Anki is the better app overall, scoring 8.8 to 8.0. Anki wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Coursera on 1.
Med students, language learners and anyone memorizing large volumes of facts
Career changers and professionals who want courses with recognized certificates
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Anki | Coursera |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Learning | Learning |
| Category rank | #3 of 8 | #7 of 8 |
| Developer | Damien Elmes and AnkiHub | Coursera |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| 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
Coursera
- Courses from respected universities and employers
- Certificates you can add to a resume or LinkedIn
- Financial aid can cover full access for many courses
- Free access is mostly limited to previews
- Course quality and engagement vary widely
Coursera puts courses from universities and companies like Google and IBM in one app, with certificates and even full degrees on top. For career skills, the depth is hard to match, and downloads make offline study easy. The catch is cost: most courses now let you preview only the first module for free, and quality varies between courses. Get it if you want recognized credentials.
Full Coursera review
