FAQ

Headway is a daily growth app that turns bestselling nonfiction books into bite-sized text and audio summaries, plus quizzes and personalized learning plans. It offers 2,500+ book summaries designed to be finished in minutes, built around helping people reach their goals through simplified content.

Headway starts with a short quiz about your goals and builds you a personalized learning plan from it. From there, you get short, interactive lessons drawn from real books that you can read or listen to whenever it fits your day.

Headway is used to fit self-growth into busy days, delivering the key insights from a nonfiction book in about 15 minutes. People use it while commuting, waiting in line, or during other small pockets of time to work on their career, relationships, habits, or mindset without committing hours to a full book.

Headway is designed for busy people who want to grow but don't have the free time or sustained focus that full books demand. That includes professionals, entrepreneurs, and managers seeking quick takeaways, as well as parents, students, and anyone who has struggled to finish a book before giving up.

Book summaries are Headway's core offering, with a library of 2,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles available in text and audio. The app has since grown beyond that single concept, adding interactive formats and features for daily growth.

Most Headway summaries take about 15 minutes to get through. That's short enough for a coffee break, a commute, or a few minutes before bed, without needing to clear an entire evening.

Yes, Headway is a real, operating product, not a scam. It holds a 4.6/5 rating across more than 280,000 combined App Store and Google Play reviews, with recognitions including Apple's Editors' Choice and a Webby Honoree title.

Yes, Headway holds a 4.6/5 rating on both the App Store and Google Play, reflecting strong satisfaction among users. Reviewers highlight how easily it fits into a commute or workout, plus audio narration and personalized recommendations that make it easier to stick with.

Reviews mainly focus on how well Headway fits into daily routines, commuting, workouts, or short breaks, thanks to the audio summaries and easy-to-follow format.

Billing concerns come up in reviews sometimes — cancellations, unexpected charges — so we want to be upfront about how it works. Your Headway subscription automatically renews when the current period ends, unless you cancel beforehand. Before you confirm anything, you'll always see the price, trial details, and renewal terms clearly laid out. If you ever want to cancel, you can do it directly through your App Store, Google Play, or Headway account settings — just keep in mind that simply deleting the app won't cancel the subscription for you.

Headway is owned and operated by Headway Inc, a global tech company focused on lifelong learning that reaches over 180 million people across 170+ countries. Its portfolio also includes Impulse, Nibble, AddMile, and Skillsta, and in 2025 TIME magazine ranked Headway Inc 4th on its list of the World's Top EdTech Companies. The company is led by founder and CEO Anton Pavlovsky.

Headway makes money mainly through subscriptions. A free plan offers one summary a day, while paid monthly, quarterly, and annual plans unlock the full library, offline downloads, personalized growth plans, and more.

No, despite sharing the name, all three are separate, unrelated companies. Headway Capital is a business lending company, and Headway (headway.co) is a mental health platform connecting people with therapists — neither has any ownership or business ties to the Headway app.

Headway gives you the core ideas of a book in about 15 minutes instead of the hours a full read takes, so you can put the insight to use right away. It also works as a discovery tool, helping you figure out which books are worth reading in full.

Headway covers topics like self-growth, career, relationships, and parenting, along with biographies and big ideas from philosophers and scientists. It also includes a small selection of classic fiction titles, plus Gems — bite-sized articles built around key ideas from nonfiction books.

Mostly nonfiction — that's Headway's core and where most of the library lives. The app also carries a selection of fiction titles for variety.

Headway summaries are created by a team of content creators who specialize in literature and writing. They read the books, then create, proofread, and edit each summary, adding insights and facts drawn from trusted sources.

Headway summaries are written and reviewed by a real team of people, not generated automatically. They read the books, pull out what matters, and check the work before it reaches you.

Yes, every Headway summary is available in both text and audio. Read it when you have a spare minute, or listen when your hands are busy — same insights either way.

Headway audio summaries run about 15–20 minutes. That's short enough for a commute, a workout, or a quick chunk of your day, while still covering the key ideas.

The Headway team adds new books to the library every week, usually three to five titles. There's always something new to explore.

Yes, you can suggest a book anytime through the Contact Support link in the app. The content team reviews every suggestion and may add it to the library if it's a good fit.

Yes, as many times as you like with an active Headway subscription. On the free version, you get access to one summary per day, so revisiting it is your call, but new ones will have to wait until tomorrow.

Yes — if a summary sparks your interest, just head to the overview page, where you'll find a link straight to Amazon to grab the full book.

