Flashcard apps turn study material into cards and schedule reviews so facts stick. This guide covers general deck builders, note-based tools and language-only products.
Our order favours small independent vendors, then weighs the effort to build a first deck, what limits and paid tiers add, how decks leave the app, and fit for a self-studying learner.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What flashcard apps software does
A flashcard app stores question-and-answer cards in decks and schedules reviews, sometimes with spaced repetition, so learners can memorise facts, vocabulary or exam material on a phone or computer.
Five tests decide the order: setup effort, real cost, how your data leaves, whether you can walk away, and who the flashcard apps tool was built for. One rule overrides the order: smaller vendors take the first three places when the category offers them, and the best-known brands start at four. The reasoning behind the five tests, and behind having no score out of ten, is set out on the how we work page.
Plans page linked; home page shows no prices, billing period, limits or trial
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UK exam students wanting AI to draft cards and quizzes from their material
Buyers outside UK qualifications or those who need known limits
The country column shows the vendor's headquarters or contracting entity. Data hosting is a separate matter, and an entry flags it when the two diverge.
Community-run spaced repetition with a free desktop app and sync
Ranked #1 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourcePublished pricingElsewhere
Anki's download page lists builds for Windows 10 and later, macOS 13 and later on Apple Silicon and Intel, and Linux. Sync through AnkiWeb is free, and the Android app, AnkiDroid, is a separate project paid for by donations through OpenCollective.
Only the official iOS app, AnkiMobile, is described as bought rather than donated. Ranking first reflects zero licence cost on three desktop systems, offset by a split across separately run apps and no stated country.
What stands out
Desktop-first
Donation-funded Android
Source on GitHub
Where it costs you
The page names no licence, so the open source claim cannot be checked against licence terms.
The iPhone app is funded by purchases, yet no price appears on the page.
Right for
Self-directed learners who want unlimited decks on their own devices at no licence cost
Wrong for
Teams wanting a vendor with stated plans and support terms
Not stated by the vendorFree desktop app and AnkiWeb sync; Android port funded by donations; iOS app sold as a purchase
Offline-first card editor with a monthly Pro tier for sync
Ranked #2 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Mochi's pricing page sets monthly limits that reset: 20 dictionary lookups and 200 text-to-speech characters on the free plan, against a Pro tier with 10 GB storage, publishing and API keys.
Dynamic fields are also listed under Pro. The Pro button says 'Try it free' without giving a length. A reader comparing the table with the text finds two readings of yearly billing, so ask before committing for a year.
What stands out
Offline cards
Dynamic fields
API keys on Pro
Where it costs you
Cloud storage stays local on the free plan, which points to Pro for a second device.
The yearly billing text and the comparison table disagree, so the true annual cost is unclear.
Right for
Solo learners wanting a small scriptable card editor, paying monthly for sync
Wrong for
Anyone expecting a clear annual price before signing up
Not stated by the vendorFree plan with offline cards and decks; Pro published at a monthly rate, with unclear yearly wording
Notes and flashcards in one workspace, with metered AI credits
Ranked #3 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
RemNote ties each plan to metered allowances rather than to a card count. Cards are unlimited from the free tier up. The differences are AI credits (250, 1,000 or 20,000 a month), daily uploads (20 or 600), file size (8MB or 300MB) and the number of knowledge bases.
The 1,000 AI cards from text, PDF or PPT belong only to Pro with AI. Check your expected monthly uploads against those caps before choosing a tier.
What stands out
Notes plus cards
AI credit allowances
Daily upload caps
Where it costs you
The free tier holds uploads to 8MB files and 20 a day, which blocks heavy PDF workflows.
AI card generation from text, PDF or PPT sits in the most expensive tier.
