Which Ereader Should You Buy? The Ultimate Guide 

Choosing your first or next ereader can be a daunting process. The thing is, these devices are extremely durable and long-lasting, so if you get one, you’ll likely be stuck with it for quite a while. And they’re not the sort of mainstream thing everyone knows about. Most people could tell you about how to choose a phone, but ereaders in general are a bit misunderstood and a mystery. 

I was a baby ereader user once, and found all of this so confusing. But two Kindles and plenty of research and testing down the road, I can now confidently tell you what you need based on your reading habits and needs. 

If you’re in a hurry and just want to know what to buy, here’s a quick breakdown:

• If you want the best all around option → Get a Kindle Paperwhite. You get more features and storage than the basic model, plus some fun device colors, and better performance. If you’re open to skipping Kindle altogether, the Kobo Libra Colour is the other “best all-around” pick worth knowing about because it adds a color screen and physical page-turn buttons that the Paperwhite doesn’t have, for a similar price. 
• If you’re on a budget → Get a Kindle Basic because it’s the cheapest option and you can usually find it for like $50 anywhere. 
• If you want to splurge and treat yourself → Get a Kindle Colorsoft or a Kindle Scribe Colorsoft — both of these are relatively new, and the colors look very nice when you highlight or underline. If you want to treat yourself outside the Kindle world, the Kobo Libra Colour is a more affordable “splurge” that still gets you color and stylus support. 
• If you read mostly manga or comic books → Manga readers should get a regular Kindle Scribe because manga is mostly black-and-white anyway, and it’s a cheaper device that still gives you a huge screen, light weight, and plenty of good features. If you read comic books, though, I recommend either the regular Colorsoft or Kindle Scribe Colorsoft for the colors. Outside Kindle, Boox devices (like the Note Air or Tab series) are popular specifically with manga readers because of their large screens and Android flexibility, and the Kobo Elipsa 2E is a solid black-and-white large-screen option too.  
• If you write a lot → If your hobbies are writing, reading, doing crossword puzzles, sketching, and journaling (first of all, let’s be friends!) — but second of all, Kindle Scribe is the device of your dreams, just trust me on this one! If you want to look beyond Kindle, the reMarkable is worth a serious look too — it leans even further into writing than the Scribe does, though it trades away a proper bookstore and some reading features to get there, so it’s really the pick for someone who writes first and reads second.

If your case is more specific, just drop a question in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to help!

Do You Even Need a Dedicated Ereader?

No, you don’t need an ereader. As I mentioned in my phone and ereader comparison here, an ereader is a luxury, not a must, so if your budget is tight or you just don’t want another device to think about, you’re perfectly fine to keep reading on your phone or tablet or just use physical books. 

I’ve used my phone for reading for five or six years before my husband bought me a Kindle, and I probably would have continued if he hadn’t done that (I hate spending money on stuff just for me). 

That all said, ereaders are worth the money (again, if you have extra to spend) because they offer unmatched eye comfort (I already wear glasses, so this helps), battery life that just won’t quit, and a dedicated place just for reading. 

I also just love having one! I get giddy with joy every time I see mine, and while I know it’s not relevant to you, it’s a pro in my book. 

What to Consider Before You Buy

Okay, so now we’re getting into the meat of things. Here, I’ll try to explain what you might need to think about before you buy an ereader. 

And don’t worry, this won’t be very techy. It’s mostly about considering what your reading habits are like now, so you can better understand what you might want in an ereader. Let’s get started: 

Screen size & resolution

Screen size mostly matters if you’re reading manga and comic books. In that case, you might want a bigger screen, but it’s not a necessity either — I know plenty of people who read manga on a Kindle Basic without any issues. That said, a bigger screen is probably a better experience. 

Don’t worry about the screen size in general. Even if you can’t see very well, that doesn’t mean you need a bigger screen, it just means you need a bigger font. The great news is that the font can be as big as you want it to be, it’s very adjustable. I am very myopic, and when I want to just rest my eyes from my glasses, I can boost the font up to like 7 or 8 and see everything clearly. 

Regarding resolution — this is measured in ppi (pixels per inch), and it’s what determines how crisp text and images look on the page. Most current Kindles sit around 300 ppi, which is sharp enough that text looks like it’s printed on paper rather than displayed on a screen. 

