The shift towards e-learning has brought us numerous tools that have changed how we study and research. These tools have not only made education more accessible but also given teachers opportunities to create personalized learning experiences.

There are various learning platforms out there that do this, but only a few stand out: Blooket, Kahoot, Gimkit, and everyone’s favorite open-source software, Anki. We have already covered the comparisons of Gimkit and Kahoot with Blooket, which you can check out here. For this article we are comparing Blooket and Anki so that you will be more decisive when choosing between them.

Overview of Blooket

Blooket is an online educational platform that gamifies learning material, which can be customized in many ways. It focuses on engagement, where students can play to accumulate points or compete with other students. Mainly used by teachers to host games for students to participate in, it lets students play solo as well with features like live quizzes and flashcards.

Blooket is a dynamic tool with a variety of games and features that encourage students to learn more proactively and allow teachers to create and publish their own question sets. Apart from that, the platform boasts an incredible collection of sets created by other users that everyone can use.

Overview of Anki

Anki is an open-source program and is mainly used for memorizing large amounts of study material faster. It uses a cognitive science technique called spaced repetition and employs various algorithms that adjust the learning material based on the user’s performance.

Though originally designed for language learning, Anki is now used by medical students, PhD researchers, university lecturers, and all kinds of learners across various fields. It’s a versatile tool and can be enhanced with add-ons—most of which are also free, including content gamification, text scanners, GenAI integration, and more.

Anki is highly customizable, but in its most basic form, it is a simple flashcard system that shows you content just before you would forget. Whether you want to play dice games online with friends, learn probability distribution of those games, or need help with memorizing any niche concept, Anki can be customized for various needs. Furthermore, you use it in conjunction with other web-based games for optimal results.

Blooket vs Anki: User Interface, Accessibility & More

User Interface

Blooket: Blooket has a very modern, visually appealing interface and intuitive design. It has various game modes that both educators and students can navigate effortlessly. Blooket’s user interface (UI) is designed to keep students engaged for long periods of time, this is especially effective on young learners who tend to be easily distracted. For teachers, it is the same when it comes to creating question sets or customizing, the web app receives regular updates with quality-of-life improvements that simplify user experience and introduce new useful features.

Anki: In contrast, Anki’s user interface is more utilitarian. While its flashcard system can be understood easily, you’ll need to get familiar with other functions to make the most out of it. The Anki program is available as a free software download for MacOS, Android, Windows PC, and Linux devices and is actively improved by the community. The program UI across all these platforms is not the same, but it doesn’t compromise functionality and is incredibly stable. That said, there are add-ons—created by the Anki community—that you can install if you want to revamp the app’s design, or you can program one for yourself.

Customizability

Blooket: Blooket lets users customize games with a variety of options that change how students interact with content in the web-app. Most customization features revolve around gamification which may be limiting in some use cases.

Anki: Anki on the other hand offers true customization in every way possible thanks to the app being open-source, but you need technical expertise to unlock its full potential. Anki’s customizability doesn’t have limits and for those who can’t program they can use an array of decks, and addons created by the community to enhance their learning experience.

Accessibility

Blooket: Blooket is user-friendly and has a very welcoming design, it is available only via web-app, which means you need a browser such as Google Chrome or Safari to access it. It is also cross-platform compatible which lets Windows, iOS and Android users connect with each other.

Anki: Anki has a very simple design and the UI may feel dated to some and as stated earlier none of this affects its functionality. Anki desktop and mobile apps can be used in conjunction with AnkiWeb to synchronize flashcards across multiple devices.

Unique Features

Blooket: Blooket is community oriented in a sense that its mechanics revolve around participating with other learners. It is similar to game shows except the teacher is a host and students play to score points by answering correctly.

Anki: Anki is designed for solo use, but it can be gamified like Blooket with addons developed by the community. Anki is content-agnostic meaning it supports flashcards with text, images, sounds, and videos. This flexibility plus its highly customizable nature allows users to create study material for a wide range of use cases.

Conclusion

While both Blooket and Anki are learning platforms, they excel at different roles. As for which one is the best, it really depends on the user. If you want an intuitive platform that works right out of the box, then go for Blooket. If you have technical expertise, don’t mind a learning curve, and like the vintage aesthetic, then Anki is an ideal choice.