Anki vs Gizmo: pricing, features and which to choose

Anki was created by Australian developer Damien Elmes and first released in October 2006. Its name comes from the Japanese word for memorization. It became the standard flashcard tool for medical students, language learners and anyone who needs to retain large amounts of material, with communities sharing huge decks such as AnKing for the USMLE exams and Core 2k/6k for Japanese vocabulary. The desktop app is open source under the AGPL, written in Rust, Python and TypeScript, and maintained by Elmes's company Ankitects with community contributors. Sales of the paid iPhone app fund development, which keeps the desktop app, Android app and sync service free without ads.

You create notes with fields, and Anki generates cards from templates, so one note can produce forward, reverse and cloze-deletion cards. Each review asks you to recall the answer, then grade yourself Again, Hard, Good or Easy, and Anki schedules the next review accordingly. Cards can include images, audio, video and LaTeX or MathJax equations, and the app handles collections of more than 100,000 cards. Filtered decks, tags, a powerful search and detailed statistics help manage study. Collections are stored in an open SQLite format. Thousands of community add-ons extend Anki with features such as image occlusion, heatmaps, AI card generation and text-to-speech.

Anki's strengths are a proven scheduler with the modern FSRS option, zero cost on most platforms, complete control over cards and data, huge shared decks and a large add-on library. Its weaknesses are a dated, complex interface, a steep learning curve, manual card creation and a paid iPhone app. Quizlet is easier to use with study games and AI study tools, but locks more behind a subscription. RemNote and Mochi combine notes with spaced repetition. Knowt and StudyFetch generate flashcards from notes with AI. Memrise targets language learners. Choose Anki if you want the most configurable, free spaced repetition system and are willing to learn it.

Gizmo is an AI-powered learning app made by Gizmo AI Ltd, with a service built around turning study material into flashcards and quizzes. The company was founded in 2021 by Cambridge alumni Petros Christodoulou, Paul Evangelou, and Robin Jack. TechCrunch reported that Gizmo had more than 13 million users across over 120 countries and raised $22 million in Series A funding in April 2026, following a $3.5 million seed round reported in 2023. Its audience is primarily teenagers, young adults, and students preparing for tests. The product is offered on the web, iOS, and Android. Gizmo's focus is narrower than a general tutoring platform: it centers the study loop on recall, repetition, and competitive game mechanics.

The workflow starts with Magic Import. Students can upload a PDF, paste notes, add a YouTube link, record a lesson, or use other supported inputs, after which Gizmo generates flashcards. Memorise mode quizzes learners with spaced repetition, showing cards at intervals intended to support long-term recall. AI Tutor can explain material step by step, generate notes, and create questions from the learner's content. Gizmo Live converts a deck into a real-time multiplayer quiz that classmates can join with a game code. Progress features include XP, levels, leagues, streaks, and Monster Hunt. The arrangement is practical for exam preparation because one source can feed several study modes, although generated cards still call for checking against the original material.

Gizmo’s main limitation is the gap between unlimited creation and limited study access. Free users can build unlimited decks and cards, but Memorise sessions, Magic Import frequency, AI Tutor use, and some AI functions remain restricted. Gizmo requires users to be at least 13, and its privacy notice says educational and user-generated data may be disclosed to AI service providers to provide features and improve AI functionality. Its terms grant personal, non-commercial access, so commercial reuse should not be assumed. Anki offers a more manual, configurable flashcard system, while Quizlet provides a broader platform with flashcards and quizzes; Knowt is another AI-oriented alternative. With an index of 4, choose Gizmo if automated deck creation and game-driven repetition matter more than unrestricted study access.