These Are the Best Flashcard Apps for Studying

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Research has proven that flashcards are a powerful memory enhancement tool, but you probably don't need a bunch of scientific evidence to tell you that—there's a reason we all grew up using them in school.

The problem with the sort of flashcards you used in elementary school is that they are time-consuming to make, and they are't too practical to use outside of the classroom or the kitchen table—you can't exactly bring 100 index cards with you to do study drills wherever you are. Today, you can solve for both of those problems with an app.

Although there are major retention benefits to writing information down by hand, busy learners just don’t always have time, let alone space—so below, I've gathered up the best apps I recommend for making and studying flashcards.

The benefits of flashcards for studying

First, it's important to understand why you want to use flashcards to study, and why some apps and services are better suited to this task than others. Repeatedly quizzing yourself can entrench the content of the flashcards into your brain, since you have to use the process of active recall to retrieve the information from your short- or long-term memory when you see a prompt. You can mix up your active recall strategies by blurting, which means saying or writing down everything you can remember from your materials before checking your notes, or using the Feynman technique, which involves “teaching” the content to someone else—even if it's just ChatGPT. But for now, let's focus on flashcards.

The best way to make your material stick in your brain is to use the Leitner method, a kind of spaced repetition, and flashcards are what make that possible. With this technique, you sort your flashcards into about five piles (though you can have more or less depending on how much time stands between you and your test) as you review them, moving them up a pile or down a pile depending on if you get an answer right or wrong. Over time, you'll be able to review the cards in the higher-up piles less frequently, since you grasp their contents, and you'll review cards in the lower-down piles more often, since you're struggling with them.

Not only will you waste less time drilling material you know, you'll force your brain to etch it into your long-term memory so you can retrieve it on the rare instances you do go over those cards. A lot of the apps below actually use the Leitner method or a version of spaced repetition to automatically show you cards you're struggling with more often, which is what makes them so useful. That said, you still need to study those less-frequent cards; that's a process called overlearning and it will help you retain the information for a lot longer.

The apps below were chosen for a few reasons. First, I picked ones that make flashcard generation easy. Second, I selected ones that, to some extent or another, rely on the Leitner method and give you the option to indicate whether you got a card right or wrong.

The best flashcard apps, depending on how you like to study

There are some great, easy-to-use sites that allow you to create flashcard decks online, then use those virtual decks to study.

Brainscape helps you find pre-made flashcard decks


Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

In my full review of Brainscape, I gave it five stars. I truly like this one. I'm actually using it actively right now to study for a certification exam I have coming up.

Brainscape gives you the option to make your own flashcards, but also to search for decks made by other learners—and even the option to access decks that have been approved by credentialing bodies for things like standardized tests, entry exams, and certification tests. It's ideal for everyone from SAT preppers to lifelong learners like me and the variety of material on there is endless. I've even used it to study random things just because I have an interest in learning something new. Best of all, I've never had to create a deck. Whatever I want is already in there.

The free-account option allows you to use text, while the paid version lets you add images and sounds, do more advanced editing, study an unlimited amount, import materials, copy other users’ flashcards into your files, and see learning stats. One month of Brainscape is $19.99, six months cost $59.94, a year is $95.88, and a lifetime membership is $199.99. For what it's worth, I was using the free version for months and doing just fine, but did have to upgrade recently to unlock more decks for my upcoming test.

Using your phone? Here’s the iOS version and the Android version.

Why pre-made decks matter: The primary benefit of using Brainscape, especially for standardized or certification tests, is that you know the material is correct. When you make your own cards or find a random deck online, you can't be 100% sure of that, and could end up studying incorrect, outdated, or irrelevant material. That happened to me a few weeks ago: I found a supposed study guide for an exam and started reviewing it, only to learn later that it was geared toward an older version of the test, and I had wasted my time. It wasn't until I started reviewing the up-to-date material on Brainscape, created in conjunction with the credentialing body overseeing my test, that I realized what I'd done.

Cram is super simple to use

Cram in iOS


Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

Sometimes, all you need or want is the simplest flashcard deck, with cards that have a front and back and can be used for quizzing. Cram is so easy to use and it works great in its free version (although $29.99 per month gets you access to a few extra features, like customization of your card formatting).

Read my full review here, but the basics are these: You get plain, white cards that the site displays either as traditional flashcards, a matching game with drop-down menus, or classic computer games (a jewel-matching game and a space shooting game) that pull your flashcard information into them. Besides the flashy games, there are no unnecessary frills here. Enter the information onto the cards and study. It’s that easy.

Download the apps: iOS is here and Android is here.

Why simplicity matters: There are times you might want or need some pizazz (and we'll get to that with the next suggestion), but often, you really just need to lock in and study without distractions. When you focus on something fully, you enter a state of “deep work,” which is why techniques like the Pomodoro method are so valuable. They stop you from looking at or thinking about anything other than what you need to be doing. The more whiz-bangs and excitement you run into, the harder it may be to sink into deep work. If you find yourself struggling to stay on-task, try Cram.

Quizlet is great when you need to add pictures to your flashcards

Quizlet on iOS


Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

There are a number of flashcard generators that let you use pictures, but the pricing on many of them is weirdly opaque. Quizlet, a popular studying platform you're probably already familiar with if you've ever taken an online class and tried to Google your homework questions, allows you to create flashcards (with pictures!), browse other people’s flashcards, and take practice quizzes—and the pricing for getting rid of ads and studying an unlimited amount is straightforward: You pay $35.99 per year or $7.99 per month. You can import existing data, from Word or Excel, too, to create the flashcards even faster. In my review of this one, I did give it five stars because you can also use your account to access practice quizzes and games, plus it's been around for so long it's basically the gold standard for students. Like others on this list, it functions fine in the free version, which is why it made my list of best free studying apps, too.

