Headway App Review: Honest Feedback After Using It

Headway is a nonfiction book summary app that focuses on people who want to learn but in a fun and engaging way. 

I’ve been using the app for a while now, so I think I’ve got a good sense of its strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s dive straight into the review with its pros and cons.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Daily insights and challenges
• Interactive features
• Clean interface
• Personalized recommendations

Cons

• Lengthy and intrusive setup process
• AI-generated audio
• Smaller library than competitors

The Setup Process

The setup process is, frankly, quite annoying. 

The app asks a ton of questions, and while I understand it’s trying to figure out my interests and preferences, the amount of information it collects feels excessive. 

It’s a bit overwhelming just to get started.

Interface and User Experience

After pushing through the exhausting setup process, I found myself actually liking the interface and overall user experience of the Headway app.

If I had to describe it in one word: simple.

The first thing you’ll see is your weekly growth tracker. I won’t go into detail about it just yet because I’ll be covering it more thoroughly in a later section, so stick with me.

Beyond that, the app offers several sections tailored to different goals, which you can explore as per your interests.

You’ll also find three main tabs: Explore, Library, and Profile, making navigation straightforward and user-friendly.

Key Features

Now, let’s dive into the features and aspects that could help you decide whether the Headway app is worth your time.

1. Interactive Tools

When I first started using Headway, its interactive tools immediately caught my attention. 

If you’ve read my review of Blinkist (another book summary app), you’d know I’ve often wished for more interactive tools to make learning more enjoyable. 

Headway delivers on that and more.

a. Weekly Growth Monitor

The first tool you’ll notice is the weekly growth monitor, conveniently displayed right on the home screen. 

With this feature, you can track your day streak, review the key points you’ve learned, check insights, and see how many minutes you’ve spent learning.

Just below the growth monitor, you’ll find your daily mission.

Completing these missions earns you various achievements, which are showcased in your Profile tab.

It is perfect for those who enjoy gamifying their learning process.

b. Built-In Challenges

Another standout feature is the app’s built-in challenges.

Head over to the Explore tab, scroll down, and you’ll find a section dedicated to challenges like:

• Morning Routine
• Bright Mind
• Self-Discovery
• Wealth and more.

These challenges are thoughtfully designed. 

For example, the Morning Routine challenge spans five days and assigns you five book summaries—one per day.

You can even preview the books for each day, which helps keep you motivated. If you’re someone who enjoys structured goals, this feature is a game-changer.

The Wealth challenge is another excellent example.

It’s a 28-day program where you read wealth-related book summaries, helping you learn about personal finance, budgeting, and more—all in a fun and engaging way.

2. Reading Experience

Headway, like most book summary apps, lets you customize your reading experience.

You can switch between white and black backgrounds and adjust the font size, which is helpful if you prefer to read and listen simultaneously.

However, I wish they highlighted words as the audio plays. This feature makes it easier to follow along, especially if you miss something.

On the bright side, I appreciate how the app organizes its content.

Paragraphs are broken into shorter lines, and bullet points are used frequently, making the reading experience smoother and more enjoyable.

3. Audio Experience

The audio experience, unfortunately, leaves a lot to be desired.

The app uses AI-generated voice-overs, which don’t feel as natural as human narrations.

That said, they do let you switch between male and female narrators for every book summary—a thoughtful touch for users who have a voice preference.

Here’s a quick tip: If a narrator’s voice feels too robotic, try switching to the other narrator. Sometimes, the alternative feels more natural.

Audio controls are straightforward, with options to skip forward/back, adjust playback speed (from 0.5x to 2x), and pause.

However, there’s a frustrating limitation.

You can’t browse for other book summaries while listening or reading.

To search for a different summary, you have to close the one you’re currently engaging with, which feels unnecessarily restrictive.

Personally, I like to multitask—searching for my next read while listening—but Headway doesn’t make this easy.

4. Roll the Dice

At the bottom of the app, there’s a tab called Roll the Dice.

When you click it, the app randomly plays a book summary for you.

If you’re already in the middle of one, it’ll show up here instead.

I think this is a neat little feature for those times when you’re not sure what to read or listen to next.

That said, I feel most people prefer to choose their books after a bit of research, so this might not be for everyone.

5. Repetition

One thing I really like about Headway is the way it sneaks in quotes between the chapters of a book summary.

It’s easy to share these quotes on social media, so you can show off what you’re learning.

But the best part is that you can tap the Remember button on a quote, and it gets added to your Repetition section.

The app then sends you notifications to remind you of those quotes, helping you remember the ones that matter most.

Personally, I’m not someone who tries to memorize quotes, so this feature isn’t super useful for me.

But if you’re the kind of person who loves sharing quotes or wants to keep important lessons fresh, this could be a game-changer.

You can find all your saved quotes in the Library section.

6. Highlights

If you find a line that really speaks to you, highlighting it is super easy.

Just a long tap on the text and a highlight option pops up.

Your highlights are saved in the Library section, so you can revisit them anytime you want.

7. Manage Recommendations

On the For You page, scroll to the bottom, and you’ll see a section called Manage Recommendations.

This is where you can choose up to three goals, and the app will use them to recommend book summaries that fit your interests.

It’s a nice feature for when you want suggestions that align with what you’re currently working on or curious about.

8. Collections

Collections are another feature I’ve found useful.

They group books together based on specific topics.

For example, if you pick the How to Read People collection, you’ll see a description of the theme at the top, followed by a list of all the related book summaries you can dive into.

It’s a convenient way to explore a subject without spending time searching for individual books.

Content Quality

The Headway app offers over 1,600 book summaries, which should be more than enough for an average reader.  

If you enjoy reading, you’ll likely have a great time with the app.

But if you prefer listening, you might find it a bit frustrating because the voiceovers are AI-generated and don’t feel very natural.

Pricing and Subscription Plan

When I looked at Headway’s subscription options, I was happy to see that they offer a free version.

With this, you can access one book summary per day and daily insights in a narrative format. It’s a great option if you just want to try out the app.

If you’re interested in premium features and full access, you can also start with their seven-day free trial. 

When I looked through the reviews on the App Store, I noticed many users were upset about the subscription plans. They complained about poor subscription management and said they didn’t receive refunds after being charged following the free trial.

So, if you decide to use the free trial and don’t want to continue, make sure to cancel your subscription at least 24 hours before it ends.

Here are the subscription plans:

• Monthly: $12.99 
• Quarterly: $29.99 
• Annual: $89.99 
• Lifetime: $44.99 
• Two-person: $110 
• Family: $150

Final Verdict

Headway has its strengths, like interactive tools, challenges, and an easy-to-use interface. 

It’s a decent book summary app for anyone who wants to learn quickly and casually without committing to full-length books.

The free version is a good starting point, and the app does well in adding features like achievements, repetition, and daily missions to keep you engaged.  

But when compared to its competition, especially Blinkist, Headway falls short. 

Blinkist not only has a much larger library but also offers better features, like higher-quality audio and a more polished user experience, at a lower price. 

While Headway’s tools like challenges and growth monitors are unique, they don’t outweigh the overall value that Blinkist provides.  

Given the competition, I wouldn’t recommend Headway unless you’re specifically drawn to its interactive features. 

If you’re looking for the best, there are better options out there.