# CleverDeck — user reviews > 70 indexed App Store user reviews of CleverDeck by Tea Time, Inc., rated 4.60/5 from 279 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cleverdeck/id881765907/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cleverdeck/id881765907.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 225 · 4★ 29 · 3★ 6 · 2★ 3 · 1★ 16 ## What do users think of CleverDeck? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 🎯 Effective spaced repetition algorithm for vocabulary retention - 🖼️ High-quality images that reinforce learning - 🎤 Native speaker pronunciation (real humans, not robots) - 📚 Comprehensive pre-built language decks (3000+ words) - ✨ Aesthetically pleasing and polished interface design - 📝 Example sentences for context and usage - 🎨 Customizable card settings and learning parameters - 🔄 Flexible card editing and personalization options - 💰 Affordable pricing compared to competitors - 🦊 Cute mascot and engaging visual design - ⚡ Smooth and intuitive user experience - 📱 Works offline for on-the-go learning **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent app crashes and stability issues - 🔌 Network errors preventing deck access - 📵 Back button unresponsive on newer iPhones - 💳 Billing issues (charged without access to premium features) - 📧 Developer non-responsive to support emails - 🚫 App no longer actively supported or maintained - 🔄 Progress loss and card duplication bugs - 🖼️ Image search functionality broken or limited - 🎤 Audio recording issues and inconsistencies - ⚠️ Cards appearing on both sides unexpectedly - 🔀 Category settings not syncing correctly - 📉 Limited language options available **Commonly reported bugs** - Back button unresponsive on newer iPhones - Network error preventing deck access and login - App crashes when deleting cards - Progress tracking resets unexpectedly - Cards reappear after being marked as learned - Audio recordings duplicate across multiple cards - Image search returns no results - Quizlet import parsing errors - Images display on both sides of cards - Category settings apply to wrong categories - Custom card edits not saving properly - Card count doubling unexpectedly - Premium subscription not granting access to full deck - Inability to add new decks with error messages **Most requested features** - Sentence pronunciation (audio for example sentences) - Ability to select multiple images per card - Image markup/annotation tools within the app - Reverse card practice (target language to English) - Access to complete list of mastered cards - Grammar and conjugation decks - Kanji deck for Japanese learners - Ability to copy/duplicate decks for bidirectional practice - Online deck creation on website - More language options (Swahili, Korean, etc.) - One-time purchase option instead of subscription - Gamification features to increase engagement - Advanced filtering and search capabilities - Notifications for upcoming card reviews - Latin American Spanish pronunciation variants ## Newest reviews (11 of 70) ### 2/5 — Great content, but some frustrating formatting on newer iPhones *2025-03-08, version 1.2.1* On newer iPhones, the “back” button does not respond to touch commands. Occasionally I tap it *just right* and it works, but 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t respond. This seems like a pretty simple fix, but has been an issue for a while. ### 4/5 — Sadly broken- Developer non responsive *2021-06-13* After happily using this for years, it suddenly doesn’t work anymore. The developer used to be responsive, I did email him in the past and found him to be very helpful. Now, there’s no answer to my emails. It’s too bad because this used to be a great program. ### 3/5 — Great app with bugs *2021-01-04, version 1.2.1* Seems like the app hasn’t been updated in a while. I can’t seem to access other decks nor get new cards even though I have an active subscription. Real shame coz I enjoy using it. ### 4/5 — Good flash card set *2020-11-05* One-way flash cards: Q. English A. French, with audio file of pronunciation and with single example sentence. Useful words, so far. Spaced repetition feature has appropriate intervals. Generally appropriate and occasionally clever/memorable photo backgrounds. Irritating exception: strong = fort. Black bodybuilder with chain draped over shoulders - racist (or SM/kink) image. ### 4/5 — I want to like this app :( *2020-08-30, version 1.2.1* Really nice looking app. Things seems to work well, and the developer clearly put a lot of time into polishing it. But five minutes in, the app lacks such basic things, I’m bailing on it. Maybe I am an atypical user? Here’s all I want to do: - Create a card — great, this is easy, one tap - Search the web for images for my vocabulary targets, e.g., “ตรวจ” (Thai word meaning to check, examine, inspect) — this does not work well. Aside from requiring two taps every time (minor complaint), the problem is that whatever image search service they are using has extremely poor and limited results, at least for the Thai language. Like 10 image results total, and most are YouTube thumbnails or spammy images with text