Compare the Best E-Book ReadersSeptember 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.

Ereader Prices

We currently list 19 E-book readers ranging from $29 to $599. A new E-reader costs on average $183 and 80% of E-book readers are priced between $45 and $361. The most expensive E-book reader that we found is the Kobo AURA One at $599, and the cheapest is the Onyx Onyx Boox Max 2 at only $30.

Ereader Brands - Price Range

The highest average E-book reader price out of all brands is Icarus E-readers with an average price of $361. Icarus E-readers range in price from $361 to $361.

The second highest average ereader price out of all brands is Kobo E-book readers with an average price of $240. Kobo E-book readers range in price from $79 to $599.

The third highest average E-book reader price out of all brands is Pocketbook ereaders with an average price of $240. Pocketbook ereaders start at $215 and their most expensive E-book reader costs $265.

E-Reader Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 816 expert reviews and 613 user reviews for E-readers and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of E-book reader.

Biggest Ereader Retailers

The biggest E-book reader retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 12 current E-book reader offers from eBay.

When Are Most New E-Readers Released?

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

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

On average E-readers drop in price by 16% in the first 6 months after release.

If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $30 on a typical $183 new ereader by waiting 6 months before buying.

Weights

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

Comparing all E-readers, the weights range from 110.2g to 550g. The weights of the majority of ereaders range from 160g to 200g. The Onyx Onyx Boox Max 2, which currently retails for $29.99, has the heaviest weight and is a 550g E-book reader. The ereader with the lightest weight is the Amazon Kindle Oasis - 9th Gen, which is a 131g E-book reader and is available at $199.98.

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 ereaders currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are E-book readers with a touchscreen. 85% of ereaders are E-book readers with a touchscreen.

Display Resolutions

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

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

Diagonals

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

Across the range of E-readers, the diagonals range from 5" to 13.3". The diagonals of most ereaders 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-reader and is available at $29.99. The Pocketbook Touch HD 3, which is on sale for $264.50, 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 ereaders. For each retailer it shows the total number of ereaders where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying ereaders. 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. 10 of their E-reader prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

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

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for ereaders by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of E-reader prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's E-reader prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 83.3% of their ereader prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.