Learning apps compared

By the edgi team

Comparisons

• Opal vs ScreenZen: a wall, a pause, or a LessonOpal blocks apps on schedules, with Deep Focus in Pro; ScreenZen adds a free pause. edgi, free, opens apps after a 60-second Lesson you keep as a card.
• ScreenZen vs one sec: which pause app, and what elseScreenZen is free for every app with time limits; one sec is a breathing pause, free for one app. edgi swaps the pause for a 60-second Lesson, free.
• edgi vs Brilliant: which learning app is better?edgi is the more fun way to learn: free, 60-second Lessons on anything you're curious about, a card for every idea and a Map of what you know. Brilliant teaches math and code in a set order. Compared as of Sept 2026.
• edgi vs Headway (the book summary app): which is better?edgi is the more fun way to get smarter in a few minutes a day. 60-second Lessons on whatever you're curious about, a card for every idea and a Map of what you know, free. Headway sells 15-minute book summaries by subscription. Compared Sept 2026.
• edgi vs Kinnu: which learning app is better?edgi follows your curiosity, with 60-second Lessons that become cards on a Map of what you know. Kinnu hands you a syllabus of 1,500-word lessons. Both are free. Compared as of Sept 2026.
• edgi vs Nibble: which learning app is better?edgi teaches one idea in 60 seconds, free, and puts each on a Map of what you know. Nibble sells 10-minute lessons by subscription. Compared as of Oct 2026.

Alternatives

• A Forest app alternative that grows something you keepedgi is the Forest alternative where the thing that grows is a Map of what you've learned. Free on iPhone: lock TikTok behind a 60-second Lesson.
• A free Brick alternative, no device to buyedgi is a free Brick alternative for iPhone: no puck to buy or carry. Its Focus lock opens TikTok after a 60-second Lesson, on the rules you set.
• A free Freedom app alternative for iPhoneedgi is the free Freedom alternative for iPhone. Instead of a session block, each app gets opens and minutes you set, and a 60-second Lesson opens it.
• Blinkist alternatives that aren't book summariesThe best Blinkist alternative that isn't a book summary is edgi: free 60-second Lessons on the ideas themselves. Plus Kinnu, Imprint and Libby. Oct 2026.
• Brilliant alternatives, sorted by why you're leavingThe best Brilliant alternative is edgi, free 60-second Lessons on every subject with no daily limit, a card for every idea and a Map of what you know. Plus Khan Academy, Duolingo, Kinnu, Art of Problem Solving and Codecademy. Sept 2026.
• Deepstash alternatives, sorted by why you leftThe best Deepstash alternative is edgi: free 60-second Lessons, a card for every idea, a Map of what you know. Plus Kinnu, Imprint and Headway. Oct 2026.
• Elevate app alternatives, for five minutes that stickThe best Elevate alternative is edgi, free 60-second Lessons that teach you something new, with a card for every idea on a Map. Plus Peak, Lumosity, BrainHQ and Brilliant. Oct 2026.
• Headway alternatives (book summary app), sorted by reasonThe best Headway alternative is edgi, free 60-second Lessons on the ideas themselves, with a card for every idea and a Map of what you know. Plus Kinnu, Imprint, Shortform, Blinkist, StoryShots and Libby, sorted by why you're leaving. Prices as of Sept 2026.
• Imprint app alternatives (Imprint: Learn Visually)The best Imprint app alternative is edgi: free 60-second Lessons, about 3,500 on art. Plus DailyArt, Kinnu, Nibble, Brilliant and Headway. Oct 2026.
• Kinnu alternatives: 6 apps, sorted by what's missingThe best Kinnu alternative is edgi, also free, with 60-second Lessons that follow your curiosity and a card for every idea on a Map of what you know. Then Imprint, Brilliant, Khan Academy, Anki and NerdSip. Sept 2026.
• NerdSip alternatives, for swapping out the feedThe best NerdSip alternative is edgi, free 60-second Lessons and short videos instead of a feed, with a card for every idea. Plus Kinnu, Imprint and Brilliant. Oct 2026.
• Nibble app alternatives, sorted by what you wantedThe best Nibble alternative is edgi: free 60-second Lessons, no paywall, a card for every idea. Plus Kinnu, Khan Academy, Brilliant and Imprint. Oct 2026.
• Shortform alternatives, sorted by why you're leavingThe best Shortform alternative is edgi, free 60-second Lessons on the ideas themselves, with a card for each on a Map. Plus Blinkist, getAbstract and Libby. Oct 2026.
• The best BePresent alternative is free: edgiedgi is the free BePresent alternative for iPhone. Its Focus lock opens TikTok after a 60-second Lesson, and every Lesson is a card you keep.
• The best ScreenZen alternative: a pause that teaches youedgi is the ScreenZen alternative for iPhone that turns the pause into a 60-second Lesson. Free, with opens and minutes per app and a card per Lesson.
• The best free Opal alternative (Opal, the screen time app)The best free Opal alternative is edgi. Its Focus lock opens TikTok only after a 60-second Lesson, and each Lesson is a card you keep.
• Uptime app alternatives, for 5-minute Hacks fansThe best Uptime app alternative is edgi: free 60-second Lessons, a card per idea. Uptime's Hacks app is still live. Plus Blinkist and Kinnu. Oct 2026.
• one sec alternatives, for when the pause stops workingThe best one sec alternative is edgi: instead of a breathing pause, a 60-second Lesson opens TikTok, and you keep a card for it. Free on iPhone.

