Anki is the better app overall, scoring 8.8 to 8.6. Anki wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Brilliant on 1, with 1 tied.
Med students, language learners and anyone memorizing large volumes of facts
Curious adults and teens who want to understand math and science by solving problems
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Anki | Brilliant |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Learning | Learning |
| Category rank | #3 of 8 | #4 of 8 |
| Developer | Damien Elmes and AnkiHub | Brilliant.org |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | — |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Anki
- Smart scheduling means less review time for the same recall
- Free and open source on desktop, Android and the web
- Fully customizable cards, decks and study settings
- Dated interface with a steep learning curve
- The iPhone and iPad app, AnkiMobile, is a paid download
Anki is the most effective flashcard tool you can use, if you are willing to put in the work. Its spaced repetition scheduler, including the newer FSRS option, shows each card just before you would forget it. It is free and open source everywhere except iPhone, where AnkiMobile is a one-time purchase. The catch: the interface is dated and setup takes effort. Ideal for med students and serious language learners.
Full Anki review
Brilliant
- Learn-by-doing lessons build intuition, not rote memory
- Beautiful design makes hard topics approachable
- Lessons are short enough for a daily habit
- Free plan is capped at a couple of lessons a day
- No certificates and little help for school exams
Brilliant teaches math, science, data and coding by making you solve things, not watch things. Each lesson is a short run of interactive puzzles that build real intuition, and the design is excellent. The free plan caps you at a couple of lessons a day with ads, so Premium is where it makes sense. Get it if you learn by doing. Skip it if you need exam prep or credentials.
Full Brilliant review
