Exam prompt
How do mass number and proton number change in alpha decay?
How certain was your answer?
CorrectUnsureWrong
Flashcard app pricing, as of June 2026
Compare flashcard app
pricing across six products
Review free tiers, paid plans and included features for Anki, Quizlet, RemNote, Knowt, Brainscape and Quanta, with dated price references.
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Physics · Radioactivity
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„Ich hab schon einige Karteikarten-Apps ausprobiert und Quanta hat mir bis jetzt am besten gefallen. […] Auch die Multiple Choice - Funktion und Prüfungssimulation helfen mir echt weiter."- TU Dresden
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- HTW Dresden
- Fachhochschule Dresden
- Universität Leipzig
- HTWK Leipzig
- Freie Universität Berlin
- IU Internationale Hochschule
- FernUniversität in Hagen
How much do flashcard apps cost in 2026?
Anki is free on desktop and Android, and $24.99 once on iOS. Quizlet, RemNote, Knowt and Brainscape are freemium, with key features behind paid tiers. Quanta Starter is free forever with FSRS-6, up to 100 total cards and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run. Further AI flashcard generations require Essential, from €9.75/mo billed yearly, with up to 300 AI cards per month. As of June 2026.
On price, and what a price should buy
“Anki being free is a genuinely good thing, and Quizlet's free library helped a lot of students who could not pay. I do not want to argue against free. What I cared about was honesty: Quanta Starter keeps FSRS-6, up to 100 total cards and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run free. It has no monthly AI quota; further AI flashcard generations require Essential, with up to 300 AI cards per month. The comparison only matters once you know what each price actually unlocks.”
€0
Quanta Starter, free forever
100 total cards · One lifetime run: 40–100 AI cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run
$24.99
AnkiMobile (iOS), one-time, US App Store
Desktop and AnkiDroid are free, as of July 2026
$0
Quizlet free tier
Quizlet Plus is a paid upgrade, as of June 2026
0.3460
log-loss of FSRS-6, lower is better
srs-benchmark (formerly fsrs-benchmark), open-spaced-repetition, retrieved 5 September 2026
How to compare flashcard app pricing
Headline price is only part of the story. These four criteria separate a low price from a low cost.
What "free" actually means
Anki is free on desktop and on Android (AnkiDroid), with a one-time charge only for the iOS app (AnkiMobile). Quizlet, RemNote, Knowt and Brainscape all run a freemium model: a usable free tier with features such as advanced study modes or unlimited content gated behind a paid plan. Quanta Starter is free forever with FSRS-6, up to 100 cards in total in 1 topic, and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run. Further AI flashcard generations require Essential; Starter has no monthly AI quota.
Verdict: If "free" must mean no paywall on core study features, Anki (non-iOS) and Quanta Starter are the closest. Most other apps reserve key modes for paid tiers, as of June 2026.
Recurring subscription vs one-time cost
Anki has no subscription: you pay $24.99 once for iOS or nothing at all elsewhere. Quizlet, RemNote, Knowt and Brainscape charge recurring subscriptions for their paid tiers. Quanta uses a subscription for paid plans (Essential from €9.75/mo billed yearly) while keeping the Starter tier free forever.
Verdict: For a strict one-time spend, Anki is unmatched. For ongoing AI generation and cited cards on every platform, a subscription model funds the features Anki does not include.
Student pricing and discounts
Several apps publish discounted student rates. Quanta offers a 15% student discount on paid plans. Competitor student pricing changes over time, so check each provider's current page before buying. List prices on this page are the standard public rates as of June 2026.
Verdict: If you qualify for a student rate, the effective cost gap between paid tiers narrows. Always verify the live student price, since promotional rates expire.
What the price unlocks
Price alone is incomplete without the feature it buys. Anki buys a mature spaced-repetition engine and a large plugin ecosystem. Quizlet buys study modes and a huge shared-content library. Quanta Starter includes FSRS-6, up to 100 total cards and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run; Essential unlocks further AI generation with up to 300 AI cards per month and source-backed card details.
Verdict: Compare cost per feature you will actually use, not headline price. A free app you outgrow can cost more time than a paid plan that fits your workflow.
