The 10 Best Study Apps in 2026

A study app isn't a single kind of product. Some help you remember a vocabulary list, others turn a course into study guides, and others tell you what to work on each day until the exam. Putting them all in one ranking makes no sense, yet that is what most roundups do.

This comparison covers ten apps that high school and college students can use, and runs them through six criteria so you can choose based on your situation: an exam on a fixed date, course material you already have, or ideas you need to memorize or understand.

Who publishes this article. Fastudy is one of the ten apps compared, and Fastudy publishes this article. To limit bias, we set the criteria before filling in the table, and we spell them out below. Fastudy comes first in the tables and comparisons because it is our product, the other nine apps follow in alphabetical order, and we don't rate any of them. The information comes from official websites and app store listings, checked on October 2, 2026. When a feature appears in none of those sources, we write "not stated" rather than "no".

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The Six Criteria

Each app is judged on what it says it does, not on the grade it will get you.

1. The starting point. Does the app start from your course (PDFs, slides, photos), from content already created by other students, or from your exam? This is the criterion that separates the apps most clearly.

2. A plan up to a date. Does it tell you what to study today to be ready on exam day, or does it leave you to organize your own revision?

3. Long-term memorization. Does it offer flashcards and spaced repetition, meaning a review scheduled just when you are about to forget?

4. Corrected practice. Can you test yourself with quizzes, multiple-choice questions or mock exams, and get a correction?

5. Languages. Which languages does the app support? We note English, and also French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, for readers of this blog in those languages.

6. Price. We don't give amounts: they change often and vary by country and subscription length. We only say whether a free plan exists and whether the rest is paid. The limits of a free plan change, so check them in the app before you commit.

This comparison doesn't measure teaching effectiveness. No app can guarantee a grade, and we don't assign any.

What the Research Says About Effective Studying

Criteria 3 and 4 don't come out of nowhere. Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) reviewed ten common study techniques. They gave their highest utility rating to practice testing and distributed practice, and their lowest, among others, to rereading and highlighting.

Roediger and Karpicke (2006) compared students who reread a text with students who tested themselves on it. Five minutes later, rereading did better. Two days and a week later, the students who had tested themselves remembered clearly more, even though rereading had made them more confident in their memory.

Kornell (2009) compared two ways of studying word pairs with flashcards: repeating them in one block, or at spaced intervals. Spacing won for 90% of participants, even though 72% of them thought the opposite after the first session.

An app that makes you answer, with a correction, and spreads your study sessions over time goes in the direction of these results. An app that mostly produces summaries to reread does much less.

Comparison Table of the 10 Apps

Fastudy comes first, and the other nine apps are in alphabetical order: this is not a ranking. "Not stated" means we found the feature on no official page we checked.

Languages and prices, as of October 2, 2026:

Three Uses, Ten Apps

The ten apps fall into three uses, which structure the rest of the article.

Organizing your revision up to the exam date. The app decides the order and the pace: Fastudy and Knowunity. StudyFetch and StudySmarter also offer a calendar.

Turning your course into study material. You upload PDFs, slides, photos or recordings, and the app produces study guides, quizzes, flashcards or summaries: Gemini Notebook, Revizly, StudyFetch, StudySmarter and Turbo AI.

Memorizing. Cards you flip that come back at the right time: Anki, Gizmo and Quizlet.

The boundaries are blurry. Knowunity and StudyFetch do several of these things at once, and Quizlet also generates flashcards from your notes.

To Organize Your Revision Up to the Exam

Fastudy: a plan of short sessions up to exam day

• Best for: preparing for an exam on a fixed date when you don't know where to start or how to split your time.
• Languages: website in French, English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
• Pricing: see the Fastudy website for plans.

Fastudy starts from your exam. In a guided conversation, you give your goal (quiz, midterm, final exam, retake, competitive exam or open-ended revision), the date, the subject, your chapters as they appear in your course and, if you like, your course as a PDF, slides or photos, and past exams. You also say how you feel, from "lost" to "confident".

Fastudy then builds a plan: a path of short sessions, unlocked one by one up to exam day, with a starting point, one block per chapter (and its study guide), a part before the big day, then a wrap-up. A countdown is displayed, and if the exam is today, the plan switches to urgent mode. Each session lets you view the lesson, test yourself or mark it as done.

