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.

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.

  • StoryShots
  • Instaread
  • Quiddity
  • 12min
  • BookRags
  • getAbstract
  • ReadingIQ
  • Snapreads
  • CatchUp – Bite-Sized Summaries
  • Joosr Book Summaries
  • SparkNotes
  • Four Minute Books

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.

Cons: 

  • The freemium version seems bloated with ads

Platform Availability:  Android and iOS

“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.

Platform Availability:  Android, iOS, and Web

Pricing: 7-day free trial, $8.99/month or $89.99/year

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.

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.

Cons: 

Platform Availability: Android and iOS 

Pricing: Free 

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.

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.

Platform Availability: Android, iOS, and web

Visit: Website

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.

Pros: 

Platform Availability:  Web

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.

Platform Availability:  Android, iOS, and web

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.

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.

  • A large collection of books
  • Personalized suggestions
  • A variety of books

Platform Availability:  iOS, and web

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.

  • Rather expensive
  • Only available for iOS

Platform Availability: iOS

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.

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).

Platform Availability:  Android and iOS

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.

Platform Availability:  iOS, Android, and web 

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.

Platform Availability: Web 

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.

Considering a huge collection of book summaries, Blinkist is worth the money.

You can get Blinkist Premium for free for 6 months by making the most of the auto-generated voucher code.

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.

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.