Anki vs Memrise: The Complete Guide (And The Better Alternative Most Learners Miss) – Stuck choosing between Anki and Memrise? Here’s the honest breakdown plus a smarter third option.

Anki vs Memrise: What’s Actually Best For Learning Faster?

Let’s skip the fluff:

You’re probably here because you want to learn faster, remember longer, and not waste time messing with clunky tools.

You’ve heard of Anki. You’ve seen Memrise.

But which one is actually better for you?

And is there something… better than both?

That’s where Flashrecall comes in – a modern flashcard app that takes the best of Anki and Memrise, fixes their annoying parts, and makes studying way easier:

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

Let’s break it down like a friend would, not like a tech manual.

Quick Overview: Anki vs Memrise vs Flashrecall

• Super powerful, but looks like it was designed in 2005 (because it kinda was)
• Amazing spaced repetition, but the interface is confusing for beginners
• Great if you love tweaking settings, add-ons, and doing things manually

• Feels more “fun” and game-like
• Good for languages, pre-made courses, videos, and vocab
• But you’re kind of stuck with their structure and content style

• Modern, clean, and actually nice to use
• Built-in spaced repetition and active recall like Anki, but automatic
• Lets you create flashcards from images, PDFs, YouTube links, text, audio, or just typing
• You can chat with your flashcards if you’re confused about something
• Works great for languages, exams, school, uni, medicine, business – literally anything
• Works on iPhone and iPad, offline, and is free to start

If you like the idea of Anki’s power + Memrise’s ease of use, but don’t want the downsides, Flashrecall is honestly the sweet spot.

Anki: Powerful… But Kind of a Pain

Anki is the OG spaced repetition app. It’s legendary for a reason.

What Anki Does Well

• Spaced repetition engine is top-tier
• Tons of community decks for languages, med school, etc.
• Super flexible if you’re willing to spend time customizing
• You fully control your decks, cards, and scheduling

Where Anki Gets Annoying

• The interface is… not friendly
• Making cards often feels slow and manual
• Syncing across devices can be fiddly
• Learning curve is steep if you’re new to flashcards
• No built-in “make cards from PDFs/YouTube/text automatically” – it’s mostly manual

If you’re the type who likes to tweak every setting, Anki can be amazing.

If you just want to start learning fast, it can feel like too much work.

Memrise: Fun and Easy, But Limited

Memrise is more like a course platform than a pure flashcard app.

What Memrise Does Well

• Feels gamified – streaks, points, levels
• Great for languages, especially vocab and phrases
• Has videos and audio from native speakers
• You can jump into ready-made courses without building anything

Where Memrise Falls Short

• You’re mostly stuck in their ecosystem and course formats
• Not ideal if you want to study non-language stuff deeply (e.g. medicine, law, physics)
• Less control over how things are scheduled and reviewed
• Not as flexible for building your own custom system

Memrise is great if you just want to casually learn a language.

But if you want serious, long-term memory across multiple subjects, it can feel limiting.

Flashrecall: The Best Parts of Both, Without the Headache

Here’s where Flashrecall comes in:

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

Think of it like this:

• Anki’s brain power (spaced repetition + active recall)
• Memrise’s ease and speed
• Wrapped in a modern, fast, clean app that doesn’t make you want to throw your phone

1. Spaced Repetition Without Thinking About It

Like Anki, Flashrecall uses spaced repetition to show you cards right before you forget them.

But you don’t have to mess with settings, intervals, or weird options.

• It automatically schedules your reviews
• You get study reminders so you don’t forget to open the app
• You just open it, review what’s due, and you’re done

No need to manually remember to study or worry about missing days.

2. Active Recall Built In

Flashrecall is designed around active recall – actually pulling the answer from memory instead of just rereading.

• You see the question
• You think of the answer
• Then reveal it and mark how well you remembered

This is exactly what makes tools like Anki so effective, but Flashrecall makes it feel smoother and more intuitive.

Creating Cards: This Is Where Flashrecall Really Beats Anki & Memrise

Anki is powerful but slow to create cards.

Memrise often locks you into their content.

Flashrecall? It’s like a flashcard factory.

