Comparison

Brainscape vs Thinkific

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brainscape

This app uses AI and spaced repetition to help you learn faster and remember longer. Create your own multimedia flashcards or access a vast marketplace of expert-curated content for various subjects and exams. It's designed for serious learners who want to optimize their study time.

Highlights
  • AI-powered flashcard maker
  • Spaced repetition algorithm
  • Expert-curated flashcard marketplace
  • Create multimedia flashcards
  • Collaborative content creation
  • Active recall and self-assessment
Features
Read full description

Learn faster and remember longer with Brainscape, the AI flashcard app that combines scientifically proven spaced repetition and active recall. Create flashcards instantly from notes, PDFs, images, and text, or study millions of expert-created flashcards for exams, languages, certifications, and more. Whether you're switching from Anki or another flashcard app, Brainscape helps you study more efficiently. Brainscape’s intelligent study system is designed around proven cognitive science principles that help you learn faster and remember longer. By combining active recall, metacognition, and spaced repetition, Brainscape helps serious learners spend less time studying and retain more of what they learn. How Brainscape works. Study any subject using smart flashcards designed to maximize retention: - Actively recall answers instead of passively rereading notes - Rate your confidence from 1–5 after each card - Let Brainscape automatically optimize review timing using spaced repetition - Focus more time on difficult concepts and less on material you've already mastered This unique combination of active recall, self-assessment (metacognition), and spaced repetition is designed to help you learn more efficiently. Where do all of Brainscape’s awesome flashcards come from? Three places: 1. Exper-created flashcards: Study professionally designed collections covering: - Foreign languages - MBE (Bar Exam) - NCLEX - MCAT - AP courses - Series 7 - GRE - And many more 2. Community-created flashcards: Search millions of flashcards created by students, teachers, professionals, and organizations around the world. 3. Create your own flashcards: Instantly create multimedia flashcards from: - Notes - PDFs - Images - Documents - Text input Add images, audio, and collaborate with classmates or colleagues. Why learners all over the world use Brainscape - AI-powered flashcard creation - Scientifically designed spaced repetition - Active recall learning techniques - Progress tracking and study insights - Millions of existing flashcards ready to study - Available across web and mobile devices How much does it cost? Creating and sharing great text flashcards is FREE. (Woohoo! And sorry, we do have to charge for image creation for security reasons.) And for unlimited access to ALL of Brainscape's user-generated and premium, expert-curated content, as well as optional features, like bookmarks and card reversibility--or to me your content private, you can upgrade to Pro for $19.99 (monthly), $59.99 (every 6 months), or $95.99 (annually). Alternatively, you can unlock a LIFETIME of learning with Brainscape for a one-time cost of only $199.99 American dolla billz. The fine print: The 3 recurring subscriptions (monthly, semiannual, and annual) will renew automatically within 24 hours before the end of the current period, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You can cancel auto-renewal any time by going to Account Settings, and the cancellation will apply after the active subscription period is complete. Go ahead and learn more about our Terms and Privacy Policy at brainscape.com/terms. What’s on the horizon? It’s our vision to empower everyone, everywhere to rise to the challenge of personalized forever-learning. And for this reason, we love hearing from our user community: it’s through your feedback that we can continue to innovate our platform to be more convenient, efficient, and even fun and social to use!

About

Thinkific

Access courses and communities on your schedule, from anywhere. Learn with various lesson formats optimized for mobile and track your progress seamlessly. Stay connected with instructors and peers through integrated communities and activity feeds.

Highlights
  • Mobile course access
  • Progress tracking
  • Community interaction
  • Multiple lesson formats
  • Push notifications
  • On-the-go learning
Features
Read full description

Access your courses, engage with your community, and learn on the go with the Thinkific mobile app. With the app, you can: Pick up where you left off: Your progress tracking is saved automatically, so you can jump back in with one tap and keep moving forward across all your devices. Shop without switching screens Browse, purchase, and instantly access additional courses, downloads, and digital products — all from within the app. Enjoy a personalized experience: From your progress and recent courses to your profile, certifications, and notifications, your home screen provides a personalized experience that reflects your unique learning journey. Connect with your community: Join discussions, share ideas, message peers, and participate in live events — making every course a more interactive experience filled with key learning moments. Access an AI-powered learning assistant: Get instant answers, ask questions, and pick up conversations across web and mobile with Thinker, the AI-powered teaching assistant. Discover more to learn: Browse and explore new learning opportunities to continue building your skills. Whether you're learning for work, upskilling, or personal growth, everything you need is in one place with the Thinkific mobile app. Download the app and start learning today.

