Compare the Best E-Book ReadersAugust 2020

Benefit of an E-book reader over mobiles/tables

When e-readers were introduced, many people wondered - you have your phone/tablet with you already, why not just use that to read books, and save yourself having to carry around another device? A fair question, and e-readers have multiple advantages over using your phone:

That said, if you do want to read books on your phone/tablet, many of the major e-reader makers have apps for those devices, allowing you to start reading a book on one device and pick it up seamlessly on another, so you can have your literary cake and eat it too.

Wifi/4g Connectivity

Nearly all e-readers apart from the very cheap models will have some form of wifi connection to allow the device to connect to the internet to download new books. Some more expensive models will also have 3G connectivity, meaning it can connect to the net from anywhere, and doesn’t have to be on a known wifi network. This can be helpful since it allows you to buy and download new books from anywhere - even half-way round the world - as long as you have a cell phone signal.

Stores

The biggest difference between all the various ranges of e-readers is the online stores they have access to. This denotes what books you can buy at what price. Kindle’s only have access to the Amazon store, while the Kobo reader has it’s own store. Amazon is far-and-away the biggest of these stores, but it doesn’t contain everything - and some of it’s publishing policies rub people the wrong way. Other stores have their own positives and negatives, so it is worthwhile does a bit of checking to see if the store for your chosen reader has a good selection before you commit to buying it.

Backlights

One of the most helpful additions to e-readers is a backlight. While lacking in very cheap models, most mid-range readers have a light built into the screen, which allows you to read in low-light conditions. Many have several different levels of brightness as well - higher brightness can be helpful in certain situations, but lower brightness will help conserve battery power.

Waterproofing

Waterproofing is currently limited to a small collection of e-readers, but is immensely helpful if you can get it. Having a water-resistant device means that you can happily read everywhere from the beach to the bath, and don’t have to worry about damaging your device if it gets a bit damp.

E-Book Reader Prices

Ereaders range in price from $29 to $599 and in total we found prices for 19 ereaders. On average, a new ereader costs $189 and 80% of E-book readers are priced between $80 and $361. The cheapest E-book reader that we found is the Onyx Onyx Boox Max 2 at only $30, and the most expensive is the Kobo AURA One at $599.

Ereader Brands - Price Range

Icarus ereaders start at $361 and their most expensive E-reader costs $361. The highest average E-reader price out of all brands is Icarus ereaders with an average price of $361.

The second highest average E-reader price out of all brands is Onyx ereaders with an average price of $240. Onyx ereaders range in price from $30 to $450.

The average price of Kobo E-book readers is $232 which is the third highest average price of all E-book reader brands. Kobo E-book readers start at $80 and their most expensive E-book reader costs $599.

Ereader Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 803 expert reviews and 607 user reviews for E-book readers and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of E-book reader.

Biggest E-Reader Retailers

We found 8 current offers for ereaders from eBay making it the biggest E-reader retailer.

When Are Most New E-Readers Released?

We couldn't see any evident pattern in the release dates for new E-book readers over the last 3 years. In October 2019, one new ereaders were released making it the biggest month that year for new ereader releases. In 2018 most new E-readers were released in May, with three new E-readers released that month. July was the biggest month in 2017 for new E-book readers, with five new E-book readers released that month.

How Fast Do E-Book Reader Prices Drop After Release?

On average ereaders drop in price by 16% in the first 6 months after release.

That means a saving of $31 on a typical $189 new E-book reader if you wait 6 months before buying.

Weights

'Weight' denotes the weight of the e-reader, measured in grams (g).

Comparing all ereaders, the weights range from 110.2g to 550g. The weights of the majority of E-book readers range from 160g to 200g. The E-reader with the heaviest weight is the Onyx Onyx Boox Max 2, which is a 550g E-reader and is available at $29.99. The Amazon Kindle Oasis - 9th Gen, which sells for $200.00, has the lightest weight and is a 131g E-book reader.

Touchscreens

'Touchscreen' denotes whether the e-reader has touch capacity or not, meaning you can control the device by poking the screen, rather than manual controls.

Of the 79 new E-readers currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are ereaders with a touchscreen. 67 out of 79 are ereaders with a touchscreen.

Display Resolutions

'Display Resolution' denotes how many pixels make up the display of the e-reader.

Amongst new ereaders, the most popular display resolution is 800 x 600 pixels. We found 21 ereaders that are E-readers that have a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. We found 17 E-book readers that are E-book readers that have a resolution of 1024 x 758 pixels, making 1024 x 758 pixels the second most popular display resolution amongst new E-book readers.

Diagonals

'Diagonal' denotes the size of the e-reader, measured in inches from the top-left to bottom-right corner.

Comparing all E-book readers, the diagonals range from 5" to 13.3". The diagonals of the majority of E-readers range from 6" to 6.5". The ereader with the biggest diagonal is the Onyx Onyx Boox Max 2, which is a 13.3" E-book reader and is priced at $29.99. The Kobo Forma, which sells for $292.64, has the smallest diagonal and is a 6" E-book reader.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for E-Book Readers?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying E-book readers. For each retailer it shows the total number of E-book readers where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying E-book readers. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 4 of their ereader prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of E-Book Readers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for E-book readers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of E-book reader prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's E-book reader prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 50% of their E-reader prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.