The very best e-reader for 2026

Any 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 book reader provides a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and plenty of embrace further 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 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 in opposition to the wall or a water-resistant, warm-glow Kindle that gained’t wreck your spa ambiance, these are the perfect book readers for everybody.

Dimensions: 7 x 5 x .3 inches / Weight: 211 grams / Display space and determination: 7-inch display screen, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio help

In case you principally purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll desire a Kindle, and the Twelfth-gen Kindle Paperwhite is your best option for most individuals. Beginning at $159.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra Color — my high non-Amazon book reader, which I’ll dive into later — whereas providing lots of the similar options. These embrace a spacious 7-inch 300pi show with wealthy distinction ranges and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and satisfying 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 Version Paperwhite additionally has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen advertisements. It has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon function to seek out in an e-reader.

Amazon dominates the US book market, so Kindle house owners have entry to benefits house owners of different book readers don’t. A lot of Amazon’s {hardware} technique will depend on providing cut-rate reductions to tug you into its content material ecosystem. If in case you have Prime and purchase a whole lot of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is your best option as a result of its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale at Amazon, and Prime members get extra free content material via Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo supply gross sales, too, but it surely’s onerous for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen advertisements except you pay $20 further 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 simple to learn books bought exterior of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. In contrast to Kobo and different book readers, Kindles don’t help EPUB recordsdata, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, in the event you typically store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble, Google Play Books, or many different 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, but it surely’ll take a few further steps.

Nevertheless, in the event you don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts procuring from Amazon, you’ll be more than pleased with the Kindle Paperwhite.

The very best non-Amazon book reader

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

The Kobo Libra Color is a wonderful different to Amazon’s book readers, particularly for readers exterior the US or anybody who doesn’t need to faucet into Amazon’s ecosystem. Kobo’s newest slate provides lots of the standout options discovered on the Twelfth-gen Kindle Paperwhite — together with waterproofing, USB-C help, and a 300ppi show — together with a couple of perks that make it extra useful and satisfying to make use of.

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

Nevertheless, not like the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Version, the Libra Color works with a digital pen — the Kobo Stylus 2 (offered individually) — which helps you to spotlight textual content in numerous colours or take notes utilizing Kobo’s built-in notebooks. You too can make the most of 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 Color perform as a mini pocket book of types, although I wouldn’t use it as a major note-taking machine for the reason that 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 doesn’t have the lockscreen advertisements on 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 as you need to do on Amazon’s fashionable e-readers. The speedy e-reader additionally helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB recordsdata, and makes it a lot simpler to borrow books from the Overdrive library system. Till lately, Kobo supplied help for the bookmarking app Pocket, which was one other huge promoting level because it allow you to learn saved articles offline. Whereas the app is not accessible, Kobo lately changed Pocket with Instapaper, which you’ll obtain in a free replace.

Nevertheless, at $229.99, 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 occurs extra typically than the Libra Color. The Kobo can’t simply faucet into Amazon’s huge library of ebooks, which might be irritating in the event you’ve amassed a set of Kindle titles over time. It may be accomplished, however you need to convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which is hard and may take time.

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

The very best low-cost book reader

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

The base-model Kindle ($109.99 with advertisements) is the perfect low-cost book reader. Its 300ppi decision makes textual content clearer and simpler to learn than the lower-resolution screens on different book readers in its worth vary. Plus, it has USB-C for comparatively quick charging.

Studying on its six-inch display screen feels just a little 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 fingers to carry. Mixed with its comparatively reasonably priced worth, the Kindle can also be the perfect book reader for youths — particularly the Amazon Kindle Children Version, which prices $20 extra. The child-friendly model shares the identical specs however is ad-free with parental controls, a two-year prolonged alternative assure, and a case. It additionally consists of six months of Amazon Children Plus, which grants children entry to hundreds of youngsters’s books and audiobooks without spending a dime. After that, although, you’ll need to pay $79 per yr (or $48 with Amazon Prime).

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have further conveniences just like the waterproofing, which you’ll discover in the entry-level Kobo Clara BW and aforementioned Kindle Paperwhite. You additionally don’t get the bodily page-turning buttons discovered on entry-level e-readers like Barnes & Noble’s Nook GlowLight 4e (although the Kindle is quite a bit snappier than the Nook). And since it’s an Amazon book reader, you’re additionally locked into the Amazon ecosystem and need to pay further to take away advertisements. But when you are able to do with out that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for beneath $110.

The very best book reader for taking notes

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Display space and determination: 10.3-inches, 227ppi decision / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Handwriting to textual content conversion, magnetic stylus, Bluetooth audio help

Of all the big book readers I’ve examined, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out essentially the most as a result of it’s a great e-reader with stable note-taking talents. You possibly can write instantly on pages simply as in a bodily guide. The Kindle Scribe permits you to annotate guide pages as nicely, but it surely’s difficult, involving resizable textual content packing containers that mess up the web page formatting and forestall you from doing basic items like circling phrases. In distinction, taking notes on the Elipsa 2E feels much more intuitive and pure.

The Elipsa 2E provides different useful note-taking instruments and capabilities. Just like the Kobo Libra Color, it’s succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. You too can insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll routinely snap them into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. You too can 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 quicker and higher inside the authentic pocket book doc quite than on a separate web page. The one factor lacking from the Elipsa 2E is the Scribe’s note-summarization function, however that’s a tradeoff I’m okay with given how a lot simpler it’s to take notes.

