The Best E-readers on the Market Right Now

Best Overall

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition

4.7

View On Amazon

The eleventh-generation Kindle Paperwhite introduces major upgrades to the Kindle lineup, including improved lighting customization, faster charging, and a waterproof design. It's our top recommendation based on this extensive feature set and ultra-portable build.

Like prior generations, the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite has a glare-free display that looks like real paper even in direct sunlight, but the resolution has been bumped up to 300 pixels per inch (PPI). Amazon claims that this change makes the display ten times brighter when you choose the highest setting. We love that you can adjust the light for comfortable reading at all hours of the day, and schedule routines for light temperature changes. The battery charge lasts for a generous ten weeks, but replenishing the battery requires five hours via a computer. However, you can cut this time in half with a compatible power adapter.

If you enjoy audiobooks, you can sync the Paperwhite to headphones or speakers to listen to your books through Audible. It also has enough storage to house thousands of books to create your own virtual library. Students and bookworms alike might find the dictionary, translation, and highlight features useful for looking up and saving specific passages. In a departure from past models, this version is also waterproof in up to 6.5 feet of water for an hour. If you want more screen protection and grip, you can add the charging case separately or in a bundle.

Price at time of publish: $190

_{Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.32 inches | Storage: 8 gigabytes | Battery Life: 10 weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best Kindle Alternative

Kobo Clara HD

4.2

View On Amazon View On Walmart

If your eyes are sensitive to screens and artificial lights, you might consider the Kobo Klara HD, our top Kindle alternative. With ComfortLight technology, the 6-inch, 300 PPI display offers a natural, paper-like reading experience—even in direct sunlight. The front light minimizes blue-light exposure for more comfortable reading at night, but you can adjust the brightness and color temperature of the screen at any time.

The Kobo Clara HD comes with numerous customization features for a personalized reading experience. You can adjust the text to suit your vision with various font weights, sharpness, and margin settings. This e-reader also offers highlighting, note-taking, and can hold up to 6,000 books in a lightweight build—less than 6 ounces.

Price at time of publish: $110

_{Dimensions: 4.33 x 0.33 x 6.28 inches | Storage: 8 gigabytes | Battery Life: Weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best for PDFs

BOOX Max Lumi2

View On Amazon View On Boox.com

This large-screen eReader is ideal for students taking notes, professors downloading large documents, or avid readers and writers looking for a replacement for paper and pen. The BOOX Max Lumi2 displays A4-sized files, so viewing PDFs and textbooks is quick and easy, and the advanced octa-core processor ensures that multitasking is possible without wasting battery.

Multiple compatible third-party note apps make note-taking easy and smooth, and the built-in stylus is perfect for taking notes during class. However, extras like a protective case and different pen tip options, like the matching BOOX Pen2 Pro that mirrors a handwriting experience, require an extra investment.

Price at time of publish: $880

_{Dimensions: 0.01 x 8.98 x 0.31 inches | Storage: 128 gigabytes | Battery Life: 6 weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best Luxury Kindle

Amazon Kindle Oasis

4.2

View On Amazon View On Best Buy

The 7-inch Kindle Oasis is the premium model in the e-reader lineup. It's available in graphite or champagne gold and with a durable aluminum body, has a high-quality 300 PPI paperwhite display, and features a waterproof design. Similar to the Kindle Paperwhite (2021), the Oasis can handle submersion in up to 6.5 feet of water for up to 60 minutes, which means you can feel confident taking this e-reader with you as you soak in the bathtub or lounge by the pool.

Another high-end feature of this e-reader is the adaptive front lighting that automatically adjusts based on the surrounding lighting conditions. You can also adjust the screen from white to warm amber to minimize eye strain and light stimulation. Like other Kindles, you can pair headphones to listen to Audible books, and an ad-free experience costs a bit extra. The Oasis also supports many document types, including PDFs and DOCX, and offers life-like turn-paging motions for comfortable reading.

Price at time of publish: $270

_{Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.6 x 0.13-.33 inches | Storage: 8 or 32 gigabytes | Battery Life: 6 weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best Large Screen

Boox Note Air2 Plus

View On Amazon View On Boox.com

Those looking for a larger space to read textbooks or PDFs—especially those with charts or diagrams—might want to opt for the Boox Note Air2. The e-reader boasts a 10-inch screen, and the brightness and color temperature control allow you to read in the dark or bright sunlight.

The large format and multi-touch screen makes this an optimal option for note-taking in margins, opening multiple documents at once, adding bookmarks, and adjusting the size of the text. While expensive, the Boox Note Air2 also has Android capabilities, so you can use third-party apps from the Google Play store, such as Google Drive and Dropbox. Support for these productivity apps makes the Air2 perfect for students looking for an e-reader to use in class or for studying.

_{Dimensions: 9.03 x 7.7 x 0.22 inches | Storage: 64 gigabytes | Battery Life: Up to 4 weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best for Library Books

Kobo Forma

4.4

View On Amazon View On Walmart View On Kobobooks.com

The Kobo Forma is another sleek and lightweight Kindle alternative. It runs for about the price of the Oasis with similar tech-forward features, including lighting, text, margin size, and highlighting options, but comes with a larger 8-inch display and Dropbox support for viewing documents and e-books. One of the standout features is the ability to borrow library books from your library via Overdrive. If you don't have an account, setting one up and linking your profile with your library account is easy. Once you do that, you can borrow titles and request holds without switching to a browser on another device.

Another plus is the curved ergonomic design that accommodates both left- and right-handed page-turners for customized comfort. You can read books in portrait or landscape mode and set it to automatically adjust the orientation based on how you hold it. While this e-reader has many positive aspects, it can be prone to lagging at times and delayed syncing. The power button is also quite stiff and takes time to engage. Still, this lightweight model is easy to personalize and great for library-goers.

Price at time of publish: $200

_{Dimensions: 3.35 x 6.97 x 6.3 inches | Storage: 8 or 32 gigabytes | Battery Life: Weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best for Kids

Amazon Kindle Kids

View On Amazon

If you're shopping for a child aged seven and up, your best bet is the Amazon Kindle Kids Edition. It has a 6-inch black and white glare-free screen and comes with a durable magnetic cover. The cover is available in bright solid colors or kid-friendly prints. 

The Kids Kindle comes with one year of Amazon Kids+, including all "Harry Potter" books and other children's series. Since it's designed strictly for reading books, it doesn't have any games, ads, or videos. The library of free titles could also be limited without renewing an Amazon Kids+ subscription. However, you can get the Fire Kids Tablet if you want more versatility from the learning content.

_{Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches | Storage: 8 gigabytes | Battery Life: 4 weeks | Screen Type: E Ink}

Best for Bright Sunlight

ONYX BOOX Poke 3

View On Best Buy View On B&H Photo Video

Backlit screens can create glare and be difficult to read in natural outdoor lighting, but the ONYX BOOX Poke 3 solves this dilemma. This impressive e-reader has a 300 PPI E Ink display with a MOON Light 2 backlight feature that helps reduce blue light and offers lighting temperature customization so you can find the setting that's most comfortable for your eyes. This adjustability allows you to read it in bright sunlight or pitch-dark room, and it's just as easy on the eyes as a paper book. Another helpful display feature is the SNOW Field function you can turn on to reduce screen flickering, which can be common on e-readers.

The Poke 3 runs on the Android operating system, which gives you more settings and access to various reading programs. Discovering the right customizations could come with a learning curve, but with a touchscreen and internet browser, this e-reader makes it easy to browse books and surf the web, all on one device.

Price at time of publish: $190

_{Dimensions: 6.02 × 4.21 × 0.27 inches | Storage: 32 gigabytes | Battery Life: Not listed | Screen Type: E Ink}