The Best E-Reader

An ebook reader is a dedicated device on which you read electronic books—usually those you buy from an ebook store, but also some you can download elsewhere (through your local public library, for example). Over the past few years, the prices of ebook readers have fallen dramatically while the hardware has improved significantly, and high-end features such as a backlit, high-resolution screen and waterproofing have become standard. If you don’t have an ebook reader, there’s never been a better time to get one.

If you have an ebook reader but struggle with finding light to read, get frustrated with slow page turns or low resolution, or merely hate how big your current device is, upgrading to a new one might be worthwhile.

Caitlin McGarry is Wirecutter’s senior editor overseeing technology coverage and has used multiple generations of Amazon Kindles, dating all the way back to the one with a physical keyboard (RIP). She has covered consumer technology devices—including e-readers, tablets, and smartphones—for more than a decade for Macworld, Tom’s Guide, Gizmodo, and other outlets. She has also written about why checking out ebooks from the library can be so complicated.

Former Wirecutter writer Nick Guy contributed reporting to this guide.

If you already own an iPad or another tablet, you might wonder why an ebook reader is necessary. And it’s not: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo all offer apps that allow you to access your library on an iOS or Android tablet or smartphone, and you can also use a tablet or phone to read ebooks from Apple Books (on iOS) and the Google Play store (on iOS and Android).

But if you’re a regular reader, dedicated e-readers are a better option for a number of reasons. Nonreflective, electronic-ink displays give you a more paperlike visual experience (including enjoyable reading outdoors and less eyestrain compared with an LCD or OLED screen), plus they’re lighter weight and offer significantly longer battery life. And a dedicated ebook reader offers fewer distractions—you won’t be tempted to mindlessly scroll through Instagram or watch a video on YouTube or TikTok. Being able to sync progress from an ebook reader app to the cloud means you can easily read a few pages on your phone or iPad and then pick it up again on whichever e-reader you own—it’s the best of both worlds.

Few companies make e-readers, and Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo are the only major hardware makers with digital bookstores to back up their respective devices.

Here’s what we looked for in determining the best ebook readers:

• Built-in lighting: Most e-readers provide their own light for reading in dark environments. Unlike tablets such as the iPad, ebook readers use a side-lighting system that provides a glow across the screen, rather than from behind it. Because this feature is so prevalent, we didn’t test any readers without it.
• Screen quality: We gave preference to devices with a pixel density of 300 dots per inch, the highest available in any ebook reader and what most models offer. Anything lower produces less-crisp text and images.
• Build quality and size: While most ebook readers are made of plastic, some feel better than others in your hands. The most common screen size is 6 inches, which is also the most portable. Newer e-readers pack larger screens into similarly sized bodies, which is a bonus.
• Battery life and storage: Most e-readers promise battery life somewhere between six and eight weeks, depending on usage, and offer 16 GB or 32 GB of storage. Because e-readers tend to be so similar in this regard, specs like these are less important than how good an ebook reader feels in the hand.
• Other features: Features like waterproofing and Bluetooth audio can make a good e-reader great, but they’re not required.
• Library: Ebook readers can’t stand on the strength of their hardware alone. Though all readers allow you to side-load unprotected content, it’s important that they provide easy access to a large library of commercial books.

The cheapest Amazon Kindle is also the best e-reader for most people. Its affordable price, portability, upgraded display, 16 GB of base storage, and USB-C charging compatibility check the most-important boxes, plus Amazon offers a massive ebook catalog that frequently offers better prices than the competition. Checking out ebooks from the library via the Libby app on a phone or tablet and then having them delivered to your Kindle is also fairly intuitive.

The screen is on a par with that of the pricier Kindle Paperwhite. The Kindle’s 6-inch display is smaller than the 6.8-inch Kindle Paperwhite display, but both E Ink screens are 300 ppi, so text is sharp and clear to read on both. And while the entry-level Kindle doesn’t have the same level of screen illumination as the Kindle Paperwhite—with just four front LEDs compared with the premium version’s 17 lights—it gets plenty bright enough. I had no issues reading in a dark bedroom, on a dimly lit plane, or poolside in direct sunlight. You don’t get the same color-temperature controls as on the Kindle Paperwhite, but if you’re not sensitive to warm or cool light, this model gets the job done.

The battery life is excellent, and the switch to USB-C is a godsend. The main reason I prefer reading on a Kindle compared with my phone or iPad is that I can go weeks—sometimes even a month or two if I’m reading very slowly—between charges. But as basically every modern tech device has moved to the USB-C charging standard, the cheapest Kindle stubbornly clung to Micro-USB. The 2022 Kindle finally caught up with 10-year-old technology, and now you can use the same USB-C charging cable that charges your laptop and Android phone to juice up your Kindle.

