Top 7 Best eReaders of 2019 – Review and Comparison

Despite that, the days of Amazon Kindle being the only eReader option are long gone. The market now offers other alternatives, however not as many as we would like to. Given the alternatives available – should you still go for a Kindle or there is a better fit for you?

We have reviewed multiple ebook readers and have shortlisted five of the best eReaders of 2019 in each price category and highlighted their cons and pros. At the end of the article, you will find a quick table summarising eReader features in details or a quick summary table right below.

Best eReader 2019 – Top 6 Quick Comparison

If you are short on time and not able to go through the detailed description of all the ebook readers in our review, we have prepared a table summarizing the most important aspects you need to know to make your decision. If you need a more detailed comparison, you will find it in the table at the bottom of this page.

Image	Screen size / Storage / Page Turn Controls / Battery Life
	Best Kindle Ever Made – Kindle Oasis (Editor’s Choice)	Check Price
	The best Amazon Kindle to date. Great build quality, waterproof, ergonomic design and the richest set of features in the Kindle range.
	7″ 8 / 32 GB Touch + buttons < 6 weeks
	Best Value Kindle – Kindle Paperwhite	Check Price
	Great all-around mid-level Kindle that has all the features to make an average reader happy. Best battery life amongst Kindles.
	6″ 8 / 32 GB Touch < 8 weeks
	Best Kindle Paperwhite Alternative – Kobo Clara HD	Check Price
	A very capable and lightweight eBook reader with a comfortable grip, adjustable backlight and a crisp HD screen. Almost identical in price and features to the latest Kindle Paperwhite, but uses Kobo ecosystem.
	6″ 8 GB Touch < 4 weeks
	Best eReader Overall – Kobo Aura One	Check Price
	Premium eReader with the second biggest screen in our review. Crisp and hi-resolution display quality. Feature packed and supports almost all digital book formats that exist.
	7.8″ 8 GB Touch < 4 weeks
	Best Value eReader – Nook Glowlight 3 (Editor’s Choice)	Check Price
	One of the best budget eBook readers around. Lightweight design, rubber coating, and physical page flip buttons set a new ergonomic benchmark in the budget segment.
	6″ 8 GB Touch + buttons < 6 weeks
	Best Large Sceen – Kobo Forma	Check Price
	The best large screen eReader that is also one of the lightest we have ever tested. Packed with features and supports both portrait and landscape modes.
	8″ 8 GB Touch + buttons < 6 weeks

Top 6 eBook Readers
Best Kindle Ever Made – Kindle Oasis (Editor’s Choice) The best Amazon Kindle to date. Great build quality, waterproof, ergonomic design and the richest set of features in the Kindle range. 7″ 8 or 32 GB Touch + buttons < 6 weeks View on Amazon
Best Value Kindle – Kindle Paperwhite Great all-around mid-level Kindle that has sufficient feature set to make an average reader happy. Best battery life amongst Kindles. 6″ 8 or 32 GB Touch < 8 weeks View on Amazon
Best Kindle Paperwhite Alternative – Kobo Clara HD A very capable eBook reader with a comfortable grip, automatically adjustable backlight, lightweight design and a crisp HD screen. Almost identical in price and features with the latest Kindle Paperwhite, but uses Kobo ecosystem. 6″ 8 Gb Touch < 4 weeks View on Amazon
Best eReader Overall – Kobo Aura One Premium eReader with the second biggest screen in our review. Crisp and hi-resolution display quality. Supports almost all digital book formats that exist. 7.8″ 8 GB Touch < 4 weeks View on Amazon
Best Value eReader – Nook Glowlight 3 (Editor’s Choice) One of the best budget eBook readers around. Lightweight design, rubber coating, and physical page flip buttons set a new ergonomic benchmark in the segment. 6″ 8 Gb Touch + buttons < 6 weeks View on Amazon
Best Large Screen – Kobo Forma The best large screen eReader that is also one of the lightest we have ever tested. Packed with features and supports both portrait and landscape modes. 8″ 8 GB Touch + buttons < 6 weeks View on Amazon

1. Best Amazon Kindle Ever Made – Oasis 2

The bump that forms the tapered design serves two purposes. It is your handle for one-hand reading as well as the expanded compartment for a bigger battery. Amazon claims that the battery allows for three weeks of reading given the 1-hour a day reads. Based on our testing, this claims appears to be true.

The Kindle Oasis features the biggest 7″ screen of any other Amazon Kindles. With 300 points per inch, the display quality is crisp and clear. The bigger screen gives you an additional paragraph (on average) per page which results in fewer page flips. It also makes the picture books and comics appear a lot more readable.

