The Best E-Readers (2026): Kobo, Kindle

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Best E-ReaderKobo Libra ColourRead more $230 $200 (13% off)

Kobo

Best KindleAmazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024, 12th Generation)Read more $160 $135 (16% off)

Amazon

Best BudgetAmazon Kindle (2024, 11th Gen)Read more $110 $95 (14% off)

Amazon

Best Budget Color E-ReaderKobo Clara ColourRead more $160

Amazon

Nothing will ever really replace a paperback or a hardcover book, but the best e-readers will give you the best digital version of that experience. E-readers (short for ebook readers) are just so convenient—and they might just make you read more too. Rather than lumping two or three books in a bag, an e-reader lets you carry thousands of books or dozens of audiobooks in a single, slim, rectangular tablet. Their paper-like screens are easy on the eyes, and unlike an app on your phone, they won’t inundate you with distracting notifications. Books can also be expensive and take up a lot of physical space, but that’s not a problem with ebooks. Even better, you can check out digital books from a library without leaving your house.

Naturally, when you hear “e-reader,” you might think Kindle, there are some great non-Amazon e-readers out there too. Our favorite all-around e-reader is the Kobo Libra Colour ($200), which has a color screen, page turner buttons, and can even double as a digital notebook. If you're looking for the best Kindle, our favorite is the 12th-generation Kindle Paperwhite ($160) (and we've got an entire Best Kindles guide that breaks down the full Kindle lineup).

Looking for more reader recommendations? Don't miss our guides to the Best Kindles, Best Digital Notebooks, Best Reading Lights, Best Kindle Accessories, and Best Gifts for Book Lovers.

Updated April 2026: We've added notes on the Boox Go 7, Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, and Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen) to Honorable Mentions.

Table of ContentsAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevron

Comparing Our Favorite E-Readers
Honorable Mentions
How Do You Get Ebooks?
What File Formats Do E-Readers Support?
Do You Need an E-Reader? What About a Phone or Tablet?

Best E-Reader
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
- Video: Nena Farrell
- Courtesy of Kobo
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Kobo
Libra Colour
$230 $200 (13% off)
Kobo
$300 $270 (10% off)
Kobo (With Stylus)
$250 $200 (20% off)
Amazon
If you're looking for an e-reader that has everything from a color screen and page turner buttons to the ability to double as a digital notebook, then the Kobo Libra Colour is the one. Kobo makes a great range of e-readers that offer all the benefits of a Kindle, without an Amazon account required. The Libra Colour is especially fun not only for the color screen, but also for the Stylus 2 ($70), which lets you use the digital notebook feature. It's a great price with and without the stylus, and it's optional, so you can choose to add it if that's your style. You also get page-turner buttons, something we have yet to see on a Kindle.
Not only does the Libra Colour pack a well-priced color screen, but its 7-inch screen also packs an adjustable front light and dark mode, and it can be rotated to landscape mode for reading. It's also made from recycled materials, is waterproof (rated IPX8), and has Bluetooth support to listen to audiobooks. Kobo also works with Overdrive's Libby app, though it takes a little more effort to connect to than using Libby with a Kindle. It's also repairable, though we haven't come across anything that needs fixing yet.
SpecsDisplay: 7 inches with an adjustable front lightResolution: 300 ppi, black-and-white | 150 ppi, colorStorage: 32 GBWeight: 7.03 ouncesBattery and charging: Up to 40 days, USB-C chargingWaterproof: Yes, IPX8WIRED/TIREDAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronWIRED
- Color screen! Allows you to highlight and write notes in margins as you read, and use color in notebooks
- Page-turning buttons are a great reader feature
- Has separate book and notebook sections that are easy to navigate between
TIRED
- Writing experience isn't as smooth, and it's a small screen for writing
- Stylus has to be charged separately
Best Kindle
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
- Courtesy of Amazon
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Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite (2024, 12th Generation)
$160 $135 (16% off)
Amazon
$200 $160 (20% off)
Amazon (Signature)
Our favorite Amazon e-reader is hands-down the Kindle Paperwhite. Kindles are a big favorite for e-readers, and the Paperwhite is a great option to get all the best features you can out of these devices. The Paperwhite was just updated last year with the 12th generation that has a larger display and a higher contrast ratio, so text and images look sharper than ever. It's a little thinner, too, at just 7.8 millimeters thick (the previous generation was 8.1 millimeters, so not a huge difference).
The 12th-gen Kindle Paperwhite comes in both a regular and Signature edition. The Signature costs $40 more, but comes with a handful of extra features, including wireless charging, auto-adjusting brightness and slightly more storage. Both versions promise a three-month battery life, which is a relief to any reader who doesn't want to worry about constant recharging of their devices. It's also easy to get books with both Amazon's Kindle Store and a Kindle Unlimited membership, plus Kindles work with apps like Libby from Overdrive to access library ebooks, and can download other formats like PDFs for you to read. It does not, however, have a color screen.
If you're shopping for a Kindle, it's worth remembering that the best time to get a Kindle is during sale events like Amazon Prime Day or other similar holiday sales. If you can wait for one of these, we recommend it.
SpecsDisplay: 7 inches, adjustable warm light | auto-adjusting front light available on Signature EditionResolution: 300 pixels per inch (ppi)Storage: 6 GB (Paperwhite) | 32 GB (Signature Edition)Weight: 7.4 ounces (Paperwhite) | 7.55 ounces (Signature Edition)Battery and charging: Up to 12 weeks, USB-C charging | wireless charging available on Signature EditionWaterproof: Yes, IPX8WIRED/TIREDAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronWIRED
- Seven-inch, high-resolution display
- Auto-adjusting warm light
- Three-month battery (the longest Kindle offers)
TIRED
- No color options