This, again, matters more for manga and comic book readers. At 300 ppi, fine linework and screentone patterns look great. Go beyond that, and it just gets better, but drop below that and the graphics start looking muddy or pixelated. For plain text, though, I just can’t tell the difference between 300ppi and something higher, so don’t worry about it. 

Waterproofing

If you read a lot on the beach, by the pool, or in your bath tub — or, honestly, if you have young kids prone to spilling — you might want to look into a waterproof model. It’s not a dealbreaker, because you can always be careful, and just a few drops of water aren’t going to hurt any ereader (for example, if you hold it with damp hands, it’s fine), but it’s something to consider depending on your lifestyle. 

Personally, I don’t have a waterproof model, but I don’t feel like I need one because my Kindle mostly lives in dry areas of the house, and if I’m not holding it or writing on it, well away from my kids. 

Storage space

Storage space is another thing that you may or may not need to worry about, depending on your e-library size. Personally, my own collection isn’t that huge. I have around 100 books and docs, plus big notebooks, and I haven’t even scratched the surface of my storage space. 

The thing is, books are very, very light. A regular book is only 2 to 3 MB, even a chunky one (700+ pages) won’t go over 10MB. Mangas and comic books are a little heavier, and they usually sit around 50–100MB, depending on the quality of the graphics.

So unless you have tens of thousands, I don’t think you need to worry about storage space. But here’s a breakdown, in case you do: 

• A 16 GB device can store around 6000 regular books or around 200 manga or comic books. 
• A 32 GB device can store around 11,500–12,000 regular ebooks, or around 300 to 400 manga or comic books. 
• A 64 GB device can store around 23,000 regular ebooks or 750–800 manga and comic books. 

Again, if you just read regular ebooks and you don’t have a ton of them already, 16GB is plenty (you probably won’t ever run out of storage, unless you read 1000 books a year, in which case, you deserve the bestest ereader there is, I applaud you!), and anything higher is even better (maybe excessive?), but if you read manga and comic books, you might want to think about a device with more storage depending on how many of these you go through in a year. 

Warm/adjustable light

So, every Kindle has a front light so you can read in the dark (all of them, you don’t have to think about this part). The difference is whether that light is adjustable in color, not just brightness. 

The basic Kindle only gives you a standard white-toned light: you can dim it or brighten it, but it stays cool-toned no matter what. The Paperwhite and everything above it (Colorsoft, Scribe) gives you a warmth slider too, so you can shift the screen from bright white all the way down to a soft amber glow (think a warm bedside lamp instead of a phone screen). 

This matters because cooler, blue-toned light is more likely to keep you wired at night, while warm light is easier on your eyes and doesn’t fight your body’s wind-down signals the same way. If you’re someone who reads right before bed, this is the setting you’ll probably use a lot. 

If I’m fully honest, even with my sensitive eyes and my habit to read during the night, I never really had issues with my Kindle Basic. I could dim the light, which was usually enough to prevent any strain. And I don’t use the warmth adjusting too much on my Kindle Scribe either So, make of that what you will!

Physical page-turn buttons vs. touch-only

Here’s something that surprises a lot of people shopping for their first ereader: no current Kindle has physical page-turn buttons. There used to be the Kindle Oasis, built specifically for people who wanted buttons but Amazon discontinued it, and every Kindle sold today (the basic Kindle, Paperwhite, Colorsoft, and Scribe) is touch-only. 

Some people just like buttons, and the Oasis still has a big fanbase (at least on reddit), but I kind of don’t understand it. The touch is completely seamless and there’s nothing bothersome about it at all. Still, if buttons matter to you, here’s where you can find them: 

• Kobo Libra Colour — This is the main current option, with page-turn buttons, a color screen, and stylus support.
• Boox Go 7 / Go Color 7 — These are Android-based ereaders with physical buttons, plus more flexibility since they run apps beyond just their own store (they’re not just for books, in a way).

Stylus & note-taking support

This is another thing you might not need to worry about unless you’re a big annotator. If you just want to read and don’t have any interest in doodling on your books or taking notes, just skip this. It’s important to note that even without a stylus, you’ll still be able to highlight things, underline, and type text notes, so there are a lot of things you can do anyway.