The base Kindle comes with double the base storage of the Kindle Paperwhite. If you have a huge ebook collection or like to listen to audiobooks on your Kindle, the 16 GB of storage in this model is a blessing. The Kindle Paperwhite comes with 8 GB; you have to pay more for 16 GB.

The Kindle ecosystem is huge. The collection of services that Amazon and its partners offer is a major reason we love Kindles in general. You can share purchased books with people on your Amazon Prime account; use X-Ray, which helps identify notable people and terms in your books; subscribe to the optional Kindle Unlimited service, which gives you on-demand access to a huge catalog of books for a flat rate every month; and opt for Amazon Kids+, which provides access to kids books, movies, TV shows, and more (a free, one-year subscription is included with the Kindle Kids model, which costs an extra $20 but also comes with a cover, a longer warranty, and no ads).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s not waterproof. I love a hotel pool, and the Kindle is the first thing I throw in my tote on vacation. But it doesn’t offer any water resistance, so I have to be extra careful to avoid splashes. Similarly, if you like to relax in the tub with an e-reader, the waterproof Kindle Paperwhite is a better bet for your peace of mind.

Downloading EPUB files requires some extra steps. Prior to 2022, Amazon didn’t offer support for EPUB files, the open-standard format for unprotected ebooks that’s common for public-domain and other freely available books. Now, Kindles are EPUB compatible, but loading them onto your e-reader requires extra work. You have to download the file on an iOS or Android device, find it in the phone’s Files app, and then use the “Send to Kindle” feature to send it wirelessly to your e-reader. You can also email an EPUB file to your Kindle’s email address, which sends the file directly to your Kindle. (To find that email address, log in to your Amazon account on the web, and then navigate to your devices. Click the name of your Kindle, and you’ll see an email address that ends in @kindle.com. Attach the EPUB file to an email sent to that Kindle address, and then sync your Kindle to see the file pop up.)

You have to pay $20 more to get a version without lock-screen ads. That’s annoying.

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite from 2021 is still just as good three years in, and if you need a few more bells and whistles than what the entry-level Kindle offers, it’s worth the extra money.

We used to recommend the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids—which is about $20 more than the base-model Kindle Paperwhite—because it comes with a cover, a two-year warranty, no lock-screen ads, and a free year of Amazon Kids+. That’s still a good deal, especially if it’s on sale. But with a list price of $180, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is a little expensive for a device that was released three years ago, and the cheaper Kindle (or the Kindle Kids) might be a better option.

It has a nice, big screen. This display is a noticeable upgrade over the entry-level Kindle’s smaller, 6-inch screen. When you’re reading on the Kindle Paperwhite, you can easily turn a page with a tap or swipe. The screen is evenly lit across its entire surface, and the text is impressively crisp. Amazon also got the small details right: Tapping to call up a footnote, for example, opens it on the current page instead of taking you to a separate page, and you can dismiss the footnote with a simple tap. And actually hitting the footnote is easier than on other e-readers, thanks to a much larger touch target. It’s a little more challenging on the cheaper Kindle.

It offers precise control over brightness and color temperature. You can change how much blue light the Kindle Paperwhite’s screen emits, going from a typical white glow to a darker yellow in 24 increments, either manually or on an automatic schedule tied to sunset and sunrise. Wirecutter has written extensively about whether blocking blue light makes it easier to fall asleep (maybe) or helps you avoid eyestrain and headaches (probably not). Even if there’s no demonstrable benefit, color-temperature adjustment isn’t a bad feature to have and might just make for a more comfortable reading experience.

Did we mention it’s waterproof? Author Nick Guy tested the Kindle Paperwhite’s IPX8 waterproofing by submerging it in a pitcher of water for an hour; Amazon says it can survive for that long in water up to 2 meters deep. The e-reader worked just fine afterward, although we were surprised how much water came out of the USB-C port when we shook it. We could even hear water sloshing around inside, but after we kept it upright for a few minutes, the moisture was gone.

Seamless Audible integration is useful for audiobook lovers. You can pay for an Audible subscription or buy audiobooks à la carte. You have to use Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, however, because the Kindle Paperwhite doesn’t have a headphone jack. But the feature works well, and if you have both the ebook and audiobook version of a title, you can switch between reading and listening wherever you left off. You can also use the Bluetooth streaming for VoiceView, Amazon’s accessibility program that helps folks with low vision navigate the screen.

