u/Honori5

I’m curious what Anki has actually helped people achieve in real life.

For me, the biggest thing was learning a lot of English vocabulary and expressions. The interesting part is that I haven’t reviewed some of those cards for around 5 years, but when I see those words or expressions again, I still remember them.

Meanwhile, there are many things I studied in school that I barely remember at all.

So I’m wondering:

What has Anki genuinely helped you learn or retain?

Did it help you pass an exam, learn a language, get better at your job, remember medical/legal/technical knowledge, or something else?

I’m especially interested in concrete examples, not just “it helped me study.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m really tired of every language learning tool becoming another monthly subscription.

I don’t mind paying for useful tools, but paying every month just to read my own books, save words, or review vocabulary feels excessive. Especially when I might only use the app a few times a week.

The main thing I wanted was simple:

• upload my own EPUBs
• read without distractions
• select words or phrases while reading
• save vocabulary with the original sentence
• export it to Anki

I ended up using Smart-Reader for this, and it fits my workflow better than most bigger language apps because it’s more focused on reading and vocabulary, not courses or gamification.

Right now it also lets you try all the features without limitations, which is nice if you just want to test it with a real book before deciding if it’s useful.

Curious if anyone else feels the same about subscription fatigue with language apps.