If you do want to actually write by hand (margin notes, sketches, marking up a PDF) not every ereader supports that, and it’s worth knowing which ones do before you shop:

• Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s only stylus-compatible ereader. None of the regular Kindles (basic, Paperwhite, Colorsoft) support a pen at all so writing by hand is a Scribe-only feature.
• Kobo Libra Colour both support a stylus, and Kobo lets you write directly on ebooks and PDFs the same way the Scribe does.
• Boox devices (most of their lineup) support a stylus too, and since they run on Android, you get more flexibility to use outside note-taking apps rather than being limited to the brand’s own software.
• reMarkable isn’t really an ereader in the traditional sense. There’s no real bookstore, and pretty limited reading features but it’s built specifically as a writing tablet, so if note-taking is your main priority and reading is secondary, it’s worth a look.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend paying extra for a stylus option if you don’t already 100% know you’ll use it. If you are already a big annotator or you need to markup docs, or edit stuff in general, then yeah, it makes sense. But if you only think that you’ll use it — just trust me on this one, you won’t. I have a stylus and I mainly use it in my notebooks, but always forget to use it while reading. 

Budget

The gap between the cheapest and most expensive ereader on the market is enormous. Like, you’re looking at less than $100 on one end and $600+ on the other. The important thing to remember is that no amount of money is changing what your book looks like. Trust me, I’ve had the Kindle Basic and now have a Kindle Scribe, and the books look exactly the same, no difference. 

As a sidenote, if you want to know why I switched, it’s really not a big conspiracy — I got the Kindle Scribe as a gift from my husband; if I didn’t, I would have happily used the Basic until it keeled over. 

But back to the main point — what you’re actually paying extra for are all of the features I listed above. That would be waterproofing, warm adjustable light, bigger storage, bigger screen, stylus, etc. None of it is essential, so keep that in mind and don’t let yourself be influenced otherwise!

Only you know your budget and what you’re able to get, and also what features you can live without, but here’s a breakdown: 

• If you just want to read, don’t care about the extras + you want the cheapest device possible → Get a Kindle Basic. It’s the cheapest ereader out there, and you can often find it for $50 if you wait for a sale. As I mentioned, I would have used mine until it died an honorable death, and my mum is still happily using it. It’s a lovely little device and it does everything an ereader should do. You can also go for Kobo Clara Black and White (BW), which is around $140, and this one includes the adjustable warm light.
• If you need waterproofing and warm light + your budget is between $150 and $250 → Get the Kindle Paperwhite, which is around $150. You can also get Kobo Clara Colour, which is around $150 as well and has a color screen or Kobo Libra Colour, which is on the higher end of this tier at $230, but it also has stylus support and buttons. 
• If you want a device with color specifically → I recommend Kobo Clara Colour or Kobo Libra Colour because they’re less expensive and offer more features than Kindle Colorsoft (stylus, buttons), but if you want to stay within the Kindle ecosystem, then you can also get a Kindle Colorsoft, which is around $250. 
• If you want to read, but also take notes, sketch, annotate or you read lots of manga → I recommend Kindle Scribe wholeheartedly. It’s a beautiful device that works so well, and my version (2022) is much cheaper now (around $250) than it was before the new edition ($300-400) came out. You can also get a Kobo Elipsa 2E (around $400), or reMarkable ($400 to $500) but keep in mind that reMarkable is mainly a digital notebook. Plus, there’s now a Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which gives you colors too, but it’s a lot more expensive ($600+). 

My recommendation would be to wait for a sale one way or another, because the prices can drop dramatically and you can save up and maybe get a device one tier above your budget at your current budget. But if you don’t want to wait, just go for what you like best! 

It’s also good to know that Amazon Renewed offers certified refurbished devices which are a lot cheaper than brand new and you also get a warranty, so keep that in mind.

What Ereaders Are Out There?

