Best Kobo E-Reader 2026: Which Model Should You Buy?

For most people the Kobo Libra Colour ($259.99) is the best Kobo: a 7-inch color screen, physical page-turn buttons, IPX8 waterproofing, and 32 GB of storage. Choose the Kobo Clara BW ($159.99) to save money, the Clara Colour ($179.99) for color on a budget, or the Elipsa 2E ($399.99) for note-taking on a large screen. Kobo’s edge over Kindle is built-in library borrowing and native EPUB support, and the guide below says when that edge is worth switching for.

All prices and specs in this article were read on Kobo’s US store and its product pages on October 31, 2026. Kobo raised US prices during 2026, so if you have older numbers in your head (the Clara BW used to be $139.99), the figures here are the current ones.

Kobo is the strongest alternative to the Kindle, and for some readers it is the better choice. But Kobo’s lineup can be just as confusing as Amazon’s: five devices, two with color, two with buttons, one with a stylus in the box. Here is which model to buy.

(Deciding between the two brands first? Read our Kindle vs Kobo comparison and the head-to-head Kindle Paperwhite vs Kobo Clara BW.)

The Quick Answer

• Best overall: Kobo Libra Colour ($259.99). Buttons, color, waterproof, stylus support.
• Best value: Kobo Clara BW ($159.99). The sharpest text per dollar.
• Color on a budget: Kobo Clara Colour ($179.99).
• Note-taking: Kobo Elipsa 2E ($399.99), stylus included.
• Big screen with buttons: Kobo Sage ($269.99), if you can find it in stock.

If you want one pick, the Libra Colour is the Kobo to get for most people.

The Kobo Lineup at a Glance

Model	Price	Screen	Resolution	Storage	Weight	Waterproof	Buttons	Stylus
Kobo Clara BW	$159.99	6” E Ink Carta 1300, B&W	1448 x 1072	16 GB	174 g	IPX8	No	No
Kobo Clara Colour	$179.99	6” E Ink Kaleido 3, color	1448 x 1072 (300 ppi B&W, 150 ppi color)	16 GB	174 g	IPX8	No	No
Kobo Libra Colour	$259.99	7” E Ink Kaleido 3, color	1264 x 1680 (300 ppi B&W, 150 ppi color)	32 GB	199.5 g	IPX8	Yes	Compatible (Stylus 2 sold separately)
Kobo Sage	$269.99	8” E Ink Carta 1200, B&W	1440 x 1920 (300 ppi)	32 GB	240.8 g	IPX8	Yes	Compatible (Stylus sold separately)
Kobo Elipsa 2E	$399.99	10.3” E Ink Carta 1200, B&W	1404 x 1872 (227 ppi)	32 GB	390 g	No	No	Kobo Stylus 2 included

IPX8 on Kobo’s spec sheets means up to 60 minutes in up to 2 meters of water. All five have Kobo’s ComfortLight PRO front light with adjustable brightness and color temperature, Dark Mode, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth for Kobo audiobooks, and USB-C charging. Kobo’s US MSRP is what you see above; the prices drop during sales.

Kobo Clara BW ($159.99): The Value Pick

The Clara BW is Kobo’s compact black-and-white reader, and it is the one to buy if you want the Kobo experience for the least money. You get a 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen at 1448 x 1072, which works out to the same 300 pixels per inch as the Clara Colour’s text mode, IPX8 waterproofing, 16 GB of storage (Kobo says that holds about 12,000 eBooks), and a 1500 mAh battery that Kobo rates at up to 53 days with 30 minutes of reading a day and the light at 10 percent.

At 174 grams it is the lightest Kobo, which matters more than it sounds for one-handed reading in bed or on a train.

Buy it if: you read mostly novels and want a small, affordable reader that borrows library books without a separate app. It is also the model most directly compared with Amazon’s Paperwhite; our Paperwhite vs Clara BW piece covers that matchup.

Kobo Clara Colour ($179.99): Color on a Budget

The Clara Colour is the same compact 6-inch body with a color E Ink Kaleido 3 panel. Resolution for black-and-white content is still 1448 x 1072 at 300 ppi, while color content renders at 150 ppi, which is how all Kaleido 3 screens work: the color filter layer sits over a monochrome panel. Kobo rates the battery at up to 42 days under its light-use test, and the device weighs the same 174 grams as the Clara BW.

For $20 more than the Clara BW, it is worth it if you read comics, magazines, cookbooks, or anything with highlighted or color-coded notes. Color e-ink is paler than a tablet and slightly less crisp for pure text than the BW panel, so if you only read novels, keep the $20.

Buy it if: you want color without spending much, and you understand that e-ink color looks like newsprint, not an iPad. Our e-ink vs OLED for reading explainer covers why that tradeoff is still worth making.

