Comparison

Card Master vs Etch

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

Head to head
About

Card Master

This intelligent learning assistant uses a scientific memory algorithm based on the forgetting curve model to schedule personalized review sessions. It supports rich media notes, LaTeX, and code blocks, making it ideal for students, language learners, and professionals.

Highlights
  • Scientific memory algorithm (SM2)
  • Personalized review scheduling
  • Import Anki files (.apkg)
  • Multi-dimensional note management
  • Rich media support (images, audio, video)
  • LaTeX equation editor
  • Code highlighting
Features
Read full description

【Master the Forgetting Curve, Remember Everything Efficiently】​​ Card Master is an intelligent learning assistant powered by a scientific memory algorithm. It uses a proven forgetting curve model to schedule personalized review sessions, helping you effortlessly retain important information—whether you’re learning a language, preparing for medical or law exams, or capturing fleeting ideas. Why Choose Card Master? Clean and elegant user interface Scientific memory algorithm: Based on SuperMemo and Anki’s spaced repetition system (SM2), it dynamically adjusts review frequency to maximize retention. Powerful import function: Supports one-click import of Anki files (.apkg), making it easy to transition from other learning tools. Multi-dimensional note management: Use tags to organize notes and support text, images, audio, video, tables, LaTeX formulas, scanned documents, and even code blocks—perfect for all learning scenarios. Key Features ▸ Smart review scheduler: Adapts to your memory performance for painless long-term retention. ▸ Rich media support: Insert images, audio, video, checklists, and even annotate images or extract text from them. ▸ Professional content tools: LaTeX equation editor, code highlighting, text styling (superscript, subscript, links, code snippets), and online media playback. ▸ Efficiency boosters: Background audio playback, keyboard shortcuts, find-and-replace text, and customizable fonts to enhance focus. Perfect For: ▸ Students (postgraduate entrance exams, CET-4/6, finals) ▸ Language learners (vocabulary and grammar for English, Japanese, etc.) ▸ Professionals (certification exams, business knowledge, speech memorization) ▸ Civil service exam candidates (general knowledge review, practice tests) —— Whether you’re a student, exam taker, or knowledge worker, Card Master simplifies learning and turns memory into a habit. ​Download now and begin your journey toward efficient, scientific learning!​​ ——

About

Etch

Features
Read full description

Note: Etch's interface and its AI-generated definitions are in Chinese. It is built for Chinese speakers learning English. I built Etch because vocabulary never stuck for me. Words I looked up were gone the next day. My dictionary app held hundreds of saved words and not one of them had become mine. What I eventually understood is that the problem was not recall — it was writing. Reading a word ten times does less than writing it once. Psychologists call this the generation effect: producing the answer yourself leaves a far stronger trace than reading it. So Etch does one thing well. It makes you write the word. Capture without leaving what you're reading A Shortcut pulls the selected word in along with the sentence it appeared in. The sentence where you met the word is the sentence you'll see again at review time — words stripped of context are the hardest to keep. The entry fills itself in Pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, morpheme breakdown and common collocations arrive a few seconds after you add the word. Senses are ordered to fit the sentence you captured, rather than copied from a dictionary in fixed order. Review by writing, not by recognizing Write with a finger or Apple Pencil, get judged the moment you finish, and see letter by letter where you went wrong. Three modes: write from the meaning, write from the pronunciation, or fill the blank in a sentence. Recognizing a word is not the same as being able to write it — that difference is the whole point of Etch. Scheduling is handled for you Etch uses FSRS-5. It schedules each review from the word’s difficulty, stability, and current retrievability, aiming to bring it back as memory weakens rather than promising an exact moment of forgetting. One vocabulary across Mac and iPhone Capture on the Mac, review on the iPhone, progress syncs both ways. A home screen widget keeps today's words in front of you, and the ink darkens as you finish them. Etch is free, carries no ads, and does not sell your data. You can export your whole vocabulary at any time, and delete your account from inside the app.

Screenshots

Card Master4 screens
Etch3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Etch at weekly against Card Master's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Card Master ships an update every 3 weeks, Etch weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Card Master versus Etch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCard MasterEtch
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB11 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developer秀娟 牛宏 周

In-app purchases

None

Card Master

No in-app purchases

None

Etch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Card Master free?
Card Master is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Etch free?
Etch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Card Master or Etch have ads?
Neither Card Master nor Etch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Card Master or Etch?
Card Master ships an update every 3 weeks, and Etch weekly. Most recently, Card Master was updated on October 30, 2026 and Etch on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons