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E-books rule. As far back as PalmPilot PDA days, I've loved having novels in my pocket for anytime, anywhere reading. Now my phone affords me that privilege, but it's not my preferred e-reading device. The screen is narrow and, at night, hard on the eyes. Its battery struggles already without long stretches of page-flipping. And the distractions, oy: e-mail, text messages, TikTok, Wordle. That's why I prefer a dedicated e-reader, something that's easy on the peepers, free of glare outdoors and completely distraction-free, with a battery that lasts for weeks instead of hours.The best e-reader is probably an Amazon Kindle, right? Maybe, maybe not. I tested some very interesting alternatives; see below to figure out which book tablet belongs on your nightstand — or in your pocket. (Speaking of tablets, be sure to also check out our roundup of the best tablets for 2024.)
Beyond hardware, features and price, the single most important consideration for an e-reader is its ecosystem: Where do the books come from? For example, when you buy an e-book from Amazon, it's immediately added to your Kindle library, which is accessible on your Kindle e-reader. Same goes for the Kobo eBooks store and Kobo eReaders. A key question is whether you want to lock yourself into a single ecosystem — and the answer may depend on whether you're already part of one.
You can learn more about all that (and more) below the reviews. Just note that for this list we intentionally bypassed products that have limited or non-mainstream e-book ecosystems, often requiring you to "side-load" books — a task we suspect most readers will find unwelcome. Convenience is a big part of the joy of e-reading; it shouldn't require more than a tap or two to find and download a new book.
It's hard to argue with success. Amazon all but pioneered the e-reader, and this model — the 11th-generation Paperwhite, if you can believe that — approaches perfection. Great design, great screen, plenty of storage and Amazon's virtually unrivaled bookstore, all for a very reasonable $150.
There's no larger e-bookstore than the one Amazon hosts for the Kindle; you can find pretty much anything and everything, from bestsellers to self-published works to all that lives in between. As with print books, Amazon often discounts Kindle titles.
Meanwhile, an optional Kindle Unlimited subscription ($12 monthly, with a free three-month trial included here) affords access to a sizable collection of e-books, audiobooks, magazines and more. Even better, you can check out public-library books (for free, of course, courtesy of the Libby app) and read them on your Kindle as well. (Alas, you have to do this off-device; the Kindle doesn't integrate with Libby the way Kobo's e-readers do.)
I like the Paperwhite's 6.8-inch screen, which strikes me as just about the ideal size for comfortable reading — and doesn't make the device itself too heavy to hold for long stretches. You can manually adjust screen brightness to your liking, but there's also an auto-adjust option that will dim or brighten the display depending on ambient lighting conditions.
If you often read at bedtime, you'll appreciate the "warmth" slider as well; it shifts the white cast of the screen to a more evening-friendly amber. Or you can switch to Dark Mode, which turns the background black and makes the text white. (This is my preferred mode for reading in bed with the lights off.)
Why the Paperwhite over the baseline Kindle, which costs $50 less? That's an excellent choice as well (and it's our favorite budget e-reader, as you'll see below), but ultimately I chose the Paperwhite due to its larger screen and flush-front design, which makes page-turn swipes just a little more comfortable. (Even so, I miss having physical page-turn buttons. Amazon no longer offers even one Kindle model that has them.)
The Paperwhite is also waterproof, an important consideration for those who like to read poolside or in the tub. Finally, Amazon promises up to 10 weeks of battery life, a huge boost over the stock Kindle's six weeks (which, of course, ain't bad either). You'll cruise through an awful lot of books before needing to even look at a charging cable.
I'm still waiting for Amazon to add some basic library-organization tools to the Kindle ecosystem, and maybe streamline the overall UI as well. Even so, after all these years I'm used to it and comfortable with it, so those are just wish-list items at this point.
Ultimately, the Kindle Paperwhite was a pretty easy pick as our top e-reader overall. It already has legions of fans, and it's easy to see why.