all over them. - Select a few images from the results — fail. Unfortunately you can only pick one image, which makes it almost impossible to represent concepts easily (since one image is almost never enough to represent a concept, but 2–3 images can usually represent a concept easily). Also, the images are forced into a portrait aspect ratio and are squashed into non-square pixels if you try to zoom the images out. - I want to be able to mark up the images. I am surprised the app doesn’t have a simple markup feature! Surely it is going to take 10X as long to mark up an image outside the app and then import it, as it would to use a very basic in-app markup pen. - I want to put my target vocabulary on the back of each card (e.g., “ตรวจ”) — easy, just one tap to flip the card and another tap to start typing. That works well. A great-looking app, but it can’t do the most basic things I need. I guess I’ll stick with Anki, which is way too complicated and slow to use, but still way faster for my basic needs than trying to use Cleverdeck plus some assortment of Google image search and a pic-stitcher app and a markup app. :( Good job on the app, I guess, but it’s just not useful for me. I must be a very atypical user since the app has a lot of five-star reviews. ### 3/5 — Useful app with significant bugs and limits *2020-01-12, version 1.2.1* I’ve been using CleverDeck daily for two months to improve my French vocabulary. The built-in deck of 3000 words is fairly useful - the algorithm for reminding you of cards, as well as the connection if each word to an image and native speaker, I find, dramatically improves how quickly I learn. The deck covers a lot of words that come up in daily life, though it would be nice if it covered more of the grammatical words / connectives that you hear over and over again in both oral and written French. My main problem is with CleverDeck’s bugs and stability. It crashes frequently (once every 2-3 days), which can be rather disappointing when you have cycled through 200 cards and have to go back to the beginning. But worse is when you try to add your own cards to the deck. Getting images and sounds to stick to their corresponding card is, to put it mildly, a frustratingly hit and miss process. ### 4/5 — Great App! *2019-12-29, version 1.2.1* This is really an easy to use and stylish app! I’m using it everyday to teach Turkish vocab to my kids. It has a couple of minor bugs with searching photos on the web and loss of audio records when editing text. I would have given it 5 stars, had these bugs weren’t encountered. ### 2/5 — Great App, But it Has Its Issues *2019-12-17* Been using CleverDeck for about six months and I’ve been generally enjoying it. However, about six months ago the app dropped all my progress and added all my old “mastered” cards back into my deck. Now, I can’t make learned cards advance past five days, so every fifth day I’m slammed with around 1000 cards which repeat back to the fifth day. So be aware that you can put some time into this app and you might be forced to restart or move to a new app. Food for thought. ### 4/5 — Question about importing decks *2019-10-21* I love the aesthetics. The fox is uber cute. The SRS is great; keeps me doing just enough to remember my flash cards without binging on a hundred new cards just to forget them the next day. Unfortunately, I have had problems importing decks from quizlet. I was able to do it once but every deck thereafter has not worked. I get an error message saying there was an error parsing the cards. Is it something in the formatting of how I write them in quizlet? ### 3/5 — My only wish *2019-07-27, version 1.2.1* I only wish it pronounced the sentence at the bottom too ### 5/5 — Worth the investment!! *2018-12-29, version 1.2.1* I’ve used this app for two years now. I teach at an international school and therefore am in the company of many language learners. I regularly suggest this app and frequently hear back that people have found it to be one of their go-to resources. The images are wonderful, as are the “enough but not too much” ability to customize the settings (choose how the information is presented, which categories to focus on, how frequently to review, etc) and the interface when quizzing. Swipe left if you got it wrong (the card will appear again shortly, up if you don’t quite nail it (you’ll see it the same session if you study long enough), or right if you got it (won’t appear until a future session); you can also long press to remove a card completely or edit it. I particularly like that the words are used in context of authentic sentences. So much of the vocabulary I know is due to CleverDeck. I’ve even had occasion to communicate with the developer and he has been incredibly friendly and responsive. I suggest you visit the app at least once a day while waiting for a friend or some other brief moment of your day where you want to feel productive without doing actual work (CleverDeck never feels like a chore). Don’t limit yourself to free apps like DuoLingo that seem designed for people who don’t really intend to master a new language. Make an investment in your own learning with this app. You’ll find it easy to sustain interest over time with this one! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — App no longer supported *2022-10-03, version 1.2.1* This app was an amazing way to study a language. I was using this to study French and and great success. I was a premium member but it appears this app is no longer supported. I have emailed the contact email address (Justin) but have had no luck. I am very disappointed as this app was the best way to learn vocabulary! I hope the developer gets it running once again. ### 1/5 — No longer being supported *2022-09-07, version 1.2.1* Much prefer the Reword French flash card app anyway. ### 1/5 — Takes your money. Great gives you nothing. *2021-09-14, version 1.2.1* If you pay for the premium, it will take your money but not give you the subscription. You will still only have access to 100 words. ### 1/5 — No Access to Decks *2021-02-02, version 1.2.1* I have tried daily for two weeks or more to open a deck, but I continue to get a “network error “. I have a paid subscription but am told I don’t have an account! I have emailed Justin but never received any response! ### 1/5 — Couldn’t use it *2021-02-02, version 1.2.1* Paid for the premium version, but every time I tried to use it got message network error. Never got access to the premium materials. ### 1/5 — App no longer supported? *2021-01-08* Update, 7 Jan 21: So sad this app no longer appears to be supported...was a premium member, but now I can’t log in or access my deck beyond the first 100 cards. So sad! Have emailed the developer several times, but no luck. Loved this app and would add it again if it works. ****** Been practicing with the French deck for a few weeks - love this app! The graphics are really professional and vibrant, and often interesting or funny, making the words more memorable. The pronunciations sound natural, not too fast or slow, as if I’m overhearing something in real life instead of listening to a robot. The sentences/usage examples are also fun and great for putting the word in perspective. My one recommendation would be to add an option to hear the sentence being pronounced as well. For me, five new cards a day are plenty, which gives me time to review and really learn the ones I’ve missed without feeling pressured. I can honestly say I look forward to using this app every day - the cards are like a good book I love reading again and again. In fact, that’s the next app I’d recommend: a deck with a sentence on each card, that tells a story as you go along. Please make that! I hope this developer adds more apps to help language learners - I would give this ten stars if I could. So helpful - thank you! ### 1/5 — App no longer works *2021-01-06, version 1.2.1* This was hands down one of my favorite apps for language learning. I’ve been a paid subscriber for years. Recently I noticed I could not add any new decks to study and an error would pop up. I reached out to CleverDeck but no response. It’s been down for several months. Incredibly sad to see such a great app that I’ve recommended for years to go down this way. ### 1/5 — No Longer Supported *2020-12-18, version 1.2.1* I love this app and paid for the subscription. I now cannot get new cards as if my subscription has stopped even though they are still charging me. Now I can’t even sign in and states the network is down. I have emailed the developer multiple times with no response. This is a great app and so bummed it seems like it is no longer supported. ### 1/5 — Super helpful and very user friendly *2019-08-01, version 1.2.1* Really loving this app. Hoping to subscribe soon but having problems getting some things to work and not getting response from emails. - Cant figure out how to add sound for the text to speech function on custom cards. The manual is no help for where to locate the target fields. Mic recording is in plain sight but cant find where to set it up. - Picture search broke, wont return any search results. Still possible to get pics from safari or your own pics but takes longer - Would love to see Korean get added eventually. UPDATE* I think I’m done with this app. The author never responds to any emails and in addition to the above issues a much worse one has been happening that is INCREDIBLY aggravating. The app forgets that you’ve answered cards and basically doubles your workload. Youre like “oh crap I’m falling behind on cards” and theyre all the ones you’ve answered earlier in the day- plus more new ones. It happens with reshuffle too- drops you back down to 10 cards but then wake up in the morning its 90. God forbid then that you put off answering any of them because in another day youre up to 2-300. I had to reset my deck before making it all the way through and now its happening again. My card count doubled today. Also along with forgetting you answered a card, it also forgets that you’ve edited a card. I loved this app and still want to love it, but no updates to these problems are making it impossible. Also it would be nice if you could copy a deck so that you can practice the deck forward and backward concurrently instead