You heard Knowt was the free Quizlet replacement everyone was switching to. You uploaded your biology notes, watched the AI spit out fifty flashcards, and thought, "this is it." Then you noticed the ads covering your study buttons, cards disappearing mid-set, and a spaced repetition system that does not actually track when you forget.
Knowt is a solid study tool. Over 700,000 students used it for the May 2025 AP season alone. But "solid" and "right for you" are different questions.
Notesmakr is a mobile-first study app built on the Feynman Technique: collect material from any source, simplify it in your own words, then reinforce it with AI-generated flashcards, quizzes, and mind maps. Where Knowt gives you a web-based flashcard factory, Notesmakr gives you a complete learning system powered by real spaced repetition.
This post compares both apps honestly. Knowt wins in some areas. Notesmakr wins in others. By the end, you'll know which one matches how you actually study.
What Is Knowt?
Knowt is a web-first study platform that uses AI to generate flashcards, quizzes, and summaries from your notes and uploaded documents. Founded as a free Quizlet alternative, Knowt grew rapidly after Quizlet started paywalling its most popular features.
Knowt's core pitch: paste your notes or upload a PDF, and the AI creates study materials in seconds. It also supports Quizlet set import, YouTube video transcription, and multiple study modes including learn mode, matching, and practice tests.
Knowt offers a generous free tier (with ads). The paid plan, Knowt Ultra, costs $9.99/month or $59.99/year and removes ads, adds the Kai AI chatbot, and unlocks advanced AI features like Snap & Solve.
What Is Notesmakr?
Notesmakr is a mobile study app and notes maker designed around the Feynman Technique: take complex material and explain it simply until you truly understand it. You feed the app a PDF, audio recording, scanned document, or typed notes. The AI generates flashcards, quizzes, summaries, and mind maps from that material.
Where Knowt focuses on generating cards quickly, Notesmakr focuses on whether you actually retain them. It uses the SM-2 spaced repetition algorithm to schedule your reviews at the optimal time, so you study each card right before you would forget it.
Notesmakr also offers features Knowt does not have: cloze cards with diminishing cues (progressive letter hints that adapt to your learning progress), Anki .apkg deck import, and live multiplayer group study sessions.
Feature Comparison: Knowt vs Notesmakr
| Feature | Knowt | Notesmakr |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (with ads) + Ultra $9.99/mo | Free tier + Scholar/Scholar+ plans |
| Platforms | Web + mobile apps | Mobile (iOS + Android) |
| AI flashcard generation | Free (with monthly limits) | Scholar+ plan |
| AI quiz generation | Free (with limits) | Scholar+ plan |
| Spaced repetition | Labeled "spaced repetition" (no true SRS algorithm) | SM-2 algorithm with interval tracking |
| Cloze deletion | Basic fill-in-the-blank | Diminishing cues with progressive letter hints |
| Quizlet import | Yes | No |
| Anki .apkg import | No | Yes (free) |
| YouTube to flashcards | Yes | Currently disabled |
| PDF upload | Yes (free) | Yes (Scholar+) |
| Mind maps | No | AI mind map generation |
| Group study | No | Live multiplayer quiz sessions |
| AI tutor/chat | Kai (Ultra only) | Pippy AI chat (Scholar+) |
| Offline mode | No meaningful offline support | Full offline flashcard review |
| Ads | Yes (free tier) | No ads on any tier |
| Web app | Full web experience | Mobile only |
Where Knowt Wins
Let's be honest about where Knowt has real advantages.
Free AI generation
Knowt lets you generate AI flashcards and quizzes on the free plan. There are monthly limits, but most students can study without paying. Notesmakr's AI features require a paid plan (though manual flashcard creation is free).
Web app
Knowt has a full web app that works in any browser. If you study primarily on a laptop or desktop, Knowt gives you that option. Notesmakr is mobile-only.
Quizlet import
Knowt can import Quizlet sets directly. If you have existing Quizlet decks you want to keep, the migration is seamless. Notesmakr cannot import Quizlet sets.
YouTube video to flashcards
Knowt can transcribe YouTube videos and generate study materials from the transcript. This is useful for lecture-heavy courses. Notesmakr has this feature in its codebase but it is currently disabled.
