Greatest e book readers for 2023

Any e 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 e book reader provides 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 provide bodily page-turning buttons, whereas a number of even allow you to take notes.

What I’m in search of

Consolation

How straightforward is it to make use of and skim on? A pointy show and comparatively quick efficiency are important to an fulfilling studying expertise, as are measurement and weight.

Construct high quality

Some e-readers include completely different options, like waterproofing, which implies you actually can learn wherever. Others provide buttons that make utilizing the e-reader extra intuitive to make use of. 

Supported content material varieties

There should be straightforward, direct entry to a big selection of digital titles, which incorporates audiobooks in addition to numerous file codecs.

Affordability

Is the worth justified, given what the e-reader provides?

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 gained’t damage your spa atmosphere, these are the very best e book readers for everybody. 

One of the best Kindle

$140

Amazon’s newest Kindle Paperwhite has a 6.8-inch E Ink show with adjustable coloration temperature for nighttime studying. It additionally boasts a quick processor, months-long battery life, IPX8 waterproofing, and a USB-C port.

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

Should 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 high non-Amazon e book reader, which I’ll dive into later — for most of the similar options. These embody a big 300pi show and an adjustable heat white frontlight, which make for a transparent and fulfilling studying expertise. The latter additionally conveniently improves sleep by slicing down on blue gentle 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 advertisements. It additionally has wi-fi charging, which is a uncommon characteristic to search out in an e-reader.

The Kindle Paperwhite comes with an adjustable heat white frontlight. Picture by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

Amazon is the biggest on-line retailer on this planet, and it dominates the US e book market, so Kindle house owners have entry to benefits house owners of different e book readers don’t. A lot of Amazon’s {hardware} technique depends upon providing cut-rate reductions to tug you into its content material ecosystem. You probably have Prime and purchase a number of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is your best option as a result of Amazon makes it extremely straightforward to purchase and skim its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are sometimes on sale, and Prime members get extra free content material by means of Prime Studying. Rivals like Kobo provide gross sales, too, however it’s onerous for them to supply reductions as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, although. The Paperwhite has lockscreen advertisements until you pay $20 additional to eliminate 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 other than Hearth tablets — is that it’s not straightforward to learn books bought exterior of Amazon’s retailer. Kindle e book codecs are proprietary and solely work on Kindle. Not like Kobo and different e book readers, Kindles don’t help EPUB information, an open file format utilized by just about everybody besides Amazon. So, for instance, if you happen to usually store from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or Google Play Books or many different e 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 and is usually a problem.

Nevertheless, if you happen to don’t purchase your books elsewhere otherwise you don’t thoughts buying from Amazon, you’ll be more than pleased with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Learn our full evaluate of the Kindle Paperwhite.

One of the best non-Amazon e book reader

The Kobo Libra 2 options bodily page-turning buttons together with a pointy 7-inch E Ink show freed from advertisements. It additionally boasts IPX8 waterproofing and 32GB of storage.

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

The Kobo Libra 2 is a superb various to an Amazon e book reader, particularly for readers exterior the US. It’s simply as good because the Paperwhite, with most of the Paperwhite’s standout options, like waterproofing, USB-C help, and a 300ppi show. It doesn’t work as effectively with Amazon’s ecosystem, after all, however it provides a number of additional perks that make the e-reader, in some methods, much more fulfilling to make use of.

The Kobo Libra 2 is my favourite e book reader 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 help for Pocket means you possibly can 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 advertisements to take care of, both. Plus, as an alternative of a flat-front display screen, the show is barely recessed into the body. I cherished that because it meant I didn’t by chance faucet the display screen and skip a web page, as I usually did with the Paperwhite. It additionally stored the display screen cleaner and — mixed with the huge facet bezel — made the Libra 2 extra comfy to carry.

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The Kobo Libra 2 comes with bodily page-turning buttons. Picture by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

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The Kobo Libra 2 comes with bodily page-turning buttons. Picture by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

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

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 frequently is. Plus, as any person whose digital library consists primarily of Amazon ebooks, I discovered the truth that I couldn’t simply and shortly learn my huge assortment of Kindle books irritating. You are able to do it, however you’ll need to convert file codecs utilizing third-party apps, which might take time, particularly 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 very best digital studying expertise of all of the e-readers on this record.

One of the best low-cost e book reader

$100

Amazon’s new entry-level Kindle is basically the budget-friendly, 6-inch model of the Kindle Paperwhite. It lacks waterproofing however in any other case is analogous with the identical sharp show and USB-C help.

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

The bottom-model Kindle ($99.99 with advertisements) is the very best 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 screen feels a bit of 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, gentle, and simple for small palms to carry. Mixed with its comparatively inexpensive worth, the Kindle can also be the very best e book reader for youths — particularly within the youngsters model Amazon sells for $20 extra. It shares the identical precise 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 Children Plus, which grants youngsters entry to hundreds of children books and audiobooks without cost. After that, although, you’ll need to pay $79 per yr.

The child-friendly model of the Kindle comes with colourful circumstances. Picture: Kindle Children

The bottom Kindle doesn’t have additional 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 vital: snappier responses. On a lot 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 screen for the web page to show. The Kindle, as compared, supplied no perceptive lag.

There are different tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, not like the Paperwhite, and battery life is sweet, however 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 need to pay additional to eliminate advertisements. But when you are able to do with out all of that, the Kindle delivers the necessities for below $100.

Learn my full evaluate of the Kindle.

One of the best e book reader for taking notes

$400

The Kobo Elipsa 2E is an ad-free 10.3-inch e-reader you possibly can write on with the included stylus. It provides an entire host of helpful options, like the flexibility to transform handwriting to typed textual content and an excellent choice of pen varieties.

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 help 

Of all the massive e book readers I examined, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out probably the most due to its wonderful note-taking talents. You’ll be able to instantly write on pages, and the notes is not going to 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 may as well sync your notes with Dropbox or view them on-line, and Kobo may even convert handwriting to typed textual content. Amazon not too long ago rolled out an identical functionality for the Kindle Scribe, however it will probably solely convert handwriting to typed textual content if you export notebooks and never as precisely. In contrast, Kobo helps you to convert your handwriting not simply whereas exporting but additionally from inside a pocket book itself.

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The Kobo Elipsa 2E helps you to insert diagrams, convert handwriting to textual content, and might even clear up math equations for you. Picture by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

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The Kobo Elipsa 2E helps you to insert diagrams, convert handwriting to textual content, and might even clear up math equations for you. Picture by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

The Elipsa 2E additionally provides different useful note-taking instruments. It’s even succesful, for instance, of fixing math equations for you. You may as well insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll mechanically snap it into one thing that appears cleaner and nicer. There’s additionally an excellent choice of pen varieties and ink shades. 

True, the Kindle Scribe begins at $60 much less, however the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage. You’ll be able to step as much as the 32GB Kindle Scribe if you’d like the identical storage capability, however that places it at primarily the identical worth because the Kobo. I like to recommend simply forking out the cash on the Elipsa 2E as an alternative.

I additionally suggest the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Notice Air 2 Plus, despite the fact that it, too, provides 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 possibly can 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’ll’t annotate their books wherever as simply as you possibly can on their respective units.

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The Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with an included stylus. Picture by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

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The Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with an included stylus. Picture by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

Notice-taking capabilities apart, the Kobo Elipsa 2E can also be e-reader, however it comes with the identical strengths and weaknesses as different Kobo e-readers. 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 2. Nevertheless, the ten.3-inch display screen does steadiness issues out a bit and makes textual content simpler to learn, so it’s probably not a noticeable downside.

Different e book readers that didn’t make the minimize

There are another e book readers I examined that I didn’t characteristic above however are nonetheless price highlighting. One among these is the Kobo Clara 2E e-reader. Should you’re in search of a non-Amazon various that’s extra inexpensive than the Kobo Libra 2, the Kobo Clara 2E is price a glance. It sells for $139 and likewise provides waterproofing in addition to a pointy, 300ppi show, however it lacks buttons. As I discussed in my evaluate earlier this yr, I additionally preferred that it doesn’t include advertisements 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 turn out to be. The Libra 2 continues to be quicker, although.

I additionally didn’t point out the Kindle Oasis, which additionally has bodily page-turning buttons and which many contemplate a high-end gadget. At this level, although, it’s previous and lacks some options even the bottom Kindle provides, like USB-C help. That makes it much less interesting at $249. 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 an alternative. The latter is $269, but not solely does it include buttons and USB-C, however you too can use it to take notes. The eight-inch display screen feels very cramped to write down on, although, so I wouldn’t suggest it as a major note-taking gadget.