Questions & answers

Cortex is currently in private beta on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, with an App Store release coming soon. Get notified when Cortex launches. Android and Windows releases are planned for the future.

Yes. Free includes creating, editing, studying, and sharing your own decks, syncing across devices, and 1 GB of cloud storage for your images and audio. Cortex Plus adds Anki import, downloads and updates from other people’s shared decks, contributions to their cards, and 10 GB of cloud media storage. US pricing is $7.99/month or $59.99/year. Regional prices are shown in the App Store before purchase.

Yes. You need a Cortex account to use the app, including on Free. Use the same account on each device to sync your cards, personal notes, and study progress. You can try the sample demos on this website without an account.

Create basic question-and-answer cards, cloze cards that hide words in a passage, and image occlusion cards that cover parts of an image. Cards support rich text, images, and audio. Try examples of each card type.

No. Think of the answer, reveal it, then choose Again, Hard, Good, or Easy based on how well you remembered. Cortex uses the Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler (FSRS) to plan your next review from your answers and review history. Choose a study preset to get started; advanced settings are available when you want them.

Yes. With Cortex Plus, you can import supported cards, fields, tags, images, and audio from an Anki package, and choose to bring your schedules and review history. You can also import progress into matching cards in a shared deck you have access to. Custom styling, scripts, and some templates or add-on features won’t carry over. You can keep using your original collection in Anki, but Cortex and Anki do not automatically sync cards or reviews with each other. See what transfers from Anki.

Yes. Once you’ve signed in and downloaded your decks, images, and audio, you can study and edit your own cards offline. Your changes save on your device and sync when you’re back online. Sign in with the same Cortex account on Mac, iPhone, and iPad to sync cards, personal notes, and study progress. Sync is included on Free. New downloads and shared deck updates need a connection.

Create and share your own deck for free. Cortex Plus lets you download other people’s shared decks and contribute new cards, corrections, and explanations. Deck moderators review contributions before publishing them. Everyone studies at their own pace, with personal notes and study progress kept private. Invite-only decks and private course material still require access.

With Cortex Plus, you receive new cards and updates when they’re published to shared decks you follow. Your personal notes, study progress, and study settings stay intact, so you can keep reviewing with the latest content.

If you cancel, Plus stays active until your paid period ends. After that, you can keep studying your own cards, imported cards, and shared decks you’ve already added. Shared deck updates pause, and you’ll need Plus to import more Anki content, download new shared decks, or contribute to other people’s decks.

Other learners, including shared deck owners and moderators, cannot see your personal notes, review history, or study progress. Private decks are available only to you and collaborators you authorize. If you publish a public deck, other learners can find it and access its shared content with the required plan or access grant. Invite-only decks require approved access. Private course material has its own membership requirements.