Productivity Tools

8 Best Book Summary Apps in 2024 (Free & Paid)

By Alex · Updated Mar 2, 2024

If you're like most people, you probably have a long list of books you want to read but never seem to find the time for.

That's why book summary apps are so popular! These apps allow you to read summaries of books so that you can get the information you need in a fraction of the time.

In this blog post, we will discuss the best book summary apps in 2024.

Best Book Summary Apps

1. Blinkist
2. Shortform
3. getAbstract
4. StoryShots
5. Deepstash
6. 12min
7. Lucid
8. Headway

How to Choose

There are a lot of different book summary apps and websites, so how do you choose the right one for you? The best way to decide is to think about what features are important to you. Here are some things we considered:

• How much does it cost?
• How many book summaries does it have?
• Which summary formats are available?
• On which devices are the summaries available?

1. Blinkist

• Available on: Web, iPhone, Android, Alexa
• Pricing: $16/month (or $8.33/month billed annually)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.8 ★ (99.4K+ ratings)
• Android: 4.7 ★ (81.5K+ ratings)
• Extra features: Audio summaries, podcast summaries

Our Take: Blinkist is the app to beat when it comes to book summaries. They have a large catalog of books, competitive pricing, high user ratings, and all the important features we expect to see in a book summary app.

2. Shortform

• Available on: Web, iPhone, Android
• Price: $24/month (or $16.42/month billed annually)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.4 ★ (200+ ratings)
• Android: 3.6 ★ (300+ ratings)
• Advanced features: Related insights, exercises

Our Take: What we love about Shortform? The app goes beyond simple book summaries and relates to ideas to those from other books. It also makes the content actionable with targeted exercises.

3. getAbstract

• Available on: Web, iPhone, Android
• Price: $29.90/month (or $25/month billed annually)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.4 ★ (200+ ratings)
• Android: 4.1 ★ (2.1K+ ratings)
• Advanced features: Article and video summaries

Our Take: getAbstract boasts one of the largest library of summarized books. However, the app is not as engaging and interactive as others on this list.

4. StoryShots

• Available on: Web, iPhone, Android
• Price: Free plan available (or $2.99/month for premium plan)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.7 ★ (1.1K+ ratings)
• Android: 4.4 ★ (5.5K+ ratings)
• Advanced features: Animations

Our Take: With its generous free plan and cheap premium plan, StoryShots is a great app for budget-conscious readers.

5. Deepstash

• Available on: iPhone, Android
• Price: Free plan available (or $12.99/month for pro plan)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.8 ★ (2.1K+ ratings)
• Android: 4.5 ★ (74.3K+ ratings)
• Advanced features: Article and podcast summaries

Our Take: We like Deepstash’s approach of focusing on ideas rather than books and fully recommend checking out their free plan.

6. 12min

• Available on: Web, iPhone, Android
• Price: $9.15/month (billed annually)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.8 ★ (5.2K+ ratings)
• Android: 4.1 ★ (53.2K+ ratings)
• Advanced features: Audio summaries

Our Take: 12min is an overall solid book summary app. However, it’s inferior to Blinkist at a similar price point and does not come with any of the unique features of other apps on this list. We recommend checking out these other apps first.

7. Lucid

• Available on: iPhone
• Pricing: $15.99/month (or $8.33/month billed annually)
• User Ratings: 4.8 ★ (17.5K+ ratings) for iPhone
• Extra features: Daily quiz, visualizations

Our Take: Lucid’s unique selling point are its easy to understand visualizations. The app is a joy to use and we definitely recommend checking it out if you are a visual learner.

8. Headway

• Available on: iPhone, Android
• Pricing: $7.49/month (billed annually)
• User Ratings
• iPhone: 4.7 ★ (68.9K+ ratings)
• Android: 4.4 ★ (41.5K+ ratings)
• Extra features: Video explainers, spaced repetition

Our Take: By offering progress tracking and spaced repetition the Headway app focuses on helping you learn and retain the knowledge gained from its book summaries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are book summary apps?

Book summary apps are mobile and web applications that provide concise summaries of books, allowing users to get the essence of a book's content in a much shorter time. They're ideal for those with busy schedules who still want to consume book content.

Are there free book summary apps available?

Yes, several book summary apps offer free plans or trials. StoryShots and Deepstash are great examples, with both offering generous free options alongside premium plans for users looking for more features.

Can I listen to book summaries instead of reading them?

Absolutely! Apps like Blinkist and 12min offer audio summaries, making it convenient to consume book content on the go, whether you're driving, exercising, or just relaxing.

Which book summary app is recommended for visual learners?

Lucid is highly recommended for visual learners. It offers unique visualizations along with its summaries, which can help users better understand and retain the information presented.

Is there a book summary app that helps with knowledge retention?

Headway is designed to help with learning and retaining knowledge. It features spaced repetition and video explainers, tools that enhance understanding and memory retention of the book summaries.

All Book Summary Apps