reMarkable Alternatives (2026): E-Ink Tablets, iPad and Paper Smart Pens Compared

The best reMarkable alternative depends on what put you off. If it was the Connect subscription, look at Supernote, which says it charges no subscription at all. If you read Kindle books, a Kindle Scribe does the same writing job with Amazon's bookstore built in, and if you want apps and color, an iPad with an Apple Pencil does far more for similar money. If you'd rather write in ink on real paper and still get a digital copy, a paper smart pen like Ophaya costs a fraction of any tablet here.

We make Ophaya smart pens, so weigh our view with that in mind. For reading and annotating PDFs on e-ink, an e-ink tablet beats any paper pen, ours included. Prices are list prices on official US stores at our October 1, 2026 check, and they change often.

What reMarkable sells now, and what Connect costs

reMarkable lists three paper tablets, each with a Marker in the box. The Paper Pure starts at $399 for a 10.3-inch black and white screen with up to three weeks of battery, based on an hour of note-taking a day. The Paper Pro Move starts at $449 for a 7.3-inch color screen, and the Paper Pro starts at $629 for an 11.8-inch color screen with an adjustable reading light.

If you searched for a reMarkable 2 alternative, the reMarkable 2 itself is gone. Its product page says it is discontinued and points to the Paper Pure, though current owners still get software updates. reMarkable 2 Markers don't work on any of the current tablets.

Connect costs $3.99 a month or $39.90 a year after a 50-day free trial. reMarkable's guide to using the tablet without a subscription lists what you keep: handwriting conversion to typed text, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive integration, and sending pages by email as PDF, PNG or SVG files. You lose handwriting search, unlimited cloud storage and note-taking in the mobile and desktop apps. Your notes stay on the tablet, but only files used and synced in the last 50 days stay in the cloud. Three years on the yearly plan adds $119.70.

What you give up and gain by leaving reMarkable

reMarkable is built for focus. The company says the Paper Pure "doesn't buzz, notify, or nudge," and its screen is matte glass with a paper-like texture. If that calm is why you looked, most e-ink reMarkable alternatives keep it, while an iPad trades it away for apps and color.

What you gain depends on the switch. Supernote drops the subscription. Kindle and Kobo bring their bookstores. BOOX runs Android apps on e-ink. Paper options give you ink you can hand to a colleague across the table. Decide which of those matters to you before comparing specs.

E-ink tablets like reMarkable

These four are the closest reMarkable tablet alternatives, each with an e-ink screen you write on with a stylus.

Amazon Kindle Scribe

Amazon sells three 11-inch Kindle Scribe models, all with the pen included: Without Front Light at $429.99, Kindle Scribe at $499.99 and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft at $629.99. Amazon rates writing battery at up to three weeks (two for the Colorsoft). You can convert notes to text, and Amazon says you can "pull in files from Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, write on the page, share back as a marked-up PDF." For a reMarkable Paper Pro alternative, the Colorsoft is the closest match: color e-ink at nearly the same price. Our Kindle Scribe alternatives guide looks at the same field from Amazon's side.

Supernote Manta and Nomad

Supernote's homepage promises "free software updates, constantly" and says there is no subscription. If Connect is what bothered you, start here. The Manta has a 10.7-inch E Ink screen and a replaceable battery for $505, and the Nomad is a 7.8-inch model from $359. Neither lists a pen in the box, and Supernote's pens start at $65, so add that to the price.

BOOX Go 10.3 (Gen II)

BOOX goes the other way from reMarkable. The Go 10.3 (Gen II) is $419.99 on BOOX's store for the version shipped from its US warehouse (with a magnetic case and a stylus included), and it runs Android 15 with the Google Play Store built in, so you can add your own reading and note apps. The screen is 10.3 inches, black and white, at 300 ppi; the Lumi version adds a front light. In our view, that flexibility suits tinkerers more than people who want a tablet that only does one thing.

