Apps To Use For Studying: 7 Powerful Tools To Learn Faster And Actually Remember Stuff – #3 Is The One Most Students Sleep On

So, you’re looking for the best apps to use for studying and don’t want to waste time downloading a bunch of useless stuff. Honestly, start with Flashrecall – it’s a flashcard app that basically does the boring part of studying for you: it creates cards from your notes, reminds you when to review, and uses spaced repetition so you actually remember things long-term. It’s way faster than making everything by hand, and you can turn images, PDFs, YouTube links, or plain text into flashcards in seconds. Grab it here on iPhone or iPad: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085 – if you’re serious about studying smarter, this should be the first app you install.

The Best Apps To Use For Studying (And How They Actually Help You)

Alright, let’s talk about apps to use for studying that actually make a difference, not just look good on your home screen.

There are a million study apps out there, but they mostly fall into a few categories:

• Flashcard / memory apps
• Note-taking and organization
• Focus / distraction-blocking
• Practice / quiz apps

I’ll walk you through the best ones in each category and show you how they fit together into a simple study setup. And yeah, Flashrecall is the star of the memory part, for good reason.

1. Flashrecall – The Study App You’ll Actually Use Every Day

If you only download one study app, make it Flashrecall:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

You know what’s cool about Flashrecall? It turns all your random study materials into smart flashcards in seconds, then automatically tells you when to review them so you don’t forget.

Why Flashrecall Is So Good For Studying

Flashrecall is built around two things that actually work for learning:

• Active recall – forcing your brain to pull the answer from memory
• Spaced repetition – reviewing right before you’re about to forget

Instead of you trying to remember when to review, Flashrecall:

• Schedules reviews automatically
• Sends study reminders so you don’t fall off
• Uses a spaced repetition system so hard cards show up more often, easy ones less

What You Can Do With Flashrecall

Flashrecall is super flexible. You can:

• Create flashcards instantly from almost anything:
• Images (class slides, textbook pages, whiteboards)
• Text (copy-paste from notes or websites)
• PDFs
• Audio
• YouTube links
• Or just type prompts manually if you like full control
• Study offline

Perfect for when you’re on the train, in a library with bad Wi-Fi, or pretending to listen in class.

• Chat with your flashcards

Stuck on a concept? You can literally chat with the card to get more explanation or context. It’s like having a tiny tutor inside your flashcards.

• Use it for anything:
• Languages (vocab, phrases, grammar rules)
• Exams (SAT, MCAT, boards, finals)
• School subjects (math formulas, history dates, bio concepts)
• University courses
• Medicine, law, business, certifications, you name it
• Use it anywhere

Works on iPhone and iPad, is fast, modern, and easy to use, and it’s free to start.

If you’re looking at different apps to use for studying and want something that actually moves the needle on your grades or memory, Flashrecall should be the core of your setup.

2. Notion or Apple Notes – For Organizing Your Brain

Flashcards are great for memorizing, but you still need a place to dump all your notes.

Apple Notes (Simple and Built-In)

If you don’t want to overcomplicate things:

• Create a folder per class
• Use checklists for to-dos and assignments
• Paste key points that you’ll later turn into Flashrecall cards

Super basic, but it works.

Notion (If You Want To Go A Bit Extra)

If you like structure and templates, Notion is great for:

• Class pages (syllabus, links, deadlines)
• Weekly study plans
• Databases of topics you’ve covered

A nice workflow:

1. Take notes in Notion or Apple Notes

2. End of the day, turn the most important points into Flashrecall cards

3. Let Flashrecall handle the review schedule for you

3. Forest or Focus To-Do – For Actually Sitting Down To Study

Knowing what to use is one thing. Actually sitting down to study is another.

Forest

Forest is a focus timer where you grow a virtual tree while you study:

• Set a 25–50 minute timer
• Don’t touch your phone
• If you leave the app, your tree dies

It sounds silly, but it’s surprisingly motivating.

How This Pairs With Flashrecall

A simple routine:

• Open Forest, start a 25-minute timer
• Open Flashrecall and do a review session
• When the timer ends, take a 5-minute break
• Repeat 3–4 times

This gives you focused, guilt-free study blocks where you know you’re actually getting stuff done.