Right for
Students who keep lecture notes and review cards together and will use AI credits
Wrong for
Learners who just want standalone decks with no note-taking layer
Not stated by the vendorPublished Free, Pro and Pro with AI tiers, billed monthly or yearly
Subscription flashcards with a capped Basic tier and group pricing
Ranked #4 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
Brainscape's pricing page draws its line at pre-loaded content, not at cards you write: own-card creation is unlimited on Basic, while studying ready-made material stops at 2,500 cards.
Pro, shown monthly but billed yearly, lifts that, and its AI-generated and Certified cards carry no stated limit. A group tier handles bulk purchases with a stated discount of up to 70% against consumer Pro, which matters to a class or a training team.
What stands out
Pre-loaded card cap
Certified flashcards
Group plans
Where it costs you
The 2,500 pre-loaded card limit on Basic can run out for a learner relying on ready-made decks.
Pro is billed yearly, so a short exam sprint still commits for twelve months.
Right for
Exam candidates who study ready-made decks and want a flat yearly charge
Wrong for
Learners who need monthly billing for a short revision window
Not stated by the vendorPublished Basic and Pro prices, Pro billed yearly; group plan negotiated with bulk discounts
Mobile spaced-repetition app with a large pre-made deck library
Ranked #5 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Noji's homepage splits the product cleanly: a free version for the essentials and a Premium tier for pictures, rich editing, custom presets, spoken audio and a removed daily ceiling.
It does not state a price, currency or billing period for Premium. The 50K+ pre-made decks reduce setup time, and collaboration on shared decks suits study pairs. A buyer should read the in-store price before assuming Premium is affordable.
What stands out
50K+ pre-made decks
Shared decks
Premium presets
Where it costs you
Unlimited daily learning is held back for Premium, so a free user meets a daily ceiling.
The page lists only iOS and Android, so desktop use is not shown.
Right for
Phone-first learners who like borrowing decks and sharing them with friends
Wrong for
Anyone who wants Premium costs known before they download
Not stated by the vendorFree version with essential features; Premium tier with no price on the page
Device-stored decks with Leitner and spaced-repetition study modes
Ranked #6 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The page for Flashcards Deluxe describes a developer rather than a company: OrangeOrApple.com, with a first-name sign-off. The app stores decks locally; moving them means a Dropbox or Google Drive account, or the vendor's own server, labelled temporary.
Reviews use three response levels, and speech output covers 20+ languages. A Shared Library publishes decks for others. The lite version is a safe way to test the interface before paying an unlisted price.
What stands out
Leitner mode
Speech in 20+ languages
Dropbox transfer
Where it costs you
Cross-device sync relies on Dropbox, Google Drive or temporary storage rather than an account.
No licence, country or price is stated on the page.
Right for
Individuals who want on-device decks and Leitner boxes across phone platforms
Wrong for
Teams needing account-based sync and a stated company address
Not stated by the vendorLite version to try; full-version price not shown on the page
Lightweight open source spaced-repetition site with typed cloze cards
Ranked #7 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Open sourcePricing on requestElsewhere
For technical subjects Memcode has an advantage in card content: LaTeX formulas and highlighted code sit alongside images and GIFs, and the text-to-speech audio comes from OpenAI voices. Review uses an SM2-based algorithm of its own.
Editing works offline, and some language courses need no login. The same page offers no plan, limit or trial information, and names neither a company nor a country, so treat it as a tool to test, not to standardise on.
What stands out
Typed cloze deletion
LaTeX and code cards
Open source on GitHub
Where it costs you
The page names no company or country, so there is no stated party behind the service.
No plans, limits or prices are published, which leaves long-term terms open.
Right for
Developers and maths students who want LaTeX and code-highlighted cards
Wrong for
Organisations that need a named supplier and written terms
Not stated by the vendorNo plans, prices, limits or trial stated on the page
Flashcard sets that convert automatically into study games
Ranked #8 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
StudyStack's about page lists what is free: the flashcard library, custom sets and sharing. Its distinguishing feature is generated games from a single set, and its mobile app works without an internet connection.
Paid layers address classrooms: PRO-Teacher accounts report student progress, and district site licences cover schools. The site dates from 2002 by its own account. With no prices displayed, request them before planning a school-wide rollout.
