Best e-readers
Kindle or Kobo is really a question about where your books come from. The screen, the waterproofing and the library, and which of the four to buy.
4 products ranked Updated
Our rankings are built from published testing by named outlets, not from our own lab. We earn a commission when you buy through our links, and it never changes the order.
The short answer
- 1 Kindle Paperwhite (2024) Best if your books are on Amazon
- 2 Kobo Libra Colour Best overall $259.99
- 3 Kobo Clara BW Best small and cheap $159.99
- 4 Kindle (2024) Cheapest Kindle
Prices checked 14 September 2026. They move constantly — the retailer's own page is the authority.
Kindle Paperwhite (2024)
4.5 / 5
Our reading of Tom's Guide — their best Kindle for most people, and TechRadar's best mid-range e-reader , 2026
The one both our sources rate highly: a sharp 7-inch screen with unusually even lighting, waterproofing, and a battery measured in weeks. If you already own Kindle books or use Kindle Unlimited, this is the obvious buy. What it does not have is page-turn buttons or an easy route to library books, and once you are in Amazon's store you tend to stay there. No photograph or price here: Amazon's pages do not serve product data to us, so the link is a search.
Pros
- Sharp 7-inch screen with very even lighting
- IPX8 waterproof
- Weeks of battery
Cons
- No page-turn buttons, and an awkward power button
- Ties you to Amazon's store
- No photograph and no verified price
- Screen
- 7 in, 300 ppi, E Ink Carta 1300
- Storage
- 16 GB
Where these findings come from
- Tom's Guide: best for most; 7-inch 300 ppi screen with 17 LEDs for very even light; IPX8 waterproof; page turns 25% faster than before
- TechRadar: best mid-range; E Ink Carta 1300, 211 g, up to 12 weeks battery; not ergonomic, a smudge and dust magnet
Kobo Libra Colour
4.5 / 5
Our reading of TechRadar — their best e-reader overall , 2026
TechRadar's pick of every e-reader, and the one to buy if you borrow from a library or do not want to be locked into one shop: Kobo builds in library borrowing and lets you load your own files easily. It has the physical page-turn buttons the Kindle lacks, a colour screen for covers and comics, twice the storage, and official repair parts. The price of colour is sharpness: colour content shows at half the resolution of black and white.
Pros
- Physical page-turn buttons, easy one-handed
- Library borrowing built in
- Repairable, with official parts
Cons
- $259.99
- Some functions lag
- The stylus costs extra
- Screen
- 7 in, 300 ppi black and white, 150 ppi colour
- Storage
- 32 GB
Kobo Clara BW
4 / 5
Our reading of TechRadar — their best budget e-reader , 2026
A 6-inch reader with the newer, sharper screen and waterproofing that the base Kindle does not have, which is why TechRadar calls it better value despite costing more. It is light at 174 g and repairable. It is a reader and nothing else: no colour, no stylus, and books go on by cable rather than from the cloud.
Pros
- Sharp Carta 1300 screen
- Waterproof, unlike the base Kindle
- Light and repairable
Cons
- No cloud file transfer
- 6 inches is small for some readers
- Screen
- 6 in, 300 ppi, E Ink Carta 1300
- Storage
- 16 GB
Where these findings come from
Kindle (2024)
4 / 5
Our reading of Tom's Guide — their best Kindle for those on a budget , 2026
The cheapest way into Kindle books, light and comfortable in one hand. Our sources are clear about what the saving costs: no waterproofing, no warm light setting, and an older screen than the Kobo Clara BW. If you read in the bath or by the pool, that alone makes the Paperwhite worth the difference. No photograph or price, for the same Amazon reason as above.
Pros
- Light and pocketable
- The cheapest Kindle
Cons
- Not waterproof
- No warm-light setting
- No photograph and no verified price
Where these findings come from
- Tom's Guide: best value; 6-inch 300 ppi, 16 GB, 5.56 oz; very portable and comfortable one-handed
- Tom's Guide: no water or dust protection, no adjustable light warmth, slow downloads; techradar-ereaders notes it still uses the older Carta 1200 screen
The real decision: where your books come from
Kindle reads books from Amazon's store and Kindle Unlimited, and that store is the biggest. Kobo reads from its own store, borrows library books through OverDrive built into the device, and makes it easy to load your own files. If you already own a Kindle library, buy a Kindle. If you borrow books or want to shop around, buy a Kobo.
What actually matters
The screen generation. E Ink Carta 1300 is sharper and faster than the older Carta 1200. The Paperwhite and both Kobos here use it. The base Kindle does not.
Waterproofing, if you read in the bath, by a pool or on a beach. Look for IPX8.
Colour or not. Colour screens show covers, comics and highlights, but colour content displays at half the sharpness of black and white. For novels, black and white is sharper.
Page-turn buttons. Easier than tapping when you hold a reader in one hand. Kobo's Libra range has them; current Kindles do not.
Where this comes from
We do not test e-readers. This guide draws on two outlets: TechRadar, whose reviewer has used more than 20 E Ink devices over a decade, and Tom's Guide, which reviews every current Kindle. Where they agree, as on the Paperwhite, we say so.
What we are leaving out
Large writing tablets such as the Kindle Scribe and reMarkable, which are notebooks that also read, at two to three times the price.
Where this comes from
We did not test these. These people did.
Every score on this page rests on the testing below. The ranking is ours; the measurements are not. How we research.
- TechRadar — Written by an editor who has used and reviewed more than 20 E Ink devices over a decade, across Kobo, Kindle, Boox and others. Updated August 2026.
- Tom's Guide — Hands-on reviews of every current Kindle, with specifications and a best-for ranking. Updated August 2026.
Questions people ask
Can I read Kindle books on a Kobo?
Is a tablet a good e-reader?
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