4. Google Calendar or Apple Calendar – For Planning Study Sessions

You don’t need a fancy planner app. Your regular calendar is enough.

Use it to:

• Block specific study times (e.g., “Flashcards – 7:00–7:30 PM”)
• Add exam dates and work backwards to plan
• Schedule “review days” for each subject

Flashrecall already has study reminders built in, but pairing that with calendar blocks makes it way harder to skip.

5. Quizlet / Anki – Why People Use Them (And Why Flashrecall Is Better For Most Students)

When people search for apps to use for studying, Quizlet and Anki always pop up, so let’s quickly compare.

Quizlet

Pros:

• Tons of pre-made decks
• Easy to get started
• Good for quick vocab review

Cons:

• A lot of public decks are low quality or wrong
• Some features moved behind a paywall
• Not as focused on you creating and understanding your own material

Anki

Pros:

• Very powerful spaced repetition system
• Tons of customization
• Popular in medicine and language learning

Cons:

• Honestly, the interface feels ancient
• Steep learning curve for new users
• Syncing and add-ons can be confusing
• Not as smooth on mobile for beginners

Why Flashrecall Often Wins For Real-World Use

• Way easier to use – no confusing settings or add-ons
• Much faster to create cards – just upload images, PDFs, YouTube links, or text and let it help you build cards
• More modern – clean, mobile-first design that feels like an app from this decade
• More interactive – you can chat with your flashcards when you’re unsure about something

If you love tweaking every tiny setting, Anki might still be your thing.

But if you want something that:

• Works out of the box
• Helps you make cards quickly
• Handles scheduling and reminders for you

…then Flashrecall is the better everyday study companion:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

6. YouTube + Flashrecall – Turn Videos Into Real Learning

YouTube is one of the best “apps” to use for studying, but most people just passively watch and forget everything.

Here’s a better way to use it with Flashrecall:

1. Watch a video on the topic you’re studying

2. Pause when something important comes up

3. Drop the YouTube link or key points into Flashrecall

4. Turn those into flashcards (questions on one side, answers/explanations on the other)

5. Let spaced repetition handle the rest

Now every video you watch turns into long-term memory, not just “oh yeah I kind of remember that.”

7. How To Combine These Apps Into A Simple Study System

You don’t need 20 apps. You just need a small stack that works together.

Here’s a clean setup using the best apps to use for studying:

Step 1: Capture

Use:

• Apple Notes / Notion for lecture notes, textbook summaries, and key ideas

Step 2: Convert To Memory

Use:

• Flashrecall to turn your most important notes into flashcards
• Use images, PDFs, YouTube links, or text to build decks fast

Step 3: Schedule

Use:

• Flashrecall’s built-in spaced repetition + reminders to know what to review each day
• Calendar to block off regular study times

Step 4: Focus

Use:

• Forest / Focus app to stay off your phone and actually do the reviews

Step 5: Reinforce

Use:

• YouTube for explanations
• Then convert what you learned back into Flashrecall cards so it sticks

Do this consistently, and you’ll feel that shift from “I hope I remember this” to “oh yeah, I know this cold.”

Why Flashrecall Should Be The Core Of Your Study Setup

Out of all the apps to use for studying, the one that quietly does the most heavy lifting is the spaced repetition flashcard app you use.

Flashrecall stands out because:

• It creates cards fast from images, PDFs, audio, YouTube, or text
• It builds in active recall and spaced repetition automatically
• It reminds you to study so you don’t forget
• It works offline, is free to start, and runs on iPhone and iPad
• It’s great for languages, exams, school subjects, university, medicine, business – literally anything you need to remember

If you want your study apps to actually translate into better grades, faster learning, and less last-minute panic, start here:

👉 Download Flashrecall: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Set up one deck for each class, do a quick review session every day, and watch how much more you remember in just a couple of weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

Is there a free flashcard app?

Yes. Flashrecall is free and lets you create flashcards from images, text, prompts, audio, PDFs, and YouTube videos.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

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