As a haven for book enthusiasts and knowledge seekers, Blinkist has carved a noteworthy space for itself by providing quick and digestible insights from a vast collection of over 4,000 bestselling nonfiction books. This service, available in both text and audio formats, allows users to absorb the essence of a book in merely 15 minutes.

Despite its merits, Blinkist isn’t without its flaws. Limited to just English and German language support, offering a restricted freemium version with pre-selected ‘blinks’, and sporting a rather hefty price tag for its premium variant at $12.99/month, these drawbacks could be a deterrent for some users.

If you share these concerns and are looking for more accessible and affordable platforms, we’ve curated a list of the best Blinkist alternatives for you to consider in 2023.

Explore 16 Top Blinkist Alternatives for Book Lovers

1. Shortform

Shortform is a new player in the book summary realm but has quickly established a significant presence. While smaller than Blinkist in terms of book collection, it stands out for the quality of its summaries, with a depth of knowledge comparable to reading the full books. It hosts over 1000 book summaries, includes bestsellers, and continually adds new titles. Key features include Video Summary series on YouTube and super-short summaries on Instagram. It’s priced at $24/month or $197/year, higher than Blinkist, but offers a 5-day free trial. However, its library misses out on some popular titles.

Main features:

• Comprehensive summaries of non-fiction books.
• In-depth guides to understand books better.
• Interactive exercises to apply the concepts.
• Article summaries on a wide range of topics.
• Personalized reading recommendations.

2. getAbstract

getAbstract is an excellent resource for accumulating summaries, particularly useful for creating study guides. It has a vast collection of summaries available in multiple formats, including audio and PDF. Users can customize the reading speed, making content consumption more flexible. While the summaries aren’t as in-depth as some may like, it offers students a free year’s subscription, and non-students can take advantage of a three-day free trial.

Main features:

• Summaries of business and non-fiction books.
• Summaries of conference talks, reports, and articles.
• Text and audio summaries.
• Personalized reading recommendations.
• Offline mode for reading and listening.

Read More: Blinkist vs GetAbstract Review: Which Book Summary Site Better

3. InstaRead

InstaRead’s summaries are longer than Blinkist’s, which can be ideal for detailed lesson planning. Although it has a smaller library, and summaries might omit critical details, it could be a suitable alternative if you need more detailed information. The library hosts over 1,000 books in categories like business, self-help, and biographies. A unique feature is its read-along feature, which highlights words as the audio summary plays. While it is a paid service, a seven-day free trial is available.

Main features:

• In-depth insights from popular non-fiction books.
• Condensed summaries of books.
• Audio versions of summaries.
• Offline access to the summaries.
• Frequent updates with new summaries.

4. Mentorist

Mentorist stands out by integrating book summaries with actionable steps to help users implement the learnings. The app includes insights and actions in several categories. One defining feature is its daily prompts for actions that users can add to their focus. The app costs $49 per year, which is considerably less than hiring a personal coach. Its core value proposition is its emphasis on understanding and implementing book contents rather than just reading them.

Main features:

• Consultation with experts for habit development.
• Self-improvement books.
• Actionable insights from books to apply to daily life.
• Personalized book recommendations.
• Progress tracking to monitor self-development journey.

5. StoryShots

StoryShots is ideal for self-improvement enthusiasts looking to condense key insights from books. Its summaries can be completed in less than 20 minutes, with multiple formats available. However, this focus on brevity sometimes leads to missing out on significant plot points. Despite this, its customization to different learning styles makes it a compelling Blinkist alternative.

Main features:

• Summaries of non-fiction books in text and audio formats.
• Animations, key takeaways, and flashcards for better understanding.
• Insights and lessons from TED Talks and podcasts.
• Offline access.
• Option to save your favorites for quick access.

6. Booknotes

Booknotes allows real-time reading of book summaries. It provides plenty of key insights and plot points from each book, making it a useful study tool. Although it might not provide the full context from books, its straightforward approach makes it an interesting Blinkist alternative.

Main features:

• Condensed summaries of non-fiction books.
• Audio versions of book summaries.
• Offline access to the library.
• A personalized recommendation system.
• Access to the latest bestsellers.

7. Snapreads

Snapreads offers an expansive collection of book summaries, aimed at catering to diverse reading needs. It provides precise analysis and major takeaways in up to 15-minute reads. With personalized suggestions based on your book preferences, it makes finding content effortless. However, its premium version costs $14.99/month, which is higher than Blinkist’s.

Main features:

• Summaries of popular non-fiction books.
• Audio versions for listening on the go.
• Offline access to book summaries.
• Book recommendations based on reading history.
• Constantly updated library.

8. Speechify

Speechify is a comprehensive program providing all necessary tools to grasp and finish a story quickly. As an app available in the store, it stands as a strong alternative to Blinkist.