Flashcard app pricing table
Facts only, no adjectives in the cells. Prices and tiers as of June 2026.
| Criterion | Quanta | Anki | Quizlet | RemNote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier card limit | 100 total cards | Unlimited | Unlimited sets | Limited |
| Lowest paid plan | €9.75/mo | $24.99 once (iOS) | Paid (Plus) | Paid (Pro) |
| Recurring subscription | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| One-time purchase option | No | Yes (iOS app) | No | No |
| Desktop free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iOS app cost | €0 (PWA) | $24.99 | Free + paid | Free + paid |
| Per-card source citation (Quanta Verified) | Yes | No | No | No |
| AI generation in free tier | One lifetime run: 40–100 AI cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run | No | Limited | Limited |
| FSRS-6 spaced repetition | Native | Opt-in (v23.10) | No | Yes |
| LaTeX rendering | Native | Via MathJax | No | Yes |
| Student discount | 15% | No (free base) | Varies | Varies |
| Open source | No | Yes | No | No |
Competitor prices are public list prices as of June 2026 and may change, check each provider for the current rate. Quanta prices from the Quanta plans page. Log-loss data: srs-benchmark (formerly fsrs-benchmark), open-spaced-repetition, retrieved 5 September 2026 · Ye et al. 2022, ACM SIGKDD, doi:10.1145/3534678.3539081.
Pros and cons, honestly
No app is the best value for everyone. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of each, including our own.
Quanta
Strengths
- Starter is free forever with FSRS-6, up to 100 total cards and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run
- Essential includes up to 300 AI/PDF cards per month with source-backed details
- Native FSRS-6, native LaTeX, exam simulation and a Readiness Score
- iOS access at €0 as a PWA, no App Store fee
- Student discount of 15% on paid plans
Trade-offs
- Free tier caps total cards at 100, heavier libraries need a paid plan
- No one-time purchase, paid tiers are subscription only
- No plugin ecosystem and not open source, unlike Anki
- Younger product, so a smaller shared-deck community than Quizlet or Anki
Anki
Strengths
- Free on desktop and on Android (AnkiDroid)
- One-time iOS cost, no recurring subscription anywhere
- Open source with a large plugin ecosystem
- Very large community of pre-made decks
Trade-offs
- AnkiMobile on iOS costs $24.99 (one-time, US App Store), as of July 2026
- No built-in AI card generation
- FSRS ships as an opt-in setting rather than a default on legacy installs
- Steeper setup than freemium consumer apps
Quizlet
Strengths
- Free tier with a very large library of shared study sets
- Familiar, beginner-friendly interface across web and mobile
- Strong brand recognition and broad subject coverage
Trade-offs
- Several study modes are reserved for the paid Quizlet Plus tier, as of June 2026
- No native FSRS spaced-repetition scheduler
- No per-card source citation for AI-assisted content
Does paying more buy better retention?
Retention tracks the method, not the price. Karpicke and Roediger (2008) report about 80% of the vocabulary pairs recalled after one week in the two conditions with repeated retrieval practice, and 36% and 33% in the two conditions where pairs were dropped from further testing once recalled; those figures describe that experiment and are not a general promise for every learning situation or for Quanta. In the open comparison run by the open-spaced-repetition community, FSRS-6 reaches a log-loss of 0.3460 on 349,923,850 reviews from 9,999 collections (retrieved on 5 September 2026); log-loss measures prediction error, lower is better, and that table carries no row for SM-2. The peer-reviewed paper behind it, Ye et al. 2022, reports 220 million behaviour logs and a 12.6% improvement over the state of the art. Both are results of those datasets, not a blanket product effect. The studies test the methods, not any single app. A free app that applies them can match a paid one on retention.
Sources: srs-benchmark (formerly fsrs-benchmark), open-spaced-repetition, retrieved 5 September 2026 · Ye et al. 2022, ACM SIGKDD, doi:10.1145/3534678.3539081 and Karpicke & Roediger 2008, Science, doi:10.1126/science.1152408.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free flashcard app in 2026?
