How Much Does Anki Cost? Free — With One Big Asterisk

Anki is famously free — on desktop, Android, and the web. The iPhone app is a one-time ~$25, and the real cost is measured in setup time. Full breakdown.

Anki's pricing is refreshingly simple and genuinely generous: the desktop app (Windows/Mac/Linux), AnkiWeb, and the community-built AnkiDroid app for Android are all completely free. The one paid piece is the official iPhone/iPad app, AnkiMobile, a one-time purchase that has long sat around $24.99 — deliberately priced as the project's main funding source.

So: free almost everywhere, about $25 once if you're on iOS. As always, confirm the current price on the App Store — but this structure has been stable for over a decade.

Where the money actually goes

Anki is open source, and the developer funds full-time work on it through AnkiMobile sales. That's worth knowing for two reasons: buying the iOS app is closer to supporting a project than renting a service, and it explains why there's no subscription anywhere — there's nothing to keep paying for.

The free stack, spelled out

The asterisk: Anki's real price is time

Nobody quits Anki over money. People quit over the learning curve: deck options with a dozen interacting parameters, a dated interface, sync conflicts, and an add-on ecosystem that is both Anki's superpower and its tax. Expect to spend real hours learning the tool before it fades into the background — hours that are absolutely worth it for some learners (medical students running 20,000-card decks) and absolutely not for others (someone who wants to remember a language's vocabulary without becoming a hobbyist).

We wrote an honest comparison of who should and shouldn't choose it in the best Anki alternatives, and the underlying scheduling science both Anki and we use is explained in how spaced repetition algorithms work.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Anki iPhone app paid when everything else is free?

It's the project's funding model — a one-time purchase that supports development for every platform. iOS users can also review for free in the browser via AnkiWeb.

Are Anki add-ons free?

Almost all community add-ons are free (desktop only). Some creators accept donations.

Is there a subscription anywhere in Anki?

No. Syncing through AnkiWeb is free, and there's nothing to unlock monthly.

Anki vs paying for a simpler app — how should I decide?

Ask whether configuring tools energizes you. If yes, Anki is unbeatable value. If it drains you, a simpler tool you actually open daily beats a powerful one you avoid — the decision test in our app roundup takes five minutes.