Is Waffle a Headway alternative?

Yes. Both are for learning from non-fiction books without reading them in full. Headway gives you a 15-minute summary and a streak. Waffle gives you the book as a podcast series you can listen to an episode at a time.

Can I still listen for ten minutes a day?

That is how Waffle is built. Each episode is about ten minutes and covers one part of the book, so a daily episode gets you through a book in a week without cramming it into one sitting.

Why not just read the summary?

A summary tells you what the author concluded. A conversation tells you how they got there, with the examples that make it memorable. If you only want the conclusion, a summary is faster. If you want to use the idea, you need the reasoning.

Does Waffle have a free trial?

The first episode of every book is free, with no trial to start or cancel. Pay only if you want the rest of the series.

Waffle

Books as podcasts

Headway

Daily micro-learning

Micro-learning, or actually learning the book?

Headway is built around the habit: a daily goal, a streak, a 15-minute summary to keep it going. That works if what you want is to keep the app open. It works less well if what you want is to come away knowing a book. Waffle keeps the short sittings but fills them with the book itself, as a podcast in the author's voice.

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Side by side

What you get with each.

Headway

Daily micro-learning

15-minute text and audio summaries of non-fiction books
Daily goals, streaks and challenges to build a reading habit
Short visual explainers and flashcards for review
Billed as a subscription, yearly or monthly

Waffle

Books as podcasts

Whole books as podcast series, in episodes of about 10 minutes
Hundreds of books, chosen for the people who wrote them
A host in conversation with the author, in the author's voice
The first episode of every book is free

Why a podcast, not a summary

Less dense. Easier to follow. More of it stays with you.

One idea per episode, not every idea in fifteen minutes

A summary has to fit the whole book into a quarter of an hour, so every sentence carries a key point and nothing gets room to breathe. Waffle splits a book into episodes of about ten minutes, each on one part of it. Atomic Habits becomes four episodes, one law each. You can stop after one and still have learned one thing properly.

Atomic Habits on Waffle, split into four ten-minute episodes

A conversation is easier to follow than a list of key ideas

Each episode is a host talking with the author, in the author's voice. The host asks the question you would ask, the author answers with the example from the book, and the point lands because you heard why it matters. The full transcript scrolls in sync with the audio, so you can read along or go back to the line you missed.

The read-along transcript on Waffle, with the host and James Clear in conversation

Start from the person, not the catalogue

You already know whose ideas you want to hear. Waffle organises books around the people who wrote them, so you can pick James Clear or Michelle Obama and listen to their book the way you would listen to them on a podcast. The first episode of every book is free, so you can try one before deciding.

Waffle's Discover tab, with books for you, people and top series

On Waffle

Hundreds of books, each one a series.

Browse all book podcasts

$100M Offers
Alex Hormozi
Zero to One
Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
The Creative Act
Rick Rubin
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
$100M Leads
Alex Hormozi
Never Split the Difference
Chris Voss; Tahl Raz
Educated
Tara Westover
All About Love
bell hooks
Shoe Dog
Phil Knight

At a glance

WafflevsHeadway

Format: 15-minute summary; Podcast series, 4 to 8 episodes
Length per sitting: The whole book; One idea, about 10 minutes
Who you hear: A narrator; The author, in conversation with a host
Text: Written summary; Full transcript, synced to the audio
Keeps you coming back with: Streaks and daily goals; The next episode
Try before you pay: Subscription after a trial; First episode of every book, free

Feature	Headway	Waffle
Format	15-minute summary	Podcast series, 4 to 8 episodes
Length per sitting	The whole book	One idea, about 10 minutes
Who you hear	A narrator	The author, in conversation with a host
Text	Written summary	Full transcript, synced to the audio
Keeps you coming back with	Streaks and daily goals	The next episode
Try before you pay	Subscription after a trial	First episode of every book, free

When Headway is the better pick

If a streak is what gets you to open an app, Headway is built for that and Waffle is not. Its library is also much larger, and the visual explainers are a quick way to find out whether a topic interests you at all before you commit an hour to it.

Questions

WaffleorHeadway?

Is Waffle a Headway alternative?: Yes. Both are for learning from non-fiction books without reading them in full. Headway gives you a 15-minute summary and a streak. Waffle gives you the book as a podcast series you can listen to an episode at a time.
Can I still listen for ten minutes a day?: That is how Waffle is built. Each episode is about ten minutes and covers one part of the book, so a daily episode gets you through a book in a week without cramming it into one sitting.
Why not just read the summary?: A summary tells you what the author concluded. A conversation tells you how they got there, with the examples that make it memorable. If you only want the conclusion, a summary is faster. If you want to use the idea, you need the reasoning.
Does Waffle have a free trial?: The first episode of every book is free, with no trial to start or cancel. Pay only if you want the rest of the series.

Other comparisons

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