Best e-book readers for 2025

Any e-book reader will allow you to cram a Beauty and the Beast-sized library’s value of books in your pocket, however so will your cellphone. An e-book reader provides a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and plenty of embrace 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 Era. Whether you need one thing your child can throw in opposition to the wall or a water-resistant, warm-glow Kindle that gained’t smash your spa ambiance, these are the perfect e-book readers for everybody.

Dimensions: 7 x 5 x .3 inches / Weight: 211 grams / Screen space and backbone: 7-inch display screen, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Other options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist

If you principally purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll need a Kindle, and the Twelfth-gen Kindle Paperwhite is the only option for most individuals. Starting at $159.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra Colour — my high non-Amazon e-book reader, which I’ll dive into later — whereas providing most of the identical options. Those embrace a spacious 7-inch 300pi show with wealthy distinction ranges and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and pleasurable studying expertise. The latter additionally conveniently improves sleep by chopping down on blue mild that interrupts melatonin manufacturing.

That heat white frontlighting is a bonus over the cool white of the $109.99 base-model Kindle, and in contrast to the bottom Kindle, the Paperwhite has IPX8 water resistance. The $ 199.99 Signature Edition Paperwhite additionally has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen adverts. It 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 house owners have entry to benefits house owners of different e-book readers don’t. Much of Amazon’s {hardware} technique is dependent upon providing cut-rate reductions to drag you into its content material ecosystem. If you’ve got Prime and purchase a number of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is the only option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely straightforward to purchase and browse its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale, and Prime members get extra free content material by means of Prime Reading. Rivals like Kobo supply gross sales, too, but it surely’s laborious for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen adverts until you pay $20 additional to eliminate them. It’s additionally too huge to carry comfortably with one hand. Perhaps the Kindle Paperwhite’s greatest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles except for Fire 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. Unlike 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, in the event you usually 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.

However, in the event you don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts procuring from Amazon, you’ll be very happy with the Kindle Paperwhite.

The finest non-Amazon e-book reader

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

The Kobo Libra Colour 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 provides most of the standout options discovered on the Twelfth-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 pleasurable to make use of.

The shade show is the obvious. The Libra Colour makes use of E Ink’s newest Kaledio shade display screen know-how, which offers 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 — but it surely’s a pleasant contact that makes viewing a wider vary of content material extra nice. 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 or as vibrant because the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition.

However, not like the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, the Libra Colour works with a digital pen — the Kobo Stylus 2 (offered individually) — which helps you to spotlight textual content in varied colours or take notes utilizing Kobo’s built-in notebooks. You may benefit from among the extra superior capabilities discovered within the Kobo Elipsa 2E, permitting you to resolve math equations, convert handwriting into typed textual content, and insert diagrams. This lets the Libra Colour operate as a mini pocket book of kinds, although I wouldn’t use it as a major note-taking machine because the seven-inch show can really feel cramped to jot down on.

The shade show is simply a part of the attraction, although. The Libra Colour doesn’t have the lockscreen adverts on 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 as you need to do on Amazon’s fashionable e-readers. 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’ll be able to learn your articles offline in the event you’re somebody who makes use of the long-standing bookmarking app.

However, at $219.99, the Libra Colour prices $60 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. It extra usually is than the Libra Colour. The Kobo can’t simply faucet into Amazon’s huge library of ebooks, which will be irritating in the event you’ve amassed a set of Kindle titles over time. It will be executed, however you need to convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which is difficult and may take time.

But if these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra Colour will provide you with the perfect digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on our listing. It’s my private favourite.

The finest low-cost e-book reader

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

The base-model Kindle ($109.99 with adverts) is the perfect 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. Plus, it even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging.

Reading on its six-inch display screen feels a little bit extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Colour. However, the flip aspect is that its small measurement makes it pocketable, mild, and simple for small arms to carry. Combined with its comparatively inexpensive value, the Kindle can also be the perfect e-book reader for teenagers — particularly the Amazon Kindle Kids Edition which prices $20 extra. The kid-friendly model shares the identical specs however is ad-free with parental controls, a two-year prolonged substitute assure, and a case. It additionally comes with six months of Amazon Kids Plus, which grants youngsters entry to 1000’s of youngsters’s books and audiobooks at no cost. After that, although, you’ll must pay $79 per 12 months.

The base Kindle doesn’t have additional conveniences just like the waterproofing you’ll discover within the entry-level Kobo Clara BW and Paperwhite. You additionally don’t get the bodily page-turning buttons discovered on Barnes & Noble’s entry-level e-reader, the Nook GlowLight 4e (although the Kindle is quite a bit snappier than the Nook). And as a result of it’s an Amazon e-book reader, you’re additionally locked into the Amazon ecosystem and must pay additional to take away adverts. But if you are able to do with out that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for below $110.

The finest e-book reader for taking notes

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Screen space and backbone: 10.3-inches, 227ppi decision / Storage: 32GB / Other 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 as a result of it’s a superb e-reader with strong note-taking talents. You can write straight on pages and margins simply as on a bodily ebook. The Kindle Scribe allows you to annotate ebook pages as properly, but it surely’s difficult involving resizable textual content bins that mess up the web page formatting and forestall you from doing staple items like circling phrases. In distinction, taking notes on the Ellipsa 2E feels much more intuitive and pure.

