is there a website that can summarize articles?

If you want it free

SMMRY is an AI summariser website for pasted text, articles and web pages. Its $0 per month plan gives you 10 summaries of texts, articles and web pages, in a browser with nothing to install. Paid plans add books and YouTube videos.

Articles are only half of it, of course, because plenty of what people want summarised is video. If that's you, I've put together a separate page on summarising YouTube videos: the answer is yes, and it covers NoteGPT as a dedicated YouTube summariser, plus Gemini finding a video and answering questions about it, and YouTube's own Ask tool.

The catch is the ceiling. The free plan is 10 summaries, and the pricing page does not say over what period. If you only summarise the occasional article, that may be enough. If you get through a pile every week, you will hit the limit.

If you read a lot and want summaries without extra steps

Readwise Reader is a read-it-later app for articles, PDFs, EPUBs, newsletters and RSS, with an AI assistant called Ghostreader. You save articles as you go and they are summarised automatically. Readwise says auto-summarisation of documents you save to your library is included in the subscription, using GPT-5 Mini by default, and you get highlighting and notes too. You can also upload PDFs.

What you give up is a free option. It is free for the first 30 days and then paid, from $9.99 per month billed annually or $12.99 billed monthly, and Reader comes with the full plan, not Lite ($5.59). It is a whole reading app on web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, with Chrome, Firefox and Safari extensions, so it is more than you need for a single summary.

If you already use Chrome

Gemini in Chrome is Google's Gemini assistant built into the Chrome browser. Google says it gives concise summaries of articles, pages or threads, and can turn several open tabs into one summary, straight from the toolbar with no copying and pasting.

The catch is availability. Google says it is rolling out in selected regions, needs setup and is for over 18s, and its page does not confirm UK availability. It does not give a price for summaries either, so we cannot tell you what it costs.

If you want the gist of a book in 15 minutes

Blinkist is an app of book summaries to read or listen to. Its UK Google Play listing offers 7,500+ book summaries you can get through in about 15 minutes, with a free 7-day trial. Shortform is a library of written book guides covering 12,000+ books, plus 1,000+ article and topic guides, with audio narration and apps for iOS and Android. Shortform is $16.42 per month billed annually or $24.00 billed monthly; it offers "Sign up for free", but its pages do not say what a free account includes.

Neither summarises an article you paste in. They cover their own catalogues, so if your book is not in the library, they cannot help. Blinkist AI, which summarises your own articles, PDFs and videos, needs Blinkist Pro, and the prices are in-app purchases we could not see.

When paying is worth it

Pay when you need more than SMMRY's 10 free summaries. Its Essential plan was shown at $7 per month, reduced from $14, for 20 summaries a day, and Advanced at $13 per month, reduced from $25, is unlimited and adds podcasts. Readwise Reader suits you if you also want to save and highlight what you read, because summaries are only one part of it.

Gemini in Chrome is rolling out in selected regions and is for over 18s, and Google's page does not confirm UK availability. Check that you have it before you build a routine around it.

In Readwise Reader, auto-summaries cover documents you save yourself. Items in your Feed are not auto-summarised unless you add your own OpenAI API key, which then uses your own API credits. If a feed item has no summary, that is why.

Know which kind of tool you are choosing. SMMRY, Readwise Reader and Gemini in Chrome summarise what you give them. Blinkist and Shortform are libraries of book summaries, so they only cover the titles they list.