A pupil is revising for school-leaving exams from a folder of their own notes. A university student has a term's worth of lecture slides to learn before their January exams. Studyflash and StudySmarter, the study app at studysmarter.de, both make flashcards with AI from the files you upload. Here is what each does with that material.
The short answer: Studyflash is the better choice for turning your own notes, lecture slides and old exams into study material you set yourself. Everything it generates is built to cover all your material. In our September 2026 test, with four lecture presentations of 130 slides uploaded to both apps, Studyflash made 258 cards and StudySmarter 20.
Studyflash and StudySmarter side by side
| Studyflash | StudySmarter | |
|---|---|---|
| Flashcards from your lecture files | You set the number of cards, the detail and every card type at once | No setting for the amount; extra cards come one type at a time |
| Mock exam | Built on your own old exams, in their structure and question style, with Premium | A test in its own structure, from cards already in the set |
| A whole degree | A workspace per semester, a course per exam, a deck per lecture; you name each | Study sets that can hold subsets |
| Free plan | Flashcards, quizzes and reviews plus unlimited AI tutor chat, no ads | Free to start, with ads |
| Price | Free plan with no time limit; Premium's price shows in the app. See what each plan includes | Premium €69.99 a year, after a one-week trial |
| Platforms, languages, offline | Web and mobile apps in 27 languages; study offline in the mobile app | Web and mobile apps in several languages; offline, only your own flashcards |
| Best for | Anyone who studies from their own notes, slides and old exams | Searching what other students have already published |
Prices and features checked on 16 September 2026. Prices vary by country and store.
Studyflash builds flashcards to your settings, StudySmarter has no setting for how many
Studyflash turns a whole lecture set into cards you shape yourself, made to cover all of it. Studyflash makes flashcards from slides, a PDF or a photo of your handwritten notes.
In one run you set the number of cards and the level of detail, each from low to high. You pick the card types too, including image occlusion, which hides parts of a diagram you uploaded so you can recall them.
StudySmarter makes a small first set of cards, with no setting for amount or detail, and each further request adds cards of one type. From the same four lectures, that first set had 20 cards, none with parts of a diagram hidden. Studyflash made 258.
Take a mock exam built on your own old exams whenever you want
Upload an old exam from your course and Studyflash matches its structure and question style, so your mock exam looks like the one you will actually sit. Its questions come from every deck and source in the course.
Studyflash handles eight question types, including calculations, and grades short answers and essays against your material.
The exam is timed and graded on your country's scale, at school and at university alike. Without an old exam, you choose the number of questions, the time limit and the question types. You can sit a mock exam whenever you like, as often as you like. Each course has a study plan that takes you through it and ends with a mock exam. The plan suggests an order for the topics, but you don't have to follow it.
StudySmarter's tests follow the app's own structure and draw on the cards already in the set, not on your old exams.
Your degree sorted by semester and course, or study sets beside a shared library
Studyflash sorts your studies into three layers you name yourself: a workspace for each semester or school year, a course for each exam, a deck for each lecture. Each course carries its exam date, with a countdown and a suggested number of new cards a day. StudySmarter keeps your uploads in study sets that can hold subsets, beside a shared library of what other students publish.
In Studyflash, a lecture you record live in class is transcribed and joins its course, like any file you add during the term.
Max, Studyflash's AI tutor, has read your whole degree and answers from it with citations. He also remembers how you learn, from your goals and habits to the mistakes you keep making. You can see that memory, delete entries or switch it off in your settings.
Who should pick which app
StudySmarter is the better pick when you would rather search the sets and notes other students have already published for your subject than build from your own material.
- Your own notes and slides, turned into cards you set up: Studyflash builds a deck to your settings from everything you upload.
- A mock exam shaped like your real one: Studyflash builds it on your own old exams.
- A whole degree in one place: Studyflash sorts it by semester and course. Max, Studyflash's AI tutor, has read all of it and answers from your own material.
- A free plan without ads: Studyflash shows no ads on its free plan. You need no credit card to start.
How we tested
Maximilian S. from the Studyflash team tested both apps in September 2026. He uploaded four master's-level lecture presentations, unchanged, to each: 130 slides heavy on images and charts, formulas, definitions and worked examples, with many notes a student had typed onto the slides. He looked at how many cards each app made, the settings it offered for their number and type, whether a diagram became cards with parts hidden, and how its tests are built.
Questions and answers
If you learn from your own lecture slides and notes, yes: when we tested both apps in September 2026, Studyflash turned 130 lecture slides into 258 cards, where StudySmarter made 20. Studyflash also lets you set the number, detail and types of cards in one run.
StudySmarter is free to start, with ads. Studyflash's free plan has no ads and gives you flashcards, quizzes, unlimited chat with its AI tutor Max and a monthly allowance of AI generations; Premium adds unlimited generation and the mock exam.
StudySmarter Premium is €69.99 per year, and a free trial week comes first. Studyflash has a free plan, and Premium's price shows in the app; the pricing page lists what each plan includes.
StudySmarter is a study app that makes flashcards with AI from your uploads and keeps your material in study sets. Beside them sits a library you can search for notes and cards other students have published. In some countries the app is called Vaia, so Vaia flashcards are StudySmarter flashcards.
You cancel StudySmarter where you bought the plan: in the app store, through PayPal or in your profile on the web. The plan renews automatically unless you cancel before the period ends.
If you study from your own slides and old exams, no: StudySmarter gives you no setting for how many cards it makes or how detailed they are. In Studyflash you set the number of cards, their detail and every card type in one run. It also models your mock exam on your old exams and sorts your whole degree by semester and course.
No. StudySmarter builds its tests in its own format, with questions drawn from the cards already in your set. Studyflash builds a timed mock exam on your own old exams and grades it on your country's scale.