Where Notesmakr Wins
Now the areas where Notesmakr pulls ahead.
Real spaced repetition
This is the biggest difference, and it matters more than most students realize.
Knowt labels a feature "spaced repetition" in its marketing, but multiple reviews confirm it does not use an actual SRS algorithm. There is no tracking of individual card intervals, no memory decay modeling, and no optimization based on when you would forget each card. It is closer to a shuffled review mode than true spaced repetition.
Notesmakr uses the SM-2 algorithm, the same system originally developed for SuperMemo and used by Anki. Every card tracks its own ease factor, repetition count, and next review date. The system calculates exactly when you are about to forget each card and schedules it for that moment.
Research by Cepeda et al. (2006) found that spacing reviews at optimal intervals improved long-term retention by 10 to 30 percent compared to massed practice. An algorithm that actually tracks forgetting curves is not a nice-to-have. It is the core mechanism that makes flashcard study effective over weeks and months.
Spaced repetition without interval tracking is just shuffled review. True SRS schedules each card individually based on your performance history. Notesmakr does this. Knowt does not.
Diminishing cues on cloze cards
Notesmakr's cloze cards use Diminishing Cues with Retrieval Practice (DCRP), based on research by Fiechter and Benjamin (2017) showing 44% better retention than standard flashcards. As you learn a card, the hints progressively decrease. Early attempts show more letters. Later attempts show fewer. The system adapts to your individual progress.
Knowt offers basic fill-in-the-blank with no adaptive hinting.
Anki deck import
If you already have Anki decks (and millions of students do), Notesmakr can import .apkg files directly. This includes all your card content and deck structure. Knowt cannot import Anki decks.
This matters because Anki's community has built enormous shared decks for medical school (AnKing), language learning, and standardized test prep. Notesmakr lets you bring those collections into a more modern interface without starting from scratch.
Live group study sessions
Notesmakr offers real-time multiplayer quiz competitions. A host creates a session from their flashcard deck, shares a join code, and participants compete on a live leaderboard. Friends can join from any browser without installing the app.
Knowt does not offer group study features.
Try a group study session before your next exam. One person hosts from their flashcard deck, and the competitive element makes review sessions dramatically more engaging. Learn more about studying with friends.
No ads, ever
Knowt's free tier shows ads. Users report that ads sometimes cover submit buttons and interrupt study flow. Notesmakr has no ads on any tier, including the free plan.
Offline flashcard review
Knowt has no meaningful offline support. If your Wi-Fi drops during a study session, your progress stalls. Notesmakr stores your flashcards locally, so you can review on the subway, in a library dead zone, or on a flight.
Pricing Breakdown
| Knowt Free | Knowt Ultra | Notesmakr Free | Notesmakr Scholar+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 (ads) | $9.99/mo or $59.99/yr | $0 (no ads) | Paid plan |
| AI flashcards | Yes (monthly limits) | Unlimited | 5-note limit | Yes |
| AI quizzes | Yes (limits) | Unlimited | 5-note limit | Yes |
| Manual flashcards | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Spaced repetition | Labeled SRS (no algorithm) | Same | SM-2 algorithm | SM-2 algorithm |
| Mind maps | No | No | No | Yes |
| Group study | No | No | No | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | No | No | No |
Notesmakr's free tier includes real SM-2 spaced repetition, unlimited manual flashcard creation, cloze cards with diminishing cues, and Anki deck import. These features alone make it a strong study tool even without paying.
The Spaced Repetition Problem (Why It Matters)
Many students pick a flashcard app based on how fast it generates cards. That is the wrong metric.
The card generation step takes five minutes. The retention step takes weeks. If your app does not schedule reviews using a real algorithm, you are either over-studying (wasting time on cards you already know) or under-studying (skipping cards right before you forget them).
Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve shows that without review, you lose roughly 80% of new information within a week. A true SRS algorithm like SM-2 fights this decay by scheduling each card at the exact point your memory starts to fade.
The value of a flashcard app is not how fast it creates cards. It is how reliably it makes you remember them weeks later.
This is where Knowt's lack of a real algorithm becomes a practical problem. You might generate great cards, but without optimal scheduling, you will either burn out reviewing too often or forget material before your exam.
Who Should Pick Knowt?