What stands out
Auto-made games
Shared class sets
Offline mobile app
Where it costs you
No spaced-repetition scheduler is named on the page, so review timing is left to the learner.
Teacher reports and district licences are paid, with no price shown.
Right for
Teachers and classmates who like game-style drills built from shared sets
Wrong for
Long-term memorisation plans that depend on scheduled reviews
Not stated by the vendorFree core features; ad-free PRO, PRO-Teacher and district licences with no prices shown
Fill-in-the-blank sentence drills for 170+ language pairings and 50+ languages
Ranked #9 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Free tierPricing on requestElsewhere
The pro page sets out what the paid tier adds to a free plan the homepage promises will stay free: unlimited sentences for 50+ languages, listening practice for 30+ languages in three collections, custom sentences per round, advanced stats covering 90 days on web and offline play in the mobile app.
Yearly billing carries a 30-day money-back guarantee. Because prices loaded as a placeholder, confirm the monthly and yearly amounts yourself.
What stands out
Cloze sentences
50+ languages
Listening collections
Where it costs you
It covers language learning only, which rules out general subject decks.
The Pro price failed to display on the page, so the cost could not be read.
Right for
Language learners who retain words better from full sentences than from isolated pairs
Wrong for
Students revising non-language subjects or building arbitrary decks
Not stated by the vendorPro sold monthly or yearly; page showed Loading instead of prices; yearly plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee
Subscription language courses using spaced repetition and AI placement
Ranked #10 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Lingvist's pricing page offers Annual, Monthly and Lingvist for Business options, with the Annual option marked as best value and offered with a trial; the FAQ says nothing is charged during it.
The homepage counts 16 course languages under a 50+ course subscription. Custom Decks let learners add their own vocabulary, and the apps run on web, iOS and Android, with a direct Android APK. Without displayed prices, test the trial before paying.
What stands out
Course-led
Custom Decks
Classroom beta
Where it costs you
The course-led design makes it a poor fit for non-language revision.
The classroom section is labelled beta and no prices are shown.
Right for
Language learners who want guided courses with a way to import their own words
Wrong for
Buyers who need general-purpose decks for many school subjects
Not stated by the vendorAnnual and Monthly subscriptions plus a business option; prices not displayed; trial on the Annual plan
Proprietary spaced-repetition algorithm driving language courses and AI tutors
Ranked #11 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
SuperMemo's homepage presents the product as ready-made language courses: nearly 300 across 25 languages, scheduled by its own algorithm for sessions of about fifteen minutes. AI additions include a tutor mode, conversation practice, a grammar and translation assistant and a translator.
The apps work offline and on any number of devices, with a web platform at learn.supermemo.com. The sign-up offers a free month, but the page does not describe a permanent free tier.
What stands out
Proprietary algorithm
Nearly 300 courses
AI tutor modes
Where it costs you
The site shows no prices or currency, so cost is unknown before sign-up.
Its range is language courses, which does not cover other subjects.
Right for
Language learners who want structured courses with a short daily routine
Wrong for
Learners who want to author decks on any subject themselves
Not stated by the vendorPremium subscription; first month offered at no charge; no prices on the home page
Chinese dictionary app with handwriting lookup and a flashcard module
Ranked #12 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Pleco treats flashcards as one part of a Chinese reference toolkit. Cards can be made from dictionary entries, and ready-made vocabulary lists can be imported. Licensed dictionaries sit beside a document reader and stroke diagrams covering roughly 27,000 characters.
An Android-only screen reader is included. The app is on the App Store, Google Play and as a direct APK, but the site shows no price or lite version, so check the store listing.
What stands out
Chinese only
OCR and handwriting
Dictionary-built cards
Where it costs you
Its flashcards are tied to Chinese study, so other subjects are outside its scope.
The home page shows no price, lite version or trial.
