Amazon's Kindle has been ubiquitous with e-readers almost since the devices were born. If you're shopping for a new e-reader, then it's hard to ignore the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, one of the most popular e-readers on the market. The best Kindles have a lot to offer, but it's not the only game in town, and there's a thriving industry of e-book readers outside of Amazon's shores. Kobo and Boox make some excellent devices that are on par with and exceed the Kindle in a number of ways, and they're absolutely worth checking out. Here are some of the best Kindle alternatives you can buy today, whether they're full-blooded e-readers, or tablets that can pull double-duty.
The best overall Kindle alternative
Kobo Clara Colour
- Excellent price
- Made to be repairable
- Great reading experience
- Weeks of battery life
- Simple and solid software
- Crisp color screen
- Strong price guarantee from Kobo store
- Boring design
- Slippery to hold
- Drop in performance for big color files
- Only 16GB of storage
- Limited ways to transfer ebook files
| Specification: | |
| Size | 112 x 160 x 9.2mm |
| Weight | 174 grams |
| Display size | 6-inches |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Access to Kindle Store | No |
The Kobo Clara Colour isn't just an excellent Kindle alternative, it's a fabulous e-reader in its own right. Kobo's color device does everything your Kindle can, but at a price that means that not only does it eat the Kindle Colorsoft's lunch, it's also a strong competitor for the Paperwhite and the basic Kindle too. If you're looking to replace a Kindle, then this is the place to start.
Right off the bat, it's a great size. The Clara Colour has a 6-inch color display that's perfectly sized if you're looking to take your e-reader out and about. Granted, it's smaller than the Kindle Paperwhite and Colorsoft's 7-inch displays, so it'as not ideal if you're looking for something a bit bigger, but for us, the size is perfect for a travel companion. It's also a little boring looking, and slippery to boot, but the plastic is lightweight and durable, so it can take a few knocks, and is never tiring to hold. Most excitingly, Kobo has made its Clara series user repairable, so you can access repair guides and parts from iFixit. That's the sort of dedication we love to see, as it'll mean your e-reader will be able to keep going and going.
Speaking of going and going, the battery life is just as impressive as any Kindle, with weeks of life from one charge. It charges by USB-C, so you can probably use the same cable as your phone or tablet. Performance is solid, but it does dip when accessing larger files. Also, it only has 16GB of storage, which may not be enough for those who read color PDFs, or listen to lots of audiobooks.
Audiobook controls are a little basic, but it's fantastic when it comes to reading e-books. The color display is clear and sharp, and the controls are easy to use. Customizations are plentiful too, and you can change to a dark mode, alter your book controls, fonts, and more. The software is Kobo's own, and as you might expect, there's no direct access to the Kindle Store. You can buy books directly from the Kobo Store, or if you use another store, you can transfer them through a USB-C cable — which is painfully archaic in 2025.
Yes, it has a few issues, but these are easily ignored or worked around. The Kobo Clara Colour is the best alternative to almost any Kindle, and one of the best e-readers you can buy, too. Prices start from $160.
The best runner-up Kindle alternative
Kobo Clara BW
- Great price
- Repairable
- Excellent reading experience
- Weeks of battery life
- Crisp and clear display
- Simple but solid software
- Price guarantee on Kobo Store is great
- Value doesn't compare to the Clara Colour
- Slippery plastic build
- Boring looking
- Only 16GB of storage
- Lacks Dropbox integration
| Specification: | |
| Size | 112 x 160 x 9.2mm |
| Weight | 174 grams |
| Display size | 6-inches |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Access to Kindle Store | No |
As above, so below; the Kobo Clara BW is basically the same device as the Clara Colour above, but with a black and white display and a slightly lower price. But that doesn't mean you should avoid it, as it's still a great e-reader.
All the positives from the Clara Colour above apply here too — it's a perfect size for portable reading, the display is clear and pin-sharp, the battery lasts weeks, and the reading experience is seamless and simple. Of course, that means a lot of the same issues repeat themselves here again too. It's boring, it's slippery, and there's no access to the Kindle Store. Plus, this time around, we're less sure about the value. Taken alone, the $140 price is strong, and it means it rivals the Paperwhite and basic Kindle quite easily. However, when the Clara Colour is only $20 more, it begs the question why you wouldn't just pay the little bit extra to get an objectively better product with a color display and stronger processor.
It's an odd duck in that regard, but we can't deny that it's still a very good e-reader, and a worthy runner-up.