Knowt is a better fit if you:
- Study primarily on a laptop or desktop (Knowt has a full web app)
- Want free AI flashcard generation without paying for a subscription
- Have existing Quizlet sets you need to import
- Rely on YouTube lecture transcription for study materials
- Do not need long-term retention (cramming for a test next week)
Who Should Pick Notesmakr?
Notesmakr is a better fit if you:
- Need real spaced repetition that tracks your forgetting patterns per card
- Have existing Anki decks you want to bring into a friendlier interface
- Want cloze cards with adaptive hints (DCRP) for harder material
- Study with friends and want live quiz competitions
- Prefer studying on mobile without ads interrupting your flow
- Care about long-term retention over weeks and months, not just next week's test
Can You Use Both?
Yes. Some students use Knowt to quickly generate flashcards from lecture notes (using the free AI tier), then export and continue studying in Notesmakr where the SM-2 algorithm handles long-term scheduling.
If you already have a note maker workflow in Knowt that produces good cards, there is no reason to abandon it entirely. Use each tool where it is strongest.
Common Mistakes When Choosing a Study App
Do not pick a study app based on card generation alone. Generation is the easy part. Retention is what determines your exam score.
Choosing based on free AI features alone. Free generation is great for creating cards, but if the app does not schedule reviews properly, those cards collect dust.
Ignoring offline support. If you commute or study in areas with poor connectivity, an app that requires constant internet becomes useless at the worst moment.
Overlooking spaced repetition quality. "Spaced repetition" on a marketing page and actual algorithmic SRS are very different things. Ask: does the app track each card's interval, ease factor, and next review date individually?
Skipping Anki import. If you have years of Anki decks, check whether the new app supports .apkg import before committing to a switch.
Research and Citations
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006): "Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis." Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. Found optimal spacing intervals improve long-term retention by 10-30%.
Fiechter, J. L. & Benjamin, A. S. (2017): "Diminishing-cues retrieval practice: A memory-enhancing technique that works when regular testing doesn't." Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25(5), 1868-1876. Found 44% better retention with progressive hint reduction.
Ebbinghaus, H. (1885): "Über das Gedächtnis." Original research establishing the forgetting curve, showing ~80% information loss within one week without review.
Ye, J. (2023): "FSRS: A modern spaced repetition algorithm." Introduced the Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler to Anki, using machine learning for personalized scheduling.
FAQ
Is Knowt really free?
Knowt's core features are free, including AI flashcard generation with monthly limits. However, the free tier includes ads that users report sometimes cover interface buttons. Advanced features like the Kai AI chatbot and Snap & Solve require Knowt Ultra ($9.99/month).
Does Knowt have real spaced repetition?
Knowt markets a "spaced repetition" mode, but it does not use a true SRS algorithm. There is no individual card interval tracking, no ease factor calculation, and no memory decay modeling. For real algorithmic spaced repetition, tools like Notesmakr (SM-2) or Anki (FSRS/SM-2) are more effective.
Can I import my Quizlet sets into Notesmakr?
No. Notesmakr does not support Quizlet import. However, Notesmakr does support Anki .apkg file import, so if your sets are in Anki format, you can bring them over directly. Knowt supports Quizlet import.
Is Notesmakr better than Knowt for exam prep?
It depends on your timeline. For long-term retention (weeks to months), Notesmakr's SM-2 algorithm schedules reviews more effectively than Knowt's non-algorithmic approach. For quick, last-minute cramming with free AI cards, Knowt's free tier is faster to get started.
Does Notesmakr have a web app?
No. Notesmakr is currently mobile-only (iOS and Android). If you need a desktop study experience, Knowt's web app or Anki's desktop client are better options. However, Notesmakr's group study feature allows friends to join quiz sessions from any browser.
The Bottom Line
Knowt is a good card generator with a generous free tier. Notesmakr is a better learning system with real spaced repetition.
If you just need to create flashcards quickly and don't care about long-term scheduling, Knowt's free AI tier handles that well. If you want your study app to actually track your memory and tell you what to review and when, Notesmakr is the stronger choice.
Both are legitimate tools. The right one depends on whether you value speed of creation or reliability of retention. For most students preparing for exams that span weeks of material, retention wins.
Try Notesmakr free on iOS or Android and see how real spaced repetition changes your study sessions.