Blinkist

Blinkist is a project created by writers, designers, and developers from 40 countries. The service helps users find time for learning by summarizing the main ideas of popular science and non-fiction books. Here, you can listen to or read analytical summaries of non-fiction bestsellers in just 15 minutes, extract key insights from podcasts in short episodes, or explore full audiobooks. Expand your knowledge with the latest ideas in business, personal development, psychology, relationships, and much more.

The platform is available as a web version and mobile apps for iOS and Android. You can purchase books individually or subscribe for a month or a year to listen to “blinks,” short podcast episodes, and also buy materials at a discount. Currently, all content is available in English and German, but the team promises to expand language options in the future. There are few reviews of the project—some positive, but also complaints about the high subscription cost and the short trial period. Let’s also take a closer look at how the platform works to see if Blinkist really delivers.

Why Blinkist?

Blinkist is a platform that offers full versions of books as well as short excerpts in audio and text format, highlighting the main ideas. If you want to improve your professional skills or explore new topics you weren’t familiar with, you can find non-fiction books, authors, and podcasts on Blinkist. The editorial team selects the best ideas from non-fiction and podcasts and turns them into “Blinks” and “Short Broadcasts”—concise packages of key insights.

A “Blink” is one of the key ideas from a book. It condenses a single memorable concept from the original work into 200–300 words. It’s like a news digest you can read on your phone—brief, yet information-rich. “Short Broadcasts” are Blinks derived from podcasts.

Advantages of the service:

• Over 4,500 books across 27 categories
• Ability to listen to audiobooks or read them in text format, with seamless switching between versions
• Discounts on all books with a paid subscription
• 1 free book per day for non-subscribers
• User-friendly mobile apps
• Simple web platform interface
• 7-day trial period
• Over 40 new materials added each month

The Blinkist website, blinkist.com, is simple to navigate. After logging in, you land directly on your library page with books you’re currently reading or have finished. From the main page, you can also access app stores and the full catalog. The “Go Premium” button takes you to the subscription plans section. In addition to the catalog and library, the menu includes a “Favorites” section, where you can save the ideas and insights you liked the most. This section allows sorting by date or by book.

What Can I Buy at blinkist.com?

Content offered by Blinkist:

• Blinks — Summarize and consolidate the key ideas from non-fiction books into a 15-minute format that can be read or listened to.
• Audiobooks — Ideal when you have more time and want a deeper dive into a topic. Full audiobooks are offered at a special price for Blinkist Premium members, allowing you to access all your learning in one place.
• Short Broadcasts — These are “Blinks” for podcasts. They add new ideas and fresh perspectives to the key points from a podcast episode, packaged into a 15-minute listening format. They are created in collaboration with the original podcast creators and are available with a Blinkist Premium subscription.
• Bedtime Biographies — Inspiring stories enhanced with creative audio production to help you relax. These are also included as part of the Blinkist Premium subscription.

All audio materials are available under the “Explore” menu. The catalog is divided into three sections.

By Category

The page features books on topics such as:

• Entrepreneurship — Everything you need to know about succeeding on a limited budget, earning your first million, and hiring employees.
• Politics — Covers different forms of government, as well as current and historical political events.
• Sales & Marketing — Experts discuss strategies for content marketing and sales in the 21st century.

• Science
• Health & Nutrition
• Personal Development — Includes materials on how to break bad habits
• Economics
• History
• Communication Skills — Books on public speaking, body language, and social IQ
• Corporate Culture
• Management & Leadership — Insights from leaders and renowned managers
• Motivation & Inspiration
• Money & Investing
• Psychology — Expert knowledge and scientific research

• Productivity
• Sex & Relationships
• Technology & Future — Artificial intelligence, fake news, and the future of technology
• Mindfulness & Happiness
• Parenting — From pregnancy to raising teenagers, all materials for parents
• Society & Culture — Books on cultural identity, pop phenomena, and social justice movements
• Nature & Environment
• Biography & Memoirs
• Career & Success
• Education
• Religion & Spirituality — Everything you need to know about the three major monotheistic religions, Buddhism, spirituality, and more
• Creativity
• Philosophy

Recently Added

This page features books that have been recently added to the Blinkist catalog.

