Brainscape vs Gizmo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- AI-powered flashcard maker
- Spaced repetition algorithm
- Expert-curated flashcard marketplace
- Create multimedia flashcards
- Collaborative content creation
- Active recall and self-assessment
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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!
Gizmo
Transform any content into interactive flashcards and quizzes with AI. Utilize spaced repetition and active recall for effective learning, or explore a vast library of pre-made study decks. Gamified features make studying engaging and fun.
- AI content import
- Scan handwritten notes
- Interactive quizzing
- Spaced repetition
- Pre-made flashcard decks
- Study organization
- Gamified learning
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Gizmo is the easiest way to learn - AI Import: Import anything and turn it into flashcards fast! You can convert Quizlet, Anki, YouTube, PDF, Notes, PowerPoint, and more! - Scan notes: Scan handwritten notes to turn them into flashcards and quizzes - Quizzing: Fun quizzes make learning feel like a game - Spaced repetition and active recall: Gizmo uses the most advanced techniques to help you remember what you learn - Pre-made decks: Quickly find 1,000,000+ free public flashcards made by other students - Organised: Organise your studying with files and decks - Gamified: Make study into a game! - Free flashcards - AI learning assistant / AI tutor - Active recall quizzes - Spaced repetition - Leaderboards and study games - Simple and minimalistic aesthetic - Scan pictures and photos to make flashcards - Shared decks - Multiple choice questions - Written questions As seen on TikTok and Instagram Terms of use - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Gizmo at every 4 days against Brainscape's every 3 weeks. Gizmo also leads on chart position (#16 vs #166). Brainscape's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 65%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Brainscape sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and Gizmo sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Brainscape against 4.8 for Gizmo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22K and 16K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Brainscape's written reviews are positive against 65% of Gizmo's.
Brainscape ships an update every 3 weeks, Gizmo every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Brainscape | Gizmo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (22K ratings) | 4.8 (16K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.7% of reviews — better | 65.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 22K — better | 16K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #166 | #16 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 195 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Brainscape | GIZMO AI LTD |
Customer experience
Brainscape
Gizmo
User reviews
Brainscape
From 22K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Gizmo
From 16K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Helpful for studying and learning
- 👍 Engaging and motivating features
- 🎓 Useful for students and academics
- 🤖 Effective AI-powered tools
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy at times
- ⏱️ Restrictive time limits and lives system
- 💰 Pushing for paid subscription
- 🌐 Limited language support
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
Gizmo
Reported bugs
4 issues- Flashcards not saving properly
- Importing notes/PDFs not working reliably
- Freezing and crashing issues
- Inconsistent behavior across platforms
Requested features
4 requests- Allow more customization of flashcards
- Improve stability and reduce glitches
- Provide more language options
- Offer a way to delete decks permanently
In-app purchases
Brainscape
- Brainscape Pro$19.991 Month
- Brainscape Pro$59.996 Months
- Brainscape Pro$95.991 Year
- Brainscape Pro Lifetime$199.99
Gizmo
- Gizmo Unlimited$6.997 Days
- Gizmo Unlimited$12.991 Month
- Gizmo Unlimited$14.997 Days
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Gizmo Unlimited$24.991 Month
- Gizmo Unlimited$29.997 Days
- Gizmo Unlimited7 Days trial$51.001 Year
- Gizmo Unlimited$77.991 Year
- Gizmo Unlimited7 Days trial$102.991 Year
- Gizmo Unlimited$154.991 Year
- Gizmo Unlimited$309.991 Year
- 1000 Coins$1.99
- 5000 Coins$4.99
- 30,000 Coins$19.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- 60,000 Coins$29.99
- 100,000 Coins$39.99








