Can I import my Anki decks into checkst?

Yes. Export your deck in Anki as .apkg with "Include Media" and open the file on the iPhone with checkst. Without the tick, images and audio are missing according to the Anki manual. You can also tick "Include Scheduling Information", and then your learning progress is included in the package.

Is checkst cheaper than AnkiMobile?

The basic functions of checkst cost nothing; AnkiMobile costs a one-time €29.99 in the German App Store. checkst Pro costs €4.99 for six months and renews automatically. If you need Pro permanently, after about three years you will have paid as much as once for AnkiMobile. Studying, .apkg import, groups and iCloud sync remain free in checkst without Pro.

Do both apps use FSRS?

Yes. Anki has had FSRS built in since version 23.10, as an alternative to the SM-2-based standard. checkst schedules reviews with FSRS.

Does checkst sync with AnkiWeb?

No. checkst syncs via iCloud or your checkst account. With Anki you exchange decks via .apkg file, not via live sync.

Does checkst support Anki add-ons?

No. Add-ons exist only in Anki Desktop. According to the App Store, AnkiMobile likewise does not support add-ons.

checkst vs. Anki: AnkiMobile alternative for the iPhone

Anki is the benchmark. If you study medicine, law or vocabulary seriously with flashcards, you sooner or later end up there, and for good reason. So the question is not "Is Anki good?" but: What do you want on the iPhone, and what are you willing to pay in learning-curve time?

This page compares checkst with the Anki universe: Anki Desktop (free, Mac, Windows, Linux), AnkiWeb (free sync and browser-based study) and AnkiMobile, the official iPhone app.

Status: November 2026. All information about Anki comes from the sources linked below.

The comparison at a glance

	checkst	Anki (AnkiMobile + Desktop + AnkiWeb)
iPhone app	native iOS app for iPhone and iPad	AnkiMobile, native app for iPhone and iPad
Price on the iPhone	Core features free, Pro €4.99 for six months (subscription, renews automatically)	AnkiMobile €29.99 one-time, no subscription
Other platforms	iOS only	Desktop for macOS, Windows, Linux; AnkiWeb in the browser; AnkiDroid for Android
Algorithm	FSRS	SM-2-based or FSRS (since 23.10)
Sync	iCloud free, checkst account with Pro	AnkiWeb, free, collection up to 100 MB compressed
.apkg	Import (also anki21b and .colpkg) with learning progress, export	Anki's own format, import and export with media and learning progress
AI cards	built in: on-device (Apple Foundation Models) or your own OpenAI key	not built in; add-ons such as Notosaurus with your own API key
Add-ons	no	Desktop yes, AnkiMobile no
Image Occlusion	Anki-compatible, one card per occluded area	built in since 23.10
Study groups	shared decks, leaderboard, invitation via link/QR	AnkiWeb community decks; AnkiHub as a separate subscription
Motivation	Streaks, XP, achievements, widgets	not found in research

Where Anki wins, and clearly so

Platforms. Anki runs everywhere: Desktop on all three major systems, AnkiWeb in the browser, AnkiDroid on Android, AnkiMobile on the iPhone. Everything syncs via AnkiWeb. checkst is only available on iPhone and iPad. If you build cards on a laptop, Anki Desktop is your tool, and checkst has no equivalent for that.

Pay once, done. AnkiMobile costs €29.99 one-time in the German App Store, with no subscription and no sync fees. The purchase applies to all devices under the same Apple ID, including Family Sharing. Desktop and AnkiWeb cost nothing at all. That is a fair model, and we say this reluctantly, but gladly honestly.

Customizability. Custom fields, HTML and CSS templates, plus add-ons on the desktop. For specialized card formats nothing is more flexible. checkst renders Anki templates and cloze cards from imported decks and has a note-type editor, but there is no add-on system.

Image Occlusion. Built into Anki since 23.10: cover image areas and have them quizzed, with rectangles, ellipses and polygons. According to the manual, ideal for anatomy. checkst displays such cards from Anki decks just the same, one card per occluded area. But if you mask new cross-sectional image series yourself week after week, Anki on a computer with a large screen and a mouse is the more comfortable tool for that.

Community decks. AnkiWeb offers downloadable community decks, and the AnKing Step deck is the best-known example of jointly maintained medical material. The ecosystem is currently growing: in February 2026 Damien Elmes announced that he will gradually hand over business operations and open-source responsibility to the AnkiHub team.

Where checkst wins

Getting started. The criticism of Anki has been the same for years. In the German App Store someone writes about AnkiMobile: "The app is anything but self-explanatory". On Reddit it says: "the learning curve can be savage". checkst is built for people who want to start today, not after a weekend of tutorials.

AI cards without tinkering. In Anki you need an add-on such as Notosaurus for AI-generated cards, your own key for Gemini, Claude or GPT, and the desktop as well, because AnkiMobile cannot run add-ons. In checkst you enter text, a PDF or a photo of your lecture notes, and the app suggests cards. By default on the device via Apple's Foundation Models, so your notes never leave the iPhone. If you prefer, you can store your own OpenAI key.

Cards from the lecture handout, directly on the iPad. In the split-view creator the PDF sits on the left and the new card on the right. Photos of blackboard notes go through text recognition (OCR). Cards can be read aloud, which is handy for vocabulary.

Learning with others. In checkst you create a study group, share decks, see a leaderboard and invite people via link or QR code. In Anki, collaboration runs through AnkiHub, a separate subscription offer.

A reason to open the app. Streaks, XP, achievements and widgets on the home screen. This is no substitute for discipline, but it helps on the days when the stack of due cards looks at you reproachfully.

What is the same

FSRS. Both schedule with FSRS, the Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler. Anki has had it built in since version 23.10 (release of 1 November 2023) and lets you optionally stay with the SM-2-based standard. FSRS can be optimized from your own review history.

Offline. According to the App Store, AnkiMobile explicitly works offline, with images and audio stored on the device. checkst also stores your decks locally.

The file format. checkst imports and exports .apkg, Anki's own package format. So you are not locked in.

The catch with sync

Here you need to look closely. checkst does not sync with AnkiWeb. So if you maintain cards in Anki Desktop in parallel and want to study in checkst on the iPhone, there is no automatic matching, only the route via an .apkg file.

For many this does not matter: if you only study on the iPhone, you do not need AnkiWeb. But if you commute daily between laptop and phone, AnkiMobile serves you better.

Two details about AnkiWeb are worth knowing: according to the FAQ, the free collection may be at most 100 MB compressed or 250 MB uncompressed in size (excluding media; individual media files up to 100 MB). And after six months without sync or login, AnkiWeb data may be deleted. Your local cards remain intact.

Moving from Anki to checkst

In Anki Desktop or AnkiMobile, export the deck as .apkg.
Include Media tick, otherwise images and audio will be missing.
Include Scheduling Information tick. Without it, according to the manual, Anki removes the scheduling information as well as the tags "marked" and "leech" from the package. With the tick, your learning progress is stored in the file, wherever you take it later.
Get the file onto the iPhone via AirDrop or the Files app and open it with checkst. Your learning progress is kept by default; if you wish, you can reset it on import.

Conclusion

Stay with Anki if you work on the desktop, need add-ons, build many image-occlusion cards yourself, study with AnKing, or want live sync between laptop and iPhone. The €29.99 for AnkiMobile is then money well spent.
Try checkst if you mainly study on the iPhone or iPad, want to create cards from lecture notes and photos with AI, study with your study group, and want an app you can understand without a manual.

You take your Anki decks along via .apkg. And if you don't like it, you can export them back again.