Best budget Kindle alternative
Amazon Fire 7
- Excellent battery life
- Access to Kindle store and app
- Low cost
- Portable
- Optimized for streaming
- Great if you're not a fan of e-ink screens
- Fire OS software
- Long charge times
- Poor display and cameras
- Still an Amazon product
| Specification: | |
| Size | 180.68mm x 117.59mm x 9.67mm |
| Weight | 282g |
| Display size | 7 inches |
| Storage | 16GB, 32GB |
| Access to Kindle Store | Yes |
If you're on a budget but want to read Kindle books on your device without shelling out for an e-ink Kindle device, the Amazon Fire 7 (2022) is a fantastic buy.
This Amazon tablet supports a huge range of e-book formats including Kindle's AZW, AZW3, and KFX, plus EPUB, PDF, TXT, and more. Amazon removed support for MOBI files in 2022, but there are ways around this that aren't too cumbersome. Books look great on the colorful 7-inch display, and though the resolution isn't the sharpest, it's not a bad screen for the sub-$100 price and is ideal if you don't like e-ink screens.
The Fire 7 packs 16GB or 32GB of storage, plenty for all your books and apps, with a microSD card slot offering expansion to 1TB. Battery life runs around 10 hours, though the 5W charging is painfully slow, taking upward of four hours to reach full capacity. You'll likely need to resort to overnight charging so it's always good to go.
This isn't the best buy for productivity or playing the latest games. The processor can be sluggish, but the tablet handles most simple tasks — including browsing the web, basic word processing, and streaming — with ease. It runs Fire OS, which generally feels clunky. There's no connection to the Google Play Store, so support for many popular Android apps is sadly lacking. Google apps also don't work amazingly on the tablet, so if you're a regular Maps or YouTube user, this could pose an issue.
Negatives aside, the Fire 7 is a perfectly good, portable tablet for a great price. Yes, it's still an Amazon product, but with excellent battery life, decent everyday performance, and a colorful display — plus a 3.5mm headphone jack — it's the best budget Kindle alternative out there.
Best big Kindle alternative
Boox Go Color 7
- Color e-ink screen
- Sleek design
- Gyro sensor changes screen orientation
- Expandable storage via microSD
- Full Android support
- Excellent battery life
- No headphone jack
- Some features only work in the Neo Reader app
| Specification: | |
| Size | 156mm x 137mm x 6.4mm |
| Weight | 195g |
| Display size | 7 inches |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Access to Kindle Store | Yes (but no purchasing) |
The Boox Go Color 7 is our pick for the best big Kindle alternative. With a gorgeous 7-inch ePaper screen, support for over 20 file formats including PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and TXT, and its own reading app, it's a strong e-reader in its own right, but an excellent pick if you want something larger and more in line with the defunct Kindle Oasis.
This e-reader has full Android support, so you can run most Android apps on it, though the ePaper screen's slow refresh rate will be limiting for some apps. The display's pale yellow hue is more comfortable on the eyes for reading than a tablet's night or reading mode, and lefties will appreciate the option to change screen orientation thanks to the built-in gyroscope.
The proprietary Neo Reader app is loaded with features such as an in-built dictionary and notebook, with dedicated modes for comics and articles, dividing the page into sections with magnified versions for easy reading. That said, many of the excellent features included here are limited to the reader app and can't be used with other apps like the Kindle app.
Speaking of, though you can read your currently owned Kindle books on the app, you can no longer purchase new books through the app. To buy books from Amazon, you'll need to purchase them on your PC then deliver them to the Kindle cloud before downloading them to your device. That can be a bit of a hassle, if you buy all your books from Amazon. It's easy to access other e-book stores, such as the Google Play Store.
With solid battery life, 64GB of onboard storage, and a wide range of settings to personalize your reading experience, the Boox Go Color 7 is an excellent Kindle alternative, provided you're flexible about where you get your e-books from. For those who read a lot of comics, it's also a great choice.
Best note-taking Kindle alternative
Kobo Elipsa 2E
- Bright and clear display
- In-book annotations
- Big list of supported files
- Google Drive and Dropbox integration
- Weeks of battery life
- Stylus needs separate charging
- Sluggish performance in areas
- Dodgy exporting
| Specification: | |
| Size | 227.3mm x 192.8mm x 7.9mm |
| Weight | 390g |
| Display size | 10.3 inches |
| Storage | 32GB |
| Access to Kindle Store | No |
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is our best note-taking Kindle alternative, but it's more than just that. This e-reader supports a wide range of file types and, though the main way to get books is via the Kobo Store, Google Drive and Dropbox are integrated, too. That makes it easy to link your device to either app, drop e-books into the "Rakuten Kobo" folder and download them to your device. For Kindle books, you'll likely need to use an app to remove Digital Rights Management (DRM) from your files before transferring them.
