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Best for Most
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation)
The Smallest and Least Expensive
Amazon Kindle (2022, 11th Generation)
A Great Reading Light
For Note-Taking
Amazon Kindle Scribe
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 typically 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 September 2024: We’ve added information on Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day event and a section of our favorite reading lights.
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Photograph: Medea Giordano
Best for Most
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation)
We think most people will like the Paperwhites the best. The step-up, waterproof e-reader went from one to three models. 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 16 gigs (there’s no longer an 8-gig Kindle). If you mostly listen to audiobooks, you may want to go for the Signature, since those tend to take up more room. But both storage options equals thousands of books and you can always 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, and the Signature supports wireless charging.
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Photograph: Amazon
The Smallest and Least Expensive
Amazon Kindle (2022, 11th Generation)
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 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.
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Photograph: Simon Hill
A Great Reading Light
If you typically read before bed but don’t want to disturb sleeping partners, kids, or roommates, we suggest investing in a reading light. Below, we’ve listed a few of our favorites. You can find more in our guide to The Best Reading Lights.
- Vekkia 14 LED Book Light for $18: This is our top pick in our guide. It’s a clip-on light with an adjustable gooseneck and two swiveling light bars that pack seven LEDs each. You can cycle through five levels of brightness and three warm colors. It’s relatively large though, so it’s not great for small paperbacks. But the clamp opens as wide as 2.1 inches and serves as a stable base to place on a nightstand.
- Glocusent LED Neck Reading Light for $20: This reading light wraps around your neck, so it looks a bit silly. But it’s an excellent alternative to a clip-on reading light while remaining hands-free. It’s lightweight, adjustable, and comes with three color temperature modes as well as six brightness settings. It’s rechargeable and offers up to 80 hours of battery life at the dimmer settings.
- Black Diamond Wiz Headlamp for $30: This is our favorite headlamp for kids. It’s comfortable and has adjustable straps that come in various colors, along with three brightness settings. It has an IPX 4 rating, so you don’t have to worry about splashes. It turns itself off automatically after two hours, in case they fall asleep with it on. It takes two AAA batteries.
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Photograph: Jaina Grey
For Note-Taking
Amazon Kindle Scribe
Thanks to the included pen, you can now write on your Kindle (8/10, WIRED Recommends)! There’s no lag, and the outcome looks very similar to your handwriting. It’s already pricey at $340, but you can spend an additional $30 for the premium pen that includes an eraser on the opposite end (but it’s currently sold out). You can’t write directly on most books like you can with certain Kobos, which is frustrating—you have to instead use sticky notes. There are now some options available with that functionality, but it’s mostly crosswords and guided journals.
The enormous 10.2-inch screen is ideal for taking notes, marking up PDFs, or drawing, 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. Since it was released, Amazon has updated it with additional brush types, a convert-to-text in the export tool, and better page navigation and subfolders. Weirdly, it’s not waterproof like the other pricier Kindles.
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Photograph: Nena Farrell
For Easy Reading
Kindle Accessories
If you’ve ever had a long reading session give you hand cramps, these two accessories might help.
- Strapsicle E-Reader Hand Straps for $21: Attach one or both of these to the back of your Kindle—one is angled for your right hand and the other for your left—and slide your hand in. Your hands won’t cramp, you won’t accidentally hit the screen and flip pages, and the reader won’t slip out of your hands. There are three sizes meant to hold different types of e-readers. You should see exactly which models they work with on the Amazon pages, as well as on this page on the Strapsicle website. If you use a case, these might not work, but the brand sells its own thin clear option for $14.
- Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Holder for $25: WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell tested this and said that while it’s not completely hands-free, it’s a super convenient and comfortable experience, particularly if you have any sources of chronic pain in your wrists and hands. She likes the Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Holder because the clamp is easy to attach to bed frames and side tables, though there’s also a floor stand version for $60 if your furniture has a delicate finish to it. It’s lightweight enough to easily use anywhere, but has enough resistance to the neck that it doesn’t fall forward or out of the position you place it in. It does, however, wobble a bit when touched to turn the page (or bumped by a curious cat), so she tended to rest a hand on it to keep it steady from both herself and her feline roommate. If you want to go totally hands-free, add a page turner so you can really read without lifting a finger.