It is also the first Kindle made to get an IPX8 certification, which allows it to be submerged (up to six feet deep) in freshwater for up to an hour.

The e-reader comes with a number of fancy yet super practical features. First, it has a physical button to turn pages. Yes, this may be going back in time, yet when your hands are wet, unlike touchscreen, it works like a charm. In fact, after the prolonged use, we found ourselves using the button all the time as it is just so much more comfortable than a touchscreen.

Secondly, it has the ability to listen to your Audible audiobooks, which is simply amazing. I found myself using both as I am one of those readers who doesn’t have a strong format preference and likes switching between e-books and audiobooks. If you are like me, keep in mind that you would also need to have a pair of Bluetooth headphones as there is no 3.5mm jack.

Thirdly, it features the new adaptive 12-LED front light which automatically changes the brightness based on the environment. This is especially handy when reading at dusk or dawn time, indoors or outdoors.

Lastly, the white-on-black view feature which reverses the colors and makes the font white and background black may appeal to some. This is definitely not the feature for everyone, but I can see some people finding it very useful.

The innovative features listed above are actually not that innovative as most of them we have previously seen on Kobo Aura One, we do think however that Amazon has done a great job of taking those features and bringing them into the Amazon ecosystem.

Bottom Line

The Kindle Oasis is the “Rolls Royce” of e-readers and the best Amazon Kindle e-reader the money can buy. It is ergonomically designed, well built, lasts long and has all the features you could ever expect from an ebook reader which makes it one of the best eReaders on the market. In fact, its only competition in terms of features is Kobo Aura One, but practically, it is not big enough in the US to compete with Amazon dominant market share. According to the e-book sales report, Amazon has 83% of the ebook market with Kobo taking only 0.3%. We like both e-readers equally well, but being in the US, we think it still makes more sense to be part of the Amazon’s ecosystem than Kobo’s.

2. Best Value Kindle – Kindle Paperwhite 4

The e-reader looks and feels sturdy and solid. The back has plenty of grip making it quite comfortable to hold with one hand. 

In short, the main improvements are the larger storage capacity, lighter and thinner body, waterproof design, and Amazon Audible integration.

The fourth generation Kindle Paperwhite features a glare-free display found in the ex-flagship Kindle Voyage models. It uses a 6-inch Carta E Ink HD touchscreen display with 300 pixels per inch density. The benefit of the E Ink screen is the improved energy efficiency, which gives Kindle Paperwhite up to 8 weeks of use on a single charge.

It also makes it one of the most energy efficient e-readers on the market today. To further push the energy efficiency or to adjust your comfort level you can change the level of lightning produced by four built-in LEDs. The backlight, however, is not as evenly distributed as on Kindle Voyage or Kindle Oasis which have 8 and 12 backlight LEDs respectively.

The internal memory capacity has received a welcome boost from 4Gb to 8Gb or 32Gb. In practice, the latter can fit up to 150 Audible audiobooks which would be plenty for an average user.

Just like its bigger brother Kindle Oasis, Kindle Paperwhite now features a waterproof design and IPX8 certification. It allows the ebook reader to be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes, so you can now easily take it to the beach or enjoy it by the poolside.

Lastly, the most significant change, in our opinion is Bluetooth support. With its help, you can listen to audiobooks by connecting Bluetooth Speakers or Wireless Headphones to it.

Kindle Paperwhite also comes with updated software including the new Bookerly font. The font was specifically designed for use on digital devices with improved character spacing, justification, kerning, hyphenation and capital letter support. It supposedly allows the user to read faster and reduce eyestrain.

Talking about drawbacks, the main complaint with Kindle Paperwhite, and all Kindles for that matter is their total dependency on Amazon’s ecosystem.

I still don’t quite understand why Amazon would not make it easy for us and integrate the support for ePub files which would allow reading free books, including the ones from Google. Don’t get me wrong – you can install a third party application to achieve that, but should it be that hard?

Bottom Line

The Kindle Paperwhite is not the most sophisticated e-reader, but it is a great all-rounder and has everything an average ebook reader needs. Build quality is solid, screen resolution is fantastic and the battery life is amongst the best out there. It is also quite comfortable despite being the heaviest Amazon Kindle in the line. If the additional ounce of weight is a deal breaker, then there are other options to chose from, otherwise, with $40 more than the basic Kindle and tons of extra features, the Kindle Paperwhite is worth every penny.