Ease of transferring e-books aside, the Kobo Elipsa 2E has a bright, clear 10.3-inch e-ink display that's a great size for reading comics. If you regularly read in bed, this device might not be the best option for you as that larger screen can feel cumbersome, and it's not the greatest for one-handed use either.
There are all the usual e-reader features you'd expect, such as dark mode, changing fonts and font sizes, adjustable color temperature and brightness, and more, though dark mode doesn't activate automatically. The included stylus feels natural to use and makes it easy to take notes or make in-book annotations. You can choose from classic or advanced notebooks, with the latter allowing you to add diagrams, drawings, and the like.
Battery life lasts for weeks of reading, and 32GB of onboard storage should be enough for most bookworms, though if you download a lot of audiobooks or comics, you may find the space fills up fast, and there's no microSD card slot here.
The negatives? This e-reader can suffer from sluggish performance at times, exporting files can be dodgy, and the stylus needs to be charged separately from the device. However, it's still a fantastic e-reader for the price, and you'll be pushed to find a better note-taking alternative to the Kindle Scribe.
Best premium Kindle alternative
Apple iPad Air (2025)
- Clean design
- Sharp screen for creativity and productivity
- M3 power boost at no added cost
- More affordable new Magic Keyboard
- Good battery life
- Expensive storage and connectivity upgrades
- Display needs better smudge-resistance
- iPadOS has its quirks
- Accessories are quite pricey
| Specification: | |
| Size | 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm |
| Weight | 460 grams |
| Display size | 11 inches (also available in 13 inches) |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB |
| Access to Kindle Store | Yes |
If you have a taste for the more premium products, or want to read your books or graphic novels on a huge color screen, the iPad Air (2025) is the device to grab. With its expansive, colorful 11-inch (or 13-inch) display, everything looks great, from your favorite novels to the latest Netflix shows. There's no e-ink display, so it won't feel as "book-like" ss an e-reader, but it has a versatility most other options don't have.
Despite its size, the iPad Air is surprisingly portable thanks to its slim, light construction. It supports most e-book formats including EPUB, MOBI, and PDF, so you can download books from a variety of stores including Amazon and the Google Play Store. Kindle books can be purchased on Amazon or your computer then downloaded for reading in the Kindle app.
There's plenty of storage space for all your books, movies, photos, and more, with up to 1TB of storage (though that's not expandable). The iPad Air is a great choice if you're planning on using your device for productivity, too. The powerful M3 chip ensures multitasking is a breeze, and you can attach a keyboard (sold separately) for work.
The iPad Air (2025) isn't perfect, though. That 60Hz display isn't the most fluid around, charging is slow at just over two hours to full from empty, and you may not find the Liquid Retina display as comfortable for night-time reading as e-ink displays. That said, long battery life, a powerful processor, a huge display and wide support for e-book formats makes up for these shortcomings, ensuring the iPad Air (2025) has earned its crown as our best premium Kindle alternative.
What to consider when buying Kindle alternatives
There are plenty of things you'll want to consider when shopping for a Kindle alternative. From display size and portability to battery life and access to the Kindle store or Google Play Store, we've got answers to your most frequently asked questions.
What display size is best for you?
While the latest Kindle Paperwhite, Oasis, and Colorsoft all sport a 7-inch screen, you'll find other tablets and e-readers on the market with larger displays. How do you decide what display size works best for your needs?
This will largely come down to portability, and what else you intend to use your e-reader or tablet for. If you're looking for a device for general productivity and streaming as well as reading, a larger 11-inch or 13-inch display, like that of the iPad Air (2025), should suit your needs.
If all you plan on doing is working your way through your to-be-read (TBR) list then you might favor portability over display size. You'll want to consider whether you like to read in bed, too. The Boox Go Color 7's 7-inch screen is the perfect size for reading, and it's small enough to slip into a bag for traveling. If you prefer a larger display, the Kobo Elipsa 2E's 10.3-inch screen ensures it's still compact enough for reading during your commute, though it may not be the best option for bedtime reading.
