December 13, 2025
Here's What You Need To Know Before Buying A Kindle

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Kindles are so useful for people who love ebooks. They're lightweight, simple to use, and provide readers the option of carrying dozens of books with them wherever they go. If you’ve been thinking about getting a Kindle for you or someone else here's a quick breakdown of which is which:

Basic Kindle:

  • dark/light modes
  • 6” screen
  • 6 week battery life
  • 16 GB
  • Connects to Libby/Overdrive
  • Contains lock-screen ads (can remove ads for $20) - these are only on the lock screen and do not pop up while you are reading
  • The Kindle Kids version is the same but it comes with a 2 year warranty and a cover, plus no ads when in kid mode.

Kindle Paperwhite: (Most popular option)

  • warm light options
  • 7” screen
  • waterproof
  • 10 week battery life
  • 16 GB
  • 20% faster page turns
  • Connects to Libby/Overdrive
  • With or without ads (select before adding to cart, or remove ads later for $20)
  • Kids Paperwhite includes 2 year warranty and cover.

Kindle Colorsoft:

  • Includes everything in Kindle Paperwhite (note: no dark mode, but has a similar option to dark mode)
  • screen is in color
  • no ads
  • 8 week battery life
  • 16GB
  • great for books with images, magazines, and graphic novels

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition:

  • Includes everything in a kindle paperwhite
  • wireless charging
  • 32GB
  • auto-adjusting light

Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition:

  • Includes everything in Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
  • screen is in color
  • great for books with images, magazines, and graphic novels
  • Kids Colorsoft

Kindle Fire:

  • 8" or 10" screen
  • 32GB
  • tablet - can install apps as well as read it like a kindle
  • Kindle Fire Kids - comes with parental controls you can set from your own phone and 6-12 months of Amazon Kids+ subscription. Amazon recommends this for kids ages 3-7.
    • Pros:
      • Parental controls from your phone
      • Can schedule "screen time hours" 
      • Can limit time on non-book apps. 
      • Can make "learning time" required before games/video apps. 
    • Cons:
      • Parental controls don't always transmit to the tablet so if you turn off screen time manually on your phone the tablet doesn't always get the message. 
      • Can't block genres - you have to deselect any book you don't want them to access one at a time. (Though there is age selected material but I have different standards of age-appropriate books than Amazon does). 
      • The most annoying videos are on there - just like the videos for kids on YouTube.
  • Kindle Fire Kids Pro - This is meant for older kids (8+) with a more "grown-up" design and access to a filtered browser. 

Kindle Scribe:

  • 10.2” screen
  • 64GB
  • can write directly on the screen
  • comes with screen pen
  • great for notetakers to have their notebooks stored all in one place along with their books, journals, etc.

View All Kindles