Best ebook readers: Which? Best Buys and expert buying advice

Ebook readers can store thousands of books, magazines and newspapers, so you'll never run out of reading material while you’re out and about. But there are a lot of decisions to make when choosing between different models.

Ebook readers start at about £85 for a basic model, but can cost more than £300 if you want something with all the latest features such as screen lighting, waterproofing and the best-quality screen that's easy to read no matter the weather.

We'll help you choose the best ebook reader for your needs and budget.

Want to see all the ebook readers we've tested? Check out our ebook reader reviews.

Best ebook readers

Ebook manufacturers don't launch new models very often. Below we've highlighted the very best models from the past few years that are still available to buy. Click through to each review to find out more.

Only logged-in Which? members can view our best ebook readers in the table below. If you’re not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access to our recommendations, based on our independent lab tests, plus all of our online reviews - including laptops, electric cars and headphones. 

Is an ebook reader better than a tablet?

An ebook reader is designed specifically for reading ebooks and not a great deal else. So it's optimised for this. 

You can also read books on an iOS or Android phone or tablet using ebook apps from Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo and more. 

If you want to read books in a digital format, you'll need to decide whether to spend your money on a dedicated ebook reader or use an app on your phone or tablet instead. We've analysed the pros and cons of each option below.

Our guide on where to find free or cheap ebooks will help to keep even the biggest bookworms well supplied without spending a fortune.

Pros and cons of ebook readers

Pros

• The e-ink display of an ebook reader is designed to be easy on the eye, so you should be able to read even under direct sunlight
• Ebooks are designed to be light and slim – even lighter than the average paperback – and offer weeks of battery life at a time
• Ebook readers tend to be cheaper than smartphones and tablets, with basic models costing less than £70 
• The very latest Kindles support audiobooks and text-to-speech.

Cons 

• The black and white e-ink screens of ebook readers are less good at displaying images, or any content designed to be shown in colour
• Ebook readers offer a relatively poor web-browsing experience compared with tablets and smartphones, and some don't let you browse online at all.

Pros and cons of ebook reader apps

Pros

• The most popular ebook reader apps are often free, so you won't have to pay extra for an ebook reader to get access to a whole library of ebooks
• The screens of the best tablets and best phones are bright and colourful, and will display picture books and magazines better than an ebook reader
• Tablets and phones are versatile and able to browse the web, play videos and perform all kinds of other functions.

Cons 

• Battery life on tablets and phones is much lower than on ebook readers (hours versus weeks). So you might find yourself frequently running low on charge if you find a book you just can't put down
• Reading in bright light can be trickier, as sunlight tends to glare off the screen in a way that renders text unreadable, or causes eye strain.

Looking for a new tablet? We reveal the best iPad and tablet deals

How much should I spend on an ebook reader?

Ebook readers can cost as little as £85, but prices for the highest-end models can cost over £300. 

The basic software used and the books available will be the same across all models in a range. All Kindles, for example, can access exactly the same content, so if you're just after a cheap way of reading a few books on holiday, there's no need to spend more on a higher-end model. 

But as with any tech product, paying a bit more will get you more bells and whistles – such as more advanced backlights. We've highlighted some of the most useful features below.

Best ebook reader features to look for

• 4G connectivity: All ebook readers let you connect to the internet via wi-fi so you can download books and other content, but some Amazon Kindles also let you connect over 4G. For a higher upfront cost you get unlimited 4G connectivity for downloading ebooks and other items from Amazon's Kindle store.
  
• Advanced screen lights:  All current-generation Kobo and Kindle models come with LED backlights. Some models have lights that adapt to the time of day, so as it gets later the light will turn a warmer yellow (rather than the harsher, bluer light used during the daytime). This is said to aid sleep. Some models also have automatic brightness adjustments based on lighting conditions.
• Faster processors: Top-spec Kindle and Kobo ebook readers are faster than their cheaper siblings. This doesn't make a huge difference when reading books (although you might notice page changes are slightly speedier), but it can be handy if you use your ebook reader to browse the web or to navigate PDF documents with images.
• High-resolution screens The more you spend on an ebook reader, the higher the resolution of the screen (meaning it looks sharper), measured in 'pixels per inch' (ppi). Currently, all Amazon Kindle models have 300ppi.
• Larger screens: The largest current ebook reader is the Kobo Elipsa, with an 10.4-inch screen. Of course, a bigger screen doesn't automatically mean a better ebook reader, and you might prefer the compact size of a 6-inch model.
• More storage: Most people won't need more than 4GB of storage, and many won't even use half that. Upping your storage inevitably adds to the price (going from 8GB to 32GB), and only those planning to download lots of image-heavy content, such as comics and graphic novels, or audiobooks (Kindle only), are likely to need a lot. 
• Waterproof ebook readers: These devices will survive an unexpected rain shower or even a (brief) dip in the bath. We test all ebook readers with claimed waterproofing by plunging them in some soapy water. See more on how we test ebook readers.

How to read magazines and newspapers on ebook readers

Amazon has the advantage over Kobo in this regard, because none of Kobo's ebook readers allow users to easily download and view magazines and newspapers. 

It is possible to read magazines in PDF format if your magazine of choice provides PDF digital editions, but the experience is unlikely to be smooth or easy (see 'PDF files on ebook readers', below).

While it's handy that Kindles allow you to read magazines, their black-and-white screens mean images will lose some impact. But if you're only interested in the words, it's a useful feature to have.

The best way to read digital magazines is on a tablet, with apps such as Google Play, Readly and Apple Newsstand all offering premium magazines.

We've tested some decent tablets that are similarly priced to many ebook readers, so if you're looking for more versatility than you'll get from an ebook reader, take a look at our tablet reviews. 

PDF files on ebook readers

Both Kobo and Kindle devices accept PDF files, but because ebook readers aren't as powerful as tablets, the process of swiping through image-heavy documents can sometimes be sluggish.

If you're reading a PDF that contains lots of images, you'll have a better experience using an ebook reader with a large screen. If you're reading on a smaller device, such as the regular Kindle, turning the reader to landscape orientation can improve things, and you can also try zooming in.

Converting PDFs on Kindle

One really handy, and lesser-known, feature of Amazon Kindles is Send-To-Kindle. 

This feature allows you to email documents to your device so you can easily read them later. PDF files can also be converted to the AZW format (see below), meaning they'll work more smoothly and enable more features such as text-to-speech and the ability to change the font size. This will work best for purely text-based PDFs.

Send-To-Kindle also works for ePUB, Word, HTML, RTF, JPEG, MOBI, GIF, PNG and BMP format files, although these can't be converted to AZW format. 

For more on how to do this, visit Amazon's Send-To-Kindle help page.

Amazon Kindle and AZW files

All Amazon's ebook readers support the AZW format, which is exclusive to the Kindle range.

AZW files are capable of storing page bookmarks, and can remember where you got to in the book when you last read a particular title. They also allow you to use text-to-speech so the book can be read aloud to you, and you can adjust font type and size.

If you download an ebook from Amazon's store, the file will be DRM-restricted (locked to the account that bought it), so it can't be transferred between Kindle accounts unless you have activated Family Libraries. This shares books between different people in the same household. 

To find out more on Amazon's ebook reader range, head over to our guide on which Kindle should I buy.