If you identify as a bookworm, a Kindle e-reader can take your reading experience to the next level. With a Kindle, you can have your entire library at your fingertips and enjoy hours of reading on its glare-free E Ink display that reads just like real paper. Plus, with a battery that lasts for weeks, you don't have to charge it as frequently as your smartphone. Even if you swear by physical books, having an e-reader at your disposal can be incredibly convenient when traveling long distances, saving you from lugging heavy books or straining your eyes on a smartphone screen.

While you can find a wide range of e-readers on the market, the Kindle remains one of the most popular and well-recognized products, to the point that the word Kindle is sometimes synonymous with e-reader. But for those looking at one for the first time, the Kindle lineup could appear confusing as it includes several models, each catering to a different audience and offering different features. To help you find the right one, we've rounded up the following list of the best Kindle e-readers currently on the market.

Our top Kindle e-readers

The most recent Kindle Paperwhite (11th generation) is the best Kindle e-reader overall as it strikes a good balance between features and price. It features a large 6.8-inch E Ink display with a pixel density of 300ppi, slim bezels, an adjustable warm light with uniform illumination for a comfortable reading experience at night, up to 16GB of storage for your extensive library, and a new chipset that offers faster page turns than the previous generation.

Thanks to its energy-efficient E Ink display, the Kindle Paperwhite promises up to 10 weeks of battery life on a single charge, so you don't have to worry about lugging a charger along on long trips. But even if you do run out of juice, charging it up won't be an issue as it features a USB Type-C port. The 11th-generation model also offers Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth support to connect to wireless earbuds or speakers, and an IPX8 rating for water resistance.

Even with all these features, the Kindle Paperwhite starts at just under $150, which is an absolute steal. However, it misses out on a couple of features, like ambient light sensors for auto-brightness adjustment and Qi wireless charging. But if you need them, there are other, more expensive Kindles to help you out.

Our favorite Kindle for most people is the Kindle Paperwhite since it provides all the essentials, and for the most premium experience, we recommend the Kindle Oasis, which we'll get to in a bit. But the Kindle Oasis is a massive device, and if you want the premium features in a smaller form factor, there's the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. It gives you everything that's in the standard Kindle Paperwhite, plus a few extra features.

That means the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition has the exact same 6.8-inch E Ink display as the standard model. It has a pixel density of 300ppi as well, which is a good sweet spot for reading text in books or magazines. Like the base-model Kindle Paperwhite, it has an adjustable warm light that can be configured to your preferences. But this is where we start to see the advantages of the Signature Edition; this version has a light sensor that can automatically adjust your display based on the ambient light in your environment.

The Signature Edition also shines brighter in battery life and charging. Due to the efficient E Ink display, this model nets you 10 weeks of battery life on a single charge. It can be powered up via a USB-C cable, but unlike the standard Kindle Paperwhite, you can also use Qi-compatible wireless charging. That means you can place it on a wireless charging pad or docking station and have it charged and ready to go when you're ready to start reading. The last big feature found on the Signature Edition is 32GB of storage, which is four times the storage of the standard Kindle Paperwhite.

You get all these extras, plus everything we love about the Kindle Paperwhite, for just $40 more. However, it does still miss out on some features, like cellular connectivity. But if you want the best Kindle you can buy in the 6.8-inch form factor, this is the option for you.

The base Amazon Kindle is the most affordable option in Amazon's e-reader lineup, and it's a great pick for those on a tight budget. The latest 11th-generation model is a huge step up from its predecessor, offering several noteworthy improvements that make it almost as good as the more premium Kindle Paperwhite.

This Kindle features a slightly smaller 6-inch E Ink display with a built-in backlight. While it offers the same 300ppi pixel density as the 11th-generation Paperwhite, it lacks an adjustable warm light. In addition, its backlight isn't as uniform as the more premium model because it has four LEDs instead of 17. This means you won't have as great of an experience reading at night, but your daytime reading experience will be the same.

The base Kindle also lacks an IPX8 rating, so you'll have to be extra careful to prevent water damage. Other than that, the e-reader will offer as good of an experience as the Paperwhite. That means you'll get amazing battery life, a USB Type-C port to charge it with the same cable you use for your other gadgets, 16GB of onboard storage for your library, and Wi-Fi connectivity to easily sync books from the Kindle store. It even offers Bluetooth support to let you easily connect earbuds or speakers to listen to audiobooks through Audible.

Like the Paperwhite, the 11th-generation Kindle lacks a cellular variant. If you're someone who's often on the road without access to a Wi-Fi network, both of these models aren't for you. You'll have to shell out more money on the premium Kindle Oasis. But otherwise, you'll get most of what you need on a budget with the regular Kindle.

