eReaders have revolutionized the art of reading. Understandably, many people still love the smell and feel of a good book. Libraries of novels, biographies, and encyclopedias still have their valuable place in the home. But, for on-the-go purposes, book lovers can now carry thousands of titles in a small, lightweight device.

The look and feel of eReaders are evolving, too. Eyes are being cared for more with color temperature adjustments. Additionally, the visually impaired can increase font sizes, boost lighting, or even switch to audio.

Here are the best eReaders available today.

Our Top eReader Recommendations for 2023

If you are looking for an eReader that is convenient for any situation you find yourself in, the Kobo Libra 2 is well worth considering. It has you covered whether your hands are full, commuting on a crowded train, or sitting by the pool with kids splashing around.

The page-turn buttons are especially convenient, and they are a feature omitted by many eReaders. You may be nursing a child or holding a bag; either way, turning pages with one hand is easy. The well-detailed screen can also flip to landscape mode whenever you require it. And, with an IPX8 rating, taking the device poolside is worry-free.

Once you get stuck into a good book, it can be hard to put it down. However, you can enjoy your engrossing novel any time of the day without tiring your eyes. The Kobo Libra 2 has blue-light reduction technology and a Dark Mode setting. The screen also handles reflections impeccably well, while the text is crisp and the contrast is good.

With the new Bluetooth addition, you can now listen via an external wireless speaker or headphones. Not only that, but Kobo has ditched the micro-USB port in favor of a USB-C port which allows for quick charging and file transfers. Finally, with a storage of 32GB, there is enough room to store a book a day for decades to come.

​​​​The latest version of the Amazon Kindle was released in 2022 and is the most lightweight and compact iteration yet. It is now in its eleventh generation and features a superior glare-free, 300PPI, high-resolution display. These specs match the premium devices in the Kindle series of eReaders. Not only that, but it now has 16GB of storage and finally sports a USB-C port. And you get all this at what you can still consider a budget price.

Unfortunately, you don’t get the waterproofing or the adjustable warm light at this price. You’ll also have to make do with the touchscreen for flipping the pages. However, you do get a much-improved battery life that now lasts up to six weeks. Additionally, there are four adjustable LED front lights and a Bluetooth connection.

You also have different options to tinker with. For example, you can choose to have no ads or select from a couple of Kindle Unlimited options. This model comes with a four-month free subscription that gives access to millions of titles in the Kindle store.

The Kindle Kids is the same as a standard Amazon Kindle with added features for children. It’s every bit as lightweight and slimline as your typical Kindle and has the same glare-free, 300PPI, high-resolution display. The 16GB of storage is also the same, which means your child or children can store over 1,000 books. It also sports the same new USB-C connection and, thankfully, a similar reasonable price tag.

The differences? Well, these are what make the Kindle Kids interesting. You get a choice of one of three attractive and colorful covers. On top of that, there’s a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, an extensive library of novels and audiobooks for children. Then, there’s the parent dashboard where you can set and manage content to encourage reading. You can also adjust filters and even set a bedtime announcement.

There are no apps, videos, messaging, and definitely no games on this device. All it has is uninterrupted reading with lots of encouragement and learning. It’s a must for any parent that wants their children to read more.

This fifth-generation Amazon Paperwhite has a larger display and skinnier bezels than before. You can store up to 8GB on this eReader, which is sufficient for most people. However, if you need more, a 16GB version is available, or you can try the more expensive Signature Edition, which gives you up to 32GB.

With its glare-free 300PPI screen, you might think you were reading an actual book if it wasn’t for the absence of that musty-old-book smell. However, thanks to the adjustable color temperature of the 17 front-light LEDs, it's kind to your eyes because you can change it to a warmer light at nighttime. Alternatively, if you are visually impaired, you can listen to your books with an Audible subscription.

Amazon has updated this iteration to a faster processor, making it more responsive. Page turning is now up to 20 percent quicker. The battery also has a new lease of life, with Amazon stating that you can get up to 10 weeks with minimal usage. You can now even recharge via the USB-C port.

Additionally, drops in the bath or pool are not a worry. Its IPX8 rating ensures you can submerge it to a depth of 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes.

With its premium price, it makes sense that the Boox Tab Ultra from Onyx offers more than just ebook reading. Besides getting a nicely-sized 10.3-inch E Ink display with an excellent 1872x1404p resolution, you can pretty much use it as a tablet. You can even buy a sold-separately magnetic case with a built-in keyboard to turn your eReader into a basic 2-in-1 laptop.

Without the keyboard and cover, it’s lighter and less bulky than your typical tablet but a bit heavier than your typical eReader. This weight is due to the aluminum trimmings in the robust build, the 6,300mAh battery, and the large display.

The display is faster than other eReaders, too. Although there will still be cases of screen refreshing, you can watch videos, play games, and use apps. But you have to remember that it isn’t an LCD screen. So, the experience will not always be as satisfying as using an actual tablet. However, the front lights make reading with tired eyes all the easier. You can read in white and warm colors or mix them to achieve your preferred luminosity.