of either erasing your progress or manually creating another 2000 cards. No email return on if this was possible either. ### 1/5 — Can not import *2018-09-29, version 1.2.1* Keeps saying parsing error when I tried to import from Quizlet... have to recreate all of your flashcards ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — The best language flashcard app *2025-01-26* I tried other apps when this one temporarily went down. They weren't even close to how effective cleverdeck is. So glad it came back ### 5/5 — Language learning *2024-11-24* This app is without a doubt the best way to learn foreign language vocab. Other apps have spaced repetition, but only this one has the correct pronunciation (ie. real person, not a robot) and pictures to reinforce. The cards were recorded by native language teachers. Why would anyone waste their time making inferior cards with Anki? Thank you so much for making this amazing app. ### 5/5 — Great app *2022-12-19, version 1.2.1* So glad I found this. Helping me learn French. ### 5/5 — Fantastic & Underrated *2022-09-17* This is an amazing app. It uses a spaced-repetition algorithm, and the cards are . . . aesthetically pleasing. Highly so. Wonderfully so. That might seem like a silly comment—but little things like that matter. The images are on point; the colors are vivid; the font is just right; each card has an example sentence; and there's a top-notch recording of a human voice for each word. That sounds like a simple recipe, and I would have thought that there would be other apps that have all of those seemingly simple elements. There aren't, at least not that I've found. I say "underrated" only because this app has far fewer downloads and ratings than it deserves. It's a diamond in the rough. Download it. Use it. Сейчас! * FYI, my review is based on the Russian cards; I've not studied any other language on this app. ### 5/5 — Thankful for CleverDeck! *2022-07-17, version 1.2.1* An awesome way to absorb new vocabulary. This app has been incredibly useful. Thank you to the makers for creating this. Great value for money! ### 5/5 — Language learning *2021-02-09, version 1.2.1* This app is BY FAR the best way to learn foreign language vocab. Other apps have spaced repetition, but only this one has the correct pronunciation (ie. real person, not a robot) and pictures to reinforce. The cards were recorded by native language teachers. This is the app I’ve been searching for now for so many years!!!! Why would anyone waste their time making inferior cards with Anki? Is it easy? Of course not. But it really really works with time and patience... ### 5/5 — Great app. Not currently working. *2021-01-12, version 1.2.1* Brilliant app. But currently not working with ‘network error’ preventing use. What’s going on? Is it being fixed? You still charged me for my subscription and took my money. What is happening with the app?? ### 5/5 — John O’Neill *2020-11-02, version 1.2.1* Excellent way to learn basic vocabulary and at less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. The pictures help but the staggered repitition means that you get a gauge of what you know and what you need to learn. It will not teach you the language on its own but it is my vocabulary foundation. Try to learn enough basic words to get started, clearing the deck and start again before moving on as some of the basic words get hidden for many months if you go deep into the vocabulary and you can forget them. ### 5/5 — Great App for learning vocabulary *2019-08-24* Spaced repetition is the best way to memorize things for long term retention and CleverDeck is the best app I’ve used. I used it to get a solid foundation of vocabulary when I started learning Spanish. It progressed in stages in addition to being spaced repetition, it started with recognition; then recall; then spelling correctly; and finally just the sound. My vocabulary level progressed very rapidly and yours should too if you use it daily. Downsides are... - a limited number of decks but you can create your own. - the vocabulary lists are only 3000 words which is a lot for a beginner but if your goal is reach higher levels of fluency you will outgrow the decks. That being said you can add to the deck if you so choose. ### 5/5 — Outstanding - pictures make all the difference *2019-03-19, version 1.2.1* I have used many of the flashcard apps for learning French (especially brainscape and mosalingua) before finding this one. However ..I absolutely love this app more and use it every day. (I am about halfway through the 3000 french words.) I find the pictures absolutely critical to helping me remember the words They are well thought out pictures. I like having a separate deck with french words that I have made from my studies (I wish there was some way to add authentique french sounds to the word cards that I make) $40 per year is a bargain, in my opinion compared to whats on offer for learning languages. This is the cheapest, fastest, most engaging way to build vocabulary. I have had no problems and it runs well. Thank you very much to the developer!!! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*