Best Budget
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
- Courtesy of Amazon
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Amazon
Kindle (2024, 11th Gen)
$110 $95 (14% off)
Amazon
Amazon's basic Kindle is a great option if you’re looking for an affordable and compact ebook reader. The 2024 model comes with a few upgrades from older models, including a higher-resolution screen, a brighter front light, and a faster page-turn rate. It's not a huge difference, and if you had the 2022 Kindle you likely won't see a difference in performance. But if you're upgrading from an older model, you'll likely notice the snappier performance.
It's smaller than the Kindle Paperwhite and most other e-readers, and the small size and light weight makes it comfortable to hold. It's a great price for getting the same software and on-screen experience you would with more expensive models, but you'll skip features like an auto-adjusting warm light and a color screen that more expensive e-readers can offer. It also might be a little small if you like your font on the larger size.
SpecsDisplay: 6 inches, adjustable front lightResolution: 300 ppiStorage: 16 GBWeight: 5.56 ouncesBattery and Charging: Up to 6 weeks; USB-C chargingWaterproof: NoWIRED/TIREDAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronWIRED
- Small, lightweight, and affordable. Fun colors, too!
- Definite performance improvement over previous iteration
- Storage has doubled since last model, and now has USB-C charging
TIRED
- No warm lighting option, or auto-adjusting light
Best Budget Color E-Reader
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
- Courtesy of Kobo
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Kobo
Clara Colour
$160
Amazon
$160
Kobo
$160
Target
If you're looking for a color screen but don't want to fork over two Benjamin Franklins (or closer to three!), then fear not, there's an option for you. The Kobo Clara Colour is the size of the smallest Kindle, but for the price of a Paperwhite you'll get a bright color screen. You'll lose out on the page-turner buttons you'd get on Kobo's Libra Colour, but if you're not a button kind of person, you'll be plenty happy with this e-reader. It has an auto-adjusting warm light and dark mode, plus an Overdrive integration and Bluetooth support. It's also waterproof, made from recycled materials, and is repairable.
I like how small and lightweight this little e-reader is, and it's fun to get the benefits of larger e-readers without needing to carry a larger, heavier option. There's also sort of a digital notebook feature—under Beta Features you'll find the Sketchbook, which lets you write and doodle with your finger. You can also find the web browser under the same Beta Features menu. All in all, it's an impressive little device, especially for the price point.
SpecsDisplay: 6 inches, auto-adjusting warm lightResolution: 300 ppi (Black-and-White), 150 ppi (Color)Storage: 16 GBWeight: 6 ouncesBattery and Charging: Up to 42 days; USB-CWaterproof: Yes, IPX8WIRED/TIREDAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronWIRED
- Color screen
- Auto-adjusting warm light and dark mode
- Lightweight and comfortable to hold
- Great price point for color
TIRED
- Only a 6-inch screen
- Just 42 days of battery life

