Anki vs Quizlet: which flashcard app should you use?

Anki and Quizlet are the two flashcard apps most people end up choosing between, and they’re built for different jobs. Anki is a memory system that takes some effort to set up. Quizlet is a study app you can use in the next sixty seconds.

We found no solid study comparing the two apps head to head, so anyone claiming one gets you exactly so many more points is guessing. What we can compare are the features, the limits and the prices, and how they fit the research on what makes studying work. Prices and plans below are from October 2026.

Anki vs Quizlet at a glance

The spaced repetition difference

This is where many comparisons are out of date. Plenty of them still say Quizlet has no spaced repetition, because it retired its old Long-Term Learning feature in 2020. That’s no longer the whole story: Quizlet now describes a spaced repetition study method in Flashcards, with a Memory Score and Scheduled Review, where you rate each card from Repeat to Easy. Its help pages document this for the website, and they don’t make clear which plan includes it, so check what your own account offers.

The difference that remains is how central it is.

In Anki, the schedule is the app. Every card has its own next review date, and each time you open Anki it shows you what’s due. You can choose between the classic SM-2 algorithm and the newer FSRS in the deck options, and adjust nearly everything if you want to.

In Quizlet, it’s one mode among several. Learn, its best-known mode, adapts to your answers and brings back what you got wrong, but its logic is built around finishing a session. If you mainly use Learn or Match, you’re studying in one sitting.

Why does it matter? In a large review of study techniques, spreading practice over time and testing yourself were the only two rated highly effective (more on the ranking). If you need to remember something next semester, you want a system that keeps bringing it back. Our guide to spaced repetition explains how it works.

For a test on Friday, it matters less. A few rounds of Learn and a practice test can get you there, and you can always forget it afterwards.

What each one costs

Anki has no subscription. The computer version, the web version and AnkiDroid for Android are free, and so is syncing between them. The only paid part is AnkiMobile for iPhone and iPad at $24.99, a one-time purchase that funds Anki’s development. If you’re on iPhone and don’t want to pay, you can review in the browser on AnkiWeb, though that needs a connection.

Quizlet is free to start. You can create sets and study flashcards with ads, but according to its help center, Learn is a Plus feature with a free session to try, and Test is limited to one free practice test per set. Third-party pricing pages put Plus at about $36 a year or $7.99 a month in the US, and Plus Unlimited at about $45 a year. Prices differ by country, so check the price shown to you before you subscribe.

Over a few years, Anki costs nothing or one fixed payment, and Quizlet costs a yearly fee if you rely on its paid modes.

Which one to choose

• Medical school, law, or anything with thousands of facts: Anki. It handles very large decks, has image occlusion for anatomy and diagrams, and medical students share well-known decks for it.
• Learning a language: Anki if you’re in it for years, because vocabulary needs reviews long after you first learn it. Quizlet is fine for the word list of the current chapter.
• School class or study group: Quizlet. Sharing a set takes a link, and everyone can use it without learning anything first.
• A test next week: either. If a good set already exists on Quizlet, use it. Whatever you pick, test yourself instead of flipping through.
• You’ve tried Anki and gave up: be honest about why. If it was the setup, try Quizlet. If it was the growing pile of reviews, a different flashcard app won’t change that (see below).
• You want AI to make the cards: Quizlet has it built in, and so do apps such as Braintoll. With Anki you’d need an add-on or a separate tool.

Many people use both: Quizlet for quick class material, Anki for what they want to keep.

How to move from Quizlet to Anki

1. Open your set on the Quizlet website, open the three-dot menu and choose Export. Quizlet only offers this on the website, and not for sets you copied from someone else.
2. Set the separator between term and definition to Tab and between rows to New line, then copy the text.
3. Paste it into a plain text file and save it.
4. In Anki on your computer, choose File → Import, pick the file and check that the two columns map to the front and back of your cards.

The export carries text only, so images and audio stay behind, and your learning progress doesn’t come along.

The problem both have: you have to open them

Whichever app you pick, the schedule only helps on the days you study. That’s where most flashcard habits end: you skip a few days, a few hundred Anki reviews pile up, and the app becomes something you avoid. Quizlet sets tend to go quiet the day after the exam.

Braintoll takes a different route. It uses spaced repetition with the same Again, Hard, Good and Easy ratings as Anki, and shows your cards when you open an app you’ve chosen to block, such as Instagram or TikTok. Answer a few, and the app opens for as long as you’ve set. Your reviews happen in the moments you already reach for your phone.

It can start from what you already have: Braintoll imports Anki .apkg decks with their review progress, on your phone and without uploading them. Quizlet sets can come along through Anki, using the steps above. Or let the AI create new cards from a topic, your notes or a PDF.

It’s narrower than both apps: text cards only, no cloze or image cards, no sync between devices, and no sharing with a class. If you depend on those, stay with Anki or Quizlet and use Braintoll for the one deck you keep neglecting. It’s free for one app with unlimited cards, on Android and iPhone. More in our Anki alternative guide.

Common questions

Is Anki better than Quizlet?

For long-term memory, yes for most people: every card has its own review schedule, and the app is built around it. For getting started quickly, sharing sets with a class or studying for a single test, Quizlet is usually the better fit. The right choice depends on how long you need to remember the material.

Does Quizlet have spaced repetition?

Yes, in a newer form. Quizlet retired its old Long-Term Learning feature in 2020, but now describes a spaced repetition study method in Flashcards, with a Memory Score and Scheduled Review. Its help pages document it for the website. Many older comparisons still say Quizlet has none.

Is Anki free?

Anki is free on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android, and in the browser through AnkiWeb, including sync. Only the iPhone and iPad app, AnkiMobile, costs money: $24.99 in the US as a one-time purchase, with no subscription.

Is Quizlet still free?

Partly. You can still create sets and study flashcards for free, with ads. Learn is a paid feature with one free session to try, and Test offers one free practice test per set. For the full versions you need Quizlet Plus.

Can I import Quizlet sets into Anki?

Yes, as text. Export the set on the Quizlet website with a tab between term and definition, save it as a text file and import it in Anki on your computer. Images, audio and learning progress don’t transfer, and sets you copied from other users can’t be exported.

Braintoll is not affiliated with Anki, Ankitects, AnkiDroid or Quizlet. All product names are the property of their respective owners.