The lesson opens full screen, page by page, with a clickable glossary. The exercises (fill in the blanks, multiple choice, true or false, steps to put back in order) are corrected as soon as your answer is complete. George, the mascot, answers in chat from the lesson, a glossary term or an exercise. For spreading out the sessions, the logic is the one in our article on how to create a study plan.

Coming soon. Flashcards and mock exams are in preparation.

Create my study plan

Knowunity: an all-in-one for middle and high school students

• Best for: middle and high school students (including those preparing for France's brevet and baccalauréat) who want a study plan, quizzes, mock exams and a tutor in a single app.
• Languages: app in 16 languages including French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese; available in 32 countries according to its website.
• Pricing: the essential tools are free according to the publisher; Knowunity Premium lets you study without limits.

Knowunity brings together, inside a study plan, flashcards, quizzes, summaries, AI-graded mock exams, spoken revision and official curricula. You give the exam date and the chapters, and the app prepares what to do each day. It can take your schedule into account and feeds the results of mock exams back into the plan.

The app also offers an AI tutor around the clock, step-by-step explanations of exercises you photograph, import of PDFs, slides, photos and YouTube videos, and study notes, summaries and answer keys shared by other students, with experience points and weekly leagues.

Its presentation is aimed mostly at middle and high school. For university exams, check that your subject and level are covered. Content shared by students needs checking, and the exact scope of the free plan is something to look up in the app.

To Turn Your Courses Into Study Material

Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM): understand your documents with cited sources

• Best for: understanding long documents by asking questions, with answers that point back to your sources.
• Languages: more than 60 languages in the app, including French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
• Pricing: usable without a subscription, with usage limits. Google AI subscriptions raise those limits (two times, four times or more depending on the plan).

Google renamed NotebookLM "Gemini Notebook" on July 16, 2026. You import PDFs, websites, YouTube videos or text, and the tool answers your questions by citing passages from your sources. It also generates study guides, flashcards, quizzes (short answer, multiple choice, fill in the blanks), podcast-style audio summaries and mind maps.

It isn't a study app in the strict sense: we found neither a plan up to the exam date nor spaced repetition on its official pages. Its strength is that it stays anchored in your documents, which lets you check every answer.

Revizly: study guides, flashcards and quizzes from your course

• Best for: turning a course into a study guide, flashcards and multiple-choice questions, especially in health tracks assessed by multiple choice.
• Languages: website in French, English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese; app in six languages.
• Pricing: free for two courses a month according to the website. Two paid plans: Essential (20 courses a month) and Premium (unlimited courses).

Revizly starts from your course: PDF, PowerPoint, photos, pasted text or a YouTube link. It produces a structured study guide, flashcards scheduled with spaced repetition (the FSRS algorithm) and multiple-choice questions with an explained correction and a timed mode. For the French medical-entrance competitions (PASS and L.AS, the two first-year tracks into medical studies), a mode follows the five-option format, graded all or nothing.

The app offers a daily goal and progress tracking. We didn't find a study plan built from your exam date. Its website itself recommends checking the study guides against your original course. The iOS app was released in August 2026 according to its App Store listing, so there is still little track record.

StudyFetch: AI tutor, calendar and tests from your materials

• Best for: students who already have their materials and want a tutor, tests and a calendar built on them.
• Languages: website available in French. The app is listed in 10 languages, including French, Spanish and Italian, but not Portuguese. The publisher says more than 20 languages are supported.
• Pricing: free sign-up, paid Premium subscription.

StudyFetch turns PDFs, slides, videos and recorded lectures into notes, flashcards, quizzes and practice tests, with an AI tutor named Sparky that you can also question out loud. Its Study Plan orders the topics from your materials so that each builds on the previous one, and its calendar places study sessions based on your syllabus and your exam dates. The app also offers live lecture recording, audio summaries and exam-style questions.

It starts from your own materials: if you don't have any yet, it has nothing to transform. The publisher is American and the partnerships it highlights are aimed at the United States, and we haven't checked how well it fits courses outside the United States.

StudySmarter (Vaia in some app stores): flashcards, summaries, a planner and mock exams

• Best for: high school and college students who want a general-purpose tool, built from their own documents or from shared content.
• Languages: app in French, English, German and Spanish; website also in Italian, no Portuguese. The app is called StudySmarter on the French and German stores, and Vaia on the US, Spanish, Italian and Brazilian ones (checked on October 2, 2026).
• Pricing: free with limits, paid Premium subscription.

