With Amazon finding new ways to anger Kindle customers, some people are switching from Kindles to Kobos over Amazon’s latest fiasco in order to download ebook purchases without having them locked into Amazon’s ecosystem (which isn’t really true since there are currently three different ways to download backup copies of Kindle ebooks, and there’s no guarantee that Kobo is going to continue offering downloads forever, but whatever).
Personally, I think owning a Kindle and a Kobo is the best combination when it comes to ereaders, but for reasons I don’t understand some people insist on only using one brand. Having a Kindle ereader and a Kobo ereader opens up a lot more options for you as a reader, and you can continue to use your Kindle without ever buying another Kindle book from Amazon.
You Don’t Have to Ditch Your Kindle
I don’t know why people think they need to get rid of their Kindle if they don’t want to buy ebooks from Amazon anymore. Kindles, like all ereaders, are just tools for reading. You don’t have to own a Kobo ereader to read Kobo ebooks, and it’s entirely possible to read Kobo ebooks on a Kindle if you remove the DRM first (isn’t that the whole purpose of having backup copies downloaded anyway?).
You can still sideload non-Amazon books onto Kindles, and have them backed up and synced on Amazon’s cloud for free (something that’s not possible with Kobo); you can still borrow library ebooks on Kindles; you can still use your Kindle to read ebooks that you’ve already purchased, and get backup copies of your purchased ebooks. You can do all of that and never give Amazon another dime.
You can even jailbreak your Kindle and install KOReader on it to read EPUB files natively and do all kinds of things Amazon won’t let you do with the default software.
Can’t Upload and Sync Sideloaded eBooks
Probably the one thing that people miss the most when switching from Kindles to Kobos is the fact that Kobo doesn’t offer any kind of upload and sync feature for sideloaded books like Amazon does.
Kobo recently sent out a survey to customers asking if they’d be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee for a feature like that, so it’s something Kobo might add eventually, but the odds are you’ll have to pay for it.
You can sideload ebooks onto Kobos using a computer and a USB cable, but you can’t upload non-Kobo books to your Kobo account and download them wirelessly like you can with Kindles. But some Kobos do support Dropbox and Google Drive (and it’s possible to add them to models without official support).
Amazon Exclusive eBooks
Kobo’s ebook store has a good selection of ebooks, but they don’t have everything that’s available on the Kindle store.
There are a lot of ebooks that are only available through Amazon; most authors that use Kindle Unlimited aren’t allowed to sell their ebooks elsewhere because of Amazon’s exclusivity rules (for some, KDP is the best way to make money off of their ebooks). It’s their choice to do what they want with their work, even if they don’t like Amazon’s exclusivity rules. Not buying exclusive books is going to hurt authors more than it’s going to hurt Amazon.
Kobo’s platform is also seriously lacking when it comes to stuff like comics and magazines, so it would be wise to peruse Kobo’s selection before ditching your Kindle entirely.
Limited eReader Choices
Not everyone will agree with this, but I just think that Kobo’s current lineup is seriously lacking in the black and white screen department. They don’t sell anything comparable to the Kindle Paperwhite, and their basic model, the Kobo Clara BW, feels cheap like the basic Kindle but it costs almost a much as the Paperwhite, despite having a smaller screen.
You have to spend $269 to get a Kobo with a nicer design and a larger black and white screen, and that’s for a model that’s nearly 4 years old now. Kobo offers nothing between those two models with a BW screen.
The Kobo Libra Colour is a nice device if you want a color screen, but color E Ink comes with some notable drawbacks, so the Libra Colour isn’t going to appeal to everyone, especially if you’re coming from a Kindle with superior contrast. Kobo really needs to release a Libra BW or something comparable to the Kindle Paperwhite.
Kobo’s Software is More User Friendly
Most people like the software on Kobo ereaders better than the software on Kindles. There are more customization options and more reading settings, you can easily install hacks and alternative reading apps like KOReader without complicated jailbreaks, you can set up collections using Calibre, OverDrive support is built-in, the homescreen isn’t cluttered with recommendations, and you don’t have to pay an extra $20 to avoid seeing screensaver ads.
One exception is using Dark Mode on Kobos. Some people don’t like how it only inverts the text and not all elements of the interface like Kindles do. The menus and popups all use light mode on Kobos, and the Dark Mode toggle isn’t easily accessible, being on the second page of the reading settings menu. See this Kindle vs Kobo Dark Mode comparison for more details.
No VoiceView or Text to Speech
Kobos can match Kindles on most features, but Kobo ereaders don’t support any kind of text-to-speech like Kindles do with VoiceView. Kobos support audiobooks bought from Kobo, but they don’t support TTS.
Kindle Unlimited Alternative
Obviously access to Kindle Unlimited is something that’s limited to the Kindle platform, but if you’re a heavy reader Kobo does offer an alternative to KU in the form of Kobo Plus. It doesn’t have the same selection as Amazon because of their exclusivity rules, but Kobo Plus is the same kind of system where you pay a monthly fee to get unlimited access to a catalog of ebooks and audiobooks. Note that you cannot download Kobo Plus books in Adobe EPUB format from Kobo’s website like you can with purchased ebooks.
