Book Summary Websites And Best Book Summary App (Blinkist Alternatives)
It seems like every week there’s another excellent book or two to add to your to-read list…
If you’re anything like me, then you probably don’t have enough hours In the day it takes to complete them all. In fact, how we interact with various media has evolved so dramatically in the last few years.
There are many ways you can consume books.
🚀 TLDR? The Quick Summary (long) of this Article
So which app is best for book summary?
I reviewed every summary app in this post – and even though there are alternatives to Blinkist, I still believe its the king of summary apps.
Are There Any Other Alternatives to Blinkist?
If you tried already tried Blinkist and decided its not for you – I would suggest you read the full post, or give Instaread a try which is the second best option. You can also try getAbstract if it still doesn’t appeal to you.
What is the best way to read book summaries for free?
Yep! BookSummaryClub has been voted the number one site in this area. Visit our website to find more than 140+ book summaries. Blinkist offers a free 7-day trial.
Are you still unsure? Continue reading 😊
Nonfiction books are experiencing a resurgence. Book summary apps and websites have been gaining popularity in the last few years. Everybody is keen to improve their skills.
However, reading a book takes a lot of time, and can prove to be quite inefficient, particularly if only a handful of key points are covered.
This article will discuss the best app and site for book summaries, together with some other sites that provide free summaries such as we offer here.
I’m impatient: What is the best book summary website?
If you’re impatient and don’t want to read until the end, my pick for the best book summary website is Blinkist.
Blinkist is something I use daily and recommend it to business owners as well as anyone else interested in personal development. Check out our updated Blinkist review, or give Blinkist a try for seven days. Absolutely free.
Blinkist 7 Days for Free + 35% Discount
Top Book Summary Sites – Our List of Blinkist rivals
We’ll discuss the best of the best when it comes to free and paid book summary websites.
What you’ll find is that it is unlikely that there is an all-around best service. Instead, you’ll have to find the type of service you’re most interested in.
| For full-size table, swipe left👉 | The things we love | Where could it be better? | Prices | Read More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blinkist | Great for nonfiction books | The only nonfiction books available | With a complimentary trial, $89 per year | Get Blinkist free |
| Instaread | This section includes summaries and originals from fiction books. | Consistently high quality, but not as many titles than competitors | $7.99 per Month | Try Instaread for free |
| ReadingGraphics | Infographics and audio + text formats. Awesome! | The competition isn’t as intuitive as it should be | Price range starting at $5.80 a month | Subscribe to ReadingGraphics |
Blinkist is an excellent service that I use every day. But, it would be foolish to believe the same service is best for all.
In this article, I’ll go through some Blinkist alternatives to find the best Blinkist alternative for you.
The best book summary app – Blinkist
Blinkist: How great is it?
Like I mentioned earlier, I’m an avid user of Blinkist and recommend it to anyone looking for nonfiction book summaries.
Blinkist provides over 3,000 book summaries. More are being added daily.
There are many ways to use them. Available in a mobile app and on the desktop.
You can read the summaries on your Kindle or hear them as an audio file.
Blinkist is free to try and you can cancel anytime. Read our Blinkist review to find out more.
Get Blinkist free
Top Blinkist Options
If You’ve had a look at Blinkist and it isn’t your thing, that is okay. Here you’ll find our best alternatives to Blinkist (both free and paid), which you may like.
Alternative to Blinkist – getAbstract
There are many book summary services available. getAbstract This is a person with a long history, and should be considered as one of the major competitors to Blinkist.
Since 1999, the platform is in operation and offers more than 20,000 audio and text summaries.
While they mostly target larger businesses and offer plans for companies to use, their individual plans are also great if you’re buying for one.
GetAbstract has a proven layout to help you retain knowledge.
Which, seeing they’ve been in the business for over twenty years, they’ve had time to test and see what works best.
Actually, one thing that getAbstract offers that Blinkist doesn’t is the ability to Download PDF version of the summaries.
In regards to pricing, getAbstract isn’t over the top either.
The basic plan costs $99 and includes over 5,000 summaries.
You’ll be looking to pay more for the pro plans, which includes downloads and audio playlists.
GetAbstract also offers enterprize plans for businesses, so if you’re looking to purchase a plan for a group, you can do that easily.
getAbstract You can also get training free of charge on the YouTube channel.
If you’re solely looking at business books for your team, then getAbstract It is a great choice.
GetAbstract can be compared to Blinkist for more information.
Best for people looking for a variety of genres – Instaread
If Blinkist isn’t your thing, Instaread This is a good alternative. InstareadBlinkist offers book summaries that are fifteen minutes long for nonfiction books.
However, Instaread also offers a few things that Blinkist doesn’t:
- The Instaread Team Originals
- Summaries of book chapters
- Articles from magazines like The New York Times Magazine are available for access
- You will find a wider range of genres that are not business-related, such as fiction books
Instaread has become a more important tool for me. While they don’t have the catalog of books like their more established competitors, they are growing their library quickly.
Instaread can be tried for free. Read our review to find out more.
Instaread is available for free
Best for people who don’t want a subscription- Amazon
Most of these paid services are subscription-based, which is perfect if you’re looking to use the service at least once a week.
However, what if you’re just interested in the odd book summary?
The majority of books summaries on Amazon are around the $2.99 price range, so if you buy under two or three every month, you’ll save money compared to a subscription service.
Quality control is the most important negative.
But, you can stick with one of these. more reputable publishers, you’ll be fine. In fact, you could say these individual summaries aren’t a direct competitor to Blinkist.
I also use individual book summaries to make sure I want to read the entire book before I commit to purchasing it.