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Photograph: Adrienne So
Best for Kids
Kindle Kids (2022)
Amazon’s latest Kindle for kids is 2022’s base Kids Kindle, which comes with a cover, a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, the kid-friendly content library with parental controls, and a two-year warranty, which is a necessity if your kid uses theirr Kindle as much as my 9-year-old daughter does. Some caveats—it’s less than an inch smaller than 2021’s Kindle Paperwhite Kids, it doesn’t have a warm display, and it’s not waterproof, which has been a bit of an issue since my daughter has been using it to read during her brother’s swim lessons.
However, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is about $50 more expensive, and this one has all my daughter and I require. It can switch between light/dark modes for when she’s reading in bed before going to sleep. The display is the same high-resolution 300-ppi display, and the small size is actually better for her small hands and for travel. You can check on their activity via Amazon’s parent dashboard. Only two factors are annoying, and both have to do with Amazon’s enclosed garden. Sometimes Kids+ includes only the first three or four books in a series, and then you have to white-list the rest. It’s extremely irksome, especially considering how easy it is to buy ebooks from Amazon or borrow them through your local library. However, these are small considerations given that I just checked and my child has read for 15-1/2 hours in the past seven days. If you have an elementary-aged child who can read, this is a pretty necessary summer purchase. —Adrienne So
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Photograph: Amazon
Do You Need a Cover?
Kindle Cases
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 toting it around in a bag. These are meant mostly to 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.
- Fabric Covers for Base Kindle for $30 and Paperwhite ($30): These open like a book and come in some variation of black, blue, pink, or green. They’re made from post-consumer recycled fabric.
- Fabric Cover for Scribe for $60: This one 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. It’s also made with recycled materials.
- The Quirky Cup Collective E-Reader Sleeve for $27-$29: I prefer these gorgeous sleeves, particularly the Sun and Moon version. They’re beautiful and will protect your device when you aren’t using it, so you can throw it in your bag without worry. The outside is velvet and the inside satin, with some padding in between and a zip closure. On the back is a small zip pocket. On each page, you’ll see which devices fit, but if you use a bulky case, consult the measurements. There are also separate, and larger, book and iPad sleeves.
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Photograph: Amazon
Do You Have an Older Kindle Model?
How to Identify it and Trade-In
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 other than page-turn buttons.
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.
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Courtesy of Amazon
Start Reading
Where to Get Books
If you buy every single book you want to read at Kindle, it can add up! 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 $12 a month. You can only choose from the Unlimited catalog, but there are millions of titles there, including audiobooks and magazines. Start out with the 30-day free trial. Since I got into romance thanks to #BookTok, this has been incredibly rewarding and I typically hate paying a membership for anything.
If you already pay for a Prime account, you’re eligible for some free ebooks 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:
- Get a library card for your local branch
- Check your branch’s website for its ebook offerings. Many use the website OverDrive.
- Download directly to your Kindle library. They’ll automatically be removed when they’re due back.
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.
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Photograph: Adam Berry/Getty Images
What Else Can a Kindle Do?
Tips and Tricks
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.
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Photograph: Amazon; Getty Images
Is It a Good Time to Buy a Kindle?
It’s been a few years since a new Kindle was released, but it seems unlikely that one is coming in 2024. There’s no saying for sure, though, and since Kobo just released a color e-reader, we might see one from Amazon next. Thankfully these devices last a long time and don’t need frequent upgrades. If you’re in the market for one now, you should be happy with it for a while—I’ve been using the Paperwhite since it was released in 2021 with no issues. The base Kindle and supersize Kindle Scribe were released in 2022, if you want the latest device.
But if you’re in the market for one, we recommend waiting until next month. Amazon will hold a second Prime Day Sale (known as Prime Big Day Deals) on October 8 and 9, 2024. We can’t confirm whether Kindles will be on sale this time around, but they have been in the past. So, it’s worth waiting a little longer to see if you can snag it on sale.
