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Comparing Our Favorite Readers
Honorable Mentions
Below, you’ll also find a few e-readers that we like but don’t like as much as our picks.
Boox Go 7 ($270) and Boox Color Go 7 ($290): Boox is known for its various paper tablets, including the aforementioned Palma 2. If you’re looking for something a little bigger with an Android experience, the Go 7 and Go Color 7 are solid choices. There are buttons to turn pages, and it’s a nice square design that’s easy to hold and use. The Go 7 is black-and-white, but you can get a color screen for $ 40 more with the Go Color 7. I don’t use the color tone display, so it’s better to save money if you don’t, but it’s good that the price difference is not high.
Boox Palma 2 for $316: This is a fun little pocket device, and it has a nice upgrade from the previous model with fingerprint recognition, a faster CPU, and the latest version of Android. WIRED Review Adrienne So likes to use the Kindle app, but wants it to be cheaper. Currently there is none, and I am waiting to see if it will come back or be replaced by a new version this year.
Kindle Colorsoft Signature for $280 and Kindle Colorsoft ($250): The Kindle Colorsoft Signature It’s the first Amazon brand with a color screen. It has a screen with an oxide backplane, which Amazon says offers better contrast and image quality along with custom-made coatings and nitride LEDs for improved brightness and color accuracy. But the screen has 150 ppi for color images, against 300 ppi for black-and-white, and the reading experience is still very poor compared to the new Paperwhite. It takes a long time to create color images. It lacks features that are standard on other types of calculators, such as page-turning buttons and stylus support. Not a bad Kindle, and color makes it possible to read e-mail, but we recommend waiting for discounts during Amazon sales events. Kindle has launched an affordable alternative, for Kindle Colorsoft ($250) which has less storage (only 16 GB, against 32 GB) and no automatic lighting or wireless charging.
Kindle Scribe (2nd Gen, 2024) for $400: The second generation Secretary of Charity It’s a great option if you want an e-reader that doubles as a digital pen, but also want to stay within the Kindle environment. It has a 10.2-inch (300 ppi) paper display with features like adjustable warm light and automatic front light. The included Premium pen also has a soft eraser (pencil holder No.2). With Active Canvas and expandable borders, you can also insert ebooks and write notes in the sidebar. Amazon has announced three more Kindle e-books coming out this winter, including color variants, so we’ll be testing these when they become available.
Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen, 2025) for $500: The latest Secretary of Charity it arrived in December 2025 with a range of colors, a new exterior design that eliminates one of the larger sides, and bezels and frames that are the same size throughout. It has a home page that makes it easy to find your latest books and articles, as well as a quick reference page that you can also log into. It also has new AI tools that can summarize things for you and send your notes to the Alexa speaker + so you can ask questions about them, but overall, this is not necessary and just drives the price. The eldest Kindle Scribe (2nd Gen) it’s still my preferred option if you want a Kindle e-reader that doubles as a digital pen.
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Kindle Scribe Colorsoft for $630: Amazon brought a color screen to the Kindle Scribe late last year, and redesigned the exterior to match the third-generation Kindle Scribe. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft it works exactly as you’d expect, with a variety of colors and tools you can use for books and reading your books. There are also a number of AI features, which are part of what makes it so affordable. I think it’s too expensive for not being able to convert it into an e-paper laptop like Remarkable Paper Probut if you really want to own a Kindle and have a beautiful digital pen and e-reader in one device, this is the one you should get.
Nook GlowLight 4 Plus for $200: The 4 Plus is the only waterproof Nook in the line, and it has a large screen at 7.8 inches, along with 32 GB of storage. It also has page-turning buttons and a headphone jack for listening to audiobooks (but you can also connect wireless headphones via Bluetooth). But it was generally slower than my Kindle and tended to freeze. While the main library has it price and even free ebooks, it’s not as good a choice as Kindle Unlimited. How to get a book from the library on Nook it continues to disappoint. You need to download either Adobe Digital Editions or Android File Transfer before connecting the device to your computer physically and then transferring files.
Nook 9-inch Lenovo Tablet for $150: If you read a lot of cookbooks or other genres, and you need dedicated readers, you might want to consider this. A cheap tablet from Nook and Lenovowhich has built-in Nook software. Like the tablets mentioned above, you lose the E Ink feature and the hassle-free nature of an e-reader. You can turn off notifications while still in other apps, which I recommend doing on the Nook app. It ships with an older version of Android, and isn’t built for heavy-duty applications like video or photo editing.
FAQs
Ebooks can be cheap, but as with regular books, the price can add up if you’re a heavy reader. You should take advantage of your local library and check out ebooks right from your home. We have a detailed guide that explains how to get free library booksbut the short story is that many libraries distribute books through OverDrive. You can access these books in a number of ways, via Kindle or directly from OverDrive and Kobo, or you can download them Libby app. These ebooks are removed from your device and returned to the library when due.
Each e-reader’s book service is different. What we like is Kindle Unlimited for $12 per monthwhich has a wide range of titles, including audiobooks and magazines. About Amazon Extensive Reading it also offers several free books every month, which is good to know if you already have them Main account. You can also lend books to friends and family for a short period of time (or have them share a book with you). We have rounds Best Ebook Subscription Services Here.
What File Formats Do E Readers Support?
The most commonly used format is ePub, which works natively with e-book readers other than Kindle—technically. You can still upload ePub files to your Kindle, but you can use the “Send to Kindle” feature (via Amazon, your email, or the Kindle app) to convert them to Amazon’s proprietary format called AZW. (Newer Kindles support AZW3 and KFX, in particular). Other formats that can work with these e-readers include PDF, TXT, HTML, DOC, and DOCX.
Can I Install Software on the E-Reader?
The Kindle, Kobo, and Nook use operating systems that do not allow you to install third-party software. The Boox, on the other hand, runs Android (specifically Android 11 is newer). So, it means that you can use it to download any apps available in Google Play Store or side apps on your computer.
Do You Need an E-Reader? What About Phone or Tablet?
You don’t to be buy a separate device to read ebooks. Cell phones and tablets are ideal for this purpose. You can use the Amazon Kindle app to read ebooks (iOS, Android), and downloading OverDrive’s Libby app (iOS, Android) to access library books anywhere and. However, the E Ink screens found in e-readers are nice to look at. I also like that these tools are one trick horses; no information is interrupted or traditional TV feeds doomscroll through.
If you would like to have one smart tool that you can read on and use other services, check out ours Best Pills and The best iPads helpful tips.
What About Digital Notebooks?
We have tried several E ink tablets meaning taking “handwritten” documents that can be processed and searched digitally. E-readers who have this privilege still prioritize reading. If the Kobo Libra isn’t big enough for your writing needs, you might like this one. Right now, our favorite E Ink tablet is $629 Remarkable Paper Pro which allows you to write notes with an interactive pen on color E Ink photos. However, it’s not designed for reading—you can read PDFs on it, but the experience of finding books on it is a lot harder than Kobos and Kindles.
How Do WIRED Test E-Readers Do?
The most important thing we do when testing e-readers is read on them! We spend hours reading books obtained in a variety of ways, from books purchased directly from a store of any kind, taken from local libraries via OverDrive/Libby, or PDFs obtained for free from God knows where.
Inside, we evaluate battery life, brightness, latency, screen responsiveness, and audio sharpness. We look at additional equipment such as the description, and whether the tablet has equipment such as a pen. We also see if the tablet has other features, such as waterproofing or access to special subscription services.
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