Why people go looking
Quizlet's free plan still covers a lot. Flashcards, Match and the games cost nothing, and you get limited Learn rounds and one Test per set, with ads in between.1 The friction starts when a study habit outgrows those limits, and Quizlet doesn't publish how many free Learn rounds you get, which makes them hard to plan around.
The paid side changed shape as well. On the October 2026 version of its upgrade page, the cheaper tier, Plus, costs $7.99 a month or $35.99 a year and is itself metered: 3 practice tests, 3 textbook solutions and 20 Learn rounds a month. Unlimited Learn and practice tests need Plus Unlimited, at $9.99 a month or $44.99 a year.1 None of that is expensive. Paying for a plan and still counting rounds is simply a common reason to look elsewhere.
There are good reasons to stay, too. If your classes follow standard textbooks, Quizlet's public library will save you more time than any AI generator, because you can study, copy and edit a set somebody else already built.2 If your teacher runs class on Quizlet, you get Learn and Test free and without ads on the sets they add.3 And the spaced repetition Quizlet added on the web in August 2026 closes one of its oldest gaps.4
If you're still leaving, the right replacement depends on what you were using Quizlet for. Drilling other people's sets, writing your own, preparing for one specific exam and turning lectures into study material are four different jobs, and each app below is strongest at a different one.
Find your fit in four questions
Answer the questions above to see which tool fits.
The five, in detail
Skolight
For turning your own classes into study material
Skolight is the alternative for students whose problem isn't Quizlet's price but its premise. Instead of hunting for a set that roughly matches your course, you add the course itself - lecture slides, readings, a recording of the class - and Skolight writes the flashcards, quizzes and mock exams from it.
Its flashcards are scheduled with spaced repetition, its quizzes explain every answer, and its mock exams run on a clock with a written analysis afterwards. Skolar, the built-in tutor, answers questions with citations to the exact page of your material it drew on.
Why pick it
- Practice that matches what your lecturer actually taught, rather than a stranger's version of the chapter.
- Mock exams, study plans and a cited tutor in the same place as your flashcards.
- A free plan with 1 generation a day and 30 minutes of lecture recording a month.
Before you do
- No public library, so a standard textbook course takes longer to set up than copying a Quizlet set.
- Quizlet sets can't come across as decks; pasted text becomes the source for new cards.
- Paid plans start at $59 a year, more than Quizlet Plus.
- It runs in the browser only, with no offline studying.
Knowt
For keeping Quizlet's study modes, free
Knowt is the closest thing to Quizlet without the paywall on study modes. Learn, Practice Test, Spaced Repetition and Match all work on your own sets on the free plan, and its Chrome extension can move a Quizlet set over.7
Its AI tools - summaries of PDFs and lectures, podcasts and Kai, the tutor - are where it charges. Free students get one AI summary a month, and Student Ultra lifts the limits.8 It also runs dedicated AP, SAT and ACT hubs with timed mock exams, which makes it a strong pick for high-school test prep.9
Why pick it
Anki
For full control, at almost no cost
Anki is the opposite of Quizlet's model in nearly every way. It's open source; the desktop app, AnkiDroid and AnkiWeb are free; and the only thing you ever pay for is the iPhone app, once.13 It has no AI and no study modes beyond flashcard review: you write cards or download shared decks, and its scheduler decides when you see them.
That scheduler is why people put up with the setup. Anki offers SM-2 or FSRS, an opt-in algorithm you switch on in deck options and fit to your own review history.14 Thousands of shared decks on AnkiWeb are free to download.15
Why pick it
Gizmo
For a daily habit that feels like a game
Gizmo builds review around the mechanics that keep people opening language apps: hearts, XP, leagues and streaks, plus live multiplayer quizzes with friends.19 Its Memorise mode handles spaced repetition for you, with nothing to configure.20
Getting started is easy. Magic Import turns PDFs, slides, photos, recordings and websites into decks, and it accepts Quizlet sets by link and Anki decks as well.21 The free plan is usable but rationed: 15 hearts in Memorise, two AI imports a day and five AI Tutor sessions.22
Why pick it
Brainscape
For ready-made decks for professional exams
Brainscape's library is the draw: certified decks for professional and graduate exams, alongside decks the community has made.28 If you're preparing for a licensing exam and don't want to spend weeks writing cards, starting from a vetted deck is a real head start.
