Which Amazon Fire Tablet should you get?

When the original Kindle Fire was released way back in 2011, many thought Amazon was onto something with a low-cost, easy-to-use tablet experience. You know what? They were right! Today there are no fewer than six Fire tablet devices on offer from Amazon if you count the Kids Editions. Out of them all, we think the Fire HD 8 (2020) is the best overall value thanks to its size, improved processor, charging, and storage capabilities, and its ability to still hit an affordable price point.

Best Overall: Fire HD 8 Tablet (2020)

The Fire HD 8 sits in between the Fire 7 and Fire HD 10 in more ways than one. It’s roughly in the middle of the two sizes, of course, but it’s also priced in the middle. Those two data points alone justify the Fire HD 8 as a great choice, but let’s explore a little bit more about what makes this device special.

For starters, it’s the lowest-priced Fire device you can get with a 1280×800 resolution display. The base model comes with 32GB of storage, but you also can quickly and cheaply add to that with a microSD card and expand up to 1TB. With up to 12 hours of battery life, you’ll have plenty of juice to watch several movies or play games on the go. The device features Dolby Atmos in its dual stereo speakers, and also comes with a headphone jack so that you can enjoy your music or videos. You won’t get access to Google apps, but the Amazon app store has better offerings than it used to.

Our favorite feature here is the hands-free Alexa. You can simply call out to Alexa to ask questions or give commands. Not only is this device great as an entertainment portal, but it can also serve as a smart home hub. You can use the touchscreen or Alexa to control your lights and thermostat, show you who’s at the front door through your Ring camera, or video chat with friends and family through its 720p HD video camera. You also get two 2MP cameras — one on the front and one on the back.

Even though the Fire HD 10 has a bigger screen with a higher ppi (pixels per inch) resolution, we think the Fire HD 8 has all you need for a fantastic entertainment experience. The current iteration now has a USB-C port for more efficient and faster charging, just like the HD 10. Yhe addition of Game Mode for distraction-free gaming is sure to please both the kids and the adults in the family.

Pros:

• HD display
• Expandable storage
• Dual stereo speakers
• Hands-free Alexa
• 12 hours of battery
• Fast charge capable through USB-C port

Cons:

• Limited initial storage options
• Fire HD 10 has higher-res screen
• Google apps not included

Best Overall

Fire HD 8 Tablet (2020)

• $90 at Amazon
• $90 at Best Buy

The Goldilocks tablet

The Fire HD 8 makes the right tradeoffs in the display, storage, and price to justify it as a great family tablet purchase.

Best for Sharing: Fire HD 10 Tablet (2019)

If you want the most immersive video and gaming experience on a Fire tablet, then you want a Fire HD 10. We know it’s the most expensive Fire, but you know what? It’s still darn affordable! Try finding another Android tablet or iPad of this size at anywhere close to this price.

The newly-updated Fire HD 10 is the only Amazon tablet with a full HD 1080p display, coming in at 1920×1200 resolution. It offers up to 12 hours of battery life, including video watching, web browsing, and music listening, and it comes with Dolby Atmos, dual stereo speakers, and a headphone jack. It features a VGA front-facing camera with 720p HD video recording and has the same 2MP cameras as on the HD 8.

As its size would suggest, the Fire HD 10 comes with more storage (up to 64GB) that is expandable up to 512GB, and it has the best processor of the Fire tablet line. You can use that storage and processing speed to watch hours of Prime Video, Netflix, or Showtime, and playing mobile games on that full HD screen is a delight.

Even though it may be a bit heavy for some at just over a pound (17.8 ounces), we find it to be a fantastic device for reading books, newspapers, magazines, or even websites — particularly if you need or want to enable a larger font. There is just so much more screen space to view your content on!

Pros:

• Full HD display
• Biggest Fire tablet screen
• Dolby Atmos and dual stereo speakers
• More storage than competitors
• 12 hours of battery

Cons:

• Cameras are low resolution for a “high-end” device
• Highest priced Fire tablet, non-Kids Edition
• A little heavy

Best for Sharing

Fire HD 10 Tablet (2019)

• $150 at Amazon
• $150 at Best Buy

Full on fire

With its full HD screen and Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, the Fire HD 10 is like a little TV in your hands!

Best for for the Future: Fire HD 8 Plus Tablet (2020)

While the Fire HD 8 (2020) is an iterative improvement over the 8th-gen (2018) version in just about every way, the new HD 8 Plus brings all of those enhancements plus some really exciting features that are sure to help future-proof your tablet for years to come.

For starters, the HD 8 Plus has 3GB of RAM as opposed to 2GB in the HD 8, and it is capable of charging up to an hour faster than the HD 8 (four hours vs. five hours). The biggest difference between the two tablets, however, is that the HD 8 Plus is capable of charging wirelessly. In fact, Amazon is selling an add-on wireless charging stand that can keep your Fire HD 8 powered and in Show mode when you’re not actively using it. This doubles its value as a device and possibly negating the need for something like an Echo Show.

