Pick Anki if you want free apps on computers and Android, full control of your cards, and a review schedule you can tune. Pick Quizlet if you want to start fast with shared sets, Learn, and practice tests. Its paid plans unlock more of those modes. You can move a Quizlet set into Anki as text.
Publisher disclosure: Smort publishes this guide. Smort is our iPhone flashcard app. It is not in the comparison, and it has its own section below.
Anki and Quizlet side by side
| Anki | Quizlet | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free on computers and Android. AnkiMobile for iPhone and iPad is a $24.99 one-time purchase in the US App Store. | Free account with ads. Paid plans are Quizlet Plus, which has monthly usage limits, and Plus Unlimited. Quizlet shows the price for your country on its upgrade page. |
| Devices | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android (AnkiDroid), and iPhone and iPad (AnkiMobile). | The web, iPhone, and Android. |
| Sync | The free AnkiWeb service syncs your cards across devices. | Your sets live in your Quizlet account. |
| How you review | You rate each answer, and Anki schedules the next review. You can change the timing in the deck options. | Flashcards, Learn, practice tests, and games. Free accounts get limited Learn rounds and one practice test per set. |
| Making cards | Card layouts you can change, with audio, images, and video. Add-ons extend the desktop app. | Type or paste your cards, or upload notes and let Quizlet build a set. |
| Ready-made content | Shared decks on AnkiWeb. | A large library of shared study sets. |
| Taking your cards out | Export a deck as an .apkg file, or export notes as text. | Export your own sets as text. Sets you copied from someone else and images don’t export. |
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Anki for a deck you keep for years
- Anki handles very large decks, and you decide how many new cards and reviews you get each day. It takes more setup than Quizlet.
- Pick Quizlet to start in minutes
- Find a shared set or paste your own, then study with flashcards, Learn, or a practice test. The free plan limits Learn rounds and practice tests.
- Pick Anki if you don’t want a subscription
- The computer and Android apps are free. On iPhone, AnkiMobile is one payment, not a subscription.
- Pick Quizlet for class and homework help
- Quizlet adds practice tests, study guides, and textbook solutions. Free accounts get limited use, and paid plans get more.
Sources: Anki websiteAnki manual: Deck optionsQuizlet subscription helpQuizlet study mode help
Move your cards between them
Quizlet’s documented import takes pasted text, and Quizlet exports text. So you move cards between the two as text.
Quizlet to Anki
Export, convert, import
- Export the set. In Quizlet, open a set you made, open the more menu, and choose Export. Copy the text.
- Convert it. Paste the text into the Quizlet to Anki converter and download the .apkg. It runs in your browser.
- Import it. In Anki desktop, choose File, then Import, and pick the file. Anki desktop can also import the text directly.
Anki to Quizlet
Export as CSV, paste the fields
- Export the deck from Anki desktop as an .apkg file.
- Get the text. Open the file in the Anki Deck Analyzer and download the notes as CSV.
- Copy the front and back. Open the CSV in a spreadsheet and delete the header row. For Basic notes, copy the field1 and field2 columns.
- Paste into Quizlet’s import box, with Tab between term and definition.
Not Basic notes? Other note types can keep the front and back in other columns, so copy those. A cloze card keeps the whole sentence, answer included, in field1, so rewrite it as a term and a definition.
Only text moves. Progress, images, and audio stay behind, and every card starts new in the other app. Quizlet exports only sets you made.
Where Smort fits
Smort is our flashcard app for iPhone. You answer each card out loud or by typing, and Smort checks how close you got. It imports the text cards in an Anki .apkg file. Images, audio, and some custom card templates don’t import. The Quizlet to Anki converter also makes a Smort Pack. Smort for iPhone is coming soon.
Common questions
- Is Anki better than Quizlet?
- It depends on how you study. Anki suits a deck you keep for months: it is free on computers and Android, and you can tune when reviews come. Quizlet is quicker to start, with shared sets, Learn, and games.
- Is Anki free?
- Anki is free on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and AnkiDroid is free on Android. AnkiMobile, the official iPhone app, is a one-time purchase. AnkiWeb sync is free.
- Does Quizlet use spaced repetition?
- Quizlet’s Android listing says it has spaced repetition that brings back what you need to review. Anki is built around it: every card has a schedule you can see and change.
- Can I import Quizlet sets into Anki?
- Yes. Export your set from Quizlet as text, paste it into a Quizlet to Anki converter, and import the .apkg into Anki. You can also import the text with File > Import in Anki desktop.
- Can I move Anki cards to Quizlet?
- Quizlet’s import takes pasted text. Open the deck in the Anki Deck Analyzer, download the notes as CSV, and copy the front and back columns from a spreadsheet. For Basic notes, those are field1 and field2. Cloze cards need rewriting, because the answer sits inside the sentence. Paste the columns into Quizlet’s import box.
Methodology and sources
How we checked: Every fact comes from Anki’s and Quizlet’s own websites, help pages, manuals, and app store listings, checked on September 30, 2026. Quizlet sets prices by country, so this page names no Quizlet price.
What we did not do: We did not score either app. Both change often, so check the linked pages before you pay.
Anki websiteAnkiMobile in the US App StoreAnki manual: Deck optionsAnki manual: Importing textAnki manual: ExportingQuizlet subscription helpQuizlet study mode helpQuizlet ads helpQuizlet export helpQuizlet import helpQuizlet upgrade pageQuizlet on Google PlayQuizlet in the US App Store