An ad between cards
You finally get into a rhythm, and a full-screen interstitial breaks it. Kinako has no advertising SDK, so there is nothing to interrupt you.
Flashcards, without the noise
No ads. No account. Just the cards.
Unlimited decks and unlimited cards are free. Kinako works offline, and your library stays on your devices or in your own private iCloud account.
For iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. One optional lifetime purchase — no subscription.
- No ads, ever
- No account to make
- Works offline
- No subscriptions
The problem
Most flashcard apps are free because you are the product.
Kinako is free because the paid parts are optional and clearly marked — and because it is built so there is nothing to take.
A login wall on your own notes
Someone else's server holds the keys to material you wrote. Kinako has no account system, so there is nothing to be locked out of.
An update that takes your decks
Yesterday's free tier becomes today's paywall. In Kinako, unlimited decks and cards are free permanently, and you can export everything at any time.
What is free, permanently
Not a trial. Not a crippled tier.
Nothing on this list expires, counts down, or asks for a card.
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Unlimited decks and cards No ceiling on the material you make yourself.
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Create, import, and export Pasted text, CSV, TSV, JSON, and common Anki packages.
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The full study engine FSRS spaced repetition, in both directions.
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Private iCloud sync Across your devices, through your account — not ours.
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On-device voice and Listen Mode Hear any card, or study hands-free with the screen locked.
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Reminder, widget, share sheet, Watch app A daily nudge and quick capture, on every screen you use.
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Travel Japanese 158 curated cards, free permanently.
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Ten Scan-to-Card uses Try the optional scanner before deciding whether to unlock it.
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Recently Deleted So a mistake is recoverable.
Study that respects you
Two buttons. No confetti.
Tap a card to flip it. Mark it Still learning or Got it. FSRS spaced repetition brings the hard ones back sooner and the easy ones back later, so your time lands where it counts.
Progress shows as a few quiet dots. There is no streak to break, no badge shaming you for a day off, and no paywall that appears mid-session. Kinako Complete appears only when you open it or tap a locked feature.
Listen anywhere
Study with your screen off.
Voice readback runs entirely on your device. Tap any card to hear it, or start Listen Mode and go hands-free — term, pause, definition — with AirPods and lock-screen controls.
The natural English voice is included and works offline from first launch. Other languages use on-device iOS voices. Passive listening never changes your schedule.
Your decks are not at risk
Nothing to be locked out of.
No account, no login
Kinako has no account system and no developer-operated backend. There is no password to lose and no server-side profile of you to breach.
Sync through your own iCloud
If you turn it on, Apple synchronizes your library through your private iCloud account so it appears on your Apple devices. Kinako's developer does not receive a copy.
Export whenever you want
Full export in a format you can open and read — so leaving is always possible, which is the only thing that makes staying meaningful.
Recently Deleted
Deleted a deck by accident? It waits for you instead of disappearing.
Optional, and clearly marked
Everything. Forever. One purchase.
The paid parts add abilities. They never put a limit on material you made yourself.
$29.99 regular price · one-time purchase
Kinako Complete
Unlocks Scan to Card after ten successful free scans, spoken answers, and Sticking Points — plus Medical Terminology and SAT® Vocabulary. Travel Japanese is already free and remains free.
Complete includes the three named launch packs and their future corrections. Curated packs released later are sold separately. There is no trial, renewal, or automatic charge.
The purchase is handled by Apple through StoreKit. Kinako receives only the entitlement result needed to unlock what you bought — never your payment details.
Questions
The short answers.
Is it really free, or is this a trial?
Really free. Unlimited decks and unlimited cards, the full study engine, import and export, iCloud sync, voice readback, the widget, Watch app, Travel Japanese, and ten Scan-to-Card uses — none of it expires. Kinako Complete is one optional lifetime purchase you can ignore entirely.
Do I need an account?
No. Kinako has no sign-up, no login, and no password. Open it and start studying.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. Studying, creating, importing, exporting, and voice readback all work offline. An internet connection is only used for iCloud sync and App Store purchases.
Can I bring decks over from Anki or Quizlet?
Kinako imports pasted text, CSV, TSV, JSON backups, Kinako decks, and common Anki packages. Anything you can export as text or CSV will come across — preview the detected cards before you save, and swap term and definition there if the columns are reversed.
What algorithm does it use?
FSRS, a modern spaced-repetition scheduler. It adapts each card's interval to how well you actually recall it, rather than moving cards through fixed boxes.
Is my study material private?
Kinako has no analytics SDK, no advertising, and no developer-operated backend, so your decks and study history are not collected. If you enable sync, your library moves through your own private iCloud account. The full details are in the privacy policy.
A quiet place to learn them.
No ads, no account, no subscription. If you have a question before or after you install, support is a real person reading email.