Anki is the gold standard for spaced-repetition flashcards, open-source and beloved for good reason. StudyPDF does the part Anki leaves to you: it reads your course, writes cited cards and study tools, then exports them straight to Anki for the long-term reviews.
| Feature | StudyPDF | Anki |
|---|---|---|
| Trust and grounding | ||
| Answers cited to the page | YesEvery answer shows the page | NoCards hold whatever you type |
| Says when it isn't in your material | YesRefuses to guess | NoNo AI, no answering |
| Your whole course | ||
| One connected map across all files | YesTopics + concepts merged across lectures | NoDecks and tags you organize yourself |
| Tracks what you're weak on | YesPer-concept mastery, what to study next | PartlyTracks card recall, not concepts |
| Builds cards from your files for you | YesReads your uploads, writes the cards | NoYou write every card by hand |
| Study tools | ||
| Flashcards | YesRate, fold-over PDF, and Anki export on Pro and Ultra | YesThe core of the app, your gold standard |
| Spaced-repetition scheduler | PartlyIn-app card rating | YesMature FSRS and SM2 scheduler |
| Full graded practice exams | YesSections, timer, pass mark, report | NoFlashcards only |
| Quiz with instant feedback | YesAfter every question | NoReview by recall, not quizzes |
| Study guides, summaries, mind maps, cheat sheets | YesAll built from your course | NoCards only |
| Inputs, extras and pricing | ||
| Imports YouTube videos | YesPaste a video link | NoYou build cards yourself |
| Add-on ecosystem and full control | PartlyOpinionated, less to configure | YesHuge community add-on library |
| Free tier | YesFree to start, about 4 materials a week | YesFree desktop, Android, web; iOS app is paid |
| Pricing, as of October 2026 | ||
| Free plan | YesFree account, no credit card, no time limit | YesFree on desktop, Android and web |
| Paid parts | YesOn the web: Pro $11.99 a month or $47.99 a year, Ultra $19.99 a month or $95.99 a year | PartlyiPhone and iPad app: $24.99 |
See it on your own lecture. It takes about a minute.
Anki costs nothing on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android, and syncing with AnkiWeb is free. AnkiMobile for iPhone and iPad costs $24.99 on the App Store (as of October 2026). StudyPDF's Free plan costs nothing. Pro and Ultra add a bigger weekly pool of materials.
If you review on an iPhone or iPad every day, it is a one-time price with no subscription, and the purchase helps fund Anki's development. If you only study now and then, or you want cards made from your PDFs without typing them, try StudyPDF's free plan first.
It depends what you want. StudyPDF and Anki are better together than apart. StudyPDF reads your course and writes cited flashcards for you, then exports them as an .apkg file (on Pro and Ultra) you import into Anki, so Anki's spaced-repetition scheduler still handles your long-term reviews. StudyPDF removes the hours of manual card-making; Anki keeps the reviews.
Anki has the deepest, most proven spaced-repetition scheduler, with mature FSRS and SM2 timing, a huge community add-on ecosystem, full control over card design, and an offline open-source app. Its long-term review engine goes further than StudyPDF's in-app card rating, which is why StudyPDF exports to Anki rather than trying to replace it.
It writes the cards for you from your own lecture files, cites the page behind every card and answer, refuses to make things up, maps your whole course into one connected concept graph, writes full graded practice exams, builds quizzes, study guides, summaries, mind maps, and cheat sheets, and tracks per-concept mastery so it knows what to study next.
Anki is free and open-source on desktop, Android, and the web; only the AnkiMobile iOS app is a one-time paid purchase. StudyPDF is free to start, and Free gives you about 4 materials a week. Pro and Ultra add a bigger weekly pool of credits for heavier exam-season use.
Upload your course and ask Bo anything. No card required.
