Which SuperMemo?

Updated: May 30, 2016

Version Advantages Disadvantages Platform(s) Price
SuperMemo 17 (2016)
  • most expensive
  • complex
  • runs only in Windows
  • requires Internet Explorer
  • upgrades databases and collections only directly from SuperMemo 16 (which is free for users of SuperMemo 17)
  • Windows Vista or later (runs best in Windows 10)
$80 (check for current sales price, upgrade price, cross-sale discounts, and more)
SuperMemo 16 (2013)
  • expensive
  • complex
  • runs only in Windows
  • requires Internet Explorer
  • Windows Vista or later
$40
SuperMemo 15 (2011)
  • old learning material must be converted to Unicode
  • complex
  • runs only in Windows
  • requires Internet Explorer
  • Windows 2000 or later
 free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade) 
SuperMemo 14 (2008)
  • incomplete Unicode support
  • complex
  • runs only in Windows
  • requires Internet Explorer
  • outdated Wikipedia and YouTube import filters
  • Windows Vista
  • Windows XP
  • Windows 2000
 free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade) 
SuperMemo 13 (2006)
  • incomplete Unicode support
  • requires Internet Explorer 6.0
  • outdated Wikipedia import filter
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista1
 free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade) 
SuperMemo 12 (2004)
  • requires Internet Explorer 6.0
  • no Unicode in Contents
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows XP
  • Windows NT 4.0
  • Windows 98
 free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade) 
SuperMemo 11 (2002)
  • poor Unicode support
  • no XML exchange with other SuperMemos
  • requires Internet Explorer 6.0
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows XP
  • Windows NT 4.0
  • Windows 98
 free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade) 
SuperMemo 10 (2000)
  • free
  • does not support HTML in incremental reading
  • Windows NT 4.0
  • Windows 98
  • Windows 20001
  • Windows 952
  • Windows ME3
 free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade) 
SuperMemo 9 (1998)
  • free
  • reliable
  • rich multimedia functions
 as above free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade)   
SuperMemo 8 (1997)
  • still runs in Windows 3.1
  • no incremental reading
  • slow
  • no HTML
  • no long filenames
  • 16-bit application
 Windows 3.1 or later free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade)  
SuperMemo 7 (1995)
  • free
  • fast
  • reliable
  • simple
 Windows 3.1 or later free ($2 registration entitles to a Freeware Upgrade)  
SuperMemo 6 (1992)
  • runs in DOS
  • no incremental reading
  • no mouse support
  • no sound
  • no pictures
  • cannot run in Windows NT in MS DOS Prompt 
 DOS,
16-bit Windows DOS Prompt		 free
SuperMemo for Pocket PC (1999-2009)
  • portability
  • simplicity
  • highly acclaimed
  • supports SuperMemo XML data exchange
 Windows CE, Pocket PC, SH3, MIPS, ARM, and more N/A  
SuperMemo for Palm OS 
(2000-2006)
  • portability
  • simplicity
  • reliability
  • highly acclaimed
  • Palm OS platform is dying
  • no incremental reading
  • currently without pictures
  • currently without sound
  • XML exchange expected soon (Q2 2007)
 Palm OS $19.95
Multimedia SuperMemo (2000-2005)
  • most user-friendly interface (see: examples)
  • simplicity
  • voice recognition
 Windows 95 or later,
Windows NT 4.0 or later		 CDs and DVDs only
SuperMemo UX (2006)
  • free
  • easy to use
  • ready courses for learning languages
 Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista free
On-line SuperMemo (2001-present)
  • learn anywhere in the world
  • repetitions can be made in a web browser or on a mobile phone
  • no installation
  • ready-made collections
  • learning via e-mail
  • requires access to the Internet
  • no incremental reading at the moment
  • synchronization with other SuperMemos at design phase
  • your data is stored on the supermemo.com
 any free on a large subset of material; subscription fee per access or per course
SuperMemo for Linux 
  • Linux
  • unreliable
 Linux N/A

Versions not recommended: SuperMemo 2 for DOS (freeware), SuperMemo 5 for DOS (freeware).
Versions recommended instead: Use SuperMemo 6 for DOS (freeware), SuperMemo 7 for Windows 3.1 (freeware), or SuperMemo 98 for Windows (freeware).

Versions cancelled: SuperMemo 3.0 for Amiga and SuperMemo 1.0 for Mac have been discontinued and are no longer available. See also: SuperMemo for Mac.

Versions that have never been: SuperMemo for Psion (1996)(ditched in development), SuperMemo for Atari ST (1988)(lost), SuperMemo for Atari XL (1988)(lost), eSuperMemo (1999)(student project; not completed), SuperMemo 3 and 4 for DOS (never released commercially), SuperMemo 7 for DOS (ditched in development), Java SuperMemo 2000 (ditched in development), SuperMemo Quizzer (ditched in development), SuperMemo for Linux (Kylix) may not see the light due to porting problems (based on SuperMemo 2000).

SuperMemo 1.0 wanted: It is possible that no archive copies of SuperMemo 1.0 for DOS survived. This was the first SuperMemo ever. If you still have a copy, please write

Best SuperMemos to consider (May 2016):

  1. SuperMemo 17 for Windows - most powerful SuperMemo to-date
  2. On-Line SuperMemo - runs in your web browser (anytime, anywhere)
  3. SuperMemo 12 (2004) for Windows - it may be a bit old, but it is free and it includes incremental reading

Footnotes:

  1. Windows Vista: SuperMemo needs unimpeded access to the collection files. This requires a few tweaks in the setup to make SuperMemo 2006 run correctly (this does not affect SuperMemo 2008 or later)
  2. Windows 2000: SuperMemo 2000 working with Windows 2000 shows minor incompatibilities in RTF text component processing
  3. Windows 95: SuperMemo for Windows may not work correctly in older installations of Windows 95. You may need to install the newest service packs. Installing Internet Explorer 6.0 is necessary
  4. Windows ME: SuperMemo for Windows shows performance problems in Windows ME. These, among others, result from a different file caching in Windows ME as well as a memory leak bug documented in Windows ME.