Reviews

• Brilliant app review: what 68 courses and 500 reviews showBrilliant checked course by course (68 courses, 2,694 lessons) and against 500 recent App Store reviews: what's free, what it costs, who it's for. Sept 2026.
• Deepstash review: is it worth it, and what does Pro cost?Is Deepstash worth it? The free tier is real. Pro Yearly is listed at four prices, $29.99 to $99.99, and over half its 1- and 2-star App Store reviews mention billing. Checked Sept 30, 2026.
• Headway app review (the book summary app)Headway, the book summary app, checked against its own pages, 897 summaries and 500 recent App Store reviews, plus why edgi's free 60-second Lessons are the more fun way to learn. As of Sept 2026.
• Imprint app review: how much it costs, and is any of it free?Imprint costs $74.99 or $99.99 a year, or $15.99 a month, on the US App Store, and its FAQ ties the library to a subscription. What its 165 courses teach and how refunds work. Sept 2026.
• Kinnu app review: is it worth it?Kinnu is free and ad-free, with long, readable lessons (the best are well written) and mostly recall questions on the web. From all 899 public lessons.
• Nibble app review: is it legit, and does it cost money?Nibble is legit (4.34 from 46,747 App Store ratings) but has no free plan: the US App Store lists annual plans from $12.99 to $89.99 and $19.99 a month, and StackSocial sells lifetime for $69.99. Sept 2026.

