Greatest e book readers for 2024

Any e book reader will allow you to cram a Magnificence and the Beast-sized library’s value of books in your pocket, however so will your cellphone. An e book reader gives 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 provide bodily page-turning buttons, whereas a number 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 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 spoil your spa ambiance, these are the most effective e book readers for everybody. 

Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x .32 inches / Weight: 205 grams / Display space and backbone: 6.8-inch display, 300ppi decision / Storage: 8GB or 16GB / Different options: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist 

When you largely purchase ebooks from Amazon, you’ll need a Kindle, and the Eleventh-gen Kindle Paperwhite is your best option for most individuals. Beginning at $139.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra 2 — my prime non-Amazon e book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for lots of the similar options. These embrace a big 300pi show 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 $99.99 base-model Kindle, and in contrast to the bottom Kindle, the Paperwhite has IPX8 water resistance. The $189.99 Signature Version Paperwhite additionally has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen adverts. It additionally has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon characteristic to seek 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 homeowners have entry to benefits homeowners of different e book readers don’t. A lot of Amazon’s {hardware} technique relies on providing cut-rate reductions to drag you into its content material ecosystem. When you have Prime and purchase loads of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is your best option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely simple to purchase and browse its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale, and Prime members get extra free content material by Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo provide gross sales, too, nevertheless it’s arduous for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen adverts until you pay $20 further to eliminate them. It’s additionally too massive to carry comfortably with one hand. Maybe the Kindle Paperwhite’s greatest flaw, although — which it shares with all Kindles except for Fireplace tablets — is that it’s not simple to learn books bought exterior of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle e book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. In contrast to Kobo and different e book readers, Kindles don’t assist EPUB recordsdata, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, for those who usually store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or Google Play Books or many different e book shops), you may’t simply learn these books on a Kindle with out utilizing a workaround. There are methods to transform and switch file codecs so you may learn on the Kindle and vice versa, nevertheless it’ll take a few further steps.

Nevertheless, for those who don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts procuring from Amazon, you’ll be very happy with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Learn our full evaluation of the Kindle Paperwhite.

Dimensions: 5.69 x 6.36 x 0.35 inches / Weight: 215 grams / Display space and backbone: 7-inch display, 300ppi / Storage: As much as 32GB / Different options: Bodily page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Bluetooth audio assist 

The Kobo Libra 2 is a superb different to an Amazon e book reader, particularly for readers exterior the US. It’s simply as good because the Paperwhite, with lots of the Paperwhite’s standout options, like waterproofing, USB-C assist, and a 300ppi show. It doesn’t work as properly with Amazon’s ecosystem, in fact, nevertheless it gives a number of further perks that make the e-reader, in some methods, much more pleasurable to make use of.

For one factor, it helps extra file codecs, together with EPUB. It’s additionally a lot simpler to instantly borrow books from the Overdrive library system, whereas native assist for Pocket means you may learn your saved articles offline. The Libra 2 additionally comes with easy-to-use bodily buttons and begins at 16GB of storage, double the capability of the bottom Paperwhite. There are not any annoying lockscreen adverts to take care of, both. Plus, as a substitute of a flat-front display, the show is barely recessed into the body. I cherished that because it meant I didn’t unintentionally faucet the display and skip a web page, as I usually did with the Paperwhite. It additionally saved the display cleaner and — mixed with the huge facet bezel — made the Libra 2 extra comfy to carry.

The Kobo Libra 2 is my favourite e book reader to make use of. I saved having to restrain myself from utilizing it on a regular basis to offer the opposite e-readers on this checklist a good probability.

Nevertheless, at $189, it prices $50 greater than the ad-supported Paperwhite, although it’s solely $20 greater than the ad-free Paperwhite. That hole widens much more when the Paperwhite is on sale, which it recurrently is. Plus, as someone whose digital library consists primarily of Amazon ebooks, I discovered the truth that I couldn’t simply and rapidly learn my huge assortment of Kindle books irritating. You are able to do it, however you’ll must convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which may take time, particularly if in case you have a big library. But when these issues don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra 2 gives you the most effective digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on this checklist.

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

The base-model Kindle ($99.99 with adverts) is the most effective 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 worth vary, and its 16GB of storage is double even that of the Paperwhite. It even has USB-C for comparatively quick charging. 

Studying on its six-inch display feels slightly extra cramped than it does on the bigger shows of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra 2. 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 be the most effective e book reader for youths — particularly within the youngsters model Amazon sells for $20 extra. It shares the identical actual specs however is ad-free with parental controls, a two-year prolonged substitute assure, and a case. It additionally comes with one yr of Amazon Youngsters Plus, which grants youngsters entry to 1000’s of children books and audiobooks totally free. After that, although, you’ll must pay $79 per yr.

