The Best Kindles to Take Your Library Anywhere

Medea Giordano

We love Kindles here at WIRED. They're simple, reliable, and perfect at what they do--in one palm-sized device, you can bring thousands of books with you to the park or mountain, and they get a month of battery life per charge. You can subscribe to get unlimited books from Amazon or get free books from your local library (more on those below). But what's the best Kindle? Our guide will help you decode the differences.

Be sure to check our many other buying guides, including the Best E-Readers, Best Fire Tablets, and Best Alexa Speakers.

Updated April 2023: We condensed information on identifying and trading in older Kindle models. We've also updated prices and links throughout.

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We think most people will like the Paperwhites the best. The step-up, waterproof e-reader went from one to three models, and they rival the more expensive Oasis. We tried the Signature Edition (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but all three have bigger, 6.8-inch screens with smaller bezels. The screens are brighter overall at their max and have adjustable warm lighting, but only the Signature can auto-adjust that brightness to your surroundings--we think that should be standard across all models. Its faster page-turn rate means there's no delay while you read.

The Signature has 32 gigabytes of storage and the Standard has 8 gigs. That's a big difference, but you can still read and store a lot of books with 8 gigabytes (around 5,000). If you mostly listen to audiobooks, you may want to go for the Signature, since those tend to take up more room. Still, if you want to save some cash, just clean out your backlog; you can remove a book from your device without deleting it entirely from your Amazon account. The 2021 Paperwhites all have USB-C charging, but the Signature supports wireless charging.

The difference between Kindle models is not as stark anymore, so you'll probably be happy with whatever price point you prefer. This base Kindle was finally updated in 2022 and is the cheapest one at $100. It's the smallest of the lot at 6.2 inches tall and 4.3 inches wide, with a 6-inch screen (the same screen size as the new Kindle Kids). If you find tablets too cumbersome to hold with one hand, consider this one.

The price increased by $10 from the last version, but it doubled the storage from 8 gigabytes to 16, and the screen is a 300-pixel-per-inch (PPI) resolution versus the old one's 197 PPI. It gets the same USB-C port for charging as the Paperwhite models, and it charges quickly. However, it's not waterproof, and it doesn't get warm lighting or auto-adjusting light.

There's no practical reason to buy a $270 ebook reader. (You can save $20 if you agree to have ads, but at this price, you don't want them.) Sure, the Oasis is an absolute joy to use, but it costs the same as three standard Kindles. Many of the Oasis' features now show up in the new Paperwhites, like adjustable warm lighting, water resistance, and a faster processor. At 7 inches, the touchscreen is only slightly bigger too. It still has a sleek aluminum design with a ridge on one edge and physical buttons to turn the pages. These make it ideal for one-handed reading. The light-up display also looks a little more natural and automatically adjusts the brightness.

If you're investing in a Kindle this expensive, you may also want the premium leather cover to complete that luxe feel. On the downside, it's too large to fit in many pockets. If your library includes a ton of audiobooks, you'll want the 32-gigabyte option, which is $30 more.

The 2021 Paperwhites include a Kids Edition, which brings a bigger and sleeker screen, more lighting options, and IPX8 water resistance for the first time over the original Kindle Kids Edition. The rest of the features are pretty much the same as the new Kindle Paperwhite, except you'll get a year's subscription to Amazon Kids+, a kid-friendly content library with parental controls. (You can access the same platform across other Amazon devices, like Fire Tablets or Echo speakers.) It also comes with a case and a two-year no-questions-asked replacement guarantee. If your kid smashes it just once, you get your money back. If you're going to get your kid an entertainment device, an ebook reader that doesn't have access to social media is a safer choice. There is a web browser, but it's restricted by default (you can completely disable it too). There are 8- and 16-gigabyte storage options

? A Cheaper Alternative With More Storage: The newest base Kindle Kids ($120) is cheaper than the 8-gig Paperwhite Kids, but for 16 gigabytes (that's also double what the original Kids Edition was). But this one isn't waterproof if you think that will be a problem with your kiddos, and there's no adjustable warm lighting.

Jason Barlow

Reece Rogers

Adrienne So

Adrienne So

We like that Kindles excel at their one function, but the newest Scribe adds an additional use, writing, thanks to the included pen. With it, there's no lag, and the outcome looks as similar to your handwriting as it can. It's already a pricey reader at $340, but you can spend an additional $30 for the premium pen that includes an eraser on the opposite end; it's helpful and makes writing feel more effortless and akin to writing with a real pencil. The pen sticks magnetically to the right side.

