Cheap kindle ebook reader

The new adjustable color temperature screen limits the blue light that filters through, which can help prevent eyestrain and sleep disruptions if you're reading at night. Prime Members can also enjoy a selection of free ebooks each month and library books are easy to download once you've linked your library card.

You can also pair the e-reader with Bluetooth headphones to listen to Audible audiobooks. Amazon updated its basic Kindle , and now that it has a front light, it's the perfect e-reader for anyone who is on a budget. Pros: It's affordable, big Kindle ebook store, long battery life, a good option for kids, front light lets you read in the dark. Amazon's basic Kindle is a great bargain.

It may not have the highest resolution screen or water resistance, but it's still a good e-reader for budget hunters and parents. After years of testing, this basic Kindle still performs perfectly and is a great reading device. The Kindle comes in both black and white colors. Although the white color is nice, we've found that the black one holds up better over time.

It's the lightest Kindle in Amazon's lineup, so it's very comfortable to hold while reading. The 6-inch screen isn't as crisp or bright as the Paperwhite's, so if you have a little more to spend, we recommend you upgrade to the Paperwhite. However, the basic Kindle's screen is just fine and the built-in front light lets you read at night without having to turn on the lights.

Amazon's Kindle ebook library has great variety. Prime Members also get a selection of free ebook titles each month and you can link your library card to borrow ebooks. Thanks to Bluetooth, you can listen to Audible books from it when you pair wireless headphones. The Kobo Clara HD is an affordable Kindle alternative that supports more ebook formats and has a blue light blocking mode to protect your eyes. If you want an affordable ebook reader that supports a wider variety of ebook formats, Kobo's Clara HD is the e-reader for you.

In my testing, this was the clear winner for an e-reader alternative for people who do not want to buy a Kindle. Its 6-inch screen has a ppi resolution so text is sharp and crisp, plus, the Clara features Kobo's special ComfortLight PRO tech, which reduces blue light so reading before bed doesn't disturb your sleep. The Clara HD weighs only grams, so I found it comfortable to hold for long reading periods. Some ebooks won't work, of course, so if you own titles from Amazon's Kindle store or Apple's iBooks store, don't buy this e-reader.

Otherwise, Kobo has its own bookstore with more than five million titles to supplement your collection. Borrowing from the library is also effortless, thanks to the app Overdrive, which is built into the e-reader.

Amazon's waterproof Kindle Paperwhite sits in the middle of the Kindle lineup with a sharp 6-inch screen and lots of excellent ebooks. Pros: Sharp screen, tons of ebooks in Kindle Store, lightweight design, grippy rubber finish, long battery life, Bluetooth for Audible audiobooks.

If you want a Kindle but you don't want to pay top dollar for the Kindle Oasis , the waterproof Kindle Paperwhite is the answer. It's less than half the price, and if you manage to grab it when it's on sale, you'll pay even less. The Paperwhite has a super sharp 6-inch E Ink screen that's great for reading. There aren't any page-turning buttons, so if you hate swiping to turn the page, you ought to get the Oasis instead. The grippy rubber finish makes it easy to hold for hours on end.

When we tested the new Paperwhite , we were impressed with the crisp screen and how bright it was. I still periodically use the Paperwhite to test it, and it's held up well over time. Amazon's Kindle ebook library is robust. Additionally, Prime Members can access a selection of free ebooks each month. Library books are also easy to download after linking a library card. It has Bluetooth as well, so you can listen to Audible books from the Paperwhite when you pair it with wireless headphones.

You can read in the bath with the water-resistant Kobo Forma and enjoy your favorite books on its big 8-inch screen. Pros: Water-resistant design, big screen, blue-light filter, supports EPUB formats, easy to get library books with OneDrive integration, supports graphic novels, and long battery life, page-turning buttons.

You'll want to get your hands on the Kobo Forma if you're not an Amazon user, you typically own EPUB ebooks, you enjoy reading graphic novels, or you want to have access to more file types on your e-reader. You're not limited to ebooks from Kobo's store, either.

The Forma even has the popular library app OneDrive pre-installed, so you can easily connect your library account on your e-reader. Perhaps the best thing about the Kobo Forma is that it is water-resistant enough to take in the bath or to the beach. The large 8-inch screen is crisp, sharp, and even offers a blue-light filter to help minimize the amount of blue light the screen emits.

This can help lessen eye strain and sleep disruptions. The Forma also has page-turning buttons like the Kindle Oasis, which make it easier to read one-handed. It's also the thinnest ebook-reader Kobo makes, so it's very portable. I've tested ebook readers since during my time as a tech journalist. Here are the other e-readers we considered for this guide, and why they didn't make the cut.

Kobo Libra H2O : Its 7-inch Carta E-Ink touchscreen is manageable to hold, and the screen is super sharp with a pixel-per-inch pixel density that mimics print. For parents, these kid-friendly features may be worth the extra money, but we still think the regular budget Kindle is good enough and it's cheaper.

Kobo Nia : The Kobo Nia is an affordable Kindle alternative that supports more ebook formats and comes with enough storage to hold up 6, ebooks. It's still a decent budget e-reader, but the resolution is lower, making the text less crisp, and it has a slower processor that can make searching for titles irritating.

The Nook is also more expensive than the entry-level Kindle and Kobo e-readers we recommend, but doesn't have any cool features to justify the extra money.

