Table of Contents
About Blinkist
With so much to do and so little time, reading a book for knowledge or self-improvement is near impossible for many of us.
Blinkist offer you summaries of the most popular non-fiction books. They won the United Nations World Summit Award in the Learning & Education category, a Google Material Design Award, and were voted one of Apple’s Best Apps of 2017.
Blinkist has amassed 385k followers on Instagram and more than 550k more on Facebook. They are featured in well-known media like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, and a ton of tech sites like The Nerdist.
In this Blinkist review, I plan to take a look at this innovative product so that you can make an informed decision before you subscribe. I’ll check out the Blinkist app, the brand, and all of their customer reviews.
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Overview Of Blinkist
While the Blinkist app is an interesting and exciting platform, the story behind it is just as exciting.
In 2017, four German men, Holger Seim, Niklas Jansen, Sebastian Klein, and Tobias Balling, launched Blinkist as a platform, or library, of non-fiction book summaries. Their head offices were, and still are, in Berlin, Germany.
As good tech people know, feedback is the best way to develop an app, so they took, and continue to take, customer feedback to update their platform.
They respond to almost every review that has detailed feedback, especially if they contain a viable idea for improvement. Starting with a couple of thousand books, they now have more than 5,000.
Blinkist boast of serving 22 million customers since launching. On top of winning the United Nations World Summit Award in the Learning & Education category, a Google Material Design Award, and one of Apple’s Best Apps of 2017, they were featured as the App of the Day more than 500 times worldwide in 2019. They also won a couple of European awards.
Before my Blinkist review really takes a look at the platform, let’s see at a glance what makes the app so special:
Highlights
- Easy-to-navigate library of summaries of non-fiction books
- Prescreen books before buying
- Written and audio versions of blinks
- Download to your library so you can read anywhere
- More than 5,000 books with more regularly updated
Blinkist App Review
The Blinkist app is a platform, or more simply, an online library that contains 15 minutes long reads of summaries of non-fiction books.
These summaries aren’t like the back cover of books as they don’t hint at what’s in a book. They find the book’s main points and summarize them. You can create a free account that allows you to read one pre-selected blink daily.
To use all of Blinkist’s features, you can subscribe monthly or yearly. A monthly subscription costs $16/month, while a yearly subscription is $9/month for a savings of almost 50%.
This next section of my Blinkist review will spotlight the features and navigation of this best-selling app.
Blinkist Tabs Review
- The Explore Tab
- The Library Tab
- The You Tab
When you first open the Blinkist app, you are asked for your interests and then you get to the home page. At the bottom, there are three options – For You, which you start in, Explore, and My Library. For You includes the free blink of the day, what you are following, their selections for you based on your interests, and their recommendations for you based on the same.
The Explore tab allows you to search blinks and shortcasts (podcasts) by title, author, host, topic, category, and trending/latest. They have 27 categories altogether.
The Library tab is where you keep your saved, finished, and downloaded blinks. Once a title is downloaded to your library, you can read it offline. Blinkist is curated to help you find the most relevant blinks.
Blinkist App Features Review
Blinkist offers two ways to enjoy blinks. You can choose to read them as you do a book or you can listen to them like an audiobook. Shortcasts are only available in audio format. For those with a Kindle, you can enjoy Blinkist on it.
How Many Books Are On Blinkist?
At present, you can find more than 5,000 titles on Blinkist.
What Are the Best Books on Blinkist?
Here’s the list of the ten most popular books currently on Blinkist:
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
- Get Smart! by Brian Tracy
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma
- Think Again by Adam Grant
- Mindsight by Daniel Siegel
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
- How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Who Is Blinkist For?
Blinkist is for anyone looking to get summaries of non-fiction books. Maybe you want to check out books before you buy them or maybe you only have time for summaries in your life.
Either way, this app is ideal. It is the modern, and more concise, Cliffsnotes for non-fiction works. It’s perfect for people looking for self-improvement or seeking knowledge in science, politics, etc.
Blinkist Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
Now let’s dive right into the Blinkist reviews from the brand’s customers to see what they really think about the app and all that it has to offer.
First, here are the ratings for Blinkists from the sites where I found my customer reviews so you can get some context:
- Apple Apps – 89.4k reviews – 4.8/5 stars
- Google Play – 69.6k reviews – 4/5 stars
- Bold.org – 231 reviews – 4.3/5 stars
- Trustpilot – 230 reviews – 3.5/5 stars
Starting on the Apple Apps Store, this Blinkist customer was charged accidentally during their trial period. You may think it would mean a bad review but it actually worked out for the better in more ways than one. Here’s their elaboration:
“I originally posted a review because I was charged on the app despite picking their trial period. I emailed them and I got a response within 2 hours. In that time I read 2 book summaries and already highlighted parts of my life that I want to improve, and set out the system to implement them… So I decided to keep the subscription.”
