When you want to relax, sometimes nothing beats immersing yourself in a good book. While there are plenty of amazing books out there, there’s no denying the fact that books can take up a lot of space. Thankfully, e-readers let you have your entire library in the palm of your hand, and the reading experience with an e-ink display is just as good as real paper and ink.
But which e-reader should you buy? There are so many choices out there, so it may be a little hard to decide which one is right for your needs. Here are the best e-readers that you can get right now.
Best overall e-reader
Boox Go Color 7
- Elegant, premium design
- Can adjust orientation for right-handed and left-handed users
- Convenient center buttons
- 7-inch color display
- Runs Android
- Color mode reduces ppi by half
- Runs Android, but not the best device for certain things
Why you should buy this: The Boox Go Color 7 is a great all-around e-reader that has a color screen and runs Android.
Who it’s for: Someone who wants an e-reader that can do more than just read books.
Why we chose the Boox Go Color 7:
The Boox Go Color 7 offers the most bang for your buck and is quite a capable e-reader.
The metallic slate of the Boox Go Color 7 is one of the most elegant you’ll see. It mimics the reading experience of a magazine or newspaper, so the matte display is easy on the eyes and the rear panel. It also has a leather look and texture for a premium look.
It’s also water-repellant (though not waterproof, like the Kindle Paperwhite), incredibly lightweight, and has a thick bezel that offers extra grip and comfort. The device also has a gyro sensor that can change the orientation to suit everyone, whether they’re right-handed or left handed. The two center buttons add extra convenience.
The Boox Go Color 7 has a 7-inch Kaleido 3 (1680 x 1264 pixels) display that is capable of producing 4,096 colors with 300 pixels per inch (ppi) density. However, in color mode, the ppi is cut in half. Like with all e-ink displays, there will be ghosting, but otherwise, the display is great.
Boox products are unique in that while they are e-readers, they can also run full Android. So while the core experience is with reading in the built-in Boox Neo Reader, you can also download your favorite apps from the Google Play Store and browse the web. Of course, the experience may not be quite the same as using an Android phone or tablet since it’s e-ink, but it’s nice to have the option.
Inside the Boox Go Color 7 is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665 chipset, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage capacity. For an e-reader, that’s plenty of space for your favorite reading material, and then some. The 2,300mAh battery should last around a week with average use, though this also varies depending on your usage.
For just $249, the Boox Go Color 7 is an incredible e-reader that isn’t limited in terms of software and companion apps.
Best budget e-reader
Amazon Kindle (2024)
- Matcha color is fantastic
- Super portable
- Brighter display than predecessor
- Faster page turning
- Great battery life
- Very little changes from predecessor
- Increased price
Why you should buy this: Amazon Kindles are reliable, super portable, and make reading delightful, all at an affordable price.
Who it’s for: Someone who just wants to read e-books and doesn’t need anything super fancy.
Why we chose the Amazon Kindle (2024):
If all you want is a basic e-reader that gets the job done at a reasonable price, then the Amazon Kindle (2024) is what you need.
The Kindle’s recycled plastic body is super lightweight, and the 6-inch size means it’s perfect to fit in your coat pocket or bag. And the new Matcha green color that Amazon introduced adds a fresh pop of color to your traditional e-reader.
The 6-inch e-ink screen on the Amazon Kindle is one of the best there is. It has 300 ppi resolution, so text is nice and crisp, making reading a delight. It also has an integrated front light that is 25% brighter than that of its predecessor. So if you like to read before bed, this is perfect. The main difference between this and the Paperwhite is that the base model Kindle does not have temperature adjustment for the light.
With the Amazon Kindle, you can access all of your downloaded and purchased e-books from your Amazon account. And if you have Amazon Prime, then you get access to Prime Reading. There’s also the Kindle Unlimited subscription, granting you access to even more fun reads.
Battery life on the Amazon Kindle is also excellent, as a single charge can last about six weeks. And with USB-C charging, it’s easier than ever to charge it up when you need to.
Best color e-reader
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft
- Color screen
- Long battery life
- Water-resistant shell
- Wonderful reading experience
- Easy software
- Slow performance when reading color sources
- Awkward power button location
- No dark mode
Why you should buy this: The first Kindle that has a color screen can enhance certain reading materials.
Who it’s for: Those who read a lot of comics and magazines can benefit greatly from the Colorsoft.
Why we chose the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft:
After many years, Amazon finally launched a color e-reader with the Kindle Colorsoft. If you tend to read a lot of comics, magazines, or books that rely on artwork or photographs, then the Kindle Colorsoft is for you.
The Colorsoft has a soft-touch shell, rounded corners and sides, and is overall very lightweight. It's a bit larger than the base model Kindle, but still compact enough to easily carry around. The 7-inch screen has a wide viewing angle, making it feel like real paper with color ink. However, while the Colorsoft has a 300 ppi density in monochrome mode, going to color will halve that to 150 ppi. Pages still appear sharp and detailed, but turning pages can be a bit slower in color.
It’s not perfect, but the Kindle Colorsoft is still a great Kindle device with the extra bonus of bringing color to your library. Again, if you want to get the most out of comics and magazines, then the Colorsoft is the best Kindle option for that. It's expensive, though, starting at a hefty $279.
Best compact e-reader
Boox Palma 2
- Unique, minimalist experience
- E-reader that fits in your pocket
- Textured back adds grip
- Screen is sharp and crisp
- Has speakers and Bluetooth
- Expandable memory with microSD
- Plastic feels flimsy
- Rear camera is pretty useless
- No SIM tray
- Little change from predecessor
Why you should buy this: It’s a unique device that’s unlike anything else on the market.