Sony Digital Paper : Sony's Digital Paper is an expensive, but intriguing inch e-reader that doubles as something of a smart notebook. It's more of a smart notebook than an e-reader, though, and the price makes us hesitate to recommend it, even though it is certainly cool. This one is 7. Older Kindles: Amazon has discontinued older Kindles like the Voyage, the 8th-gen Kindle without a backlight, and the original Oasis.

Since they're no longer available, we don't recommend them. To state the obvious, to test an e-reader, you need to read on it — a lot! But there is a lot more to it than just that. Here's what we look for when we test e-readers. First, we set up the e-readers and download ebooks on them from a variety of sources, including the built-in ebook store, the library, Project Gutenberg, PDFs, and articles online.

We note how easy or difficult the process is and we pay attention to the ebook selection available to ensure that popular titles and classics are readily available. Then, we read on them until we run out of battery, paying attention to how long that takes, using the brightness setting recommended by the manufacturer.

We then charge the e-readers and time how long they take to recharge. After that, we check how long the battery lasts when we read at whatever brightness we need for however long we like to see how the e-readers handle extreme book reading binges.

We also test special features like adjustable lighting, Bluetooth audiobooks, and so on. If an e-reader claims to be water resistant, we test the claim by dunking it in a tub of water for the time it's rated to withstand.

For further durability tests, we travel around with the e-readers in our work bags and travel bags without cases. We also drop them from the height of a bed, chair, and table to see how they handle falling. The most important test is obviously what it's like to read on the e-reader, but all these other factors matter, too. Kindle and Kobo are both excellent e-readers. They are fairly evenly matched in terms of features, book selection, and hardware pricing.

The main advantage of Kobo is that it supports the more readily available EPUB format natively, while Kindle does not.

It is also easier to borrow ebooks on a Kobo e-reader with OverDrive integration. If you do not want to buy ebooks from Amazon, you already have a collection of EPUB-format ebooks, or you prefer library books, Kobo is the better option for you.

Alternatively, if you already have Amazon's Kindle ebooks, Kindles are the better choice because Amazon's ebook format is not supported on the Kobo e-readers.

It is also really easy to get library books on Kindle, though it does take an extra step. If you read regularly, you should get an e-reader instead of a tablet. Not only do e-readers have E INK screens that are easier on the eye, but they also provide zero distractions from your reading material.

When you read on a tablet, it's easy to get distracted, go check email, hop on social media, and lose your focus while reading. E-readers also have longer battery life so you can read more between charges. However, know that all the platforms offer an app for iOS, Android, and more, which means you can put down an e-reader before you go to bed and continue reading on your phone, tablet, or computer during a lunch break.

Kobo's e-readers are the best e-readers for library books. They have a library book borrowing app called OverDrive installed so it's super easy to download library books for free. However, it is also very easy to borrow ebooks on a Kindle, too. It just takes a few extra steps. The Kindle is the cheapest ebook reader we recommend in our guide. Yes, there are a few, but they are harder to find and buy in the US. Color e-readers are still in their infancy and the colors displayed do not rival those of the LCD or OLED screens on phones and tablets.

The site Good EReader lists several color e-reader options, some of which you can buy through its online store. I have not yet tested any of these e-readers. Why you should buy this: You already have a library of Kindle e-books, use your e-book reader for audiobooks, or just love the WhisperSync feature. So what makes it such a great device? Featuring a beautiful 7-inch display, a pixel density of pixels per inch, and well-placed navigation buttons, the Kindle Oasis revels in an excellent design.

Overdrive has a simple interface that lets you send e-books to your Kindle over the internet — no plugging in required. You can also highlight passages from your favorite books and share them on social media, look up the meaning of words, and get context for fictional and nonfictional characters, places, settings, and more through a feature called X-Ray.

As far as new features go, the Kindle Oasis has a color-adjustable front light. Sadly, it still only accepts select e-book formats — you can read EPUB files, but it requires some manual work. Kobo has made a few improvements on the design from the previous Kobo Libra H2O, smoothing out the harsher edges and adding a more svelte style. The aforementioned page buttons can be used to turn pages without swiping the screen handy for wet fingers , and can be used after rotating the device whichever way your prefer.

The Libra 2 is fully waterproof, so you can read in the bath without worrying about water ruining your experience. Why you should buy this: The updated Kindle Paperwhite offers unrivalled value for money, thanks to top-tier features at a reasonable price. How could we not? Why should you be excited about USB-C? It means a faster charging speed, but the biggest reason to celebrate is because it potentially cuts down on the number of cables you need to have ready at any one time.

The display changes brightness automatically, and comes with a blue light filter for night-time reading. But if price is a real sticking factor, than the basic Kindle is also excellent — or, wait for a sales event, as Kindles are often heavily slashed in price during these events.

The battery is large enough that you should get around a month of reading from a single charge. This feature uses red and orange LEDs to illuminate the screen without the need for blue light, which can cause trouble sleeping.

Just like the Libra 2, the Kobo Clara HD is compatible with many more formats than Kindle e-book readers, giving you the freedom to purchase your e-books directly from the publisher, as well as dozens of other third-party retailers. Over the years, Amazon introduced new types of Kindle devices, from the basic Kindle to the Kindle Oasis, which comes with more features, like water resistance and a blue light filter. Amazon also launched a line of tablets under the Kindle Fire branding — which confused many, as Kindle Fires are not e-book readers, but Android-based tablets.

A Nook is an e-book reader from Barnes Noble, a large U. Like Amazon, the company also has a line of Nook Tablets that run Android, but the Nook originally launched as an e-book reader with an electronic paper screen.