AI Medical Education
Anki AnKing Step Deck vs SketchyMedical
Scores are legacy evidence and documentation scores, not product-performance ratings. How it is computed
Sketchy teaches through illustrated visual lessons, and reviewers praise it most for microbiology and pharmacology. The first program block of its pricing page, probably Medical, lists All access at $349.99 for 6 months, $449.99 for 12 and $649.99 for 24, with Cases only at $119.99 for 12 months and a 7-day trial on every plan. Trustpilot, which skews toward unhappy customers, carries complaints about price, a $2 charge after starting the trial and a refund dispute.
AnKing is a community-maintained USMLE deck inside Anki, corrected through AnkiHub Core at $6 per month, and it fits a Step 1 candidate who already reviews cards daily. Sketchy fits a second-year weak on micro and pharm who has tried flashcards without success, and for that student AnKing offers more of what has not stuck. A student who learns well from text gains little from Sketchy, and one who wants a large question bank as the main resource should skip it. One student blog prefers Pathoma over Sketchy for pathology.
Medical education · Reviewed November 1, 2026
On this page
Anki AnKing Step Deck
by AnkiHub
Free Anki flashcard app plus the community-made AnKing USMLE deck. AnkiHub is the paid sync service, with an AI chatbot on Premium.
SketchyMedical
by Sketchy Group LLC
Visual-mnemonic lessons, QBank and interactive patient cases for medical, PA, NP, MCAT and nursing students.
When to pick each one
Anki AnKing Step Deck
- Core at $6 per month, Anki free on desktop
- Community deck with shared corrections
- Premium $10 per month adds AI chatbot
SketchyMedical
- Cases only, $119.99 for 12 months
- Micro and pharm visual lessons
- 7-day free trial on every plan
Score
Each row shows points earned of points available under the published rubric.
Anki AnKing Step Deck
SketchyMedical
| Dimension | Anki AnKing Step Deck | SketchyMedical | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed papers | 0 / 7 | 0 / 7 | 0 |
| RCT / meta-analysis / systematic review | 0 / 1.8 | 0 / 1.8 | 0 |
| Funding & adoption signal | 12 / 12 | 12 / 12 | 0 |
| Pricing transparency | 6.5 / 6.5 | 6.5 / 6.5 | 0 |
Scroll horizontally to see every column.
Pricing
Anki AnKing Step Deck
| Tier | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anki (desktop, AnkiWeb, AnkiDroid) | Not stated | Not stated | Free and open source (Ankitects). AnkiMobile on iOS is a paid app. Its price is not confirmed. |
| AnkiHub Core | $6 | Not stated | Shared decks including the AnKing Step Deck, updates and suggestions. An older block on the same page still shows $5. |
| AnkiHub Premium | $10 | Not stated | Adds Smart Search, the AnkiHub chatbot and Boards & Beyond / First Aid Forward content (those need separate subscriptions). |
| AnkiHub Lifetime | Not stated | Not stated | Labeled "early access rate". The same page also shows $66 per year and an older $240 lifetime block. |
SketchyMedical
| Tier | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical, All access, 6 months | Not stated | Not stated | Total $349.99. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial. The tab-to-price mapping is inferred from page order. |
| Medical, All access, 12 months | Not stated | $449.99 | Marked most popular. Lessons, QBank and interactive patient cases. |
| Medical, All access, 24 months | Not stated | Not stated | Total $649.99. |
| Medical, Cases only, 12 months | Not stated | $119.99 | Interactive patient cases only. The 1-month price is $19.99 per month. |
Compliance and integrations
Documented from each vendor’s own pages.
| Spec | Anki AnKing Step Deck | SketchyMedical |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA | No / unverified | No / unverified |
| SOC 2 Type II | No / unverified | No / unverified |
| EHR integrations | Not stated | Not stated |
| Founded | Not stated | Not stated |
| HQ | Not stated | Not stated |
Scroll horizontally to see both columns.
Common questions
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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.
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