Who it’s for: Those who want the smallest e-reader that can even run Android.
Why we chose the Boox Palma 2:
For most people, the Amazon Kindle is compact enough. But for those who want something that’s even more portable. then there’s the Boox Palma 2.
The Boox Palma 2 is an e-reader that looks and feels like a smartphone, but without the 5G connectivity (no, you can’t even put a SIM card in it). That means you can pocket this just like any other smartphone, like the iPhone 16 or Google Pixel 9. It even runs Android 13, so honestly, it’s more like a phone with an e-ink screen, but you know, without the phone.
It has a 6.3-inch e-ink HD Carta 1200 glass screen that has a matte finish and a ppi density of 300 . Boox didn’t change much from its predecessor, as it still has the same screen, 16MP rear camera, 6GB RAM, and 128GB storage with expandable microSD card slot. However, the octa-core CPU has been upgraded with this version, though you won’t really notice much difference considering the purpose of the device.
While the Boox Palma 2 is designed to be a minimalistic e-reader, it can do more than that since it runs Android 13. You can download apps and games on the Google Play Store, and running simple apps and even some games is fine. Browsing the web is also a nice experience, as long as you don’t need full color. There is also a Smart button on the side that you can configure for shortcuts and actions.
The 3,950mAh battery is quite large, and since it's in an e-ink device, it’s going to last a while on a single charge. In our time with it, we got around a week of use before needing to plug it in again.
Honestly, the Boox Palma 2 is quite a strange gadget, but also one of those “I didn’t know I needed this” kind of devices.
Best note-taking e-reader
Remarkable Paper Pro
- Thin and lightweight
- Distraction-free for maximum productivity
- Minimal latency
- Color e-ink screen
- Built-in light
- Easy to use
- Long battery life
- Expensive
- Not backward compatible with previous stylus
- Not a great e-reader
Why you should buy this: When you need to take notes more than read, but also prefer a distraction-free environment and e-ink display.
Who it’s for: Heavy note-takers, like students and work professionals who prefer handwriting or typing notes without distractions.
Why we chose the Remarkable Paper Pro:
Are you looking for an e-reader that is first and foremost a note-taking device, and an e-reader second? The Remarkable Paper Pro is what you need.
This is the largest device on this list, but for good reason. The 11-inch display gives you plenty of room to use the Marker stylus (included with the tablet) to write notes or even sketch and create diagrams on the screen. Since this is an e-ink display, it looks and feels like using a pen on paper. And the Remarkable Paper Pro also has color by utilizing physical color particles underneath the e-ink display. There’s even an integrated front light on the Remarkable Paper Pro, allowing you to use it in dim environments.
When you purchase the separate Type Folio, you not only protect the device, but it adds a full sized keyboard, allowing you to type notes onto the e-ink display.
OK, so all of this is great, but where does the e-reader part come in? You can import PDF and ePub files to the device, and web articles can be read on the Remarkable Paper Pro by using the “Read On” Google Chrome or Microsoft Office extension and then syncing it up with your Remarkable Cloud account.
So if you want an e-ink note taking device that can be used to read too, then the Remarkable Paper Pro is the way to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the most annoying things about e-books is that there are many file types, and certain e-book readers don’t support certain formats. Here’s a breakdown of which e-book readers support which formats.
Kindle
- AZW3
- AZW
- TXT
- MOBI
- RTF
- HTML
- EPUB
- DOC/DOCX
HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP files are only supported through conversion. Amazon has a free downloadable software called Kindle Previewer, which you can use to upload and convert these files into a readable format on your Kindle. You'll need to manually plug your Kindle into a computer to transfer them.
A tablet is akin to a smartphone but larger. You’ll get a full-color touchscreen with a high refresh rate. You can play games, watch movies and TV shows, and be productive with them. E-book readers are limited to reading because the electronic paper display has a low refresh rate. The screens look like paper, making them ideal for reading books, news, or magazines.
Whether you have a Kindle from Amazon or a Boox device, most e-book readers have a respective store accessible through the device where you can purchase books and more. You can also buy content on a computer and transfer the file to the e-book reader by physically connecting it with a cable.
When's the best time to buy an e-book reader?
This is an interesting question because the kneejerk answer is "when you want one". But the reality is there are some times in the year when it's just better to buy your e-book reader. Amazon's Prime Day and Black Friday are two such occasions, and if you're looking for an Amazon Kindle, then this advice applies even more. Amazon regularly discounts its Kindles heavily for both sales, and previous sales have seen the basic Kindle go down to half price and the Paperwhite down to below $100.
So really, while you should buy an e-book reader when you need one, if you can, try waiting for Prime Day in July, or Black Friday in November to get a great discount on your device.
How we test
Here at Digital Trends, we believe we're the most fortunate employees on the planet because we get to test e-book readers. So, essentially, we get to read for fun at work. It's incredible, and we're not complaining. The testing process involves more than just reading, though. When we experiment with e-book readers, we conduct a bunch of different tests. Some of these include testing the screen's brightness in different lighting and examining its durability by putting it in a variety of environments. If it claims to be waterproof, we take the reader for a swim in the bathtub and see if it measures up after a bubble bath.
We also transfer current e-book files onto the e-book reader, rent some e-books from the library, and buy books from various stores. We understand the e-book files are incredibly hard to convert, so our hearts go out to you and the many other avid readers who'd rather read in a different file format. Believe us, we've done our research, and we feel your pain.
The most critical piece of our testing process is our home simulation experiment, where we read these e-books in the comfort of our own humble abodes.
