Comparison
Anki alternative: Aynora and Anki, honestly compared
Anki is one of the best-known flashcard apps – free, open source and extremely customisable. Aynora starts somewhere else: cards are created by AI from your PDFs instead of being typed by you. Here’s how the two differ and who each one suits.
What Anki does well
- Free and open source on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android (AnkiDroid); the iOS app AnkiMobile is paid.
- Lots of shared decks and add-ons, e.g. for medicine or languages.
- Full control over card templates, fields and scheduling settings.
- A large community and plenty of tutorials.
Where Aynora is different
- Cards from your own material: upload a PDF, pick passages – the AI writes questions, cloze or multiple-choice cards.
- Graphics count too: draw a frame around a diagram and the AI turns it into a card.
- Voice teacher (Pro and Tutor): questions are read aloud in an AI voice, you answer out loud and get a hint instead of the answer straight away.
- Runs in the browser on phone and laptop, nothing to install; can be installed as an app if you like.
- Provider based in Germany, privacy policy under the GDPR.
What Aynora can’t do (yet)
To be fair: Aynora currently can’t import Anki decks. You can export a deck as a JSON file, but not directly as an Anki package. There are no add-ons and no library of ready-made community decks. If you already maintain large Anki collections or want to fine-tune card templates, Anki remains the better fit.
Which one suits you?
Anki suits you if you like building cards yourself, want to use ready-made decks or need maximum customisation.
Aynora suits you if you mainly study from lecture slides, scripts and notes and want to skip the typing. The two aren’t mutually exclusive: many people study ready-made decks in Anki and use an AI tool for cards from their own slides.
Prices at a glance
Aynora Free costs nothing (2 PDFs and 30 new cards a month). Plus costs €2.99, Pro €5.99 and Tutor €16.99 a month, each cancellable monthly. Anki is free on desktop and Android.
Frequently asked questions
Does Aynora use the same algorithm as Anki?
Aynora schedules reviews with a simplified version of the SM-2 algorithm, which Anki’s classic scheduler is also based on. You rate each card as again, hard, good or easy.
Can I bring my Anki decks?
No, importing Anki decks isn’t possible at the moment.
Do I have to write cards myself in Aynora?
No. You pick passages in your PDF and the AI suggests cards. You review and edit them before they’re saved. You can also add your own cards manually.
Try it alongside Anki
On Free you can turn your next script into your first cards at no cost, then decide.