Best Anki Alternatives in 2026 (Free Options That Actually Work)
Why Students Look for Anki Alternatives
Before listing tools, it helps to understand which specific Anki problem you're trying to solve:
Problem 1: Card creation takes too long Anki requires you to write every card manually. For a 40-page chapter, that could mean 2–3 hours of card creation before you've studied a single concept.
Problem 2: The interface is too complex Anki's settings, note types, deck options, and add-on ecosystem are powerful but overwhelming. Many students give up before getting any benefit.
Problem 3: The iOS app costs $25 AnkiDroid (Android) is free, but AnkiMobile (iOS) costs $25 one-time. For students on a budget, this is a real barrier.
Problem 4: No collaboration or sharing Anki's deck sharing system works, but it's clunky compared to modern tools. For group study, it falls short.
Problem 5: You want quizzes, not just flashcards Anki tests isolated facts. If you need to understand concepts (not just memorize them), flashcard-only tools have a fundamental limitation.
Different problems need different solutions — the best Anki alternative depends on which of these is your actual issue.
Best Anki Alternatives by Use Case
Best for Automatic Card Generation from Any Content: Prismer
Price: Free (3 sessions/month) / $9.90/month Best for: Students who want to study from PDFs, YouTube videos, and notes without creating cards manually
Prismer solves Anki's biggest problem — the hours spent creating cards — by generating study materials automatically. Upload any PDF, paste a YouTube link, or enter a topic. In 60 seconds you get:
- An interactive quiz testing conceptual understanding
- Structured study notes
- Presentation slides summarizing key points
- An AI podcast summary for commuting
The key difference from Anki: Prismer tests understanding, not just recall. Questions like "Why does X happen?" and "What would change if Y?" prepare you better for exams that test application, not just recognition.
Best workflow: Use Prismer to understand material and identify your gaps. Then create Anki cards specifically for the facts you need to memorize long-term. This combination is more effective than either tool alone.
Who should use it: Students processing large amounts of new material who don't have time to create Anki cards from scratch. Particularly useful for complex subjects where conceptual understanding matters — not just memorizing isolated facts.
Best Free Quizlet-Style Alternative: Knowt
Price: Free (almost everything) / $6/month Pro Best for: Students who want Quizlet's ease of use without the paywall
Knowt replicates nearly everything Quizlet Plus does, for free:
- AI generates flashcards from your notes automatically
- Spaced repetition scheduling included free
- Multiple study modes (flashcards, learn, test, match)
- Direct import of existing Quizlet sets
If you're currently paying for Quizlet Plus, Knowt is worth trying first. It does almost everything Quizlet does at no cost.
Limitation: No equivalent to Anki's FSRS algorithm for serious long-term retention. For medical school or language learning at scale, Anki still wins.
Best Modern Interface with Spaced Repetition: RemNote
Price: Free (limited) / $6/month Best for: Students who want Anki's spaced repetition with a cleaner, more modern experience
RemNote integrates note-taking and flashcard creation in one app. Write notes using a specific syntax (::) and flashcards are generated automatically as you write. Review them in RemNote's built-in spaced repetition system.
What makes it different: You don't need to separately create notes and then create cards. The cards emerge from your notes naturally.
Limitation: The free tier limits the number of flashcards. For heavy users, the paid plan is necessary.
Best for Medical Students: Anki + AnKing (Still Anki, But Better)
Price: Free (desktop/Android) / $25 one-time (iOS) Best for: Medical students who need Anki's algorithm but don't want to create 30,000 cards
The most common "Anki alternative" for medical students isn't actually a different app — it's using Anki with the AnKing USMLE deck, which provides:
- 30,000+ pre-made, continuously updated cards for Steps 1 and 2
- Community-maintained corrections and additions
- Organized by First Aid, Pathoma, and other major resources
If card creation is your problem, this solves it without leaving Anki's superior algorithm.
Download from ankingmed.com. Use AnkiHub to receive automatic updates.
Best for Language Learning: Anki + Community Decks
Price: Free Best for: Serious language learners who want vocabulary at scale
For Japanese: JLPT N5–N1 decks are available on AnkiWeb with thousands of pre-made, high-quality cards including example sentences and audio.
For Mandarin: HSK 1–6 decks with audio and character stroke order.
For Korean: TOPIK vocabulary decks.
For major European languages: Community decks covering vocabulary, grammar, and common phrases.
Search ankiweb.net for your target language. These decks solve the card creation problem while keeping Anki's algorithm.
Best for Collaboration and Sharing: Quizlet
Price: Free (basic) / $7.99/month Plus Best for: Group study, quick sharing with classmates, finding pre-made sets for any topic
Quizlet's community library of 500+ million study sets is unmatched. If you need a quick set for high school biology, college economics, or SAT vocabulary, Quizlet probably already has it.
Quizlet's spaced repetition isn't as sophisticated as Anki's, but for short-term exam prep and collaborative studying, it's the most practical option.
