Anki And Notion: How To Actually Use Them Together (And A Better Alternative Most Students Miss)

So… Can You Really Use Anki And Notion Together?

Alright, let’s talk about anki and notion because yes, you can use them together, but it’s a bit of a duct-tape setup. Anki is mainly for spaced repetition flashcards, while Notion is more like your all‑in‑one notes, tasks, and wiki hub. People try to connect them so they can take notes in Notion and then turn the key points into Anki cards, but it usually involves exports, add-ons, or manual copy‑paste. That’s why a lot of students end up burned out by the workflow and eventually look for something simpler—like using an app such as Flashrecall that handles notes-to-flashcards and spaced repetition in one clean place:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

What Anki Actually Does (And Why People Love It)

Let’s keep it simple:

• Anki = flashcards + spaced repetition.
• You make cards → review them on a schedule → Anki spaces reviews out based on how well you remember them.

Why people use Anki

• It’s really good for memorization (med school, vocab, formulas, definitions).
• It has powerful spaced repetition that you can tweak.
• There are shared decks for tons of subjects.

But here’s the catch

Anki is amazing at flashcards, but:

• It’s not great for note-taking or organizing big chunks of information.
• The interface can feel clunky and old-school, especially on mobile.
• Syncing and media can be annoying.
• Turning your notes into cards can feel like a separate job.

That’s where Notion usually comes in.

What Notion Does (And Why People Mix It With Anki)

Notion is like a digital notebook on steroids:

• You can create pages, databases, to-do lists, tables, wikis.
• It’s perfect for class notes, lecture summaries, project planning, and organizing your life.

But:

• Notion doesn’t have real spaced repetition.
• You can’t easily do proper active recall like you do with flashcards.
• If you just reread your Notion notes, you’ll feel productive but won’t remember much long term.

So people think:

“Okay, I’ll take notes in Notion… and use Anki for the flashcards. Best of both worlds, right?”

Kind of. But there’s friction.

How People Usually Combine Anki And Notion

There are a few common ways people try to make anki and notion work together:

1. Manual Copy-Paste (The Painful Way)

• You take notes in Notion.
• Then you manually copy key points into Anki as flashcards.

• Simple, no tech skills needed.
• You control exactly what becomes a card.

• Takes forever.
• Easy to fall behind on making cards.
• You end up with a huge backlog of “I’ll make cards later” notes.

2. Exporting From Notion → Importing Into Anki

Some people:

• Export Notion pages as Markdown or CSV.
• Clean them up.
• Import them into Anki.

• Slightly faster than pure copy-paste.
• Good if you like structured templates.

• Still clunky.
• Formatting can break.
• You need to be pretty organized with your note structure.

3. Using Third-Party Tools & Scripts

There are community tools and scripts that try to:

• Pull content from Notion.
• Auto-generate Anki cards.

• Can be powerful once set up.
• Good if you love automations and tinkering.

• Can break when APIs or tools update.
• Setup takes time and patience.
• Not friendly for people who just want to study, not debug scripts.

The Real Problem With The Anki + Notion Combo

The main issue isn’t that anki and notion are “bad”. They’re both strong at what they do.

The problem is:

• You’re splitting your brain between two apps.
• Notes live in one place.
• Flashcards live in another.
• You constantly switch contexts: “Did I add this to Anki yet?” “Where’s that concept?”
• The workflow itself becomes another thing you have to manage.

For a lot of students, the system collapses right when they need it most:

midterms, finals, or big exams—because it’s just too much overhead.

That’s where a more streamlined app can literally save you.

Where Flashrecall Fits In (And Why It’s Easier)

Instead of wrestling with anki and notion together, you can just use one app that handles:

• Creating flashcards quickly
• Spaced repetition automatically
• Active recall built in
• Study reminders
• And it actually feels modern and fast

That’s basically what Flashrecall does:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

What Flashrecall Does Better Than The Anki + Notion Combo

Here’s how it compares:

With Anki + Notion, you’re doing:

> Note → clean up → format → copy → paste → card

With Flashrecall, you can:

• Take a photo of your notes or textbook → Flashrecall turns it into flashcards.
• Paste text or PDFs → generate cards automatically.
• Drop in a YouTube link → make cards from the content.
• Type manually if you want more control.