To me, spending $2.99 on a kindle summary is more than worth it in order to make sure you don’t waste $20 and ten hours on the full book you don’t enjoy.
Although you can download the Kindle App on any device, I recommend that you use it as a desktop application. Kindle reader. Even buying a house is possible. readers that come with Kindle Unlimited.
Best for visual learners – Reading Graphics
Reading Graphics Offers something not offered by other websites that summarize books. Informationgraphic summaries It’s a great alternative to Blinkist and adds a new twist on the concept of summaries as learning tools. Reading Graphics is a great service that tries to rival Blinkist in summarizing books.
As well as their written summaries (ten pages) and audio summaries, Reading Graphics Special Offers great infographics that give a visual representation of the book’s key lessons.
Sign up now Reading Graphics Get two summaries completely free.
They may not offer over 3,000 Blinkist books, but they offer substantial discounts on subscriptions.
Best for students and teachers – CliffsNotes
Ahh, Book summary sites: The Original Guide!
Cliffsnotes claims to be the most imitated summary site, and I wouldn’t disagree. Cliffnotes is a site that provides excellent summaries online of books, geared towards teachers and students.
The free content should have enough information to get you started with any text you’re studying.
The paid study guides for school and book subjects are excellent resources.
Cliffnotes are the best solution if you’re studying a text, Particularly fiction texts.
Best for actionable advice – (flash)books
(flash)books Dean Bohari’s book summary site. It focuses on useful advice that you can implement immediately in your own life. Dean Bohari, a writer and speaker, hosts a podcast discussing the secrets to a fulfilling and satisfying life. Flash: Books have an extensive library of summaries that Dean creates after reading each book. This is similar to the way I do it at BookSummaryClub.
SumizeIt – A new summary service
SumizeIt This is an innovative book summary service, which has recently gained a lot of popularity due to their amazing services and user-friendly interface. You can also access their app on iOS or Android to expand your knowledge wherever you are. They are a strong competitor, and offer a more user-friendly interface than most of the established businesses. Kudos!
The pros and cons of paying sites
✔️ The price you pay is not the only thing that matters. If you’re someone who wants to learn faster (Blinkist) or a team wanting to achieve more at work (Get Abstract), you can achieve that quickly.
✔️ There are more book titles, and often better summaries.
✔️ You will find more content with paid plans if a team writes the reviews.
✔️ Paid apps often include audio versions and additional bells and whistles. ❌ Sometimes it’s a little niched.
❌ It is possible that you do not wish to pay the subscription fee.
Top Free Book Summary Websites
You can also subscribe to quality blogs for free to get excellent book summaries.
Note: I’m not going to talk about the Bos Mag here for a couple of reasons:
- I don’t feel like talking about myself (it’s awkward…)
- You’re already here, so if you want to read the blog, you’re more than welcome.
With this in mind, we have compiled a list of free books summaries websites.
Four Minute Books
Four Minute Books This site offers 4-minute summary of books. It has been in operation since 2016.
You will find a wide selection of titles, and they are always updating with at least three reviews per week.
Samuel Thomas Davies
Continue reading Sam Thomas Davies’ Website he maintains.
His weekly email updates are an addition to my inbox, fuelled by a passion for learning.
Book Video Club (YouTube)
Book Video Club, a blog and YouTube channel offering short summary of books, is great.
It is mainly a content-marketing tool. BoardStudiosThe company offers content marketing and explainer videos to help businesses.
Their videos, however, are quite sweet.
The Journey (YouTube).
This YouTube channel looks pretty awesome. You can see that they used book summaries as a core part of their content strategy. But now, The Journey offers a lot more.
This channel covers many different thinking styles, often with the help of a book.
There are pros and cons to free websites
✔️ Um, they’re free… so that’s always a massive win
✔️ You will receive a weekly free email summary
❌ Won’t release content as often as paid options
❌ There is a limited selection of books
❌ The site can be used for free, but there may be ads and other revenue streams.
Blinkist, GetAbstract, and Instaread are all book summaries sites.
Although not quite up to the same level as the most-respected lists, they are still services you might have come across.
12min
12min Provide short summary of key books to entrepreneurs and business owners.
These ads have appeared all over the internet, including Huggington Post’s and Entrepreneur Magazine’s Facebook advertisements promoting them.
Although the idea is new, it’s very similar to Blinkist, with a different target audience.
The only problem is that Blinkist has a more enormous selection of titles, better summaries, and a bunch of other great add-ons that 12min doesn’t.
Scribd
Scribd has been described as “the Netflix of books” and offers unlimited access to audiobooks, eBooks, summaries, and other content for a very low monthly fee.
The price is reasonable, even though some marketing messages are misleading, according to the Scribd review.
However, if you’re just in the market for book summaries, there are better options than Scribd.
Mentorbox
Mentorbox, another advertising platform is available everywhere. Mentorbox, partly a concept by Tai Lopez, offers summary of books written by authors. It’s a very cool idea.
I won’t go too far into my thoughts on Mentorbox, as you can read my detailed review or see how it compares to Blinkist.
Mentobox could be one of best services in the world, and the $7 membership is just a way to get upsells.
Personal opinion: There are many better websites for book summaries.
The best book summary app: This is our verdict
My number one pick for book summaries is Blinkist.
However, if it isn’t your thing, platforms like Instaread and getAbstract There are many great Blinkist options.
While free websites are a good starting point, they don’t always offer the most valuable content.
The paid websites offer a better experience than the free ones. Nonfiction book summaries are a growing market and there’s going to be more and more Blinkist competitors entering the market, so it is important to choose a platform you like.