Best Kindle Alternatives 2026: Kobo, Boox and the Rest
Most Kindle alternatives are compared on hardware, which misses the point. The hardware is broadly similar across the industry because almost every reader uses a panel from the same supplier.
What differs is the ecosystem: which shop you buy from, which file formats open without a fight, and whether the device has page turn buttons. Those three things are where the real differences sit, and on two of them Amazon is not the winner.
What is in this guide
Quick verdict
- The main alternative: Kobo Clara Colour
- If you want page turn buttons: Kobo Libra Colour
- If you want Android on e-ink: Boox Palma
Where each one wins
| Kindle | Kobo | Boox | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPUB support | Needs conversion | Native | Native |
| Library borrowing | Through Libby, in the US | Built into the device | Any app |
| Page turn buttons | None | On some models | On some models |
| Store size | Largest | Large | Uses other stores |
| Subscription | Kindle Unlimited | Kobo Plus, smaller | None of its own |
| Price | Lowest | Higher | Highest |
If you already own a lot of Kindle books, the first four rows matter less than the fact that those purchases cannot come with you.
The picks
Kobo Clara Colour
Best alternative
- Formats: EPUB natively, no conversion
- Library: OverDrive built into the device
- Shop: Kobo store, plus anything you already own
Kobo is the only competitor with a comparable catalogue and a properly finished reading experience. Two things it does better than Amazon: it opens EPUB files directly, so books bought anywhere just work, and it has library borrowing built into the device rather than routed through a separate app.
The reading software is arguably better organised than Amazon’s, with statistics and a cleaner library view. What you lose is the Kindle store, Whispersync across Amazon devices, and the enormous Kindle Unlimited catalogue.
If you have years of Kindle purchases, moving is painful, because those books are locked to Amazon. If you are starting fresh, Kobo deserves a serious look.
Pros
- EPUB works without conversion
- Library borrowing built in
- Some models have page turn buttons
Cons
- Smaller store than Amazon
- Existing Kindle purchases do not transfer
- No Kindle Unlimited equivalent at the same scale
Kobo Libra Colour
Has buttons
- Buttons: Physical page turn buttons
- Screen: Colour e-ink
- Grip: Asymmetric, like the discontinued Oasis
This is the direct answer to the gap Amazon left when it discontinued the Oasis. It has physical page turn buttons and an asymmetric body designed for one handed reading, which no current Kindle offers.
For readers who held on to an Oasis specifically for the buttons, this is the natural replacement. The background is in the Oasis comparison.
Pros
- Page turn buttons, which no Kindle has
- Colour screen
- Comfortable one handed grip
Cons
- Costs about the same as a premium Kindle
- Outside the Amazon ecosystem
Boox Palma
Most flexible
- System: Full Android with app store access
- Runs: Kindle app, Kobo app, anything else
- Form: Phone sized, pocketable
Boox devices run Android, which means they run the Kindle app, the Kobo app and everything else at once. If you own books across several shops, this solves a problem no single vendor device can.
The Palma is phone shaped and fits in a pocket, which is a genuinely different proposition from every Kindle. The trade is refinement: Android on e-ink is slower and rougher than purpose built reading software, battery life is shorter, and updates are less predictable.
Pros
- Runs the Kindle app and every other reading app
- Pocketable
- No ecosystem lock in
Cons
- Rougher software than a Kindle
- Shorter battery life
- Expensive
Kindle Paperwhite 16GB (2024)
The incumbent
- Store: The largest ebook catalogue
- Ecosystem: Whispersync across phone, tablet and Kindle
- Price: Consistently undercut the competition
The two reasons people stay with Kindle are unglamorous and decisive: the store is the biggest, and Amazon sells the hardware cheaper than anyone because it makes money on the books afterwards.
Add Kindle Unlimited, which has no equivalent at the same scale, and the fact that existing Kindle purchases cannot legally move to another device, and switching is a real cost for anyone with a library.
Pros
- Largest catalogue
- Cheapest hardware
- Kindle Unlimited
- Books sync across every device you own
Cons
- EPUB needs converting
- Purchases are locked to Amazon
The lock in problem, honestly
This is the deciding factor for most people considering a switch, and it is worth stating without euphemism.
Books bought from the Kindle store carry Amazon’s DRM. They open on Kindle devices and in Amazon’s apps and nowhere else. A reader with two hundred Kindle purchases who moves to Kobo does not take those books along; they stay accessible only through the Kindle app on a phone or tablet.
That cuts both ways. It is the strongest argument for choosing something other than a Kindle at the very start, before a library accumulates, and the strongest argument for staying once one has. If you are buying your first e-reader and you value not being tied to one shop, that is a legitimate reason to look at Kobo before Amazon.
It is also why the ads, the EPUB conversion and the missing buttons are complaints rather than reasons to leave for most existing owners. The library is worth more than any of them.
The EPUB question in practice
The EPUB limitation sounds worse than it is, and it is worth knowing exactly where it bites.
A Kindle will not open an EPUB file if you drag it across by cable. But Send to Kindle, by email, by web upload or through the desktop app, accepts EPUB and converts it automatically. For books you own without DRM, the practical difference from a Kobo is a few extra seconds.
Where it genuinely matters is DRM protected EPUB files, which is how most non Amazon shops and many library systems outside the United States deliver books. Those cannot be converted and will not open on a Kindle at all. If your books come from those sources, that is a real reason to buy a Kobo.
FAQ
Is Kobo better than Kindle?
For EPUB files and library borrowing, yes. For catalogue size, price and subscription reading, no. Which matters more depends entirely on where your books come from.
Can I read Kindle books on a Kobo?
Not directly. Kindle purchases carry Amazon’s DRM and are locked to Amazon devices and apps. This is the main reason switching is difficult.
Which e-reader has page turn buttons?
Several Kobo and Boox models. No current Kindle has them since the Oasis was discontinued.
Are Boox devices worth it?
For someone with books spread across several shops, or who wants a pocketable e-ink device, yes. For straightforward book reading they are expensive and less polished.
Should I switch away from Kindle?
Only if a specific limitation is bothering you. If it is only lockscreen ads, removing lockscreen ads is a much cheaper fix than a new device.
Which should you buy?
Final verdict
Kobo is the alternative worth taking seriously, particularly if you borrow library books or own EPUB files. Boox suits people who want an e-ink Android tablet. Everything else is a niche.
- The main alternative: Kobo Clara Colour
- If you want page turn buttons: Kobo Libra Colour
- If you want Android on e-ink: Boox Palma