What do you never leave the house without? Some will list off their favorite lip balm or hand cream. The responsible ones might say their phone or wallet. And I'm sure a handful will mention their choice of emotional support water bottle. But me? I don't go anywhere without a book.
You ask anyone in my life, and they'll agree. For most of my life, I was a hardcore physical book reader, unable to live without that smell you get when flipping the pages. However, with books becoming more expensive, my tastes leaning towards (literally) chunkier stories and the lack of space in my apartment, I've started to branch out into the eReader space.
Without having to do much research, it's obvious that Amazon's popular Kindle devices are a clear eReader frontrunner; however, it's not the only quality gadget out there. The Kobo Clara BW has swiftly moved up the ranks as a top performer for its size and performance. So, for the last month, I tried both the Kindle Paperwhite (Signature Edition) and Kobo Clara BW to see how they compare when it comes to my overall reading experience.
How I tried the Kindle and Kobo
I've been reading eBooks on both the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Clara BW together for three weeks to compare their performance, user experience and features. I made sure to read at least one of the same book on each eReader to make the most accurate comparison. I also packed both devices on a planned trip to Ireland to test their portability and battery life.
Best for battery life, responsiveness: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
Colors: Black, raspberry, jade | Display Size: 7" | Weight: 7.5 oz | Gigabytes: 32 GB | WiFi: Yes | Waterproof: Yes
I think it's fair to say that you simply can't go wrong with an Amazon Kindle. For this test, I acquired the newest Paperwhite edition with the most storage (32 GB), however, you can also get the same model with just 16 GB of storage for $40 cheaper.
The battery life on this thing is seriously unmatched. During my aforementioned trip, I started a book with a plot that had me in a chokehold, so I was reading during every second of downtime: on the bus drive from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher; while on a three-hour train ride to Dublin; while riding shotgun on a drive to Dingle. I brought my Kindle everywhere, and it never ran of out power, surviving solely on the full charge I gave it prior to leaving for the airport. According to the brand, a single charge can last up to 12 weeks, and you can make customizations to ensure a longer battery life, like reducing your sleep timer time and turning off WiFi while reading.
I was really excited to experience this new-generation Paperwhite's upgrades, which include a bigger screen, an auto-adjusting front light and 25% faster page turns. The latter is especially impressive, and a stark difference compared to the older models. The Paperwhite beats out the Kobo in other forms of speed as well, including sync time and general scrolling.
The Kindle also allows me to share my books with someone else via the Family Library feature. I invited my best friend (and fellow reader) to my Amazon Household, and now our Kindles automatically sync up and share everything we've added to our personal libraries. The device also allows you to fully customize your screen to show your books together or separately.
Best for travel, accessibility: Kobo Clara BW
Colors: Four | Display Size: 6” | Gigabytes: 16 GB | WiFi: Yes | Waterproof: Yes
Now that I've tried a Kobo device, I'm truly wondering why these aren't hyped up more, either on social media or by word of mouth. And while Kindle might be the most well-known reading device, it can certainly learn a thing or two from this underdog.
Kobo gets top marks when it comes to making reading material more accessible. As an avid Libby (the app used to borrow and read books from your local library) user, I was extremely excited to find out that it is fully integrated into the Kobo eReaders. That means I can search and download available eBooks directly from the device, unlike with the Kindle, which only allows you to borrow from the app on your phone and then send it to your eReader. Kobo removes the extra steps, which makes for a better user experience.
During my week-long trip, I found myself reaching more for the compact size of the Kobo over the larger Kindle. While both are travel-friendly, the Kobo's lightweight design gives it a slight edge, especially when packing becomes more like a game of Tetris and every inch of room in your carry-on counts. It also wins from an ergonomic standpoint, since it's comfier to hold. I'd also highly recommend Kobo's SleepCover, as it allows the eReader to stand on its own.
With the Kobo, its pros lie in the small details, which add up to make a big difference. I love that the power button is located in the back of the device. With the Kindle, I'm constantly pressing its power/sleep button by accident due to its bottom placement (a frequent place where my hand sometimes rests). This eReader also has a few built-in reading settings that I know many readers will appreciate, like a progress bar, headers (to show pages left in a chapter, percent of a chapter read or time remaining in a chapter — you choose!) and footers (to show pages left in your book, percent of the book read and the time remaining in any given book — again, you choose!). Hate any of those options? You can turn any of them off at any time. There's even an "activity" section that keeps track of specific stats like how many hours of reading you've done, the average amount of minutes you read per session, all the books you've finished and more.
Best overall
This wasn't an easy call. Honestly, I went back and forth between the two quite a few times because I genuinely enjoyed using both eReaders. But my final decision came down to two factors: user experience and store availability.
Ultimately, the Kindle Paperwhite seems to be the more reliable choice. I know when I reach for it, it's not going to be out of battery, and if it needs more juice, it charges unbelievably fast. I found the Kobo harder to navigate and had to re-tap certain areas of the screen because it didn't respond as quickly. It almost felt like my fingers were too big, so I had to be very precise when trying to make a selection.
I also think you can't make a quality comparison without talking about the subscription services — both of which I purchased and researched for the purpose of this test. Kindle Unlimited's selection is simply unmatched. You get unlimited access to over 4 million digital titles, thousands of audiobooks and a membership even lets you explore select magazine subscriptions. Physical books are expensive (and there's a chance they could become even pricier), so the fact that I can find an inexhaustible number of titles for just $12 a month — instead of spending $30 on a single hardcover — is a win for my wallet.
The selection from Kobo Plus was disappointing in comparison. I didn't recognize any of the available books while searching through its library. I'm all for finding new authors and making a fun discovery, but I also like to see bestsellers and popular book recommendations from my favorite BookTokers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kindle: Yes! When borrowing a book (which must be done on your phone), you must go to “Manage Books” within the Libby app and sign into your Amazon account to upload your chosen book to your Kindle device.
Kobo: Yes! Kobo makes this process easier. You only need to connect your device to the app once (through Overdrive), and every book you borrow will automatically download onto your device. You can borrow through your phone app or directly from the eReader.
Kindle: Yes, however you need a Kindle Unlimited subscription to access select audiobooks. You can also add Audible narration to select books through Whispersync, but you need to have/purchase both the eBook and audiobook. You can use your phone to read and listen to select books at the same time in the app to create an immersive reading experience.
Kobo: Yes, you can listen to audiobooks purchased through Kobo or downloaded via Kobo Plus. Unfortunately, you can't listen to audiobooks borrowed from your library app.
Both offer Bluetooth connectivity for listening.
Kindle: Yes! Right now, you can sign up for a three-month free trial to Kindle Unlimited. After which, the renewal fee is $11.99/month.
Kobo: Yes! You can score a 30-day free trial (for new subscribers only) to Kobo Plus Read, Kobo Plus Read & Listen or Kobo Plus Listen. Renewal fees will be $7.99/month, $9.99/month and $7.99/month, respectively.
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Danielle Murphy is the audience development writer for Shop TODAY. She’s been writing for the team since 2021, covering everything from fashion and beauty to product reviews and sales content.