When I first got my Kindle Basic (as a gift, as mentioned), I didn’t really know that there was anything else out there. My knowledge of this industry was super limited. But now that I know more, I’m happy to tell you that you have plenty of options. And don’t worry! I’ll break them all down, pros, cons and all, so you can make the best decision for yourself: 

Kindle

This is by far the most popular provider of ereaders — so much so that the words “kindle” and “ereader” are interchangeable these days. This is also where the most budget-friendly device lives (Kindle Basic) and where you have tons of options. I’ll go over them in detail below, but here’s what you can get: 

• Kindle Basic — As mentioned, the cheapest ereader out there. 
• Kindle Paperwhite — This is the one you see all over social media probably, and likely the most popular. 
• Kindle Colorsoft — Just like Kindle Paperwhite, but with colors!
• Kindle Scribe — Bigger screen, digital notebook + ereader, my personal favorite, but more expensive!
• Kindle Scribe Colorsoft — Just like Kindle Scribe, but with colors, way way more expensive!

I will always recommend a Kindle because: 

1. Depending on where you live, it might be the only ereader available or at least the cheapest/easiest to find option. For example, where I live, Kobo is both expensive and hard to find, but Kindles are aplenty and inexpensive. This won’t matter to you if you’re from the US, but if you’re from anywhere else, check what’s available before you fall in love with any of the devices I recommend here. 
2. The Kindle ecosystem is pretty well-built and extensive. Plus, if you already have books in your Kindle phone app or library, you won’t be able to transfer them to other devices, so then a Kindle device would be best for you. 
3. Kindle works well with various library systems, but it’s not a built-in thing. 
4. They’re long-lasting and quality made devices. One should last you a lifetime. 
5. Amazon has so many book discounts + there’s Kindle Unlimited which lets you read books for free (with a monthly subscription). 

Kobo 

Kobo has a lineup of truly beautiful devices, and it often offers more features than Kindles at the same or similar price point (but again, this depends on where you live). I’m partial to the Kobo Libra Colour in white, but all of them look really nice. 

• Kobo Clara BW — Kobo’s cheapest device, black-and-white screen, but it still comes with waterproofing and warm light built in, something the similarly priced basic Kindle doesn’t offer.
• Kobo Clara Colour — Same as the Clara BW, but with a color screen, still very budget-friendly.
• Kobo Libra Colour — Kobo’s most popular device. Color screen, physical page-turn buttons, and stylus support (sold separately). 
• Kobo Elipsa 2E — Kobo’s answer to the Kindle Scribe: bigger screen, full note-taking and PDF markup, stylus sold separately.

A few reasons some readers choose Kobo over Kindle:

1. Kobo devices use the open EPUB format, so the ebooks you buy are genuinely yours. There is no proprietary file type, no converting, and you can move them to other devices if you ever switch.
2. Library borrowing is built directly into every Kobo device through OverDrive and Libby, so there’s no side-loading or extra steps to borrow books. This is one of Kobo’s biggest advantages over Kindle if you read a lot of library books.
3. Kobo Plus is Kobo’s version of Kindle Unlimited, a subscription for unlimited reading, and in some regions, audiobooks too.
4. Availability and pricing really do vary a lot by country, so, as I mentioned above, check what’s actually accessible where you live.

Boox

Boox is a different kind of ereader entirely. Instead of building its own closed bookstore and app like Kindle or Kobo, Boox devices run full Android with access to the Google Play Store. That means you can install the Kindle app, the Kobo app, Libby, or literally any other reading app on a single device with an e-ink screen. It’s the pick for people who don’t want to be locked into one ecosystem, but they’re more expensive and way harder to find outside of the US. 

• Boox Palma series — Phone-shaped, pocketable e-ink devices you can carry like a phone. Some models (like the Palma 2 Pro) come in color.
• Boox Go series — Boox’s budget-friendly line, closer in price to a Kindle or Kobo, with some models offering physical page-turn buttons.
• Boox Note Air series — Combines reading with real note-taking and stylus support, larger color screens, aimed at people who want one device for books, PDFs, and handwriting.
• Boox Tab series — The biggest and most powerful line, built for serious PDF and document work as much as reading.

A few reasons some readers choose Boox:

1. No ecosystem lock-in. You can run Kindle, Kobo, and Libby side by side on the same device instead of picking just one. The Android base means you’re not limited to what the manufacturer decides to support. If there’s a reading or note-taking app for it, you can probably install it.
2. Form factors range from pocket-sized to full tablet, so there’s more flexibility than the fairly fixed sizing you get with Kindle or Kobo.
3. Most models support a stylus, making Boox a strong option for anyone who wants reading and note-taking in one device without paying Scribe or Elipsa prices.
4. The tradeoff: running full Android on an e-ink screen means shorter battery life than a dedicated ereader, more of a setup/learning curve, and a less polished, more DIY feel overall.

