Turn your notes into flashcards you control.
Fast intake, AI when you want it—then study, or tweak any card easily. Your call.

Get material into Surge in minutes—upload, import, or generate with AI on paid plans. You edit, delete, or rewrite any card. Study with My Pace, Cram, or Long-Term Memory, then add quizzes and games. The free tier is study-first; building your own decks starts on Basic or Premium. Optional Learning Profile Assessment goes deeper when you’re ready.

See plans & pricing

Question

What is spaced repetition?

Click to reveal answer

Answer

A learning technique where review intervals increase over time to optimize long-term memory retention.

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How It Works

Three steps to your first real session

Create a deck, pick a mode, then add quizzes or games when you want variety.

Create

On Basic or Premium, turn notes into decks—upload, import, or use AI—then tweak every card. The free tier focuses on studying and exploring the app.

Study

Choose your style — browse in order with My Pace, repeat cards in one sitting with Cram, or let Long-Term Memory space card reviews across days and weeks (each card gets its own next-review date from your grades).

Master

Test yourself with quizzes and games, track progress, and use coaching features where your plan includes them (deck coaching is paid; assessment-based tips show up after you take the Learning Profile Assessment).

Features

Build, study, test—without switching apps

Pull material in fast—AI drafts on paid plans, and you keep full control over every card.

Create Flashcards Your Way

Build your own decks on Basic or Premium—tweak any card anytime
AI generates complete decks from topics or files in seconds (paid plans)—you review before you study
Import from CSV, PDF, Word, TXT, or photos (paid plans)
AI-generated images for memorable cards (paid plans)

AI deck generation screen with topic input and difficulty selection

Three Modes. One Goal: Mastery.

My Pace — browse every card at your own speed, no pressure
Cram — intensive repetition for tests coming in 1-7 days
Long-Term Memory — SM-2-style spacing (Again/Hard/Good/Easy) over days, weeks, and months
Text-to-speech on every card for auditory learners

Flashcard study mode showing a question with progress indicators and confidence tracking

Test Yourself. Play to Learn.

Multiple choice with AI-generated distractors that actually challenge you
Typed-answer quizzes when you want to practice producing answers
Surge Storm — a fast-paced arcade game where correct answers keep you alive
Surge Challenge — a board game with dice, power cards, and trivia

Multiple choice quiz with prediction feature and progress tracking

Games That Make Learning Fun

Surge Storm — answer questions while dodging obstacles in an arcade shooter
Surge Challenge — roll dice, collect power cards, and race to the finish
Daily Trivia with community leaderboards
Course outlines, lesson plans, and AI coaching reports

Surge Storm arcade game with score tracking and timed questions

Optional: Learning Profile

Deep profile across 10 learning dimensions—included with subscription credits on paid tiers
Archetype and narrative report with practical strategies
Coaching nudges where the app supports them

Learning Assessment

Why Surge

See How We Compare

We built Surge to be the study tool we always wanted.

Feature	Surge Flashcards	Other Apps
Build & edit your own decks	Basic & Premium	Often limited or paid
AI deck generation	From topics, PDFs & images	Limited or unavailable
Study modes	3 modes + spaced repetition	Usually 1-2 modes
Quizzes	Multiple choice + typed	Basic or paid-only
Learning games	2 original games + daily trivia	Rarely included
Learning assessment	$29.95 add-on — 10 dimensions, archetype + report	Not available
AI coaching	Personalized to your style	Not available
Social features	Feed, friends, messaging, teams	Limited or none
Starting price	From $5/mo (yearly)	$7.99-$15.99/mo

Build & edit your own decks

Surge: Basic & Premium

Others: Often limited or paid

AI deck generation

Surge: From topics, PDFs & images

Others: Limited or unavailable

Study modes

Surge: 3 modes + spaced repetition

Others: Usually 1-2 modes

Quizzes

Surge: Multiple choice + typed

Others: Basic or paid-only

Learning games

Surge: 2 original games + daily trivia

Others: Rarely included

Learning assessment

Surge: $29.95 add-on — 10 dimensions, archetype + report

Others: Not available

AI coaching

Surge: Personalized to your style

Others: Not available

Social features

Surge: Feed, friends, messaging, teams

Others: Limited or none

Starting price

Surge: From $5/mo (yearly)

Others: $7.99-$15.99/mo

Built for You

Built for Every Kind of Learner

Surge Flashcards is designed for the way real people actually study.

The Student

Exam in 48 hours? Use Cram mode to drill weak cards, then run a quiz. When the term calms down, Long-Term Memory mode can space card reviews so the same deck doesn’t evaporate by finals.

The Professional

Studying for a certification? Import your study guide as a PDF, let AI generate flashcards, and use text-to-speech to listen while you review.

The Curious Mind

Learning a new language? History? Science? Build decks on anything that fits flashcards, optionally take the assessment for a structured profile, and use coaching where your subscription includes it.

Pricing

Simple, Honest Pricing

Plans for every stage of your learning journey.

Monthly Yearly Save up to 57%

Free

$0 / month free

Study-first — explore the app

Study public decks, games, Daily Trivia & social
Read-only study on decks you already have
Create your own decks on Basic+
10 cards per study session
10 questions per quiz
Ad-supported
Learning Assessment: from $29.95 or credits on paid tiers

Try It Out

Basic

$5.00 / month

$60.00 billed annually (unchanged)

Everything in Free
7,000 AI credits/month (~700 cards)
AI deck generation from any topic
CSV/Excel bulk upload
Advanced features
Unlimited study sessions
No ads
Learning Assessment (2,000 credits)

Start Basic

Premium

$8.00 / month

$96.00 billed annually (unchanged)

Everything in Basic
10,000 AI credits/month (~1,000 cards)
PDF, Word, TXT & image import
AI image generation
Deck coaching & AI learning coach
Team creation & sharing
Priority AI & support
Learning Assessment (2,000 credits)

Start Premium

AI credits can also be purchased in bundles starting at $4.90 for 3,500 credits (as low as $1.40 per 1,000). A limited free tier is available to explore the platform.

FAQ

Questions we actually get

Short answers—full detail lives in the Help Center.

What’s the first-month offer on monthly plans?

Monthly Basic and Premium can include 50% off the first bill when you subscribe with an eligible checkout (intro offer is configured in Stripe). Yearly plans stay at the listed annual prices with no first-month discount. One intro per account in the app.

What’s included on the free tier?

Study-first access: explore the app, play games and Daily Trivia, use social features, and study existing content. Building your own decks starts on Basic or Premium. Sessions cap at 10 cards per study and 10 questions per quiz on free accounts; the site is ad-supported.

Do I have to use AI?

No. On paid plans you can type every card or use AI—your choice. AI uses credits on paid plans (10 credits per generated card in the current app).

What’s the difference between Cram and Long-Term Memory?

Cram keeps a card in today’s session until you hit enough consecutive Good/Easy marks (Again/Hard reset the streak). Long-Term Memory sets each card’s next review date from your grades (SM-2-style intervals)—per card, not a fixed calendar of study sessions. Same deck—different time horizon.

Is text-to-speech available?

Yes—TTS is available on cards where your platform supports it, handy for pronunciation or listening passes.

Where do I take the Learning Profile Assessment?

Start from the assessment landing page. Paid subscriptions include assessment credits as listed in-plan; standalone purchase is also available.

Blog

From the Surge Blog

Tips, techniques, and the science of learning.

Science

Spaced repetition without the hype

What the literature actually supports, how forgetting-curve memes mislead, and how Surge’s three modes map to real study weeks.

Study Tips

Cram vs long-term mode

When to lean on same-session repetition, when to let Long-Term Memory space card reviews over time, and why most people use both over a semester.

How-To

Writing flashcards that don’t fight you

One idea per card, retrieval-friendly wording, and when the explanation field earns its keep—grounded in Surge’s actual card model.

Get the Android App

Take Surge Flashcards anywhere. Download the app directly and install it on your Android device in under a minute.

Download for Android

APK download · Requires Android 5.0+

OR just open the web app! The web app works with PC browsers and mobile web!

Open Web App

How to Install

Tap "Download for Android" above. The file will download to your phone.

Open the downloaded file. Your phone may ask you to allow installs from this source — tap "Allow" or "Settings" and enable it.

Tap "Install" when prompted. Once installed, open Surge Flashcards and sign in or create an account.

Turn your notes into flashcards you control.
Fast intake, AI when you want it—then study, or tweak any card easily. Your call.

Neuroscience News

Surge Blog