How to make flashcards from a PDF on your Mac
Make flashcards from a PDF on a Mac: import it into Koi, choose Make study notes, and get a summary, key points, flashcards and a quiz you study with spacing.
Start here
Anki is still the one to beat on a Mac
Anki is free on Mac, for macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon and Intel, with free sync through AnkiWeb. AnkiDroid is free on Android, and AnkiMobile is $24.99 once on iPhone. Cards can hold pictures, sound, video and scientific markup, add-ons extend it, and its site says it handles decks of 100,000 cards and more. Its scheduler now offers FSRS, which Anki's manual calls an alternative to its legacy SM-2 algorithm.
That's a lot for free, and most people should stay. The reasons to look elsewhere are often about the work around the cards: writing them all by hand, keeping them apart from your notes, or wanting AI to make them from a PDF.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about another app comes from its own site, checked October 16, 2026. We didn't run tests.
Stay
Stay on Anki if
- You study on your phone. Koi has no iPhone or Android app and no sync.
- You want it free. Anki on Mac costs nothing; Koi has no free plan.
- Your cards use pictures, sound or video, or add-ons you rely on.
- You tune your schedule. Anki has FSRS and deck options; Koi has no settings for it.
- You have years of review history. It can't come with you to another app.
The list
5 flashcard apps for Mac, Anki included
1. Koi
Best for: Cards made for you from PDFs, slides and lectures, inside your own notes
In Koi, flashcards live on a page. Type /flashcards for a two-column table, front and back, and write your own, or let Koi write them: import a PDF, a Word file or slides, choose Make study notes, and you get a page with a summary, the key points, flashcards and a multiple-choice quiz. A recorded class can get the same: tap Fn + ⌃, pick In person, and say yes to notes when it ends.
A Study pill shows one card at a time: Space for the back, then Again, Hard, Good or Easy, or 1 to 4. Each card comes back when it's due, spaced out the way Anki does it, and when each is due is kept with the page on your Mac. Tap Fn + ⌘ and say “quiz me on what I got wrong” to go over your misses, or turn on Study mode and Koi keeps a card for each thing you got wrong while it teaches you.
What you give up: phones, sync, shared decks, a free plan, and the tuning Anki offers. Making cards with AI uses Koi's AI, which is online; writing and studying them doesn't. Pro is $20 a month after a 3-day trial, or Lifetime from $59 once.
2. RemNote
Best for: Notes and flashcards in one app, on every device
RemNote keeps notes and flashcards together, with PDF markup, and has a Mac app for Apple silicon and Intel plus iPhone and Android apps. Free includes unlimited notes and flashcards, 3 annotated PDFs and 5 AI cards from text, PDFs and slides.
Pro is $8 a month, or $96 a year. Pro with AI, which adds its Learn PDF tool for flashcards, quizzes and summaries, is $18 a month or $216 a year. It's the closest thing to Koi's idea with the phone apps Koi lacks.
3. Mochi
Best for: Simple Markdown cards, offline, with no sign-up
Mochi is a spaced repetition app where you write notes and cards in Markdown. It has a Mac app for Intel and Apple silicon, plus Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and the web. Free is unlimited and offline, with no sign-up, and your data stays on your device. Pro, $5 a month, adds sync across devices.
4. Knowt
Best for: Free AI study tools in a browser
Knowt makes notes, study guides and flashcards from PDFs, slides and videos, and can record lectures. Its site says flashcards and learn mode are free, with a separate spaced repetition mode. It lists the web, iPhone and Android, but not a Mac app, so on a Mac you'd use it in the browser.
5. Anki
Best for: Serious, long-term review, free on Mac, synced everywhere
Anki is on this list because, for many people, the right answer is to keep it. If the pain is making cards, one option is to let another app write them from your notes and copy the ones worth keeping into Anki by hand.
Comparison
Anki alternatives for Mac compared
From each app's own site, checked October 16, 2026.
| AI cards from files | Mac app | Phone | Price | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anki | No | Yes | Android free; iPhone $24.99 | Free on Mac | Long-term review everywhere |
| Koi | Yes, from PDFs, Word, slides and lectures | Yes, native | No | $20 a month, or Lifetime from $59 | Cards inside your notes |
| RemNote | 5 free, more with Pro with AI | Yes | Yes | Free; Pro $8 a month | Notes and cards on every device |
| Mochi | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Free; Pro $5 a month | Markdown cards, offline |
| Knowt | Yes, from PDFs, slides and videos | Not listed | Yes | Free flashcards | Free study tools online |
Head to head
Anki vs Koi
- Making cards: you write every Anki card. Koi writes them from a PDF, slides or a lecture, or you write them in a table.
- Where cards live: Anki keeps decks. Koi keeps cards on a page, next to your notes, equations and tables.
- Reviewing: both use Again, Hard, Good and Easy. Anki lets you tune the schedule and choose FSRS; Koi spaces cards out the way Anki does, with no settings.
- Media: Anki cards hold pictures, sound and video. Koi's cards are the front and back columns of a table.
- Devices: Anki is on every platform with free sync. Koi is one Mac.
- Price: Anki is free on Mac. Koi is a paid plan, with AI included up to a limit.
Before you switch
Can you bring your Anki decks?
Not into Koi. It has no Anki import or export, and your review history wouldn't come with you. Other apps may import decks; check their own docs before moving years of cards. If your cards are your main study tool, the sensible setup is often both: Anki for the decks you've built, and an app that makes new cards from new material.
Choosing
Which Anki alternative should you pick?
- Free, serious and everywhere? Stay on Anki.
- Notes and cards together, with phone apps? RemNote.
- Plain Markdown cards, offline, no account? Mochi.
- Free AI cards in a browser? Knowt.
- Cards made from your PDFs, slides and lectures, inside notes on a Mac? Koi.
See how it works step by step in how to make flashcards from a PDF on a Mac, or what else Koi does for students on the study tools page.
Keep exploring
Flashcards, study notes and a tutor, on your Mac
Koi's study tools for Mac: flashcards with spaced repetition, study notes from a PDF, Word file or slides, recorded lectures, and a Study mode that teaches.
Notes on your Mac, with tables, charts and math
Koi for Mac is an offline notes app with tables, 11 chart types, LaTeX, to-dos and flashcards. Export to Word or PDF, and start by typing or by talking.
How to record a lecture on your Mac, and study from it
How to record a lecture on a Mac with Voice Memos, Apple Notes or Koi's In person mode, get a transcript, and turn the class into study notes and flashcards.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Anki's desktop app is free on Mac, for macOS 13 or later, with free sync through AnkiWeb. AnkiMobile on iPhone is $24.99 once at the time of writing.
Mochi's free plan is unlimited and offline with a Mac app, and RemNote's free plan has unlimited notes and flashcards. Knowt is free in the browser.
No. Koi has no Anki import or export, so your decks and review history stay in Anki.
Yes. Cards are rated Again, Hard, Good or Easy and come back when they're due, spaced out the way Anki does it. Unlike Anki, there are no settings to tune the schedule.
Koi writes flashcards, a summary, key points and a quiz from an imported PDF, Word file or slides. RemNote and Knowt also make AI cards from PDFs.