To be perfectly honest, and this may be an unpopular opinion, I just don’t get the point of Boox devices, personally. It does exactly what a phone does, just on an e-ink screen and minus the phone/messaging option. It doesn’t feel dedicated to reading. So, basically, you can just use your phone instead, just adjust the lighting so it doesn’t hurt your eyes, and there, same or at least similar thing. I agree that they’re pretty and might be useful, but like I said, I just don’t get it. 

Which Kindle Do You Buy?

If you decided on a Kindle, congratulations and welcome to the family! I genuinely love my Kindle Scribe and I loved my Kindle Basic just as much. If you know that you want a Kindle, but aren’t sure which one, I’m here to help. There’s a lot of variety in features and prices, so I’ll do my best to give you all the info you need: 

Kindle (basic)

This is the simplest device of the lineup and the least expensive. I’ve seen it go for $50 but officially it’s still sold at around $100. It’s also the lightest and most compact Kindle in the whole lineup, which makes it the easiest one to slip into a bag or even a coat pocket. 

What you’re giving up for that price and size: waterproofing, and no adjustable warm light, but you do get a standard white front light you can dim or brighten. If you’re someone who just wants to read, doesn’t care about bath or beach reading, and isn’t fussed about night-mode lighting, this is all the Kindle you need.

Pros:

• Cheapest way into the Kindle ecosystem
• Lightest, most compact Kindle made
• Same sharp 300ppi resolution as the pricier models
• Great first ereader or backup device

Cons:

• No waterproofing
• No adjustable warm light
• Smallest screen in the lineup
• Less storage headroom if you read a lot of manga or comics

Kindle Paperwhite (+ Signature Edition)

This is the one you see all over social media, and for good reason. It’s the sweet spot with a bigger 7-inch screen, IPX8 waterproofing, and that adjustable warm light we talked about earlier, all for around $160. 

If you want a couple of extra conveniences, the Signature Edition (~$190–200) bumps you up to 32GB of storage, adds wireless charging, and makes the front light auto-adjust to the room you’re in instead of setting it manually. Unless you specifically know you need more storage or wireless charging, the regular Paperwhite covers 90% of what most readers actually want.

Pros:

• Best overall balance of features and price
• Waterproof so safe for bath, beach, or pool reading
• Warm light makes night reading much more comfortable
• Larger screen than the basic Kindle

Cons:

• Meaningfully more expensive than the basic Kindle
• Signature Edition’s extras are nice-to-haves, not essentials
• Still touch-only, no physical buttons

Kindle Colorsoft

Just like the Paperwhite, but with a color screen, which means that book covers, highlights, and any illustrations actually show up in color instead of grayscale. It starts around $250 for the 16GB version, and there’s a Signature Edition with 32GB, wireless charging, and auto-adjusting light for around $280. 

The thing is, color e-ink is a new technology, so it doesn’t look quite as sharp or high-contrast as the black-and-white Paperwhite for plain text. You’re trading a little bit of text crispness for the ability to see color. If most of your reading is text-only novels, you may not find that trade worth the extra money. 

If you read anything with color covers, illustrations, or you just love color-coded highlighting, it’s a fun upgrade. It’s also great if you’re a content creator or just share books on social media a lot, but that can also be compensated with some good photo editing.

Pros:

• Covers, highlights, and images display in color
• Same waterproofing and warm light as the Paperwhite
• Great for color-coded annotating and organizing

Cons:

• The most expensive “regular” (non-Scribe) Kindle
• Slightly less crisp text contrast than the black-and-white models, color e-ink is still a newer technology
• Not worth the upgrade if you mostly read plain text novels

Kindle Scribe lineup

The Scribe line has an 11-inch screen (versus 6–7 inches on everything else) and is Amazon’s only stylus-compatible Kindle, meaning you can actually write, sketch, and annotate directly on the page. 

There are a few tiers here: an entry-level Scribe without a front light (the cheapest way in, around $300), the standard Scribe with front light (~$400 and up depending on storage), and the Scribe Colorsoft, the first-ever color Scribe, which starts around $430 and climbs past $600 at the top storage tier. 

