Is it worth buying a Kindle after the price hike?

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Amazon hardware has always been cheap, thanks to its robust delivery network and the tech giant’s goals of selling you subscriptions and other extras. However, the unthinkable happened and insane memory prices (thanks to AI) put Amazon’s incredible hardware prices on pause. Almost every product, from Echo smart speakers to Kindles, saw a massive 60% increase. If you were about to embark on the e-reader journey (or just wanted to update your reading material), tough luck. You will have to pay around $50 more. So, is it worth buying a Kindle now?

Short answer: probably not. Early 2026 was the best time to get a Kindle, as the memory shortage had not yet fully taken hold in the market. Now things are very different and you will end up paying too much. Plus, Amazon has hinted at occasional promotions, so there’s a good chance its e-readers are getting a big discount (which could shave that $50 off). It could happen even sooner than expected.

History has a way of repeating itself, so it’s realistic to expect Amazon to hold its annual Prime Big Deal Days event around October 7. This being considered, it is best not to purchase any products until this sale materializes.

Can’t wait? No problem. Many bookworms were already complaining about the downsides of owning a Kindle, which, even before the price hike, was arguably a bit too expensive. Today, the situation borders on madness: the $159 Kindle Paperwhite has gone from $159 to $199. Even the cheapest Kindle added another $40 to its asking price and now costs $149 (although the ad-free version costs $169). That said, there are a few affordable alternatives you should check out before they too are forced to raise prices.

A good example is the no-frills PocketBook Verse Lite, which costs $125 on Amazon. This is the cheapest you can get at the time of writing this article. If you don’t mind paying $10 more, a well-reviewed Kobo Clara BW e-reader is a safe bet. Granted, its $159 asking price is higher than the base Kindle with ads, but at the same time, it costs $10 less than the ad-free Kindle model — a good way to both escape the Amazon ecosystem and avoid rising prices.

Still too much? Then it might be a good time to start reading normal paper books again. Paper is unlikely to feel the RAM crisis, but if you still want an e-reader for convenience, some older Kindles are still worth buying. For example, you can get an old Kindle Paperwhite for less than $100 used, or even less if you don’t mind digging through eBay listings. If the alternatives are banned altogether, wait a few months until Amazon likely releases different Kindles for sale.