What's your budget?
Everyone's budget is different, and the good news is that you don't have to spend a fortune to pick up a great Kindle alternative. Those on a tight budget can grab an Amazon Fire 7 for $60, while anyone with a bit more to spend who prefers the Apple ecosystem can pick up an iPad Air (2025) for $599.
To determine how much you should spend on your Kindle alternative, think about how you'll use the device. You might already have a tablet or laptop that you use for work, productivity, and streaming. In that case, a dedicated e-reader likely makes the most sense, and you can pick up the Boox Go Color 7 for $250.
If you want the latest apps and features, but you don't already have access to a tablet at home, you'll probably want to spend a bit more on an all-in-one device for reading, productivity, work, and streaming. The iPad Air (2025) covers all bases here, with excellent battery life, a bright and colorful display, and access to the Kindle store.
Do you need access to the Kindle store?
To answer this question, think about where you shop for your e-books, and what format they're usually in. The most widely-supported format is EPUB, with most e-readers also supporting PDFs. Amazon Kindle books are generally in AZW or MOBI format, with KFX used on some newer Kindles.
That means if you want to read Amazon Kindle books on your e-reader or tablet, you'll need to convert them to the right format — and they come with Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection, which may mean you'll have to remove that using an app before transferring the file to your device. You may also need to connect your device to your computer to transfer purchased Kindle books to your e-reader.
That's because it's not possible to access the Kindle store on every device. Generally speaking, Android and Apple tablets will allow you to access the Kindle app and Amazon website (for purchasing new books) as you would through your phone. This goes for other apps too, like the Google Play Store. Amazon's Fire tablets also allow easy access to Amazon and the Kindle app for purchasing and reading.
Other e-readers may have their own native apps. For example, the Boox Go Color 7 has its proprietary Neo Reader app. However, you can't buy books from Amazon directly from the device. You'll need to purchase Kindle books on your computer, and then download them to your device.
It's often the case that Kindle alternatives like the Boox Go Color 7 support a wider range of e-book formats than Kindle devices, so if your heart isn't set on reading Kindle books, you'll be able to download e-books from a greater variety of stores.
If access to the Kindle store on your device is a must, the Amazon Fire 7 is a great budget pick. If you've more to spend, the latest iPad mini or iPad Air both allow you to purchase and read Google Play and Kindle books — as well as e-books from a variety of sources — directly on your device.
Which features are essential and which could you live without?
Which features you're willing to sacrifice mainly comes down to budget and how you'll use your e-reader or tablet. If you plan on purchasing a Kindle alternative simply for reading the latest thrillers or fantasy epics, there's little point spending upward of $400 on the latest iPad Air or iPad mini.
If, however, you want access to features for work and productivity, such as Apple or Android apps — or if you're planning on gaming or streaming, you might want to opt for a tablet over an e-reader.
You'll also want to think about e-reader-specific features that you can't live without. This could include an e-ink screen, a color display — great if you read a lot of graphic novels or manga — access to the Kindle app and store, and so on. If you're a lefty, you might want an e-reader with a gyro sensor to change screen orientation, such as the Boox Go Color 7, while those who want to take notes on their e-reader might need one with an included stylus, such as the Kobo Elipsa 2E.
We recommend making a list of the essential features you can't live without, and a separate list of nice-to-have features, before shopping for your Kindle alternative.
How we test
We love to read as much as the next bookworm, and we’ve put a lot of e-book readers to use because of it. When considering the best Kindle alternatives we leaned on our knowledge of the Kindle lineup and what makes it so popular. We compared those features to other e-readers, and came away with a the list of the best Kindle alternatives you’ll find above. We placed a strong emphasis on e-readers we’ve used ourselves, with a secondary emphasis on affordability, screen resolution, and battery life, as we feel these areas are important when it comes to choosing an e-reader that makes for one of the best Kindle alternatives.
Why trust us
We here at Digital Trends are some of the biggest nerds you'll ever meet. As such, we have an enormous love for all areas of tech, and make sure that anyone who writes for us is as knowledgeable as they are enthusiastic. Digital Trends has years and years of experience working with multiple tech brands, not only reviewing products but working with them to report their latest announcements, and sometimes, yes, tearing their products to pieces if they aren't very good. We strive to be as objective as it's possible to be as regards a product's quality, while also never forgetting that which makes tech truly special: The joy it brings us all.