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have further conveniences just like the bodily page-turning buttons discovered on Barnes & Noble’s entry-level e-reader, the Nook GlowLight 4e. Nevertheless, you do get one thing extra essential: snappier responses. On many of the different entry-level e book readers I examined, together with the GlowLight 4e, I needed to wait a number of seconds after tapping the display for the web page to show. The Kindle, compared, supplied no perceptive lag.

There are different tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, in contrast to the Paperwhite, and battery life is sweet, nevertheless it’ll final you three weeks tops — not months, just like the Paperwhite. And since it’s an Amazon e book reader, you’re additionally locked into the Amazon ecosystem and must pay further to eliminate adverts. But when you are able to do with out all of that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for beneath $100.

Learn my full evaluation of the Kindle.

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

Of all the big e book readers I examined, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out essentially the most due to its wonderful note-taking skills. You’ll be able to instantly write on pages, and the notes won’t disappear, which makes for a extra intuitive note-taking expertise than the Kindle Scribe, which solely helps on-page notes on choose Kindle titles. In any other case, you’re restricted to creating annotations on playing cards which might be like disappearing sticky notes. 

You too can sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line, and Kobo may even convert handwriting to typed textual content. Amazon rolled out an analogous functionality for the Kindle Scribe, however it could possibly solely convert handwriting to typed textual content once you export notebooks and never as precisely. In contrast, Kobo allows you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but additionally from inside a pocket book itself.

The Elipsa 2E additionally gives different useful note-taking instruments. It’s even succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. You too can insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll mechanically snap it into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. There’s additionally an important collection of pen sorts and ink shades. 

True, the Kindle Scribe begins at $60 much less, however the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage. You can step as much as the 32GB Kindle Scribe in order for you the identical storage capability, however that places it at basically the identical worth because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as a substitute.

I additionally suggest the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Notice Air 2 Plus, despite the fact that it, too, gives a lot better writing instruments than the Kindle Scribe. That’s as a result of it prices a whopping $449 and likewise isn’t as available within the US market. The Onyx Boox Notice Air 2 Plus additionally comes with too many distracting extras, like an easy-to-access music participant and the Google Play app retailer preinstalled so you may obtain a number of studying apps, together with each the Kindle and Kobo apps. Nevertheless, Kindle and Kobo notes didn’t present up on the Onyx Boox Notice Air 2 Plus — and you may’t annotate their books wherever as simply as you may on their respective units.

Notice-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can be a very good e-reader, nevertheless it comes with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo e-readers. There’s assist for a variety of file codecs, however you may’t simply learn Kindle books with out changing them first. Its 227ppi show can be barely much less sharp than the 300ppi display discovered on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra 2. Nevertheless, the ten.3-inch display does stability issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s probably not a noticeable disadvantage.

There are another e book readers I examined that I didn’t characteristic above however are nonetheless value highlighting. Listed below are essentially the most notable:

When you’re searching for a non-Amazon different that’s extra reasonably priced than the Kobo Libra 2, the Kobo Clara 2E is value a glance. It sells for $139.99 and likewise gives waterproofing in addition to a pointy, 300ppi show, nevertheless it lacks buttons. As I discussed in my evaluation, I additionally favored that it doesn’t include adverts however discovered it’s not as quick because the Kindle Paperwhite. Nevertheless, now that I’ve used the e-reader for fairly a while, I discover it’s snappy sufficient, and the occasional lag isn’t as distracting as I imagined it’d grow to be. The Libra 2 remains to be quicker, although.

In 2023, Barnes and Noble launched the brand new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. When you personal loads of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this might be a very good Kindle different. In any other case, I’d nonetheless suggest the Kobo Libra 2 to everyone else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is an effective e-reader with loads 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 guide.

Lastly, I didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which has bodily page-turning buttons and which many take into account a high-end machine. At this level, although, it’s outdated, arduous to seek out in inventory, and lacks some options even the bottom Kindle gives — like USB-C assist. That makes it much less interesting at $249.99. In case you are keen to pay that a lot for a high-end reader, I’d check out the Kobo Libra 2 or the Kobo Sage as a substitute. The latter is $239.99 ($30 off), but not solely does it include buttons and USB-C, however you may also use it to take notes. The eight-inch display feels very cramped to write down on, although, so I wouldn’t suggest it as a main note-taking machine. 

Replace February 2nd, 2024: Adjusted costs and added new associated hyperlinks.