Screenshots

Brainscape4 screens
Thinkific4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Brainscape at 82% against Thinkific's 13%. Brainscape also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.8) and ratings volume (21K vs 104). Thinkific's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Brainscape sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Thinkific asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Brainscape holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brainscape has 21K ratings behind it against 104, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Brainscape's written reviews are positive against 13% of Thinkific's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brainscape ships an update every 3 weeks, Thinkific weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Brainscape versus Thinkific: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainscapeThinkific
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (21K ratings) — better1.8 (104 ratings)
Positive reviews82.1% of reviews — better12.9% of reviews
Number of ratings21K — better104
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB79 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrainscapeThinkific

Customer experience

Brainscape

All ratings21,463 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews941 reviews
Positive82.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative13.1%

Thinkific

All ratings104 ratings
Positive15.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative80.8%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive12.9%
Neutral8.6%
Negative78.5%

User reviews

Brainscape

From 21K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Amazing flashcard app
  • 👍 Great for studying and learning
  • 👍 Helpful for passing exams and tests
  • 👍 Convenient to use on mobile devices
  • 👍 Effective spaced repetition algorithm

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and syncing issues
  • 🔒 Limited functionality in free version
  • 👎 Difficult to edit and organize cards
  • 👎 Inaccuracies in some pre-made decks

Thinkific

From 104 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and clean interface design
  • 🚀 Fast performance when working properly
  • 📱 Convenient on-the-go learning capability
  • 💡 Branded app option available
  • 🎓 Good for course content delivery when functional

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
  • 🔐 Persistent login and authentication issues
  • 📵 Poor customer support and unresponsive team
  • 📱 Severe iPad/tablet compatibility problems
  • 🎬 Video playback issues and constant buffering

Bugs and requests

Brainscape

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when switching between cards
  • Syncing issues causing data loss
  • Difficulty importing and organizing custom cards
  • Inconsistent performance on different devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow more customization of cards (e.g., adding images, audio)
  • Improve search and browsing functionality
  • Provide more detailed progress tracking and statistics
  • Offer family/group subscription plans
  • Add support for more languages

Thinkific

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Login failures and constant sign-outs
  • App crashes on startup or when searching for courses
  • Gray/blank screen appearing on launch
  • Video playback freezing and buffering
  • Complete button missing or not clickable
Show 15 more
  • Resume content button not remembering position
  • Full-screen mode reverting to normal view
  • Video speed resetting from 1.5x to 1.0x
  • Content not loading on iPad/tablet devices
  • Navigation buttons covered by white blocks
  • Course list indefinitely loading
  • Search functionality not working
  • Password reset loop not functioning
  • App not recognizing enrolled courses
  • Landscape mode blocking bottom of page content
  • Pinch-to-zoom causing page navigation issues
  • Videos not playing after recent updates
  • App crashing when switching between apps
  • Unable to find school/business name in app
  • Unwanted Thinkific pop-ups on unbranded domains

Requested features

15 requests
  • Unified dashboard for multiple courses from different creators
  • Ability to manage multiple courses without logging out
  • AirPlay and casting support for videos
  • Offline download capability
  • PDF annotation and highlighting tools
Show 10 more
  • Direct messaging and member directory in communities
  • Event visibility and live session notifications
  • Calendar integration
  • Better course search and discovery
  • Persistent full-screen mode across videos
  • Video playback speed consistency
  • Improved resume functionality to remember exact position
  • Better landscape mode support
  • Course list filtering and sorting options
  • Direct app links for easy student access

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Brainscape

Subscriptions3
  • Brainscape Pro$19.991 Month
  • Brainscape Pro$59.996 Months
  • Brainscape Pro$95.991 Year
One-time1
  • Brainscape Pro Lifetime$199.99
None

Thinkific

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brainscape free?
Brainscape is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Thinkific free?
Thinkific is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brainscape or Thinkific?
Brainscape is rated higher. Brainscape averages 4.8 out of 5 from 21K ratings, while Thinkific averages 1.8 from 104 ratings.
Do Brainscape or Thinkific have ads?
Neither Brainscape nor Thinkific shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brainscape or Thinkific?
Brainscape ships an update every 3 weeks, and Thinkific weekly. Most recently, Brainscape was updated on October 14, 2026 and Thinkific on October 10, 2026.

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