What is Anki?
Anki is open-source flashcard software created in 2006. It shows each card just before you are likely to forget it. Since version 23.10 it includes FSRS, a modern scheduling algorithm that predicts memory more accurately than the classic SM-2.
Anki has no Chinese content of its own. Learners download shared HSK decks from AnkiWeb or build their own cards, often with add-ons for tone colours or stroke order.
What Anki does well
For pure memorisation it is unmatched: flexible, efficient and free on almost every platform. Power users mine sentences from reading, add audio and images and fine-tune every setting.
Where Anki falls short
Anki only drills; it does not teach. Shared decks are of uneven quality, and the interface and settings can overwhelm beginners. Many learners add hundreds of cards, build a backlog and quit.
How MandarinChineseSystem.com compares
Interval Study on MandarinChineseSystem.com uses the same FSRS algorithm, but the content is already there: more than 5,600 HSK 1–6 words with characters, traditional forms, pinyin, meaning and audio, which we check and correct.
Around the flashcards you also get what Anki lacks: character pages with stroke order and writing practice, quizzes, and 240 graded articles where you can tap any word and add it to your Personal Deck. It is browser-based, so there is no offline app.
The verdict: which should you choose?
If you love customising and want offline apps, Anki is superb. If you want FSRS with ready-made, checked HSK content and reading, start with MandarinChineseSystem.com — you can always export later.