The Best eReaders of 2024

Feeling the satisfying roughness of a good book has its perks, but so does an eReader. It doubles as both a miniature library and a reading light, but more importantly, eReaders are incredibly compact and lightweight.

Are you ready to make the switch from physical to eBooks? Finding the right eReader for you is fairly straightforward. No matter what eReader you choose, all of them share a key feature—portability. Outside of that, you want to consider a handful of key features.

Speaking to portability, your run-of-the-mill eReader—and that includes the picks on our list—should be lightweight and easy to store. Any one of the eReaders on this list can be easily held with a single hand, even if you end up opting for a full-fledged tablet rather than an eReader. However, some are obviously smaller than others, which is something to consider if you have very limited space.

You should also be concerned about brightness levels. Having an anti-glare coating is a godsend if you’re reading outside; doubly so if your eReader gets bright enough to combat the sun. But at night, it would be wise to have an eReader that lets you, at the very least, lower the brightness. Bonus points to eReaders with a warmth setting or blue light reduction, lessening the stress on your eyes before bed.

While we’re on the subject of the display, anything smaller than a 6-inch screen isn’t worth the investment. You’ll also notice that eReaders list a spec called “PPI” or “pixels per inch.” It’s a measure of image quality; the higher it is, the clearer the image. Since these are eReaders, anything about 150 PPI is fine, though 300 PPI is the sweet spot. Most of the picks on this list have a PPI of 300.

One last thing to keep in mind about eReader displays, and that’s color. Pick an eReader from a lineup, and it’ll probably be black-and-white only, which is totally fine if you stick to novels. However, if you plan on reading comics, graphic novels, or children’s books, pick an eReader with a color display. In fact, having a digital comic subscription would pair wonderfully with a color eReader!

Lastly, some eReaders allow you to mark the pages, which is particularly handy if you’re reading a book for school or have documents from work. Not all eReaders have this option, so be sure to pick one that does if that’s a feature you really want.

It’s no surprise Amazon has the best eReader on the market with the company’s latest Paperwhite model. Although it’s strictly a black-and-white eReader, that’s the point. The contrast ratio is particularly strong, making text pop against the white pages and appear sharper.

What’s also nice is that the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite has several display features you can adjust to make reading the most comfortable. For example, you can lower the brightness, adjust warmth levels (giving it a sepia tone), and even a dark mode on the extreme end of the spectrum.

Lastly, the battery life on the Amazon Kindle Paper White is impressive. You rarely have to charge it, assuming you aren’t reading for hours on end, at high brightness. With the right settings, you could get up to 12 weeks of battery life!

Best eReader Overall

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

$130 $160 Save
$30

With a 7-inch display, high contrast, and sharp image quality, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite will help you fall in love with eReaders. It even supports Bluetooth devices for setting aside the eReader and enjoying audiobooks through headphones or earbuds.

Of course, Amazon has great budget Kindles as well. It’s a little more barebones compared to the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, but if you’re looking to save, the standard Amazon Kindle will do just fine.

First, the anti-glare display is a little smaller—6 inches as opposed to 7 inches. That’s a minor trade-off and ultimately makes it easier to store, anyway. You can still adjust the brightness and even enable dark mode, but you won’t have a warmth option.

If you don’t feel like reading, the Amazon Kindle, like the Paperwhite model, has Bluetooth support. Pair some Bluetooth earbuds or headphones, and you can enjoy audiobooks at your leisure.

Best Budget eReader

Amazon Kindle (2024)

$90 $110 Save
$20

Even in the budget department, the Amazon Kindle is a stellar value, from its light and compact design, to its adjustable front light and 6-inch display.

There’s more to reading than words on a page, and it’s something to keep in mind with an eReader. There are comics, graphic novels, and even magazines, but those don’t look as good in black and white. The Kobo Libra Colour is the perfect eReader for expanding your tastes.

The 7-inch color display is impeccable and matches the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite beat for beat. The colors make it stand out, and when it’s on full display, the pastel shades are easy on the eyes while still giving life to the pages.

The Kobo Libra Colour’s extra features make it so comfortable to use. The page-turn buttons let you quickly flip back and forth, adjust the font and margins, and switch to landscape mode when the job calls for it.

Best Color eReader

Kobo Libra Colour

$200 $220 Save
$20

The Kobo Libra Colour shines as a color eReader with its easy-to-use interface, excellent repairability, and ergonomic design. It also packs the latest display tech in the color E Ink space. 

