The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (2024)

You need to learn and memorize information quickly to meet a deadline. Your chest tightens with anxiety! The material is tough, and you just don't know the best approach to get it all into your brain.

Most of us have experienced this feeling before. With the need to acquire information quickly, convenience matters. Fortunately, to resolve situations like these, several developers have made flashcard apps to make studying faster.

Still, with consistently competing applications, it can be difficult to find your preference. To help make your decision, let's look at the top flashcard apps for Mac and see which one is best for you.

1. Anki

Anki stands out as the biggest legacy application on this list. With a variety of features and synced access across multiple device types, Anki leads in value.

How Does It Feel

Anki functions foremost as a very minimalism-inspired study app. When you first open Anki, the launch page of all your included decks appears along with a basic summary of your daily progress. You can then jump into reviewing, creating, or acquiring different cards.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (1)

The studying portion flows really easily. If you don't want to use the mouse, both the space bar and the enter key function as a mouse click. The tab key also serves to navigate between options if you don't want to click.

When you select your answer, you choose what best suits your knowledge level. With this combination, Anki automates your review process incredibly easy.

After you finish, you can spend some time looking over the stats of your study time (whether a single deck or your entire collection). Anki provides seven data points to help identify patterns and areas to improve. If you need to keep a record, the entire data set exports as a PDF file for easy access.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (3)

Anki's Summary

If you're looking for a program with the biggest flashcard library, Anki offers the best free option for Mac users. As a program, its an easy pick-up with plenty of customization for any study field.

Download: Anki (Free)

2. AnkiApp

AnkiApp actually has no affiliation with Anki, but it does bear some resemblances. Despite this, AnkiApp has done enough design alternation to make it a simplified but visually-friendly flashcard app.

How Does It Feel

AnkiApp strives for a quick compact view at start-up. The dashboard on launch tells you about your latest efforts via a bar graph and your most recent numbers. You won't be spending a ton of time on the dash, but it makes sure that you know where you've been.

AnkiApp does possess a few more limitations when writing your flashcards. If you need to do a basic flashcard with a tiny bit of media, it can support you there. If you miss the ability to introduce some style coding from Anki, AnkiApp doesn't allow for it at this time. Instead, it favors readability with larger buttons and very clear graphical text.

Going through a study session also doesn't feel as quick since AnkiApp mostly supports the mouse. You can still use the space bar, however, to initially flip the card.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (4)

AnkiApp stands out primarily for its color features. You can shift between a mildly different light mode which basically replaces blue with orange, but you can also take advantage of night mode to reduce eye strain. If you're reviewing a ton of material consistently, it can be a welcome save for your eyesight.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (5)

AnkiApp's Summary

While AnkiApp rides the coattails of Anki in many regards, it deserves some recognition for its focus on making a visually engaging but simple app. It may not possess all the features of its competition, but it has made itself very user-friendly and easy-to-read meanwhile. If you don't need a ton of data charting afterward, it can easily help bridge your study needs.

Download: AnkiApp (Free)

3. Flashcard Hero Lite

For our last app, Flashcard Hero Lite deserves some special acknowledgment for its design difference. While keeping the spirit of flashcards, the app has chosen to take on a PowerPoint inspiration.

How Does It Feel

After getting past the initial project screen, the app breaks down into writing, progress, and studying. The writing portion features a simple editing interface, and there's no image insertion (you can still download cards with images) allowed in the base version of the app. The addition of multiple-choice as a listing option does allow for some welcome variance to the typical check-and-see routine too. Otherwise, the writing process follows a basic question and answer template.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (6)

The progress section of the app has four different categories: spaced repetition, difficulty, last studied, and alphabetically. All of the options allow for immediate studying, so they're easily interchangeable based on need.

The study portion was the most radical departure from any of the other apps. While studying, you can either use a cover sheet to test yourself, fill in the answer, or answer multiple-choice questions versus simply flip to reveal an answer. For those with an iPad or iPhone, an iOS app addition can turn both device types into a remote control.

Additionally, importing material from Flashcard Hero, Quizlet, or previous flashcard files functioned incredibly smoothly. If you need even more material, here are some amazing flashcard additions to fill your flashcard library with.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (7)

Flashcard Hero Lite's Summary

Overall, Flashcard Hero Lite serves as a very convenient go-between for someone needing a much more visually tangible addition. While the free version lacks basic media insertion, it includes a few alternative study techniques that the other apps don't. It's a worthwhile consideration for some variance in your study routine.

Download: Flashcard Hero Lite (Free for Lite, $7.99 for the full version)

Better Studying Success With Flashcards

For anyone needing to quickly study some material and build a routine, these Mac apps will help you get to your next proficiency level. If you're a student needing some additional educational apps to help get you through your day, look at these best apps for students.

The 3 Best Flashcard Apps for Mac (2024)

FAQs

What is the best app to make flashcards? ›

Make your own flashcards, styled how you like. AnkiApp lets you use colors, bulleted lists, and more. Or search through millions of flashcards that are ready for you to download.