Amazon has dominated e-readers for many, many years, and for good reason. While we generally prefer the Kindle line’s hardware and ease of use, we’re glad Amazon isn’t the only good option. Kobo e-readers are very good, especially if you haven’t already bought into the Kindle ecosystem (owning a lot of Kindle books makes switching extremely difficult). For readers who primarily check out digital library books or for someone who simply doesn’t like Amazon, Rakuten’s Kobo Clara BW hits the sweet spot in price and features between the cheap Kindle and the pricier Paperwhite.

The Clara BW has a warm, fast-refreshing screen. The addition of E Ink Carta 1300 technology is a meaningful upgrade over the Clara 2E, our previous Kobo pick. Text is crisp and clear, the screen can get incredibly bright, and the Clara BW’s pages turn near instantly when you tap the screen, making it just as fast as the basic Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite. (The Clara 2E was much slower and sometimes suffered from a ghosting effect where you can see faint text on the screen in between page turns.) The Clara BW gives you more control over color temperature and brightness than the basic Kindle does, which can make longer reading sessions more comfortable, but it’s also more expensive.

This Kobo reader offers Kindle Paperwhite features for less than the Paperwhite. The Kobo Clara BW costs $20 less than the Kindle Paperwhite, and while it feels a bit more like the regular Kindle in terms of materials and design, you get the same IPX8 waterproofing, adjustable screen brightness and color temperature, and USB-C charging. The Paperwhite has a slightly larger screen—6.8 inches to the Clara BW’s 6-inch display—but the Clara BW’s smaller size makes it more pocketable.

It’s lightweight and portable. Like the entry-level Kindle, the Kobo Clara BW has a 6-inch screen surrounded by a slightly raised bezel. Rakuten says it’s made from 85% recycled plastic, and though we didn’t independently confirm whether the company diverted plastic that was bound for oceans or landfills, it is lighter than the Kindle Paperwhite (but not quite as light as the basic Kindle). The basic Kindle’s design feels flimsier by comparison, and I prefer the Clara BW’s textured back and rear power button.

Borrowing ebooks from the library is seamless. I prefer to check out books from my public library system rather than buy them because, well, they’re free, and Kobo makes borrowing ebooks even easier than Amazon does. The Kobo Clara BW offers integration with OverDrive, a platform for borrowing ebooks from libraries, so you can link your public library account to OverDrive and then see options for purchasing a specific ebook from the Kobo Store or borrowing it from the library directly on the device itself—no need to navigate to a third-party website to send the ebook to your Kobo e-reader. (OverDrive has shut down its standalone app in favor of Libby, another ebook lending platform it owns, but Kobo devices’ OverDrive integration remains functional and works well.)

Its battery life isn’t quite as long as a Kindle’s. Rakuten says the Kobo Clara BW will last up to 53 days on a charge if you read 30 minutes a day at 10% brightness. I read much longer than that and need a much brighter screen, so in my experience the Kobo lasts just a few weeks on a charge. The basic Kindle easily lasts closer to six weeks, and the Paperwhite lasts more than two months on a charge. If you, like me, almost never remember to charge your ereader, a Kindle is a better option.

The Amazon Kindle Scribe is the first Kindle to support note-taking with an included stylus. The Scribe is much larger than the Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite, with a 10.2-inch screen at 300 ppi. E Ink tablets that let you read books and take notes have become more popular in recent years, and the Kindle Scribe is the latest in a line of steadily improving models. The included basic pen attaches magnetically to the e-reader and never needs to be charged. Although it’s a delight to use, for $340, you’re better off with a more full-featured tablet than a dedicated e-reader.

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th generation) is identical to the 2021 Paperwhite and Paperwhite Kids, save for three small differences: It has 32 GB of storage space (four times that of the other models), it supports Qi wireless charging, and the backlight automatically adjusts thanks to a sensor above the screen. These are all nice-to-have features, but they’re not worth the premium price for most people.

In addition to the Clara BW, Kobo has a handful of other options that offer more features for a higher price. The $150 Kobo Clara Colour is identical to the Clara BW but has a colorful E Ink Kaleido 3 display, which makes graphic novels pop, but color E Ink screens are still much dimmer than their black-and-white counterparts. The pricier Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Elipsa 2E, and Kobo Sage are more digital notebooks than ereaders, which we’re reviewing for a separate guide. Those who want a tablet for reading are better off with our picks.

Barnes & Noble is still making its Nook line of e-readers. We tested the $150 Nook GlowLight 4,which is pricier than the Kindle Paperwhite but has a smaller screen and isn’t waterproof.

This article was edited by Jason Chen and Arthur Gies.