A note before you read: we make Pausly, one of the tools below, so read this with that in mind. Each tool is described from its official pages, help docs and app store listings, checked on November 1, 2026, and we say where another tool is the better choice.
NotebookLM is one of the best free study tools available, and for many students the right move is not to replace it but to add what it lacks. This guide explains what it does well, where it falls short for studying, and which tools fill those gaps.
First, the name: Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026. It is the same product, and notebooklm.google now redirects to notebook.google. We use the old name here because most people still search for it.
The short answer
- Keep NotebookLM and add spaced repetition if you like it but forget things by exam day: pair it with Anki or Knowt.
- Best free flashcards with spaced repetition: Knowt.
- Best for long-term memorisation: Anki.
- Notes and flashcards in one place: RemNote.
- Gamified daily review: Gizmo.
- AI tutor for long lectures and videos: YouLearn.
- Study while you watch YouTube: Pausly.
What NotebookLM does well
- It stays close to your sources. You add PDFs, slides, Google Docs, audio, web pages or YouTube links, and it answers from them with citations (sources).
- It makes a lot from them. Audio and Video Overviews, mind maps, reports, infographics, and flashcards and quizzes with easy, medium or hard difficulty and an "Explain" button (flashcards and quizzes).
- The free plan is generous on storage. 100 notebooks with up to 50 sources each (limits).
- US college students can get the paid tier free. Google offers eligible US college students aged 18 and over a year of Google AI Pro at no cost, if they redeem by December 31, 2026 (offer). It needs a payment method and renews at $19.99 a month afterwards.
Where it falls short for studying
No review schedule. You can mark flashcards "Got it" or "Missed it" and retake only the ones you missed, but there are no due dates and nothing tells you when to review. That matters, because spacing reviews out is one of the two best-supported study techniques; a review of 317 experiments found that spaced study beat back-to-back repetition, 47% recall against 37%. Users have asked for spaced repetition on r/notebooklm.
A usage budget instead of fixed counts. Since September 2, 2026, usage is measured by compute: long chats, many sources and heavy features use more, the quota refreshes every five hours, and there is a weekly limit. Google no longer publishes a fixed number of chats or Audio Overviews per day, so older figures you may see elsewhere are out of date.
YouTube is a transcript, after the fact. NotebookLM imports the captions of public videos and nothing else. Videos without captions or speech do not work, and nothing happens while you watch.
Overviews can be wrong. Google itself notes that Audio and Video Overviews may contain inaccuracies. Check anything you plan to rely on against the source.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from (US) | Spaced repetition | YouTube |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowt | Free flashcards, AP and SAT prep | Unlimited sets, all study modes | $95.99/yr | Yes, free | Link or Chrome extension |
| Anki | Long-term memorisation | Free on desktop, Android and web | Free ($24.99 once on iPhone) | Yes | None |
| RemNote | Notes and flashcards together | Yes, 250 AI credits a month | $96/yr | Yes | Link to cards, quiz or summary |
| Gizmo | Gamified daily review | Unlimited decks, a 20-minute wait between imports | Not published | Yes | Flashcards and quizzes from a link |
| Quizlet | Shared flashcard library | Yes | $35.99/yr | Yes, web only | Not documented |
| YouLearn | Long lectures and videos | 3 uploads a day | $143.99/yr (App Store) | Not listed | Summary and chat |
| StudyFetch | All-in-one with a tutor | 2 uploads in total | $96/yr (App Store) | Not listed | Upload a link |
| Pausly | Studying from YouTube while you watch | Weekly usage allowance, every study tool | $119.94/yr | Not yet | Questions during playback |
All prices are in US dollars for the US; several of these tools, Pausly included, charge less in other countries. "Not published" means the company has no public price page.
The alternatives, by what you need
Keep NotebookLM and add spaced repetition
If NotebookLM already works for you, the cheapest fix is to keep it for understanding and add a tool for remembering. NotebookLM can download flashcards as CSV, which you can import into a spaced repetition app. Expect to tidy the formatting; users report that cards do not always import cleanly.
