The 3 best color e-readers: Kobo beats Kindle

Screen size is especially important for color e-readers, since many people use them for graphic novels. I gave preference to 7-inch screens, the optimal size for balancing viewing and portability.

To properly assess each e-reader’s color quality, I compared its display with both a physical copy of the book and the e-book on an iPad. I looked at overall color accuracy, as well as how brightness and warmth affected the color levels.

I analyzed each color e-reader’s range of features, including adjustable brightness and warmth, as well as page-turn buttons.

Color e-readers vary widely in price, so I made sure to include a budget option in an otherwise expensive market.

Read our full review of the Kobo Libra Colour.

Picking the best color e-reader wasn’t easy, with so many strong contenders. But when considering who really wants a color e-reader, the choice was clear: The Kobo Libra Colour.

Its seven-inch display offers ample space for reading graphic novels in detail, and the built-in gyroscope lets you switch between vertical and horizontal reading — a flexibility unique to the Libra.

The Libra Colour also stands out for annotators. Aside from the Kindle Scribe, it’s one of the only e-readers with writing capabilities, making it ideal for color-coding highlights and annotations.

Not to mention it has the most sought-after feature for e-reader users: page-turning buttons.

The Kobo Libra Colour is one of our favorite e-readers, period. And when it comes to color e-readers specifically, it’s the clear winner. It stands out for its large display, screen rotation, and writing capabilities — but beyond that, it’s a thoughtfully designed device.

As with all color e-readers, colors appear more muted than in a physical book. That’s unavoidable, but the Libra maintains strong color accuracy despite the softer tones.

At $229.99, the Libra is also cheaper than any of Kindle’s color e-readers. While Kobo does offer a more budget-friendly color option, the Libra is worth the extra cost for its writing features, internal gyroscope, and page-turn buttons. It has plenty of storage (32GB) and is waterproof.

If you were disappointed by the discontinuation of the Kindle Oasis, the Kobo Libra Colour offers a similar design, including page-turn buttons. Ergonomically, it’s the best e-reader I’ve tested. It's more square than a Kindle, as one side offers extra space for the page-turning buttons, which makes it easier to hold — especially while lying down and reading one-handed. It's the only e-reader (besides the iPad) on this list that has an internal gyroscope, so when you rotate the device, the display rotates with it. While reading in bed, if I flipped over, I could rotate the device to still be able to hold it on the side with page-turning buttons.

Finally, the Overdrive (aka Libby) integration is great. Log in with your library card, and your borrowed e-books instantly populate in the Overdrive tab.

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Watch our comparison of the Kobo Clara Colour and Kindle Paperwhite.

The Kobo Clara Colour is, in many ways, the best all-around e-reader. It’s affordable, compact, and speedy. While the Libra’s larger screen makes it the stronger choice for color reading, the Clara still delivers a great experience.

It’s ideal for anyone who wants a truly handheld device. The 6-inch screen is the Goldilocks size of e-readers — small enough to hold comfortably for hours, yet large enough for immersive reading. And if you want a color e-reader for under $200, the Kobo Clara Colour is the only option, but it’s a good one.

I love the Kobo Clara Colour. I’ve tried dozens of e-readers, and this one has nearly everything I want. At 6 inches, it’s the optimal size — comfortable to hold for hours without wrist strain. In past testing, I’ve found Kobo devices to be slower than Kindles, but the Clara doesn’t have that problem. It’s just as quick as the Kindle Paperwhite.

Like the Libra Colour, the Clara Colour has generally accurate colors, though in muted tones. With a 6-inch screen, it might feel a bit small for graphic novels, which is why we think the Libra is the better color e-reader.

In the grand scheme of color e-readers, the Clara is the most affordable. At $159.99, it’s the same price as the Kindle Paperwhite (which only reads in black and white) but with the addition of color. If you want a Kindle in color, you’ll have to pay $249.99.

Its processing system is really smart and fixes one of my biggest e-reader pet peeves. When you adjust the font size on a Kindle, the device doesn’t recalculate how many pages are in the book, which makes it inaccurate — you never really know how many pages are left in a chapter. The Kobo Clara does recalculate page count accurately, giving you a more exact reading experience. Also, like the Libra, it has seamless OverDrive integration.

The Kobo Clara’s biggest downfall is its battery life. It’s supposed to last up to 42 days, although many users say it averages out at about two weeks. That’s pretty weak compared to the Kindle’s 12-week battery life; however, I’d trade a couple of weeks of battery life for a better reading experience any day.

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Read our full review of the Kindle Colorsoft (16 GB).

If you’re already deep in Amazon’s ecosystem and ready to make the jump to color, the Kindle Colorsoft collection is worth a look. The best option in the lineup is the Kindle Colorsoft (16GB). It offers better value than the Signature Edition while still delivering clear, bright colors that rival a physical book.

Kobo’s color e-readers are a better value overall, but we know some readers prefer to stay within the Kindle ecosystem. If that’s you, the Kindle Colorsoft (16GB) is the best option.

Released in July 2025, it debuted at a more affordable price than the earlier Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. At $249.99, it’s still more expensive than the Kobo Libra or Clara, but the familiarity of Kindle’s platform may make it worthwhile for Kindle loyalists.

The color on the Kindle Colorsoft is accurate to what you’d find in a printed copy; however, like the Kobo Libra Colour and Clara Colour, it is slightly muted. When reading in black and white, it’s as fast as any other Kindle we’ve tested, but the color display slows things down. Pages sometimes flash as they load — a problem all of the color e-readers on this list currently share.

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