The best Anki settings (and what to leave alone)
Numbers checked: October 2026 · Sources
Turn on FSRS, keep 90% retention, and leave most of the rest alone.
Open Deck options (the gear next to a deck, then Options). Turn on FSRS at the bottom, keep desired retention at 90%, keep learning steps under one day (the default 1m 10m is fine), and set maximum reviews a day to at least 10 times your new cards. When you forget a card, press Again, not Hard. Everything else works well on Anki's defaults.
Every setting worth checking
Defaults are Anki's own (checked on Anki 26.09; AnkiMobile and AnkiDroid have the same options). Find them in Deck options: the gear next to a deck, then Options.
FSRS
- Where
- FSRS (at the bottom)
- Default
- Off
- Set it to
- On
Anki's newer scheduler. Anki's manual says it can help you remember more in the same time. It's on or off for your whole collection.
Desired retention
- Where
- FSRS
- Default
- 90%
- Set it to
- 90%
“The most important setting in FSRS” (Anki's manual). Above 90% reviews rise quickly; keep it under 97%.
Learning steps
- Where
- New cards
- Default
- 1m 10m
- Set it to
- Keep it, or one step like 10m
With FSRS every step should finish the same day. Avoid 1d or longer (Anki warns about it).
Relearning steps
- Where
- Lapses
- Default
- 10m
- Set it to
- 10m
Same rule: under one day.
New cards/day
- Where
- Daily limits
- Default
- 20
- Set it to
- What you can review every day
Each new card brings reviews for weeks. Count your cards and days first (see below).
Maximum reviews/day
- Where
- Daily limits
- Default
- 200
- Set it to
- At least 10× your new cards
Anki's own tip. When the limit is hit, due cards are held back and pile up.
New cards ignore review limit
- Where
- Daily limits
- Default
- Off
- Set it to
- Off
If you fall behind, Anki recommends pausing new cards until you catch up.
Bury siblings
- Where
- Burying
- Default
- Off
- Set it to
- Your choice
On spreads cards from the same note (the other blanks of a cloze, the other boxes of an image occlusion) over different days.
Leech threshold
- Where
- Lapses
- Default
- 8
- Set it to
- 8
A card you forget 8 times gets a “leech” tag. Find them in Browse with tag:leech and rewrite them.
Leech action
- Where
- Lapses
- Default
- Tag only
- Set it to
- Tag only
“Suspend card” also hides the card until you fix it.
Easy Days
- Where
- Easy Days
- Default
- Normal every day
- Set it to
- Reduced on your busiest days
Puts fewer reviews on the days you pick. It only changes future scheduling, not cards already due.
Maximum interval
- Where
- Advanced
- Default
- 36,500 days
- Set it to
- Leave it
Anki warns against going under 6 months.
Optimize parameters
- Where
- FSRS
- Default
- —
- Set it to
- About once a month
Fits FSRS to your own reviews. Never copy someone else's parameters.
Habits
Press Again when you forget
Hard means you remembered with effort. Pressing Hard for a card you forgot is the one habit Anki's manual says FSRS can't adapt to: your intervals get too long. If it would count as wrong on an exam, press Again.
Leave the old options alone
With FSRS on, Anki hides the old SM-2 options (starting ease, easy bonus, interval modifier, graduating interval). Anki's manual suggests a few weeks on the defaults before you change anything.
Before a big exam
Anki's FAQ: count your new cards, take the days you have left, subtract 2–4 weeks for review at the end and a few days you'll miss, then divide. 3,000 cards with 100 days left: 3,000 ÷ (100 − 21) ≈ 38 new cards a day.
One preset per kind of material
Anki's FSRS FAQ says it's usually better to give very different material its own preset, for example a language deck and a med school deck. Changing a preset changes every deck that uses it.
Keep reading
Questions
Is FSRS on by default in Anki?
No. Turn it on in Deck options, in the FSRS section at the bottom. It applies to your whole collection, not one deck.
What desired retention should I use for med school?
90%, Anki's default, for most of the year. Anki's manual says workload rises quickly above 90% and can be overwhelming above 97%. Raising it for the last weeks before an exam is a trade: more reviews for a little more recall.
What learning steps should I use with FSRS?
Steps that finish the same day. Anki's default 1m 10m is fine, and so is a single step like 10m. Avoid steps of 1 day or more; Anki shows a warning for them with FSRS.
Should I set maximum reviews a day to 9999?
Only if you'll really do them all. A very high limit means you always see every card that's due. The limit is there to smooth out a heavy day, like your first day back after a week off; the cards it holds back are still due the next day.
How often should I click Optimize?
About once a month is enough, according to Anki's manual. Since Anki 24.06.3 it works with any number of reviews, though a few hundred reviews give it more to learn from.
Do my settings sync to AnkiMobile and AnkiDroid?
Yes. Presets are part of your collection, so they sync with it, and almost every option can also be changed on your phone. A few preferences, like when the next day starts, are set on each device.
Spend your Anki time on reviews, not on making cards
Upload the lecture and AnkiDecks writes the Anki cards in a minute, with the exact quote and page behind each one.
Make cards from your notesFree to try · No credit card needed