Convert a PDF into flashcards
Got a 40-page chapter and an exam on Friday? Upload the PDF and TurboStudy pulls out the terms, concepts and relationships worth memorizing and writes them as flashcards — each one linked to the page it came from.
Free plan · No credit card required
Try it: upload a PDF, get flashcards
5 flip-ready flashcards from your notes or a PDF.
PDF to flashcards
How it works
Step 1: Upload the PDF
Lecture handouts, textbook chapters, review sheets or study guides with selectable text.
Step 2: We find what's worth memorizing
Key terms, definitions, cause-and-effect relationships and examples, spread across the whole document.
Step 3: Get a deck with page references
Every card shows the page it came from, so you can check the context in seconds.
Step 4: Review with spaced repetition
Missed cards come back sooner; cards you know move out of the way.
Study smarter
What actually works
Evidence-informed study advice you can use with or without TurboStudy.
Which PDFs make the best flashcards
Anything with selectable text works: lecture handouts, textbook chapters, review sheets and instructor study guides. If you can highlight a sentence in your PDF reader, we can read it.
Scanned PDFs are images of pages, so there's no text layer to read. In the app you can upload photos of those pages instead and TurboStudy will read the text from them.
Split long PDFs by chapter or lecture
A deck for “the whole textbook” is overwhelming and hard to schedule. One deck per chapter or lecture keeps sessions short and lets you see progress topic by topic. It also makes it obvious which chapter your missed cards come from.
Move from terms to understanding
Start with definition cards so you know the vocabulary. Once those are solid, switch to cards that ask why and how — and then to exam-level cards that ask you to apply an idea to a new situation. Exams rarely ask “define X”; they ask what happens to X when Y changes.
- Easy: “What is opportunity cost?”
- Standard: “Why does choosing one option always have an opportunity cost?”
- Exam level: “A student skips a $15 shift to study. What's the opportunity cost, and what else should they consider?”
Prune the deck as you go
Once a card is easy several reviews in a row, it no longer needs much of your time — let spaced repetition push it far out, or delete it. Spend the time on the cards that keep coming back. A smaller deck you actually finish beats a huge one you abandon.
Built for this
TurboStudy features that help
Other study tools create material. TurboStudy also tells you what to study next. Start free — Premium and Pro add deeper exam prep when you need it.
AI flashcards
One idea per card, written from your material at easy, standard or exam level. Edit any card you like.
Upload anything from class
PDFs, PowerPoint slides, Word docs, pasted text and photos of handwritten notes.
Spaced repetition & Active Recall
PremiumReviews scheduled for when you're about to forget, plus open-ended recall questions with AI feedback.
AI quizzes
Multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions, each with an explanation.
Compare plans on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How big can my PDF be?
The free tool on this page takes PDFs up to 5 MB and 10 pages. With a free account you can upload PDFs up to 30 pages each; Premium supports much larger documents.
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Not directly — scanned PDFs have no text layer. In the app, upload photos of the pages and TurboStudy will read them.
My PDF is password-protected. What do I do?
Remove the password in your PDF reader (if you're allowed to) and upload it again. We can't open protected files.
Does it read diagrams and images in the PDF?
Cards are written from the PDF's text. Labels and captions are included when they're real text, but the contents of images aren't.
Can I use textbook PDFs?
You can upload material you have the right to use for your own study. Your uploads stay private to your account.
Study smarter for your next exam
Upload your class material and get notes, flashcards, quizzes and an Exam Readiness Score that tells you what to study next.
Free plan · No credit card required