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There is no single “best eReader” for everyone.

For a reader who simply wants to carry a library in a coat pocket, an expensive color screen and digital pen may solve problems that never existed. For someone who reads illustrated books, annotates constantly, works with documents, or wants one device to replace both a notebook and an eReader, the basic Kindle can look decidedly limited.

As a publisher, we think the useful question is not Which device has the longest feature list? It is:

Which device gets out of the way and lets you read the way you actually like to read?

The current Kindle and Kobo families offer answers ranging from a compact six-inch black-and-white reader to an eleven-inch color writing device that costs several times as much.

Here is where we would start.

Our pick	eReader	Why
Best overall	Kindle Paperwhite	The strongest balance of screen size, reading comfort, portability and features
Best budget Kindle	Kindle 16 GB	Compact, simple and focused
Best premium Paperwhite	Paperwhite Signature Edition	More storage, automatic lighting and wireless charging
Best mainstream color Kindle	Kindle Colorsoft	Color without moving to a large writing device
Best compact Kobo	Kobo Clara BW	Excellent six-inch alternative outside Amazon’s ecosystem
Best Kobo upgrade	Kobo Libra Colour	Color, physical page buttons and stylus support
Best large-screen reader/writer	Kindle Scribe	Eleven-inch monochrome reading and handwriting
Best no-compromise Kindle	Kindle Scribe Colorsoft	Large color display, handwriting and premium capabilities

Kindle Paperwhite: the one we would recommend first

If somebody asked us which eReader to buy without giving us any other information, we would probably point to the Kindle Paperwhite.

The current Paperwhite uses a seven-inch glare-free display, offers adjustable warm lighting and sits in a useful middle ground: noticeably roomier than the basic Kindle without becoming a large tablet-like device.

That matters because most novels do not need color, a pen or eleven inches of screen. They need readable text, comfortable lighting and a device light enough that holding it for an hour does not become part of the story.

The Paperwhite is therefore not the most capable eReader in this comparison.

It is the one with the fewest obvious reasons for the average dedicated reader to regret buying it.

PDFP verdict: Best overall for most readers.

Amazon Kindle 16 GB: when simple is exactly the point

The basic Kindle remains the more economical route into Amazon’s reading ecosystem.

Its six-inch glare-free display is smaller than the Paperwhite's. The smaller screen is not automatically a disadvantage. Somebody who commutes, travels frequently, reads during lunch breaks, or simply wants something that disappears into a bag may prefer the basic Kindle precisely because it is small.

What you give up is some of the comfort and premium functionality of the Paperwhite family.

What you keep is the essential proposition of an eReader: a lot of books in something substantially smaller than a lot of books.

PDFP verdict: Best budget Kindle and best Kindle for maximum portability.

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition: the Paperwhite with the luxuries turned on

The Paperwhite Signature Edition is not a completely different reading device. That is important.

It is a more luxurious version of an already excellent one.

It retains the seven-inch Paperwhite format but increases storage to 32 GB and adds an auto-adjusting front light and wireless charging.

For somebody who reads ordinary eBooks almost exclusively, 16 GB is already substantial storage. Buying the Signature Edition purely because “32 is bigger than 16” is difficult to justify.

The better reasons are convenience.

Automatic lighting is pleasant if you read in changing conditions. Wireless charging reduces cable handling. Extra storage becomes more relevant if your library contains large files or more storage-heavy content.

Our view is simple: buy the regular Paperwhite for value; buy the Signature Edition because you know you appreciate premium conveniences.

PDFP verdict: Best Paperwhite for the reader who wants the nicer version rather than the necessary version.

Kindle Colorsoft: color without turning your eReader into a tablet

Color eReaders need to be understood properly.

A color E Ink display is not trying to reproduce the saturated screen of an iPad. Its purpose is to add color while preserving the more paper-like, distraction-resistant character of an eReader.

For a novel consisting of black text on a pale background, that may change very little.

For book covers, illustrations, highlighted passages, graphic material and visually organized nonfiction, color becomes much easier to justify.

That is why we would not tell every Paperwhite owner to upgrade.

We would tell readers who have repeatedly wished their eReader could show meaningful color that there is finally a Kindle specifically built around that wish.

PDFP verdict: Best Kindle for readers who genuinely benefit from color but do not need an eleven-inch writing device.

Kobo Clara BW: the compact alternative

Amazon does not own the concept of the eReader.

The Kobo Clara BW gives readers a strong six-inch black-and-white alternative built around Rakuten Kobo rather than the Kindle Store.

There is another important Kobo advantage for some readers: compatible Kobo eReaders support integrated public-library borrowing through participating libraries.

For someone whose digital reading life revolves heavily around library borrowing, that deserves serious consideration.

The Clara BW is not our recommendation because it beats the Paperwhite at every specification.

It is our recommendation because ecosystem matters, and a good eReader comparison that only discusses Kindle is not really a comparison.

PDFP verdict: Best compact black-and-white alternative to Kindle.

Kobo Libra Colour: perhaps the most interesting Kobo in this group

The Kobo Libra Colour moves in a different direction.

It combines a seven-inch color E Ink display with 32 GB of storage, an ergonomic asymmetrical design, physical page-turn buttons and stylus compatibility.

Those buttons alone can matter more than they sound.

Touchscreens work perfectly well for turning pages, but dedicated controls give you a tactile action without placing a finger over the reading area. Some readers strongly prefer that.

If you want color, dislike being locked entirely into Amazon's hardware family, and appreciate physical page controls, the Libra Colour deserves a serious look.

PDFP verdict: Best premium Kobo in our launch collection.

Kindle Scribe: when the page itself needs to get bigger

Then we leave conventional eReader territory.

The current Kindle Scribe combines a large glare-free display with a built-in notebook and pen input.

That larger surface changes the use case.

A six- or seven-inch reader is easy to carry and hold. A much larger reader gives text, documents and handwriting room to breathe.

If your principal activity is reading novels in bed, the extra size may simply mean more device than you need.

If you read PDFs, work with documents, annotate, keep handwritten notes or simply enjoy the feeling of a much larger page, the Scribe begins to make sense.

PDFP verdict: Best large-screen black-and-white Kindle for reading plus writing.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft: after you have seen the sensible choices, here is the best-equipped one

This is the opposite end of the comparison from the basic Kindle.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft combines a large paper-like color display with pen input, built-in notebook functions and substantial storage.

Do most readers need it?

No.

That is almost beside the point.

After looking at the devices that make the most practical sense, this is the model for somebody asking a different question:

What if I simply want the most capable Kindle here?

If price is secondary and you want a large display, color, handwriting and Kindle reading in the same dedicated device, this is where the ladder currently ends.

PDFP verdict: Best no-compromise Kindle—and very clearly not our best-value recommendation.

So which eReader should you actually buy?

If you mostly read novels and want us to make the decision for you, start with the Kindle Paperwhite.

If keeping cost and size down matters most, look at the basic Kindle or Kobo Clara BW.

If you want physical page buttons and Kobo's ecosystem, look hard at the Kobo Libra Colour.

If color itself is the feature you have been waiting for, compare the Kindle Colorsoft and Libra Colour.

If handwriting and a genuinely large page matter more than portability, move into Kindle Scribe territory.

And if you have worked your way through all those sensible qualifications only to conclude that what you really want is the biggest, color, pen-equipped Kindle in the group, the Scribe Colorsoft is waiting at the expensive end of the table.

A good eReader should not make reading more complicated.

It should simply remove the inconvenient parts of carrying, storing and finding the next book.