Headway: 15-minute book summaries for busy people, free to start

Shopping at Headway? See all current Headway discount codes and deals, checked regularly.

Headway is a book-summary app for people who want the big ideas from nonfiction bestsellers but rarely finish a whole book. Each summary takes about 15 minutes to read or listen to, so it fits a commute, a dog walk or the washing-up. The library covers self-improvement, productivity, psychology, money, relationships and business, from Atomic Habits to The Psychology of Money and How to Talk to Anyone.

It suits busy parents, commuters, students and anyone who has a pile of unread books by the bed. You can use it on iPhone, Android or in a web browser, and download summaries to listen offline.

What's worth a look

These are the plans, extras and free bits worth knowing about before you sign up.

4-week planFirst 4 weeks, then $39.98 every 4 weeks.$19.99View at Headway Headway Gift EditionA year of Premium sent as a promo code by email.View at Headway Book summaries libraryNonfiction bestsellers to read or listen to.View at Headway Personal growth books collectionSelf-improvement titles gathered in one place.View at Headway Headway for BusinessTeam subscriptions, priced by quote.View at Headway Free printable templates41 trackers, checklists and planners to print.FreeView at Headway

The Premium plans come in 4, 12 and 24-week lengths. Headway's price page lists the 4-week plan at $19.99 for the first four weeks, then $39.98 every four weeks; the 12-week plan at $39.99 for the first 12 weeks, then $79.98; and the 24-week plan at $59.99 for the first 24 weeks, then $119.98. Prices are shown in US dollars, and Headway says they can vary by region, currency, promotion and whether you pay on the website or through the App Store or Google Play, so check the price on your own payment screen.

Premium unlocks the whole library, guided learning plans, audiocasts, spaced repetition that brings your highlights back over time, audio highlights, and quizzes and Shorts to help ideas stick. If you'd like to treat someone, the Headway Gift Edition sends the recipient a promo code for a year of Premium by email, and they have a year to redeem it.

Short guided plans such as Speak like a CEO, Be a better parent and Stop delaying, start doing line up summaries in order around one goal over seven days. Headway says its summaries are written by a team of writers and editors and voiced by narrators rather than generated automatically, and you can set playback anywhere from 0.5x to 2x.

Current offers

We don't have any Headway codes at the moment, but the app's own site has a few ways to pay less:

• A free plan with one summary a day.
• A 7-day free trial when you sign up for a yearly plan, once per app store account.
• Lower introductory prices for the first period of each Premium plan.
• 41 free printable templates, including habit trackers, reading logs and cleaning checklists, with no sign-up needed.

How to save more

• Use the free daily summary for a week or two to see whether you'll actually keep it up before paying.
• Remember the introductory price only covers the first period, so diary the date it moves to the full price and decide then.
• Compare the price in the app with the website price before you subscribe, as Headway says they can differ.

Products, prices and offers checked on the store's own website on 9 Oct 2026. Prices and stock can change.

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