Notice-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be a great e-reader with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo gadgets. There’s help 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 screen discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra Color. Nevertheless, 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 function rival e-readers with extra superior note-taking capabilities — together with the $409.99 Onyx Boox Go 10.3, which helps you to insert hyperlinks to notes — lack.

Different book readers we examined

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

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Version is the primary Kindle to function E Ink’s shade display screen know-how, and it stands out from different shade e-paper gadgets with customizations. It provides improved distinction, extra vibrant colours, and quicker display screen refreshes. With a $279.99 price ticket, it’s the most costly Kindle mannequin at present accessible that doesn’t help a stylus for note-taking, and it consists of premium options like wi-fi charging which might be handy however not likely crucial for a tool with months of battery life. In order for you a shade display screen and need to persist with Amazon, the Colorsoft Signature is your best choice. – Andrew Liszewski, Senior Reporter

Amazon lately launched a extra reasonably priced different to the $279.99 Kindle Colorsoft Signature Version referred to as the Kindle Colorsoft. It’s $30 cheaper and delivers a virtually an identical studying expertise. As anticipated, Amazon excluded some options to hit the cheaper price level. There’s no wi-fi charging, as an illustration, and storage is halved to 16GB, although that’s nonetheless sufficient for me as I primarily learn ebooks. However in the event you’re shopping for a shade e-reader, chances are high excessive that you simply’ll need extra space for storing for graphic novels, and 16GB could not reduce it.

The largest downside for me, as a bedtime bookworm, is the shortage of an auto-adjusting entrance mild, which might make nighttime studying a lot simpler (nevertheless, its brightness and shade temperature might be manually adjusted). At this worth, I anticipate it, particularly since Kobo’s $159.99 Clara Colour consists of one. And, on condition that the Colorsoft Signature Version prices simply $30 extra, full with a entrance mild that adjusts when the room will get dim, 32GB of storage, and wi-fi charging, I’d go for that as an alternative in the event you’re in Amazon’s ecosystem. Except the usual Colorsoft goes on sale for much less, it’s not an amazing worth at its common worth.

In case you’re in search of a non-Amazon different that’s extra reasonably priced than the Kobo Libra Color, the Kobo Clara Color — the successor to the Kobo Clara 2E — is price a glance. At $159.99, the ad-free e-reader prices greater than the Kobo Clara 2E, 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 provides shade. It’s additionally noticeably quicker — one thing I used to be glad 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 help, however that’s a good tradeoff at this worth level. The corporate lately introduced a white model with a barely bigger 1,900mAh battery in comparison with the black mannequin’s 1,500mAh (notably, and not using a worth enhance), which Kobo says can final over a month on a single cost.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. In case you personal a whole lot of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this may very well be a great Kindle different. In any other case, I’d nonetheless advocate the Kobo Libra Color 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. Nevertheless, 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 screen typically froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the machine whereas in the midst of a guide.

Regardless of all the 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 simple 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 $299.99 Palma 2 additionally runs Android 13 so you possibly can set up productiveness apps like e-mail and messaging — assuming you’ve received 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. However in the event you’re in search of a smaller different to Kindles and Kobos, the Palma 2 may very well be definitely worth the splurge. – Andrew Liszewski, Senior Reporter

The $409.99 Onyx Boox Go 10.3 is one other ad-free book reader you should utilize to take notes. It’s wonderful as a note-taking machine, and it provides an impressively wide 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 machine really feel extra like a standard pocket book. Like all Boox gadgets, 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 machine gained’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 is usually a double-edged sword because it grants easy accessibility to distracting apps, together with video games, streaming providers, and TikTok. It’s too gradual to make use of the latter, but it surely’s quick and comfy sufficient that I discovered myself enjoying round with the Phrase Search app far too typically. 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 in the event you’ve received extra self-control than I do, the Go 10.3 may very well be price a glance.

In April, Boox launched the Go Colour 7 Gen II, which retails for $279.99. This waterproof e-reader provides a 300ppi show that drops to 150ppi when displaying shade content material, very like its Kobo and Kindle rivals. Nevertheless, much like the Kobo Libra Color, this ad-free mannequin provides physical-page turning buttons and helps note-taking. A stylus isn’t included, so that you’ll must spend an additional $45.99 for Boox’s pressure-sensitive InkSense pen if you wish to take notes. And, like different Boox gadgets, it runs on Android, supplying you with entry to a variety of apps and on-line bookstores via the Google Play Retailer.

Whereas I appreciated not having to sideload my Kindle and Kobo library, together with larger flexibility to fine-tune shade settings, I finally favor the Kobo Libra Color. In my testing, the Go Colour 7 Gen II felt frustratingly sluggish by comparability to the Libra Color, which is disappointing given the Boox prices $50 extra. Responsiveness is a core a part of the studying expertise for me, so I’d solely advocate Boox’s mannequin to readers who worth having Android app flexibility over efficiency.

The $629.99 Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is Amazon’s first shade e-reader that’s additionally designed for note-taking. In her assessment, Victoria Tune praised its skinny, light-weight design, lengthy battery life, and minimal ghosting impact. Nevertheless, she thought the 11-inch show feels too giant for studying or note-taking, and that the muted E Ink colours restrict the attraction for artists who need to draw issues past fundamental doodles. It’s additionally a disgrace that a lot of its finest annotation options — together with in-line writing and the AI-powered summarization and search instruments — don’t prolong to different doc varieties, akin to PDFs.

Replace, January 14th: Adjusted pricing / availability and added new particulars concerning the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. Andrew Liszewski additionally contributed to this publish.