Two of the most popular (and best) ways to consume books on the go are Blinkist and Audible.
Both have pros and cons, but which one is right for you?
If you’re anything like me, you understand the value that a good book has. However, finding the time to sit down and read can be nearly impossible.
That has opened up a market for ways to consume books quickly, while you’re on the go.
Two of the most popular services are Amazon’s Audible platform, along with Blinkist.
I use both of these tools when writing summaries for this site, along with my own personal use.
Here, we’ll compare Blinkist vs Audible and see which is the best choice for you.
The Winner
If you don’t want to read the whole article but want to know who wins, It really depends on what you’re after.
If you’re solely looking for summaries, then Blinkist is definitely the best choice.
However, if you’re interested in the entire book in both fiction and nonfiction, then Audible is the best choice for you.
Personally, I have an account for both Blinkist and Audible. I use Blinkist for the summaries, and then if I want to get a deeper insight and listen to the entire book, I’ll use that month’s Audible credit.
My use may sound like overkill, but if you’re an avid nonfiction fan like me, Blinkist pays for itself, knowing that you’re only buying audiobooks you’ll actually enjoy.
How Does Audible Work?
Audible works as a platform where authors and publishers can sell the audio versions of books they publish. Kinda like what Kindle does for ebooks.
While Audible does have some original titles, they mostly rely on publishers uploading their own audiobooks to the platform.
Books on Audible are available in basically every genre in both fiction and non-fiction.
You register to Audible with a free trial of one audiobook, followed by a monthly subscription.
With your subscription, you’ll receive one book a month but you can also buy extra books at a discounted rate.
Get Your First Audible Book For Free
How Does Blinkist Work?
Blinkist is a platform dedicated solely to summaries of popular non-fiction books.
The purpose of Blinlkist is to condense books into easily digestible 15-minute reads.
Each Blinkist ‘book within a book’ has a series of ‘blinks’ which are the key lessons from the full book.
You can start with a seven-day free trial, before moving onto an easy-to-use subscription model.
When you’re registered to Blinkist, you have unlimited access to their library. With your unlimited access, you can read as many book summaries as you like at no extra cost!
What is the main difference between Audible and Blinkist?
As you’ve probably noticed, the main difference between Audible and Blinkist is that Blinkist only contains short summaries of non-fiction books, while Audible is solely an audiobook platform.
Which is better to use, Blinkist or Audible?
Here we’ll look at how easy both Audible and Blinkist are to use and see which is best.
How to use Audible
Once you have an Audible account, there are several ways you can listen to your books:
- Audible app for smartphone (Apple and Android)
- Audible app for tablets
- Amazon devices
- Sonos speakers
- Download straight to your PC
- Stream audio
Personally, I mainly use the app for my smartphone. However, the web browser version is easier for purchases.
From the Audible app you can access your library (where previously purchased books are), and the store, where you can search for, and buy new books. You can buy new books with your Audible credits or at a heavily discounted rate.
On the app, once you’ve purchased a book, you can download the book to your device, so you can listen while you’re offline.
I love being able to listen to my book on a commute, knowing it won’t drain all of my phone data.
Get Your First Audible Book For Free
How to use Blinkist
Once you have access to the Blinkist catalog, there are many great features.
- Audio or written summaries: You can choose to read the ‘blinks’ yourself or let the audio version do it for you
- Use multiple devices: Use Blinkist on your phone, device, desktop, and kindle
- You can use Blinkist offline: Download titles, so you have them on the go
I use the app on my phone quite a lot for Blinkist, along with the desktop version.
The app is great for those small parts of your day like the waiting room, or on the train.
Using Blinkist is extremely easy, all you have to do is browse the categories, or search a title.
From there, you add it to your library and can read your blinks whenever you like.
When you’re ready to read the book, the platform is easy to navigate, and all the blinks are clearly laid out.
Winner
A draw. This category is so close. Both Audible and Blinkist are top-notch products and super convenient to use.
Does Audible or Blinkist have more books?
In this section, we’ll compare the range of titles on offer from Audible and Blinkist.
What are the best Audible books?
The best part about Audible is that they have the best range of top-selling audiobooks on the market.
In fact, being the world’s best audiobook retailer, Audible will continue to have the best new titles as they are released.
Audible also covers both fiction and nonfiction books, as opposed to Blinkist (which we’ll cover later), which only looks at business books.
So, one of my favorite things about Audible is that no matter what genre you’re in to, you’ll find the best Audible books for you.
How many books does Audible have?
Audible has over 300,000 titles to choose from, so you’ll always have a large range to choose from.
However, it is important to know that, like Amazon, self-publishers can easily upload to Audible, so there will be a wider variance of quality.
It is important to know though, as opposed to self-publishing an eBook, publishing on Audible has a higher barrier of entry (recording audio, sound editing, etc..). This barrier of entry means that there aren’t as many complete dud books as you may find in the Kindle store.