Who should use it: High school students, students who need quick setup for a specific exam, anyone who wants to share study materials with classmates.
Best for Note-Taking + Flashcards Together: Notion + AI
Price: Free (generous tier) Best for: Students who already use Notion for notes and want flashcards without switching apps
Notion AI can generate flashcard-style content from your existing notes. While it doesn't have spaced repetition scheduling built in, you can create a simple review system within Notion.
Better approach: Use Notion for organizing your notes, generate flashcard content with ChatGPT from those notes, import into Anki for proper spaced repetition.
Best Completely Free with Everything: Anki Desktop
Price: Free (desktop and Android) Best for: Students who are willing to learn the interface for maximum long-term retention
If the iOS cost is your only problem, the solution is simple: use Anki on desktop or use AnkiDroid (Android, free). The desktop app has every feature AnkiMobile has, completely free.
Use AnkiWeb (free) to sync between devices. The web interface also allows review in any browser for free.
Comparison Table
| Tool | Spaced Repetition | Card Generation | Free Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anki | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FSRS | Manual (or import) | Desktop/Android free | Long-term high-volume memorization |
| Prismer | N/A (quiz-based) | Fully automatic | 3 sessions/month | Understanding before memorizing |
| Knowt | ⭐⭐⭐ Good | AI from notes | Almost everything | Free Quizlet replacement |
| RemNote | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good | Auto from notes | Limited | Note-taking + flashcards |
| Quizlet | ⭐⭐ Basic | AI (paid) | Basic features | Sharing, quick setup |
| Anki + AnKing | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FSRS | Pre-made deck | Desktop/Android free | Medical school |
How to Choose
If your problem is card creation taking too long: → Use Prismer for initial understanding + automatic quiz generation, then create Anki cards only for the facts you need to retain long-term. Or use Knowt, which auto-generates cards from your notes.
If your problem is Anki's interface: → Try RemNote (cleaner interface, good spaced repetition) or Knowt (simplest of all).
If your problem is the iOS cost: → Use Anki on desktop or AnkiDroid (Android). Both are free with all features.
If your problem is finding pre-made content: → Check AnkiWeb for community decks. For medical school, the AnKing deck solves this entirely.
If you're a high school student or need quick setup: → Quizlet or Knowt. Both are accessible and have large libraries of pre-made content.
If you need to understand concepts, not just memorize: → Prismer. Traditional flashcard tools, including Anki, test whether you can recall isolated facts. Prismer tests whether you understand why things work the way they do — which is what most exams actually test.
The Most Effective Combination
The best study system isn't one tool — it's the right tool for each job:
- Prismer — to understand new material and identify gaps quickly
- Anki — to memorize the specific facts you need to retain long-term
- Quizlet — to find pre-made sets and share with classmates
This isn't redundant. Each tool does something the others can't.
For a complete comparison including Quizlet, see: Quizlet vs Anki vs Prismer: Which Study Tool Actually Works?
For a complete guide to implementing spaced repetition, see: Spaced Repetition with AI: The Complete Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free alternative to Anki? Knowt is the best free alternative for students who want Quizlet-style ease with AI card generation. AnkiDroid (Android) is free if you want Anki's actual algorithm. Prismer (3 free sessions/month) is best if you want to generate study materials automatically from PDFs and videos.
Is there an Anki alternative with a better interface? RemNote has a significantly more modern interface than Anki while maintaining good spaced repetition. Knowt is even simpler. Neither matches Anki's algorithm sophistication for long-term retention, but both are more accessible for daily use.
Can I import my Anki decks into other apps? Most alternatives accept CSV imports, which you can export from Anki. Knowt accepts direct Quizlet imports. RemNote accepts text imports. Full migration is rarely seamless — plan to recreate complex card types manually.
What do medical students use instead of Anki? Most serious medical students still use Anki, specifically with the AnKing deck. The algorithm is too important to replace for USMLE prep. Students who struggle with Anki's interface often use AnkiHub add-ons to improve the experience rather than switching tools.
Is Quizlet a good Anki alternative? For short-term exam prep, collaborative studying, and finding pre-made content: yes. For long-term retention of large volumes of information (medical school, language fluency, professional certifications): no — Quizlet's spaced repetition algorithm is significantly less effective than Anki's. For a full comparison, see: Anki vs Quizlet: The Honest Answer After Testing Both.
What Anki alternative works best for language learning? For vocabulary at scale, Anki with community decks (JLPT, HSK, TOPIK) is still the best option — the algorithm handles large vocabulary loads better than any alternative. Knowt works for moderate vocabulary sets. For practice and comprehension alongside vocabulary, add Prismer for reading comprehension quizzes and ChatGPT for conversation practice.
For a direct comparison of Anki vs Quizlet by student type, see: Quizlet vs Anki.
Want to generate a quiz from any PDF or video automatically? Try Prismer free — no card creation required, no credit card needed.