Blinkist can help with self-improvement without the burden of reading the whole book if you don’t have the time.
It can also give you a peek into a topic to see if you want to explore it further, whether it be science, politics, sports, psychology, or anything in between. The following Blinkist review is on Bold.org, where 231 students reviewed the app:
“I love Blinkist for getting me interested in a topic; instead of risking not enjoying a whole book, I’m able to learn about things in a condensed way that offers me the basic knowledge on the subject and then gives me the opportunity to learn more if I wish. Highly recommend for students of all disciplines and education levels.”
On Google Play where you can get the Android version of the App, this Blinkist reviewer is one of close to 70k. They explain why Blinkist’s selection is worth the subscription price:
“After 10 minutes of exploring, I had to get Premium. It’s the feeling when you go to a bookstore just to browse, and you see a book you always wanted. You say “Yes!” & “No Way!” You stop and skim through the pages. You look up at the bookshelf, and you see another and another. Now, you have a stack of books in your arms that you must buy.“
Well said. What they don’t mention is that you can read that stack of books, or at least summarize them, in about 15 minutes apiece.
In my search for tried-and-true Blinkist reviews, I found little negativity out there. People were often charged automatically after their trial runs were over but Blinkist refunded them all from the looks of it. One customer wrote of their happy ending:
“I didn’t get a notification that my trial was about to end so I got charged a whole year of subscription. I requested a refund and Blinkist refunded me on the same day!! Thank you for the amazing, efficient service!! Extremely satisfied with Blinkist :).”
So, to summarize, if you aren’t planning on canceling after your trial runs out, you are unlikely to run into any issues with the Blinkist app.
If you don’t get the notification and forget to cancel your subscription, just contact them to get your money back. It is taken as a monthly payment so it won’t break the bank if it doesn’t get refunded immediately.
They have zero complaints on the Better Business Bureau website.
Blinkist vs Headway
While Blinkist and Headway are basically the same concepts of 15-minute summaries of non-fiction, they aren’t really in the same league.
Blinkist came out two years earlier than Headway and has a vastly larger selection of summaries – several thousand versus a few hundred. They are similar in ease of navigation and how good their summaries are.
Headway doesn’t offer audio summaries or podcast summaries. In terms of the price, although they seem about the same for monthly and around $10 less for the yearly subscription, Headway plays some games with subscriptions.
Apparently, they often ding you for more, not less, when they offer you a deal by double charging you.
Is Blinkist Legit?
For this Blinkist review, I found no reason to not believe that the brand delivers what they promise, without unforeseen and extra charges.
Is Blinkist Worth It?
Onto the crux of the matter, is Blinkist worth your money? I have no doubts in saying yes, they most certainly are.
If you are an avid non-fiction reader, Blinkist can help you find books worth reading before you buy them. For those who enjoy reading less or have little time, both the blinks and shortcasts are great ways to get the best out of non-fiction books.
Blinkist Promotions & Discounts
As an annual subscription service, the app doesn’t seem to have a lot of promo offers but while researching for this Blinkist review, I found a couple of helpful options.
They include the free 7-day trial and the free account with limited options. If you opt for the yearly subscription, paid monthly, you can save almost 50% off the monthly rate.
Where To Buy Blinkist
You can download the Blinkist app from the App Store or Google Play for free for Apple and Android devices.
FAQ
Who owns Blinkist?
Founders Holger Seim, Niklas Jansen, Sebastian Klein, and Tobias Balling still own and run Blinkist.
Is the Blinkist app free?
You can download and use Blinkist for free but are only allowed to read one blink a day and you can’t get audio. This is a great option if you are searching for books to read from the summaries.
What is the ease of use of the Blinkist app?
According to the Blinkist reviews from their customers and from tech reviewers, the app is very simple to navigate.
As I discovered, this is true. From the get-go, you set up your preferences, so the suggested reads are catered to you. You can also explore by category, title, author, host, and topic.
Does Blinkist work offline?
Yes, once you download a Blink into your library, you can read it anywhere, without the internet.
What is Blinkist’s Privacy Policy?
Blinkist, like practically every other app these days, collects your data with cookies and profile forms. This is necessary to make the app run smoothly, for tech troubleshooting, and to cater directly to your interests. They have a detailed list of their privacy settings on their website.
What is Blinkist’s Refund Policy?
Blinkist offers a 14-day refund policy on your first subscription, not on renewals. Contact them at [email protected] to have them cancel and refund your full subscription.
How To Contact Blinkist
If you have any questions that I didn’t cover in this Blinkist review, you can contact them by filling out their request form on their website or by email at [email protected].
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