How Much Does Anki Cost? Desktop, iPhone, Android, and AnkiWeb Pricing

If you searched for "Anki pricing" or "Anki iOS price," the answer is simpler than many comparison pages make it sound:

• Desktop: free
• AnkiWeb sync: free
• Android (AnkiDroid): free
• iPhone/iPad (AnkiMobile): paid once

That makes Anki one of the lowest-cost serious spaced-repetition tools for students who are comfortable with a more manual setup.

Quick Answer: What Anki Costs on Each Platform

As of March 27, 2026:

• The US App Store listed AnkiMobile at $24.99
• The German App Store listed AnkiMobile at 29,99 EUR

Regional prices can change, so always check your own App Store before buying.

What Is Actually Free in Anki?

The part many students miss is that Anki is not "free only on desktop and then paywall everywhere else."

What is free:

• the full desktop app on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• AnkiWeb account and sync
• the official Android app, AnkiDroid
• shared decks and most community add-ons

That means many students can use Anki for months or years without paying anything at all if they study mainly on desktop or Android.

Why Is the iPhone App Paid?

The official iOS app is called AnkiMobile. According to the official App Store listing, purchases of the app help fund Anki's development, while the rest of the ecosystem remains free or open source.

The practical takeaway:

• if you mainly study on desktop or Android, Anki is effectively free
• if you need iPhone or iPad as your primary study device, you should treat Anki as a one-time software purchase

That is still very different from flashcard platforms that charge every month or every year.

Is Anki Cheap or Expensive Compared with Alternatives?

That depends on how you study.

Anki is usually the cheapest option when:

• you already study on laptop or desktop
• you use Android
• you want one tool for multi-year studying without recurring fees
• you are willing to build or edit your own cards

Anki feels less cheap when:

• you are iPhone-only and want the lowest upfront cost
• you value speed and polish more than control
• you want AI to create cards from PDFs or notes automatically

In other words, Anki is low-cost in money, but not always low-cost in time.

The Real Cost Most Students Ignore: Setup Time

The cash price is only part of the decision.

With Anki, the larger cost is usually:

• learning the interface
• setting up decks and templates
• building cards manually
• maintaining your own workflow

If you are a medical student, language learner, or anyone studying over a long period, that tradeoff often makes sense. If your main bottleneck is card creation, a tool like EducateAI may save more time even if it costs more money.

Should You Buy AnkiMobile?

Buy it if:

• you already know you want to stay in the Anki ecosystem
• you review heavily on iPhone or iPad
• you want your study app to be a one-time purchase rather than a subscription

Skip it for now if:

• you are still deciding whether Anki fits your workflow
• you can study mainly on desktop first
• you want AI-assisted card creation instead of manual setup

The official App Store listing itself recommends starting with the computer version before buying the iOS app. That is good advice.

Anki vs Subscription Pricing

If you compare Anki with subscription-based tools, the cost model looks like this:

• Anki: mostly free, with a one-time iOS purchase if needed
• Quizlet: free entry, but the better study tools sit behind recurring plans
• EducateAI: free plan plus paid plans for OCR, exports, more PDFs, and higher usage

If your main question is "Which app should I use overall?", read Anki vs Quizlet vs EducateAI.

If your main question is "How much will EducateAI cost me?", use the official EducateAI pricing page.

Bottom Line

Anki is still one of the strongest value picks in study software:

• free on desktop
• free on Android
• free sync through AnkiWeb
• one-time purchase on iPhone and iPad
• no recurring Anki subscription

For long-term learners, that is usually a better cost structure than paying every year for the same review habit.

Sources & Validation

• Official Anki site: https://apps.ankiweb.net/
• AnkiMobile US App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387
• AnkiMobile German App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387
• Related comparison: /en/anki-vs-quizlet-vs-educateai-complete-comparison