What Knowt does well
Knowt is the most complete of the free AI study apps. Upload a PDF, a slide deck, a lecture recording or a video and it produces notes, flashcards and practice tests from them, with an AI chat that answers questions about the material. It takes more kinds of input than MugUp does — MugUp reads PDF, text and Markdown, and nothing recorded.
It imports Quizlet sets in one step, which has made it the obvious landing place for people leaving Quizlet, and it has a large library of user-made flashcards to go with its own. It runs on the web, iOS and Android, and the free plan is genuinely usable.
Where MugUp differs
Where the material comes from matters as much as what it becomes. MugUp’s generator has a dial, set to strict by default: every question comes from your files and notes and nothing is invented, it works through the material section by section rather than circling the first page, and when the material runs out it says so instead of padding. A wrong answer can be explained on the spot.
And the games are more than cards and tests: multiple choice with real distractors, fill in the blanks with alternatives, flashcards and pair-match boards, all scheduled by one spaced-repetition system across every subject. Around them sits the rest of the day — a reading timer, a writing timer, speaking practice, a focus timer — on one streak, with a Life Card that rates your last 28 days. Knowt is built to help you study; MugUp is built to get you to show up.
Feature by feature
Builds the study material for you
MugUp: Type a topic or upload notes and get multiple choice, fill in the blanks, flashcards and pair match in seconds.
Knowt: Flashcards, notes and practice tests from what you upload.
Spaced repetition across everything you study
MugUp: Every card and question is scheduled; Pro adds a daily Review workout across your whole library.
Knowt: A spaced-repetition study mode per set; not one schedule across everything you study.
Your own notes and PDFs as the source
MugUp: On Pro: type lecture notes or upload PDF, text and Markdown. No audio, video, slides or scanned pages.
Knowt: PDFs, slides, lecture recordings and videos — a wider set of inputs than MugUp accepts.
A control over how far the AI may stray from your files
MugUp: A three-position dial, strict by default: every question from your material, nothing invented — and it says when the material ran out.
Knowt: No setting for how closely the questions stay to the file.
Imports Anki decks
MugUp: Upload an .apkg on the free plan; scheduling comes across if the export included it.
Knowt: Imports Quizlet sets directly; Anki via export.
Reading, writing and speaking as timed habits
MugUp: A reading timer, a writing timer and speaking practice — each works with no account.
Knowt: Study tools only.
A Pomodoro timer with breaks built in
MugUp: Full screen, three scenes, ambient sound, and breaks you name before you take them. Free, no account.
Knowt: None.
Streaks, XP and levels
MugUp: One streak that counts any activity that day, XP, levels, coins and companions.
Knowt: A study streak; no XP, levels or currency.
A rating that can go down when you stop
MugUp: The Life Card rates six stats over your last 28 days. Skip a week and the number drops.
Knowt: None.
Nothing to buy that affects your progress
MugUp: Coins are earned and can never be bought. Pro unlocks features, never progress.
Knowt: Paid plans unlock more uploads and AI, not progress.
No ads on the free plan
MugUp: No ads on any plan, and no feed served to you.
Knowt: The free plan is ad-supported; a paid plan removes them.
A free plan
MugUp: Free forever, no credit card. Pro removes the generation limits.
Knowt: Free with limits on uploads and AI; paid plans lift them.
Works in the browser, nothing to install
MugUp: A web app. Add it to your home screen on a phone.
Knowt: Web, iOS and Android.
Play with other people
MugUp: Follow friends, an XP leaderboard, live 1v1 races, and a Discord Activity for a whole server.
Knowt: Shared flashcard sets; no live play.
Choose Knowt if…
- Your material is lecture recordings, videos or slide decks rather than PDFs and notes.
- You are leaving Quizlet and want your sets moved in one step.
- You want an AI chat to ask questions about the file itself.
- You want a native phone app.
Choose MugUp if…
- You want every question provably inside your material, and told when it runs out.
- You want fill in the blanks and pair match, not only cards and tests.
- You want one review schedule across every subject rather than per set.
- You want the reading, writing and speaking you do to count on the same streak.
- You want no ads, on any plan.
Free is free forever. No credit card.
Questions
Can MugUp take lecture recordings or slides like Knowt?
No. MugUp reads PDF, plain text and Markdown, and the notes you type on a topic’s Notes tab. There is no audio transcription, no video, no slide import and no OCR for scanned pages. If your material is recorded lectures, Knowt handles that and MugUp does not — export the notes it produces as text and MugUp can build games from those.
Does MugUp keep the questions inside my files?
Yes, and it is the default. The grounding dial has three positions: only my material (nothing invented), guided by my material (the file sets the scope and the AI may go a step beyond it), and ignore my material. Strict is the default, it works through the file section by section, and if the material supports fewer questions than you asked for it says so rather than making them up.
Can I import my Quizlet or Knowt sets?
Not directly. MugUp imports Anki .apkg files on the free plan, so a set that can reach Anki can reach MugUp. Or paste the terms into a topic’s Notes tab on Pro and let the generator build the games from them.
Is MugUp free like Knowt?
The free plan is free forever with no ads: three new games a day, three projects, all four game types, Anki import, the daily puzzles, and every habit. Pro removes the generation limits and adds file upload, notes and the daily Review workout.
Other comparisons
- MugUp vs Quizgeckothe AI quiz generator
- MugUp vs StudyFetchthe AI tutor from your materials
- MugUp vs Turbolearn AIthe lecture-to-notes app
- MugUp vs Ankithe spaced-repetition flashcard app
- MugUp vs Quizletthe study-set app
- MugUp vs Duolingothe language app
- MugUp vs Habiticathe habit-tracking RPG
- MugUp vs Pomofocusthe web Pomodoro timer
What this page says about Knowt was last checked on 11 September 2026. Other apps change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it. Names and trademarks belong to their owners.