Best Kindle: which ereader should you buy?

Update: We've now included the new Amazon Kindle Oasis that features a waterproof design, offers a great reading experience and even plays audiobooks.

If you want a device to read your ebooks on, the market isn't particularly crowded right now. Amazon has taken over the ereader game with its Kindle products and we've curated a selection of our favorite you can buy right now.

Some Kindles have risen to the top through a combination of slick performance, stunning screens and attractive prices.

Others wallow at the bottom, bogged down by cumbersome interfaces, high costs and disappointing displays. So we've put together this list so you can avoid them and only buy one of the best Kindles out there right now.

Note: we've ranked these from cheapest to most expensive according to prices at time of writing.

Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle, or all-new Kindle as Amazon calls it, is the most basic and affordable ereader the company sells, coming in at just £59.99/$79.99 (about AU$105).

And it's not much different to the previous model, which means you get an adequate (but not backlit) touchscreen, a long lasting battery and plenty of space for all your digitial tomes, plus an intuitive interface, that makes navigating your books a breeze.

Where it's improved is in the design - 2016's model is slimmer and lighter than what's come before, so even though you could essentially be carrying an entire library with you it won't even feel as weighty as a single paperback.

Amazon's also given its latest basic model a power boost, for fairly snappy performance. It's no match for the Oasis, Voyage or even Paperwhite, but at just over £50/$65 it doesn't have to be.

Why should I buy it? Because you want a bargain and can live without the backlight and sharper screen found on pricier Kindle's.

Read the full Amazon Kindle review

Kindle Paperwhite

The latest version of the Kindle Paperwhite is the best we've ever seen with a beautiful 6-inch HD display that has 300 pixels per inch and 4GB of storage, meaning you can keep thousands of books on one device.

The Kindle Paperwhite is almost the closest you can get to real paper while getting all the benefits of an ereader. You have access to Amazon's huge library of books and you can even use the Kindle Unlimited rental service on the Paperwhite.

There's a built-in light and you're not going to get any screen glare when reading it in bright sunlight. The battery isn't as good as the last version as it only lasts six weeks, but that said it's still a very good amount of time to get reading your ebooks.

Why should I buy it? If you're looking for one of the best screen experiences on an ereader and you want to be able to read in bright sunlight, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is your choice.

Read the full Amazon Kindle Paperwhite review

Kindle Voyage

The Kindle Voyage was once the top of the heap, but it's been bettered by another Amazon offering, the Kindle Oasis.

When this launched, it was essentially a perfected version of the Kindle Paperwhite, with the same interface and features but an even better 300ppi screen. Now the Paperwhite has that screen it's difficult to justify spending the extra on the Kindle Voyage, while the Oasis has a brand new beautiful design.

This one does come with a uniform backlight, an ambient light sensor and PagePress buttons, which allow you to navigate a book without lifting a finger.

It's even got a sleek 7.6mm thick build making it the best looking Kindle ever. All that comes with a high price tag and like other Kindle's the Voyage lacks a microSD card slot, but this is still arguably one of the most premium ereaders you can buy.

If you read a lot and, crucially, have the money to spare, this is the clear choice.

Why should I buy it? If you're looking for a premium Kindle experience, but not by spending as much as you would on an Oasis, go for this.

Read the full Amazon Kindle Voyage review

The Oasis sits as the most expensive option in the Kindle range, above the Kindle, Paperwhite and Voyage. At almost four times the price of the standard Kindle, you're spending a lot of money here… but it's worth it, and there's a new generation that's cheaper than the original Oasis too.

If you're looking for the most comfortable ereader experience you can ever have this is the best one for you. It has a brand new design that's now made of aluminium and is also waterproof, so you can read in the bath or next to the pool while you're on holiday.

It's thinner on one side, which makes it even easier to hold in one hand. There's a vibrant display with 300 pixels per inch and a fantastic backlight that makes it the brightest Kindle yet.

The battery is all inside the latest Kindle Oasis (there's no charging case like on the 2016 version) so you'll get six weeks standby life and we found it lasted a whole week with a few hours reading a day.

Plus you can now listen to audiobooks with Audible too, but you'll need to have a Bluetooth speaker or pair of headphones to hook up as there's no speaker or 3.5mm headphone jack.

This will cost you quite a bit more than all the other ereaders on this list - but if this is the device you use every day to absorb your tomes, why not spend that little bit extra?

Why should I buy it? Because this is the ultimate ereader experience you can get right now with the best screen, a waterproof design and the most useful features that money can buy.

Read the full Amazon Kindle Oasis 2017 review