Blinkist is a great platform for bibliophiles and those who always want to enhance their knowledge by exploring and reading books. The service offers key insights from a huge library of more than 4,000 bestselling nonfiction books. The micro-books are available in both text and audio formats and take just 15 minutes to consume. While I have always appreciated this app, it has a few shortcomings like the support for only two languages (English and German), a limited freemium version that offers a pre-selected blink, and the way too expensive price of the premium variant that starts at $12.99/month. If you also find these drawbacks too much, here are the best Blinkist alternatives that you can try in 2020.
Best Blinkist Alternatives You Should Try
Some of the apps mentioned in this lineup are priced lower than Blinkist which is great for users who are looking for a cheaper alternative to Blinkist. Besides, there are also quite a few book summaries apps that have a much bigger library of books and support more languages.
Not to mention, some services provide a more personalized experience with super handy features like curated lists, intuitive audio listening, and tracking functionality to enhance your reading. So, whatever sits right on top of your priority, let’s jump right in to choose the best alternatives to Blinkist!
1. StoryShots
There is a lot to like in “StoryShot” but I would mention only three pivotal things that make it a strong replacement for Blinkist. First and foremost, this book summaries the app comes with one of the largest collections of books from a wide range of categories including management, history, science, communication skills, economics, and more.
Plus, it also adds new books every week so that you always have new content to consume. The second, it’s also got an impressive looking UI that can rival Blinkist’s famed user-interface to a great extent. Depending on your convenience, you can choose to read your preferred summary or listen to it whenever you want.
As a visual learner, you would really appreciate its well thought out videos. In terms of price, StoryShot comes for free with basic features. But you can subscribe to the $2.49/month premium plant to use the app without ads and also get extra features like offline reading.
Considering the low price and the extensive features, I feel that StoryShot is one of the best Blinkist alternatives on the market right now.
Pros:
- A large collection of books
- Books are available in several categories
- Impressive looking UI
Cons:
- The freemium version seems bloated with ads
Platform Availability: Android and iOS
Pricing: Free, $1.99/monthly
Visit: Website
2. Instaread
“Instaread” has always been a top-notch rival of Blinkist. So, if you are into nonfiction books, you may already be familiar with it. The book summaries app has a good roster of over 800 titles that provide quick highlights of bestsellers and famous books.
Apart from offering professionally written titles, it also provides The New York Times Magazine articles which you would like to read to bolster your knowledge. Plus, the app also offers originals on important topics and well-known people. So, if Blinkist doesn’t offer you unique content to satiate your reading hunger, it could be a more suitable option for you.
To ensure you don’t forget to check out a special article or book, it allows you to track your completion rates as well. Moreover, you can even download your favorites to listen to them during a long trip or free time.
Talking about price, Instaread offers a free trial of just 7 days and its basic variant starts at $4.99. Considering a reasonably good library and high-quality books as well as articles, it’s certainly one of the best alternatives to Blinkist.
Pros:
- Over 800 titles
- Provides The New York Times Magazine articles
- Offers originals on important topics and well-known people
- Allows you to track your completion rates
Platform Availability: Android, iOS, and Web
Pricing: 7-day free trial, $8.99/month or $89.99/year
Visit: Website
3. Quiddity
If you are looking for an app similar to Blinkist but free, this is the one for you. For keeping a track of major takeaways and key insights from some of the most popular nonfiction books, “Quiddity” is one of the better options.
The app has a decent library of over 150 summaries which may not be at par with what Blinkist has to offer but they are pretty good enough as far as quality is concerned. As the new titles are added every month, you will always have something exciting to read and discover.
Whether you like to explore the books based on self-improvement & psychology or science & technology, it has got enough variety to satiate your thirst for learning. To ensure you can get started with your favorite nonfiction books anytime and anywhere, it makes them available both in text and audio.
What’s more, Quiddity is also available for free, which makes it easily one of the best free alternatives to Blinkist.
Pros:
- Adds new books weekly
- Books are available in many categories
- Available for free
Cons:
- Smaller content catalog
Platform Availability: Android and iOS
Pricing: Free
Visit: Website
4. 12min
If the price is not a factor for you then you should look at this alternative to Blinkist. 12min is very similar to Blinkist both in terms of intuitive UI and features. After extracting ideas from bestselling nonfiction books, the app brings you pretty handy micro-books that you can read or listen to. Like Blinkist, it also offers both text and audio versions so that you can catch up with your books at your own pace.
The app also offers a curated list so that you can easily find out the nonfiction books you enjoy reading. As it’s available offline, you will be able to read or listen to your favorite books while traveling without any interruption. Just like Blinkist, it’s available for free with limited access to titles.
And you need to subscribe to the premium version ($49/year) to access the entire collection without any restriction. As for language support, it’s compatible with English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Overall, 12min is an affordable yet reasonably good alternative to Blinkist.