Guides

• 30 day learning challenge: 31 ideas, one a dayA 30 day learning challenge with the ideas already picked: 31 short interactive Lessons, one a day, in edgi, a free iPhone app. Day 1 plays right here.
• An app like Wikipedia, but funedgi is Wikipedia made fun, free on iPhone: 105,000 Wikipedia topics, 44,000 of them as 60-second Lessons, a card for each, and a Map of your rabbit holes.
• An app that makes you earn your screen time, freeedgi makes you earn TikTok with a 60-second Lesson, free on iPhone. Pushup, step and quiz apps charge effort; edgi's payment is an idea you keep.
• App intentions: how to use your apps on purposeAn app intention is a rule you set in advance: how often an app opens, for how long, on which days. edgi's free Focus lock holds you to it on iPhone.
• Apps like Duolingo Focus Mode, for everything elseedgi is Duolingo's Focus Mode for everything you're curious about. Free on iPhone, it keeps TikTok locked until you finish a 60-second Lesson on anything.
• Apps that make you smarter, and the one we'd open firstThe app that makes you smarter is edgi, free 60-second Lessons that leave you understanding a new idea, with a card for every one on a Map of what you know. Then Brilliant, Kinnu, Khan Academy and Elevate. Sept 2026.
• Best app to learn history on your phone: 4 apps comparedThe best app to learn history is edgi: free, with 60-second Lessons on more than 13,000 history ideas, each one a card on a Map of what you know. Plus Paladin, Kinnu and Khan Academy, compared. Sept 2026.
• Best general knowledge apps: 10 compared, free and paidThe best general knowledge app is edgi: free, with 60-second Lessons on 104,000 ideas and a card for every idea on a Map of what you know. Then Kinnu for a course, Sporcle for quizzes, Wikipedia for reading. Sept 2026.
• ChatGPT for learning: the AI app that teaches you anythingedgi is the free AI app that teaches you anything. Ask it anything and get a Lesson you play, a quiz or an Explainer, kept as a card on your Map.
• Collect what you learn: a learning app with cards and a mapedgi is the learning app where you collect what you learn, free. Every 60-second Lesson earns a card, and your cards build a Map of what you know. How it works, and what Kinnu, Duolingo, Anki and note apps collect.
• Do app blockers work? What the studies showApp blockers work while you keep them on. In a 2025 study only a quarter kept a total block for two weeks. Here's the kind that lasts, free with edgi.
• Dopamine detox: what it really is, and a version that worksA dopamine detox doesn't lower dopamine. It's stimulus control: make the cue hard to reach, then do something else. edgi does both, free.
• Educational apps for adults, by what you want to knowThe best educational app for adults who want to know more about the world is edgi, free 60-second Lessons with a card for each idea. Plus Coursera, Duolingo, Khan Academy. Oct 2026.
• Fun fact of the day app: the one that tells you whyThe best fun fact of the day app is edgi, free: one strange fact played as a 60-second Lesson so you know why it's true, kept as a card. Plus Factful, Facts and Fact of the Day. Oct 2026.
• Fun learning apps for adults, starting with the one that's freeThe most fun learning app for adults is edgi, free 60-second Lessons on whatever you're curious about, with a card for every idea on a Map of what you know. Then Duolingo, Sporcle, Elevate and Brilliant. Sept 2026.
• How to be more present (when your phone is always there)Being present means choosing where your attention goes. Decide in advance when your phone gets it, and make other reaches cost a minute. Free with edgi.
• How to become a polymathFollow ideas across fields, a little every day, and watch the bridges form. edgi, free on iPhone, maps 105,000 ideas and shows the connections you've made.
• How to block TikTok on iPhone (and make it stick)Block TikTok with Screen Time, or free with edgi: set TikTok's opens and minutes, and a 60-second Lesson opens it. Loosening waits until midnight.
• How to block apps while studying on iPhoneUse edgi's free Focus lock: pick TikTok and Instagram, set opens and minutes for study days, and make every open cost a 60-second Lesson.
• How to break a phone habit: swap it, give it 66 daysBreak a phone habit by catching its first sign and swapping in a better move. edgi's free lock swaps the reach for TikTok with a 60-second Lesson.
