Finals are approaching and unless you enjoy attempting to read the chicken-scratch notecards scattered around your room, here’s a list decoding which flashcard apps are worth your time but not your money — they are all free.
Cram
Price: Free
Available: Web, Google Play, App Store
Rating: 3/5
Cram is the lazy man’s study app. It allows you to make clear cards and test yourself with matching, written, multiple choice and true/false questions — the norm for the better flashcard apps out there.
Where it excels is its large selection of categorized pre-made flashcards, including various topics tailored for the MCAT and LSAT. A special feature of Cram are the two games you can play — the horrifyingly named “Stellar Speller” and “Jewels of Wisdom,” which are just glorified matching and spelling games that could possibly be thought of as fun only after pulling an all-nighter
The app is pretty easy to use, but doesn’t have the best style or features. Cram seems to be in the awkward teenage years of flashcard apps. It just isn’t good enough for making your own sets, but if you aren’t interested in that, its huge database of pre-made sets is a big bonus.
StudyBlue
Price: Free, $7/month
Available: Web, Google Play, App Store
Rating: 4/5
Evernote users rejoice — StudyBlue gives you the ability to turn your notes from Evernote into flashcards and practice tests while storing them in your Evernote account.
You can find flashcard sets made by other people and search for specific courses at UBC to share notes with classmates. StudyBlue is fairly easy to use. When actually flipping through your cards, you are met with a clear, non-distracting screen with simple uses of keys to move through the set. The only downsides to this app are its slightly confusing layout and the ads for StudyBlue Pro taking up half the screen on the browser version. You can upgrade to Pro for $7 a month to rid of ads and gain access to more study materials, but it doesn’t seem that the pricey upgrade is worth it. This app is effective and boasts many tools that its competitors don’t.
Overall, StudyBlue is your best choice if you use Evernote, as the accounts are connected, synthesizing all of your study methods.
Flashcards+ by Chegg
Price: Free
Available: Google Play, App Store
Rating: 1/5
For some reason, this app is the first result on iTunes under searching for flashcard apps, but it lacks any individual essence, style or features. But hey, with Flashcards+ by Chegg, you have the ability to customize categories with colours and icons. Talk about your biggest priority.
Users can flip between terms and definitions and shuffle through cards, but that’s pretty much the extent of the app’s abilities. There are pronunciations of terms in various languages to aid in language studies, but this is common in flashcard apps. To be fair, the app is simple to use, but that’s only because there aren’t many features to be confused by. Flashcards+ meets the minimum requirements to make flashcards. Even if you only want a simple app, there are far better options out there.
Quizlet
Price: Free, $19.99/year
Available: Web, Google Play, App Store
Rating: 5/5
You’ve likely heard of it — because it rocks.
Quizlet gives you a variety of ways to study your flashcards depending on which way you learn best. You can “learn” them by seeing the definition and typing-in the term, which is very effective; “spell” your terms, which is essentially typing the definition to its pronunciation; play a “match” game where you match the terms and definitions or have a multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks test made catered to your cards.
It is easy to edit terms and share your sets with others and overall, this app is the easiest flashcard app with all the best features out there. You can upgrade to Quizlet Plus for $19.99 a year to unlock the ability to add images to study sets, record your own voice reading the cards and create unlimited classes.
The upgrade is far from necessary for an extremely beneficial experience. Even if you are a pen and paper purist, check Quizlet out even if it's just to print off typed flashcards. The arguable kingpin of study card apps, Quizlet earns its title with its wonderfully simple design and effective study tools.
AnkiApp
Price: Free
Available: Windows, Mac, Google Play, App Store
Rating: 4/5
AnkiApp is a barebones flashcard app that works well at what it does. It lacks the ability to make practice tests and other features of more comprehensive apps, but it is quite pleasant to use.
Users can flip through cards, rating each one on a level of difficulty so it can prioritize what you need to cover more. You can add images to flashcards, which is surprisingly uncommon in these kinds of apps. It takes a little longer to make the cards on AnkiApp. However, it provides a comprehensive overview of your studies. It tracks your reviews and grade changes per day, as well as which cards you had trouble with. AnkiApp seems to have the most extensive card decks available for language studies, so if that’s what you’re looking for, check it out. If you want a simple and effective flashcard app that looks good, also give AnkiApp a try.