Its spaced repetition asks you to rate each card from 1 to 5 by confidence, and Brainscape's own algorithm decides when it comes back.29 AI can turn pasted text, Word files, slides and spreadsheets into cards, though PDFs and YouTube videos go in as pasted text rather than uploads.30
Why pick it
All six, side by side
| Feature | Quizlet | Skolight | Knowt | Anki | Gizmo | Brainscape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makes study aids from your files | Quizlet Yes. Notes, PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files, photos or audio become study guides and flashcards.34 | Skolight Yes. PDFs (scanned too), Word, PowerPoint, text and LaTeX files, captioned YouTube videos, web pages, audio and live lectures.6 | Knowt Yes. PDFs, slides, images, videos and YouTube, Canvas or Drive links; 1 a month free, unlimited on Ultra.35 | Anki No. No AI: you write cards yourself or download shared decks.13 | Gizmo Yes. Magic Import: PDFs, recordings, notes, photos, PowerPoint, spreadsheets and websites.21 | Brainscape Yes. Cards from pasted text, Word, PowerPoint, photos and spreadsheets; PDFs and YouTube via pasted text.30 |
| Spaced repetition | Quizlet Yes. Web only, added August 2026: rate cards Repeat, Hard, Okay or Easy; set new cards per day.4 | Skolight Yes. SM-2-style scheduling. Review what's due, the whole deck, or only your misses.36 | Knowt Yes. Free on your own sets: rate cards Again, Hard, Good or Easy, with a daily new-card limit.37 | Anki Yes. SM-2, or FSRS, which you switch on in deck options and fit to your own reviews.14 | Gizmo Yes. Memorise mode times each card's return; the algorithm isn't named and has no settings.20 | Brainscape Yes. Rate each card 1 to 5 for confidence; Brainscape's own algorithm sets the repeats.29 |
| Quizzes | Quizlet Yes. Test mode builds a quiz from a set in the question types you pick; free gets 1 test per set.38 | Skolight Yes. Up to 30 questions in four types, easy to hard, every answer explained.39 | Knowt Yes. Practice Test mode on any set, free: mixed question types, retake only the ones you missed.40 | Anki No. No quiz or practice-test mode in its manual.41 | Gizmo Yes. AI practice tests with multiple choice and written answers marked to a mark scheme.42 | Brainscape No. No quiz mode on its official pages; study is card by card.33 |
| Timed mock exams | Quizlet Yes. Timed AI practice tests from notes or sets; limited free, 3 a month on Plus, no cap on Unlimited.43 | Skolight Yes. A server-kept clock that survives reloads, autosave, flagging and a written analysis.44 | Knowt Partly. Timed full-length mock exams for AP, SAT and ACT only; 1 free, unlimited on Ultra.9 | Anki No. No timed mock exam in its manual.41 | Gizmo Partly. Practice tests show a running timer and time taken; no set time limit in its docs.45 | Brainscape No. No timed mock exam on its official pages.33 |
| Imports existing decks | Quizlet Partly. Paste term and definition text with your own separators, on the web only.46 | Skolight No. Can't import Anki or Quizlet decks. Add the source material and it writes new cards.36 | Knowt Yes. Quizlet sets via its Chrome extension or pasted export text; Quizlet has blocked it at times.10 | Anki Yes. Anki .apkg packages, CSV or TSV text and Mnemosyne 2.0; no Quizlet importer in its docs.18 | Gizmo Yes. Quizlet sets by URL and Anki decks through Magic Import; the Anki file format isn't stated.21 | Brainscape Yes. CSV, TSV, text and spreadsheet files, or pasted question-and-answer lists.31 |
| Library of shared sets | Quizlet Yes. Its main strength: a large public library of user-made sets you can study, copy and edit.2 | Skolight No. No public library of other people's decks. Share links for notes, chats and groups.6 | Knowt Yes. Its plans page offers 5 million resources to browse, on the free plan.8 | Anki Yes. Thousands of free shared decks on AnkiWeb, downloadable on desktop and phone.15 | Gizmo Yes. Public decks other users can find; its App Store listing claims over 1,000,000.47 | Brainscape Yes. Certified exam decks plus community decks; Free can study 2,500 pre-loaded cards.28 |
| Phone and desktop apps | Quizlet Yes. Native iPhone, iPad and Android apps; no desktop app, so computers use the website.48 | Skolight Partly. Works in any browser, with a layout built for phones. No native app.6 | Knowt Yes. Native iPhone, iPad and Android apps that sync with the web.49 | Anki Yes. Free desktop and Android apps; AnkiMobile for iPhone and iPad is paid.13 | Gizmo Yes. iPhone, iPad and Android apps plus the web; no Mac or desktop app is listed.47 | Brainscape Yes. Native iPhone, iPad and Android apps; on a computer you use the web app.33 |
Prices, checked October 2026
Quizlet1
Free: Flashcards and games, limited Learn rounds, 1 Test per set and limited AI tools, with ads.
