The Basic plan is free, with unlimited sets and notes as well as Learn, Practice Test and Spaced Repetition. AI summaries are limited to one per month on Basic. Knowt Plus was discontinued in July 2025; the paid plan is now called Student Ultra.

What does Knowt Student Ultra cost?

The German App Store lists 17.99 EUR and 29.99 EUR per month, and 69.99 EUR, 99.99 EUR, 129.99 EUR and 179.99 EUR per year. The store page does not explain which price applies to your account.

Is Knowt available in German?

According to the help, the mobile app can be switched to German, the website cannot. The App Store listing names only English. The exam preparation targets US tests such as AP, SAT and ACT.

checkst vs. Knowt: AI study app or flashcard app?

Q: Can Knowt import Anki decks?

Not as .apkg. According to the Knowt help, you transfer terms and definitions into a table and paste them as text. Images and learning progress are not covered.

Knowt positions itself as a free Quizlet alternative and is above all one thing: an AI engine that turns PDFs, slides, YouTube videos and lecture recordings into notes, cards, tests and even podcasts. checkst is a flashcard app for the iPhone that also uses AI when building cards, but is primarily built so that you can reliably review those cards for years.

So the question is: do you need a tool that processes material, or one that retains knowledge?

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

The comparison at a glance

	checkst	Knowt
Platforms	iPhone and iPad	iPhone, iPad, Android, Web
Free version	Core features free, without ads	Basic: unlimited sets and notes; one AI summary per month
Payment model	Pro 4.99 EUR for six months (subscription, renews automatically)	Student Ultra: in the German App Store 17.99 EUR or 29.99 EUR per month, 69.99 EUR to 179.99 EUR per year
Algorithm	FSRS	Spaced repetition mode with Again/Hard/Good/Easy, algorithm not named
.apkg import	yes, with learning progress	no; paste terms and definitions as text
Export	.apkg with media	PDF and sharing within the app
Quizlet import	no	yes, via import function or Chrome extension
AI	Cards from text, PDF, photos; on-device or your own OpenAI key	PDF, images, video, slides, audio, YouTube, live lecture; chat with “Kai”, tests, podcasts
Offline	yes, decks stored locally	documented offline mode not found
Language	German	mobile app can be switched to German according to help, website cannot

Where Knowt is ahead

Something can be made from almost any material. PDFs, images, videos, presentations, audio, Google Drive, YouTube, even the live recording of a lecture: Knowt’s AI Summarizers turn these into notes or flashcards, with adjustable language and level of detail. Afterwards you can chat with the assistant Kai about your material, take practice tests, generate podcasts, or have yourself quizzed orally via “Call Kai”. checkst can process text, PDFs and photos, but not videos, audio or lecture recordings.

Quizlet move. Knowt has its own import function for Quizlet sets and a Chrome extension. According to Knowt, Quizlet can block the extension, in which case the route via copying and pasting remains. checkst imports Anki files, but not directly from Quizlet.

Generous free learning. Unlimited sets, notes and storage, plus Learn, Practice Test, Spaced Repetition and Match, all included in Basic. Knowt Plus was discontinued in July 2025, and according to Knowt, many features were made free as a result.

Platforms. iPhone, iPad, Android and web, with sync of files and learning progress. checkst is only available on iOS.

Where checkst is ahead

An algorithm with a name. Knowt’s spaced repetition mode asks Again, Hard, Good or Easy and lets you set new cards per day and intervals. Which algorithm lies behind it is not documented. checkst plans with FSRS, the Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler. For a semester or a state exam, where many cards must be spread over months, this is the part that matters.

Anki decks work. Knowt does not import .apkg. According to the help, you copy terms and definitions into a table and paste them as text. Images, audio, cloze cards and your learning progress are not covered by this procedure. checkst opens .apkg files directly, with media, and renders Anki templates such as cloze and type-in.

You can leave again. Knowt’s official export guide describes PDF and sharing within the app, not .apkg export. checkst exports .apkg, Anki’s own format.

Offline. The research did not find a documented offline mode for Knowt, and one Reddit user writes that they always need Wi-Fi. This is a single report, but it is a signal. checkst stores your decks on the iPhone, and the on-device AI also runs without a network.

Privacy. According to its privacy policy, Knowt mainly uses data centers in the USA and names advertising and analytics providers that collect identifiers, activity, device and location data. Which language model is behind Kai is not documented. checkst generates cards on the device by default using Apple’s Foundation Models, and there is no advertising. On Reddit, however, one user mentions “annoying ads” with Knowt.

Built for German students. Knowt’s paid exam preparation targets US tests such as AP, SAT and ACT; the research found no orientation toward German curricula or the Abitur. According to the help, the mobile app can be switched to German, the website cannot, and the App Store listing names only English. checkst has been in German from the start.

Prices: unclear

In the German App Store, Knowt lists two monthly prices for Student Ultra (17.99 EUR and 29.99 EUR) and four annual prices (69.99 EUR, 99.99 EUR, 129.99 EUR, 179.99 EUR). The website shows 24.99 USD per month or 95.99 per year, while the help, by contrast, names 149.99 USD for the annual plan. You only see which price applies to you at checkout. On Trustpilot, someone also reports charges despite cancellation, but this is not independently confirmed.

checkst Pro costs 4.99 EUR for six months and renews automatically until you cancel. The core features cost nothing.

Combine both?

Possible, with compromises. You can use Knowt to create a summary from a lecture recording and transfer the key points into checkst as cards. It is not convenient, because Knowt does not export Anki files. Simpler: load the lecture handout as a PDF into the checkst Split-View Creator and have it suggest cards there.

Conclusion

Knowt fits if you want to quickly create study material from videos, audio and lecture recordings, are coming from Quizlet, learn on Android or in the browser, or are preparing for US tests.
checkst fits if you learn with flashcards on the iPhone over the long term, want FSRS, use Anki decks, learn offline, and want to keep your cards as .apkg.