• How to fix brain rotChange what you feed your attention. edgi, free on iPhone, swaps the scroll for 60-second Lessons and locks TikTok until you've done one.
• How to focus during finals week: a phone plan for examsFor finals, quiz yourself instead of rereading, sleep, and lock TikTok so every open costs a 60-second Lesson. edgi does the lock and the quizzes, free.
• How to focus when working from home, phone and allAt home nothing stops you checking your phone. Give your apps a work-day plan, two opens before lunch, and a 60-second Lesson at the door. Free with edgi.
• How to get your attention span backTrain it on what you're curious about, and lengthen it a rung at a time: a 60-second Lesson, an Explainer, a Set, a chapter. edgi does the first three, free.
• How to have more interesting things to talk aboutLearn one story-sized idea a day and get curious about other people's. edgi, free on iPhone, gives you a 60-second Lesson worth retelling every day.
• How to improve your general knowledgeLearn one idea at a time next to something you already know, and answer before you look it up. edgi, a free iPhone app, makes each idea a card on your Map.
• How to reduce screen time, starting with your numbersRead your Screen Time numbers, cut the cheapest minutes first, then give your top apps intentions. edgi's free lock opens them after a 60-second Lesson.
• How to stop checking your phone every five minutesMost phone checks aren't caused by notifications: you start them. Count them, cap them per app, and make each one cost a 60-second Lesson. Free with edgi.
• How to stop doomscrolling, in 6 stepsFind your cue, add friction, then change what the cue pays. A practical guide to stop doomscrolling, with edgi's free lock that opens TikTok after a Lesson.
• How to stop opening apps without thinkingYour thumb opens TikTok before you decide to. Move the icon, ask one question at the door, and make the answer a 60-second Lesson. Free with edgi.
• How to stop procrastinating on your phone while studyingYou reach for your phone to escape a bad feeling. Shrink the first step, then make the escape a 60-second Lesson. Free with edgi.
• How to use TikTok less without deleting itKeep TikTok, lose the autopilot: set your opens and minutes, put a 60-second Lesson on the first open, make loosening wait. Free with edgi on iPhone.
• Is BePresent free? Only for the trial. edgi isBePresent is free to download, then $59.99 a year after a free trial. edgi's app blocker, streak and cards are free on iPhone.
• Is Brilliant free? 2 lessons a day, then $240 to $360 a yearPartly. Brilliant's free plan is 2 lessons or practice sets a day, in course order, with ads; Premium is $240 to $360 a year, and trials come and go (Sept 30, 2026). edgi is free, with no daily limit.
• Is Deepstash free? Yes to read; Pro from $12.99 a monthYes. Deepstash is free to download and read, with ads. Pro removes ads and adds audio and offline; the App Store lists it from $12.99 a month to $99.99 a year (Oct 28, 2026).
• Is Headway free? One summary a day, then PremiumHeadway, the book summary app, is free for one pre-selected summary a day as of Sept 30, 2026; Premium starts at $19.99 for 4 weeks, then $39.98. edgi is free, with 60-second Lessons and a card for every idea on a Map of what you know.
• Is Nibble free? No free plan; $12.99 to $89.99 a yearNo. Nibble says it has no separate free plan. The US App Store lists annual plans from $12.99 to $89.99, $19.99 a month, and a 7-day trial with the annual plan (Sept 30, 2026). edgi is free.
• Is Opal free? Partly. Here's the app blocker that isOpal is free to download with basic blocking; Deep Focus is Opal Pro, $99.99 a year. edgi's Focus lock is free, and opens apps after a 60-second Lesson.
• Is one sec free? For one app. edgi's lock is free for allone sec is free for one app; one sec pro, for more apps, is $19.99 a year. edgi's Focus lock is free for every app you pick, and its pause is a Lesson.
• Is the Kinnu app free? Yes, apart from 2 optional extrasYes. Kinnu's General Knowledge app and its pathways are free as of Sept 30, 2026; the App Store lists optional certificates ($7.99 to $19.99) and a $1.99 "Monthly" item. edgi is free too.
• Is there a Duolingo for general knowledge?Yes. edgi is the Duolingo for general knowledge, free, with 60-second Lessons, a streak, a card for every idea and a Map of what you know. Compared with Kinnu, GenK, Brilliant, Nibble and Imprint, Sept 2026.