Headway offers two experiences: a guided personalized learning plan for web users, built from your quiz answers and currently being iterated on (the summaries it includes now may be replaced with other interactive content types), and a non-guided path where you choose book summaries to read or listen to based on your goals. Beyond that, it includes Shorts (four interactive visual formats), Search, an adjustable Audio queue, Collections, Highlights, offline access, Recaps, voice selection, Streaks, an Intimacy Coach, motivational wallpapers, widgets, and more - see the full lineup here.

Behind personalized carousels is a bit of machine learning magic — smart algorithms that use real-time data to tailor content just for you.

It starts with your app onboarding answers, and every summary you read or listen to shapes what comes next. You can also update your goals anytime in the Activity tab, which directly shapes the "More to [your goal]" carousel.

Shorts tab — a separate feed built for those tiny breaks throughout the day. It mixes four interactive formats (quizzes, interesting facts, visuals, and shortcuts) that you scroll through, and it's personalized based on your goals and what you interact with most.

Headway Highlights let you save the parts that stick with you — any bit of text you mark while reading or listening gets stored in the Highlights tab in your Library, ready whenever you want to revisit it.

To highlight while reading, just select the word or phrase and tap the "Highlight" button that pops up. Listening instead? Hit the "Highlight" button in your player right at the moment that gets you

Yes, Headway includes tools built for that. After each summary you get a Recap of the main ideas and actions, and everything you save, highlight, or finish is stored in your Library with reminders to bring you back to it.

Read or listen to at least 3 key points a day (that's what each summary is built from) to keep your streak alive. We'll remind you when it's at risk, and you can even add colorful widgets to your phone to help the habit stick.

Not exactly — the content you see in the app is personalized for you, and you can't adjust it manually. If you signed up through the website, it's shaped by your quiz answers. If you signed up directly through the app, we adjust recommendations based on your goals to keep your learning path smooth and relevant.

Yes, save any summary you like, and it'll show up in your "Saved for later" carousel in the Library — ready whenever you want to come back to it. Just keep in mind, saving is different from downloading, so it won't be available offline unless you download it too.

Yes — anywhere from 0.5x to 2x, whatever fits your pace. One thing to note: the speed resets for each new summary, since narrators have their own natural tempo, and what feels right for one might not for another.

Yes, Headway has native apps for both iPhone and Android, downloadable from the App Store or Google Play.

Yes, you can access our product via the website. For Mac users, the Headway App can be downloaded directly from the App Store. Please note that it is compatible with the latest macOS versions (11 or later)

Yes, Headway is also available as a web app through our website.

Yes, to access your subscription on different devices, use the same email address you used to purchase it. 

Yes, as long as you're logged into the same account, progress, highlights, and streaks sync across devices.

Yes, it is possible to access summaries in the Headway app even if you don't have an Internet connection. To do that, you'll need to download the summaries beforehand. 

Tap the download icon on any book summary to save it for offline listening. Downloaded summaries appear in the Library tab, where you can play them anytime without an internet connection.

Currently, we offer book summaries in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Japanese, Czech, Romanian, and Hungarian.

Just go to Settings inside the Headway app, and select "App language" — this'll take you directly to the language settings just for Headway. Keep in mind, on some OS versions, this option may not be available, so you may need to change your phone's overall language instead.

Yes, you can use the Free Daily Read option to read and listen to one pre-selected book daily. You can also try Premium's annual plan, which includes a seven-day free trial with full access to the library. Note that the free trial can only be used once per app store account.

Yes, Free Daily Read option that does not require connecting your card details. When using this one, you can read and listen to one pre-selected book daily.

Pricing depends on the plan and any active promotions, so there's no single fixed price to quote. Open the app, tap into any summary, and select "View other plans" on the offer screen to see your current options, or check pricing on our website.

Headway offers several subscription lengths (including monthly, annual, etc.), with exact options and pricing shown in-app since they can vary by promotion. Tap "View other plans" on the trial offer screen after opening any summary to see what's currently available to you.

Price can differ by region, currency, whether you subscribe via the website or through the App Store/Google Play, and active promotions.

Yes, Headway offers a 7-day free trial when you sign up for a yearly plan. The free trial can be used only once per app store account.

Premium unlocks the full library of book summaries in text and audio, plus daily insights, streaks, personalized recommendations, curated collections, and spaced-repetition tools.

Yes, Headway offers some great promotional deals, but keep in mind that these offers change frequently. It's a good idea to check the app regularly so you don't miss out on any new discounts that pop up.

Yes, subscriptions renew on the date they were originally created, so cancel before that date to avoid the next charge. If your cancellation lands very close to the renewal moment, one final charge may still go through — that will be the last one.