Main features:

• Text-to-speech conversion for any text.
• Options to adjust speed, pitch, and language of the speech.
• Scans physical books and converts them into audio.
• Offline mode for listening to books.
• Syncs across multiple devices.

9. 12min

12min is a similar service to Blinkist in terms of UI and features. It provides handy micro-books extracted from bestselling nonfiction books, available in both text and audio formats. It also offers offline availability and supports English, Portuguese, and Spanish. It’s free with limited access to titles, and a premium version is available at $49/year.

Main features:

• Summaries of non-fiction books.
• Audio versions of book summaries.
• A new book summary every day.
• Offline access to summaries.
• Personalized book recommendations.

10. BookRags

BookRags is an excellent Blinkist alternative for those seeking comprehensive essays, lesson plans, and high-quality educational resources. Its substantial collection of literature study guides and educational resources is beneficial for both teachers and students. The summaries are well-written, providing valuable insight. While the interface may seem a bit dated compared to Blinkist, it’s rich in content including bios, essays, and lesson plans. The free version offers brief summaries only, while the full access to the resources comes at $19.99/month.

Main features:

• Extensive collection of literature study guides and educational resources.
• Detailed summaries and essays.
• Interface may seem outdated, but content-rich.
• Costs $19.99/month for full access.

11. ReadingIQ

ReadingIQ is a more suitable choice for children up to 12 years old, boasting over 7000 award-winning books. It includes over 700 voiced titles, and carries collections from notable publishers like National Geographic, Whitman, Charlesbridge, and more. ReadingIQ offers a guided reading feature to boost children’s reading skills, and parents can track progress. All books align with the school curriculum and include comprehension quizzes. Unlike Blinkist, ReadingIQ costs $7.99/month and doesn’t offer a free version.

Main features:

• Over 7000 award-winning books for children.
• More than 700 voiced titles.
• Parental tracking of children’s progress.
• Aligns with school curriculum and includes comprehension quizzes.
• Costs $7.99/month.

12. CatchUp

CatchUp has an expanding library of over 700 titles, making it a good alternative to Blinkist. Its user-friendly UI and the ability to present key insights from bestselling books in an easy-to-read format make it stand out. Like Blinkist, it offers offline support and a feature to track completion rates. CatchUp offers a 7-day free trial, after which a pro version costs $89.99/year.

Main features:

• Over 700 titles in its library.
• Clean and easy-to-use user interface.
• Offline support.
• Completion rate tracking.
• Costs $89.99/year after a 7-day free trial.

13. Joosr Book Summaries

Joosr Book Summaries offers a variety of books across categories like business, fitness, and self-help. It offers some free eBooks each month, but the premium version unlocks unlimited eBooks and audiobooks, along with offline reading modes. Despite its UI being less intuitive than Blinkist’s, it offers basic customization options. Joosr’s premium version starts at $6.49, cheaper than Blinkist.

Main features:

• Variety of books across multiple categories.
• Freemium model with some free eBooks per month.
• Premium version unlocks unlimited eBooks and audiobooks, and offline reading.
• Costs $6.49 for premium version.

14. SparkNotes

SparkNotes is a Blinkist alternative focused on literature, boasting over 500 literature guides. It offers features such as chapter summaries, questions, quizzes, and instant feedback. Its user interface is clean and offers customization options like text size and dark mode. Its blog publishes interesting articles. SparkNotes offers a 30-day free trial, after which it costs $0.99/month or $4.99/year.

Main features:

• Over 500 literature guides.
• Features for learning and feedback.
• Clean user interface with customization options.
• Costs $0.99/month or $4.99/year after a 30-day free trial.

15. Four Minute Books

Four Minute Books offers over 800 concise book summaries that can be read in a few minutes. Each summary is precise and delivers three valuable lessons derived from each book. While it’s not as vast or customizable as Blinkist, it’s a good free alternative. It publishes a new, free book summary every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Main features:

• Over 800 book summaries.
• Concise summaries with three key lessons from each book.
• Regular publication of new summaries.
• Free to use.

16. Athena

Athena is a curated learning experience for busy professionals. By summarizing the best books on specific topics, it allows for efficient learning. Athena offers text and audio versions of every book and a progress tracker. While it’s only available on iOS, an Android version is expected. After a 7-day free trial, it costs $4.99 monthly.

Main features:

• Curated list of best books on specific topics.
• Text and audio versions of each book.
• Progress tracker.
• Costs $4.99 monthly after a 7-day free trial.

Expand Your Horizons with Blinkist Alternatives

Through exploring these 16 Blinkist alternatives, we’ve uncovered a diverse world of book summary apps suited for various needs.

Whether you crave literature guides, children’s books, self-help titles, or bite-sized business summaries, there’s something for everyone. It’s evident that while Blinkist stands tall, many alternatives match, if not surpass it in certain aspects.

Now, all that’s left is for you to select the app that resonates with your reading style and preferences, and dive into the joy of learning.