So instead of managing a “system”, you just capture content and start studying.

Anki gives you lots of knobs to tweak, which is cool but also overwhelming.

Flashrecall:

• Has automatic spaced repetition already set up.
• Sends auto reminders so you don’t forget to review.
• You just open the app and it shows you what’s due today.

No need to remember to sync, no custom scheduling, no guessing what to review.

Both Anki and Flashrecall are based on active recall (testing yourself instead of rereading).

But Flashrecall adds:

• A simple, clean interface for quick review sessions.
• The ability to chat with the flashcard if you’re unsure and want extra explanation.

So if a card confuses you, you’re not stuck—you can dig deeper right inside the app.

Instead of:

• Notes in Notion
• Cards in Anki
• Reminders in some other app

Flashrecall keeps things in one spot:

• Flashcards for languages, exams, school subjects, university, medicine, business, anything.
• Works on iPhone and iPad.
• Works offline, so you can study on the bus, in class, or wherever.

It’s not trying to replace a full Notion workspace, but for learning and remembering, it’s way more streamlined.

But What If You Still Want To Use Notion?

Totally fine. You don’t have to ditch Notion at all.

A realistic setup could be:

• Use Notion for:
• Class notes
• Planning your semester
• Storing PDFs, slides, and assignments
• Project management
• Use Flashrecall for:
• Anything you actually need to memorize
• Turning your Notion notes (or PDFs, or screenshots) into flashcards
• Daily review with spaced repetition and reminders

You just grab the key points from Notion and throw them into Flashrecall—no complicated Anki imports, no add-ons, no clunky desktop interface.

Anki vs Flashrecall: Quick Comparison

If you’re trying to decide between Anki alone vs Flashrecall, here’s a quick breakdown:

If you love to tinker and customize everything, Anki is still great.

If you just want to study fast, on your phone, without messing with settings, Flashrecall is easier.

How To Move From “Anki + Notion Mess” To A Simple System

If your current setup feels chaotic, here’s a super simple way to reset:

Step 1: Decide What Actually Needs To Be Memorized

Go through your Notion pages and ask:

• “Do I need to understand this or memorize it?”

Only the memorization stuff (definitions, formulas, vocab, facts, lists, key concepts) needs flashcards.

Step 2: Start Putting Those Into Flashrecall

In Flashrecall you can:

• Snap a picture of your handwritten notes or textbook → auto cards.
• Paste text from Notion or slides → auto cards.
• Upload PDFs or use YouTube links → generate cards from them.
• Or just type cards manually when you want tight control.

You don’t have to move everything at once—start with one subject.

Step 3: Let Spaced Repetition Do Its Thing

• Open Flashrecall daily (or when you get reminders).
• Do your due cards—it’ll only show what you need to see that day.
• Don’t worry about scheduling; that’s handled for you.

Step 4: Keep Using Notion For The Big Picture

• Keep all your detailed notes, lecture outlines, and project stuff in Notion.
• Use Flashrecall as your “memory gym” where you drill only what matters.

So… Anki And Notion Or Something Simpler?

If you enjoy building complex systems and automations, connecting anki and notion can be fun.

But if your main goal is:

• Learn faster
• Remember more
• Spend less time managing tools

Then it’s worth trying a simpler setup.

Flashrecall basically gives you the best part of Anki (spaced repetition + active recall) without the heavy setup, and you don’t have to force it to play nice with Notion.

You can grab it here and try it free:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Set it up once, run a quick review every day, and let your tools get out of the way so you can just… actually learn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Anki good for studying?

Anki is powerful but requires manual card creation and has a steep learning curve. Flashrecall offers AI-powered card generation from your notes, images, PDFs, and videos, making it faster and easier to create effective flashcards.

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

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