Download for your iPhone here and your Android here.


What do you think so far?

Why pictures matter: Simplicity is important—but studying is not one-size-fits-all. In certain cases—for instance, when you're studying something that requires visualization, like a map or a timeline—you need to be able to see the whole picture. Other times, the inclusion of images can enhance a technique known as “dual coding,” which you tap into by combining verbal and visual materials while you study. (When you see an image and speak about it out loud, you're dual coding. It's an effective way to further dig something into your memory.)

Flashcard Lab is super quick

Flashcard Lab in iOS


Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

If you want to make fast flashcards and you use Google's free suite of productivity apps (namely Google Sheets), you should use Flashcard Lab. As I explain in my full review, it's not flashy. All it is, at its core, is a simple way to quickly turn content from Google Sheets into flashcards. Column A is the front of the card, Column B produces the back, and that's about it—but it's great if all you need is some fast cards. If you're truly in a rush, you can upload class materials to ChatGPT and ask the AI to create a downloadable .xls file with questions and answers, then open it in Sheets and go from there. Truly, using this one couldn't be easier or less labor intensive.

Available on iOS and Android, as well as through a Chrome extension, you can use it for free to study 600 GRE vocab words, review or print up to 20 flashcards per deck, add up to five images per deck, and manually add cards to a “forgotten” set for re-review. A one-time payment of $10.99 bumps you up to the “Elite” tier, which gives you access to some extra features, like the ability to toggle on spaced repetition or randomized review.

Why quick generation matters: When you're serious about studying, you need a concrete plan before you start. You can use SMART goals or schedule out distributed practice sessions, for instance, but it's crucial you have some kind of framework in place—and that you stick to it. Anything that might throw you off, like having to tediously create a bunch of cards, should be reevaluated. The smoother your operation is, the more likely you are to stick to it. If you are someone who feels easily overwhelmed or has a hard time staying on top of your tasks, opt for Flashcard Lab, which foregrounds simplicity.

DuoCards are best for learning a foreign language

DuoCards in iOS


Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

There are two apps I recommend for learning a foreign language and they are Repeet and DuoCards. In a head-to-head comparison, I did pick DuoCards because its extra features edged out Repeet ever so slightly, but the long and short of it is that both of them have automatic translation features that allow you to quickly generate cards in-app or via Chrome extension.

Repeet works on iOS, Android, or Chrome extension. Same for DuoCards: iOS, Android, or Chrome extension. DuoCards has a mini game and an AI chatbot designed to help you immerse yourself in the language more than just using the cards will, whereas Repeet is just flashcard-based, but the features will cost you. Where Repeet is absolutely usable and excellent in its free version, DuoCards' free version only allows 20 cards in your “to learn” category and just 10 opportunities to ask your chatbot a question. If you pay $33 for three months or $64.90 for the year, you get rid of the ads, access unlimited flashcards, and can chat nonstop with the AI bot. If mini games and immersion are important to you, pick DuoCards. If you just want flashcards or don't want to spend money, Repeet works well.

Why having more options matters in foreign language study: Flashcards are incredible for learning vocabulary words because there is a clear front and back: the word in your native language, and the word in the language you're studying. But learning a foreign language isn't just about learning new words to plug in where you'd use their translation in your native language; you have to consider different sentence constructions and even things like the language's history and context. That's where additional features like the DuoCards chatbot can shine, as they complement the more rigid vocab you're mastering with the flashcards.

Google's NotebookLM is a great tool for generating cards based on your own materials

NotebookLM in browser


Credit: Google

If you read a lot of my studying content, you know I'm a fiend for NotebookLM. If you don't read a lot of my studying content, I'll tell you why: This free resource is an AI chatbot that pulls only from materials you provide. That means you upload your slide decks, notes, links, videos, and PDFs from class and the answers it gives you will only come from those. I've seen ChatGPT make wild mistakes with homework, largely because it can and will pull from all over the Internet, so there's some safety baked in here.

NotebookLM can do a few things that help you study. It can summarize your materials or outline a paper, like any chatbot, but it can also produce a fake podcast of people discussing your materials, generate flashcards, and prepare you a practice quiz. In everything it provides, NotebookLM hyperlinks back to the exact section in your materials where it got that content, so if you get a flashcard or quiz question wrong, you can quickly find where the question came from and reread it. It's free to use, but the drawback is that it doesn't Leitner-ify the flashcards.

Access it in a browser through the website or via app on iOS and Android. I don't recommend the mobile app, though. Stick to your mobile browser if you can.

Why using your own material matters: For as much as I love Brainscape, and as useful as I find the other options on this list, there's something to be said for a program that only draws from content you control. If you're studying for a specific class, it makes sense that the materials you find elsewhere on the internet might not match up exactly with what you're being taught. In fact, if you have a professor who has developed custom lesson plans, they probably won't. Being able to upload your course's slide decks, chapter scans, and practice tests to serve as the source material for your flashcard decks means you'll only be studying what is relevant to the class, not a bunch of other things that might be tangentially related to the topic.

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