Yes, the HD 8 Plus is more expensive than the regular HD 8, and yes, the wireless charging stand is an additional expense on top of that, putting it in or above the price range of the HD 10. However, I think that the benefits those extras bring to the device mean that you’ll probably get a lot more and a lot longer, use out of it than any other Amazon Fire tablet.

Pros:

• HD display
• Wireless charging and USB-C
• Expandable storage
• Dual stereo speakers
• Hands-free Alexa
• 12 hours of battery

Cons:

• More expensive than HD 8
• Wireless charging stand is extra
• Google apps not included

Best for the Future

Fire HD 8 Plus Tablet (2020)

• $140 at Amazon
• $140 at Best Buy

All the bells and whistles

This is the most advanced Fire tablet. The “Plus” stands for fast charging, wireless charging, and better specs all-around.

Best Value: Fire 7 Tablet (2019)

Every excellent product line has its entry point, and for the Fire tablets, that’s the Fire 7. This version is the perfect portable companion for anyone who just wants a low-cost tablet to watch their favorite shows on, play games, read their favorite new Kindle book, or maybe occasionally surf the web or check Facebook. As with the other Fire tablets, this device comes with 2-megapixel front and rear cameras and a 720p HD video camera, so you can still snap some decent shots and video chat to your heart’s content.

If you wanted to get an affordable family tablet to share with your kids, this is a great option. With the savings you’ll get on this device, you can easily afford to pick up a protective case (maybe one that isn’t neon pink or yellow!). You can also add FreeTime Unlimited to this or any other Fire tablet whenever you want.

You can still access all of your favorite content from Amazon and other services through this device, and even though it’s not HD resolution, the screen looks good enough for most use cases. The battery life is decent, and you can add to its internal storage with a microSD card. The Fire 7 is already cheap, but you can often find it on special for even less, making this practically an impulse buy.

Pros:

• The lowest point of entry into the Fire ecosystem
• Expandable microSD storage
• Easy hands-free Alexa

Cons:

• Not HD resolution
• Lower-quality mono speaker
• No protective case included

Best Value

Fire 7 Tablet (2019)

• $50 at Amazon
• $50 at Best Buy

The most affordable Fire tablet

With hands-free Alexa and access to tons of great content, the Fire 7 Tablet is a fun gadget for all ages.

Best for Kids: Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet (2020)

Some may object to this pick based on the price alone. You see, the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition is significantly more expensive than the Fire HD 8 tablet even though they are essentially the same device. So why is this so? It’s about all of the extras, which adds up to a good value.

Amazon’s Kids Edition Fire tablets all come with a kid-proof case that has a built-in stand to protect the devices from inevitable accidents, and in the case (pun intended) of the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition, you can get them in blue, pink, or purple. In addition to the case, Amazon throws in a two-year worry-free guarantee, so you can send the device back at any time if it gets damaged, and Amazon will send you a new one.

Just as important as physical device security is digital peace of mind. The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition comes with parental controls that allow you to decide what your child can and cannot do on-device. For example, it’s easy to set screen time limits, curfews, or limit content. Alexa and in-app purchasing are disabled by default. The device also comes with one year of FreeTime Unlimited, which gives you access to 20,000 apps, books, videos, games, audiobooks, as well as educational content from PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Disney, and more.

Back to the specs, this tablet features 32GB of storage, with the option to expand up to 1TB via the microSD card slot. Of course, you also get unlimited cloud storage for any content purchased through Amazon. The device can get up to 12 hours of battery life depending on usage, and it features dual stereo speakers and, blissfully, a headphone jack. There are also 2MP front and rear-facing cameras and a 720p video camera for those times when you want to have the kids chat with the grandparents.

Pros:

• HD Display
• Expandable storage
• One year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited included
• Two-year warranty included
• Kid-proof case with built-in stand included

Cons:

• Limited internal storage
• Significantly more expensive than “regular” Fire HD 8 Tablet

Best for Kids

Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet (2020)

• $140 at Amazon
• $140 at Best Buy

Great display with tons of kid-friendly features

Get this one if you have young kids and want to monitor their screen time and usage easily.

Bottom line

The lineup of Amazon Fire tablets has never been so complete, and we can understand why these devices are so popular. They offer a great entertainment experience with industry-leading parental controls and child content options, as well as and access to Alexa and Amazon’s connected home ecosystem, at a fantastic value. Aside from the iPad, no other tablet series can compete!

When looking at the Fire tablets, we feel that the Fire HD 8 (2020) is the best choice for most people. It has an impressive HD screen, expandable storage, and hands-free Alexa. For the price, you can feel comfortable picking up two or three of these for less than the cost of an iPad, and you can easily share it with your family members if you choose.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Jeramy Johnson is proud to help keep Keep Austin Weird and loves hiking in the hill country of central Texas with a breakfast taco in each hand. When he’s not writing about Amazon products and services, he’s defending his relationship with his side-chick Alexa to his family. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeramyutgw