Knovli and Anki: two ways to remember things
Anki is a long-established, open-source flashcard program built on spaced repetition, loved by medical students and language learners. Knovli covers some of the same ground with much less to set up, and adds deadlines, games and classes.
Try Knovli freeHow the mastery plan works
At a glance
We have described Anki as fairly as we can from what it says about itself, but products change and we may be out of date. For anything that matters to your decision — especially price — check apps.ankiweb.net directly.
| Knovli | Anki | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Learning a deck by a date, in short daily lessons | Remembering cards for the long term with spaced repetition |
| Set-up | Sign in and start; nothing to configure | Powerful and configurable, with a learning curve |
| Scheduling | A plan that mixes new and earlier cards and re-spreads if you miss a day | An algorithm that schedules each card’s next review, with many settings |
| Where it runs | Any browser, plus iOS and Android apps, on one account | Desktop and mobile apps, with syncing between them |
| Games and classes | Quiz games, classes, assignments and teacher reports | Not what it is for |
| Extending it | What Knovli ships | A large library of community add-ons and shared decks |
Where Knovli is different
No configuration. You do not choose intervals or card templates. Make a deck, pick a date, and the mastery plan tells you what to do today.
More than one kind of recall. Knovli has eight ways to practise the same cards and counts a card as Proven only when you have got it right in different ones.
It is built for classrooms as well. A teacher can assign a plan with a due date and see how each student is doing, and games make review something a class does together.
Where Anki may suit you better
If you are building knowledge to keep for years — a language, or a medical curriculum — and you are happy to tune the scheduling yourself, Anki is designed for exactly that and gives you far more control. Knovli’s plan does something close to spaced repetition, but it is aimed at being ready for a date rather than at lifelong review.
A sensible split
Some people keep long-term material in Anki and use Knovli for what is due this month: the unit test, the vocabulary list, the map quiz. You can type or paste terms into a Knovli deck in a few minutes.
Common questions
Does Knovli use spaced repetition?
The mastery plan does something close to it: each lesson mixes the cards you are learning today with cards from earlier lessons, and the schedule redistributes itself if you miss a day.
Can I import an Anki deck?
There is no direct import. You can paste or type the terms into a Knovli deck.
Is Knovli easier than Anki?
It has much less to set up. That is a trade: you get going sooner, and you have fewer settings to adjust.