3. Best Kindle Paperwhite Alternative – Kobo Clara HD

The eReader is very comfortable to hold over long periods of time due to its ergonomic and lightweight design. With only 166 grams on the scale, Kobo Clara HD is the lightest ebook reader in our review.

Despite being a budget ebook reader, it features an impressive three to four weeks of battery life given an hour a day use.

Similarly to Nook Glowlight 3, Kobo Clara HD features a ComfortLight PRO – color changing LCD backlight. The smart technology allows you to adjust the color temperature setting to suit your liking and environment. You can pick a color between a standard blue and softer yellow backlight. In addition, the backlight can dynamically change color based on the time of day and the amount of light available.

Borrowing eBooks from your local library has also been made easier with a new software update. If your library has Overdrive, you can see the contents of the library on your device. If a book is available you will be able to borrow it virtually by downloading it. Conversely, Kobo Clara HD has a smaller library (over 5 million books) than Amazon but it appears that most books we’ve checked are available on both marketplaces.

Bottom Line

Kobo Clara HD is the lightest eReader in our review. Despite being a budget eBook reader, it comes with all the important features. The adaptive LCD backlight is smart and can automatically adjust the display color temperature based on the environment to ensure the least amount of strain is put on your eyes. If you are looking for a non Amazon e-reader with comparable features to Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Clara HD is an amazing alternative that is worth having a good look at.

 

4. Best Ebook Reader Overall – Kobo Aura One

Kobo Aura One features a 7.8″ screen with simply amazing display quality. With 1872 x 1404 resolution and 300 pixels per inch – it packs more pixels than any other e-reader on the market. The text is crisp whether you use it in the shade or in the sun. Though the screen size may not appeal to everyone, I personally found it to be perfect for my reading experience.

It is also quite enjoyable to use at night time. The Aura One has an integrated backlight which automatically adapts to your environment. Although it works and it works well, I feel the backlight is not evenly spread with more light being available at the bottom of the screen.

One of the newer additions is the night mode, which gives your screen an orange shade to reduce the strain on your eyes. This may not be for everyone, yet some users may find it quite useful.

The user interface is slick, clean and intuitive. The home screen displays the details of the current book you are reading as well as articles that you have saved in your Pocket account. Overall, it feels more user-friendly and informative compared to Kindle e-readers.

The biggest advantage that Aura One has over any Kindle e-reader is the support of open ebook formats such as ePub, PDF or Mobi. It allows you to host all your ebooks in one place irrespective of where they came from.

The areas where the Aura One seems to underperform is actually the Kobo’s ecosystem. It is not as dynamic, offer-rich or complete. it also appears to be less competitive in terms of the price compared to Amazon (at least the books I’ve checked).

In terms of battery life, the Aura One can last up to a month on a single charge. This is not the most outstanding result we have seen, yet more than sufficient for a practical use.

Whilst Kobo e-readers are still making their name in the US, I think they deserve a lot more attention than they currently have. Part of the reason is the dependency on the eco-system which is not as mature as Amazon’s. Before you make a decision to buy Aura One, I suggest you drop by their online store and check the books you are interested in. Make sure that not only the selection is there but also the prices are being competitive. I found some books to be more and some to be less expensive than on Amazon.

Bottom Line

The Aura One is a great ebook reader with an outstanding build quality, crisp screen and slick user interface. It is also one of the most feature-rich e-readers on the market which also delivers one of the best reading experiences out there. The downside is the ecosystem that is still not as rich and as refined as Amazons. At the same time, if the Kobo’s store and the eco-system, in general, is not amongst your priorities the Aura One is the best e-reader the money can buy today.

5. Best Value eReader – Nook GlowLight 3

The Nook Glowlight 3 features a 300 ppi screen which we have previously seen in Nook Glowlight Plus. The display quality is crisp and has a real paperback book feel. The screen is complemented by an advanced backlight system which has 7 white and 6 yellow LED lights. Not only the 13 LEDs result in an even light distribution across the screen, they also allow the e-reader to change the tone from cool white to warm orange in order to make your night reading experience more pleasant. The tone adjustment can be done manually or you could let the Nook Glowlight 3 seamlessly adjust it for you. It does not have the ambient light sensors to control the tone level, as it uses the timezones and time of the day instead. The large screen bezel initially looked dated to us, yet we have quickly changed our minds as soon as we have started using it. The thicker bezel has actually allowed the placement of two physical page turn buttons on each side. Tapping the buttons flips the pages forward or backward, whereas double tapping flips the whole chapters. We have actually liked those buttons so much, that despite it being such a simple feature – it made all the difference for us. The Nook Glowlight 3 also comes with an updated software which improves the user experience. The user interface has adopted a flat design coupled with higher resolution graphics. The book shopping experience has also been improved and became quite robust and clean. The e-reader has the Barnes and Noble Readouts integrated, which allows the readers to discover new books by featuring author interviews, previews and free content. It also supports EPUB format which opens the door to so many free ebooks out there. Like any device, the Nook Glowlight 3 has its flaws. Although it supports the PDF format, the experience it delivers is poor and inconsistent. The e-reader takes too long to respond to the zoom commands or sometimes does not even register them. If you are planning to extensively use PDF files, the Nook Glowlight 3 is probably a suboptimal choice.