The enormous 10.2-inch screen is ideal for taking notes, marking up PDFs, or doodling and there are numerous paper formats you can choose like college-ruled or dotted. The screen size does make reading easy too, especially if you need to increase the font size, but it takes away some of its portability if you prefer to keep an e-reader in your pocket or small purse. There are 16-, 32-, and 64-gigabyte options. Weirdly, it's not waterproof like the other pricier Kindles. We've tried other e-ink tablets for writing on, too, but this is probably the best (and cheapest) option.

Kindles are, thankfully, not as fragile as our pricey smartphones, but you may still want to add a cover to protect the screen if you're frequently throwing it in a bag. We haven't tried non-Amazon branded covers yet, but we will soon. These are meant mostly to protect the screen and add some protection from minor bumps, but they're not padded for serious drops. If you get a Kids Edition, those come with a case already.

The fabric covers for the Base Kindel ($30), Paperwhite ($35), and Oasis ($40) open like a book and come in some variation of black, blue, pink, or green. All but the Oasis one is made from post-consumer recycled fabric.

If you've upgraded to the Scribe ($60), that case flips up and over like a notepad, and you can position it into a stand too. There's also a slot for the pen if you don't want it to be attached magnetically all the time. This one is also made with recycled materials.

Have an old Kindle lying around--or are looking at a used one for sale--and aren't sure which one it is? This Amazon page includes photos, specs, and release years for the entire lineup. Once you know which one you have, you may be able to trade it in for credit toward a newer model.

Most old models probably still work, just with fewer bells and whistles. We think it's best to avoid Kindles with keyboards or any other physical buttons--page-turn buttons on the latest Oasis are OK.

Some older Kindles lost the ability to browse, purchase, or borrow new books directly from the device. However, you'll still be able to do so on Amazon.com on your computer or phone and have it sent to your Kindle, which is a better experience anyway. According to the company, the models affected are the Kindle 2nd Generation (International), Kindle DX International, Kindle DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4th Generation, and Kindle 5th Generation.

Jason Barlow

Reece Rogers

Adrienne So

Adrienne So

You may be surprised at the cost of some Kindle books (I was), but there are ways to save some money while reading as much as your heart desires.

You may want to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $10 a month. You can only choose from the Unlimited catalog, but there are millions of titles there, including audiobooks and magazines. There's a 30-day free trial you should take advantage of.

If you already pay for a Prime account, you're eligible for some free books through Prime Reading. There are not as many options as with Kindle Unlimited, and in a lot of cases you'll see both Unlimited and Prime options lumped together, so you'll have to look closely to find the free ones. But it's still something, and there are even some magazines included.

But if you don't want another monthly subscription and don't want to continue giving your money to Amazon, take advantage of ebooks available with your library card. Browsing a digital catalog is not as magical as spending an afternoon looking over every shelf in a library, but such is the ebook life (no one says you can't read both!). We have a detailed how-to on this that you should check out, but here are some of the takeaways:

If you know someone else with a Kindle, you can lend books between your libraries, just as you would with a physical copy. Follow these instructions from Amazon to do so, and keep in mind not all books can be loaned.

Kindles have helpful features that you may want to take advantage of it. Long-press a word or phrase to see its definition, highlight it, or take notes. You can also search the entire book for that particular word or phrase or translate it to or from other languages.

Word Wise shows short definitions in small text within the lines. Unfortunately, it's not available for all books, but when it is, you can turn it on or off and choose more and fewer hints. Clicking the short definition opens a longer one from Word Wise and the New Oxford American Dictionary or Oxford Dictionary of English (you can switch between the two), plus translations, and a Wikipedia page, if applicable.

While reading, tap the top of the screen and click "Aa" to change font size or type--there's even a font called OpenDyslexic that helps make reading easier for people with dyslexia. You can control margin sizes and line spacing from that menu too.

When a Kindle is connected to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, VoiceView Screen Reader (accessed through Settings > Accessibility) allows you to use gestures to navigate your device and reads aloud what you've pressed. It will also read a book aloud, though it doesn't sound nearly as nice as an audiobook does.

Amazon owns Goodreads, so it syncs seamlessly to Kindles (press the three-dot menu > Goodreads). If you have a Goodreads account, you can review the Kindle books you've read or browse your bookshelf and recommendations. Long-pressing a word or phrase, in addition to what is mentioned above, opens up an option to share quotes directly to Goodreads.

There's a web browser too if you're connected to the internet (three-dot menu > Web Browser). It's not the best, so I'd reserve it for emergency searches.

David Nield

Lauren Goode

Justin Pot

Reece Rogers

Reece Rogers

Jason Barlow

Reece Rogers

Adrienne So

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