You can make cards:

• From images (e.g. lecture slides, textbook pages, diagrams)
• From text (copy-paste notes, definitions, vocab lists)
• From audio
• From PDFs (import and generate cards automatically)
• From YouTube links (turn videos into flashcards)
• From a typed prompt (e.g. “Create flashcards about photosynthesis from this text”)
• Or just manually if you like full control

Example:

You have a 40-page PDF for your exam.

Instead of manually writing 200 cards like in Anki, you can feed it to Flashrecall and let it help generate flashcards for you. Then you just tweak what you want.

That’s the kind of time-saving that actually matters when you’re drowning in content.

“Chat With Your Flashcards” – This Is Wildly Useful

This is something Anki and Memrise don’t really do.

In Flashrecall, if you’re stuck on a concept, you can chat with the flashcard to understand it better.

Example:

• You’re learning about “beta blockers” in medicine
• You see a card, but you’re not fully sure
• You tap to chat and ask:

“Explain this like I’m 15” or “Give me another example”

Flashrecall can break it down, give you context, and help you actually understand, not just memorize.

This is huge for:

• Medicine and nursing
• Law and complex definitions
• Science concepts
• Business and finance terms

You’re not just memorizing blindly – you’re learning with support.

What Can You Study With Flashrecall?

Honestly, pretty much anything:

• Languages (vocab, grammar, phrases)
• School subjects (math, history, biology, chemistry)
• University courses (engineering, law, psychology, economics)
• Medicine (pharmacology, anatomy, pathology, guidelines)
• Business (marketing concepts, frameworks, interview prep)
• Certifications (CFA, PMP, bar exam, language exams, etc.)

If it can be turned into questions and answers, Flashrecall can handle it.

And because it works offline, you can study on the train, on a plane, or in a dead Wi-Fi lecture hall.

Anki vs Memrise vs Flashrecall: Which Should You Pick?

Let’s be super direct.

Choose Anki if…

• You love tweaking settings and add-ons
• You don’t mind a dated UI
• You’re okay with manual card creation and setup
• You want deep control over every little detail

Choose Memrise if…

• You mainly want to learn a language casually
• You like pre-made courses and gamified learning
• You don’t care as much about customizing your own decks deeply

Choose Flashrecall if…

• You want Anki-level memory without Anki-level headache
• You want to create cards fast from PDFs, YouTube, text, and images
• You like the idea of chatting with your cards when you’re confused
• You want built-in spaced repetition + active recall + reminders
• You want something that actually feels modern, fast, and easy to use
• You’re on iPhone or iPad and want something that just works

You can grab it here and try it free:

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

Example: How Studying Might Look In Each App

Let’s say you’re prepping for a big exam.

With Anki

• Find or build a deck
• Manually type cards or import from somewhere
• Tweak card types and settings
• Review daily with spaced repetition
• Hope you didn’t break anything with weird add-ons

With Memrise

• Enroll in a course (if one exists for your topic)
• Follow their lesson structure
• Review with their built-in system
• Limited control over what exactly you see and when

With Flashrecall

• Import your PDF, notes, or YouTube lecture
• Let Flashrecall help you generate flashcards instantly
• Review using automatic spaced repetition + active recall
• Get reminders when it’s time to study
• If you’re stuck, chat with the card to understand the concept
• Study anywhere, even offline, on iPhone or iPad

It’s just less friction. Which means you’re more likely to actually stick with it.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Pick a Name, Pick What Fits Your Brain

Anki and Memrise are both solid tools.

But they were built in a different era of learning apps.

If you want something that:

• Uses the science (spaced repetition + active recall)
• Feels fast, modern, and actually nice to use
• Helps you create cards instantly from the stuff you’re already studying
• Works great for languages, exams, school, uni, medicine, business – everything

Then it’s absolutely worth giving Flashrecall a try.

Download it here and see how it feels for a week of real studying:

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

You’ll know pretty quickly if it fits you better than Anki or Memrise – and honestly, for most people, it does.

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.

What is active recall and how does it work?

Active recall is the process of actively retrieving information from memory rather than passively reviewing it. Flashrecall forces proper active recall by making you think before revealing answers, then uses spaced repetition to optimize your review schedule.

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