Anki or Top of Class? Choose the study habit you will keep
Choose Anki if you want detailed control over your cards and study setup. Choose Top of Class if you want a daily queue with fewer settings and help turning notes into cards. Both support spaced repetition. The main difference is the work you want to do around each review.
Why I built an Anki alternative
I used Anki for roughly eight years to study, memorize things, and learn new material when changing jobs. I built Top of Class because I wanted a nicer experience: a better look and feel on iPhone, less manual work, and the same core learning practice.
That makes this a comparison by the person building one of the products. It is a description of their features and the choices behind them, rather than a scored test of which app produces better grades. Anki features below were checked against its official manual on 18 October 2026.
What changes in your daily study routine?
Both apps ask you to recall an answer before revealing it, then schedule another attempt. Top of Class keeps the review decision to Again or Good. Anki offers four answer buttons, though you can choose to use only Again and Good. Anki explains its answer buttons here.
The comparison below describes the built-in workflows. Anki add-ons can extend what it does, so a customized Anki setup can look different.
| Study task | Anki | Top of Class |
|---|---|---|
| Decide when to review | Use FSRS with defaults or adjust deck options. | Open Today for the cards that are due. The schedule is handled for you. |
| Grade an answer | Again, Hard, Good, or Easy; using only Again and Good is also supported. | Again when you missed it, Good when you remembered it. |
| Make cards | Write cards using fields and templates. Add-ons can extend the workflow. | Write cards by hand, or use Scholar to have Atlas draft them from pasted text. |
| Deal with repeated misses | Leech handling can flag or suspend troublesome cards. | Tend identifies weak cards. With Scholar, Atlas suggests a clearer version for you to review. |
Remember more without planning every review
A useful review schedule gives difficult cards another attempt sooner and lets familiar cards wait longer. You spend your session answering questions instead of deciding which chapter to revisit.
FSRS is the scheduling system Top of Class uses to make those choices. It uses your review history to estimate when a card needs another attempt. You do not need to learn the maths or tune settings to start studying.
Anki supports FSRS too. Its manual recommends starting with defaults before adjusting options. You can keep those defaults or take more control as your needs change. Read Anki’s scheduling options.
Neither schedule can check whether you understood a vague question or guessed correctly. Try to answer before revealing the card, then grade the answer you gave.
When writing the cards is the slow part
With Scholar, you can paste lecture notes or a textbook passage into Top of Class and ask Atlas to draft recall cards. You check the questions and answers, edit what needs work, and keep the useful ones. Manual card creation and local review are available for free.
For example, suppose your notes explain why phospholipids form a bilayer in water. A useful question asks for that one relationship. A broad prompt such as “Explain the cell membrane” is harder to answer and grade. AI drafting can save preparation work, but you still need to check each card against the source.
If a card keeps tripping you up, Tend identifies it. Scholar adds an Atlas suggestion for improving it. You choose whether to use the change.
When staying with Anki makes sense
Keep Anki if your current routine works and you value its templates, add-ons, or detailed deck controls. A different interface alone is not a reason to rebuild a useful study system. Anki’s manual covers fields and templates, and its leech settings explain how it handles repeated failures.
Anki also has a large shared-deck collection. If you depend on a suitable premade deck for your course, check it carefully before switching. Browse the official shared-deck directory.
Try one topic before moving your library
Choose a short section you need to remember this week. Make a few cards, complete a review, and return when they are due. Notice how much time goes into preparing cards, making review decisions, and repairing questions you keep missing.
If you want to bring existing Anki cards into Top of Class, import an Anki deck on iPhone. Anki import is not available in the web app. Scholar syncs your library between iPhone and web when you use the same account.
Keep the tool that helps you return and answer the questions. For more on what happens during those attempts, read how spaced repetition works.
Frequently asked questions
Does Top of Class use FSRS?
Yes. FSRS uses your answers and review history to plan when each card comes back. Difficult cards generally need another attempt sooner; cards you remember can wait longer. Top of Class handles the settings.
Can I use Top of Class for free?
You can create and edit cards by hand and review locally for free on iPhone and web. Scholar adds Atlas drafting and refinements, cross-device sync, and agent access. Current Scholar terms are shown in the iPhone App Store before purchase.
Can I import Anki cards in the browser?
Anki import is available on iPhone, not in the browser. With Scholar, the imported library can sync to the web app through the same signed-in account.
Sources
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