The price of the Kindle just went up, so try these 4 used e-readers instead

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Clearly, no electronic device is safe from the global RAM crisis – affectionately known as RAMaggeddon – because of the many devices Amazon is raising prices on, it is now raising the price of the Kindle. Specifically, the 16GB Kindle and the 16GB Kindle Paperwhite. These range from $110 to $150 (a 36% increase) and $160 to $200 (a 25% increase) respectively. These prices are not insignificant considering the rising costs of typical groceries. It becomes so oppressive that many can no longer afford to indulge in their favorite hobbies.

As widespread as the Kindle is, it’s not the only e-reader offering access to your favorite books. Some are more affordable, and it’s even cheaper if you choose to buy a used or refurbished model. Used electronics may not look as appealing as something new with all the new features, but if they let you read books without issue, whether they’re new or not shouldn’t matter. Less if the device is still supported by the manufacturer with software and security updates. Honestly, it’s up to you whether it’s worth buying a Kindle after the price hike, but the smart money might be to look for alternatives.

An iPad’s battery may not last as long as a Kindle’s – since you’ll obviously be using it for more than just reading – but it’s a good option for e-reading nonetheless. Apple still supports the ninth generation iPad from 2021 with software and security updates, and it’s even compatible with iPadOS27. If you ever browse BackMarket, you can find a refurbished ninth-generation iPad for around $147, still $3 less than the new Kindle price and significantly cheaper than the Kindle Paperwhite.

For that price, you get 64GB of storage (the 256GB version is considerably more expensive), a camera, Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity, a 10.2-inch LED-backlit display, and the ability to do much more than just read. Sure, it can be a little distracting when you just want to read your favorite books, but an iPad is more responsive and versatile than a simple e-reader. Not to mention, if you’re a comic book fan and enjoy buying comics on the Kindle app – barring collecting physical issues – reading comics on an iPad is second to none.

If you’re a frequent bidder on eBay, you can find a Nook Glowlight 4 Plus for around $100, which is not only cheaper than the two versions of the Kindle that Amazon is raising the price on, but it also reduces the price Barnes & Noble is selling it for new by almost $100. The Nook Glowlight 4 Plus has 32GB of storage compared to the Kindle’s 16GB, allowing you to store thousands of books. So unless you want shelf trophies, you don’t need to take up space in your house with physical books for a while. To get that much storage, you’ll need to spend $250 on the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition.

The Nook and Kindle share the same 300 ppi resolution, but the Nook’s screen is a bit larger at 7.8 inches compared to the Kindle’s seven. And since almost every book sold by Barnes & Noble is available for the Nook, you probably won’t miss anything you desperately want to read. Bottom line: The widely used Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is a viable option.

If you want a color e-reader, the Kobo Klara Color isn’t a bad choice. You can find it on eBay for around $170, which is cheaper than the Kindle Paperwhite but more expensive than the standard Kindle, and aside from its color screen, it’s more like the standard Kindle. It just depends on how important the color screen is to you and whether you think the Kobo over the Kindle is right for you. It has a six-inch screen like the standard Kindle, but it’s an inch smaller than the Kindle Paperwhite. Meanwhile, it has 16GB of storage space, the same as both Kindle models.

One advantage Kobo has over Kindle is that it syncs with Storygraph the same way Kindle syncs with Goodreads. So as you progress through a novel, Storygraph will automatically follow it. For the uninitiated, Storygraph is an amazing book tracking app that lets you rate books in quarter stars (3.25 and 3.75, for example), as opposed to Goodreads’ whole numbers. Because, as any wild reader knows, some books are great, but they don’t really deserve four stars.

The Amazon Fire is a solid option for anyone who wants a tablet but doesn’t want to pay the price of the iPad, because not only can you read your favorite books and graphic novels with the Amazon Fire HD, but you can also download other apps to distract you from the arduous journey that is life. As of May 2026, Amazon stopped supporting Amazon Fire devices released in 2012 and earlier, but you can find a refurbished 13th generation, like the Fire HD 10, on eBay for around $85, and it’s still supported by the retail giant. Compared to its normal retail price of $154, it’s a steal.

The 2023 Fire HD 10 comes with 32GB of storage, giving you plenty of space for books and anything else that doesn’t use cloud storage. It also has a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 screen, which is considerably larger than any Kindle, and it would be good for reading or streaming Prime Video. It’s unlikely to be as responsive as an iPad, but no Kindle is, so if reading is the main goal it shouldn’t be a problem. On the contrary, it is supposed to be around 25% faster than the previous generation.

The first step in making this list was to avoid overlap with e-readers to replace your old Kindle. Next, we wanted to make sure we selected devices with similar or equal specs to the Kindles that Amazon is raising the price on and ensure that our choices were cheaper than their comparable models, because otherwise you might as well buy the more expensive Kindle. Finally, we wanted to make sure our recommendations were actually available, which is why we only connect to retailers who have these devices in stock (at the time of writing) and we chose devices that are still receiving software updates from their manufacturer.