Comparison

Glimpse vs Retrieve

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

Head to head
About

Glimpse

Study effectively with interactive widgets on your home screen. Flip flashcards, take quizzes, and track your progress without opening the app. Create custom study decks or explore curated collections.

Highlights
  • Interactive home screen widgets
  • Flashcard flipping and quizzes
  • Fill-in-the-blank recall tests
  • Progress tracking and stats
  • Spaced repetition learning
  • Custom deck creation
  • Curated study collections
Features
Read full description

Study smarter with interactive widgets on your Home Screen. Flip flashcards, answer quizzes, test your recall with fill-in-the-blank, and track your progress without ever opening the app. Create decks from your notes or prompt, browse 50+ curated collections, and let Leitner-based spaced repetition surface what you need to review most. STUDY FROM YOUR HOME SCREEN - Flip through flashcards with auto-advance - Answer multiple-choice quiz questions with instant feedback - Test yourself with fill-in-the-blanks - Check off todo items with a tap - Read rotating quotes with attribution - Track countdowns to important dates or set duration timers - Play daily trivia questions CREATE & DISCOVER - Generate flashcards and quizzes from a prompt, PDFs, Word docs, images, or text files - Browse and import curated collections by category - Import from CSV and other formats - Build decks and quizzes on the web or in the app - Instant sync keeps everything up to date across devices PRACTICE & TRACK - Focused full-screen flashcard and quiz sessions - Leitner-based priority ordering surfaces your weakest cards first - Track your study streak, daily reviews, and accuracy trends - See card mastery, deck breakdowns, and activity heatmaps - Test mode to check your knowledge without affecting stats MAKE IT YOURS - 25+ widget themes including gradients, seasons, time of day, and study buddies - Schedule different content for morning, afternoon, evening, and night - Small, medium, and large widget sizes - Share decks and quizzes with friends via link BUILT FOR PRIVACY - No ads, no trackers - Privacy-focused analytics that never collect personal data - Sign in with Apple - Your content is private by default Glimpse Pro unlocks card generation, priority ordering, premium themes, higher deck limits, and detailed study stats. Terms of Use (EULA): https://myglimpseapp.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://myglimpseapp.com/privacy

About

Retrieve

Features
Read full description

Retrieve is a flashcard app that tells you what to study each day. It schedules every card so you see it right before you'd forget it, which is the fastest way to actually remember things. Pay once. No subscription, no ads, no account. HOW IT WORKS Make a deck and add cards. Each day, Retrieve shows you the cards that are due. Flip a card, tap how well you knew it (Again, Hard, Good or Easy), and Retrieve picks the next date for it. There's nothing to set up. GET YOUR CARDS IN • Type cards one at a time, including fill-in-the-blank cards • Paste a list of terms and definitions. Retrieve works out the format. • Import a CSV or TSV spreadsheet • Import .apkg deck files, with their images and tags • Turn a photo of a diagram, map or textbook page into cards that each hide one label STUDY WITHOUT GETTING BURIED • New cards are capped at 20 per deck per day (you can change it), so a big deck doesn't flood you • Each deck shows how many cards are due today • The grade buttons show when you'll see the card again • Cards you miss come back later in the same session • Optional daily reminder at a time you pick • Study by tag, or review ahead when you want extra practice FIND AND TRACK • Search every card in every deck from the main screen • See your day streak, total reviews and cards learned YOUR CARDS STAY WITH YOU No account, no sign-in, no analytics. Export any deck as a CSV whenever you want. PRICE Free for one deck of up to 150 cards. A one-time $9.99 purchase gives you unlimited decks and cards. No subscription.

Screenshots

Glimpse4 screens
Retrieve4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Glimpse at daily against Retrieve's every 2 days. Glimpse also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). 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. Glimpse sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Retrieve sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Glimpse ships an update daily, Retrieve every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Glimpse versus Retrieve: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlimpseRetrieve
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander DewhirstBlackhook Group LLC

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Glimpse

Subscriptions2
  • Glimpse Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Glimpse Pro Annual$34.991 Year
One-time8
  • Kitten Theme$0.99
  • Pup Theme$0.99
  • Autumn Theme$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Owl Theme$0.99
  • Summer Theme$0.99
  • Winter Theme$0.99
  • Hedgehog Theme$0.99
  • Spring Theme$0.99
1 purchases

Retrieve

One-time1
  • Unlock Retrieve$9.99

Questions

Is Glimpse free?
Glimpse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Retrieve free?
Retrieve is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Glimpse or Retrieve have ads?
Neither Glimpse nor Retrieve shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Glimpse or Retrieve?
Glimpse ships an update daily, and Retrieve every 2 days. Most recently, Glimpse was updated on October 10, 2026 and Retrieve on October 18, 2026.

Other comparisons