MedAI Verdict

AI Medical Education

Editorial illustration: a stack of medical textbooks (Anatomy, Pathology, Pharmacology) with a brachial-plexus flashcard tucked on top and reading glasses alongside.

Anki AnKing Step Deck vs Kaplan USMLE

All comparisons

Scores are legacy evidence and documentation scores, not product-performance ratings. How it is computed

Kaplan's Step 1 Qbank starts at $199, and a reseller page lists 1 month at $199, 3 months at $249, 6 months at $299 and 12 months at $399. The FlexTrack On Demand course starts at $1,299, shown at $1,040 under a 20% promo in October 2026, and Live Online costs $3,200. AnkiHub Core is $6 per month, Premium is $10 per month, and the Anki desktop app is free.

A student a few weeks from Step 1 who buys one month of the Qbank gets 3,200+ questions, explanations linked to Pathoma and SketchyMedical, and an AI Tutor that Kaplan says it trained exclusively on its own content. A student who wants live teaching pays $3,200 for Live Online, six weeks of live instruction plus three 1-on-1 advising sessions, and no flashcard deck supplies that. For a student who needs only questions, FlexTrack at $1,299 loses to the $199 Qbank from the same vendor. AnkiHub Core suits a student who wants flashcards a community maintains.

Medical education · Reviewed November 1, 2026

On this page

Free Anki flashcard app plus the community-made AnKing USMLE deck. AnkiHub is the paid sync service, with an AI chatbot on Premium.

Kaplan USMLE logo

Kaplan USMLE

by Kaplan Inc.

USMLE prep from Kaplan: Qbank, on-demand and live online courses, with an AI Tutor trained on Kaplan content.

When to pick each one

Anki AnKing Step Deck

  • Free Anki, AnkiHub Core $6 per month
  • Community-updated AnKing Step Deck
  • Premium $10 per month adds AI chatbot
Read the full Anki AnKing Step Deck review

Kaplan USMLE

  • Step 1 Qbank from $199, 3,200+ questions
  • Live Online $3,200, six weeks of instruction
  • Kaplan-described AI Tutor in the Qbank
Read the full Kaplan USMLE review

Score

Each row shows points earned of points available under the published rubric.

Anki AnKing Step Deck

68of 100

Kaplan USMLE

55of 100
Score by dimension for Anki AnKing Step Deck and Kaplan USMLE
DimensionAnki AnKing Step DeckKaplan USMLEDifference
Peer-reviewed papers0 / 70 / 70
RCT / meta-analysis / systematic review0 / 1.80 / 1.80
Funding & adoption signal12 / 128.4 / 12+3.6
Pricing transparency6.5 / 6.56.5 / 6.50

Scroll horizontally to see every column.

How scores are computed

Pricing

Anki AnKing Step Deck

TierMonthlyAnnualNotes
Anki (desktop, AnkiWeb, AnkiDroid)Not statedNot statedFree and open source (Ankitects). AnkiMobile on iOS is a paid app. Its price is not confirmed.
AnkiHub Core$6Not statedShared decks including the AnKing Step Deck, updates and suggestions. An older block on the same page still shows $5.
AnkiHub Premium$10Not statedAdds Smart Search, the AnkiHub chatbot and Boards & Beyond / First Aid Forward content (those need separate subscriptions).
AnkiHub LifetimeNot statedNot statedLabeled "early access rate". The same page also shows $66 per year and an older $240 lifetime block.

Kaplan USMLE

TierMonthlyAnnualNotes
Step 1 QbankNot statedNot statedFrom $199. A reseller page lists 1 month $199, 3 months $249, 6 months $299, 12 months $399. 7-day free trial.
FlexTrack / On Demand courseNot statedNot statedFrom $1,299. Shown as $1,040 with a 20% promo code in October 2026.
Live Online courseNot statedNot stated$3,200, down from $3,999. Six weeks of live instruction and three 1-on-1 advising sessions. The money-back pass guarantee has footnoted terms that were not read.

Compliance and integrations

Documented from each vendor’s own pages.

SpecAnki AnKing Step DeckKaplan USMLE
Free tierYesYes
HIPAANo / unverifiedNo / unverified
SOC 2 Type IINo / unverifiedNo / unverified
EHR integrationsNot statedNot stated
FoundedNot statedNot stated
HQNot statedNot stated

Scroll horizontally to see both columns.

Open the full medical education comparison

USMLE prep (UWorld, AMBOSS, Anki), specialty learning (SketchyMedical, Pathoma, Boards & Beyond), CME (Healio AI, AMA Ed Hub). The most affiliate-rich category in healthcare AI.

See all medical education