Anki vs Quizlet vs OnlineFlashcardMaker

A note on fairness

We make OnlineFlashcardMaker, so we're not neutral. We've tried to describe Anki and Quizlet accurately and to be clear about what we don't do. Products change; where pricing or plan limits matter, check each product's own site for the current details. We deliberately don't quote Quizlet's prices or limits here because they change.

The short answer

• Choose Anki if you're committed to long-term spaced repetition (medicine, languages, law), want maximum control, and don't mind a learning curve.
• Choose Quizlet if you want your sets synced across phone and laptop, use shared sets from classmates or teachers, or your class already uses it.
• Choose OnlineFlashcardMaker if you want to start immediately without an account, print good double-sided cards, convert between formats (Quizlet text, CSV, Anki), or keep your notes off servers.

They also work together. Many people write or import cards here and export them to Anki, or move a Quizlet set into Anki through our converter.

Anki

Anki is a free, open-source spaced repetition program, first released in 2006. The desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) and AnkiDroid on Android are free; AnkiMobile on iOS is a paid app, which helps fund development. Free AnkiWeb sync connects them.

Strengths:

• Serious spaced repetition, including the FSRS scheduler in recent versions, with many settings to tune.
• Very flexible note types and card templates (HTML/CSS).
• A large ecosystem of add-ons and shared decks, especially for medicine and languages.
• Your collection is a local file you control, with optional sync.

Trade-offs:

• A steeper learning curve. The interface is functional rather than friendly, and settings can be confusing at first.
• Fewer game-like study modes out of the box; it's focused on review.
• Printing isn't a core feature; it's usually done through add-ons or exports.
• You need to install an app.

Quizlet

Quizlet is a web and mobile platform with accounts, cloud sync, and a very large library of sets created by users. It's widely used in schools.

Strengths:

• Easy to start, with polished mobile apps.
• Sets sync across devices automatically.
• A huge catalogue of sets made by other users, so there's often a set for your textbook chapter already.
• Classroom features for teachers.
• Several study modes and games.

Trade-offs:

• You need an account, and your sets are stored on Quizlet's servers.
• Some features are part of paid plans. Which ones has changed over the years, so check Quizlet's current plans.
• Spaced repetition is not the central idea in the way it is in Anki.
• User-made sets vary in accuracy.

OnlineFlashcardMaker

OnlineFlashcardMaker runs entirely in your browser. There's no account, and decks are stored in your browser on your device. Everything is free.

Strengths:

• No sign-up. Open the page and start typing cards.
• Printing. Double-sided PDFs with mirrored backs, long- or short-edge flip, a calibration page for printer offsets, 1–16 cards per page, A4/Letter/Legal and 3×5 / 4×6 / 5×8 index cards. See the printable flashcard maker.
• Moving cards around. Import Quizlet export text, CSV/Excel, and Anki .apkg/.colpkg (with media); export to Anki .apkg, CSV, Quizlet-importable text, PDF, and JSON.
• Making cards fast. A table editor, cloze, image occlusion, and Smart import from notes, PDFs, Word files, or photos via on-device OCR.
• Study modes. Flashcards, spaced repetition (FSRS), Learn, Test, Match, and Spell, with streaks, heatmap, and a review forecast.
• Privacy. Notes and decks aren't uploaded. Shared links carry the deck inside the URL fragment.
• Offline once loaded, as an installable web app.

Trade-offs:

• No cloud sync. To use a deck on another device, export a backup and import it there, or open a share link.
• No accounts, classes, or collaboration.
• No large shared catalogue. We have a small curated library, not millions of user sets.
• No native apps. It works in mobile browsers and can be added to a home screen.
• Browser storage can be cleared. Keep backups.
• Fewer advanced settings and no add-on ecosystem compared with Anki.

Feature by feature

Spaced repetition. Anki is the most configurable. We use FSRS with sensible defaults. Quizlet offers study modes that adapt to what you miss, but long-term scheduling isn't its main focus.

Card types. Anki supports almost anything through custom templates, plus cloze and image occlusion. We support basic, reverse, cloze, multiple choice, type-in, and image occlusion without templates. Quizlet focuses on term–definition pairs with images and audio.

Study games. Quizlet and we both offer matching games, tests, and mixed learn modes. Anki is review-focused.

Printing. This is our strongest area. Anki and Quizlet both have some printing or export options, but double-sided alignment is something we've built specifically for.

Sync and devices. Quizlet and Anki both sync. We don't.

Privacy. Anki keeps a local collection, with sync optional. Quizlet stores sets in your account in the cloud. We store decks locally only and don't receive them.

Cost. Anki desktop and AnkiDroid are free; AnkiMobile is a one-time purchase. Quizlet has free and paid tiers — check its site. We're free, with ads on some content pages only.

Using them together

You don't have to pick one forever:

• Quizlet → Anki: export your Quizlet set as text and convert it on our Quizlet to Anki page.
• Quizlet → paper: Quizlet to PDF prints a set as double-sided cards.
• Anki → paper: Anki to PDF prints an .apkg with images and cloze cards.
• Spreadsheet → Anki: CSV to Anki.
• Notes → cards → Anki: use Smart import on a PDF or Word file here, tidy the cards, then export an .apkg.