Plus1
$7.99 a month or $35.99 a year · $3/mo yearly
No ads, plus 3 practice tests, 3 textbook solutions or Q&As and 20 Learn rounds a month.
Plus Unlimited1
$9.99 a month or $44.99 a year · $3.75/mo yearly
No ads, unlimited practice tests, Learn rounds and Audio Notes, and English textbook solutions.
Quizlet's upgrade page blocks automated reads, so these prices come from archived copies of it and the US App Store. The 7-day free trial is for yearly plans only. Teacher and Family plans are sold yearly, and group or school purchases get 5% to 84% off by seat count. Students get free, ad-free Learn and Test on sets their teacher adds to a class.
Skolight5
Free: 1,500 AI words, 1 generation a day and 3 flashcard sets a day, 1 space and 30 minutes of lecture transcription a month. No card needed.
Starter
$7.99 a month or $59 a year · $4.92/mo yearly
15 generations a day, 10 flashcard sets a day, 3 hours of transcription a month
Pro
$12.99 a month or $89 a year · $7.42/mo yearly
25 generations a day, 50 flashcard sets a day, 8 hours of transcription a month, 1 hour of podcasts
Max
$24.99 a month or $179 a year · $14.92/mo yearly
unlimited generations, unlimited flashcard sets, 20 hours of transcription a month, 3 hours of podcasts
Yearly billing saves at least 38%. One-time top-up packs of AI words never expire.
Knowt8
Free: Every study mode on your own sets, unlimited files, 1 AI summary a month and 1 AP, SAT or ACT mock exam, with ads.
Student Ultra8
$24.99 a month or $149.99 a year · $12.50/mo yearly
No ads, unlimited AI summaries and mock exams, podcasts, Kai chat and voice tutor, and full AP, SAT and ACT prep.
The yearly plan starts with a 3-day free trial and is shown as $12.99 a month, though $149.99 a year works out to $12.50. App Store prices differ, from $59.99 to $149.99 a year. Teacher Ultra is $199.99 a year with a 30-day trial, and schools get volume-based quotes. In February 2026 Knowt's single Ultra plan cost $119.99 a year or $19.99 a month.
Anki13
Free: The desktop app, AnkiDroid, and AnkiWeb sync and browser study, all free with no feature tiers.
AnkiMobile (iPhone and iPad)16
$24.99 once
The iOS app, bought once; sync stays free.
No subscriptions. $24.99 is the US App Store price; Apple sets it per country, and one purchase covers up to five devices on one Apple ID. AnkiHub, a separate subscription for collaborative decks, is not part of Anki.
Gizmo26
Free: Unlimited decks, practice tests and Gizmo Live, with 2 AI imports and 5 AI Tutor sessions a day and 15 hearts in Memorise.
Gizmo Unlimited50
Price not published
Unlimited hearts, AI imports with no wait, and unlimited AI Tutor and hints.
Gizmo doesn't publish prices; they vary by device and region. Unlimited is billed weekly or yearly (no monthly plan is described), with a student discount of unstated size. The US App Store lists Unlimited purchases from $6.99 to $154.99 without saying which period each covers.
Brainscape32
Free: Unlimited text cards of your own or shared with you, limited AI card making and 2,500 pre-loaded cards to study.
Pro
$19.99 a month or $95.99 a year · $8/mo yearly
Unlimited AI cards and certified decks, images and audio on cards, private decks.
Pro Lifetime
$199.99 once
Pro for good, bought once in the app.
Prices are from Brainscape's US App Store listing, where Pro is also $59.99 every 6 months. The web pricing page shows Pro at $7.99 a month billed yearly but doesn't print the total or a monthly price. Schools and companies buy group licences at up to 70% off Pro.
Anki is the cheapest by a distance: free everywhere except a one-time $24.99 for the iPhone app. Knowt's study modes cost nothing, and its Student Ultra is $149.99 a year. Skolight's Starter plan, at $59 a year, costs well under Knowt's Ultra but more than Quizlet Plus, so it's only worth it if you'll use the mock exams, tutor and planning that come with it.
Getting your sets out of Quizlet
Step 1: To Knowt
Run Knowt's Chrome extension on the set's page, or paste Quizlet's exported text into Knowt.10
Step 2: To Gizmo
Paste the set's Quizlet link into Magic Import.23
Step 3: To Anki
Save the exported text as a file and import it as a text file, telling Anki which separator Quizlet used.18
Step 4: To Brainscape
Paste the question-and-answer text, or upload it as a CSV or spreadsheet.31
Step 5: To Skolight
Paste the text into a course's space as a source, and Skolight writes a new deck from it, plus quizzes and a mock exam if you want them. If you still have the original slides or readings, add those instead; the cards come out better.