Best eReader for Writing and Note-Taking: Kobo Elipsa 2E

What would make an eReader even better? Giving you the ability to take notes! The Kobo Elipsa 2E lets you scribble just about anything you want on its 10.3-inch display, and unlike the Kobo Libra Colour, the Kobo Stylus 2 is included with the eReader.

The Kobo Elipsa 2E doesn’t just let you scribble in your books and documents, it lets you highlight, underline, and quickly move notes around using the lasso tool. It also features keyword search and handwriting-to-text, which is pretty handy if your handwriting is more akin to chicken scratch.

When you aren’t writing notes, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is still a fantastic eReader. The 10.3-inch display feels massive compared to the Kindle’s 6-inch and 7-inch models. More importantly, you can adjust the brightness and color temperature, allowing you to reduce blue light levels for a more comfortable reading experience.

Best eReader for Writing and Note-Taking

Kobo Elipsa 2E

$350 $400 Save
$50

The Kobo Elipsa 2E eReader makes digital reading, note-taking, and annotating easy, plus its adjustable display lighting lets you read in any light.

If you thought the Kobo Libra Colour would be great for yourself, perhaps you’d like a color eReader for your kids, too. Luckily, the Kobo Clara Colour fits the bill beautifully. It features the same color palette as the Libra Colour, only the display is a little smaller—6 inches as opposed to 7 inches.

What’s particularly helpful for your kids is the ability to adjust font sizes, margins, and even font style, just in case the font they’re reading is too difficult to parse. And if they aren’t in the mood to read, there’s still Bluetooth support for audiobooks.

Lastly, and most importantly, the Kobo Clara Colour has an IPx8 water resistance rating. Not that you’d want to, but the eReader can withstand depths of 2 meters for up to an hour. In practice, if your child happens to splash the Clara Colour with a drink, it’ll walk away just fine.

Best eReader for Kids

Kobo Clara Colour

The Kobo Clara Colour features a 6-inch E ink Kaleido 3 screen, 16 GB of storage, adjustable color temperature, and weeks of battery life, all in a small package you can take anywhere.

It’s totally understandable if you don’t want an Amazon Kindle, especially if you won’t shop at Amazon for books if you can help it. Luckily, the Nook GlowLight 4 Plus is an incredible deal and still nearly as affordable as the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.

That small uptick in price isn’t just for branding—you get a few extra features that the Paperwhite doesn’t have. Starting with the display itself, the Nook GlowLight 4 Plus has a 7.8-inch display (as opposed to the Paperwhite’s 7 inches) and with sharp text to boot. It’s even glare-free, scratch-resistant, and the edges are flushed against the screen, so no dust will build up along the edges.

One of the key benefits of the Nook GlowLight 4 Plus is that it includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth support. That way, you don’t have to use Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to listen to audiobooks. You can use wired headphones if you want!

Best Non-Kindle eReader

Nook GlowLight 4 Plus

The Nook Glowlight 4 Plus features a 7.8-inch display with customizable front lighting, plus physical page-turn buttons and audiobook compatibility.

If you plan on doing more than reading, like, say, watching your favorite shows and movies over streaming or just plain old YouTube, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A is the best of both worlds. It’s both a functional eReader and an entertainment device, all wrapped in one.

It’s easy to get lost in shows, movies, and books with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A. The 8.4-inch display looks fantastic at its 1920×1200 resolution. Text is especially sharp, and since this is a color display—a beautiful one at that—comics and graphic novels have never looked better.

Although the Samsung Galaxy Tab A has 32GB of storage, which is plenty to start with, you can easily expand it with a microSD card.

Best Reading Tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab A

$106 $114 Save
$8

For a multipurpose option, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A can easily be your eReader and entertainment device wrapped in one. After all, plenty of books get made into movies and TV shows!

FAQ

Can eReaders play audiobooks?

Yes, but it is not a guarantee. It has to be an eReader that either supports Bluetooth, has a 3.5mm headphone jack, or built-in speakers.

What is E Ink?

An eReader with E-Ink technology essentially has a display that emulates the look of ink on paper as opposed to using individual pixels.

What is the difference between an eReader and a tablet?

A tablet is a multipurpose device, which gives you the option to surf the web, download various apps, use streaming services, or video games. An eReader is strictly for reading.

Do eReaders emit blue light?

Yes, but just like with the ability to play audiobooks, not all eReaders emit blue light. Amazon Kindles, for example, emit blue light.

Can I read library books on my eReader?

Yes, you can absolutely read library books on your eReader! Amazon Kindles let you borrow eBooks from libraries, but this ability isn’t limited to Kindles. Other brands such as Kobo and Nook also let you borrow eBooks.