Right for
Chinese learners who want their flashcards built from dictionary entries
Wrong for
Anyone studying anything other than Chinese as a subject
Not stated by the vendorNo prices, lite version or trial shown on the home page
AI generators that turn notes, documents and videos into revision material
Ranked #13 of 13 in Best Flashcard Apps in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Revisely sits at the AI-generation end of the market: four tools convert notes, documents or video into flashcards, quizzes, notes and summaries. Its exam-board style sections and past-paper link make it exam-oriented.
Sharing lets students send material to peers or instructors. The home page links to plans but states no price, billing period, limit or trial, so a student has to open the plans page before relying on it.
What stands out
AI card generator
A-Level and GCSE
Quiz and notes tools
Where it costs you
The home page shows no prices, limits or trial, so cost cannot be planned.
Subject sections are written around A-Level, AS and GCSE, which narrows its audience.
Right for
UK exam students wanting AI to draft cards and quizzes from their material
Wrong for
Buyers outside UK qualifications or those who need known limits
Not stated by the vendorPlans page linked; home page shows no prices, billing period, limits or trial
A flashcard app stores question-and-answer cards in decks and schedules reviews, sometimes with spaced repetition, so learners can memorise facts, vocabulary or exam material on a phone or computer. Products in this area look alike on a feature list, so we would decide these questions first.
01
Start with pricing transparency
7 vendors on this page sell by quote, while 6 publish a pricing model you can read today: Anki, Mochi, RemNote, Brainscape, Noji, StudyStack.
02
Ask which country the contract runs through
The 13 companies behind this list are established in 1 countries, by region Elsewhere 13. Disclosure obligations attach to the company, so they travel with the vendor even when the servers stay at home.
03
Decide if open source matters
2 of these are open source: Anki, Memcode. Hosting one yourself trades a subscription for maintenance.
Flashcard apps: what the free tier actually caps
Free tiers in this market limit different things, so comparing the word free tells you little. Brainscape's Basic plan allows unlimited cards you write yourself but stops studying at 2,500 pre-loaded flashcards. RemNote's free tier keeps cards unlimited and meters AI credits, daily uploads and file size instead. Mochi's free plan keeps cloud storage local, so a second device likely needs Pro.
Anki charges nothing on desktop and for sync, but the iPhone app is sold. Decide first whether you will write your own cards, download ready-made decks or generate cards from PDFs, then read the cap that touches that habit before looking at any price. A limit you never reach costs nothing, while one you hit in week two decides whether the plan was worth taking.
Write down whether you create, download or generate cards
Find the single cap that hits that habit on each free tier
Check whether a second device is allowed without paying
Flashcard apps: where your decks are stored
Storage design decides what happens when you change phone or leave a vendor. Flashcards Deluxe keeps decks on the device and hands them between devices via cloud drives or an app server that its site labels temporary. Anki pairs AnkiWeb sync with desktop builds for Windows, macOS and Linux. Mochi's free plan stores everything locally and gives Pro users 10 GB of cloud storage.
Memcode lets you edit courses offline and publishes its source on GitHub. None of these pages describes an export format, so test one before you invest in hundreds of cards, and keep a second copy somewhere you control. Pay particular attention to products that publish decks for others, since a shared library is not a backup of your own.
Ask where the master copy of each deck lives
Test an export or backup with a small deck first
Keep an independent backup outside the vendor's storage
Flashcard apps built only for languages
Four products here, Clozemaster, Lingvist, SuperMemo and Pleco, are shaped around language study, and that is both their strength and the reason they rank below general tools. Clozemaster drills fill-in-the-blank sentences across 170+ language pairings, Lingvist sells courses with Custom Decks for your own words, SuperMemo offers nearly 300 courses on its own algorithm, and Pleco builds cards from Chinese dictionary entries.
If your syllabus mixes biology with Spanish, you will end up running two apps. If you only need vocabulary, a course-led tool saves the setup time that blank deck builders demand. Ask each one how it treats words you add yourself, because that is where course products and deck builders part ways, and where a learner's own reading material usually ends up.