Is Anki free on Mac? ›

You can download ANKI for mac with full functionality for FREE!!!

Which flashcard is the best? ›

Without reading the rest of this article the bottom line is this: To make the nicest flashcards the best app is NoteDex. To use the best spaced repetition use Anki. To have the most test options and premade cards use Quizlet. Now read on to understand how to choose the best flashcard app for you!

Is Anki better than Quizlet? ›

Which is better Anki or Quizlet? For long term learning overall Anki is probably better than Quizlet because it uses spaced repetition which is a really effective way of learning. However, Quizlet does also have some good features, which is better for you really depends on your learning style and study goals.

Is there a better flashcard app than Anki? ›

Brainscape review: Flexible flashcard format

Brainscape's content creation formats are more flexible than Anki's. Instead of just an image or a vocabulary word in a small text box, Brainscape flashcards have an open canvas for much richer types of questions and answers, of various lengths and formats.

Is there a better flashcard app than Quizlet? ›

Knowt has been a lifesaver! The learn features in flashcards let me find time and make studying a little more digestible. Absolutely excellent. Easy to use, much more visually pleasant than Cram and no rudimentary features are behind a paywall.

Is Anki no longer free? ›

Anki Universal is a completely free flashcard app (no forced ads, paid models, etc.) that will help you memorize whatever you want with minimal efforts. You can add text, image, audio, and video to your cards and sync between your Windows 10 devices through OneDrive.

Is AnkiApp the same as Anki? ›

Anki's interface, however, is relatively dated and lacks the intuitive ease of use found in AnkiApp. While both applications have their own strengths, AnkiApp could be considered superior for its modern design, user-friendly interface, extensive library of pre-made decks, and compatibility with different devices.

Why does Anki cost money on Apple? ›

The costs of building and supporting Anki are fixed, and they don't vary based on the country a person using Anki lives in. As for why the price might not be exactly the same as $25 USD, please note that Apple sets the price in each country based on the local taxes and costs of doing business there.

Is Anki Pro free? ›

Yes, Anki Pro provides a free version with all the essential features. Upgrading to the premium version unlocks additional benefits, including adding pictures and rich editing to your cards, unlimited daily learning, custom spaced repetition presets, and pronunciation mastery through auto-created audio.

Is Quizlet or flashcards better? ›

The major advantage of the Quizlet app is that it has numerous games and activities that can be played while you study. This gamification of flashcard use can increase enjoyment and motivation to use the flashcards. Because they have more features, students find them easier to use and will use them more often.

What is the most effective flashcard method? ›

Tips for Using Flash Cards
  1. Flash cards are for testing. On the front of the card, write a key term or question. ...
  2. One Idea, One Flashcard. Some ideas or concepts are too complex to be covered in one question. ...
  3. Combine both pictures and words. ...
  4. Say your answers out loud. ...
  5. Reorder and Repeat. ...
  6. Use more than flash cards to study.

Do most med students use Anki? ›

Anki became one of the most popular high yield study techniques for medical school, to the extent that an Anki review per day tends to be a part of any medical school study schedule. Most students consider Anki a must to pass exams such as the USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2, and the MCCQE Part 1.

Do I need to pay for Anki? ›

AnkiMobile is a paid companion to the free computer program, for use on Apple devices. By purchasing the app, you help to support Anki's future development. If you can't afford the app, you can still use AnkiWeb.

Why is Quizlet so popular? ›

Part of the appeal is that Quizlet takes a simple idea — picture paper flash cards — but gives it a modern twist. Online users create study sets (terms and definitions) or use study sets created by others, including classmates.

What is the easiest way to make flashcards? ›

How to write flashcards? Keep it simple. Write a question or key term on one side of the card, and the answer or corresponding definition on the other side. If you need to write more than one line, try using bullet points to keep your cards readable.

What is the app that makes notes into flashcards? ›

RemNote is built for thinking and long-term knowledge management. Smart Flashcards: Create flashcards directly from your notes. Spaced Repetition: Remember more with less studying.

What is the best AI tool to create flashcards? ›

Overview of Paperclips - The Smartest Way to Create Quality Flashcards. Paperclips is a software that allows users to easily create high-quality flashcards from notes, webpages, and documents. It works by automatically scanning and analyzing text to generate flashcard questions and answers.

Is Quizlet or writing flashcards better? ›

The results showed that the Quizlet group showed better memory for the new vocabulary, going from 6.8/15 to 10.2/15. This is a 23% improvement. The control group improved from 6.9 to 7/15, a marginal (1%) improvement. This experiment demonstrates a noticeable benefit for using Quizlet to study vocabulary.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Terrell Hackett

Last Updated:

Views: 5543

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (72 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Terrell Hackett

Birthday: 1992-03-17

Address: Suite 453 459 Gibson Squares, East Adriane, AK 71925-5692

Phone: +21811810803470

Job: Chief Representative

Hobby: Board games, Rock climbing, Ghost hunting, Origami, Kabaddi, Mushroom hunting, Gaming

Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.