From your notes, slides or documents, the app generates study guides, flashcards and a chapter-by-chapter study path. It offers spaced repetition, multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank exercises and exam-mode tests, a study planner (study plans, to-do list, calendar), an AI assistant, an exercise scanner and podcasts. Students also share flashcards, study notes and summaries there.

Its description cites the bac (the French high-school exit exam), the BTS (a French two-year vocational degree) and university exams, so both high school and higher education. As on any platform with shared content, check other people's material before relying on it.

Turbo AI: lecture notes, short lessons and podcasts, in English

• Best for: recording a lecture in English and getting notes, summaries, flashcards and quizzes from it.
• Languages: English-only interface on the App Store. We found no official source on support for other languages such as French: test before you pay.
• Pricing: free to download, with a paid subscription (Unlimited).

Turbo AI, formerly TurboLearn, turns documents, PDFs, slides, websites, videos and lecture recordings into short lessons, quizzes, flashcards, podcasts and summaries. It can record a lecture to produce notes, and its chat answers questions based on your documents.

Its website highlights ready-made guides for AP exams, a US high-school program: the offer seems designed first for a US audience.

To Memorize: Anki, Gizmo and Quizlet

Anki: the most configurable spaced repetition

• Best for: remembering vocabulary, definitions or formulas over the long term, if you are willing to create your cards or use shared decks.
• Languages: translated into many languages. The iOS version lists 25, including French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
• Pricing: free on computer (Windows, macOS, Linux) and on Android (AnkiDroid). AnkiMobile, on iOS, is paid, as a one-time purchase.

Anki is a free, open-source flashcard program. It schedules each review for the moment you are most likely to forget, with a choice of two algorithms, SM-2 and FSRS. Syncing between devices through AnkiWeb is free, and cards can include images, audio and math formulas.

In its basic version, Anki is a flashcard tool: it doesn't generate quizzes from your course and doesn't build a plan up to the exam date. Creating the cards takes time, but that work of sorting and rephrasing has a learning value of its own. It takes longer to get the hang of than the other apps on this list, and the publisher recommends starting with the computer version before buying AnkiMobile, which it presents as a companion app.

Gizmo: game-style flashcards and quizzes, mostly in English

• Best for: studying in short, playful sessions from your own materials, if you are comfortable with an English-language app.
• Languages: the French App Store listing shows English only. We found no official page detailing support for courses in other languages: test it with one of your courses before subscribing.
• Pricing: free to download, with a paid subscription (Gizmo Unlimited).

Gizmo turns PDFs, notes, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos or Quizlet and Anki decks into flashcards and quizzes, and can scan handwritten notes. The publisher cites spaced repetition and active recall, an AI tutor, leaderboards and study games, as well as more than a million public decks.

Several of the testimonials on its website concern the GCSE, a UK exam taken around age 16: the app seems designed first for English-speaking students. As with any library of public decks, the accuracy of those decks isn't guaranteed.

Quizlet: flashcards and a library of shared sets

• Best for: learning vocabulary, definitions or dates, alone or in a group, from your own sets or public ones.
• Languages: 17 languages in the app, including French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
• Pricing: free with limits. Quizlet Plus is paid and, according to the App Store listing, gives unlimited access to homework help and personalized study modes, without ads.

Quizlet lets you create sets of flashcards or search among those made by other students and teachers. Its Learn and Test modes turn cards into quizzes and practice tests, and the app listing cites spaced repetition. The Magic Notes feature generates flashcards, tests and essay topics from imported notes.

Public sets are written by users: always check them against your course. On the app listing, we didn't find a plan up to the exam date. If you are wondering whether to switch, our article on Quizlet alternatives explains when another tool really solves the problem.

Which App for Your Situation?

Your exam is in three weeks and you don't know where to start. Pick an app that builds the plan: Fastudy, Knowunity, or StudyFetch if you already have your materials.

You have your course as a PDF and want study guides and quizzes tonight. Revizly, StudySmarter or StudyFetch. Turbo AI if the course is in English.

You need to retain lists over several months (vocabulary, anatomy, dates, formulas). Anki for configurable spaced repetition, Quizlet for a quick start and ready-made sets.

You are preparing for a health-track competitive exam assessed by multiple choice. Revizly lists a mode dedicated to PASS and L.AS, the French medical-entrance tracks. Check that it matches the format used by your faculty.

You want to understand long documents. Gemini Notebook, which cites its sources.

