NovisNovis vs Anki
Anki is the spaced repetition app most medical students start with, and it is free and very configurable. Novis uses the same FSRS scheduler, then does the parts Anki leaves to you: making the cards from your lecture material and planning reviews around your exam date.
Pick Anki if
- You want a free app (Anki is free on desktop, web and Android; the iPhone app is a one-time $24.99).
- You rely on add-ons or on huge shared decks from AnkiWeb.
- You are on Android or a Mac.
Pick Novis if
- You spend hours turning lecture slides and PDFs into cards and would rather check AI-made cards than type them.
- You have a fixed exam date and want reviews planned to land before it.
- You want to explain a concept in your own words and be graded on it, not only flip cards.
Side by side
| Feature | Novis | Anki |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free account with 100 AI credits to start. Student $8.99/mo, Pro $19.99/mo, Power $34.99/mo. | Free on desktop, AnkiWeb and Android. AnkiMobile for iPhone and iPad is a one-time $24.99. |
| Scheduler | FSRS (version 6). | FSRS built in since Anki 23.10, or the older SM-2. |
| Making cards | Generates cards from your PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, notes or images, for you to review before saving. You can also write them by hand. | You write the cards, or download shared decks. No built-in AI card generation (some add-ons offer it). |
| Exam date | Set an exam date and no review is scheduled past it; the recall target rises as the date gets closer. | No exam-date scheduling. Cramming is done by hand with filtered decks. |
| Explain it back | Type or say an explanation and get graded against your card and source; the grade feeds the scheduler. | Not built in. |
| Image occlusion | Yes. | Built in since Anki 23.10. |
| Add-ons | No add-on system. | Large add-on library on desktop. |
| Shared decks | Study groups share sources and decks; there is no public deck library yet. | Thousands of shared decks on AnkiWeb. |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, iPhone and iPad. No Android or Mac app yet. | Windows, Mac, Linux, web (AnkiWeb), Android (AnkiDroid), iPhone and iPad (AnkiMobile). |
Facts about Anki were checked against its own website, help pages and app store listings on October 2, 2026. Prices and features change; see the sources at the end of the page.
Switching from Anki
- In Anki, export your deck as an .apkg file with "Support older Anki versions" ticked.
- In Novis, import the file. Basic, Cloze and image occlusion cards come across, and cards you were already reviewing keep their due dates and intervals, so nothing you know is reset.
- If you go back, export any Novis deck to an Anki .apkg file. Text, images and each card's schedule (converted to Anki's format) come with it; image occlusion masks do not.
Questions
Is Novis free like Anki?
No. Anki is free (except the one-time iPhone app). Novis has a free account with 100 AI credits to start, and paid plans from $8.99 a month that add more credits for generating cards and grading explanations.
Does Novis use the same algorithm as Anki?
Both use FSRS. Anki has had it built in since version 23.10. Novis uses FSRS version 6, and adds an exam-date cap so no review lands after your exam.
Can I bring my Anki decks into Novis?
Yes. Import an .apkg file and Basic, Cloze and image occlusion cards come across, with each review card keeping its due date and interval. Your past review log is not copied.
Can I leave Novis and go back to Anki?
Yes. Any deck exports to an Anki .apkg file with its text, images and a converted schedule. Image occlusion masks do not carry over.
Try it on your own lecture material
Upload a PDF or a slide deck, check the cards Novis makes, and let the schedule plan around your exam. Novis opens October 20.