Best Anki Add-ons for 2026: 8 Worth Installing

Last checked: October 2026, against AnkiWeb and Anki 26.09

Anki add-ons are free plugins for Anki desktop. You install them from AnkiWeb by pasting a code into Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons, as the Anki manual describes. The two most worth installing are FSRS Helper and AnkiConnect. Several famous add-ons, like Image Occlusion, are now built into Anki, so you no longer need them.

Anki · Tools

How to install Anki add-ons

In Anki desktop, go to Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons, paste the add-on's code from AnkiWeb, then restart Anki. Add-ons run only on Anki desktop. They do not install on AnkiDroid or AnkiMobile, though changes some of them make to your schedule sync to your phone.

Install these first

1. FSRS Helper

Essential

Adds tools for FSRS, the scheduler built into Anki since 23.10. According to its README, it can postpone or advance due cards, spread out reviews before a break, space apart cards from the same note, cap your daily load, and reschedule cards from their full review history. Needs Anki 23.10 or later with FSRS turned on.

Code: 759844606. Last updated May 2026.

2. AnkiConnect

Essential for integrations

Lets other apps add cards to Anki while it is open. Dictionary extensions like Yomitan and most "send to Anki" tools need it. If you only want to import a finished deck, you don't need it: Anki opens .apkg files on its own. Once installed it runs in the background.

Code: 2055492159. Last updated October 2026.

None of these add-ons help with typing the cards in. If that's your slow step, StudyCards turns a PDF or your notes into a ready-to-import Anki deck in about a minute.

Make my Anki cards free →

Exports a native .apkg. No credit card.

Worth trying

These are useful but older. Most have not been updated for the latest Anki, so check each one still loads after you install it.

3. Review Heatmap

Habit tracking

Adds a GitHub-style calendar of your daily reviews and your current streak to the Anki home screen. It is one of the best-known add-ons, but it was last updated in June 2022, and its issue tracker has 2025 reports of streaks not updating and of the heatmap failing to load.

Code: 1771074083. Last updated June 2022.

4. Advanced Browser

Large decks

Adds more sortable columns to Anki's card browser, such as any note field, how many times you pressed Again, and the previous interval. Useful when you need to find, edit or tag groups of cards in a big deck.

Code: 874215009. Last updated October 2024.

5. Beautify Anki 2.0

Looks

Restyles the deck list, deck overview and review screens, with an icon and background image for each deck. This is mizmu's update of the original Beautify Anki add-on, so install this code rather than the old listing.

Code: 1116770498. Last updated April 2025.

6. Clickable Tags

Tagged decks

Makes the tags shown on a card clickable, so one click opens the browser filtered to that tag. Handy with heavily tagged decks like AnKing.

Code: 1739176371. Last updated January 2022.

7. Anki Simulator

Planning

Forecasts your daily review load from your current settings and deck size. It answers questions like "if I add 30 new cards a day, how many reviews will I have in 6 weeks?" If you use FSRS, the simulator built into deck options since Anki 24.11 does the same job.

Code: 817108664. Last updated November 2023.

8. Speed Focus Mode

Pacing

Shows the answer after a set time, and can mark a card as Again if you don't answer in time. Useful if you tend to stare at cards instead of answering.

Code: 1046608507. Last updated December 2022.

Old add-ons that are now built into Anki

Many "best add-ons" lists still recommend these. You don't need them on a current version of Anki, and the old add-ons are no longer maintained.

Image Occlusion. Since Anki 23.10, choose the Image Occlusion note type on the Add screen to hide parts of a diagram (Anki manual). The old Image Occlusion Enhanced add-on has not been updated since 2022.
Frozen Fields. Since Anki 2.1.45, click the pin icon next to a field on the Add screen and Anki keeps its contents for the next note.
True Retention. Anki 24.11 added a true retention table to the Statistics screen. It counts the first review of each card per day, with Again as a fail and Hard, Good and Easy as a pass (Anki manual).
Load Balancer and easy days. Anki 24.11 spreads reviews across days with fewer cards due and lets you choose lighter days of the week (24.11 release notes).

When an add-on breaks Anki

Add-ons are written by volunteers and often break when Anki updates. The more you have installed, the more likely an update stops one of them loading. Install one at a time, and check the last update date before you install.

If Anki starts acting oddly or won't open, the Anki manual's troubleshooting steps are:

Hold Shift while starting Anki, until it says it has started in safe mode. If the problem goes away, an add-on is the cause.
Remove add-ons you don't need, and disable half of the rest. Keep halving until you find the one causing the problem.
Report the problem to the add-on's author, using Help → About → Copy Debug Info.

Making the cards faster

Add-ons help with reviewing, but most of the time in Anki goes into making cards. You can write them faster with cloze shortcuts and bulk editing in the browser, or use an AI flashcard generator for Anki.

StudyCards AI can turn a PDF into flashcards and gives you an .apkg file that you import into Anki with File → Import. No add-on is needed on the Anki side.

Add-ons make Anki better, but they don't help with the slowest part: typing the cards in. StudyCards turns a PDF or your notes into a ready-to-import Anki deck in about a minute, so you can get straight to reviewing.

Make my Anki cards free →

Exports a native .apkg. No credit card.