What is Anki used for?

Anki is a spaced repetition flashcard program that schedules reviews for when you are most likely to forget, with sync and add-ons. It is a good fit for language vocabulary learning, exam preparation and medical study, and memorizing any fact-based material.

Yes. Anki is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at ankitects/anki and is written mainly in Rust.

Yes. Anki is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host Anki?

Yes. Anki can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Anki an alternative to?

Anki is an open-source alternative to Quizlet and Memrise. Other open-source alternatives to Quizlet include AnkiDroid.

Is Anki actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Anki was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 26.09.3, published on 23 September 2026. The project has 32k stars on GitHub.

Anki: open-source alternative to Quizlet, Memrise

About Anki

Anki is a flashcard program built on spaced repetition. You build decks of cards, rate how well you recalled each one, and Anki schedules the next review for the moment you are most likely to forget, so time goes to the difficult material. The desktop source code lives in this repository, written mainly in Rust, and the project is open source with community contributions.

Cards can include audio, images, video and scientific markup, and both layouts and review timing can be customized. The homepage says decks of more than 100,000 cards work without trouble, and add-ons extend the program with new features. The free AnkiWeb service synchronizes your collection across devices. Anki Betas let non-developers try development builds. The repository metadata lists the license as Other, so check the LICENSE file for the exact terms.

Key features

Spaced repetition review scheduling
Decks of flashcards for targeted study
Audio, images, video and math markup in cards
Customizable card layouts and review timing
Add-ons to extend functionality
Free AnkiWeb synchronization across devices

Good fit for

→Language vocabulary learning
→Exam preparation and medical study
→Memorizing any fact-based material

Built with: Rust
Tags: flashcards; spaced-repetition; learning; study; memory; rust; education; add-ons

Anki: questions and answers

What is Anki used for?: Anki is a spaced repetition flashcard program that schedules reviews for when you are most likely to forget, with sync and add-ons. It is a good fit for language vocabulary learning, exam preparation and medical study, and memorizing any fact-based material.
Is Anki open source?: Yes. Anki is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at ankitects/anki and is written mainly in Rust.
Is Anki free?: Yes. Anki is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host Anki?: Yes. Anki can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Anki an alternative to?: Anki is an open-source alternative to Quizlet and Memrise. Other open-source alternatives to Quizlet include AnkiDroid.
Is Anki actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Anki was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 26.09.3, published on 23 September 2026. The project has 32k stars on GitHub.