The Elipsa 2E provides different useful note-taking instruments and capabilities. Like the Kobo Libra Colour, it’s succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. You may insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll robotically snap them into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. You may sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line and convert handwriting to typed textual content. The Kindle Scribe provides the latter functionality, too, however once more, Kobo does it sooner and higher inside the authentic pocket book doc versus on a separate web page. The solely factor lacking from the Elipsa 2E is the Scribe’s note-summarization characteristic, however that’s a trade-off I’m okay with given how a lot simpler it’s to take notes.

Finally, the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage (32GB) for a similar value as the bottom Kindle Scribe. You can step as much as the 32GB Kindle Scribe for $20 extra or improve to 64GB for $40 additional. Yet given the Scribe’s limitations, I nonetheless advocate saving the cash and shopping for the Kobo Elipsa 2E as a substitute.

Note-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be a superb e-reader with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo units. 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 Colour. However, the ten.3-inch display screen balances issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s not a noticeable downside. Plus, the Elipsa 2E comes with an adjustable heat mild for nighttime studying. That’s a characteristic rivals with extra superior note-taking capabilities — just like the $379.99 Onyx Boox Go 10.3 which helps you to do every part the Scribe does and extra, like insert hyperlinks to notes — lacks.

Other e-book readers that didn’t make the reduce

There are another e-book readers my colleagues and I’ve examined that I didn’t characteristic above however are nonetheless value highlighting. Here are essentially the most notable:

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is the primary Kindle to characteristic E Ink’s shade display screen know-how and it stands out from different shade e-paper units with customizations. It provides improved distinction, extra vibrant colours, and sooner display screen refreshes. With a $279.99 price ticket, it’s the most costly Kindle mannequin at the moment accessible that doesn’t assist a stylus for note-taking, and it contains premium options like wi-fi charging which can be handy however not likely needed for a tool with months of battery life. Amazon doesn’t supply a less expensive model of the Colorsoft prefer it does with the Paperwhite, which is accessible in customary and Signature Edition variations, however if you’d like a shade display screen and need to follow Amazon, the Colorsoft is your only option. – Andrew Liszewski, Senior Reporter

If you’re in search of a non-Amazon various that’s extra inexpensive than the Kobo Libra Colour, the brand new Kobo Clara Colour — the successor to the Kobo Clara 2E — is value a glance. At $149.99, the ad-free e-reader prices greater than the Kobo Clara 2E, however I feel it’s value the additional $10. It continues to supply the identical six-inch show and IPX8 waterproof design, however the e-reader now provides shade. Plus, it’s noticeably sooner — one thing I used to be completely happy to see, contemplating the occasional lag on the Clara 2E generally acquired on my nerves. You don’t get the Clara Colour’s bodily buttons or stylus assist, however that’s a good tradeoff at this value level.

Despite all some great benefits of E Ink show know-how, your smartphone might be nonetheless a extra handy machine for studying given how pocket-friendly it’s. The Boox Palma 2 is a smartphone-sized E Ink machine that’s simply as straightforward to slide right into a pocket, however with extra capabilities than an e-reader. Its 6.3-inch E Ink show is nice for studying books, however the $279.99 Palma 2 additionally runs Android 13 so you’ll be able to set up productiveness apps like electronic mail and messaging — assuming you’ve acquired entry to Wi-Fi, in fact, as a result of the compact e-reader lacks mobile connectivity. If you have already got the unique Palma, the sequel isn’t definitely worth the improve. But in the event you’re in search of a smaller various to Kindles and Kobos, the Palma 2 might be definitely worth the splurge. – Andrew Liszewski, Senior Reporter

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 machine, and it provides 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 properly, and its slim design makes the machine really feel extra like a conventional pocket book. Like all Boox units, it additionally offers fast entry to the Google Play Store, so you’ll be able to 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.

However, 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 machine gained’t switch over (and vice versa), and you’ll’t annotate books in both app utilizing the Boox. I additionally felt like entry to Google Play is usually a double-edged sword because it grants quick access to distracting apps, together with video games, streaming providers, and TikTok. It’s too sluggish to make use of the latter, but it surely’s quick and cozy sufficient that I discovered myself taking part in round with the Word 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. But in the event you’ve acquired extra self-control than I do, the Go 10.3 might be value a glance.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the brand new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. If you personal a number of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this might be a superb Kindle various. Otherwise, I’d nonetheless advocate the Kobo Libra Colour to everyone else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an efficient e-reader with quite a bit to supply, together with a beautiful 300ppi display screen, waterproofing, bodily page-turning buttons, and even a headphone jack. However, it’s simply not as snappy, which makes setting it up, shopping for books from the machine itself, and navigating the interface a sluggish ordeal. It didn’t assist that the display screen generally froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the machine whereas in the course of a ebook.

Update, January twenty fifth: Added the brand new Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite as picks, talked about the brand new Kindle Scribe and Kindle Colorsoft, and up to date pricing and availability.

Andrew Liszewski contributed to this publish.