Pros:
- Offers micro books in both text and audio versions
- Works efficiently in offline
- Supports three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish
Cons:
- Pricier than Blinkist
Platform Availability: Android, iOS, and web
Pricing: Free, $63.99/year
Visit: Website
5. BookRags
Are you looking for a Blinkist alternative that can offer very helpful essays, lesson plans, and top-quality education resources? If yes, BookRags is for you. Boasting a huge collection of educational resources and literature study guides, it is a one-stop-platform for teachers and students.
The summaries are neatly written and offer better insight. Interface-wise, it looks a bit outdated. But if you don’t mind its dull-looking UI, you would enjoy exploring the library and reading bios, essays, very helpful lesson plans, and more.
The free version of the service offers only a brief summary of an article. But if you want to break the limitation, you will have to pay $19.99/month which is not bad considering the massive library of education resources.
Pros:
- Top-quality education resources
- Well-written summaries
- The web app runs smoothly
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer a freemium version
Platform Availability: Web
Pricing: Free, $24.99/month
Visit: Website
6. getAbstract
If more personalized reading is right on top of your demand “getAbstract” should be a smart pick. The app provides key insights from well over 20,000 nonfiction books. More significantly, the summaries are pretty straightforward and don’t require more than 10 minutes as compared to Blinkist’s 15 minutes.
As a result, even if you are very busy in your hectic life, you will be able to comfortably spare time for them. With over 350 categories to explore, boredom will never creep into your reading. From TED to innovation to leadership, it can cater to your specific reading taste.
Talking about UI, getAbstract user-interface looks clutter-free and doesn’t require much learning curve. Another department where it has an edge over Blinkist is language support as it supports multiple languages including English, German, Spanish, Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Russian.
Though getAbstract doesn’t offer a freemium version, its premium version starts at just $5.99.
Pros:
- More personalized reading
- Key insights from well over 20, 000 nonfiction books
- Summaries aren’t time-consuming
Cons:
- The web app feels slow
- Doesn’t offer enough tools to organize the library
Platform Availability: Android, iOS, and web
Pricing: 3-day free trial, Starts at $99/year
Visit: Website
7. ReadingIQ
For the folks who aren’t pleased with Blinkist’s library of books for kids (up to 12 years old), “ReadingIQ” is the much better choice. The app comes with a fairly good roster of over 7000 award-winning books.
Plus, it also features more than 700 voiced titles which kids would enjoy listening to. Apart from having an entire ABCmouse library, it has collections from noted publishers like National Geographic, Whitman, Charlesbridge, and more.
It offers a handy guided reading feature to enhance the reading of children. As a parent, you can keep a track of the progress of your little kid. Moreover, all the books are in line with the school curriculum and also feature comprehension quizzes to boost your child’s reading skills.
Unlike Blinkist, ReadingIQ doesn’t offer a free version but you can access its entire library for $7.99/month which is the same as Blinkist’s monthly pricing.
Pros:
- Over 7000 award-winning books
- 700 voiced titles
- Comes with entire ABCmouse library
- Comprehension quizzes
Cons:
- Some voiced titles don’t play well
Platform Availability: Android, iOS, and web
Pricing: 30-day free trial, $7.99/month
Visit: Website
8. Snapreads
As a book summaries app, “Snapreads” ticks off most of the boxes. Whether you are looking for an ever-increasing library or a good user interface, it’s got the features to be considered one of the best apps like Blinkist. What caught my eyes in this app is the wide assortment of thousands of books that are aimed to cater to all sorts of book reading demands.
It delivers precise analysis and major takeaways (up to 15 minutes) which hardly require a few minutes to go through. The book summaries app keeps a close watch on your choice of books and offers suggestions accordingly.
Therefore, you don’t have to spend a lot of time finding the content you like to read or listen to during your leisure time. In terms of pricing, Snapreads’ premium version is quite expensive at $14.99/month. However, if pricing is not a factor for you, this is definitely one of the best Blinkist alternatives that you can check out.
Pros:
- A large collection of books
- Personalized suggestions
- A variety of books
Cons:
- More expensive than Blinkist
Platform Availability: iOS, and web
Pricing: 7-day free trial, $14.99/month or $89.99/year
Visit: Website
9. CatchUp – Bite-Sized Summaries
With an ever-growing library of over 700 titles, “CatchUp – Bite-Sized Summaries” is a notable alternative to Blinkist. The best part about this app is the clean UI and its ability to present key insights from the bestselling books in an easy-to-read format that users can quickly go through. In terms of curation, Booknotes is at par with Blinkist and offers high-quality books.
With offline support, you can access all of your favorite books even without an internet connection. Times when you are on a long holiday or on the move, the offline feature would not only let you read your books anywhere but also save plenty of cellular data.