Bottom Line

Overall, the rubbery coating, lightweight design and thick bezel with physical buttons have created an exceptional level of comfort and ergonomics. The reading experience is also great, especially at night. The e-reader works equally well with the books downloaded from the free public resource or Barnes & Noble library. The comfort light feature is truly an icing on the cake, which completes the Nook Glowlight 3 as one of the best e-readers for internal use we have ever reviewed. In fact, if we had to put the ecosystem preference to the side, we found Nook Glowlight 3 to provide a more pleasant reading experience than Kindle Paperwhite, which is quite a statement to make.

6. Best Large Screen eReader – Kobo Forma

Kobo Forma is a worthy successor that brings a couple of innovative and handy concepts to the eBook reader world.

First, it features a large brand new display that supports 1440 × 1920 resolution and boasts 8″ of real estate. Despite the biggest screen in the lineup, Kobo Forma strikes the best screen size and weight ratio we have seen in eBook readers. The display uses both Carta HD and Mobius technology which is not common as manufacturers tend to pick one or the other. Utilizing both technologies allowed Kobo Forma to deliver an extremely crisp image quality, yet remain surprisingly lightweight at 197 grams and thin at 0.17 inches.

The eReader also comes with an innovative backlight system that is able to change the color temperature and the color itself. You can pick between blue, white or yellow to adapt to the environment and make it easier on your eyes, especially when reading in the dark. The option to change colors may sound unnecessary at first, yet when you start using it, you will find it hard to revert to the standard white Kindle backlight. In addition, the quality of the backlight is significantly better than any Kindle made so far.

Another handy feature is the built-in gyroscope that allows the reader to flip between portrait and landscape modes automatically by changing the eReader’s orientation. Alternatively, you can lock the orientation to disable the gyroscope.

Most eReaders allow users to control the text format by using presets that change line spacing, font size and margins. Kobo Forma takes the text format customization to a whole new level as each parameter can be fine tuned using individual sliders.

When the eBook reader was designed a careful consideration was given to PDF and EPUB format support, which Kobo managed to execute almost flawlessly. In addition, the CBR and CBZ file type support is great and allows manga, graphic novels and comic books to be displayed clean and well formatted.

The rapid page turn system, first seen on Kobo Aura One Limited Edition, has also been incorporated into Kobo Forma. The system allows fast page turns by dragging your finger from the right or left part of the screen into the center and holding it down. Despite page turns being quick, the text on pages being flipped is always clean and readable.

Lastly, Kobo Forma features a unique Overdrive integration and Pocket support. It allows users to browse local book libraries and make them available on the eReader. Pocket, however, allows website and blog content to be pushed on to the eReader. That can be achieved using the Pocket browser extension that is available for all major browsers.

Bottom Line

Kobo Forma is the new flagship in the Kobo’s lineup and rightly so. It has all the features you can expect a premium eReader to have. It is waterproof, extremely light, has an amazingly clear display and allows you to customize your reading experience like no other eReader on the market.  It will best fit people that consume lots of graphic content, read for hours on end, especially in low or no light conditions. It does come with a hefty price tag though, but some will find it worth every penny.

Best Ebook Rader – Detailed Feature Comparison

	Kindle Oasis	Kindle Paperwhite	Kobo Clara HD	Kobo Aura One	Nook Glowlight 3
Screen Size	7″	6″	6″	7.8″	6″
Resolution	300 ppi	300 ppi	300 ppi	300 ppi	300 ppi
Storage	8 or 32Gb	8 or 32Gb	8Gb	8Gb	8Gb
Built-in Light	12 LEDs	4 LEDs	8 LEDs	8 LEDs	13 LEDs
Page Turns	Touchscreen + button	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Touchscreen + buttons
Battery Life	< 6 weeks	< 8 weeks	< 4 weeks	< 4 weeks	< 6 weeks
Connectivity	Wi-Fi + Cellular	Wi-Fi + Cellular	Wi-Fi + Cellular	Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi
Waterproof	IPX8	IPX8	No	IPX8	No
EPUB support	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audible	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Weight	6.8 oz	6.8 oz	5.8 oz	8.11 oz	6.5 oz
Dimensions	6.3 x 5.6 x 0.33″	6.6 x 4.6 x 0.3″	6.3 x 4.3 x 0.3″	7.7 × 5.5 × 0.27″	6.9 × 5 × 0.4″
SCORE	9	8.6	8.5	8.5	8.8

Ebook Reader or Tablet?

Although some may question the eReader practicality and debate about eReader vs tablet thinking that if you have the former, you do not need the latter.

We actually disagree, as we believe the two devices have been intentionally designed for two different purposes and should not be compared as equivalents. There are multiple reasons that make eReaders a better reading choice in 2019:

• Screen designed for easy reading and less eyestrain
• Glare resistant
• Water resistant (some models)
• Lighter and cheaper than a tablet
• Long battery life (weeks long)
• Book-like feel when reading

Overall, if it is reading you are after, no tablet can really beat an eBook reader and we can help you pick the best eReader 2019 has on offer. 

If you would like to watch an expanded version of the differences between eBook Readers and Tablets, see the video below:

How to chose the best eBook Reader?

There are a number of factors you would need to consider when buying an eReader. Below I have listed some handy tips for you to consider.

Screen Size

It appears that the market has established the 6″ screen size to be the most popular amongst the readers. But don’t worry, if your screen size preferences are different, we have more options on our list that we would be happy to recommend.

Outdoor use

If you are someone who likes reading outside, then sun glare and the water exposure may be necessary to you. If you love reading out on a sunny day, then having a screen that is glare resistant is a must. If on top of that you like reading on the beach or next to a pool, then some level of water resistance would be highly recommended.

Connection

Most eReaders these days come with Wi-Fi, so I’d be staying away from the ones that don’t. The question is more about whether you need the cellular internet connection or not. I personally do not find this feature useful, as I never run out of books to read while on the move. In fact, I tend to upload the books on my eReader way in advance. For the ones that do need to download books while on the go – the cellular internet connection would be required.

Ecosystem

The downside of ebooks is that there are multiple different formats as there is no universally agreed format amongst the publishers yet. This means that your Kindle ebook would not work on Kobo‘s or Barnes & Noble‘s ebook reader devices and vice versa.

There are also free or open formats such as ePub. You may know, but Google, for example, offers over a million free books in that format. This is great, but if you are a Kindle user – ePub is not supported as Amazon only allows books from the Amazon ecosystem to be used. There are ways around it by using a third-party application, yet natively the ePub support does not come with Kindles.

We suggest that you start by browsing the online stores such as Amazon, Kobo or Barnes & Noble to make sure that the types of books you like reading are available there. It is also handy to compare the prices to ensure you are getting a good deal as they vary between the stores.

eBook Apps

If you are planning to read books on multiple devices, such as your phone or tablet, then you need to ensure that there is an ebook reader app available for your device.

Price

Although the prices for eReaders have recently fallen, the price range is still significant. There are now eReaders available on the market for under $100, whereas the premium models can get close to $300. As most of the time, the price is driven by the features available, so you need to make sure that you are not buying an eReader that has some cool features that you will never use.

eBook Reader Formats – Which eBook Reader Supports What?

One of the main things you want to get right when picking the best eReader for yourself is to make sure it can read your file types. The truth is that there are close to 30 different file types, and most ebook readers would not support all of them. Below is the breakdown of Kindle and Kobo e-readers and the file formats they natively support.

Kindle

• Kindle Format 8 (AZW3)
• TXT
• PDF
• unprotected MOBI
• Kindle (AZW)
• PRC

File types such as HTML, GIF, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, BMP, and PNG files can be supported, but require conversion. Although EPUB files type is not natively supported, you can convert it to a supported file type. At the same time, the process is cumbersome, and it breaks Digital Rights Management. Lastly, Apple iBooks are not supported.

Kobo

• PDF
• MOBI
• JPEG
• GIF
• PNG
• EPUB
• EPUB3
• TXT
• HTML
• RTF
• BMP
• TIFF
• CBZ
• CBR

As you see, Kobo e-readers support most ebook file types with exception of Apple iBooks and Kindle files. No other ebook reader out there has such a wide ebook reader file support.

Frequently Asked Questions