A pen comes included no matter which one you pick. This is the one I personally use and love, but it’s a real investment both in price and in the fact that it’s a noticeably bigger, heavier device than a standard Kindle.

Pros:

• Only Kindle that supports real note-taking and handwriting
• Big screen — great for PDFs, textbooks, and manga
• Pen is included, no charging or pairing required
• Handwritten notes are searchable later and you can send them to yourself

Cons:

• By far the most expensive Kindle lineup
• Bigger and heavier so it’s much less pocketable
• The cheapest entry tier has no front light
• Overkill if you’re not actually going to use the pen

Kindle Kids editions

If you’re buying for a child, Amazon sells Kids versions of several models so it’s the same hardware as the regular Kindle, Paperwhite, or Colorsoft, just bundled with a protective cover, a longer worry-free warranty, and a year of Amazon Kids+ (which includes age-appropriate books, audiobooks, and parental controls like reading goals and screen time limits). 

The Kids Kindle Basic runs around $130, Kindle Paperwhite Kids around $140–150, and Kindle Colorsoft Kids around $270. 

Features: 

• same hardware as the standard version 
• included protective cover 
• 1-year Amazon Kids+ subscription 
• parental controls (reading goals, screen time, content restrictions) 
• extended worry-free warranty

Pros:

• Parental controls make it much easier to manage for a child
• Amazon Kids+ unlocks age-appropriate books and audiobooks
• Cover and extended warranty are built into the price
• Available across multiple hardware tiers to fit different budgets

Cons:

• Costs more than buying the same hardware without the Kids bundle
• Not worth it for adult buyers
• Amazon Kids+ renews at an additional cost after the first year

Which E-Reader to Pick Based on Reading Habits?

If you’re still not quite sure, here’s a breakdown of what you should consider based on what your reading habits are: 

• Binge/romance readers → Pick a Basic Kindle or Paperwhite and get a Kindle Unlimited subscription and you’re set for life. You’ll get so many books at one subscription and a long-lasting, lovely device no matter which one you pick. 
• Manga & graphic novel readers → I recommend either Kindle Scribe for the big screen or Kobo Libra Colour for the colors at a lower price. Just make sure your storage is more than 16GB due to manga file size. 
• Notetakers/students → My personal favorite is Kindle Scribe. It has so many great features for note-taking and a dedicated part of the software for notebooks. In it, you have many templates like various styles of notebooks (lined, narrower lines, squares, etc.) but also habit trackers, monthly, weekly and daily planners, and more. 
• Budget-conscious readers → Once again, my vote goes to Kindle Basic just because it’s so affordable but does a great job!
• Library-book readers → Any Kindle works for this (you just send the book to your kindle from the library interface, usually a one-click thing), but you can also get any Kobo device because they have a built-in system for library books. 
• Travel/beach readers → Choose a Kindle Paperwhite because it’s durable and waterproof, plus the light is adjustable. 

Is the Paperwhite worth it over the basic Kindle?

This really depends on what you want and need. If you need waterproofing and adjustable light warmth, then yes, it’s honestly a better choice. You also get better performance (as in, everything works more smoothly). Kindle Paperwhite also comes in more fun colors, so if you’re a content creator or you do a lot of social media (or you just want a pretty Kindle), this is a better choice. 

But honestly, if you don’t care about any of the above and you can find the Basic cheaper (which it usually is, very much so), I wouldn’t say it’s worth getting a Paperwhite. And if you want to do social media, you still can — slap some nice looking stickers on it and get a nice pop socket or you can even just print out an insert that you make yourself on Canva, and there you go — a good looking, inexpensive device for content creation. 

Do I need a Scribe if I just want to read?

No, definitely not! I would recommend Scribe only to people who want to use it as a digital journal/notebook as well, or do a lot of sketching, PDF markups, annotating, crossword puzzles, etc. If you just want to read, no bells and whistles, then Scribe is an unnecessary spend. 

Which Kindle is best for Kindle Unlimited?

Any of them! For the most budget reading experience Kindle Basic + Kindle Unlimited is unbeatable and you’ll love it. There’s really no difference in how it all works across these devices, so don’t worry about it. 

Further Reading

• How to Set Up a Custom Screensaver on Your Kindle/Ereader
• How Does Kindle Unlimited Work?
• Kindle vs. Phone: Which is better for reading?