The perfect e-reader for 2025

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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 telephone. An book reader presents a extra book-like studying expertise, with fewer distractions and fewer eye pressure, and lots of embody 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 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 towards the wall or a water-proof, warm-glow Kindle that received’t break 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, 300ppi decision / Storage: 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist

Should you largely 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 embody a spacious 7-inch 300pi show with wealthy distinction ranges and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and gratifying 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 adverts. 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 is determined by providing cut-rate reductions to drag you into its content material ecosystem. When 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 by means of Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo supply gross sales, too, however it’s exhausting for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen adverts until you pay $20 additional to do away with them. It’s additionally too huge to carry comfortably with one hand. Maybe the Kindle Paperwhite’s largest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles apart from Hearth tablets — is that it’s not straightforward to learn books bought exterior of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. Not like Kobo and different book readers, Kindles don’t assist EPUB recordsdata, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, should you typically store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or 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, however it’ll take a few additional steps.

Nevertheless, should you don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts buying from Amazon, you’ll be very happy with the Kindle Paperwhite.

The perfect 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, 300ppi (black-and-white), 150ppi (colour) / Storage: 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Kobo Stylus 2 assist, Bluetooth audio assist

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 presents lots 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 gratifying to make use of.

The colour show is the obvious. The Libra Color makes use of E Ink’s newest Kaledio colour 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 colour — however it’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, in contrast to 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 can too reap the benefits of a few of 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 operate as a mini pocket book of kinds, although I wouldn’t use it as a main note-taking machine for the reason that seven-inch show can really feel cramped to write down on.

The colour show is just a part of the enchantment, although. The Libra Color 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 facet of the show as it’s a must to do on Amazon’s trendy 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 just lately, Kobo supplied assist 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 now not obtainable, Kobo just 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 will be irritating should you’ve amassed a group of Kindle titles through the years. It may be carried out, however it’s a must 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 perfect low-cost book reader

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

The base-model Kindle ($109.99 with adverts) 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 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 palms 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 substitute assure, and a case. It additionally comes with six months of Amazon Children Plus, which grants youngsters entry to 1000’s of youngsters’s books and audiobooks without spending a dime. After that, although, you’ll must $79 per 12 months (or $48 with Amazon Prime).

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have additional conveniences just like the waterproofing you’ll discover in 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 rather a lot snappier than the Nook). And since it’s an Amazon book reader, you’re additionally locked into the Amazon ecosystem and must pay additional to take away adverts. But when you are able to do with out that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for below $110.

The perfect 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 assist

Of all the massive book readers I examined, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out probably 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 on a bodily e book. The Kindle Scribe helps you to annotate e book pages as effectively, however it’s difficult involving resizable textual content containers that mess up the web page formatting and forestall you from doing staple items like circling phrases. In distinction, taking notes on the Elipsa 2E feels much more intuitive and pure.

The Elipsa 2E presents 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 can too insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll routinely snap them into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. You can too sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line and convert handwriting to typed textual content. The Kindle Scribe presents the latter functionality, too, however once more, Kobo does it quicker and higher throughout the unique pocket book doc versus on a separate web page. The one factor lacking from the Elipsa 2E is the Scribe’s note-summarization function, however that’s a trade-off I’m okay with given how a lot simpler it’s to take notes.

Lastly, the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage (32GB) for a similar worth 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. But given the Scribe’s limitations, I nonetheless suggest saving the cash and shopping for the Kobo Elipsa 2E as an alternative.

Notice-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be a great e-reader with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo units. 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 also 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 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 — lacks.

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 here are probably the most notable:

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Version is the primary Kindle to function E Ink’s colour display expertise and it stands out from different colour e-paper units with customizations. It presents improved distinction, extra vibrant colours, and quicker display refreshes. With a $279.99 price ticket, it’s the most costly Kindle mannequin at the moment obtainable that doesn’t assist a stylus for note-taking, and it contains premium options like wi-fi charging which are handy however probably not mandatory for a tool with months of battery life. If you need a colour display and need to stick to Amazon, the Colorsoft Signature is your best choice. – Andrew Liszewski, Senior Reporter

Amazon just lately launched a extra reasonably priced different to the $279.99 Kindle Colorsoft Signature Version above referred to as the Kindle Colorsoft. It’s $30 cheaper and delivers a virtually similar studying expertise. As anticipated, Amazon excluded some options to hit the cheaper price level. Let’s run by means of them. There’s no wi-fi charging, which I can reside with out. Storage is halved to 16GB, which is sufficient for me as I primarily learn ebooks. However should you’re shopping for a colour e-reader, chances are high excessive that you simply’ll need extra cupboard space for graphic novels, and 16GB might not lower it.

The largest downside for me, as a bedtime bookworm, is the dearth of an auto-adjusting entrance mild that may make nighttime studying a lot simpler (nevertheless, its brightness and colour temperature will be manually adjusted). At this worth, I count on it, particularly since Kobo’s $159.99 Clara Coloration contains 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 should you’re in Amazon’s ecosystem. Until the usual Colorsoft goes on sale for much less, it’s not a fantastic worth at its common worth.

Should you’re on the lookout for 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 presents colour. It’s additionally noticeably quicker — one thing I used to be joyful to see, contemplating the occasional lag on the Clara 2E generally acquired 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 corporate just 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 improve), which Kobo says can final over a month on a single cost.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. Should you personal a whole lot of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this might be a great Kindle different. In any other case, I’d nonetheless suggest the Kobo Libra Color to all people else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an effective e-reader with rather a lot to supply, together with a stunning 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 machine itself, and navigating the interface a sluggish ordeal. It didn’t assist that the display generally froze, too, which meant I needed to restart the machine whereas in the midst of a e book.

Regardless of all some great benefits of E Ink show expertise, 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 $275.98 $329 Palma 2 additionally runs Android 13 so you possibly can set up productiveness apps like e mail and messaging — assuming you’ve acquired entry to Wi-Fi, after all, as a result of the compact e-reader lacks mobile connectivity. If you have already got the unique Palma, the sequel isn’t well worth the improve. However should you’re on the lookout for a smaller different to Kindles and Kobos, the Palma 2 might be well worth the splurge. – Andrew Liszewski, Senior Reporter

The $409.99 Onyx Boox Go 10.3 is one other ad-free book reader you need to use to take notes. It’s wonderful as a note-taking machine, and it presents 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 effectively, and its slim design makes the machine 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 machine 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 providers, and TikTok. It’s too sluggish to make use of the latter, however it’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 largest issues that distinguishes it from a pill, in spite of everything. However should you’ve acquired extra self-control than I do, the Go 10.3 might be price a glance.

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

Whereas I appreciated not having to sideload my Kindle and Kobo library, together with better flexibility to fine-tune colour settings, I finally want the Kobo Libra Color. In my testing, the Go Coloration 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 suggest Boox’s mannequin to readers who worth having Android app flexibility over efficiency.

Replace, November seventeenth: Adjusted pricing / availability and added new particulars concerning the Boox Palma 2 Professional. Andrew Liszewski additionally contributed to this publish.