Popular Authors

In this section, you can choose books from the list of materials that are most frequently read and listened to.

How to Find the Right Content on Blinkist

You can find books in the catalog by browsing the relevant topic, recently added lists, and popular books. On the main page of blinkist.com and within each category, there is also a search bar.

Product Card

Books are displayed in a gallery format with the title, author, reading time, and a button labeled “Subscribe Now” or “Select” (for Blinkist Premium users). By opening a book’s card, you can read a brief description, view author information, and choose from the following options: purchase the book (redirects to Amazon), read it, or send it to Kindle. The last two options are available only to Premium subscribers.

How to Place an Order on Blinkist

To use the service, you can either purchase individual books or subscribe to access free “Blinks” and receive discounts on full formats. On blinkist.com, monthly and yearly Blinkist Premium subscriptions are available. With a Premium subscription, you get:

• Unlimited access to over 4,500 best-selling non-fiction books in audio and text formats on the web platform and app
• Exclusive podcast analyses
• Offline access via downloads
• Note selection and synchronization with Evernote
• Send reading to Kindle
• Access to original short-form content (app only)
• Discounts on all audiobooks (app only)

Subscription Options:

• Monthly — €12.99 per month; does not include a trial period
• Annual — €79.99 per year; includes a 7-day trial period

You cannot switch between annual and monthly plans until the annual plan ends. However, you can switch from a monthly plan to an annual plan at the end of the current month. A single subscription can be used on multiple devices. When downloading the app to your smartphone or logging in via the website, make sure to use the same Blinkist account. Your reading history and library will sync across all devices.

Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or yearly, depending on your plan). If you purchase a Premium subscription and send books from Blinkist to Kindle or sync excerpts with Evernote, they will remain in your accounts for those services even if you cancel your Blinkist subscription. On the product card, there is a button to purchase books, which redirects you to Amazon to the catalog page for the selected item.

How to Register on blinkist.com

The registration process is simple. You only need to enter your email and password. Immediately afterward, you will gain access to a 7-day free trial.

User Account

The user account includes several sections:

• Invite Friends — This page provides a referral link to invite new users.
• Wishlist — You can add books here that you want to read later.
• Settings — Contains subscription information, language selection, and connections to Evernote and Kindle. The last feature is available only with a Blinkist Premium subscription.
• Help & Support — A button that redirects to a page with articles about the service.
• How to Place an Order on blinkist.com

To subscribe, you can:

1. Open the Pricing section
2. Click “Subscribe Now” under a book title in the catalog
3. Click “Subscribe Now” on the product card
4. Click “Upgrade to Premium” at the top of the browser page

This will open a page with subscription information and the option to choose a plan. After selecting a plan, a payment form will appear where you can choose PayPal or a credit card and fill in the required payment details.

Additional Features

Blinkist offers several extra services:

Career Opportunities

The website has a Careers section with job openings for people worldwide. Blinkist provides options to work from home, access a corporate learning budget, and receive an annual education stipend. Employees also get 30 days of vacation, and office-based staff receive transportation tickets, participation in team activities, and a healthy lunch. Each job listing has its own page detailing the work conditions and requirements for potential candidates. At the bottom of each page, there is an “Apply” button to submit your information.

Blinkist for Business

More and more companies use Blinkist to help their teams learn new skills and boost productivity. With Blinkist for Business, the service offers a self-payment option for teams of 5 to 200 members. After purchase, you receive a unique code to share with team members to activate their Blinkist membership. The platform includes all Premium features: unlimited access to the audio and text library, original short broadcasts, discounts on all audiobooks, Amazon Kindle support, and Evernote synchronization. For these subscriptions, Blinkist provides a user analytics dashboard that shows how the team reads and what topics interest them.

Gift Premium

To purchase a Blinkist Premium subscription as a gift for multiple people without buying a business plan, send an email to

[email protected]. The minimum order amount is USD 1,000.

Articles

The Articles section includes several pages with materials on various topics:

• Book Lists — The Blinkist team publishes curated lists of the most interesting works on different subjects.
• What is Non-Fiction — A detailed explanation of non-fiction.
• What to Read — Tips for choosing books.
• Benefits of Reading — Seven reasons why you should read or listen to audiobooks.