Kobo Libra Colour ($259.99): The Best Overall

The Libra Colour is where Kobo separates itself from Kindle. You get a larger 7-inch Kaleido 3 color screen at 1264 x 1680, IPX8 waterproofing, 32 GB of storage, a 2050 mAh battery rated at up to 40 days of light use, and, crucially, physical page-turn buttons with automatic screen rotation so you can hold it in either hand.

It is also stylus compatible. The Kobo Stylus 2 is sold separately, and with it you can mark up PDFs, highlight, and write notes that Kobo converts to text. That makes the Libra Colour the only Kobo that does color, buttons and handwriting in one device. At 199.5 grams it is still lighter than most phones.

Kobo’s product page states library borrowing through OverDrive and Libby and article saving through Instapaper as features of this model, with the footnote that OverDrive is available only in select countries.

Buy it if: you want the best all-around Kobo, especially if one-handed reading with buttons matters to you. This is our recommended pick for most Kobo buyers.

Kobo Sage ($269.99): Big Screen, Buttons, Stylus

The Sage is an 8-inch black-and-white reader with a flush E Ink Carta 1200 screen at 1440 x 1920 and 300 ppi, page-turn buttons, IPX8 waterproofing, 32 GB of storage, and stylus compatibility (the stylus is sold separately). At 240.8 grams it is the heaviest Kobo you would still read one-handed.

One caveat: when we checked Kobo’s US store on October 31, 2026, the Sage was listed as sold out, and Kobo has not announced a successor. If an 8-inch reader with buttons is exactly what you want, watch for stock. If you are flexible, the Libra Colour gives you buttons and stylus support for $10 less, with a color screen instead of a larger one.

Buy it if: you want the biggest Kobo screen that still has buttons, mostly for reading rather than writing.

Kobo Elipsa 2E ($399.99): The Notebook

The Elipsa 2E is a different kind of device. It has a 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen at 1404 x 1872 (227 ppi), 32 GB of storage, and the Kobo Stylus 2 in the box, plus two spare tips. It is not waterproof, it has no page-turn buttons, and at 390 grams it is a two-hands or on-the-desk device.

What you get in return is a large canvas for handwritten notebooks, PDF markup, and reading textbooks or sheet music at a sensible size. Kobo’s notebooks sync to cloud storage services, so your notes do not live only on the device. If you are weighing it against Amazon’s writing tablet, our Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable comparison covers the note-taking category in more depth.

Buy it if: you want to read and write on one device and you read a lot of PDFs. For pure novel readers, it is more than you need.

Kobo vs Kindle: How the Prices Line Up

Amazon’s 2026 Kindle lineup prices out like this: Kindle $149.99, Paperwhite $199.99, Paperwhite Signature Edition $249.99, Colorsoft $289.99 or $319.99 depending on configuration, and Scribe from $429.99.

Put next to Kobo’s prices, the pattern is clear:

• Entry level: Kindle ($149.99) undercuts the Clara BW ($159.99) by $10, but the Clara BW is waterproof and has 16 GB; you have to step up to the Paperwhite ($199.99) for a waterproof Kindle.
• Color: Clara Colour ($179.99) and Libra Colour ($259.99) both come in under the cheapest Colorsoft ($289.99).
• Buttons: no current Kindle has them at any price. The Libra Colour ($259.99) and Sage ($269.99) do.
• Writing: Elipsa 2E ($399.99, stylus included) versus Scribe (from $429.99).

Kobo wins on price for color and for buttons. Kindle wins at the very bottom of the range and on store size. If you are still deciding which Kindle you would even buy, our which Kindle should you buy guide is the mirror image of this article.

Why Choose Kobo at All?

Three reasons Kobo beats Kindle for the right reader:

• Library borrowing is built in. Kobo’s help center says all you need is a library card and a Wi-Fi connection, and it lists every current model as supported. Kobo says the service is available in most public libraries in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, with a handful of other countries added.
• Native EPUB support and better format flexibility for books from anywhere.
• Physical page-turn buttons on the Libra Colour and Sage.

One change to know about: Kobo’s long-standing Pocket integration is gone. Kobo’s support page states that as of July 8, 2025 Pocket is no longer available, and Kobo now offers Instapaper for saving web articles to read on the device. If read-it-later was your reason for picking Kobo, it still works, just with a different account.

The tradeoffs are a smaller bookstore than Amazon’s and lower resale value. If those matter more to you, a Kindle Paperwhite may be the better call, and our is a Kindle worth it piece makes the case for Amazon’s side.

The Bottom Line

For most people the Kobo Libra Colour ($259.99) is the best Kobo, thanks to its buttons, color screen, waterproofing and stylus support. Drop to the Clara BW ($159.99) to save money, or the Clara Colour ($179.99) for color on a budget. Writers and PDF readers should look at the Elipsa 2E ($399.99). Want to weigh it against Amazon one more time? Our Kindle vs Kobo guide and full best e-readers roundup cover every angle.