Bruner · vs Anki
If you've used Anki, you know the algorithm works and writing the cards is what breaks you. Bruner runs the same FSRS algorithm — except cards generate from your lessons, calibrated to where you got stuck, with a tutor that teaches the material before you ever see the queue.
Get early accessThe gold-standard spaced-repetition deck. You author the cards; the algorithm schedules reviews.
Full lessons with a tutor that asks before it tells, reviewed on the same FSRS engine.
Verdict
Anki for spaced review over material you already know. Bruner for actually learning it — lessons, exercises, and reviews in one tool.
Honest verdict
Anki is the right tool when
Bruner is the right tool when
Feature by feature
FSRS-based spaced repetition algorithm
Both run the modern algorithm — same retention math under the hood.
Course that teaches the concept first
Anki assumes you already know the material. Bruner teaches it.
Auto-generates cards from your sources
Dynamic exercise cards
Beyond flashcards: some of your cards are dynamically generated code tasks, scenarios, or questions on the same concept. Fresh every time.
A full-featured tutor, not just flip-cards
Capstone project to anchor learning
Open source, fully owned
Full algorithm tweakability
Anki exposes every FSRS knob; Bruner ships sensible defaults.
Card export (.apkg)
Pricing
Same algorithm, different shape
The Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler (FSRS) is the open algorithm Anki helped popularize. It models forgetting as a curve per card and schedules each review at the moment retention drops to a chosen target — 90% by default.
Bruner ships the same algorithm with the same default. Same retention math, same spacing intervals. We’re not reinventing what works.
What changes is the moment a card enters the deck. In Anki, you author it after you’ve learned the concept (or download a community deck and hope). In Bruner, the card is generated from the back-and-forth you just had — so the prompt is rooted in a memory of working through it, not a stripped-down fact.
FSRS schedule (DR = 0.9)
Reviews stretch as the card sticks. Identical to Anki's FSRS path.
Card generation
The deepest pain in any Anki workflow is the card-authoring tax. Most people quit Anki not because the algorithm fails, but because writing 200 cards by hand for a new chapter is tedious — and writing them well is even harder.
Bruner generates cards from sources you upload (textbook chapters, papers, slides) and from the back-and-forth itself. Cards aren’t just “what’s the definition of X” — they reactivate the question you struggled with two weeks ago.
And not every review reshows the same prompt. Some cards regenerate at review time as a fresh exercise on the concept — a code task, a scenario, a quick question. Spaced retrieval, not just spaced rereading.
You stay in the driver’s seat: every card is reviewable, editable, and exportable to .apkg if you decide to migrate.
Cards generated from one lesson
What's the difference between a CTE and a subquery?
Why does this query plan show a hash join, not nested loops?
Define ACID. What does the I stand for and why does it matter?
Earlier you got tripped up by index selectivity. Re-derive when an index helps.
Each card linked back to the moment it was earned.
You probably shouldn't — keep your decks, keep your routine. Bruner is for the part Anki doesn't do: the course that teaches the concept in the first place. If you already know the material and just want spaced retrieval over it, Anki is excellent and free. If you're learning new ground, Bruner generates the deck for you and runs reviews on the same FSRS schedule.
Yes. .apkg export is supported — you own your reviews and can take them with you. We're not interested in locking you into our review queue if you'd rather run it in Anki.
Both implement FSRS (Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler), the modern open algorithm. Same retention math, same desired-retention parameter (DR=0.9 by default). The difference is what's around the deck: Bruner builds the cards from a lesson you just had with the tutor, so each review reactivates more than rote text.
Excellent for established subjects (med school, language Top-2K wordlists). Hit-or-miss for everything else. Bruner generates cards from sources you upload (textbook chapters, papers, your own notes), so the deck reflects what you're actually trying to learn — not what someone else thought was important in 2017.
Fall 2026 private beta. Founder pricing locked for the life of your subscription.
23% off during beta · No credit card required