Free tool
Anki Deck Size Estimator
Pick a subject and depth level to see how many cards you will need, how long it takes to build the deck, and what your daily review load looks like at steady state.
Comprehensive medical board prep (AnKing-sized)
16,800
estimated cards
48
weeks to build at 50/day
~4200
daily reviews at steady state
Build timelines by pace
| New cards/day | Days to build | Steady-state reviews/day |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1680 | ~4200 |
| 20 | 840 | ~4200 |
| 30 | 560 | ~4200 |
| 50Recommended | 336 | ~4200 |
How we estimate: Card counts are based on real community deck sizes and spaced-repetition best practices. Steady-state reviews assume ~25% of mature cards are due on any given day, which is typical for FSRS/SM-2 scheduling. Actual numbers vary with your retention rate and algorithm settings.
Why deck size matters
The biggest mistake new spaced-repetition users make is underestimating how long it takes to build a deck — and how many daily reviews that deck creates once mature.
A 10,000-card deck studied at 30 new cards per day takes 11 months to build. At steady state, you will be doing ~200–250 reviews per day. That is manageable, but only if you plan for it.
- Start with a Surface deck if you are time-constrained.
- Cap new cards at 20–30/day to avoid review overload.
- Use AI generation to cut card-creation time from hours to minutes.
Build your deck faster with AI
Deckbase turns textbooks, PDFs, and notes into study-ready flashcards in seconds. Import existing Anki decks, generate new cards from any text, and review with native FSRS scheduling.
This tool is free and ungated. Embed it or share the link anywhere.