Reps is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Ankitects Pty Ltd. Anki is a trademark of its respective owner. Everything stated here about Anki is drawn from its public documentation and was accurate as of August 2026.
Anki is a serious, mature piece of software with two decades of work behind it. It is free on desktop, it is more configurable than almost anything else in this category, and for a large number of students it is the correct tool. If it is working for you, this page is not an argument that you should switch.
It is an explanation of what is the same, what is different, and who each one suits.
If you have been using spaced repetition, the habit transfers intact.
Your judgement about what makes a good card is the part that took longest to learn, and none of it is wasted.
| Reps | Anki | |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Classes contain subjects, two levels, fixed | Decks and subdecks, nestable, plus note types |
| Card structure | A front and a back you write | Note types and card templates with a field syntax (manual) |
| Deadlines | Built-in scheduler with exam dates, countdowns and prep bars | Not a feature. The manual's exam advice is to calculate cards per day yourself (FAQ) |
| Focus timer | Built in, four splits, long break every fourth block | Not included |
| Handwriting | Drawing pad on any card, Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity | Not a documented feature |
| Daily limits | None. Every due card is shown | New-card and review limits, configurable per preset (manual) |
| Extending it | Not extensible | Add-ons, desktop only (manual) |
| Pre-made decks | None. Import accepts .reps files from classmates | Large shared deck library on AnkiWeb |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, no account | AnkiWeb account, with storage limits and inactivity expiry (FAQ) |
| Audio | None | Text to speech supported (FAQ) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
| Cost | One Universal Purchase, Family Sharing | Free on desktop and Android, paid on iOS |
Deadlines live with the decks. Reps holds your exams and assignments in the app, attached to the class whose cards they test. Each one carries a bar reading something like 34 of 96 learned. A calendar can tell you the exam is Thursday. A flashcard app can tell you 31 of 88 cards are holding. Putting both in one sentence is the thing neither tool does alone.
Drawing. Reps has a drawing pad on every card, and pressure controls line thickness on Apple Pencil models that support it. Drawing a pathway from memory is a harder retrieval than recognising a picture of one. For anatomy, mechanisms and character writing this is the difference that matters most.
Less to configure. Reps has no scheduling settings, no daily limits, no note types and no add-ons. That is a real loss of power. It is also the point: a student who is behind will open a settings screen instead of a deck. Which of those two readings is correct depends entirely on the student.
Anki is the better tool if you rely on a shared deck for your programme, you use add-ons daily, you need Windows or Android, you want to tune scheduling parameters yourself, you need audio on cards, or you have a large library built around custom note types.
Reps is the better tool if you are on Apple devices only, you write your own cards anyway, you want your deadlines and your decks in one place, you want to draw with a Pencil, you would rather have no settings screen, or you want no account and no server holding your material.
There is no import from Anki. Reps accepts .reps files only, which are subjects exported by other Reps users. A library built in Anki has to be rebuilt, and for most people that is the decisive fact on this page. It is worth saying plainly rather than in a footnote.
No. Import accepts .reps files only. There is no .apkg, CSV or text import.
No. Reps uses SM-2, with no scheduling settings to adjust.
No. iPhone, iPad and Mac only.
Yes, and some people do, keeping a shared programme deck in one and their own written cards in the other. Nothing conflicts, since neither knows about the other.