• Is there a scrolling app that makes you smarter?Yes. edgi is a scrolling app built to make you smarter: a free feed of 60-second Lessons that end in a question, with a card for every idea on your Map.
• Is there an app like TikTok but for learning?Yes. edgi is the TikTok for learning, a free feed of short videos and 60-second Lessons where every idea becomes a card on a Map of what you know. TikTok's STEM tab, Nibble, Imprint and more compared.
• Is there an app that makes you learn before opening TikTok?Yes. edgi's free Focus lock keeps TikTok shut until you do a 60-second Lesson, then opens it for the minutes you set. one sec, Opal and others compared.
• Is there an educational alternative to YouTube Shorts?Yes. edgi is the educational YouTube Shorts alternative: a free feed of videos from educational creators plus 60-second Lessons, with a card per idea.
• Learn something for work in 5 minutes a dayedgi is the free app to learn something for work in 5 minutes a day: why projects run late, how anchoring sets a price, how ChatGPT works.
• Learn something new in 2027: a resolution that sticksUse edgi, a free iPhone app: one short interactive Lesson at a time, each idea a card on your Map. Why one idea beats a skill, and where to start.
• Screen time limits that actually work on iPhoneiPhone app limits come with Ignore Limit and One More Minute. Set limits that hold with edgi's free lock, where loosening waits until midnight.
• Something to do on your phone before bed besides scrollingedgi, free on iPhone. Lessons and Sets that end, Explainers you can play with the screen off, and a Set on what sleep is actually for.
• The app to learn how AI actually worksedgi teaches how AI works in eight 60-second Lessons, free on iPhone: embeddings, attention, transformers, why chatbots make things up. Then make a Lesson on anything.
• The best app for AP Biologyedgi is the best app for AP Biology, free on iPhone: 60-second Lessons for all eight units, Sets on evolution and CRISPR, and a quiz on any unit you want.
• The best app for AP Macroeconomicsedgi is the best app for AP Macro, free on iPhone: 60-second Lessons for all six units, Sets on money and the Fed, and a quiz on any unit you want.
• The best app for AP Psychologyedgi is the best app for AP Psychology, free on iPhone. 60-second Lessons for all five units, experiments you play, and a quiz on any unit you want.
• The best app for AP World Historyedgi is the best app for AP World History, free on iPhone: 60-second Lessons for all nine units, a Map of how regions connect, and a quiz on any unit.
• The best app for APUSHedgi is the best app for AP US History, free on iPhone. 60-second Lessons from Jamestown to 9/11, a Map of how events connect, and a quiz on any period.
• The best app for MCAT Psych/Socedgi is the best MCAT Psych/Soc app, free on iPhone: 60-second Lessons on the psychology and sociology the section tests, and a quiz on any concept you want.
• The best app to get better at triviaedgi is the best app to get better at trivia, free on iPhone: 60-second Lessons across every category that teach why a fact is true, so it sticks.
• The best app to learn about architecture, not draw itWhy are Gothic churches so full of glass? edgi is the best app to learn about architecture: 2,100+ free 60-second Lessons, each a card on your Map.
• The best app to learn about space, and why it's so emptySky maps name the dot. edgi explains it: 1,800+ free 60-second space Lessons, from the Fermi paradox to the Wow! signal. NASA and Stellarium compared.
• The best app to learn art history, and how to see itedgi is the best app to learn art history: about 3,500 free 60-second Lessons that show how a painting works, each a card on your Map. DailyArt compared.
• The best app to learn biology, strange parts firstThe best app to learn biology is edgi: 7,000+ free 60-second Lessons, from prions to cells your body kills on purpose. Codon and Khan Academy compared.
• The best app to learn chemistry, starting in the kitchenWhy do onions make you cry? edgi is the best app to learn chemistry: 2,600+ free 60-second Lessons, each a card on your Map. Khan and EasyChem compared.
• The best app to learn economics, in 60-second LessonsWhy you sit through a bad movie you paid for is economics. edgi is the best app to learn it: 2,700+ free 60-second Lessons, each a card on your Map.