Best for Kids
- Photograph: Adrienne So
- Courtesy of Amazon
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Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite Kids (2024, 12th Generation)
$180 $155 (14% off)
Amazon
The kid-friendly Kindles got an update in 2024 with the same features as the non-Kid variants. My 8- and 10-year-olds have been using the Kindle Kids since the first versions launched. To my eye (looking over their shoulders), the images are noticeably clearer and sharper and the page turn speeds faster in the latest models.
The reason you get a Kindle Kids instead of repurposing your old Kindle is the kid-friendly case, which also has fun designs that my kids like very much. You also get six months of access to Amazon Kids+, the company's subscription service that includes tons of age-appropriate books, including lots of books in Spanish, and a two-year warranty. My 8-year-old likes the smaller size of the basic (and cheaper) Kindle Kids ($130), and he also likes the kid-friendly covers better. However, my 10-year-old likes the bigger display on the Kids Paperwhite, which is better for reading graphic novels. I also prefer the Paperwhite over the basic Kindle because it's waterproof, and she reads poolside at her brother's swimming lessons. —Adrienne So
★ A Color Option: There's now a Kindle Colorsoft Kids ($270), which is essentially a Colorsoft Kindle that comes with a fun cover and a year's worth of Amazon Kids+ content. You'll get a longer window of free Kids+ access with this model than Amazon's other Kids models, and it's a good option for kids who love graphic novels or comic books.
SpecsDisplay: 7 inches, adjustable warm lightResolution: 300 ppiStorage: 6 GB (Paperwhite)Weight: 7.4 ounces (Paperwhite)Battery and charging: Up to 12 weeks, USB-C chargingWaterproof: Yes, IPX8WIRED/TIREDAccordionItemContainerButtonLargeChevronWIRED
- Comes with a kid-friendly case and six months of Amazon Kids+ content
- Does a good job recommending age-appropriate books
- Paperwhite version has a bigger display and warm light
TIRED
- No color screen, which some kids might prefer

Comparing Our Favorite E-Readers

ModelDisplayResolutionColor?StorageWeightBattery Life and ChargingKobo Libra Colour7 inches, adjustable front light300 ppi, black-and-white; 150 ppi, colorYes32 GB7.03 ouncesUp to 40 days, USB-C chargingKindle Paperwhite (2024, 12th Generation)7 inches, adjustable warm light300 ppi (pixels per inch)No6 GB7.4 ouncesUp to 12 weeks, USB-C chargingKindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024, 12th Generation)7 inches, auto-adjusting front light300 ppiNo32 GB7.55 ouncesUp to 12 weeks, USB-C and wireless chargingKobo Clara Colour6 inches, auto-adjusting warm light300 ppi, black-and-white; 150 ppi, colorYes16 GB6 ouncesUp to 42 days, USB-C chargingAmazon Kindle (11th Generation)6 inches, adjustable front light300 ppiNo16 GB5.56 ouncesUp to 6 weeks; USB-C chargingAmazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids7 inches, adjustable warm light300 ppiNo6 GB7.4 ounchesUp to 12 weeks, USB-C

Honorable Mentions

Below, you'll find a few more e-readers we like but don't necessarily love as much as our top picks.

Boox Go 7 ($250) and Boox Color Go 7 ($290): Boox is known for its wide range of e-paper tablets, including the Palma 2 recommended above. If you're looking for something a little larger with a similar Android-based experience, the Go 7 and Go Color 7 are a solid choice. There are page turner buttons, and it's a nice square shape that's easy to hold and use. The Go 7 is black-and-white, but you can get a color screen for $40 more with the Go Color 7. I don't use color features a ton, so it's worth saving money if you won't either, but it's great that the price difference isn't steep.