Knowt: free flashcards with spaced repetition
Knowt keeps nearly every study mode free, including spaced repetition, and accepts PDFs, slides, video, live recordings and YouTube links (free plan). AI summaries are limited to one a month on the free plan.
- Paid: Ultra at $24.99 a month or $95.99 a year (plans).
- Choose it if you want NotebookLM's missing piece, scheduled flashcard review, without paying.
Anki: the strongest spaced repetition
Anki has no AI and no PDF import, but it is free, and it gives you the most control over review scheduling, using either the classic SM-2 algorithm or FSRS (docs).
- Choose it if you are preparing for a long exam and will curate your own cards, perhaps starting from NotebookLM's CSV export.
RemNote: notes and flashcards in one place
RemNote turns notes into flashcards as you write them and schedules reviews, with AI features for PDFs (pricing).
- Free plan: 250 AI credits a month.
- Paid: Pro at $8 a month billed yearly ($96 a year), or Pro with AI at $18 a month billed yearly ($216 a year).
- Choose it if you want to write notes and review them in the same app.
Gizmo: gamified daily review
Gizmo turns your material, including YouTube videos and imported Anki or Quizlet decks, into quizzes with automatic spaced repetition, wrapped in hearts, XP and leagues (spaced repetition).
- Free plan: unlimited decks and quizzing, a 20-minute wait between AI imports, and a 10-minute pause after you lose all 15 hearts.
- Choose it if what you need most is a reason to come back every day.
Quizlet: the biggest shared library
Quizlet's advantage is the library: someone has probably already made a set for your course. It adds AI study guides and spaced repetition on the web (plans).
- Paid: Plus from $35.99 a year on the web.
- Choose it if you want ready-made sets more than AI tools.
YouLearn: an AI tutor for long lectures
YouLearn works with PDFs, recorded lectures and long YouTube videos, with summaries, chat that cites the source, quizzes, flashcards and practice exams (limits).
- Free plan: 3 uploads a day, 5 chats a day.
- Paid: Pro at $20 a month or $143.99 a year on the App Store.
- Choose it if you want something close to NotebookLM, built around long lectures, with practice exams.
StudyFetch: all-in-one with a tutor
StudyFetch makes flashcards, quizzes, notes and audio recaps from your material, with a chat and voice tutor. The free plan allows 2 uploads in total, and Premium is $19.99 a month or $96 a year on the App Store. Our StudyFetch alternatives guide covers it in detail.
Pausly: studying from YouTube while you watch
This is our product. NotebookLM treats a YouTube video as a transcript to import after you watch. Pausly works the other way round: in Focus Mode it pauses the lesson at moments chosen from the content and asks you a question, then shows you where to rewatch if you miss. It also makes notes, quizzes, flashcards, mind maps and podcasts from YouTube videos, PDFs, lecture audio and PowerPoint slides.
- Free plan: every study tool, within a weekly usage allowance. Pro adds the Advanced tutor model and larger uploads.
- Paid: Pro at $19.99 a month or $119.94 a year in the US, shown in your own currency and up to 50% lower in many countries.
- Where it falls short: no spaced repetition schedule yet and no phone app. It works from captions, like NotebookLM.
- Choose it if most of your studying happens on YouTube. Our guide on how to study from YouTube videos explains the method behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Is NotebookLM still free? Yes. The free plan includes 100 notebooks with up to 50 sources each, within a usage budget that refreshes every five hours up to a weekly limit. Paid Google AI plans raise the limits.
What happened to NotebookLM? Google renamed it Gemini Notebook in July 2026. It is the same product, and the old address redirects to the new one.
Does NotebookLM have spaced repetition? No. Its flashcards remember which cards you missed, but there is no review schedule. Pair it with Anki, Knowt or another spaced repetition tool if you need one.
Can NotebookLM use YouTube videos? Yes, if the video is public and has captions. It imports the transcript only, so anything that is shown but not said is missed.
Can I export NotebookLM flashcards to Anki? You can download flashcards as a CSV file and import it into Anki. Check the formatting after importing.
Is NotebookLM free for students? Everyone gets the free plan. Eligible US college students aged 18 and over can also get a year of Google AI Pro free if they redeem the offer by December 31, 2026.