Updated August 29, 2026 · 6 min read
Quizlet and Anki solve different problems. Quizlet is fast to set up and easy to study on; Anki spaces out reviews so you spend more time on cards you actually forget. If you already built a set in Quizlet and want Anki's scheduling for it, you don't need to retype anything. This guide covers three steps: getting your terms and definitions out of Quizlet, converting that export into a file Anki understands, and importing it. It also covers the one Quizlet limitation that trips people up: you can't export a set you didn't create.
Quizlet's export feature only works from a browser, and only for sets you own.
Two things to know before you start:
If your set has images or audio attached to cards, those don't come through in the text export — only the term and definition text does. You'd need to re-add media in Anki by hand afterward.
Anki doesn't read Quizlet's export directly, but the text is close: tab-separated lines of term and definition. QuizWhiz's Quizlet to Anki Converter turns it into a plain text file with the same tab-separated layout that Anki's importer expects, so you don't have to reformat it by hand.
Everything happens in your browser; the tool doesn't upload your flashcards anywhere.
This is a desktop feature — do the import from the Anki desktop app, then sync so the deck shows up on AnkiDroid or AnkiMobile.
How do I put Quizlet cards into Anki? Export the set from Quizlet (three-dot menu > Export, tab-separated), run that text through a converter like the one above to get a plain .txt file, then import that file in Anki with File > Import. There's no direct Quizlet-to-Anki button on either side — it's an export, convert, import path.
How do I add Quizlet to Anki? Same process as above. "Adding" a Quizlet set to Anki means creating new Anki notes from your Quizlet terms and definitions, which is what the import in Step 3 does — Anki doesn't sync with Quizlet directly.
The Export option isn't showing up. What's wrong? Most often it's a set you copied rather than created — check by opening the set and looking for a "Made by you" or original-author label. Copy the set to your own library first, then export the copy. If you do own the set and still don't see Export, make sure you're on the full site rather than a mobile app view.
My download only has one column, not two. This usually means the pasted text didn't have tabs between terms and definitions when it hit the converter — a common cause is pasting through a text editor that strips tabs. Re-copy directly from Quizlet's export box and paste it in fresh, without editing it first.
Is Anki really better than Quizlet? It depends what you're optimizing for. Anki's spaced-repetition scheduler adjusts how often you see a card based on whether you actually remembered it, which is well-suited to material you need to retain for weeks or months, like a final exam or a licensing test. It's also free on desktop and Android, works fully offline, and lets you customize note types and scheduling. Quizlet is faster to get started with, has study modes (Learn, Match, Test, Live) that Anki doesn't, and its app is arguably easier to pick up casually. Neither replaces the other for every use case: a lot of students use Quizlet to build and share a set quickly, then move it into Anki for the long-haul review before a big test.
Once your deck is in Anki, the default settings work fine to start — you don't need to touch the scheduler to get value from spaced repetition. Come back and re-run the export/convert/ import steps any time you update the source Quizlet set; just choose "update existing notes" during import so you don't end up with duplicate cards.