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2026 comparison

Study apps compared: which one should you use in 2026?

Ten study tools, from classic flashcards to AI assistants, compared on what matters: what they cost, what they do with your material, and whether they bring notions back at the right time. We make Mindlet, and we also say when another tool will suit you better.

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  • Checked on October 22, 2026
  • Ten apps
  • Sources listed
Anki · Quizlet NotebookLM · ChatGPT Knowunity · StudySmarter

The table

Ten apps, six criteria.

Checked on 22 October 2026 on publishers' sites and app stores. Prices in France when the publisher shows them, otherwise in the published currency. "Not published" means we couldn't find it.

Ten study apps compared, checked on October 22, 2026
AppFreePaid priceAI-generated cardsSpaced repetitionPlatformsFrench interface
Mindlet Yes, no time limit (3 collections, 100 cards) From €5.99 a month on the web (€4.99 billed yearly); more via app stores Yes, a dozen formats FSRS-6, on by default Web, iPhone, Android Yes, only French
Anki Yes on desktop, Android and web AnkiMobile $24.99 (one-off, iPhone) Not built in (third-party add-ons) FSRS-6 to switch on, or legacy algorithm Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, Android, web Yes
Quizlet Yes, with ads; Learn and Test limited Plus: €7.99 a month or €35.99 a year (France) Yes (Study Guides, card generation) Dedicated mode, website only Web, iPhone, Android Yes
Knowunity Yes, with ads Pro: €49.99 a year listed (France) Yes (cards, quizzes, practice exams) Not named by the publisher Web, iPhone, Android Yes
StudySmarter (Vaia) Yes, with ads Premium: £79.99 a year (UK) Yes, from your materials Announced, algorithm not published Web, iPhone, Android Yes
NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) Yes, with a Google account Via Google AI: €4.99 to €21.99 a month (France) Yes, flashcards and quizzes No mention in its help pages Web, iPhone, Android Yes
ChatGPT Yes, with limits Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 a month (US) Yes, flashcards and quizzes in the chat No mention Web, iPhone, Android Yes
RemNote Yes (AI cards very limited) Pro: $96 a year; with AI: $216 a year Yes, depending on plan SM-2, or FSRS v6 to switch on Web, desktop, iPhone, Android No (English)
Brainscape Yes Pro: $19.99 a month or $95.99 a year (US stores) Yes, limited on free Confidence-based repetition (1 to 5) Web, iPhone, Android No (English)
Gizmo Yes (2 AI imports a day) Gizmo Unlimited, price not published on its site Yes (PDF, video, Quizlet, Anki…) Yes, algorithm not named Web, iPhone, Android No (English)

Scroll the table sideways on a phone. Store prices can differ from web prices, for every app including Mindlet.

Before you choose

How to choose

Six questions to ask, in this order. The first two matter more than all the others.

  • Does it schedule your reviews?

    That's what makes things stick over weeks. A tool that leaves you to decide when to revisit a card asks for discipline; a spaced repetition tool replaces it with a calculation.

  • Does it start from your course?

    Notes written by someone else follow their syllabus. Cards drawn from your own handout match what you'll be tested on.

  • Which formats?

    A flashcard is fine for a definition. For a process, a date, a map or a line of reasoning, other formats help: multiple choice, ordering, open questions.

  • Which language?

    Interface and content are two different things. Mindlet, for example, has a French-only interface but generates content in nine languages, English included.

  • Ads and real price

    Check what the free plan allows, whether there are ads, and the price on the channel you'll pay through: App Store purchases often cost more.

  • Your data

    Who provides the AI, and is your content used to train models? Answers vary between tools, and between plans from the same publisher.

Classic flashcards

Anki and Quizlet: the two references

Anki is the classic spaced repetition tool. It's open source (AGPL licence), free on desktop, Android and the web; the iPhone app, AnkiMobile, is a one-off $24.99 purchase that funds development. Since version 25.07, Anki offers FSRS-6, to be switched on in the options. You write your own cards or download shared decks. Its strengths are rigour and freedom; the cost is typing time and a learning curve.

Quizlet made online flashcards mainstream. Its library claims hundreds of millions of sets, which makes it very handy for reusing ready-made vocabulary. The free version shows ads and limits Learn and Test; Quizlet Plus costs €7.99 a month in France. Quizlet has a spaced repetition mode, on the website only, and AI features to generate cards from your notes.

Mindlet vs AnkiMindlet vs Quizlet

AI study apps

Knowunity and StudySmarter: community and AI

Knowunity is first a community: students publish their notes, and the publisher claims more than 30 million users. Its AI, Knowie, helps with homework and creates cards, quizzes and practice exams, using several providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral AI). The free version shows ads; Pro was listed at €49.99 a year. Spaced repetition isn't named on its pages.

StudySmarter, called Vaia in the US and Spain, combines flashcards generated from your materials, per-subject study plans, practice exams and spaced repetition. Most of it is free, with ads; Premium is £79.99 a year in the UK. On the pages we checked, the publisher names neither its algorithm nor its AI provider.

Mindlet vs KnowunityMindlet vs StudySmarter

General AI

NotebookLM and ChatGPT: understanding, not scheduling

NotebookLM, renamed Gemini Notebook by Google in July 2026, answers questions from your sources with citations, and turns them into audio and video overviews, flashcards and quizzes. It's free with a Google account, up to 100 notebooks. Its help pages mention no review scheduling.

ChatGPT has had a study mode since July 2025, interactive quizzes since August 2026 and flashcards since September 2026, on all plans. It explains very well. But it doesn't schedule your reviews over time: coming back is up to you. On consumer plans, your content may be used to train models unless you turn that off.