List the subjects you must memorise, not only the language
Check whether you can import your own word lists
Confirm which of your languages the product covers
Flashcard apps that hide their price
Several vendors here give no price on the page we read. Noji says Premium adds unlimited daily learning but states no amount, StudyStack lists PRO, PRO-Teacher and district licences without prices, and Revisely links to plans while showing no price, limit or trial. SuperMemo and Pleco show none on the homepage, and Memcode publishes no plan at all.
Brainscape, RemNote and Mochi, by contrast, show tier prices, with Brainscape billing Pro yearly and Mochi's own page giving two readings of annual billing. Write to a vendor or open its store listing before you plan a class, a team or a year of study around it. A missing price is not proof of a high one, but it does mean the comparison cannot be finished from the page, and that is a cost in itself.
Open the store or plans page and note the price and billing period
Ask whether a trial exists and how long it lasts
Confirm the yearly total before committing a class or team
What goes wrong most often when buying flashcard apps software
Choosing an app for its card count rather than the cap that hits you, such as Brainscape's 2,500 pre-loaded cards or RemNote's daily upload limit.
Buying a language course product like Lingvist or SuperMemo and expecting to load exam notes from other subjects into it.
Keeping every deck inside one vendor's storage with no backup, then finding that an export is harder than the sign-up was.
Counting on game-style review from StudyStack to replace the scheduled spacing that Anki or Mochi apply.
07
Frequently asked questions
7 answers
What is the best flashcard apps in 2026?
Anki takes first place among the 13 we reviewed. Anki describes itself as a community project, with Ankitects Pty Ltd holding the registered trademark.
The desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux costs nothing, AnkiWeb sync is free and the Android port lives on donations. The code is on GitHub and the page calls it open source, though it names no licence. The iPhone app is the paid piece, price unshown.
Which flashcard apps tools publish their pricing?
The ones that do, with the model each states:
Anki: Free desktop app and AnkiWeb sync; Android port funded by donations; iOS app sold as a purchase.
Mochi: Free plan with offline cards and decks; Pro published at a monthly rate, with unclear yearly wording.
RemNote: Published Free, Pro and Pro with AI tiers, billed monthly or yearly.
Brainscape: Published Basic and Pro prices, Pro billed yearly; group plan negotiated with bulk discounts.
Noji: Free version with essential features; Premium tier with no price on the page.
StudyStack: Free core features; ad-free PRO, PRO-Teacher and district licences with no prices shown.
7 vendors do not print a price.
Is there a free flashcard apps tool?
Anki, Mochi, RemNote, Noji, StudyStack, Clozemaster have a free plan or free self-hosted edition.
Where are these flashcard apps vendors established?
Across 1 countries (Elsewhere 13):
Anki: Not stated by the vendor.
Mochi: Not stated by the vendor.
RemNote: Not stated by the vendor.
Brainscape: Not stated by the vendor.
Noji: Not stated by the vendor.
Flashcards Deluxe: Not stated by the vendor.
Memcode: Not stated by the vendor.
StudyStack: Not stated by the vendor.
Clozemaster: Not stated by the vendor.
Lingvist: Not stated by the vendor.
SuperMemo: Not stated by the vendor.
Pleco: Not stated by the vendor.
Revisely: Not stated by the vendor.
Which flashcard apps tools are open source?
Anki, Memcode.
What should you use instead of Anki?
Look at Mochi (made for Solo learners wanting a small scriptable card editor, paying monthly for sync) and RemNote (made for Students who keep lecture notes and review cards together and will use AI credits), which hold places two and three.
Who should not buy Anki?
Teams wanting a vendor with stated plans and support terms. The page names no licence, so the open source claim cannot be checked against licence terms..
If a flashcard apps product of yours deserves a place among these 13, say what it is and who it serves. Inclusion rests with us alone. See software advice for the rules.