• The best app to learn geography, for the why of placesMap quizzes teach where. edgi teaches why: 3,900+ free 60-second geography Lessons, each a card on your Map. Seterra and GeoGuessr compared.
• The best app to learn how money worksedgi is the best app to learn how money works, free on iPhone: compound interest, index funds, debt and bubbles in 60-second Lessons, one card each.
• The best app to learn philosophy, by arguing with itPlay the Chinese room. edgi is the best app to learn philosophy: 2,500+ free 60-second Lessons, each a card on your Map. Fathom and Roots compared.
• The best app to learn physics, paradoxes firstedgi is the best app to learn physics: 4,000+ free 60-second Lessons, from the twin paradox to Schrödinger's cat, each a card on your Map.
• The best app to learn psychology, by playing itThe best app to learn psychology is edgi, free 60-second Lessons on nearly 5,000 psychology ideas, each a card on a Map of what you know. Plus Kinnu's free pathways and Imprint's illustrated courses. Sept 2026.
• The best app to learn random facts (and actually understand them)The best app to learn random facts is edgi, free 60-second Lessons that explain why a strange fact is true, with a card for every idea on a Map of what you know. Plus Facts, the Wikipedia app and Kinnu. Sept 2026.
• The best app to learn science, for the why behind thingsThe best app to learn science is edgi: 15,000+ free 60-second Lessons, from entropy to why chili burns, each a card on your Map. Plus Brilliant, compared.
• The best app to learn something new every dayThe best app to learn something new every day is edgi, free 60-second Lessons where each day's idea becomes a card on a Map next to yesterday's. Kinnu, Duolingo, Brilliant, DailyArt and Wikipedia by what you want. Sept 2026.
• The best apps for curious people who love rabbit holesThe best app for rabbit holes is edgi, free 60-second Lessons that end with "Where to next?" and a card for every idea on a Map of what you know. Wikipedia, The Wiki Game, Atlas Obscura, Neal.fun, CuriosityStream and Are.na, compared.
• The best digital minimalism apps for iPhoneedgi is the best digital minimalism app: set rules for each app you keep, and a 60-second Lesson opens it. Free. Plus ScreenZen, one sec, Opal and Brick.
• The best free app blocker for iPhoneThe best free app blocker for iPhone is edgi: it locks TikTok or Instagram until you do a 60-second Lesson. Plus ScreenZen, one sec, Jomo and Foqos.
• The best microlearning apps in 2026, rankedThe best microlearning app in 2026 is edgi, free 60-second Lessons on anything you're curious about, with a card for every idea and a Map of what you know. Then Kinnu, Duolingo, Brilliant and more, ranked by lesson length and who picks what's next. Sept 2026.
• The best study break app that isn't social mediaThe best study break app is edgi, free on iPhone. One 60-second Lesson, a card for what you learned, back to work. It can lock TikTok behind a Lesson, too.
• What app can replace doomscrolling?edgi is the app to replace doomscrolling, free. A feed of 60-second Lessons where every idea becomes a card on your Map, plus a lock that puts TikTok behind a Lesson. The other options compared, as of Sept 2026.
• What apps can replace social media?edgi, free on iPhone: a feed of short videos and interactive Lessons where every idea becomes a card on your Map. Libby, Kinnu, one sec and more compared.
• What can I scroll instead of TikTok?Scroll edgi. It's a free TikTok-style feed of 60-second Lessons and short educational videos, and every idea you finish becomes a card on your Map.
• What should I learn so AI doesn't replace me?Learn how AI works, then learn what it rewards: breadth, connections and better questions. edgi does both in 60-second Lessons, free on iPhone.
• What to do on your phone instead of social mediaOpen edgi instead, free on iPhone. One minute is a Lesson, ten is a Set, a walk is an Explainer, and every idea becomes a card on your Map.
• What's an educational alternative to Instagram Reels?edgi is the educational alternative to Instagram Reels: a free vertical feed of short videos and 60-second Lessons, with a card for every idea you learn.

Research

• How many steps from dinosaurs to black holes? We mapped 104,000 ideasDinosaur to black hole takes four steps in edgi's map of 104,000 ideas, and any two ideas are typically seven apart. The shortcuts, the hubs and what everything leads to.