Is the second-generation Amazon Kindle Scribe the best digital notebook? No. It’s a bit of a hybrid. I’d describe it as an extra-large Kindle that happens to have some digital notebook abilities. But time and time again, I find myself reaching for my Kindle over the other digital notebooks in my house. I’m a big reader, and a Kindle user at that, so having one device that already has all my books that can also serve as my personal doodle pad has been really convenient. It also helps that it has the best battery life of up to 12 weeks, so I almost never need to charge it before using it.

While reMarkable and Supernote have more templates and compatibility, and Kobo’s devices let you actually write notes on the book while Kindle only lets you write on Post-It-like pop-ups, called Active Canvas, and an expanded sidebar margin that can pop up and take up a third of the page for you to write on. If you’re looking to actually annotate a book, the Kobo Libra (more on that below) is a better choice. Both the Kobo Elipsa and Libra give you more freedom to actually write on book pages, and the Libra gives you the option of color.

The Scribe does now come with new generative AI features (Summarization and Refined Writing) but they’re subtle. You are able to sync the notebooks on your Scribe to the Kindle app, but these don’t sync as seamlessly as the ReMarkable app does. And yet, since I’m already a Kindle user, I find myself always grabbing this notebook to read my latest library book or jot down ideas on a notepad. It’s serving me well for my minimalist needs—I use my notebook for doodling ideas and writing lists rather than taking notes for class or uploading PDFs to edit—but our recommendations above are more powerful with better accessories.

The ReMarkable 2’s matte screen feels like paper, writing on it is quick and responsive, and battery life is exemplary. WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu has been using his ReMarkable for more than a year and found it can last for several weeks on a charge. You never have to recharge the stylus, which also magnetically sticks to the side of the tablet. There is also a keyboard attachment ($199) if you want to get some typing done, which is really satisfying to type on and doubles as a notebook cover when the keyboard isn’t in use. The keyboard is on the small side, but it’s easy to get the hang of. The tablet is $399 and includes the base Marker, ReMarkable’s stylus, or for an extra $50 you can get the Marker Plus, which has an eraser on the other end.

It has the same system as the Paper Pro and Move we also recommend, but the reMarkable 2 doesn’t have a front light or a color screen, so it’s harder to use in darker spaces like a classroom, and doesn’t allow you to add any fun color. I also found that the writing is smoother on the Pro devices. If you’re on a budget, this is still a really good option, but it’s likely worth splurging for the best if you’re already in the market for a digital notebook.

★ No price change: ReMarkable previously announced it would raise prices due to tariffs, but luckily our favorite model has remained the same price. The cheapest combination is currently only available on ReMarkable’s website.

The Supernote A5 X2 Manta is the second generation of Supernote’s A5 digital notebook, and it’s a great option with new upgrades like a dual slider bar, upgraded RAM, and FeelWrite 2 film covering the screen to give it a feeling similar to paper. You can also expand the storage with a microSD chip, and there’s a modular design under the hood so that you can easily upgrade the motherboard or put in a new battery.

The software is easy to use and has a design similar to ReMarkable’s. There’s also a cloud website and app you can use to send PDFs to the digital notebook to edit. You can also integrate it with apps like Google Drive and Dropbox. You can also add on the app Atelier to get a digital sketchbook option (though it’s only in shades of grayscale), and you can choose a document type that will convert your handwriting into a typed document.

But where Supernote really shines is that it has, in my opinion, the best pens in the game. Right now it has a special clear LAMY Safari Vista EMR ($99) pen that looks so realistic I keep grabbing it to write in my paper planner, and it feels great to write with. The Heart of Metal ($83) pen is also a fantastic pen, with a little more weight to it thanks to the metal body. If you’re a bit of a pen and stationery nerd (and don’t need a keyboard attachment, which Supernote doesn’t offer), then you’ll get your heart’s fill with Supernote’s pen lineup paired with its great digital notebook.

★ New price: The Supernote A5 X2 Manta used to cost $459, but now has a base price of $505. Supernote announced via Reddit that price increases are happening for its devices due to tariffs.

Kobo makes some of our favorite e-readers, and the Kobo Libra Color takes its e-reader software and not only adds digital notebooks, but color annotating too. You can write in the margins and underline your favorite quotes using eight different colors (plus black and gray, giving you 10 choices total), and you can hold down the button on the Stylus 2 ($70) to enter highlight mode. You can only highlight books in yellow, but there are four highlighter colors in notebook mode. The Stylus 2 also has an eraser on the back that works as an object eraser, so one tap to the highlighted area or on-page doodle and the whole thing will vanish from your book’s page.

The Libra also has a separate notebook section, where you can create different digital notebook pages. You can choose from a variety of layouts for each page (click the three dots and choose “change page background”) in a notebook, plus three different pen styles, a highlighter, and a paintbrush to use with the eight colors and two neutrals in the Libra’s digital palette. It is a small size, so good for taking quick notes but not ideal for, say, writing down everything from an intense lecture. My handwriting also didn’t appear as clearly as it did on reMarkable and Scribe devices. But if you’re more of a fun quick list or idea kind of person and mainly want to annotate your e-books with color, the Kobo Libra Color will be perfect for you.

★ Larger, but no color: We previously recommended the Kobo Elipsa 2E ($400) for readers, and while it’s still a great device, I think it’s just a little too large for frequent readers (I much prefer the smaller Libra to bring books with me on the go), and missing out on color is a huge bummer. But I prefer both Kobos to the Kindle Scribe, and the Elipsa and Scribe are the same size.