Kobo Elipsa 2E

The Kobo Elipsa 2E costs $399.99 with the Kobo Stylus 2 included. It has a 10.3-inch E Ink screen, converts handwriting to typed text, and imports documents from Dropbox or Google Drive. It makes the most sense if you already buy ebooks from Kobo.

iPad with Apple Pencil

If you want one tablet for notes and everything else, buy an iPad. The iPad (A16) starts at $449 and the Apple Pencil (USB-C) is $79, so plan on $528 before a case. The built-in Notes app searches typed and handwritten text, and you get color, the whole App Store and video calls. The trade is a smooth glass screen, the same notifications as your phone, and battery that Apple rates at up to 10 hours of web or video instead of weeks. We compare it with paper in smart pen vs iPad and Apple Pencil.

Paper-based options: Rocketbook and smart pens

Paper can't do what e-ink does with files. A notebook won't open a PDF, and neither will our LCD writing tablet, so if you read and mark up documents daily, stay with e-ink. Paper fits people who mostly write fresh notes and want them saved. Our LCD writing tablet vs e-ink tablet comparison explains the difference in screens.

Rocketbook

The Rocketbook Core starts at $34.99 with a Pilot FriXion pen and a microfiber towel. You write, scan each page with the Rocketbook app to a service like Google Drive, Dropbox or OneNote, then wipe the pages with a damp cloth. It's the cheapest route here, but nothing is captured until you scan.

Ophaya smart pen

Our pen has an infrared camera that reads a printed dot pattern, so it captures handwriting on Ophaya dot-code notebooks or the Ophaya LCD writing tablet. Ordinary paper takes the ink, but nothing is captured digitally. Handwriting syncs live over Bluetooth to the free Ophaya Pro+ app on iPhone, iPad or Android, and the pen stores about 1,000 pages offline until you reconnect. OCR turns handwriting into editable text (check it before you share it), and pages export as PDF, Word, PNG, GIF or MP4. The app can also record audio on your phone or tablet, linked to what you wrote. Syncing, OCR and app recording need no subscription.

The 3-in-1 set adds a 10-inch LCD writing tablet. You write on it with the same pen, the strokes stream to the app, you tap to save the page, then press erase. Save before you erase. Compared with a reMarkable, you get paper and ink and pay far less, but your notes live on your phone rather than on a dedicated screen.

Neo smartpen

Neo smartpen uses the same dot-paper idea. Its US store lists the M1+ at $129 and says it only works with Neo's digital paper, using the Neo Studio2 app. Our best smart pens of 2026 roundup compares the paper pens in more depth.

reMarkable competitors side by side

Which reMarkable alternative should you buy?

Pick a Supernote if the subscription was the sticking point and you mostly write. Pick a Kindle Scribe if your books are already on Kindle, and the Colorsoft if you wanted the Paper Pro for its color. Go with BOOX if you want Android apps on an e-ink screen, and with an iPad and Apple Pencil if one device has to handle lecture slides, email and notes.

Choose a paper smart pen like Ophaya if you like writing on paper, want each page on your phone as you write it, and don't need to read documents on the device. Choose Rocketbook if you're happy to scan pages yourself to spend as little as possible. If you read and mark up PDFs every day, stay with e-ink, reMarkable or a rival.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a reMarkable alternative without a subscription?

Supernote says it has no subscription. Ophaya charges nothing for syncing, OCR or app audio recording. reMarkable itself works without Connect for writing, handwriting conversion and email export, but handwriting search and unlimited cloud storage need the plan.

What replaced the reMarkable 2?

reMarkable points buyers to the Paper Pure, from $399. Old reMarkable 2 Markers don't work with it, but a new Marker comes in the box.

Is there a cheaper reMarkable dupe?

Among the e-ink tablets we checked, the lowest list price was the Supernote Nomad at $359 before a pen. Below that you are into paper: a Rocketbook or a paper smart pen. If you buy an unfamiliar lookalike tablet, check the return window first.

Can a smart pen replace a reMarkable?

For handwritten notes you want saved and converted to text, yes. For reading books or annotating PDFs, no. Write a week of meeting notes in a dot-code notebook before you decide, and notice if you ever wanted to open a file.