In a world where time is the ultimate currency, who actually provides us the best book summaries —Blinkist, the seasoned veteran, or Headway, the ambitious newcomer?
Blinkist, the O.G. of book summaries, and Headway, the flashy new kid on the block. Both promise to give you the best 15-minute book summaries you’ve ever seen. But here’s the plot twist: One has 7,500+ titles in its library, while the other flaunts its slick gamification tricks. One’s tried and true, the other’s prettier—so who’s actually worth your subscription cash?
We crunched the numbers, pitted features head-to-head, and here’s my opinion on which app is better suited.
Table of Contents
Comparison Table
Here is a short & fast comparison of the important features in both apps:
| Features | Blinkist | Headway |
| Library Size | 7500+ titles | 1500+ titles |
| Price | $139.99/year | $59 LIFETIME |
| Refund Policy | 14-day money back guarantee | 30-day money back guarantee |
| Languages | English, Spanish, German | English, Spanish, |
| Features | – Podcast Summaries – Shorts – Exclusive expert guides and collections Spaces – Blinkist AI | – Gamification – Challenges – Widgets – Daily microlearning session |
| Availability | Smartphones (iOS and Android), Desktop, Kindle | Smartphones (iOS and Android) and desktop |
| Offline | Yes | Yes |
Content Library
Blinkist with the larger library of 7500+ titles, has broader genres but more niche picks. On the other hand, although Headway only 1500+ titles, it has curated trendy selections (business-heavy/self-help).
User Experience: Fun vs Straightforward
After using both apps, I found Blinkist to be direct, while Headway has a pretty and playful approach. Here are the main important comparisons on the user experience aspect:
First Impressions
Blinkist provides you with a clean, no-nonsense, straight to the point type of learning method. On the other hand, Headway goes for a fresh approach by using bold coloring interfaces and confetti animations (as if it was a bookstore version of Duolingo!) .
Navigation
Blinkist provides simple categories (business, psychology, etc.) and a search bar, making it extremely easy and faster to navigate. Meanwhile, Headway will have “Trending now” carousels and mood-based filters (“Make me successful mentally”), which is more of a discovery-focused approach.
Direct vs. Fun
Blinkist will allow zero distractions for the reader, just focusing on the summaries. However, Headway will constantly give “Take a quiz!” or “Share your achievement” options, which some might find to be more motivational.
Progress Tracking
The progress tracking in Blinkist is straightforward, with simple “Read/Unread” tags. On the Headway side, they have more interesting features like streaks, badges, “My achievements” etc., capturing the attention of even non-enthusiastic readers.
Audio & Features
While both apps’ audiobooks deliver clear, professional narration, Blinkist gives off a more expressive, natural phrasing vibe, while Headway has a more streamlined, utilitarian vibe.
Blinkist can have 3 times the audio speed, and Headway with a max of 2 times the audio speed.
Desktop version
Blinkist is fully functional on both mobile and desktop, while Headway has limited functionality on it’s web version.
Pricing & Plans
Blinkist price plans have two options: pro version and premium version. The pro version will be more expensive comparatively as shown on the image above because there is the extra feature of Blinkist Ai, which will further summarize videos, podcasts, docs, articles and more.
Headway on the other hand, only has a premium version. However, right now Headway has a lifetime subscription plan which is worth looking into, it even comes with different user packages: single user, 2 users, and family plan (4 users).
Unique Aspects
Although there are lots of similarities between Blinkist and Headway, they each still have certain unique features that make them stand out.
Headway
- Books Tailored to You: When you sign up, they will give you a quick personality quiz (ex: What describes you more, what genre are you interested in) . They will then use that as a reference to recommend you the best books suited for you!
- Self-Improvement Challenges: They will recommend a few n-day programs which are compilations of several books to fulfill a goal of that specified challenge.
Blinkist
- Shorts: Blinkist provides 5 condensed ideas that refresh daily, each taking about a minute to consume. These shorts include quizzes, quotes, and explanations, ensuring a stimulating digestion of information so users remembers more.
- Integration with Kindle: Users can send highlighted quotes or notes and use it with Kindle.
- Blinkist AI: Able to summarize podcasts, articles, PDFs, and videos into extracts that you can read and listen to, essentially creating your own summary.
Conclusion: So Blinkist or Headway?
In the end, which is the better app of the two? If you are a minimalist learner, the straight forward Blinkist would be best suited for you. However, if you strive in visual learning, Headway would be more your cup of tea.
Blinkist has the bigger library, but Headway has a cheaper package. Blinkist is a tried and true service that many have grown accustomed to, but looking at the overall of what both provides, Headway with it’s lifetime package makes choosing to use it over Blinkist seem more appealing at the moment.
Curious to dive deeper into Headway and Blinkist?
Check out our in-depth reviews below for a better understanding!
