display, 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 gadget itself, and navigating the interface a gradual ordeal. It didn’t assist that the display typically froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the gadget whereas in the midst of a ebook.

Lastly, I didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which has bodily page-turning buttons, a bigger display, and was thought-about a high-end gadget when it launched in 2019. Amazon not lists the getting old e-reader in its official Kindle lineup, nonetheless, and it lacks some options even the bottom mannequin gives, together with USB-C. That makes it much less interesting at $249.99 — that’s, assuming you possibly can 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 an alternative.

E-book Go Colour 7, and Boox Palma

I’ve simply gotten my arms on the next e-readers from Boox: the Go Colour 7 and pint-sized Palma. I’ve but to check them, although my colleague David Pierce is an enormous fan of the $280 Boox Palma after spending a while with it. The smartphone-sized, 6.1-inch e-book reader runs on Android and, just like the Boox Go 10.3, comes with the Google Play Retailer. Meaning you possibly can obtain a wide array of apps, from Amazon’s personal Kindle app to varied note-taking apps. That mentioned, it’s too gradual (and small) to actually use apps that could possibly be distracting, like TikTok or Instagram, so that you in all probability don’t want to fret about shedding focus or distractions in the identical you’ll with a pill or a extra succesful gadget. I’m curious to see the way it holds up in opposition to different e-readers I’ve used, even when I haven’t examined many small-screen fashions.

Replace, September twelfth: Added my ideas on the Boox Go 10.3 and adjusted pricing.