Mobile App

The mobile apps include content and features that are not available on the website. These include: short broadcasts, full audiobooks, an activity feed, adding titles to Favorites, sorting titles, and browsing curated collections.

With the Blinkist mobile app, you can share direct quotes from materials by selecting a passage, holding your finger on the screen for a few seconds, and trimming the excerpt. Entire “Blinks” can also be shared while reading by tapping the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the reader, which opens sharing options.

The mobile app for smartphones and tablets also allows offline reading. To read offline, add a book to your library while you still have internet access.

Payment and Access on Blinkist

You can pay for a subscription or purchase books online.

How to Pay for an Order

The service accepts PayPal and credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Access to Content

Once you pay for a subscription, you gain access to all books in the catalog. If you purchase an individual book, you can read it without restrictions.

Refund Policy

If you purchase a subscription but decide that Blinkist is not for you, send an email to the service administration within the first 14 days. Customer support will cancel your subscription and refund your payment.

The 14-day money-back guarantee applies only to payments made on the Blinkist website or via Google Play and does not cover renewals. If you purchased a subscription through the Apple App Store, you must contact Apple Support to request a refund. Refunds for audiobooks are not provided.

Blinkist Bonuses

Blinkist offers participation in an affiliate program and other perks:

Free Book

Anyone can read one book per day without a subscription.

Discount Coupons

Subscribers can use discount coupons by entering the code in a designated field.

7-Day Gift

By inviting friends through a referral link, you can receive 7 additional free days of service. The invited user also receives 7 free days.

Affiliate Program

Blinkist offers participation in an affiliate program. Anyone can register on the website and earn 20% commission on all payments made by referred users. Payouts are made within 30 days after payment.

Through the Admitad affiliate network, the commission rate is 30.7% per subscription.

Complaints About Blinkist

Most users describe the platform and its mobile app as a convenient service for exploring the main ideas of popular non-fiction books. Readers note that it not only provides quick summaries of key points from different books but also offers an opportunity to improve English or German skills.

While many users appreciate the concept and execution of the project, some are dissatisfied with the subscription prices, considering them too high. Additionally, not all customers manage to cancel their paid subscription on time, resulting in automatic charges to their credit cards.

If there are reviews about the Blinkist online store, we will be sure to share the information on social media. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything!

Please stay updated on news and complaints. We share the most valuable information on social networks, so make sure to follow us!

Regulatory Authorities

The company Blinks Labs GmbH is registered in the Commercial Register of the District Court of Berlin-Charlottenburg under number HRB 144222 B. VAT identification number: DE-285882413.

Blinkist.com User Agreement

The service website includes a disclaimer, terms of use, and privacy policy. The official user agreement is the “Blinkist Terms of Use” document. It contains sections on the project’s services, registration, paid subscription agreements, trial version information, audiobooks, cancellation policy, refunds and payment methods, contract duration and termination. It also provides information on gift cards, liability, and changes to the terms.

Customer Service

To contact technical support, you can email [email protected] or submit a support ticket through the contact form on the website.

Is Blinkist a Scam?

Blinkist is a service offering “Blinks,” summaries of non-fiction books, short podcast broadcasts, and full-length audiobooks. For those who want to use the platform for free, one free book per day is available. For full access, there are two subscription options—monthly and yearly (the yearly plan includes a 7-day free trial to test Blinkist). You can read or listen to books on the website or via iOS and Android apps. Currently, content is available in English and German.

The platform is simple and user-friendly. Books can be read or listened to on any device, with seamless switching between audio and text, and your library is saved across devices. Reviews highlight the service’s convenience and quality content. Some users are dissatisfied with the high subscription cost and automatic renewal, as not everyone cancels on time. Considering the positive reviews and the presence of all necessary legal documents on the site, Blinkist is not a scam.

Conclusion

After reviewing Blinkist and its user feedback, we can recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have time to read full-length books in English or German. In just 15 minutes a day, you can grasp the main ideas of popular non-fiction books and explore short podcast broadcasts. You can also purchase full audiobooks. The only downside is the relatively high subscription cost. If you prefer not to subscribe, you can still read one Blink per day for free. If you have read or listened to Blinkist content, share your opinion about the platform—you may notice other advantages or disadvantages.