Mindlet vs NotebookLMMindlet vs ChatGPT

Three more

RemNote, Brainscape, Gizmo: English-only

RemNote combines note-taking and flashcards, offers FSRS v6 as an option and imports Anki decks with their review history. Pro costs $96 a year on its site. Brainscape asks you to rate your confidence from 1 to 5 after each card to decide when to show it again; Pro costs $95.99 a year on US app stores. Gizmo turns PDFs, videos, Quizlet sets or Anki decks into quizzes with spaced repetition, within two imports a day on the free plan.

All three have English-only interfaces, according to their App Store listings. If you study in English they are strong options, arguably more natural than Mindlet for that; we don't give them dedicated pages.

Who it's for

The best pick, for your situation.

Including when it isn't Mindlet.

And Mindlet, if you want to turn your own courses (PDF, video, audio, websites) into cards in several formats, reviewed with spaced repetition, with practice exams graded out of 20 and no ads, and a French interface works for you.

Where Mindlet fits

Our strengths, and our limits.

Mindlet is a French app, live since 14 June 2026. It starts from your course, whatever its form: PDF (even scanned), slides, video up to four hours, YouTube link, website, Anki deck. It turns it into a dozen exercise formats, schedules every card with FSRS-6 and offers a practice exam graded out of 20. Its AI models come mainly from Mistral AI.

Its limits: the interface is in French only (content can be generated in nine languages, English included, and the voice assistant speaks French only); the free plan stops at 3 collections and 100 cards; there's no desktop app (on a computer, you use the web); offline, you can review up to 20 cards of a collection already opened, and practice exams need a connection; no direct Quizlet import.

  • FSRS-6 spaced repetition, adjusted weekly to how you forget
  • Practice exam graded out of 20, no feedback during the test
  • No ads, even on the free plan; reviewing never costs anything
  • Reading settings designed by a dyslexic co-founder

Transparency

Our method, and our bias

This page is published by Mindlet, one of the tools compared. We obviously want you to pick it: read the page with that in mind. To limit the bias, we set ourselves three rules.

A fact about a competitor is only written if it appears on a primary source: the publisher's site, pricing page, help centre or app store listing. Everything was checked on 22 October 2026, and every source is listed at the bottom of the page. What we couldn't verify, we don't write, or we say "not published". Audience or effectiveness figures put forward by publishers are presented as theirs.

We don't score competitors or publish a numerical ranking. We haven't measured the quality of the cards each tool generates: it depends too much on the course to fit in a score. Facts about Mindlet come from the product itself. Offers change fast, so we review this page every quarter. Spotted an error? Write to us and we'll fix it.

Detailed comparisons

Mindlet against each tool

  • Mindlet vs Anki

    Free and open source on desktop and Android, FSRS-6 as an option, add-ons for everything. For people who want to tune everything themselves.

    Read

  • Mindlet vs Quizlet

    The largest shared library, ideal for vocabulary, plus Quizlet Live in class.

    Read

  • Mindlet vs Knowunity

    A student community and AI homework help, open to younger users with parental consent.

    Read

  • Mindlet vs StudySmarter

    Study plans with a calendar, practice exams and shared content, in four languages.

    Read

  • Mindlet vs NotebookLM

    Cited answers from your sources, audio overviews, free with a Google account.

    Read

  • Mindlet vs ChatGPT

    The best at explaining and rephrasing, with a study mode. Not for scheduling.

    Read

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the best app for studying?

It depends on how you learn. To write your own cards, Anki is the free reference. To reuse existing sets, Quizlet. To understand a course, NotebookLM or ChatGPT. To turn your own courses into cards reviewed with spaced repetition, Mindlet, if a French interface works for you. The table above compares ten tools on six criteria.

What is the best free flashcard app?

Anki is entirely free on desktop, Android and the web, but paid on iPhone ($24.99). Quizlet is free with ads and limited modes. Brainscape and RemNote have free plans in English. Mindlet has a free plan with no time limit and no ads, up to 3 collections and 100 cards, and reviewing never costs anything. See Mindlet pricing.

Anki or Quizlet: which is better?

Anki if you want to write your own cards and real spaced repetition (FSRS-6, to switch on), free on desktop and Android. Quizlet if you want ready-made sets and classroom games, with a limited free version and ads. Details in Mindlet vs Anki and Mindlet vs Quizlet.

What is the best AI study app for free?

Several have a free tier with AI, each with limits: NotebookLM with a Google account, ChatGPT with capped file uploads, Knowunity and StudySmarter with ads, Gizmo with two AI imports a day, Mindlet without ads up to 3 collections and 100 cards. Only some schedule your reviews with spaced repetition: check that column in the table.

Is there a European study app?

Yes. Mindlet is published by SAS Mindlet, a French company founded in Corsica, and mainly uses models from Mistral AI, also French; its interface is in French. Knowunity and StudySmarter are German companies whose apps are available in English.

Which apps use the FSRS algorithm?

Anki has offered FSRS since version 23.10, as FSRS-6 since 25.07, to be switched on in the options. RemNote offers FSRS v6 as an option. Mindlet uses FSRS-6 for every review, with nothing to configure, and adjusts it weekly. See spaced repetition.

Can I switch apps without losing everything?

Often, yes. Mindlet imports Anki decks (.apkg, .colpkg) with your due dates, review history and suspended cards, plus text or CSV files, which covers Quizlet's text export and NotebookLM's CSV export. It doesn't import directly from Knowunity or StudySmarter: the simplest route is to upload your original course material again.

Sources and date checked

Checked on October 22, 2026, on the publishers' own pages and app store listings. Mindlet publishes this page and is one of the products compared: weigh it accordingly. Facts about Mindlet come from the product itself. Spotted an error? Write to support@mindlet.app.

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