You are in middle or high school. Knowunity is aimed at that audience. StudySmarter cites the bac and the BTS in its description.

Your budget is zero. Anki is free on computer and on Android. The others have a limited free plan: check it in the app.

How to Choose a Study App

Start with the date. If the exam is on a specific date, the first question is whether the app tells you what to do each day. If not, you will have to build that plan yourself, however good the study guides are.

Then look at what you already have. A course as a PDF, slides or photos of your notes let you use the apps that transform your materials. Without a course in file form, look to the ones that start from your exam or from shared content.

Choose how you want to remember things. To memorize lists, flashcards with spaced repetition. To understand an idea, a tutor or a lesson. To check that it has stuck, corrected exercises. Few apps do everything well.

Check the language. An app that works in English doesn't guarantee good results on a course in another language, and the quality of generated content on your own course can only be judged by trying it.

Test with a chapter you already know well. Generate study guides or questions on that chapter: you will quickly see whether the content is accurate. Do it before paying for a subscription.

Don't stack too many. One tool to organize the weeks and, if needed, a flashcard tool for memorization are enough for most situations.

Our Verdict

There is no best study app, only the one that fits your situation.

To organize your time up to the date, Fastudy offers a plan of sessions by chapter, with lessons and corrected exercises, Knowunity is an all-in-one aimed mostly at middle and high school, and StudyFetch suits anyone who already has their materials. To transform a course, Revizly, StudySmarter, StudyFetch and Gemini Notebook meet different needs, and Turbo AI and Gizmo are aimed first at English-speaking students. To remember, Anki is the most configurable and is free on computer and on Android, and Quizlet is the easiest to pick up.

Whatever you choose, it is testing that makes things stick: an app that asks you questions and corrects your answers beats an app that has you reread. This information dates from October 2, 2026, and apps change fast: Google, for example, renamed NotebookLM in July 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best app for studying for exams?

It depends on your situation, and none fits everything. For an exam on a fixed date, look at the ones that plan: Fastudy, Knowunity or StudyFetch. To memorize lists, Anki or Quizlet. To turn a course into study guides and quizzes, Revizly, StudySmarter or StudyFetch. None guarantees a result: what makes things stick is testing yourself and spacing out your study sessions.

What are the best free study apps?

Several have a free option, with limits. Anki is free on computer and on Android, but paid on iOS. Knowunity says its essential tools are free, Gemini Notebook can be used without a subscription with usage limits, and Revizly offers two courses a month according to its website. Quizlet, StudySmarter, StudyFetch, Gizmo and Turbo AI have a free version and paid subscriptions. These limits change: check them before counting on them for an exam.

What app can turn my notes into study guides?

Revizly, StudySmarter, StudyFetch, Knowunity, Turbo AI, Quizlet (with Magic Notes) and Gemini Notebook accept documents or notes and make study guides, flashcards or quizzes from them. The trap is rereading study guides produced by a machine without testing yourself on them. Our article on AI study guide makers explains how to use them without losing the memorization effect.

Anki or Quizlet: which is better for studying?

Anki is free on computer and on Android, and its spaced repetition can be tuned finely, with the FSRS or SM-2 algorithms. In exchange, you create your own cards and it takes longer to learn. Quizlet is simpler, offers public sets and generates flashcards from your notes with Magic Notes, but some features require a Quizlet Plus subscription. For a one-off need before a quiz, Quizlet is often enough. To remember for months, Anki is better suited.

Is NotebookLM good for studying?

Yes, for understanding long documents. NotebookLM has been called Gemini Notebook since July 16, 2026. You import your sources, ask questions, and the answers cite the original passages. It also generates study guides, flashcards and quizzes. That said, we found neither a plan up to the exam date nor spaced repetition on its official pages, and free use comes with limits.

Are AI study apps accurate?

They can get things wrong: generated content can contain errors or gaps. Revizly says so itself and states that your original course remains the reference. Gemini Notebook cites passages from your sources, which lets you check. The habit to keep: test the app on a chapter you already know well, then compare what it produces with your course and your textbook. When in doubt, your teacher's course is the final word.

Useful Resources

• Create my study plan with Fastudy
• Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J. & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1)
• Roediger, H. L. & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning. Psychological Science, 17(3)
• Kornell, N. (2009). Optimising Learning Using Flashcards: Spacing Is More Effective Than Cramming. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23(9)