For note-taking, it comes with a stylus. If you prefer to take oral notes, it features dual microphones that record crisp-sounding memos. The dual speakers are pretty good, too, enabling you to listen to audiobooks if you prefer. Or, you can use an external device to listen. That said, there is no headphone jack, but you can still pair it with Bluetooth earbuds or a speaker.

If you want to take your e-reading to the next level, the Boox Nova Air C is a color eReader that is sure to impress. Not only that, but it’s powered by Android 11, meaning you can download any app from the Google Play Store and use them to varying degrees of success. These include other eReader apps, such as Kindle. So, you can upload files from there and enjoy them all over again on this device.

The Boox Nova Air C is a hybrid of the Nova Air and the Nova3 Color, which makes it both ultra-slim and color enhanced. However, some may find the color feature superfluous, especially if your primary concern is reading novels. But, if you love comic books and magazines, it’s the best choice, although reading them on a 7.8-inch screen takes a little adjustment.

Taking notes is a joy on this device, especially when you consider the color options. You can use the included stylus to write on the screen. The touch of the pen is comparable to writing on paper and is as good as any stylus out there. You can use yellow to highlight notes and red or blue to circle or underline important areas you want to draw attention to later.

There are different modes you can use depending on your activity. These range from simple novel reading to watching videos on YouTube. The powerful Snapdragon 662 processor teams up with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage to enable these modes to run efficiently. However, lag and ghosting remain an issue sometimes, but this has more to do with the device’s E Ink screen than its technical specs. When ghosting is apparent, you can refresh the screen to get rid of it.

The Kobo Elipsa 2E is a worthy rival to the Kindle Scribe for note-taking. Key features include a variety of notebook templates, folders to stay organized, and handwriting-to-typed-text conversion. Additionally, the ergonomically redesigned Kobo Stylus 2 allows you to annotate and easily organize your documents—it even has a nifty eraser on top. Backing everything up is simple with Kobo Cloud, or you can export by USB or Dropbox.

While it’s not water-resistant, it has a lightweight, slim design with a recycled magnesium alloy and plastic build. The 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 touchscreen has a 1404x1872p resolution. The display is crisp and detailed, with excellent dynamic range, and the Elipsa 2E also features a matte coating for enhanced visibility. Coupled with its adjustable brightness, it’s easy to read and write on even the brightest of days. And, when reading after dark, you can filter blue light to ensure you can easily drift off when the sandman comes.

With an excellent 32GB of storage, this eReader can hold up to 24,000 books at a time. You can access titles through the Kobo Store, and there are millions to choose from. Additionally, you get an average of two weeks of battery life on a single charge.

If taking care of your peepers is your top priority when choosing an eReader, the Kobo Clara HD offers excellent color temperature adjustment. In Comfort PRO Mode, the display matches your ambient light, while Night Mode incrementally reduces blue light as you get closer to bedtime. You can also adjust the color temperature manually from a range of presets to suit your mood and comfort.

That aside, it’s also an excellent and affordable eReader to rival the Amazon Kindle. It’s more or less the same size and weight and features the same 6-inch, 300PPI, glare-free display. You can read it on bright, sunny days in the park without trouble, just as you can with an actual book. There’s also a wide range of font sizes and types to choose from, and you can take notes, highlight passages, and use the integrated quick-tap dictionary for those big, fancy words.

With 8GB of storage, the Clara HD can hold around 6,000 books—more than enough to get through even the longest train journey. If you do get through them all, you can browse the integrated Kobo eBookstore and choose from over six million titles. Additionally, you can access your local library with built-in public library borrowing from OverDrive.

What to Consider Before Buying an eReader in 2023

eReaders are more popular than ever, and they make fantastic gifts. Whether you are buying for an auntie, your grandpa, or a small child, anyone can appreciate a good eReader. The more you are prepared to pay, the more features the eReader will have. But that doesn’t mean settling for a budget-friendly one will be a disappointment.

The basic Amazon Kindle is still the most popular eReader available today, and while it doesn’t have note-taking or audio capabilities, it does do exactly what it says on the tin. It’s an eReader that you can use to store ample titles, has a crisp display, and is reasonably priced. The Kobo Clara HD is a similarly priced device with much the same features.

Getting children to read these days can be a challenge, given all the distractions that exist in the modern world. However, there are eReaders designed specifically for kids that actively encourage reading. The Kindle Kids is an excellent choice. It has features designed to inspire reading and comes at an affordable price point, too.

Then there are other eReaders that offer more than just reading. With convenient controls and facilities to help reduce eye strain, the Kobo Libra 2 is another excellent choice. It still comes in at an agreeable price while matching premium eReaders for quality. It’s also waterproof and lightweight and offers a whopping 32GB of storage, making it an excellent choice for taking on vacation.