For an unlimited free card count, Anki is free on desktop and on Android (AnkiDroid), and Quizlet offers a free tier with a large shared library. Quanta Starter is free forever with FSRS-6, up to 100 cards in total in 1 topic, and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run. Further AI flashcard generations require Essential; Starter has no monthly AI quota. "Best" depends on whether you value an unlimited card count, a shared library or a structured free review workflow, as of June 2026.
How much does Anki cost?
Anki is free on desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) and free on Android through AnkiDroid, a community app. The official iOS app, AnkiMobile, is a one-time purchase of $24.99, which funds development of the whole project. There is no subscription. So Anki costs nothing unless you want the official iPhone or iPad app, where you pay $24.99 once (US App Store price), as of July 2026.
Anki vs Quizlet: which is cheaper?
Both have free tiers, so the headline answer is that each can be used at no cost. Anki is fully free on desktop and Android, with a one-time $24.99 charge only for the official iOS app. Quizlet's free tier is broad, but several study modes are reserved for the paid Quizlet Plus subscription. For a strict zero-cost setup with no recurring fee, Anki on desktop or Android is the cheaper long-term choice, as of June 2026.
Is Quizlet free, and what do you pay for?
Quizlet has a free tier that lets you create and study sets and use the large shared library. The paid tier, Quizlet Plus, unlocks additional study modes and features. Exact features and prices change over time, so check Quizlet's current pricing page before subscribing. In short, the basics are free and advanced study tooling sits behind a subscription, as of June 2026.
How much does Quanta cost compared to other flashcard apps?
Quanta Starter is free forever with FSRS-6, up to 100 cards in total in 1 topic, and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run. It has no monthly AI quota. Essential starts at €9.75/mo billed yearly (€12.99/mo monthly), includes unlimited manual cards and up to 300 AI cards per month, and Performance is €19.99/mo for the highest AI limits. A 15% student discount applies to paid plans. On iOS, Quanta is €0 because it runs as a PWA with no App Store fee, where AnkiMobile costs $24.99 once.
Are there free flashcard apps with AI generation?
Yes. Quanta Starter includes one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run and up to 100 cards in total. It has no monthly AI quota; further AI flashcard generations require Essential, which currently includes up to 300 AI cards per month. Other providers may include limited AI features on free tiers, so check their current plan pages before deciding, as of June 2026.
Does a paid flashcard app give better retention than a free one?
Retention depends on the method, not the price. The evidence points to active recall and spaced repetition. Karpicke and Roediger (2008) report about 80% of the vocabulary pairs recalled after one week in the two conditions with repeated retrieval practice, and 36% and 33% in the two conditions where pairs were dropped from further testing once recalled; those figures describe that experiment and are not a general promise for every learning situation or for Quanta. In the open comparison run by the open-spaced-repetition community, FSRS-6 reaches a log-loss of 0.3460 on 349,923,850 reviews from 9,999 collections (retrieved on 5 September 2026); log-loss measures prediction error, lower is better, and that table carries no row for SM-2. The peer-reviewed paper behind it, Ye et al. 2022, reports 220 million behaviour logs and a 12.6% improvement over the state of the art. Both are results of those datasets, not a blanket product effect. A free app that uses these methods can match a paid one on retention. Price buys convenience and extra tooling, not the underlying learning effect.
Final verdict on price
As of June 2026, the cheapest path depends on your platform and needs. Anki is free on desktop and Android and costs $24.99 once on iOS, with no subscription anywhere. Quizlet, RemNote, Knowt and Brainscape run freemium tiers and gate key features behind paid plans. Quanta Starter is free forever with FSRS-6, up to 100 total cards and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run. Further AI flashcard generations require Essential, from €9.75/mo billed yearly, with up to 300 AI cards per month. Pick by what each price unlocks, not by the headline number.
Keep comparing
Start free, upgrade only if you need to
Quanta Starter is free forever with up to 100 total cards, FSRS-6 and one lifetime run: 40–100 ai cards in the regular generator or 10–50 in guided onboarding; the onboarding run counts as that one run. Further AI flashcard generations require Essential.
AM
Amos Matzke·Founder & Managing Director, Full-Stack Architect · former MINT-EC student·June 2026