The best e-readers are very lovely things to own, and in my view are a level up from reading on an iPad, or other backlit LCD screen. You get weeks of battery life and displays that look like paper, even in direct sunlight.
There are two basic types of e-readers on the market today. The traditional type focus purely on reading. The other type, e-ink tablets, typically come with a stylus to let you do things like draw, write and annotate PDFs as well.
Right now, the best e-reader overall is the reMarkable Paper Pro, which is excellent at both writing and reading. Meanwhile if you'd like display artwork as well as books, then see our guide to the best e-ink art frames too.
The best e-reader overall
20-second review: The Paper Pro is reMarkable's third-generation writing slate, and the headline change is a colour E Ink display, built on a modified version of E Ink's Gallery 3 technology that the company calls Canvas Color. The colour reproduction is muted but useful for handwritten annotations and highlights, and paired with a proper backlight for the first time, it addresses the two biggest complaints about earlier reMarkable devices in one go.
Pricing: At $579 with the standard Marker stylus, or $629 with the eraser-equipped Marker Plus, this sits well above most e-readers on this list, and that's before adding a case from $89 or the Type Folio keyboard at $229. reMarkable has kept the older reMarkable 2 on sale at $379 as a cheaper, monochrome alternative for anyone the Paper Pro is too rich for.
Features: Performance is a major step up from the previous generation, with a faster processor, more RAM and pen latency cut from 22ms to 12ms, which makes it feel like more like a responsive tablet than a "fancy e-reader." Bear in mind, though, that there's no app store, no web browser, and no support for DRM-protected ebooks from Kindle or Kobo. This is built specifically for writing, sketching, reading your own PDFs and EPUBs, and staying off the internet rather than a general-purpose tablet.
The best app-enabled e-reader
20-second review: Where the reMarkable locks out apps and browsers on purpose, the BOOX Go 10.3 Lumi goes the opposite way, running full Android with support for most third-party apps. This makes it a useful hybrid of e-reader and productivity tablet. (It's no use, though, if you're looking to digitally detox.)
Pricing: The Lumi version, which adds an adjustable dual-tone front light, costs $449.99, while the standard model without a front light is $399.99. Both include a stylus with replaceable tips and a folio case, which compares favourably with reMarkable's setup, where a case and light aren't included.
Features: You get extensive note-taking tools here, including image insertion, PDF annotation and an AI handwriting-to-text feature. As an e-reader, its trump card is that it's a full Android tablet, so you can download library apps and borrow ebooks for free in supported regions, something Kindle's closed ecosystem won't do. On the downside, the interface still shows a touch more lag and flicker I'd ideally expect from current e-ink tech.
The best budget e-reader
20-second review: Amazon's basic Kindle delivers everything more people need, at a low price. It's also the smallest and lightest Kindle available, with the same 300ppi text sharpness as the far pricier Kindle Colorsoft for black-and-white content. Ulimtately, there's no reason to spend more unless you want specific features like waterproofing, a colour screen or a stylus.
Pricing: At $99.99 with lockscreen ads or $119.99 without, this undercuts every other Kindle by a wide margin. Features like a larger screen, water resistance or a colour display might be nice, but they don't add much to the core reading experience for most people, so why spend more?
Features: The display is a big improvement over older base Kindles, with higher contrast that makes text look sharper and reduces eye strain, even without the adjustable warm light found on the Kindle Paperwhite. Battery life is rated at up to six weeks, which is shorter than many, but we're still talking about weeks rather than hours. My only real niggle is the fact the power button is on the bottom edge, which is easy to press by accident.
The best e-ink tablet for portability
20-second review: The Clara BW was the first mainstream e-reader to use E Ink's newer Carta 1300 display, and the jump in contrast and responsiveness is very noticeable next to older Carta 1200 screens, including the base Kindle. Text looks sharper and darker at every brightness level, and touch input registers accurately even through a plastic screen protector.
Pricing: At $129.99, it costs only a little more than the base Kindle while offering a meaningfully better screen and IPX8 waterproofing. Furthermore, Kobo's partnership with iFixit means replacement parts, including a $39.99 battery, are available if you want to extend its life beyond the standard warranty.
Features: ComfortLight PRO lets you adjust both brightness and colour temperature, shifting automatically to warmer tones in the evening, and Kobo's more open ebook ecosystem natively supports EPUB and MOBI files without the extra hoops Kindle sideloading requires. Built-in OverDrive support lets you borrow titles from a supporting public library for free, and the body is made from around 85% recycled plastic. The main limitation is audio: only Kobo-purchased or Kobo Plus audiobooks play over Bluetooth, so you can't sideload audiobooks bought elsewhere.
FAQs
What's the difference between an e-reader and an e-ink tablet?
A traditional e-reader, like the Kindle or Kobo Clara BW above, is built specifically for reading: a smaller screen, no stylus, and a closed software ecosystem tied to one ebook store. An e-ink tablet, like the reMarkable Paper Pro or BOOX Go 10.3 Lumi, adds a larger screen and a stylus for handwriting, sketching and marking up documents, and in BOOX's case, full Android app support on top. If you mainly want to read books, a dedicated e-reader is cheaper, lighter and has far better battery life; if note-taking or PDF markup matters as much as reading, an e-ink tablet is worth the extra cost.
Do I need a stylus with my e-reader?
Only if you actually plan to write or draw on it. Dedicated e-readers such as the Kindle or Kobo Clara BW don't support a stylus at all, because they're built purely for reading, which keeps the price down and the battery life up. However, if you want to annotate PDFs, take handwritten notes, or sketch, you'll need a stylus-equipped device like the reMarkable Paper Pro or BOOX Go 10.3 Lumi, both of which include a pen in the box.
How long do e-readers last on a single charge?
E-readers last considerably longer than phones or tablets, though this varies by device and use. The basic Kindle is rated for up to six weeks, the Kobo Clara BW for up to seven to eight weeks, and the reMarkable Paper Pro for around two weeks, reflecting its larger, backlit colour screen. Android-based e-ink tablets like the BOOX Go tend to sit at the shorter end too, since running full apps draws more power than a dedicated reading device. In every case, though, you're looking at days or weeks between charges rather than hours.