Boox Palma 2 for $316: This is a fun little pocket sized device, and it has a nice upgrade from the older model with fingerprint recognition, a faster CPU, and a newer version of Android. WIRED Review Adrienne So loves using it with the Kindle app, but she wishes it cost less. It's currently unavailable, and I'm waiting to see if it comes back in stock or is replaced with a new version this year.

The Kindle Colorsoft.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

Kindle Colorsoft Signature for $280 and Kindle Colorsoft ($250): The Kindle Colorsoft Signature is Amazon's first Kindle with a color screen. It has a screen with an oxide backplane, which Amazon says delivers better contrast and image quality along with custom-formulated coatings and nitride LEDs for brightness and color accuracy. But the screen is capped at 150 ppi for color images, versus 300 ppi for black and white, and the experience of reading is still a little fuzzier when compared to the latest Paperwhite. It takes noticeably longer to process color images, too. It's missing features that are by now standard on other color e-readers, like page turn buttons and stylus support. It's not a bad Kindle, and color does enrich the whole e-reading experience, but we suggest waiting for a discount during an Amazon sale event. Kindle has since launched a cheaper option, the Kindle Colorsoft ($250) that has less storage (only 16 GB, verus 32 GB) and no auto-adjusting light or wireless charging.

Kindle Scribe (2nd Gen, 2024) for $400: The second-generation Kindle Scribe is a great option if you want an e-reader that doubles as a digital notebook, but also want to remain within the Kindle ecosystem. It has a 10.2-inch (300 ppi) paperlike display with features like adjustable warm light and an auto-adjusting front light. The included Premium Pen also has a soft-tipped eraser (mimicking that of a No.2 pencil). With Active Canvas and expandable margins, you can also mark up ebooks and write notes in the side panel. Amazon has announced three more Kindle Scribes are coming out this winter, including color options, so we'll be testing those once they're available.

Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen, 2025) for $500: The latest Kindle Scribe arrived in December 2025 with a color version, a new exterior design that does away with the single thicker side, and equal bezels and frames across all sizes. It has a new homepage design that makes it easy to access your latest books and notebooks, and a quick notes page you can also hop into. It also has a new set of AI features that can summarize things for you and even send your notes to an Alexa+-powered speaker so you can ask questions about them, but overall, these features aren't necessary and just drive up the price. The older Kindle Scribe (2nd Gen) is still my preferred option if you want a Kindle e-reader that doubles as a digital notebook.

Two digital tablets side by side with the screens showing book covers and handwritten notes

Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen) on the left, and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft on the right.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft for $630: Amazon brought the color screen to the Kindle Scribe late last year, with a redesigned exterior to match the new third-gen Kindle Scribe. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft works exactly how you'd expect, with a range of colors and tools you can use on the notebooks and while reading your books as well. There are also several AI features, which is part of what makes it so pricey. I think it's too expensive for not being able to transform into an e-paper laptop like the ReMarkable Paper Pro, but if you really wanted to stick with Kindle and have a colorful digital notebook and e-reader in one device, this is the one to get.

Nook GlowLight 4 Plus for $200: The 4 Plus is the only waterproof Nook in the lineup, and it has the biggest screen at 7.8 inches, along with 32 GB of storage. It also has physical page-turn buttons and a headphone jack for listening to audiobooks (but you can also connect wireless earbuds via Bluetooth). But it was often slower than my Kindle and tended to freeze. While the large library has cheap and even free ebooks, it's not as good a selection as Kindle Unlimited. The process of getting a book from the library on a Nook is also beyond frustrating. You'll need to download either Adobe Digital Editions or Android File Transfer before connecting the device to your computer physically and then transferring the files.

Nook 9-inch Lenovo Tablet for $150: If you mainly read cookbooks or other color-intensive materials, and you want a dedicated reader, you might want to consider this affordable tablet from Nook and Lenovo, which has the Nook app built in. As with the tablets mentioned above, you lose the E Ink screen and the distraction-free nature of an e-reader. You can at least turn off notifications while in certain apps, which I recommend doing for the Nook app. It ships with an old version of Android, and it's not built for heavy work like video or photo editing.