Is Anki Worth It? An Honest Answer for Students
Is Anki worth it? Yes, if you have a lot of facts to remember over months (med school, MCAT, nursing, a new language like Japanese) and you'll review every single day. No, if you're cramming for one test next week, you hate setup, or you won't open it daily, because Anki punishes skipped days with a pile of reviews.
If you've tried Anki and bounced off the setup, FlashDeck makes cards from your notes and gives you a ten-minute daily review instead: Build my study plan.
Short answer: who Anki is worth it for
Let's skip the fan-club energy. Here's the honest yes/no:
| You are... | Is Anki worth it? |
|---|---|
| Studying for the MCAT or in med school | Yes, it's a classic for a reason |
| Learning Japanese, Korean or Mandarin vocab | Yes, great for long-term vocab |
| In nursing or PA school | Usually yes |
| In high school with a test next week | Probably not, too much setup for the payoff |
| Doing GCSEs, A-levels, AP or grade 12 over a full year | Maybe, if you'll be consistent |
| Someone who studies in random bursts | No, the review pile will crush you |
Does Anki actually work?
The idea behind it is solid. Anki is built on testing yourself and spacing reviews out, and a well-known review of study techniques (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013) rated practice testing and spaced practice as the most useful methods. Anki is just a very strict tool for doing both. The tool works. The question is whether you'll work with it.
What makes Anki hard to start
If you've opened Anki and immediately closed it, you're not dumb. It's genuinely tricky.
1. It looks intimidating
Desktop Anki is functional, not cute. Decks, note types, card templates, options presets. Day one feels like configuring a router.
2. You have to make the cards
Anki doesn't make cards from your notes. You type them, or you download a shared deck that might not match your class. For a single lecture, that can be an hour of typing.
3. The settings rabbit hole
New cards per day, learning steps, FSRS vs the classic scheduler, add-ons... Reddit will happily give you 40 opinions. Most beginners should leave the defaults alone.
4. Skipping a day hurts
Miss three days and you open the app to 400 due cards. That's the moment most people quit for good. Anki fans call it "review debt," and it's real.
How much time it really takes per day
There's no universal number, because it depends on how many new cards you add. The rule of thumb Anki users repeat: every new card you add today creates reviews in the following days and weeks. So:
- A few new cards a day: a short daily session.
- Lots of new cards a day: a big daily session, quickly.
- Med school pace: often an hour or more, according to students on forums.
How to keep it manageable
- Start with a small number of new cards per day.
- Do reviews before new cards.
- Never skip a day. Even five minutes keeps the pile down.
- Suspend cards you'll never need instead of grinding them.
Honestly, this is the part where people burn out: you're making cards, judging your own answers on four buttons, managing settings and trying not to fall behind. That's a whole side quest on top of actually studying.
FlashDeck cuts that down to the studying part. Paste your notes or a PDF and it writes one card per fact, definition or formula from only what you pasted. Each day it shows just the cards you're about to forget, around ten minutes, and you tap Knew it or Missed it. Build my study plan
Subjects where Anki shines and where it doesn't
Where it shines
- MCAT and med school: huge volume, long timeline, and well-known shared decks.
- Japanese, kanji and other language vocab: perfect one-fact cards over months.
- Anatomy, pharmacology, law terms: definitions and lists that must stay sharp.
So yes, is Anki worth it for MCAT? Very often. Is Anki worth it for Japanese? It's one of the most common uses.
Where it struggles
- Math and physics problem-solving: you need practice problems, not just cards. Cards help for formulas and definitions only.
- Essay subjects: cards help with quotes and key terms, not with writing the argument.
- Last-minute cramming: spaced repetition needs days to work.
Is Anki worth $25 on iPhone?
Anki is free on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android (AnkiDroid), and through AnkiWeb in a browser. The official iPhone and iPad app, AnkiMobile, is a one-time purchase of around $25 in the US, and that money helps fund Anki's development.
Is Anki worth it on iPhone or iPad? If you'll use it daily for months, a one-off $25 is cheap per day of use. If you're unsure, use AnkiWeb in Safari for free first. More options in Anki alternatives for iPhone.
Also, watch out for apps with "Anki" in the name that aren't official. Noji used to be called Anki Pro and is a separate company. Compare them in Anki vs Noji.
When an easier app is the better call
Anki is the "manual transmission" of flashcards. Powerful, but not everyone needs it. An easier app is better when:
- Your exam is within a few weeks.
- Your biggest problem is making cards, not reviewing them.
- You've quit Anki more than once.
- You study for several school subjects, not one huge exam.
For quick, class-shared sets, Quizlet still works; see Is Quizlet Plus worth it? before paying.
How to try it for a week
Want to know if Anki is worth using for you? Run this 7-day test:
- Day 1: Install Anki on a computer (free). Make one deck for one class. Add 15 cards.
- Days 2 to 6: Do every review, every day. Add up to 10 new cards a day.
- Day 7: Ask yourself three questions:
- Did I open it every day without forcing myself?
- Did I remember more in class this week?
- Was making cards worth the time?
Three yeses: Anki is worth it for you. Two or more nos: try something easier.
Ten minutes a day without the Anki homework
If your trial week says Anki isn't for you, you can still get spaced review. Paste your notes into FlashDeck, get cards in seconds, delete any you don't want, and from tomorrow review only what you're about to forget. It's $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, with two-tap cancel and a 7-day refund.
FAQ
Is Anki worth it, according to Reddit?
Most Reddit users, especially med students and language learners, say yes if you're consistent. The common warning is that skipping days builds a huge review pile, which is the main reason people quit.
Is Anki worth the money?
Anki costs nothing on desktop, Android and the web. Only the iPhone and iPad app is paid, as a one-time purchase, so the money question really only applies to iOS users.
Is Anki worth it for high school?
It can be if you start early and stay consistent over a full year, for example for GCSEs, A-levels or AP. For a single test next week, the setup usually isn't worth it.
Is Anki good for studying math?
It's good for formulas, definitions and theorem names, but you still need to do practice problems. Anki won't teach you how to solve a new question.
Is Anki worth it on phone, or should I use a computer?
Many people make cards on a computer and review on their phone. On Android, AnkiDroid is free. On iPhone, use AnkiMobile or AnkiWeb in Safari.