If you don't mind spending over $200 on an e-reader, you can't go wrong with the Kindle Oasis. It's one of the most feature-rich models in Amazon's Kindle lineup, featuring a 7-inch E Ink display with a pixel density of 300ppi and a 25-LED backlight with adjustable warm light and adaptive brightness. It's available in 8GB and 32GB storage variants to help you store all your books, magazines, and audiobooks.

The Kindle Oasis has a unique design with a thick bezel on one side for better one-handed use, dedicated page turn buttons, and auto-rotating page orientation support, so you can easily use it with either hand. However, it's a bit heavier than the cheaper models, making it a bit less comfortable over long periods.

Like the Kindle Paperwhite, the Oasis also has an IPX8 water resistance rating, Wi-Fi connectivity, and Bluetooth support that lets you listen to audiobooks on your earbuds or a Bluetooth speaker. In addition, it also offers free cellular connectivity, allowing you to download new books from the Kindle store no matter where you go. Sadly, despite its premium price tag, the Kindle Oasis lacks a built-in speaker and still features a micro-USB port. The base model isn't ad-free either, so you'll have to shell out $20 extra if you don't want to see ads on the lock screen.

The Kindle Oasis is also a bit old at this point and is due for a refresh, so you might regret purchasing it when Amazon launches a newer version with updated hardware. If that's a dealbreaker for you, you'll be better off with the Kindle Paperwhite or the Paperwhite Signature Edition, as they offer most of the same features at a much more affordable price point.

If you'd like to take notes while reading your favorite books, the Kindle Scribe should be your Kindle of choice. Although it's a bit expensive, it offers a great reading experience thanks to its massive 10.2-inch 300ppi E Ink display and 35-LED backlight with adaptive brightness and adjustable warm light. It offers all the features you get with cheaper models, including Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth support to listen to Audible audiobooks. However, it lacks an IP rating for dust and water resistance, doesn't get free cellular connectivity, and misses out on wireless charging support.

On the flip side, the Kindle Scribe is the only model that comes with a stylus in the box. It lets you easily take notes and annotate documents as you read. Depending on the model you pick, you'll get either a Basic Pen or a Premium Pen, with the latter featuring a dedicated eraser and a shortcut button. Both pens attach magnetically to the Scribe for easy storage and don't require any setup or regular charging, so you can start using them as soon as you pull them out of the box.

The Kindle Scribe packs a ton of additional features on the software side to help you make better use of the included stylus, like different paper formats to take notes, multiple brush types to help you easily write, highlight, or doodle, and support for pinned notes. Amazon regularly adds new features to the mix, with the latest update bringing better navigation, a two-column layout for books, and the ability to change the contrast on PDF files. There's also now Microsoft Word integration, which will let you send documents to your Kindle Scribe from within Microsoft Word, a lasso select tool, and the ability to convert and send handwritten notes as text to contacts.

While you can buy the regular 11th-generation Kindle for your kids, the latest Kindle Kids is a better option for a couple of reasons. It comes with a year of free Amazon Kids+, which gives your kid access to a vast library of kid-friendly books, including The Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter franchise. In addition, it's backed by a two-year worry-free warranty, and Amazon will replace it for free if it breaks, which is quite likely with kids. Finally, it comes with a cover in the box featuring three cool designs, Space Whale, Unicorn Valley, and Ocean Explorer, making it more attractive than the bland design of the regular Kindle and a bit more durable.

Other than that, the Kindle Kids is pretty much the same as the regular Kindle. It features a 6-inch E Ink display with a 300ppi pixel density, a four-LED backlight, 16GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, and Bluetooth support to listen to audiobooks via Audible. It offers up to six weeks of battery life on a single charge, a USB Type-C port, and the same lightweight design. The only downside is that it lacks an IP rating for water resistance. If that's a dealbreaker, you can buy the Kindle Paperwhite Kids instead. It's a bit more expensive but offers a better 17-LED backlight, adjustable warm light, and an IPX8 rating.

Best Kindle e-readers in 2023: The bottom line

Amazon's Kindle lineup includes a wide range of options for different use cases, but the 11th-generation Kindle Paperwhite is our favorite Kindle e-reader in 2023. That's because it offers a great reading experience at a reasonable price without skimping on any of the premium features, like an IPX8 rating and adjustable warm light.

If you don't care for the premium features, the base 11th Gen Kindle is a great, affordable alternative. It offers pretty much all the features of the Paperwhite but has a weaker backlight, a smaller display, no adjustable warm light, and lacks an IP rating. Both these models lack cellular connectivity, though, and if that's something you need, you'll have to go with the Kindle Oasis. The Kindle Scribe and Kindle Kids are also great products, but you should only go with them if you either want to take notes while reading or are buying the Kindle for your kid.