The app also allows you to keep a tab on the completion rates. As for pricing, Booknotes offers a free trial of just 7 days. After that, you must subscribe to the pro version, which comes at $89.99/year to continue.
Pros:
- A decent library of over 700 titles
- Offline support
- Option to track completion rates
Cons:
- Rather expensive
- Only available for iOS
Platform Availability: iOS
Pricing: 7-day free trial, $89.99/year
10. Joosr Book Summaries
No matter what appeals to your reading taste, “Joosr Book Summaries” has got you fully covered. From business to fitness to self-help, it has a solid library of books to keep you engrossed during your free time. Just in case, Blinkist doesn’t seem to offer you a variety of books or articles to read, it could be the right app to switch your loyalty.
The freemium version of this summaries app allows you to read only a few eBooks each month. By upgrading to the premium version of the app, you can unlock several features like offline reading modes, unlimited eBooks, and unlimited audiobooks access.
On the customization front, the app offers you all the basic features to enhance your reading and also keep your library clutter-free. As compared to Blinkist, it’s user-interface looks less intuitive. On the price point, Joosr Book Summaries’s premium version starts at $6.49 which is a lot cheaper than the former ($12.99/monthy).
Pros:
- A large collection of eBooks and audiobooks
- Offers books in 21 categories
- Reliable offline mode
Cons:
- The user-interface looks dull
Platform Availability: Android and iOS
Pricing: Free, $6.49/month
11. SparkNotes
If you are looking for a Blinkist substitute for learning literature, SparkNotes is the one you should check out. Probably, the best part about this app is a great collection of over 500 literature guides. You can use this app to read chapter summaries, answer questions, and even take on quizzes to enhance your knowledge.
SparkNotes also offers instant feedback to keep you on track. As for the user interface, it looks neat, making sure your navigation remains easy-going. Depending on your reading taste, you can customize your text size and even turn on the dark mode to safeguard your eyes against burning, especially when reading literature guides in the night.
Though SparkNotes can’t match Blinkist’s rich UI and a huge set of features that offer full-on customization, it won’t disappoint you either if you prefer to keep everything neat.
One of my favorite features of SparkNotes is the blog that keeps producing interesting articles. Do note that the app offers a free trial of 30 days after that you will need to subscribe to the monthly or yearly ($0.99/month or $4.99/year) plan.
Pros:
- Over 500 literature guides
- Option to take on quizzes
- Offers interesting blogs to read
- Clean UI
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer much customization
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, and web
Pricing: 30-day free trial, $0.99/month, $4.99/year
Visit: Website
12. Four Minute Books
Last but not least, “Four Minute Books” is a well-known substitute for Blinkist. If you prefer to have bite-sized books which you can glance through in just a few minutes, it can check off your essential box with a pretty good score.
Talking about the book library, Four Minute Books has got a large collection of over 800 book summaries. Each summary has been written with precision, highlighting all the pivotal points. Thus, you will be able to easily understand what a book wants to convey.
To further enhance your knowledge, Four Minute Books puts forward three valuable lessons derived from each book, making sure you can get the gist without having to spend much time. Though Four Minute Books is nowhere near as vast or customizable as Blinkist, it can appeal to your preference if you are hunting for a reasonably good yet free alternative.
Notably, Four Minute Books publish a new, free book summary every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can choose to receive them as soon as they are published or pick them all in a weekly roundup.
Pros:
- Bite-sized books
- A large collection of over 800 book summaries
- Each summary highlights three valuable books
Cons:
- Very little scope for customization
Platform Availability: Web
Pricing: Free
Visit: Website
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free app like Blinkist?
There are quite a few notable free alternatives to Blinkist. StoryShots, Quiddity, and 12min are some of the finest free apps like Blinkist.
Is Blinkist worth the money?
Considering a huge collection of book summaries, Blinkist is worth the money.
How can I get Blinkist premium for free?
You can get Blinkist Premium for free for 6 months by making the most of the auto-generated voucher code.
Which is better Audible or Blinkist?
While audiobook apps like Audible are platforms where authors and publishers can sell the audio versions of books, Blinkist is entirely dedicated to offering summaries of popular non-fiction books. As to which one is better, it all comes down to your preference.
What books are on Blinkist?
Blinkist has got a massive library of books. The ones that have caught my eyes are The 7s habits of highly effective people, Thinking, Fast, and Slow, Getting Things Done, and How to Win Friends and Influence People. You can get the list of popular books on Blinkist by following this link.
Select the Best Book Summaries Apps like Blinkist
There you go! Now that you have got an extensive lineup of the best summaries apps like Blinkist. Choose the most befitting one that can boost your reading without taking away much of your time.
If you take up reading only once in a while, the free variants would be an ideal pick for you. But if you are a passionate reader, look for the ones which are feature-rich and offer tons of titles. Anyway, let me know your thoughts about the apps that have caught your attention.
