A Quizlet alternative built for remembering, not cramming.
Shared sets and study games are very good at getting you through Friday's test. Toly is built for the other goal — the words still being there in March.
iPhone · Free plan · No shared-set library
Recognition feels like learning. Recall is learning.
Matching games, multiple choice and practice tests all lean on recognition: the answer is somewhere on the screen and you pick it. That feels productive, and it is a poor predictor of whether you can produce the word when nothing is prompting you.
Toly only ever asks you to recall. One card, one attempt, then an honest answer about how it went — which is also the input the scheduler needs to decide when you see it next.
- Your own cards — no library of sets to browse instead of studying
- Written for you — the AI drafts each back in about a second
- Scheduled for you — every card returns just before you'd forget it
How the two approaches differ.
| Approach | Shared-set apps | Toly |
|---|---|---|
| Where the cards come from | Mostly other people's shared sets | Words you chose, with AI-written backs |
| Review scheduling | Study modes you pick each session | Spaced repetition, scheduled per card |
| Making a card from a photo | Not the core flow | Scan: photograph a page, tap the words |
| Card format | Term and definition, plus study games | One card, one recall attempt |
| Account | Email or social account | Sign in with Apple, iCloud sync |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | iPhone |
| Price | Free tier plus paid upgrades | Free plan; PRO from $2.50/mo billed yearly |
Quizlet is an independent product and is not affiliated with Toly. The middle column describes the shared-set study-app model in general.
Toly is worse for cramming.
If the test is tomorrow and someone has already built the set, downloading it is genuinely the right move, and Toly cannot help you — there is no set library, no class sharing and no practice-test mode.
What Toly is for is the semester-long version: adding the words you actually met, in the language you are actually learning, and being asked about them again at the moment they were about to slip.
Questions about the switch.
Is Toly a good Quizlet alternative?
If what you want is a personal deck that resurfaces at the right time, yes. If what you want is to search for someone else’s set for tomorrow’s test, no — Toly has no shared-set library at all.
Does Toly have ready-made decks?
No. Pre-made decks were removed from the product. Toly is built around cards you decided were worth remembering, because those are the ones people actually come back and review.
What does Toly do instead of study games?
One thing: show you a card, let you try to recall the answer, and use how that went to decide when to show it again. There are no matching games or practice tests, because they measure recognition rather than recall.
Can I study with a class or share a deck?
Not currently. Toly is a single-learner app — there is no class, group or shared-deck feature.
Does Toly work offline?
Reviewing works from the cards already on your device. Generating a new card back needs a connection, since the AI writes it server-side.
Is Toly free?
There is a free plan with 3 AI-generated cards a day and up to 3 decks. PRO adds unlimited AI autofill and unlimited decks, starting with a 7-day free trial.
Build the deck that is actually yours.
Type the word, keep the card, and let spaced repetition make sure it is still there next term.
Get the app