App Comparison
Anki is one of the most respected tools in language learning — and for good reason. But it has a fundamental weakness that nobody talks about. Here's what it is, and how Loci fixes it.
The Verdict Upfront
Anki has the best SRS algorithm in the game. If you can commit to building and maintaining your own decks, it's a powerful tool. But Anki has an encoding problem: blank flashcards don't help you form strong initial memories. You're relying on brute repetition — exactly what the forgetting curve punishes.
Loci combines Anki-style spaced repetition with memory palaces, so you get strong initial encoding AND optimal review timing. The result: words actually stick instead of cycling through your queue forever.
A direct, feature-by-feature breakdown of how the two apps stack up.
| Feature | Anki | Loci |
|---|---|---|
| Spaced repetition | FSRS (best algorithm) | Adaptive SRS with self-rating |
| Memory technique | None (just cards) | Memory palaces + vivid mnemonics |
| Setup required | Build your own decks | Ready to use, pre-built curriculum |
| Card creation | Manual (huge time investment) | Automatic with mnemonic scenes |
| Learning curve | Steep (plugins, settings, deck building) | Download and start |
| Exercise types | Front/back cards only | 8 types (cloze, dictation, etc.) |
| Platform | Desktop + AnkiDroid/AnkiMobile | Android (iOS coming) |
| Content | Community shared decks (quality varies) | Curated 2,000+ word curriculum |
| Price | Free (AnkiMobile $25 iOS) | Free |
| Best for | Power users, med students | Language learners who want retention |
Anki's Fundamental Weakness
Anki schedules your reviews perfectly. The algorithm is genuinely impressive. But what happens the very first time you see a card?
You see a word for the first time
It's just text on a screen. No memory technique, no spatial anchor, no mnemonic hook. Your brain has nothing to grab onto.
You rely on brute repetition
Without an initial memory technique, the only path to remembering is seeing the card over and over. This is exactly what the forgetting curve punishes — weak initial encoding means faster forgetting and more reviews required.
Your review queue grows endlessly
Words with weak initial encoding keep resurfacing because the memory never fully forms. Your daily reviews balloon, burnout follows, and the app gets deleted.
How Loci Solves It
Every word in Loci comes with a memory palace location and a pre-written mnemonic scene. Before you ever see a review, you've placed the word in a vivid, spatial, emotionally charged context. The initial encoding is 10x stronger — so when the SRS review arrives, you're reinforcing a real memory instead of trying to form one from scratch.
Being Honest
Anki is not a bad app. It's an extraordinarily powerful tool for the right person. Here's where it has a real edge.
You can make Anki cards for anything — medicine, law, history, geography, music theory. Plugins extend it in every direction imaginable. If you need to memorize arbitrary information, Anki is hard to beat.
The Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler (FSRS) built into modern Anki is arguably the most sophisticated review scheduling algorithm available anywhere. For pure algorithmic efficiency, nothing currently beats it.
AnkiWeb hosts thousands of shared decks covering every language, subject, and level. Medical students swear by pre-built anatomy and pharmacology decks. The ecosystem is enormous and battle-tested.
If you want to fine-tune every scheduling parameter, import CSV files, run custom scripts, and control every aspect of your review system — Anki lets you do all of it.
Medical students, law students, and professional certification candidates use Anki to memorize thousands of facts. If your goal is broad memorization across subjects rather than specifically language acquisition, Anki's flexibility is a genuine advantage Loci doesn't replicate.
Loci's Advantages
Loci is purpose-built for one thing: getting foreign vocabulary into long-term memory. That focus shows in every part of the app.
No deck building, no card creation, no plugin hunting. Download and you're learning in under a minute. The hours Anki users spend building decks are hours you spend actually acquiring vocabulary.
The memory palace technique gives each word a specific spatial location. Your hippocampus — the brain's navigation system — remembers places effortlessly. Loci taps into that to anchor vocabulary that actually stays.
Creating good mnemonics is the hardest part of memory palace practice. Loci automates it. Every word in the curriculum has a handcrafted, bizarre, emotionally vivid scene ready to go. You just experience it.
Loci moves you from recognition to production across 8 exercise types — multiple choice, cloze fill, dictation, sentence building, and more. Anki gives you front/back cards. There is no comparison in how thoroughly a word gets drilled.
The 2,000+ word Portuguese curriculum is sequenced deliberately — pronouns, core verbs, high-frequency nouns, then domain-specific vocabulary. You always know what comes next and why.
Anki's UI is famously dated — a consequence of being a desktop-first tool with decades of legacy. Loci is mobile-first, dark-themed, and designed to make daily sessions something you look forward to rather than dread.
Yes — and some learners do. Here's how the two tools combine well.
Loci's memory palace system is purpose-built for isolated vocabulary. Some advanced learners use Anki to build sentence cards for grammar patterns while using Loci as their primary vocabulary engine. The workflows complement each other without much overlap.
If you're a power user who wants FSRS precision on top of Loci's encoding, you can add words learned in Loci to an Anki deck for supplemental review. Because the initial memory trace is already strong from the memory palace, Anki reviews will be faster and more durable.
If you're not a power user willing to invest significant time into deck building and plugin configuration, Anki's complexity works against you. Loci gives you a complete, ready-to-use system that works on day one. You can always add Anki later once you have a solid vocabulary foundation and know exactly what gaps you want to fill.
Best SRS algorithm available, total flexibility
Best for
Watch out for
Memory palaces + SRS, purpose-built for languages
Best for
Current limitations
Ready to Try It?
Download Loci and learn your first 10 Brazilian Portuguese words using a memory palace — in under 5 minutes. No deck building, no setup, no plugins. Just words that actually stay.
Download Loci for AndroidAndroid APK · Early access · Free