Website subscribers can check their plan and renewal date on their account page; Store subscribers should check Subscriptions in their device's account settings.

Subscribed from within the iOS or Android app?
The cancellation process is managed entirely by the respective App Store. The subscription can be canceled through your iTunes/Apple or Google Play settings.

On Android devices:

1. Open the Play Store app.

2. Tap the icon in the top right corner.

3. Tap on "Payments and subscriptions."

4. Tap on the "Subscriptions" section and select the Headway app icon.

For more details, please visit Google Help Center - Play Store Cancel Subscription.

On an Apple device:

1. Go to your iPhone's Settings.

2. Tap on [your name] and choose "Subscriptions."

3. Tap the subscription option related to the Headway app.

4. Scroll down and tap on the "Cancel" button.

For more details, please visit Apple Store Support - App Store Cancel Subscription.

Subscribed through the website?

You can cancel and deactivate the automatic renewal for your subscription by visiting the Headway Account page.

Our subscriptions are set to renew automatically. To avoid being charged, cancel before the end of the 7-day trial period to avoid the next charge.

To cancel Headway subscription on iPhone or iPad, go to your iPhone's Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → select Headway → tap Cancel.

Open Google Play Store → tap your profile icon (top right) → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → select Headway → tap Cancel.

You can cancel and deactivate the automatic renewal for your subscription by visiting the Headway Account page.

No, uninstalling the app doesn't end your subscription; charges will continue until you cancel it via the Store or your website account.

Yes, you keep full access until the end of your current paid period.

A Headway charge means you have an active subscription, whether you signed up through our website or directly in the app. It'll appear under our name so you can recognize it. If anything looks off or you have questions, reach out to us at support@get-headway.com and we'll help sort it out.

Free trials automatically convert to a paid subscription unless canceled before the end of the 7-day trial period.

This usually means you have two separate active subscriptions on your account — for example, a Headway subscription plus a separate add-on subscription — which are billed independently.

If you are subscribed through the Google Play Store, please request a refund via this link: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637

If you are subscribed through the Apple Store, please use this link: https://support.apple.com/apps

If you've bought a subscription or started a trial on our websites, refunds are issued at our discretion and are subject to applicable Terms and Conditions, which may be updated periodically. For assistance, contact support at support@get-headway.com.

Your account is created automatically when you sign up, either by downloading the app from the App Store/Google Play and entering an email and password, or by completing the onboarding quiz on our website and entering your email before payment.

To log in, follow these steps:

1. Go to the 'Profile' section in the app.

2. Tap the 'Gear' icon in the upper right-hand corner.

3. Select 'Log in' (or 'Log out' first, if you need to switch accounts).

You can find the full login guide here.

You can change the password using this link. 

If you need to change your email address in the app, please write to us at support@get-headway.com and include the following information:

1. email, connected to your Headway account and subscription

2. the email you want to use

To check your email address connected to the Headway account in the app, please go to the ‘Profile’ section and click on the ‘Gear’ icon.

If you have a paid subscription but do not have access to the content in the app, check whether you’re logged in with the correct email address.

To gain back access to the app, we recommend doing the following:

• Try to read any summary.

• When you see the payment screen, choose the "Restore purchase" option in the bottom right corner.

Note: Ensure you log in with the same Apple ID you used to purchase the subscription.

To delete your account entirely, follow these instructions:

1. Open the Headway app.

2. Go to your Profile and tap the 'Gear' icon.

3. Click on the 'Delete account' option.

4. Enter 'GOODBYE' in the appropriate field and tap the 'Delete account' button.

Note: After deleting your account, all your progress, library content, and personal data will be erased.

Canceling a subscription only stops future billing — you keep your account and access until your current paid period ends. Deleting your account automatically cancels any active subscription.

Yes, giving the gift of Headway is a fantastic idea!

To purchase a one-year Premium subscription as a gift, please navigate to this page: https://onboarding.makeheadway.com/promotions/en/gift.

Yes, Headway Corporate Subscription is a solution for your team or organization that helps to empower your team and boost their knowledge. Our corporate plans and pricing are available on the business page — the specific quote depends on team size and features at business.makeheadway.com. 

Yes, we will gladly give you access to our app for a certain period if you are interested in purchasing a corporate subscription for your team. Please fill out the form on the website or email support@get-headway.com.

Our corporate plans and pricing are available on the business page — the specific quote depends on team size and features at business.makeheadway.com. 

If you are interested in promoting your book with Headway, just drop us a line. The easiest way to contact us is to write an email to support@get-headway.com

If you have any questions about copyright, please contact us at support@get-headway.com

If you have any questions about Headway, please contact us at support@get-headway.com

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