Compare
Mento vs Anki
Anki is the most powerful flashcard engine ever built — and only a flashcard engine. Mento keeps your notes, PDFs and notebook in the same place as your cards, makes the cards from your material, and schedules reviews without a manual. If you love tuning Anki, keep Anki. If you'd rather just study, start here.
Updated September 2026
The short answer
Which one is right for you?
Choose Mento if…
- ✓You take real notes — typed, handwritten, or PDFs — and want your cards made from them, in the same app
- ✓You want spaced repetition that works out of the box, with nothing to configure
- ✓You study for dated exams and want timed, scored practice tests, not only card review
- ✓You want tasks, a calendar and a study plan next to your notes
- ✓You want one account on the web, iPhone and Android without paying up front
Choose Anki if…
- ✓You want total control of the algorithm — FSRS parameters, deck options, custom scheduling
- ✓You rely on community decks like AnKing, built and refined by thousands of students
- ✓You need a fully offline desktop app, or its huge add-on ecosystem
- ✓You already have years of review history in your decks and it's working
Side by side
What's built in
Anki at its best — current desktop version, official apps — against Mento today.
AnkiBuilt-in features as of September 2026. ~ = partial, or via add-ons.
Where Mento pulls ahead
Three things Anki can't do
Your cards remember where they came from
In Anki, a card is an island — once it's in the deck, the lecture it came from is gone. In Mento, highlight a PDF and turn it into a card that stays linked to the exact page. Blank on a review months later? Open the source right from the card and re-read the paragraph, not the whole chapter.
The PDF reader →Scheduling you never have to think about
Anki's power comes with deck options, presets and algorithm parameters — a system you tune before you trust. Mento schedules reviews with expanding intervals out of the box: daily practice queues what's due, goals and streaks keep you moving, and a dated exam topic works backward from the day that matters.
Spaced repetition in Mento →More ways to study than flipping cards
Reviews build memory; exams test it under pressure. Alongside flashcards, Mento has Learn for first passes, Match for speed, and Test mode — timed, scored runs that feel like the real thing. Anki drills recall; it was never meant to rehearse exam day.
All the study modes →Cost
Compare the cost
AnkiUS prices as of September 2026. Anki's desktop and Android apps are free and open source, and AnkiWeb sync is free — the $24.99 AnkiMobile purchase funds the project.
Fair is fair
When Anki is the better choice
Anki is free software with two decades of refinement behind it, and for some students it genuinely is the right tool. We mean it: if this is you, stay.
- →You want to tune retention with FSRS and per-deck options — Mento tunes the defaults for you and doesn't expose the dials
- →Your field runs on a shared deck (AnKing for med school is the famous one) and you'd rather inherit 30,000 cards than make your own
- →You need fully offline studying on a desktop
- →Add-ons are the appeal — Anki's ecosystem covers workflows no single app ever will
Making the move
Switching from Anki
Mento is built around your source material, not empty decks — so switching starts with what you already have.
01
Bring your material
Paste your notes, upload the PDFs and slides your decks came from, or just start with your next lecture.
02
Let the cards make themselves
Generate cards from a chapter, a highlight or a whole PDF, then edit them like any note. No more typing fronts and backs by hand.
03
Study on schedule
Daily practice queues what's due. Add your exam date and study toward the day, with practice tests when it gets close.
Honestly: there's no one-click Anki importer yet, and your Anki review history stays in Anki. Most switchers bring their source material instead and let the cards regenerate. And everything you make in Mento exports on every plan — you're never locked in here either.
FAQ
Mento vs Anki, asked directly
Is Anki really free?
Anki's desktop app and AnkiDroid on Android are free and open source. The official iPhone app, AnkiMobile, is a $24.99 one-time purchase that funds development. Mento is free to start on every platform, with optional paid plans.
Does Mento use real spaced repetition like Anki?
Yes. Cards are scheduled with expanding intervals based on how you rate them, and daily practice queues what's due each day. The difference is philosophy: Mento tunes the defaults for you, while Anki exposes every parameter.
Can I import my Anki decks into Mento?
Not yet — there's no one-click importer today. Most people bring the source material instead: paste your notes or upload the PDFs, and let Mento generate the cards. Full export is included on every Mento plan, so your work is never locked in.
Can I fine-tune the algorithm like FSRS?
No. Mento's scheduling works out of the box and isn't user-configurable. If tweaking retention parameters is part of how you study, Anki is genuinely the better fit.
Is Mento good for med school?
It's built for exactly that kind of long-course, high-volume studying: PDF-linked cards, topic-by-topic organization, dated exams and daily review. See the med school page for the full walkthrough.
Does Mento work on iPhone and Android?
Yes — Mento runs in any browser and has free iOS and Android apps, with the same account and study schedule everywhere.
What happens to my Anki streak and review history?
It stays in Anki — Mento starts your scheduling fresh. That's a real cost of switching mid-course, which is why many people switch between terms rather than mid-block.
What does Mento cost?
The free plan includes notes, the notebook, flashcards and every study mode. Pro is $14.99 a month or $95.99 a year, and students get a discounted plan at $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year.
Keep comparing
More comparisons
Ready to study from your own notes?
Cards, spaced repetition and practice tests — free to start, no credit card.