If you know what books you like and you can shop carefully, you’ll always find something good on Audible. They also have an unmatched return policy that we’ll look at later too.
How many books does Blinkist have?
Blinkist currently has over 3,000 titles to choose from, with more titles being added every week.
All titles are non-fiction and cover a range of genres from
Each title is chosen by the Blinkist team and is usually a well-known book.
Winner
With the sheer range on offer, Audible is the clear winner here.
Get Your First Audible Book For Free
Best for Price
In this section, we’ll compare the prices of both Audible and Blinkist and see which is the best bang for your buck.
How much does Audible cost?
Your Audible account begins with a free book of your choice, a great way to start.
After 30 days, you will be charged $16.45 a month, where you will receive a free audiobook credit along with being able to purchase further books at a discount.
Note: This is the Australian Audible site. Your landing page and prices may be different. While Australia only has one Audible plan, in the United States, there are a series of different plans to choose from.
This could be a look into the future of Audible in Australia, however, for now, there is only the one membership option.
Returning an Audible book
One of the best parts of your Audible membership is their generous love it or swap it policy.
If you don’t want to keep a book, you can return it at any time, and you’ll get another book credit, or your money back if you purchased the book.
Simply click to your purchase history on the desktop site and there will be an option to return your books. No questions asked.
This policy gives peace of mind when shopping for your next book.
Canceling your Audible membership
If you’ve tried Audible and it isn’t your thing, don’t worry, it’s easy to cancel your membership at any time.
Simply go into your account and follow the prompts. They don’t hide the cancel button like a lot of other companies.
The best part is, if you do cancel, you still have access to all the books that you have already purchased.
Get Your First Audible Book For Free
How much does Blinkist cost?
You can sign up to Blinkist for free with a seven-day free trial.
In that free trial, you’ll have unlimited access to the platform before paying for a premium plan.
For the premium plan, you can pay monthly, or a majorly discounted yearly option.
The monthly option is $19.99 a month, where the yearly option comes to $9.99 a month.
You can cancel the monthly plan can at any time, which comes at a premium.
However, with the premium plan comes premium benefits.
- Unlimited access to the entire Blinkist library at no extra cost
- Highlight ideas you love and synch them to Evernote
- Listen to your blinks offline
Winner
For me, Blinkist is the winner on this one. Audible prices are reasonable considering audiobooks are so expensive, but Blinkist’s unlimited access is pretty hard to beat.
The pros and cons of Audible
Below is a summary of what I see the pros and cons of Audible to be.
Pros
- A wide range of books to choose from
- A generous refund policy
- You can listen to your books on a range of devices
- Great for people who want to read full books but don’t have the time to sit and read
- A free book every month
- Download and listen offline
- You can change listening pace, to get through books quicker
Cons
- $16.45 a month is quite expensive for only one free title
- Can become expensive if you are looking to listen to multiple books every month
- Purchasing on the phone app isn’t incredibly user-friendly
Get Your First Audible Book For Free
The pros and cons of Blinkist
Here is a summary of all the pros and cons of Blinkist
Pros
- Excellent bite-sized summaries of popular books
- A growing library of book titles
- Unlimited access to their catalog with a premium membership
- No added costs or upsells
- Ability to highlight key sections
- Able to read on a kindle
- Able to read or listen to the audio version
- Accessible offline
Cons
- While 3000 titles is a lot, I have not been able to find books before
- Some summaries are better than others
- If you’re looking for full books, Blinkist doesn’t have anything for you
Final Thoughts: Audible or Blinkist, which one is better?
By now you should have more of an idea about Audible and Blinkist, and which one may best suit your needs.
If you want to consume full books but don’t have enough time to sit and read, then Audible is for you. You can listen to the book while you’re at the gym, commuting, or pretty much anywhere.
Audible is also the option to go with if you want both fiction and non-fiction books.
On the other hand, if you want the key lessons from non-fiction books and don’t want to read the whole thing, then Blinkist is for you. You can read or listen to a fifteen-minute summary of the key points.
Blinkist is great if you only get occasional micro-periods of free time, and want to make the most of them.
Furthermore, if you’re looking to compare the ideas from multiple authors on a topic, I would suggest Blinkist. Ordering an extra book or two a month from Audible will become too expensive to be sustainable.
Get Your First Audible Book For Free
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Blinkist have full books?
Blinkist does not offer full books, only actionable fifteen-minute book summaries.
Can you listen to Blinkist offline?
Yes. With Blinkist’s app, you can download titles and listen or read offline.
What books are on Blinkist?
Blinkist offers soley nonfiction books that are more geared toward business owners and self-help or psychology fans.
Is Audible a good deal?
If you’re a big audiobook fan, then yes, Audible is a good deal. It is slightly more expensive than some competitors but it is by far the best offer on the market and still great value.
What to do next?
If you have a better idea on if you should try Audible or Blinkist, click the buttons below to access the free trial:
